The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1894-07-10

contents of the sewers. There may
Toe something in this, for il is fact
that none of the European residents
of Canton or Hongkong has been at
tackled by the plague, which is en-
! tirely confined to the Chinese. Nor
in one hospital where over 400 pa
| tients lay, 500 Of whom died in a few
hours, We're any of the attendants at
| tackled. i myself saw, however, one
case of European being carr ed off
| by an exactly similar plague in Pax
| hir in 1857, when the Chinese there
were dying at the rate of over 100
day This man lived as Chinese.
! dwelling among them and eating
| their food. So far as can learn this
| is the only instance on record CT the
| bubonic plague in Pakhir, Canton or
Hongkong affecting others than ma
| tives.
BY June on one small street i'm
| Canton out of a population Of lSO only
| forty were LETT alive. Whole families
had been carried of in many districts.
| Even the thieves who went to rob the
| houses of the dead were in many in
| stances carried off by death before
| they could escape with their plunder,
and the native doctors were found
dead in their sedan chairs as they
were being carried to see their pa
! tients.
THE PESTILENCE REACHES HONG
KONG.
The plague seems to have reached
Hongkong about June s, aud on the
| 10th about forty deaths day were
recorded in one small district called
| Tinpingshan, and since then the NOR
| tallty has been somewhat checked
by the exertions of the sanitary au-
| thorities, but at the time of writing
| there are from thirty 90 forty deaths
| day In the COLONY, being about 90
| per cent. of those attacked. Hong
| kong, too, has been suffering from
want of rain, and the great reservoirs
! recently erected at vast expense at
| Tytam were almost empty on Mon
| day last, the inhabitants of the colony
| being put on very short allowance,
! and no water being available to flush
! the drains, which in many parts OF
| the colony were in a filthy condition.
PRECAUTIONS AT HoNGKoNG.
/ Indeed, from a sanitary point Of
view, in the more crowded parts OF
Hongkong, where the Chinese are
| packed more densely than any other
| human beings could bear, the sur
| rouudings are very little better than
! at Canton. And the same may be
said of many parts Of shanghai at
| this port steps are being taken TO
| guard against the plague being car
| ried in from Hongkong, but as we
! have abundance of fresh water at our
docks and have lately had exceeding
ly heavy rains it is not likely that
the pestilence will visit us, though
! there is always the danger of simi-
| lar visitatioDs wherever a large
| Chinese population herds together.
| Nothing can change their filthy hab-
its, and no being is strong enough TO
induce them to observe the most rud-
| imentary sanitary laws. This fact
should not be lost sight of by those
who would allow the Chinese into
America without restrictions, and who
foolishly think that they can be made
to conform with any regulations for
their own or the public safety. Since
yesterday morning, j am advised by
telegraph, heavy rains have fallen IN
| Hongkong, and the authorities there
are in hopes of the plague abating-
WHAT THE DOCTORS SAY.
On the 11th inst, at meeting OF
the sanitary board, number of pa
pers in reference to the pestilential
disease We're submitted. Tie captain
superintendent of police, on April 26i
reported the appearance Of the disease
at Canton, and in order TO ascertain
what precautionary measures should
be taken, ii was submitted 10 the
colonial surgeon, DIR. AyTes, who
communicai ed with ths consul at Can
ton and received in reply report from
Or. Rennie, dated April 2S. In this
the sym ptOms were described as fol-
lows
| "With or without premoni;ory warn
ing in the shape of malaise or chill
/ there Is sudden onset of fever, rising
to lO5 or over. There is much head
| ache and cerebral disturbance, accom-
| panied by stupor. In from twelve 10
twenty-four hours a glandular swell
| ing occurs in the neck, armpit or
groin, rapidly enlarging TO the size of
| fowls egg. 1t Is hard and exceed
| ingly tender. With or without a de-
| cline of the fever the patient silks
! deeper into the condition OF coma and
dies, usually at the end of forty-eight
| hours or sooner. II six days are
| reached recovery is hopeful. The
| glandular swelling shows no signs OF
| suppuration. In some cases epistaXis
| or vomiting of blood occurs; petech-
| lac appear in few, but no regular erup-
| tion Such are, briefly the symptoms
| at the beginning Of the disease" The
! report was communicated 10 the colon
| ial surgeon, as well as 10 the sanitary
| board, and precautionary measures,
| in the way of flushing drains, etc,
were advised
On the 10Th inst. the colonial sur
| geon and the acting superintendent OF
| the civil hospital reported that there
were twenty cases in one ward al the
| Tung Wah hospital; that there had
| been several deaths from tn disease;
that there would be more within the
! next tweuty-four hours, and advising
| the isolation OF persons attacked.
DUE TO POVERTY And FILTH.
During the discussion which fol-
! lowed the presentation of these docu-
| ments, the colonial surgeon said the
| disease was one entirely of poverty
| and filth hut fhore WIS no nareSsitY