El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-09-05
! The BubOnic Plague

The BubOnic Plague |
o>~~> - ~~~~t
"The scourge of the world from time
immemorlal" Is the detnition Of the
sncients for the bubonic plague, and
the history OF the disease shows il &C
be older than the pyramids.
The plague, known also as the black
death, pests bubonica, the Levsniint
the Oriental and the black plague. has
ravaged Europe, Asia and Africa
from time to tine since the beginning
OF the world. In the third century,
b. c., Mantneo, an Egyptian historian,
described awful pestilences which
swept away the lives OF his country
men by thousands. Athens was visited
y It In i39-492, u G, ana more than
one third OF the population perished.
Thucydioes, having in q marvellous
manner survived the disease, described
1t for the benefit of others.
dfppocretes a'eo made mention o. IL
In his wriNngr. Refus Of Ephesus re-
lates the havoc IL wrought in Lyoin
during the third century, &. G., and
reports that it's home was then thought
TO be northern Africa.
A million persons we're destroyed oy
1t In Africa, according to Livy, prior
- 221, B, G..
The Bible, Il ,chsrish xiv:ls, alludes
to the plague ss peculiarly Egyptian
Europe WAS invaded by il during the
sixth century, IL having spread from
Egypt In 542 10 Constantinople, where
u carried off 10, COO people In DAY.
England bemoaned It's dread appear
ance in the seventh century. In she
fourteen tn century is was introduced
from the east. II then prevailed
throughout Asia Minor, Egypt north
ern Africa and Europe. =.
Hecker calculates that oue-fourth OF
Europe's population, or %, OOO, OOO per-
sons became victims of the plague dur
ing this century. The first measures
were then taken to check its progress,
aud In 134S Venice appointed three
guardians OF the public health. All
parts of Europe suffered from It's dead
ly visitstions in the fifteenth century,
and 10 1403 Venice founded the nrst
guarantee station on small Island
near the city. Lyons lost 30 ZOO OF her
people in 1872, and four years later We
nice draped herself IN black because
1000 of her children bed TO the
mysterious mslsdy. Naples lost 5OO,.
plae Ne occurred 10 1864 and 1863 and
In the latter year 1886 lives were
consumed, while t~o-shirds OF the
population fed from the oity. Mar
settles, TouIon, Sicily, Messina were
visited in the eighteenth century, and
Moscow lost $1,000 lives In I'LL.
Greece suffered in 1923 and Egypt sew
eral years later.
Since 1850 the fearful scourge has
oscillsted, now east, now west, between
the Red sea and the Pacific, in China,
India, Arabia, Persia, Mesopotamis,
Russia, AfRoauistan, Tripoli and along
: he Csspia1 sea- Its western limit is
the Canary islands, and lite eastern limit
the Island of Formoss, of the China
coast, where IL now prevails. The
last outbreak on European soil
voIga 10 1878 and 1879. A bale of
cotton carried the Infection into Kobe,
Japan, several years sgo. 10 1899 |
Oporto, Portugal, was terrified by the |
arrival of the plague, W mich accompsoi- |
ed a cargo Of rice from an Infected port
IN India. Rats, dogs, chickens and
cattle are ready victims to tie plague
In October, 1899. Santos, Brazil. was |
visited coon after the arrival of chip |
from Mozambique. On November Is, |
1899. the British steamship j. W. Tsy-
lor from Santos reached the New FORK /
quar- antine station with two cases OF
plsgu on board. One man died at Sea
from the disease. Prompt precautions
were taken with ship, crew and cargo
lulu was visited last Decem Der and the
Chinese quarter wac quarantined.
The plague is defined as an acute
febrile disease of intensely fatal ne ture.
C characterized by Inflammation OF the
Emphatic glands, marked cerebral
and vascular disturbances and the
presence of specific bacillus.
The micro orgauism invsdes the
blood, forming extensive colonies in
the spleen when death IL delayed be-
yOnd the second day. Is Is practically
septicaemis.
Swollen glands attain the size of .
hens egg. Large buboes may form in
d few hours when one has been feeling
In the best of health, although persons
die of the disease without
the appearance of q single affected
gland. There IL a breaking down of
the walls of the capillary blood vessels.
The plague is contracted by incubation
and by introduction into the stomach.
Modern science has found remedies
Tor the disease. Yersin, French ply
sician, used the serum from an immun-
nized horse with success In 1896. Half
kine's proPhylactic is prepared In
Paris and is most efficacicus. The
government has quantities of Ihe.e
remedies on hand ns Washington, and
IN receipt of telegram from local
health officers will forward the am
nunition necessary TO combat the in
Times.