Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1884-08-01
Cholera InyasiOna.

in its compilation.
Cholera InyasiOna.
Cholera always exists in Hindostan,
and is famed into epidemic form by
the great duo decenAial religious ga
therings there, where pilgrims meet
in almost countless numbers and live
in the filth so favorable for the dis
ease. AS these persons return to their
homes the scourge is scattered
throughout the country, and then it
follows the paths of commerce to the
north and west around the world. 1t
moves by fits and starts, blazing up
fearfully in one place where the con
ditions are favorable and completely
dying out in another, running for
hundreds of miles almost as fast as a
railroad train can 60, and again creep
ing inch by inch, lying so dormant IN
winter as to be almost forgotten, and
sometimes taking years to get to its
journeys end. II comes to this coun-
try very irregularly, and sweeps quite
across to the Pacific or dies out after
attacking q few exposed cities as hap
pens, but yet it comes often enough
and so far always from the East, al
though it RACES terribly in China at
times when communication with the
Pacific coast is constant. Irregularly
and in no great number of times the
plague sweeps around from east to
west, killing tens IN one place and
tens of thousands in another, and the
whole world suffers from these poison
breeding pilgrimages again and
again.
The present visitation first attracted
attention in the Sooloo islands, east of
India and southeast of China, in Au-
gust, 1882. There was no attempt at
quarantining, the disease spread to the
Philippine and other neighboring is
lands, and thu mortality was fear
full. 1t is said that 20, 900 persons died
on the little Soeloo group alone. The
scourge spread to Japan and some
parts of China, where there were many
deaths, and then came winter and its
progress stopped. The cholera began
to move westward from India in May
of last year, and made its way up to
the Red SEA. An international quar-
antine was established at the southern
end of the Suez canal by II nations,
the United States among them, but
this seoa broke down from the action
of the British government. Its repre-
sentatives insisted that the interests
of commerce should be considered as
much as those Of health, the rules were
constantly broken over, and soon
cholera was III the Mediterranean.
From there its transportation toEur0pe
could hardly be more than question
of time, whether the particular means
of conveyance We're known or not
and so it is that the cholera appeared
in France and that Europe, to say
nothing of this country, is once more
exposed to tie old danger.
TIE first cholera wave" to reach
this country started at Hardware, the
great resort of pilgrims at the source
of the Ganges, in 1926. went slowly
along the great caravan route to
Orenburg in Russia, which point it
reached in 1929, whence it went to
Moscow and Riga on the Baltic, where
English coaStIng vessels took it and
carried it to Sunderland and New castle
The disease travelled overland through
Germany to London also, and was
finally brought to Quebec in June,
1885, by ship load of English EN-
grants. 1t went up the river and lake
to Detroit, and there are recorded the
first cases of the scourge on American
soil. 1t happened that the soldiers
detained for the Black Hawk war were
just starting out from there, and they
carried the disease to Fort Dearbourn
at Chicago and to the Rock Island
arsenal and other points on the Mis-
sissippi river. The soldiers them
selves suffered so much that the eN-
petition was practically broken up
From the forts and camps the disease
went down the Mississippi river to
New Orleans, and up the Ohio to Gin
cinnati, where it was met by cases
brought across the state of Ohio from
Lake Erie. The scourge also went
from Montreal down lake Champlain
to Albany, where it met the epidemic
travelling northward from New York,
where it had been brought from Havre
by the immigrants little later than
at Quebec.
The next epidemic to find its way to
this country started in 1912, and was
brought to New Orleans by an emf
grant ship from Havre in the fall of
1S4S. The scourge spread q little in
the vicinity during the winter. and
the next spring went up the Mississl-
ppi river and the Ohio, and the Him
DIS to Chicago. This Was the moment
of the great rush to the newly discov-
cred gold fields in California, and
they carried the cholera from st. Louis
across the plains to the Pacific, and
more than 1900 died on the road.
Another visitation came in 1858, when
there were $500 deaths in New York
and Chicago, and some other cities
suffered severely; and in 1866 came
another great epidemic, which started
in India the year before and was
brought to New York by an emigrant
ship 1t is estimated that II, 600 lives
were lost here during the three full
months. And the last waye was IN
1878, when an emigrant ship from
Broemen brought the cholera to New
Orleans, and it spread northward as
far as Chicago, but did its worst work
in the South
This plague takes the readlest
means of sthat- offers,
whether by land or sea, and It's rate
of travelling has increased practically
as much as the rate of travel IN com
merce, IL allowance be made for the
better quarantine work It no,longer
goes overland through Russia-that
is, it does not come TO US that way
but takes the Suez canal The quar-
antine there was Inefficient, and now
nearly all Europe is exposed, for IN
these days of railroads land qEaran-
timing is practically impossible.
DIR c. was called to see MS Gil
league, DR.. B. DIR. - prescrlb-
ed for his patient, and left the house.
Next morning DIR. c. called again
and inquired blandly of Mrs. b,
We'll, madam, has our patient fol-
lowed my prescription He would
have landed on the pavement Il he