Morning journal and courier., 1893-10-04
Riding Into a Cholera camp

tFrom Edwin Lord Weeks Paper in Harper's
for octobsr.l
August 20, near Msyun.-To-dsy we sre
to reach Tabreez, which lies somewhere
between the dark olivs-tinted line of lite
surrounding gardens, barely visible at
times from some high point of the pls-
teau. The last night of the journey,
twenty-nine days from Trebizond, Is passed
near a small caravansary. There hss been
much loss of time the road, and at twI-
light there was siill no sign of the cara
that 1t was but twenty minutes further on.
One of cur mep, q filthy and untruthful
old reproba:e, who had intrigued at every
village to raise the prices of provisions
which we purchased, and whose brain was
forever weaving plots TO extract from us
the balance of the contract money before
arriving at Tabretz, had been taken Ill on
the rosd. Ii was impossible TO ascertain
the nature of his mslsdy. Some of the
men believed 1t 10 be cholera, others the
result of exc osesivs indulgence in opium.
Meanwhile there he lay, an unsightly
writhiDg heap of rugs on cur baggage un-
der the canvas of the cart. There was no
other place to stow him, and bis compatri-
OTIS had refused TO take him In at any Of
the villages along the road, so that We
could Ouly hope most devoutly that his
disease wSs not con,sgiC Cu-. AS he seemed
to b. at the point Of death, aud darkness
was rapidly coming one, %e gave the order
to hslt By the road side
The Persisn ARABIA kept on, deserting Us
for the hrst time, and In the morning We
c 1nld see that they were right; the cara
vanssry was just In sight An irrigation
chanrel of running water passed the tent
Its banks were steep and muddy, and the
wafer, decidedly brAckish ia favor, was
neither clear nor inviting, but no other
water was to be had; 50 We filtered enough
to fill the ssmnvaE. Even filtered aud
boiled 1t was still nsuseCus. and we
queuched our thirst with the cool ja'cs Of
the melon. We bad reason to repent of
our intempersrcs before morning, and
were feeling strangely III at ease when we
mounted our horses a. sunrise Tabretz
was but tso hours further On. We forded
| e river crossed by bridge which was un
/ ssfe for the ARABIA, and were sSOn among
| the outlying Eillsges and gardens. From
| this point the GU tom house Is sn hour
| further on, and when We halt 10 front Of
/ 1t the officials come out sud inrist that the
| ARABIA shall be driven in'c the court yard.
/ This we are inclined to Oppose. but Arte.
/ mis, as usuAl, falls to saoW the Necessary
decision, aud while We are still disc1ssing Z
the matter the driver whips mp hls horse.
and drives through the gate.
| Once inside Se are Informed that 81 Il
Friday. that the heAdm-n have gone to
the mcsqae, aud that We canuJt have ouG
baggage until the following day We
then decide To hnd the consul aud appeal
/ to his authority. The EaroPesu quarter
Is q long way of, AID when ~ rrsch IL
we fiud only mud wslls, dusty hUlloWs
strewn with ruius and streets full of hClss
and pitfalls. A few well built gsteWsys
open here aud there into gsrdens half hid
/ den by brick walls, above which tower
pale green poPlars. This quarter seems
| even more lifelses and mslAncholy than
/ the rest of the towD. The consular resi-
i dence is closed; 80 too are the houses of
other Europeans to whom we have letters
We begin TO regret our tent, and the pros
pect of finding shelter is not promitipg.
The midday sun is getting hotter and the
i dry wind ralseI clouds of dust.
With feeling of relief we meet q Eu-
ropean standing at the gate of his house;
he ia clad all Ia white, helmet aud duck
suft. He proves 70 be q young Austrian,
and In a few words of French he explains
the mystery of the situation. The cholera
is raging: there have been many thousand
deaths; and although 1t is rumored thsi
the worst is over and that the numbers
have begun to diminish, It is stiil impossi,
bic 20 obtain any reliable figures. The
large European colony, with the exception
of q few individuals, has left the city, and
has taken refuge in the Villages on the
slopes of the Sahend mountains. The
great bazaars, the most extensive sad pop
ulous In all Persia, are almost empty, and
the few European shops are closed This,
then, was the reason OF the empty streets
and the hurried funeral PROFESSIONS which
we had encountered on the road. AL
though we had made this long detour Il
avoid tho infected Russian provinces, W;
have ridden straight into q cholera trap.