The Portland daily press., 1879-02-08

General knowledge of the plague in these
days is confined to what we read in the in
PRODUCTION to the Decameron, where Boccac-
clio tells how the ten story-tellers fled terror
stricken Florence, or to Defoe's story of the
pestilence in London. Most of us may know
too a few stories, mora or less apocrypha,
like that Of Napoleon in the Syrian ospitals;
and there our knowledge of the black death
ends. Yet no longer ago than 1865 it was
ravagDg Asia.
The appearance of the plague in Europe.
where it has not been seen since 1874 when
its progress was quickly stayed, has set men,
in newspaper offices, at least, to consulting
cyclopedas aud learning its history. Its last
terrible visitation was in 1929, when it broke
out in the Russian army invading Turkey, in
fected 1000 Roumanian villages, and killed
$4,000 people. This time Russian soldiers
bring it back from the shores of the Caspian.
1t made its appearance not long ago in Astra-
khan, rapidly advanced up the valley of the
Volga, and now menaces Moscow itself. It
is raging in its most virulent form. and in
many places the mortality has risen to ninety
per cent. Uf those attacked. Not only Russia
but all the neighboring countries are alarmed.
A strict quarantine has been established on
the lower Danube, aud Germany is drawing
sanitary Gordon at her eastern frontier.
The rapid progress of the disease give ample
cause for alarm. Already villages are made
deserts. OF the 1850 people who inhabited
Vietllanka three weeks ago not one is now
alive. In PIschibe of $50 inhabitants 500
died in two weeks. In four days the pesti-
lence advanced in one direction more than
twenty-five miles.
The Plague is the Oldest of the historical
epidemcs. Its first known appearance was
in 1917 B c., when in Palestine it destroyed
10000 persons in three days. In 452 B. c.,
it swept away half the population of Rome
10 1856 B. G. it broke out again in Rome, and
10000 persons died daily. In 126 B. G. it
killed 100000 people in Numidia and 100000
rounds of the known world. In 134S of our
era $4,000 died OF it in London in one week,
Venice lost 100000, Spain 2C0 900, and Ger
many 10000. Four years later its victims
numbered 100000 in China, 100000 in
France, 100000 in England, while Spain lost
two-thirds of its inhab' tants, and Ireland was
nearly depopulated. In 1899, 900 died of it
in London, and $4,000 in Milan. In 1900 it
killed 100000 in Russia. In 1910 100000
perished of it in Constantinople. In 1856 it
carried off 1000 inhabitants of the Neopoli-
tan territories. That same year, the time
described by Defoe, it found 6S. 500 victims in
London. Eighty years later it destroyed
100000 people in Egypt. In 1772, at Moscow
1873, 299 died of it, and $4,000 at Bassorah.
Twenty years after that, 800, 900 perished
from it in Egypt. In 1912 it had no less than
100000 victims in Turkey. No words can
add to the force of these figures.
The Plague is essentially filth disease,
aud now, fortunately, our better knowledge
of its origin aud the efforts of boards of
health and like derided agencies enable us to
take effective measures against it. But with
the knowledge of preventives comes also an
increased facility of communication between
the countries of the world. So it is not i'm
possible that the disease may break the
bounds which have confined it for many
years now and make its appearance in West
ern Europe or even on this side the Atlantic.
No pestilence can be more dreaded, for where
it RACES men die like flies.