Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1900-06-18

Egyptian Philosophers Wrote of 1t.
Has Killed ON Hundreds of Thou
sands-Its Ravages In the East.
characteristics of the Disease.
For the first time in it's history the
bubonic plague has invaded the west
| ern hemisphere. Since March last
several cases have been discovered in
San Francisco, all of them, however
confined to Asiatics. Such prompt
measures have been taken, however,
by Surgeon General Wyman of the ma
| rine hospital service and his corps of
I assistants on the coast that there is
little danger of the dread disease
/ spreading, says the Washington Post.
/ In eastern countries. for hundreds of
/ years, whenever the plague made its
| appearance the number of deaths re-
! sulting was appalling, thousands and
| hundreds of thousands having been
swept away by il. IT is only within
the past few years that medical sci
| ence has discovered anything like a
| successful treatment for the malady.
BubOnic plague at different periods
has ravaged the several countries of
Africa, Asia and Europe almost from
the subject is appalling. a mere emu
meration Of the titles and the authors
upon the disease covering 40 pages,
royal quarto size, of the index cata-
logue in the library of the surgeon gen.
eral of the army, and there are hun
dreds of others recorded in the Index
Medicus.' ManethO, the Egyptian his
torian who lived at the beginning of
the third century Z. c., described pes
tilences. supposed to have been the bu-
bonic plague, as having occurred in the
reigns of the most ancient kings of the
Nile land. The malady prevailed in
Athens in 434-429 Il. G. Thucydides
had the disease and wrote n descrip-
ton Of it, and it was also noted by Hip
pocIates. 1t is said that the Greek me
trOpolis at the time of the scouree lost
more than one-third Of her popuIat ton
by it.
According to Rufus of Ephesus, the
plague prevailed in Lydia in the third
century Il. c., and its home was con-
sidered to be in the north of Africa.
The great plague described by Livy,
who died 221 Z. c., is said to have
destroyed 100000 persons in Africa,
but it is not mentioned that it passed
to European countries. The plague is
also alluded to in the Bible Zechariah
XIV, IS. as peculiarly Egyptian, of which
country the disease has been the great
scOurGe.
In the Christian era it was not until
the sixth century that the plague was
reported in Europe. In $40 ii spread
over Egypt and from there to COnstan
tinople, where it carried off 10000 in n
single day. In the same century il
passed over into Italy and extended
along the northern coast of Africa. In
the seventh century it appeared in
England. Seven hundred years later
plague was introduced from the east
and prevailed throughout Armenia,
Asia Minor, Egypt, northern Africa
and nearly the whole of Europe. Heck
er has calculated that one-fourth OF the
population of Europe, or 25,OO0.O00 per-
sons, died in all Of the epidemics of the
fourteenth century. 1t was during this
time that the first recorded measures
of importance were taken to check the
spread of the deadly disease. Venice
was the city to take the first step in
this direction by appointing in 134S
three guardians of the public health
for this purpose.
Again in the fifteenth century bu-
bonie made its appearance in Europe.
and in the year 14GG more than 10000
persons died of il. The first Quaran-
tine against 1t was established by Ven
ice in 1903 ON n small island adjoining
the city. Nearly 10 years later plague
carried off in one year 10000 persons
in Lyons and 10000 in Venice. During
the seventeenth century there were
fewer plague epidemics recorded than
during the middle ages, notwithstand-
ing in 1856 one of the most destructive
OF all epidemics occurred in Naples.
Within n period of five months, IL is
said. no less than 100000 persons sue
cumbed 10 the malady. In 166i-5
ragged the great plague Of London, and
the total number of deaths in the latter
year. according to the bills of mortal
ity, was IS 596 in an estimated popula-
ton Of 100000, out of whom two-thirds
are supposed to have fed to escape con-
tagion-
In the eighteenth century the plague
prevailed extensively in Europe, the
most notable epidemic being in Mar
settles in 1920. when from 10000 to
GO.OOO persons were carried of by it.
During the following year it appeared
at Toulon. and spread over Provence,
and out OF n population of 10000 il Is
said that more than $1,000 died. Sicily
was visited in 1743. where the NOR
tally was upward of 10000. Moscow
received touch of the scourge in III,
and one-quarter of the population, or
1000. met death by reason of it. The
nineteenth century has been marked |
by 4 recession of the plague toward the |
east. although in 1915 1t appeared on
the eastern coast of Italy. but was
confined 10 n small district. and HIS
never since returned. An isolated cpl |
demic occurred in Greece in 1923.
During tie next two decades Egypt !
was again visited. but since 1S45 il has |