New-York tribune., 1879-03-29
TRUTH ABOUT The RUSSIAN PLAGUE

| A VISIT TO THE INFECIED REGION.
| THE LIES SENT OUT AS NEws-sCANDALoUs FxAG-
| GERATION-THE VICTIMS IN THE PRsvINCE OF
| AsTRAKHAN DwINDLE TO THREE HUNDRED AND
FORTY OUT OF A POPULATION OF FORIY-FIVE
THOUsASD-EvIL EFFECTS OF FALSE ALARM
on NTRADE.
FRom AN OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT THE TRrBUSE
SARATov, Russia, March 3.-For nearly six weeks
talk about the epidemic has been in the mouth of
every inhabitant in this country. Many dream of
the epidemic, look for it in every corneF and IN
every individual who may have been taken i'll or
| died of whatever sickness Some goods cannot be
sold by the merchants; they are not bought for
fear of buying the epidemic with them. The mer-
chant exchanges take advantage of the situation
and literally speculate on the epidemic. The papers
also freely speculate the subject, and their edi
tors use up all their mental capacity III trying to
invent as many lies and exaggeratiOns as may be
sufficient to create panic among the skeptical
population aud involve the administration in the
trouble of official contradiction. Every paper
has its own correspondents. boasts in large
tyne Of the news from the epidemic region"
and frlghtens the souls out of the community, and
makes it miserable and ready for the grave. Is
there any truth at all in tho rumors that in the
Province of Astrakhan Asiatic epidemic of
such vrulence that it has (bv the newspaper reports
only killed the whole population, and is advancing
to the centre of European Russiaf Of course not
1t Is most automatically cOntradiced by physicians
of experience and standing in this and other coun-
tries When your correspondent first heard of the
epidemic he was IN Moscow, and after trip south
he has been informed that the epidemic is "mov-
ing" to the place he was at in the Province OF
Ekaterinoslav, and has witnessed how the fish
market was destroyed by the police and the fish
were buried alive" because they were said to
rrith flo fSI, tba
Volga. l could not stand such taffy,"
being too much of a Yankee, and resolved
to meet the epidemic fairly and squarely in its
headquarters.
| left my last place in Bachmut ncar Charkov)
and went on toward the Voga. On my way
passengers were inquirng how the Jschuma"
(epidemc) was at the next station, and one OF my
companions, after receiving a reply to question
where was going, kindly commenced prayer for
the rest of my SOUL i backed out from joining the
crowd. Every lady on the train knew that was
Tschuma-bound," j." and waspityngmy youth. Twas
made a saint, martyr, almost any idol imaginable
by my fellow-travellers until we shook nds aud
my train gently pulled out from NOronlj for Koz-
loft. Very few passengers were on that train, and
no Tschuma" talk could be established. l began
to hear less of the plague. and came almost
TO forget its existence | made a short stay
before entering the Province of Saratov at
the romantic city of Tambov. My first move
! TO take a cab and drive little way pumped"
| my friend the driver about the topic of the day.
! He smlingy answered my questions about the last
| man who died, and related curious and most for
tunate occurrence. namely. that the man who dis
| tributed the plague was killed by mujick. near
! Saratov and all his working apparatus taken away
| by the police. at once asked him whether the
man was not an American, but no reply was re-
ceived | was satisfied that the story told may be
relied upon and turned back to my depot l asked
for direct ticket TO Saraov. The agent looked me
over and around, and hesitated to believe what
asked of him to be serious but seeing this gave
him to understand that must hurry up, else the
third bell might ring and the train leave me- He
sympathetically handed me my declaration Of death
(ticket. and rushing to the buffet, | was as
tonished to see two women crying for me.
1t was touching enough, but there was no time to
present to these good people the assurance of my
highest appreciation. | took the train and came
sleepily on until reached this city.
/ am now among the unfortunates who wisely
keep on declaring how all Europe is fearing them.
| have been here now four days. and have not heard
of any kind of sickness in the city. nor seen the
graves of the thousands that died according 10 the
rumOrs circulated elsewhere. OF the A., 900 nhabi
tants in the Province of Astrakhan, $40 were vic
tins of the epidemic, mostly In the nelghDorhOod
of Wetlanka and it is now sixteen days since .
case was reported anywhere. A delegation of physi-
clans from Austria and Germany are now here and
none of them has caught the plague as yet. General
MeikOfl has given orders to clean all the villages,
but In some villages the peasantry protest against
the destruction of their property (the dirt because
they use the dirt as fuel and regardless of the dan
ger arising from uucleanness cannot submit to the
ruin threatened by the new order
Such is the state of affairs on the Volga-nO busi-
ness whatever; depression of commerce, while the
Spring is coming ahead of its usual time