The Black range. (Robinson, Socorro County, N.M.) 1882-1897, 1894-05-25
THE BLACK DEATH
Rearpeerarco Of a Terrible Scourge
in Turkcstan.
Somo Of the RavaEes OF tho Dread Dis
ease-The Trichtful Mortality Con-
seqrent Upon Its visits to
Eur pc.

Recent advices from Turkestan telr
Of the outbreak there of the black
death in n very virulent form, some
thirteen hundred people dying of the
disease in small town inside of six
days. The black death, says the New
York Sun, is an unfamiaar name TO.
modern times, but in the middle ages.
it was current term, never spoken
without q sense of horror. 1t passed
under different names ut times, such as
the 'grcat DEATH" the "bubo plague"
the. plague and, indeed, it was the
p'aguc Of the Gncicnts. 1t was the
r'ague of the time Of Trajan and was
first mentioned historically by the phy-
aieian Rufus, CT Ephesus, and for 1000
years it has paid periodical visits, chief
ly to Mediterranean shores. In the
tourtecnth century it extended all over
lGuropc and the mortality was fright
fpl, fully 25,0UO,o00 of people having
succunbcd to the scourge, while at the
same time in the east 2S,00O, 900 and in
China 13,00o.000 pcrishcd. In 1856 some
3o0,ba0 people were carried off in five
months by the plaguc in Naples. Lon
don had been visited many times by
the disease, when what is known as
tho great plague of London" pre-
vailed in 1854, and about one-slxth of
the population of the city was carried
OIL In Touion in 1921 one-third of the
population pcnshed.
Almost the last appearance of the
black death in Europe was in 1S4O and
ls41, in Turkey and Da.matia. 1t has
never appeared in the United States.
Our first accurate knowledge of the
scourgo dates from its prevalence in
! Egypt from 1898 to 1S45, where it was
studied by European physicians as care
fully as could be done with the restrict
Cd pathological teachings of that time.
Since then there have been outbreaks
in lralS on the Euphrates in 1867 and in
1878, in 1876 at lIaEdad, in 1877 at other
points on the Tigrls, and again in 1884
in the same parts of M~sopotamia. In
1878 Eur pc was thrown into panic by
the appea. ance of the plague, on the
| biuhS vi tllCfN DtlI IL Wuo Hill III
character, and died out spontaneously
| in q short time. The various govern
ments sent commissions to the spot to
study and report upon the disorder, but
it had quite disappeared when the
commissioners arrived, and consequent
ly our scientific knowledge of the disor-
der was not increased.
We knew it to be the most fatal of
| all epidemic diseases. The mortality
varies from sixty to ninety per cent. of
those alta. 9cd and OCCASIONALLY every
person AFFECTED hes. Not only human
beings suAcr, but rats, eats, dogs, cat
tic and other animals bernmc victims
to the pcsti.encc. 1t is undoubt btedly an
| ccute infcctlouo disease, caused by some
2lcro organlsLl which has unusually
ma, Fnant prociivites, and which null
tiplics with cnorn"us rapidity within
tho body. Death sometimes takes place
in very few hours. Among the symp-
toms which have contributed TO its vari-
ous designations are Enlargement and
suppuration of glands and the forrna-
tion Of carbuncies, whence the name
"bubo-plaCuc;'' and hemoThagic spots
/ and pctcchiCo under the SKIN, rendering
the body quite dark or black, whence
tho orlglrl of the phrase ''blacls death"
| Like thcf chaera and smallpox and
several other contagious diseases, it
haunts the habitations of the poor, the
shiftless, and the squalid. Modern
civilization in Europe, with its i'm
proved sanitation of rities and perfected
water supply, has gradually cradicated
most of tho cpiuemlcS that so ravaged
medieval peoples, but pcstilence still
fingers among the Oricntals, where
everything it demands for its Gusten-
ance and pcrpctuationi is furnished with
prodigal libcrality; foul water, decay
ing.food, vile habits, filthy houses, un-
clean vc3tnents, and streets rocking
with garbage anil oTal. So long as
those conditions persist, and unhappily
they do persist oven under the foster.
ing care of European governments
having control in thcsc regions. SO long
will the cast be q constant menace to
the health Of civilized mankind While
it is hardly probable that the black
death will ever again visit Europe in
form so calamtous as formerly, still
conditions might at some time become
SO favorable for the growth and prop
ayation OF its germ that it might
cause great havoc in certain continental
citic3 such oe hstral5han. Constan-
tlnoplc, aad the like where sanitation
is scarcely known even by name.