The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1883-07-11
The Cholera.

The cholera, whose favorite haunt is Hin
dostan, is now on its travels to the West by
way Of Egypt, and may make us call be-
fore its trip is finished. We have been
cursed by this terrible epidemic before.
The first visitation of cholera to this coun-
try came from northern India by way of
Russia and Great Britain. II started at
Hurdwar, the great resort of pilgrims at the
source OF the Gauges, in 1926, whence it ad-
Vanced slowly over the great caravan route
to 0renburg in Russia which point it
reached In 1920. From Orenburg it went TO
Moscow aud from thence to Riga on the Bal
tic, whence English coal vessels took it up and
carried it to Sunderland and Newcastle.
During the Polish revolution of 1S30-31 Rus
sian troops took it to Warsaw, and from
there 1t travelled due west to Posen and Ber-
lin, and thence to Hamburg and over to
London. England, Scotland and Ireland
were smitten with the scourge, and in the
spring of 1882 the disease was brought to
Quebec in several Irish emigrant ships, and
from that city it soon made its way up the
st. Lawrence and across the lakes to Detroit,
which was the first point where it touched
the soil of the United States. Thence it
went by the old chain of military forts to
Fort Crawford near Prairie du Chen, and
to Fort Armstrong at Rock Island, aud
from there it had by October extended down
the river to New Orleans, where 5000 per-
sons died out of population of $4,000. 1t
firsf reaehed Nam varl- n N .ha a7tb of r,,,.a
and caused nearly {, 800 deaths in two months.
1t attacked Albany, Philadelphia, Baltimore,
Washington, Cincinnati, the cities along the
great lakes and the great Southern cities
with fearful results. Business was almost
suspended and the land was filled with fear
over this strange and remorseless plague.
In 1S49 the cholera again appeared in New
Orleans, this time coming in German emil
grant ships from Havre, and it rapidly
spread TO ali the river towns and landings
on the Mississippi and Ohio as far as Gin
cinnati, where there were 5000 deaths.
From St. Louis, where there were also about
5000 deaths. it followed the overland trail to
California, whittier crowds of god-seekers
were on their way, and more than 1000 en-
igrants persisted on the road.
In 1853 came the third severe visitation of
cholera to this country, which carried off
$500 victims in New York city alone. 1t
was especially malignant in Chicago, where
great numbers of people, including many
prominent citizens, died of it.
The next great epidemic began in India in
April, 1866, and reached the Red Sea at the
beginning of May and Alexandria in Egypt
the first of June, whence it was carried by
steamship to Southampton early in July
1t also spread from the Mediterranean port
of Marseilles through France to Paris and
Havre, and in the next year emigrant ships
transported it to New York from which city
1t went in every direction along the lines of
travel through the United States 1t is es-
timated that as many as 1900 lives were
lost in the course of September, October and
November.
In 1878 the cholera prevailed again to an
alarming extent through the southern cities
Of the United States, and there have been a
few sporadic cases since-there was one in
Rhode Island so lately as last September
but for ten years now there has been moth
ing in this country that could be called
cholera epidemic.
NTH the oriental commsfca~-at Europe
pouring through the Suez canal, and the
greatly increased frequency of communica-
ton with Alexandra, it is easy to see how
the cholera may in a few days be carried to
the ports of England and France, and so in
due course find It's way to this country in
some of the numerous emigrant ships like
those which have brought the disease to our
shores before. So far as the danger from
transportation of the disease is concerned,
New York is practically nearer to Egypt to-
day than Marseilles was in 1882, and it may
become necessary before the end of the pres
ent month for quarantine to be declared in
some of our cities against vessels from in
fected foreign ports.