The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-09-23
PLAGUE AND PESTILENCE
PROF. PROCTOR ON YELLOW
FEVER AND OTHER EPIDEMICS.

FEVER AND OTHER EPIDEMICS.
The Horrors of Old-Time Plaques Not
Equalled in the History of Modern
Disease-GreatP estilences OF Ancient
Times-The Terrible Plaques of the
Middle Ages by Which Cites and
Regions Were Almost Depopulated-
The English Plaques SO Vividly De-
scribed by Defoe.
This is believed to be the last literary
work by Prof. Proctor.l
Copyright 1888 By s. S. Mcclure.
PHILADELPHIA, PA, Sept 22.~-Yelow
fever, though not in reality a more destruct-
i've disease, even in the places where it is
apt to prevail, than some others W hich are
more familiar, is more suggestive of the
Idea of pestllence than any existent disease,
and mere strikingly recalls, when it appears
in fully developed form, as ten years ago
in New Orleans and Memphis, the horrors
Of the ancient plaques There Is some
thing in the insidious nature of itsj ap-
proach, its fell action in the worst
cases, and the despair which seizes
even from the beginning the larger
nuInD6T VI aus NIClliilS, WHICH re-
minds us of what we have real reSpecs ing
the plaques of Athens, OF Florence, of Lon
don, in the days of old. | am told by those
who witnessed the flight from Jacksonville,
Fla, short time since, when first the ap-
Iearance of yellow fever in that town had
been announced, that the behavior of many
of the refugees indicated absolutely panic
terror, though, as it tnrned out, not one
among the whole number had been infected
hn CO hot ba RIG ind oil
run by that panic-stricken crowd while in
the town from which they were flying must
have been small
FEATURES OF THE GREAT EPIDEMICs.
1t may be interesting to recall a few Of
the feature, Of the great plaques and pesti-
lences of hstory-if for no other reason for
this, that men may see how light even the
worst infections of the kind during this cen
fury have been by comparison.
The account given by Tnucydides of the
plague of Athens, twenty-three centuries
ago, suggests a scene of fearful horror
The origin of the plague is noteworthy in
the light of modern theories and discoveries
respecting disease germs. The Spartans
having overcome the Athenians in the field,
ravaged Attica while nearly all its inhabit-
ants we're closely shut up within the walls of
Athens. Whether the germs of the disease
had already been conveyed to Athens, or
whether spreading in the air they found in
the over-crowded, sorrow-StriCKen city a
favorable field for their development, cannot
be learned. 1t was SAID that tue plague had
its origin in Ethiopia the region now
Including Abyssina, Nubia and the Soudan
and had Travelled thence by Egypt and Asia
Minor to Athens. But its rapid develop
ment in Athens would certainly seem to
suggest that this plague (and probably.
therefore, others depended on surrounding
conditions for its development.
HOW 1T BEGAN.
This pestilential fever began with heats in
the head and inflammation in the eyes
The tongue and throat became bloody and
the breath fetid. Sneezing and heavy
coughing, hiccoughs and spasms marked the
progress of the disease Collie and intense
pain supervened. The skin became red,
ulcers formed here and there, and although
the internal fever was intense tue skin was
cold. Thirst was unqueDchable, and intense
pain rendered sleep impossible. The fate of
the patient was usually decided by or before
the seventh day, death generally closing his
eufferings between the seventh and the
ninth day. Few survived and for a large
proportion of those who did life was worse
chan death, since either they were wholly
crippled or the disease left tt EN- with
inind impaired and memory gone. No
remedy vas found for the disease, and
the helplessness of the physicians caused a
dependency among those who were at
tackled which rendered the mortality largely
greater than ether wise it would probably
have been. But most of those attacked
were left untendeI; for it was found that
few among the attendants on the sick es-
capped, so that only those of lravest and
most generous minds dared the risk of
nursing even those dearest to them. 1t was
impossible, crowded as the beleaguered city
was, to keep the healthy apart from the
sick Hundreds hocked around each of the
public fountains to allay their raging thirst.
The temples were filled with corpses. for
it was impossible to get the dead conveyed
to suitable places of interment.
RELIGION DIES OUT.
At such times of horror, religion, it has
been sometimes thought, should exercise a
more potent sway than usual The reverse,
however, has always happened. In coun-
tries which we call heather or pagan, be-
cause their religion has been unlike our
own, i'll countries which, though christian,
we regard as not of the true faith because
their view of christianity has been unlike
ours, and in countries whose creed has been
that which we ourselves profess, whenever
plague or pestilence has appeared, religion,
except among a very few, has invariably
died out The shallowness of the faith
HllSu HlOSO ilIell nave plbAcSSSu VIII
lips has been shown by the utter disregard
which nearly all have shown for its tenets.
The belief in hereafter has been shown to
be but a mockery with the great majority
OF those who had most confidently ex-
pressed their faith in it,
Whereas the assurance of death should
produce in healthy minds the very reverse
of the idea, Let US eat and drink, for to-
morrow we die"--whether the tomorrow
be fgurative or literal, in time of plague
and pestilence, when all men fell the prob
able nearness of death, aud even where
most confident, are reminded of its GER
tanty at no very distant date, the majority
invariably turn to riotous living. They
seek To fill what remains to them of life
with all the sensual pleasures they can
crowd into it. Thus as in Athens, during the
time of horror so graphically described by
Thucydides, riot and debauchery prevailed
increasingly. Gross dissipation and tumul-
tdous revelry went on in such sort that but
for the signs of denth aud disease every
where prevalent astrangor entering the city
might have imagined that it was time of
Wild rejoicing over some great national trl-
umph. Men committed crimes from which
at other times the fear Of the law would
have deferred them: Tor the law had no ter
rors where nature threatened an earlier
punishment than any legal process could
lniict. As they saw the & cd and Tire bad,
the openly profane and the profe'sedly pious
stricken down iInpartiallg, they lost all
belief in the control of the gods, and there
fore saw no reason 10 deny themselves