The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-09-12

A FORMER PEsTILENCE.
How the Cholera Ravaged Cracow
Twenty Years Ago.
SEATTLE. Wash, Aug 10. 1892.
To THE EDITOR: You have doubtless, upon
reading something, meeting somebody, or doing
something. suddenly recalled occurrences that
you have not thought of for yearA Scenes in
which you have participated in your childhood
present themselves with such striking uewness
that you will think it miraculous that things
that you have net thought of for years and that
you could not remember well were you to try
ever so hard, suddenly present themselves as II
they had only occurred yesterday. cannot ex-
plain this apparent phenomenon, NOR do intend
to write an essay upon it
DESIRE however, to give you the benefit OF .
picture that presented itself to me this morn
ing on reading in the Pc sT-INTELLIGENCRR a
dispatch to the effect that President Harrison
issued an order that the government land in
New York harbor be placed at the disposal OF
the health officers for the purpose OF improving
the condition OF and providing healthy lodg-
ment for the unfortunate passengers on board
the various steamers infected with the cholera
As l read that dispatch q transformation took
place within ME. was again Is years of age.
living in q Polish city of 5000 people, where
the cholera was having full sway and where the
ways and means to ameliorate the sufferings of
Its subjects, utilized it's parental prerogative
and took from its children--the citizens
the only means of relief that they had, namely,
ice, wine and vinegar. The sound OF curses
OF the afflicted, anu the knocking laugh of the
parental agents again Jingle in my ears as it did
years ago. cannot continue in this rambling
way. Thoughts crowd themselves upon me
faster than can jot them down. Let me de-
scribe to you my experience with cholera in
1873 in Cracow, in the province OF Galicia- You
will find lessons In that experience that will
cause you to bless God that you live under
humane American republican form of gov.
ernment and not under a tyrsnnical despotism
known as parentalism. For IL is we'll
to bear in mind that while nearly all
European countries are governed by mon
archs none ara real monarchies All have
some democracy In their system; all have
elections, and its citizens apparently think
themselves freemen in some respects at least
But all are cursed with q system OF paternalsm
that reduces all those not directly employed by
the government to slavery. The government
in nearly all of these countries is the largest in.
dividual employer. All 1t cares is to provide
for its large army OF civil and military en-
ployes. 1t has no sympathy with the taxpayer,
and in times of war or pestileuce these govern
ments exert their every force to shield them
selves and those that they employ.
well TO select a delegation to go to Europe and
observe the treatment that patefnal govern
ments give to their citizens, and then compare
1t to the kind and humane effort of this govern
ment giving its own reservation, barracks and
stock OF medicine and corps of doctors to relieve
the suffering of its citizens, and then am sure
they will cease advocating patsrnal forms of
government
A correspondent from St Petersburg tells us
that the people there no longer fear cholera ow-
ing to the fact that they are used to it He is
mistaken. They may not show their dread of
the plague for fear of being Gems ured by the po-
lice, but afraid they certainly are. To the
European cholera is what the floating iceberg is
to the mariner. He fears it all the time.
At the close of the Franco Prussian war in
III the entire European continent feared and
expected cholera To those who have read the
findings of recent scientific research wherein it
is proven that the cholera germs originate in
India aud Persia, and spread from there all
over the world by the great religious pilgrimage
that occurs annually, 1t will seem strange that
the European should connect cholera with war,
yet such is, or at least was, the prevailing I'M
preston there in the '70s. In ~ we heard of
the cholera raging all around US, and in the
spring of '73 it reached Cracow.
Cracow is an ancient capital of Poland and
was ceded to Austria at the final division of
Poland between Prussia, Russia and Austria
1t is located on the left bank of the Vistula.
1t had then q population of about 5000. one
fifth of whom were Jews.
These 1900 Jews nearly all reside on the
Kasimierz The kasimierz is cut off from the
city proper by an arm of the Vistula, and is ap-
proachable by two bridges, one crossing the
main river, and the other crossing the arm of
the river. At that time Cracow had no sanitary
protection. Sewers 1t had none. All sewerage
from the entire city was drained into the arm
of the Vstula that surrounds the Kasimierz on
three sides. ALI water for the entire city is OBJ
tanned from surface wells or by hauling
it in casks from the river. Water
works we're unknown. This island,
named Kasimierz, after a famous Polish
king by that name, 10 not over a
mile and quarter in length. and at no place
over half mile in width. On this small piece
of sandy soil resided over 49, 900 people. Under
these circumstances it is no wonder that the
cholera made its headquarters on the Kasi-
mierz Commencing May, 1873, the cholera
ragged. and ragged fercer every day a. the sum-
mer advanced.
Now what do you imagine this paternal Aus.
trian government did for us? Did 1t take
sanitary measures to check the diseasef Far
from 1t. 1t took the necessary steps to protect
its barracks, but left the cholera and the Kasi-
mierz with its 5000 inhabitants severely alone.
When Austria obtained Cracow il strongly
fortified it, aud keeps there continually about
10000 troops. Cracow is an important strategic
point in the event OF war. It Is only four miles
from the Russian and twelve miles from the
German frontier. As soon as the government
found out that the cholera took possession of
the Kasimierz In dead earnest, killing on an
average thirty people daily, it ordered the Kasi.
mierz Quarantined. A strong military guard
was placed on both bridges and on the banks of
the rivers. We were forbidden to leave the
kasimierz. Bathing in the river that used to
be our greatest pleasure and the only source of
cleanliness was also forbidden. Three DAYS
after quarantine was established two young
Jewish dare-devils took plunge in the river.
The guards on the right bank fired, killing one
boy and wounding the other
With all this precaution the cholera spread,
and soon the entire city, including the garrison,
was in deep mourning. The government cared
little for the suffering of the civilians of the
city-Christians or Jews; it devoted its entire
energy TO its barracks
lee is of greater value to the cholera patient
and nurse than anything else. All the ice then
used was natural ice cut in the winter from the
river. Artificial ice-making was then not
known in Galicia. Nearly the entire ice supply
was stored in cellars on the kasimierz and
owned by Jews. The governor general issued a
requtsition for a much larger quantity of ice
than was to be had in the entire CITY
We argued and begged him not to take
all the ice we had. We were willing to divide,
to do anything that was reasonable, but all to
no avail. The government took every pound OF
ice We had, every gallon of vinegar and every
litre OF wine. The entire barrack was turned
into an ice house. Wine was given freely to the
soldiers daily. while the cholera took a more
terrible grip OF the city day alter day The