The New York herald., 1879-02-14

grants LETT Ceara. They were receiveu kinuiy
in the other provinces. though their needs were not
always promptly met But for the most part they
would not work; their mondicant habits were now
so confirmed that they would only beg or starve. J
think they had some vague idea that as they were
victims of a terrible misfortune they had right to
flch their living from the world. So they nursed
their misery long after people had ceased to pity
them. The neat Para peasants despised them. Al
best they untitled for forest fe so they
begged and starved and sickened and died. just as
they had in their province A few of the best
hands found regular employment and went ON well
enough Brazil had had such chance tc
civilize the Ceara peasants. The refugee
crowds should have been put under mill
tary rule; decent houses should have been
provided for them; cleanliness vigorously
enforced and vaccination carried out. under penalty
Of the law for non-vaccnated person. Above all,
the rations should have been given only in payment
for work In this way the government could have
built railroads. secured harbor for Fortaeza, and
so on, and the poor people would have been saved
from soul killing mendcancy There not want
ing those who urged the necessity of giving work
instead of aims. Indeed the plan carried out in
some places. at Baturte. and with very happy
suits. But it not until July, 1873 that the gov
crnmcnt seriously bestirred itself to repair its fault
There q little railroad from Fortaleza to Paca-
tuba thrty-6ve miles The affairs of the road were
in ruinous condition. so the company was glad to
sell it to tho government at low price.
party of engineers sent up from Rio.
and In July surveying and work commenced.
simultaneously for continuation of the road to
Canoa. Many thousand men employed in this
way. Another railroad started in the province
and various public buildings were put up. The
refugees also employed to clean streets. work
in the government storehouses, and so on.
cEARA JUNE.
And now come to the last sad scene. the scene
that is yet unrolling ITSELF and tell the
end. Unhappy province! Pitiless indeed would he
be who could view thy tortures unmoved. Consider
the province it was in June. 1878. The interior
region. well populated, almost de-
serted. Only few starving families remained to
mark thriving towns and villages. state literal
truth when say rha. in the fall of this year it
almost impossible to travel far from the
coast because food and water ut
terly unattainable they would be in the Sahara.
have conversed with q man who made the journey
to Crato in November: he described bowling will
dcrness, where one sees only deserted houses and
leaticss trees and by the roadside With our
genial climate cannot understand real drought.
In Cear birds and insects died during the nrs blaz-
ing summer. Imagine what the plains must have
been with o second dry year. The whole population
was gathered in q strip not more than seventy-nvs
miles in its greatest width running along the
coast. The people crowded about the cities and
villages. living in wretched huts and drawing gov
ernment rations. At time there were 1000 Of
them at Fortaleza co. 900 at Aracaty. and Oh for
other places.
BREAKING OUT OF SMALLPOX.
The people had food enough, but still tho death
rate increased steadily In Fortaleza 1t had reached
200 per day. early as May or June. In Ara
cay hardly less. There pernicious fevers.
bari -hori Ye,1C
with the spring months. But above all other dis
eases the smallpox began to assume terrible pre-
eminence. II was worst at Fortaleza. Very few OF
the people were vaccnated. Isolation Of the sick
was enforced The pestlence, confined ct first
to tho refugees spread to the richer classes.
BY October the 10000 adventtious population had
dwndled to 10000 or 10000. including the towns.
people; many had died, many had emigrated. Among
those that left the pestilcnce stalking and
marking its victims. On November 90 persons
died of smallpox in Fortalcza; November 2. l2l.
| and this out of population Of only 10000 Your
yellow deaths reached such proportion.
| But the disease went increasing rapidly. Two
hundred. three hundred four hundred deaths day
| toward tho cpd Of November the figures above
five hundred On the 3oth therc 574 registered.
but this includes only tho interments IN the public
| grounds. There wcre families that could afford
to bury their dead in the city cemetery. There
peasants
out to sea on catamarans and sunk there.
APPALLING DEATH LISTS.
The whole number Of registered deaths in Novem-
Der for the two cemeteries of San Joao Bapsta and
| Lagoa-funda II o75 OF these 9.27O small
pox But think we must add to this at least
thousand buried. as have said in the woods
| sunk in the At this timo there $4,000
| sick-more than . third Of tho population.
| still tho death ratc increased On Deem
| Der 10 s0s smallpox dead were buried in
| the cemetery OF Lagoa-funda. at least 70 in San
Joao. and probably $50 in the woods and the
total death record Of over 1000 in single day
and this out Of population (now reduced) of only
$4,000. The great plague at London reached this
| death rate. but that was from o population Of
100000 After this the mortuary rate decreased but
only because the disease had nothing moro to feed
| on. certain percentage Of community arc
| exempt from smallpox. few, no doubt.
saved by vaccination. BY the end of the year tho
death had gone down to 200 per day. The entire
| number Of deaths for the month was not far from
$1,000. In al great epidemics. IL is said. the people
become to their danger. In Fortaleza this
| indifference sufficiently astonishing. When
reached the place on the 2oth Of December the death
rate was 400 per day. but business going
much as usual. and hardly anybody had been driven
out Of tho city by the danger.
punYISa IN TRENCHES AT LAooA-YuxpA.
Fortalcza is a very neat and pretty town, with
| wide streets and shaded squares. noticed the
groups of ragged dirty people lounging around the
street corners. FARTHER out the long rows OF
huts, hundred more clustered together. Once
twice passed men carrying cofins their
heads; coffn shop near by evidently doing an
active business. But tho pcstilence all about
me. went to tho graveyard of Lagoa-funda. where
the poor people buried; for the old cemetery
OVERLOOKING long ago. and tho government had this
one made league out Of town. the lccward side.
| Tho precautions necessary. too. The filthy
| huts wcrc bad enough, without the
evil OF . poisoned air. At LAgoa-funda
| the dead are buried in trenches. twelve
together; ''cxccpt" rcmarkcd of the ovcrsccrs.
| ''whcre the bodies in too fast for US;
then put fifteen or twenty in trench. co~fo7nc."