Durango semi-weekly herald., 1904-04-11
EVE BURIED IN JIoDAH.
William e. Curtis Tells Story of Port
for Mecca in Moslem Writ.
BY William E. Curtis.
Special Correspondence of The Chica-
go Record Herald.

ALDEN. Arabia. Jan l9.-HaIf way
down the Red Sea. on the Arabian
coast. is the port of Jiddah. where the
pilgrims for Mecca, who come by sea,
land. II is distane about 60 miles
from the sacred city of the Mohamme-
dams. has population OF about 90
600, an imposing and attractive ap-
pearance from the sea and Is surround
ed by funny looking Dutch windmills.
which pump water from the artesian
basin under the sand. But the mo-
ment You land on the shore the illus
row. dirty and full of ali kinds of
smells, while the population Is made
up of human cOrmorants who fatten
of the pilgrims Since the opening
Of the Suez canal the town has in
creased considerably in Importance.
because 1t is so much easier for pill
grims TO come by steamer from all
parts of Turkey India and other Mo
hammedan countries than to cross the
desert in caravans. which was the
custom for centuries The number
and the size of the caravans are de-
creasing every year. while the number
who come by sea is growing rapidly.
There is no difference in the efficacy
OF the journey. although one would
argue that man who has Travelled a
thousand miles over a burning desert
ought to be entitled to greater credit
than one who makes a similar distance
upon a steamer
The sacrifice of life that has always
attended the Mecca pilgrimages also
is growing less every year, Former
ly thousands starved and died of dis
ease and exhaustion during the des-
ert journey. and some times an cpl
demic would sweep away every soul
in the caravan. OF late years snni-
tary regulations have been established.
which. strange to say. are in charge
Of medical officers educated at the
American Presbyterian College at
Beirut The influence of Germany
and other foreign nations induced the
sultan OF Turkey to adopt sanitary re-
forms which are very well enforced.
so that nowadays epidemics seldom
occur at Mecca, although the mortal.
lty issstill large. Formerly the Holy
City. which is to the Mohammedans
what Jerusalem is to the Jews and
Benares to the Hindu, was hotbed
of contagious diseases. which the pill
srims distributed in every direction.
but that no longer occurs Every car
avan and vessel is required to under
go ten days quarantine before tho
passengers are allowed TO proceed to
Mecca. and medical inspection of
pilgrims takes place while they are
there. so that the presence of conta-
gious or infectious diseases is prompt
ly discovered. and infected persons
are not allowed to leave until they
have been quarantIned and their bag
gage properly fumigated.
The regulations can be strictly en-
forced with vessels and contagion is
not often carried about that way, but
it is impossible to control travellers
by land. and the plaques that ragged
in Syria and Palestine last year and
the year before were traced directly
W piiti iihN NJ tathp'h hiAt fAkolAhba'
of the sanitary officers at Mecca and
reached GAIA, the old city of Samson
In Palestine with the germs of the dis
ease. However strict the quarantine
officers may be Jiddah is so thorough
ly saturated with pestilence and every
inch OF It's surface inside and out is
so thickly encrusted with microbes
and germs and filth that total destruc-
ton by fire would be the only effective
way of cleaning It, The people live
by fleeing pilgrims. and there are
said to be many rich residents who
have made fortunes by selling sup
plies, changing money and furnishing
them transportation.
According to the Official reports OF
the sanitary officers, the number of
pilgrims entering Mecca has been
very mucn exaggerated, and instead
OF a million or more 1t is asserted that
tie annual average less than hun