Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1883-07-09
TerrOrs of the Plague.
HARDLY WELL NATIVES ENOUGH TO Bury
THE DEAD-THE DEATH STENCIL

cablegram from Cairo says the situation
between that place and Port Said in one d.
rection. and Alexandria in another, is deplor-
able, and can scarcely be exaggerated. The
extent of the cholera plague owing to govern
ment precautions, is not actually known, but
the statements of those who have escaped
from the infested districts, and whose very
presence is Stunned by almost everyone, re-
veal a terrible state Of affairs. There are
scarcely enough well natives to bury the
dead in some Of the comparatively issOlated
villages along the Mediterranean, and in the
low Nile delta districts between Lake Men.
zaleh and Lake Boorlos.
Deaths are announced at El Burg, Shirhip
and other new points, the number not stated.
There is not believed to be a single foreigner
in the district except a few selfsacrificing
physicians, English, French and Greek, who,
beside risking their lives, stay under very
discouraging circumstances, as they can Sc
cure remedies only with difficulty, and are
met by underhanded opposition by the native
doctors, so-called, who are the only ones
who collect any fees. Many terrified Eng
lish and French families, a great part of
whom have had clerical or other government
employment, are also waiting for remittances
to enable them to return home. Several Eng.
lish soldiers have died at Damletta, n fact
which English officials have endeavored to
hide. The natives blame the whole matter
on the English for having failed, in the pres
ence OF abundant warning to prevent the
outbreak of the disease in the first place.
The continuance of the infection IL due
however to the habits of the people, the
filthy condition of the villages, the dense
| ignorance of the natives, and the prejudicea
of the local practitioners. The atmosphere
at Wansoura, where Hamondyl, the famous
A nh v,hv tnta J,nJ - l.. L
| ly fetid. The dying have been left alone in
their houses, friends and relatives fleeing, and
their bodies have remained in some cases un-
buried for days. Dead bodies have rotted in
the sunshine in the streets of the villages de.
serted by all except the dying and GONZALES
| cent, while many Of the latter were helpless
| and starving.
Anything like graves has been unthought
| Of for fortnight. and in the low delta ground.
| where water is found at q depth of two or
| three feet, the trenches have been dug so
| shallow and filled so full that the first wind
| blew away the covering Of sand, or the first
! rain washed away the earth. Even where the
rotting bodies were not uncovered and ex-
posed, they were so near the surface as to rot
! under hot sun and allow the gas to filter to
the surface and poison the air. The health
! council recently ordered the removal Of the
whole population from the Injected districts
| in and about Damietta, but j. il too late to
| serve its purpose. The solaiery under strict
| orders are supervising the natives, whom they
are compelling to bury their dead. Fire Is the
only disinfectant, and the port Of Damietta
and the whole Of seveal small villages have
been burned. At the former place the sick
and those subject to the infection have been
placed in tents. The hospital camp has been
surrounded by strong guard. A death line
has been fxed, and the troops have been or
dered to FIRE upon all persons attempting to
pass the sanitary Gordon. Despite the strict
est quarantine regulations, there is great dan
ger Of the spread Of the disease in European
ports.