The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-02-20
A BANGING Epidemic.


In this country, the tarantella is only
known as one of those coquettish dances
introduced on the stage from Italy; and
IN its native land, as u dance performed
by the peasant girls to the accompani-
ment of the tambourine. But if this
were all that the name recalls, it would
scarcely be worthy Of more than a pass
ing notice, except by those who are de
voted to- the terpsichorean art. Con-
nected as is the tarantella with one of
the strongest epidemics, the dancing
madness formerly believed to have re-
suited from the bite OF the tarantula
spider, it offers us many points of in
terest, not only as a medical study, but
also as an episode in philosophical his
tory.
AS the ancients had their Orpheus,
who, by his musical powers, was said to
be able to epchant not only living crea-
lures, but even stocks and stones, so
have the Italians, or rather they had,
their tarantella fable, concerning a
madness whose victims danced to the
sound of music until they fell exhausted,
and then-danced again. The disease
is known as tarantismus, and is conven-
iently classed with that peculiar nervous
affection commonly called St. Vitus's
dance.
The historian Of civilization and of the
inner life of the human race is often
called aside to speculate on the origin of
diseases whose birth is involved in OBJ
security, and which only come before the
observer when they have attained their
full strength, or when they have gained
complete ascendency over mems minds
and bodies. Italy in the early middle
ages has been the theater of.many ter
rible epidemics. The crusaders, for ex-
ample, brought the Eastern plague; and
between 11l9 and 1910, no fewer than
sixteen visitations of that fearful malady
are recorded. The misery resulting
therefrom was heartbreaking, the vic
TINS countless; scarcely did the country
seem to recover from one at
tack, when another came and
overwhelmed it. 1t appeared as if the
Italians were to be wiped of the face
OF the earth. To all these must
be reckoned those political diseases,
wars, rebellions, conspiracies, murders
consequent on the jealousies or ambition
of the various petty States into which
| the Peninsula was divided. Then in 134S,
as if these disasters were not enough,
came the dreaded Black Death; and
after that, Il famine. These fearful
| scourges doubtless troubled men S
minds, working up their nerves to an
unhealthy pitch, and these not the
nerves of phlegmatic northern race.
but of those eXcitable children of the
sun. the people of Southern Italy. Al
ways tinely-strung race, and at this
time involved in gross ignorance and
superstition, they were just ripe for a
nervous epidemic.
All history is full of the great events
which the smallest, the most trivial cir,
| cumstances may call forth. Though
the exact circumstances under which
this epidemic arose are involved in mys
terry, yet we may probably safely as
sumo that they were in some way OF
other connected with a common earth.
spider, the tarantula Even strong
nerved people do not, as a rule, will.
| ingly handle an earth-spider; whilst
finely-strung individuals would think o.
such proceeding with the utmost hor
ror. 1t does not require q very lively
imagination to conceive that some eX
citable Italian, believing his people
given over to the sword of Azael, The
Angel of Death, might innocently
enough take the lead in this nervous cpl
demic, for which a whole nation wa:
ripe, Perhaps accidentally bitten by
one Of these loathsome spiders, he woulC
work himself up to such a pitch tina
he would think himself poisoned
Though the bite itself might not b.
dangerous and indeed modern research
has shown that it is aot-ye the dreal
of the unknown after-results woulC
+ make it dangerous in the extreme. w
l may probably-aS most of the victim
Of this epidemic were women-safel,
assume that this first bitten individual
was an historical female. and then W
have all the preliminaries necessary 10
the explanation of the origin of the dis
ease When this historical female wa
bitten. imagination would perform tn
rest; it would play the pr ncipal rol
and it would make the disease epidemic