The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1882-05-18
The Black Death.

Wonderful in its origin, in its charac-
terlstlcs, IN ITS consequences, was the great
pestilence known as Black Death, which
swept half the people out of England in
1913. For two years previously there had
been gradually spreading over the eastern
parts of Europe a ~virulent disease, import
ed from Asia, which made havoc of the
people in some of the finest portions of the
world. So dreadful indeed had been its
ravages that, according to the most respect
able monkish writer of the time, many
Saracens, convicted that the pestilence was
assign of Gods wrath on account of their
unbelief, became Christians, till, finding
the Christians to be likewise afflicted, they
returned to their old faith. A series of
earthquakes, which shook the whole of
eastern Europe, ushered in the year of 1348;
mems hearts quailed for fear, and many
were the steps taken-short of draining
the towns and providing better ventilation
with a view of propitiating the divine
wrath. In vain. The plague which had
scourged Asia and the Greek empire crept
slowly but surely westward, seemingly un-
Influenced by the GOODNESS of climate, or
intervention CT sea. Boccaccio has written
in the preface to his "Decameron" an ac-
count of the plague as it operated in Flor
ence, which no one who has ever read it
can forget. Within a few months of its
slaughter of the F~lorentincs, it had swept
through Spain, France, and Germany, and
had crossed the straits of Dover.
From June to December, 134S, there had
fallen in England an almost incessant
downpour of rain; the ground was damp,
and the streams became polluted with sur
face-drainage, which was washed like COM
post all over the country, in default of n
proper outlet into a proper receptacle. In.
August the first case was reported; by No
vember the capital was reached, and from
London the plague spread all over the
kingdom, and, says Stowe, 80 wasted and
spoyled the people, that scarcely the tenth
person of all sorts was left alive" This is
not an eXaggeration of what happened in
some places there died an innumerable
sort, for no man but God only knew how
many" Between the first of January and
July, 1349, there died in the city of Nor
wich 57,104 persons; Yarmouth buried l.
052 in the year and other towns in the
eastern countries suffered nearly as much.
In the thirteen acres of Spittle Croft 1.-THE
site of the existing CharterhOusel, which
was given by Sir Walter Nanny for the
burial of the dead, because London church.
yards were choke full, were buried fifty
thousand persons. The plague was swift
in execution those seized by it often dy-
ing within six hours, and none lasting over
three days. The ties of nature seemed
loosened; parents forSOOk their children,
the dead remaining in many instances
without burial, and were allowed to take
their revenge upon the living by. adding
fearlully to the ~pestilential character of
the atmosphere. Cattle became infected,
with the disease, and their bodies lay rot
ting on the fields untouched even by the
birds of prey. How many of the people
died it is impossible to say with certainty;
but the most reliable accounts state that,
taking England all through, half of the en-
tire population died. The eastern counties
never recovered from the ravages of the
plague; places which awhile had been the
seats of manufacture became obscure villa
ges, and to this day may be seen in those
countries places in which large churches that
were once to small for the congregation,
have survived only to attest what the vii
lagos they presided over once We're. Half
the population! The labours of agricul-
ture were neglected the courts of jsutice
were not opened; Parliament was pro-
rogued from time to time; the whole bust
ness of the country drifted for very lack
of hands to attend toit, and the course of
the plague became so notorious that the
Scots swore by it, by the foul deth of the
English For a time Scotland escaped,
and the Scots, taking advantage of the
weakened condition of their southern foe,
collected an army for the purpose of fin
ishing what the plague had spared to do.
But into the camp at Selkjrk the foul
deth' came and slew five thousand men,
and put a stop to the project of INVASION
All sorts of reasons were assigned for the
visitation. Some declared it was n sign of
Gods anger at the extravaganza and effem-
NANCY OF the men others that it was be-
cause Of his wrath at the gay costume of
the women, vino seemed 10 have urriyed
themselves more after the fashion adopted
by some women nowadays than either
after solomon or the lilly of the field. Some
said one thing and some another, but we
do not hear of any one hitting the real
blot, and assigning the cause to the anger of
God against filthy streets, unwholesome
houses, undrained towns, and utter want
of ventilation. The Hack Death was a
wonder in its effects \ .ther than in its
causes, and was attended With supplement
tary wonder, that it went away without n
Great Fire, which by burning down the
plague-cherishing towns, might ave pre-
vented, rs it did later on in london, a
recurrance of the visitation. At intervals
afterwards, the plague returned, though
never again with such destructive power;
it came and went, destroying its victims,
till the people found out what it was that
God was angry about. Then it went away
finally, leaving behind it n promise to re-
turn-a promise which holds good at the
present hour-whenever men should so
tempttheir fate as to provoke it!by dirt and
those other denominations upon which it
thriyes.