The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1884-07-22
BIRTHPLACE OF CHOLERA.
The Terrible Disease Distributed
by Pilgrims from Hurdwar
and Mecca.

ne Ouly COuutiiCS upOu IuC RlODC
to which cholera has not been carried
are the islands of the South Pacific,
Australasia, the Cape of Good Hope,
the islands of the North Atlantic, and
the western coast of South America.
These localities are all separated from
India by a wide expanse of ocean,
and have no commercial intercourse
with that country.
Cholera has not become permanent
outside of India, although it is
seldom absent from some of the
provinces of Hindustan. From Its
birthplace in the delta of the Ganges,
the disease has effected permanent
Judgement in the provinces of Bengal,
Madras, and Bombay, while in the
provinces that lie to the west and
northwest, such as Rappootana and
Punjab, it occurs only as an epidemic,
developing after great religious
gatherings.
Hurdwar, in the Punjab at the
foot of the Himalaya Mountains is
the great nursery of cholera. 1t
never originates there, but has
annually been developed there during
the great Hindoo festivals. Of these
festivals Hurdwar is cursed with two,
and they draw together a great cum
course of people from every portion
of the Indian empire. At some of
these festivals as many as 5000, 900
devotees have assembled, but of late
years the numbers have fallen off
Hurdwar having lost its sacred
prestige from the fact that some of the
holy waters of the Gauges have been
profanely diverted in a canal con-
structed by English authorities.
There immense numbers Of humans
gather upon a bare, sandy plain ON the
banks of the Ganges, massed like
herds of swine, without means of sani-
tary protection. The earth and air, as
well as the water, are polluted. and
the odor from the camps is perceptible
for many miles. Day and night the
devotees pour through the great thor
oughfares of the country to and from
the festival in parties of from 10 to
500, following so closely as to make
an almost continuous procession.
Ninety-fve out of every 100 are on
foot, but occasionally some great ma
bob sweeps past with an enormous ret
inue or a rajah with his caravan of
elephants, camels, horsemen, and
swordsmen pass in all the grandeur
and confusion of Indian royalty. They
ride over the poor wretches who line
the roads, ira mple them down, and
hurl imprecations upon them for
blocking the way. Some march hun.
dreds and some thousands of miles to
engage In the festivals and to battle
in lhe scored river. Many die on the
Wa, ana all arrive lame and gaunt
from hunger and fatigue, with their
feet bound up in rags and their scanty
clothing covered with blood and dust.
They rush into the river as soon as
they arrive, and drink the water as
fast as they can scoop it up in their
hands.
They are fed from the temple
kitchen, where as many as 0,000
cooks are at work, and the food is
distributed among them in a rude
way. When fresh it is not unwhole-
some, but too much of it produces
indigestion and great suferings. The
half starved pilgrims eat it like glut-
tons. rush into the water again to
battle and the result is arrangement
of the digestive organs. When they
have eaten their fill, whatever food is
left is preserved. 1t is sacred and
cannot be thrown away. Under the
hot sun it soon becomes poisonous to
the pilgrims who eat it.
In these hot beds of disease, under
conditions that would breed plague
anywhere these pilgrims live. The
heat is almost uncomfortable. The
living, the sick, and the dying are
huddled together, with only Just as
much space as they can cover lying
down. As fast as they die they are
buried In the sand.
But on the return journey the
misery Of the pilgrims reaches its
height. They are sick and lame,
but stagger along until the weak fall
by the roadside to die. Their bodies
lie thickly along the journey uncover
ed. Some drag their weary limbs
until they reach village, where they
drop and lie in masses, blocking up
the streets, until they get strong
enough to move forward or die of
starvation and disease.
1t is impossible to calculate the
number thst perish. The bishop of
Calcutta estimates that it is about one
in five, and those who do not die on
a. Tho r~arpa. &c I,,a..1