Smyrna times., 1892-09-28
CHOLERAlS BREEDING PLACE.

- Il. mOuuLlOFu, emplOyou III Juo
British Indian service, and stationed
at Delhi, where he has resided for 1S |
years, is now visiting friends in Boston |
on a leave of absence from his official |
duties. Mr.. Mountford is a very |
intelligent, highly educated and thor
oughly well-informed gentleman, who
is familiar with life in India. He gives
some information regarding the chOl-
era and the causes producing it, which
is of special interest at this particular
time He has been twice stricken by
the disease, and was once given up for
dead and prepared for burial, but be
revived.
The actual epidemic OfchOlera the
Asiatic type always starts at Hurdwar,
says Mr. Mountford never in China
or elsewhere in India. In the first
place, Hurdwar is the greatest resort
of religious devotees in all India, ex-
cepting Allaband, a name better known
to Western people. There are three
series of festivals at this city, occurring
one annually, one every five years,
and one other, the greatest, every IL
years. To this place there resort the
various castles of India, not by thous-
ands, but by millions. The number
annually present during the bathing
season, is upward of 5,0OO,O 900 at the
opening of spring, about the month of
April, and the religious season contin-
ues five weeks. This year was one of
the FIVE year festivals, and some 90
100000 were present. The twelve
year period brings from one third to
one-fourth the population of India-or
about 100000 probably the larg-
est congregation ever gathered.
To explain why the great gatherings
are held, it must be remembered that
the Ganges is the sacred river of the
Brahmin people, and that its waters
are supposed to wash away sim Hurd-
war is the furthest point up which the
pOpulace can 60 before the Himalayas
are reached. Just above the city is a
cleft in the rocky wall, whence issues
the mighty river, and this cleft is but
a few feet wide.
The cause of the Asiatic cholera is
the uncleanliuess the people. There
are no sewers, and although the British
, Government has tried to remedy this
by digging sewers, it has been of no
) avail. There are no sanitary arrange
ments, and, as a consequence. this place
1000 or 5000 years old-is a great
cesspool.
. The present epidemic broke out
when the millions were assembling,
during the last week in March. 1t
3 reached Delhi the I'd day of April. On
the third day there were 900 deaths!
I From Hurdwar and Delhi the chol-
! era spread in two ways, first, by the
railroad, which connects Hurdwar
with other localities, and second and
more irresistbly, by the Ganges
g whose waters carry the germs of the
, disease far and wide. Tins, in a
= month, the plague extended over
/ India, and in two and half months ia
, Cashmere and Persia
Other features of Mr.. Mountford's
statement are worthy Of attention
He thinks that the presidents procla
nation of twenty days quarantine i.
= not sufficient, as it is known that chol
q era germs retain vitality from thre,
s weeks 70 forty days and he is OF tn,
, opinion that there should be forty dayi
: of exclusion without distinction o
cabin or steerage passengers-al
IS should be kept out until the danger il
II past.
u There seems to be little hope o
d stopping the disease at its source. TIL,
a principal causes of cholera are tn,
d filthy habits of the millions VIII,
gather at Hurdwar on religious pill
=" grimages, the change of climate, expos
r. ing to sudden sickness, the decayin
" sacrifices offered during the exercises
y and the utter lack of sanitary precau
tiOns. The British Government i
-e pOwerless to abolish the nuisance. 70
any attempt to do so would result in
l. rebellion by the fanatical natives, wit
III worse horrors than those which attend
'e ed the SepOy outbreak of 1856.
8. Such being the situation, it is plai
SO that the only recourse of countrie
lr wishing to avoid the pest
e" lence, is to employ every means posi-
er BILE to bar out the epidemic. 1t is clea
that the United States is warranted il
~ imposing the severest quarantiu
1T restrictions, but also would be justifie
IS in prohibiting, temporarily at least
the immigration which is the mai
ss agency for spreading the disease.