Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1883-11-16
THE BLaCA / DEATH.
Csssaae OF fase annual 0athro ak d tins
j.. .% ~ MI III Plague e r., >3<t :, &fS

GSsNas OF Lag knsttasii OEtSEsAh ~ lthe
~ E..ryts WI Plague r.. { s5=t
" It Is generally supposed, says the
Chicago Tribune, thAt the inuldatlon 81
the low hands Of tie Enpllr:.tes nYer ia
the only cause OF the o,,tLxeess OF tLe
plague, OF Black, death. They a,e o COM
tributng; but NOT the oaay car,se, The
teal cause OF the psstilence hes been
known for years to the Persian and
Turkish Governments, but they hare
done nothing toward its prevention. The
black death is not all uncommon disease
in that part Of Mesopotamia lying south
west from Bagdai, between the right
shore of the Euphratss and the Syrian
desert. It has made its regular appear
auce there ever since the year 1879, be-
tween the months Of December and
June. In Nedjef, or Medsched Ali, is
the grave of Ali, the son-in-law Of the
Prophet Maholnet. From there leads
desert road, marked out by the bleached
bones OF camels and hunnan beings, to
the so-called Lake Euphrates, which re-
ceives its water through the Hintieh
canal. To the northwest Of this lake is
situated the city Of Kerbela, where is to
be- found the golden mosque and the
grave OF Hussein, the son Of Caliph Ali
and the daughter OF the Prophet. These
ewo CITIES are the real breeding places Of
the dreadful disease. TO Nedjeff and
Kerbela the Shiites, or religions follow
ers OF Ali and Husseis, chiefly Persians,
send the dead bodies Of their friends and
relatives, because they believe that to
be buried near Hussein's or Ais grave
will assure their souls certain admission
10 paradise. Caravan after Caravan,
collins on each side, arrive there daily
and deposit their CHASTITY freight for in
terment, which, during months Of travel
from the Persian highlands, has been
decouposing and is filling the air with
its pesrnentlal odor. The collins are
placed in shallow trenches and covered
with about an inch or two Of earth. But
this is not all. The whole country
around Nedjetf has become one vast
graveyard, and, in consequence Of
tho frequent floods occurring In the E,l-
pirates, all the lands on both sides Of
the river are inundated, the light cover
ing Of earth is swept from the collins,
which, being made Of light material, fall
to pieces, and thousands upon thousands
OF corpses are left rotting under the rays
Of AL Oriental sun. The waters finally
re1eae, or are gradually absorbed by the
soil, poisoning all the wells i'll that coun-
try. From $4,000 to l6, 900 corpses are
sent there annually for III termenJ by the
Shijtes. The Jews send annually sew
sral thousands Of their dead TO be buried
near the grave OF their prophet Ezekiel,
which is also near Kerbell. Beside these
caravans there arrive hotil]as OF pilgrim
boats loaded with corpses on the Eu.
pirates by way OF the Semawat branch
and the Bar-l-Nedjeff. Not only are
they filled with this ptstlferous freight,
but the collins are even hung outside OF
the boats, loading them down to tue wa
tsr's edge. The constant arrival of
these caravans and ttotiIas with their
freight OF decaylng human corpses, and
added to this the careless burial, must
be regarded as the GAUSS OF tile outbreak
OF the plague, and the fatalistsc negli-
Gence OF the Persian and turkish Gov
ernnelats, which do not interfere until
che disease has become epidtmic, ex~
plains why it has not been suppressed
during the last ten years. For long
ta1ue epeclal tIea'y AdS 1ooA Ill e&lst-
ence between these two Governments
relative to the transportation OF these
corpses, but so far it has been a treaty
On paper only. The people Of America
are in US much danger as the rest OF the
world. It is about time that the civil
lied nations of the earth should make
this question Of the transportation OF
corpses under an Oriental sun an inter
national question. aau force ths two
Governments directly interested to exc
cute the provisions OF their treaty in
good faith.