The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1915-03-06
TheScarlet
Plague
BY JACK LONDON

francisco. The nrDt death came on .
Monday morning. BY Thursday they
were dying like flies in Oakland and
San Francisco. They died everywhere
lin their beds, at their work. walking
along the street. It was on Tuesday
that saw my first death-Miss Coli
bran, one Of my students. sitting right
there before my eyes. In my lecture
room. noticed her face while ! was
talking. It had suddenly turned scar.
let. ceased speaking and could only
look at her. for the first fear Of the
plague was already on all Of us and We
knew that It had come. The. young
women screamed and ran out of the
room. So did the young men run out.
all but two. Miss Collbran's convui
sions were very mild and lasted less
than minute. One Of the young men
fetched her q glass OF water. She
drank only q little Of 1t. and cried
out:
"MJ feet! All sensation has left
them
+. After minute she said. I have no
feet I am unaware that / have any
feet. And my knees are cold. can
scarcely feel that have knees
"She lay on the floor, bundle Of
notebooks under her head. And we
could do nothing. The coldness and
the numbness crept up past her hips
to her heart, and when 1t reached her
heart she was dead. In fifteen min
lutes, by the clock-I timed it-she was
dead, there, in my own classroom,
ldead. And she was very beautiful,
strong. healthy young woman. And
from the first sign of the plague to her
death only fifteen minutes elapsed.
That will show you how swift was the
Scarlet Death.
yet in those few minutes / re-
manned with the dying woman in my
classroom. the alarm had spread over
the university; and the students, by
thousands. all of them. had deserted
the lecture rooms and laboratories.
When emerged, on my way to make
report to the president Of the faculty,
! found the university deserted. Across
the campus were several stragglers
|hurrying for their homes. Two OF them
were running.
President Hoag ! found in his Of
nee, alone. looking very old andsvery
gray, with a multitude Of wrinkles In
his face that had never seen before.
At the sight Of me. he pulled himself
TO his feet and tottered away to the
inner Office. banging the door after
him and locking 1t. You see. he knew
] had been exposed. and he was afraid.
He shouted to me through the door TO
30 away. shall never forget my feel
ings as ! walked down the silent cor
ridors and out across that deserted
campus. ! was not afraid. I had been
exposed. and looked upon myself as
dead. It was not that, but
feeling Of awful depression that I'm
pressed me. Everything had stopped.
IT was like the end of the world to
me-my world. had been born with
In sight and sound Of the university.
1t had been my predestined career.
My father had been a professor there
before me, and his father before him.
For century and half had this uni
versity, like q splendid machine. been
running steadily on. And now, in an
instant, It had stopped. It was like
seeing the sacred flame die down on
some thrice sacred altar. was
shocked, unutterably shocked.
When l arrived home. my house
keeper, screamed as entered and fed
away. And when I rang, l found the
had likewise fed. ! inves-
tigated. In the kitchen I found the
cook on the point Of departure. But
she screamed. too. and in her haste
dropped suitcase Of her personal be-
longings and ran out Of the house and
across the grounds, stiIl screaming.
l can hear her scream to this day. You
see, we did not act In this way when
ordinary diseases smote us. We were
always calm over such things. and
sent for the doctors and nurses, who
lr"v 'rst What fo 10. Rrt thss wae
different. It struck SO suddenly, ana
killed 60 swiftly, and never missed
stroke. When the scarlet rash ap-
peared on persons face, that person
was marked by death. There was
never q known case Of q recovery.
Il was alone In my big house. AS
have told you often before. in those
days we could talk with one another
over the wires or through the air. The