Graham guardian. [volume] (Safford, Ariz.) 1895-1923, 1911-11-03

two words have served 70 sci
<terror stalking abroad in Eng
land they have been these. the
graphic title Of 4 dread pesu-
lence. The word ''plague" has some
how come to be identified almost sole
ly with the great plague Of 1865. pos
sibly by reason Of the many records
and histories Of that particular vista
tion. Yet for hundreds Of years the
plague paid England periodical visits
coming from no one anew where.
For century. perhaps. the country
would 60 ffee The plague might be
heard of In other countries. now IN
the east, now threatening so near rs
Amsterdam. And then. when the PEG.
pie had come to feel safe, suddenly
there would come the pestilence.
striking down It's thousands.
plaques First Visit 70 Britain.
OF the first visitation of the black
death in 1348 many terrible things are
related. It broke out In Dorsetshire
in August of that year. From there
II moved on to Bristol and Gloucester
shire. Then It made a sudden ap-
pearance In Oxfordshire. From there
the infection was carried to London.
and. while that city was busy with the
burying of its dead. the black death
was sweeping its way almost over the
entire country.
Il is curious to note In connection
with the recent outbreak In Suffolk
that It was the eastern counties which.
after London, suffered most severely
from the visitation. The parsons Of
more than 500 parishes In East Anglia
were counted among the Victims. and
In some cases these clergy had to be
replaced not once. but two or three
times Nineteen OF the religious
houses in Norfolk and Suffolk lost
their abbots and priors.
Appalling az these figures may be.
they are as nothing to the toll taken
by the black death from the inhabit-
ants OF London. Details Of that time
Of terror are sparse enough. but such
records as exist tell q grim story.
Stow. In his Chronicle" says that
the pestilence $50 waste the people
that scarce the tenth person Of all
sorts was left alive. and churchyards
were not sufflcient to receive the
dead" Still more startling figures
were set down by the same chronicler.
and be states that more than $4,000
bodies were buried In one piece OF
ground. bought for the purpose by one
Sir Walter Nanny. In Spittle Croft.
now known as the Charterhouse.
The number. no doubt was exag-
gerated. Indeed. such death roll
would Almost have depopulated Lon
don: but 1t is likely enough that one
third OF the population OF the whole
country were carried on by the pesti-
lence.
Four Scourges In f4th Century.
After that first visit four more out
breaks Of plague swelled the tables Of
mortality during the fourteenth CEN
fury Between 1880 and l440 1t came
again four times. and there were two
or three more epidemics before the
great plague Of 1865
With these ,curring visitations
some measures OF precaution came
into use. In its earlier stages the
plague probably had much - own
way. Such records as exist portray
little but a prevalent state Of panic,
and the chronicles reveal nothing of
any attempt to stem the pestilence.
II was not until i543 that there is
any evidence of an organized attempt
to prevent the spreading OF the infec-
ton. The first plague order was Is
sued in that year. among other things
a forty days quarantine for any house
where there was case of nlague.
Those of independent means should
keep within doors for one month after
recovery from plague. Others who
could not live without their daily Ia,
Dor should refrain as much as possible
from going abroad. and FIR forty days.
when out and abroad. had to carry
white wand two feet long in their
hands.
Even in those early days the posi-.
bility of infection from animals was
realized. although there lie no evidence
of any campaign against rats II was
against domestic animals that precau'
tions were directed most severely. no
dogs evidently were regarded as
source of danger One part OF the
plague order reads:
THAT all persons having any dogs
In their house. other than hounds.
spaniels or mastiffs. necessary for the
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