The interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1872-1881, 1879-01-31

ted mention Of the Bag'lad "date
mark, a mysterious malady which al.
fccis everybody, whether citizen o.
stranger. II il dry, eating sore,
which comes generally upon the face,
lasts for year, aud then goes away
for ever. leaving an indeliblc mark
abou, the size and shape Of a date, AZ
evidence of the visitation. The eica.
trix Is just skin dcep; the spot up.
pears as if the surface had been scared
away with cansiic or hot iron, and
il by no means enhances the beauty Of
the victim. The sore generally comes
in childhood, and then Il commonly
settles upon the face. The cheek of
nearly every man and womon brought
upin Bagiad shows the unmisiakablc
mark. Sometime il settles on the
nose, and then the Disagreement Is
considerable; sometimes on the eye.
lids. and then blindness is the result.
Strangers arc attacked even after
very briei residence; but II they I've
adults, they get the sore on the arm or
wrist. II is more painful there than
on the cheek. but Of course there is no
Disagreement. H. every case the at.
tack runs iis eoursc for year no
treatment, no ointment or medicine
has the slightest effect upon il. Once
the sore makes its appearance, the
sufferer knows what TO expect, and he
may a well resign himself philosoph-
ically to all it involves. The Arabs
say that every one that gOe. to bag.
dad must get the "daie.mark," II he
does not get il while in the city, he
will get il sfler he leaves; and IL he
does not get il while alive, he will get
i aner he j. desd-it i not to he
avoided.
The cause Of this peculiar and most
disagreeahle ailment has not been sat.
isiaciorily traced. though many learn.
ed theories have been preached upon
the subject. The general impression
Is that the quality Of the water IL
chargeable with il; but this notion |
must, ] think, he given up. The dis
ease is known in most Of the towns
from the head Of the Persian Gulf TO |
the Mediterranean, though nowhere is
il 20 rife as in Bagdad. In the town
Of Mardin i Is prevalent, and the wa.
ter supply Of that place comes from
the top ofthe great hill on the side Of
which il is bailt. II is very pure wa.
ter, and that i il not the source of the
"dAie-mark" is proved beyond the pos
sihility Of a doubt by the fact that the
inhabitants Of a large village on the
other side Of the hill drink il, and are
never attacked by the malady. In
Aleppo the disease is known as the
"Aleppo button" and there, as in
Bagdad, the favorite theory is that
the water il the cause Of the evil. But
Two European physicians who went to
that city to investigate the matter
were themselves attacked within fort.
night after their arrival.in the town,
though they took the precaution to
hayo their drinking water brought
from a distant place, where its quality
was above suspicion. Another sus.
Pected cause is supposed deficiency
IN iodine IN the salt used in the coun.
try. Some people are inclined to
think that there is something in the
defective sanitation OF the town, which
predisposes to the attack.
The visitation is not, as a rule, very
painful, unless it happens to fix upon
a spot above a joint or muscle ire
quently brought into exercise. The
irritation occasioned by the movement
of the affected part is often eonsidera-
ble, and gives rise TO good deal Of
suffering. The general health is but
little, If at all, disturbed in ordinary
cases. The children play about the
narrow streets and make mud piles
quite joyously, with great ulcers the
size of a crown piece on their little
checks. IL gives them no concern that
they are being marked and perhaps
disiigured for life, and OF pain they
feel nothing.
When, little later on, | stopped
at Mardin had the pleasure Of ma.
king the acquaintance Of DIR. Thorn,
of the American Mission in that town,
and he told me that he had examined
the ulcer under microscope and
found ii to be composed of fungoid
growth; but nothing that he had ever
tried hal been able to arrest or'modi.
iy its usual course. lie had applied
distilled nitric acid without producing
more than temporary effect. An APP
plication of iodine WAS just as inefiica.
cions. lie was attacked himself,
large "date.mark' forming on his FORE
head, and apparently eating through
the skin to the bone, but nothing that
he could think Of was Of the least use.
-fCOr. N. Y. Post