Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-04-19


tFsr the World. from Revue des deux Mondesl
singular interest has attached itself to the
Eas during the last few years. 1t would have
bt en- Da urally supposed that after such ter
rlDie war the lands Of the Black and Caspian
seas would have little to excite the interest of
me PEI pie OF the West. But since the war the
plague, It's faithful companion, has made ifs
appearance menacing Europe with q terrible
lnaas ION. II when the plague first made its
aprean amc nee t1e danger to the security OF
OF Russia allowed the epidemic to increase in
ence, today the eXaggeratfon OF the danger
IS p Inaps equal 10 the false security which
existed at first.
Ihe plague made its appearance in Europe In
November, 1878, but for long time 1t had exist
ca IN ASIA Minor and Chiefly IN Persia. In 1861
Bagdad. In 1870 and 1871 khurnistan was in
yaded, and in 1873 Bagdad suffered anew. In
me city OF Bagdad. from the list to the Itch OF
Arrll, 1871, out OF POI deaths ninety were due to
tie plague. Happily the disease did not extend
as far as BassOrah, the port which connects
Bagdad with China and the Eastern Archipela-
important city In the north OF Persia only
short distance from the freQuented port OF En-
sail, from o whence It reached Europe;
read the maritime road. The land route Is i'm
practical e, the almost impossible Caucasus
lying between. 1t is evident, therefore, that
thanks 10 the constant communications kept up
10y fishing boats, trading vessels and mail ships
1871. recognized In some OF the soldiers Symp-
toms analogous to those which became so for.
midable In November. 1875 In his report he
speaks OF the high revers and the swelling OF
the glands. On the 18th OF November, 1873, he
reports that out OF fifty seven attacked forty
three died From the 9th to the 14th of Decern-
Der 100 dled. NO further reports were made
after the last mentioned date because the sur
geon himself succumbed to the dread disease
-, The terrible mortality at Astrakhan and Vet
liahka Is partially accounted for by the abject
filth and misery OF the inhabitants The cabins
in which they live have neither windows nor
chimneys, and men. women, children and beasts
live peil nell together At these places the
Mortality has been frightful, reaching as high
as s5 in 100. AT Prich1ba out OF $50 Inhabitants
airy the Gordon saaitaire established by Russia
has prevented the spread In this direction or
the plague, but it has also cut Off all reports
from the infected region.
The great question which has been agitating
the Russian doctors Is whether the disease is
form OF typhus or the veritaDle plague. DR..
pLoppher and the Russian military physicians
returning from the Caucasus brought the
typhus to Vetlianka. Up to a certain point the
mptoms p permitted such supposition Those
great feeb!eness, violent pains In the head,
vomiting and dlarrhHa. The body becomes
marbied with little red spots which bleed, ana
the Whole surface suffers hemOrrhage5 blood
appears in all OF the secretions, the tempera-
ture rises, the forces diminish and the
pa'en5 and ia any
possible I'D to the time OF death. The cpl
demc at Netlianka has all Of these symptoms,
Tut In addition one which shows the disease to
be the plague and not the typhus. Not only do
little red spots appear. but great reddish trains
develop themselves upon the surface of the
skin, making sort Of gangrene spot, below
no such symptom There Is another Symptom
still more decisive. The lymphatic glands Of
the groin ana armpits swell and become ex-
tremely painful. Pus accumulates in the tu-
mos, the skin ulcerates and the patient dies
exhausted by the complete suppuration and
disqualification OF the blood. The greater part
those OF Russia who are not optimists, have de-
clared that 1t Is the ver1fable Eastern plague
Which Is rayaging the banks OF the volga, and
that 1t is not the typhuS.
No remedy has been found to conquer this
dreadful malady. Salic acid, quinine, alcohol,
citric acid. are powerless Sometimes death
comes like the thunderstrOke and happens in
twenty-four hours. In the greater number of
cases the disease runs for four or five days
More than all others the doctors have them
selves paid tribute to this fell disease. Dr.
Morotof, OF Vetiianka, is dead of the plague
DR.. krassowski, Medical director OF the Russian
army during the war, is dead. DR.. Koch and
his SIX assistants, sent to watch the epidemic.
are all dead, and NJ. Richet, the author whom
we are citing, referring to such heroism, adds
in foot note with professional simplicity only
this observation: "Never In any age have ply
sicians shrunk from their professional duty"
No treatment has been found sufficient to con-
troll the disease when once 1t has set In. But
longs TO this art to prevent to prevent, 10 him
der, to limit the spread OF eptdemics This last
is the great end now proposed. On the 24th OF
January, while the convention OF physicians at
st. Petersburg called by the Russian govern
ment were discussing the symptoms Of the dts
ease, they were interrupted by DR.. Botktne,
u.s. cried he, "take immediate measures for
protection"
THIS is all very Wen but the question arises
kinds? Centag1on Is poison, but the poison
instead OF destroying itself is regenerated aud
multiplied In the humors OF the Individual Inn
the poison used by the Indians OF the OnnOco
Tor their arrows) conveyed into the blood OF the
animal by infusion only to the extent ' OF tne
cuIare which the blood Of the first animal con-
tains, and OF course only limited number
poison is that OF hydrophobia; the Individual
SO poisoned may give the hydrophobia to more
others anew. The terrible danger OF the mala-
dies called contagious is that the poison multi
plies itself in the organism Of the sub
dissemination Of the disease may become
extremely rapid. But all maladies are
nfs In the
the vac cine disease, that benefcent malady, are
lot correctly speaking contagious-they are
lLocu able. To touch aperson affected does not
ct nvey the disease. But 1t Is different with
Of her diseases, such as cholera, the plague ty-
ri Old fever, small pox and eryspelas, aud the
step ard course OF these diseases it is difficult to
10 the air. are the vehicles of the poison. It
Gt es not require the rupture OF the skin to pro-
occe these diseases; contact with the individual
al ne will suffice TO give the malady. TIE facts
OF contagion are too complex and too obscure to
be t.ea,t d In a popular article. AS far as the
plague Is concerned 1t Is certain that it Is con-
tas,ous, ana II might well De concluded tat il
Is transmlssible by incubation, out the facts
prove the contrary. The Charlton has failed 70