Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-09-27
Where Cholera proods.

plorer, makes some revelations concern ing cholera that are calculated to make | civilization's hair stand on end. It is his conviction after careful investigation on ! the spot that cholera originates in Mecca ! itself and in the valley of Muna, and mo- l where else. The testimony of Sir Rich ] ard Burton, likewise of the German trav- . eler Won Maltzan. who visited Mecca 80 1 years ago during one of the pilgrimages, is corroborative in every respect of Rohlfs' opinion.
 The cholera is caused partly by the ! observance of a custom that began, put ting it exactly, March 9, 6Ss. That day, coming into the vale of Muna at the head of his followers, the prophet Mo hammed sacrificed with his own hands 63 camels-one for every year of his life. His followers numbered 100000, and each of these killed a camel or some other animal, SD the story goes that 100000 dumb creatures were thus sacrificed in honor of Mohammed's sixty-third birth day. Whether this story Is literally true Dr not, certain it is that every year n large number of sheep and camels are slain in
 
 pilgrims to Mecca. The earth becomes sea of blood. Sir Richard Burton writes that once when in this vicinity he made all possible haste to get out of the presidential valley, as the stench was something awful. Between 5000 and 5000 animals were thus sacrificed with in Burton's knowledge.
 This h,r,-iI ,-it, hos ,,pNx- i,aa,, ally celebrated upon the same blood soaked earth for l.26O years. To this must bc added two almost equally dis turbiug facts. One is that the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from the fringe of north Africa, from Arabia and else where never change their underclothing 1 from the time they set out till their re- l turn. The pilgrims from the north l African coast journey to Mecca in steamers that are dangerously over crowded. Thtrc is no one to interfere and prescribe tu the captain the number : of pilgrims he shall carry on their "holy' mission. Disease and death arc conse- quently rampant upon even these ships. Your Mohammcdan has a deadly horror of being buried at sea. Consequently the corpses of those who die on ship low decks till the pilgrims return homo, when thcr, k a big funeral.
 Won MaltZan saw an army of pilgrims perform the terrible sacriticial rite in the vale of Muna. The crowd numbered 10,O00 people. At their head was the cadi of Mecca. The cadi held n live sheep, painted in gaudy colors. At a given signal the cadi turned the sheep's head toward the house of the prophet and cut its throat. About third of the pill grims were provided likewise with sheep, and they immediately slaughtered them in a similar manner. Won Malt gan writes, The sight was so horrible that l fled from the place and returned to Mecca" Perhaps Mir. Webb, who is trying Ia convert the American people to the holy, peaceful and c!eanly Moslem religion. will ,>llain these facts to Us.
 At any ralc. the Turk and his follow ,.r~ are uuSlcakahle in moro ways than one. C!vilI-,d nations ought for their own pyutv,U lion to risr and suppress these mNnslruus Iil%GiInaSvs. Cholera always breaks out among thv pilgrims. ltwould be q miracle Were II otherwise. The con- ditions are aggravated by the fact that the visit to Mecca Is made during the hot months. All the faithful cannot get into the vale of Muna at once. Tens of thousands camp upon the border and breed pestilcucr; then they go away and trail it over the world.
 Of the 5000 deluded wretches that left Tuuis and neighboring ports in May last, only half returned. The rest died of cholera. At the so called Sacred Mount where the hosts assemble to hear sol emn address before visiting the birth place and shrine of the prophet there were 100, ,oO0 persons June 2+. Many of them wero starving, and hundreds had died of cholera. while hundreds of others were dying Worst of all, aid could not be secured 10 bury the corpses. Finally a battalion of 100 Turkish soldiers went to this charnel house to put the dead under ground. Five hundred of these soldiers themselves died of cholera.
 Thcsc facts a-e not pleasant but ;t !c
 time civilized people woro mado ac-
 quaintcd with them. Imagination can
 picture nothing moro awful or loath
 some than these pilgrimages. Down
 with them, even if to stop them th,
 Turk must b,' cxterminated. Europt , and America should unite and suppreS:
 them with an iron hand.
 The people of the United States expect
 the members of the national guard il
 the 44 states composing this Union to bt gentlemen, conducting themselves a:
 such at home and away from home | yl