Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1897-02-18
STRICKEN HERDS.

The Cattle of South Africa Threatened
With Extinction.
A disease known as rinderpest, which
takes the form of slow but fatal fever,
has stricken the cattle and has spread to
such an alarming extent it is not thought
now it can be checked until the CONT
nent has been denuded of its herds. It
was brought into Africa, it is believed,
by some of the oxen carried by the Ital
ians to Massaua Mr. Howard, editor
Of the Bulawayo Chronicle, says of it:
"It spread southwark, simply now
ing down in its way all cattle, both wild
and tame. The buffaloes seemed to have
suffered just as heavily as the domesti-
Gated animals kept by the natives. It
touches neither horses, mules, elephants
nor sheep and the carnivora are, of
coarse, exempt They will suffer only
by the diminution of their food supplies.
The rinderpest is still marching south
ward, nor is there any hope that it will
be arrested short of the sea. We did
hope at one time that the great water
way of the Zambezi would check its
march southwark, but it was vain de-
fusion, and all the efforts made to stem
its advance have been fruitless. Of
course this has crippled our transport
immensely and compels us more than
ever to rely upon the railway"
The beginning of this march of an in
exorable scourge was made thus ten
years ago, but for years it did not cause
any general alarm. 1t has ''trickled
along southwark little by little until the
extent of the scourge can be imagined
from this summary of its spread:
THE countries that already have been
swept are Zambezi, Bechuanaland,
South African Republic, Rhodesia,
Orange Free State, Zululand, Natal, all
the German and Portuguese possessions
in east and west Africa, and now Cape
Colony, the southernmost country, is
being devastated. Millions and millions
of cattle have died, and south of the
Zambezi river alone 1, $50, 900 square
miles Of country have been attacked -
In Cape Colony it is estimated there
are 100000 cattle, and it is not ex-
pected more than per cent can be saved.
The immediate effect of this absolute
humiliation of cattle will be to leave
the people impoverished. Most of the
natives depend on the cattle for beef,
their chief food and the only meat avail
able, and on the draft oxen for means
of transport With the cattle gone,
meager supply of cereals will be left as
the only means of sustenance, while,
owing to the few railroads, the means Of
moving even this produce will also be
taken away. The worst phase of the sit
uation is its absolute hopelessness.
The farming industry will be killed
temporarily by this devastation. F. R.
Thompson, a pioneer of Matabeleland
and member of the legislature of the
Cape, prophesies that the scourge will
drive into the cities the thousands of
people "who own small farms with so
head of cattle" and will force them into
trades to make living. But the ulti-
mate effect on the farming industry of
the continent, an effect that may not be
developed for many years, should be
wholesome. The 'shalf nomad popula-
ton, which has been devoted to idleness
and soldering" in merely tending the
herds of cattle, will be forced into agri-
cultural pursuits in order to live.
The disease is not new one. 1t APP
peared first to be recognized in England
in 1715, later in 1745, and again in
1866, when determined effort was
made to stamp it out at cost of $780,
600, 900. The protective measures then
taken were so radical that the scourge
succumbed, but the inquiry that follow
ed to determine the nature, origin and
proper method Of treating the disease
was practically fruitless. Professor
Koch, the German meteorological spe-
cialist, is now in South Africa studying
the disease in the hope of discovering it's
germ. The most he expects is to provide
a protection against outbreaks in the
future. He regards the cattle of South
Africa as doomed.