ARE WE IN DANGER FROM THE PLAGUE? 583 



way extends from Samarkand, a place of about tliirtj-five thousand 

 inhabitants, through the desert to the Caspian Sea at Ouzoun Ada. 

 The latter place is connected by steamer with Baku and the Russian 

 railroad system. The second overland route starts from the north- 

 western provinces, or Afghanistan, or Baluchistan, passes through 

 Persia, extending on up between the Caspian and Black Seas, and 

 crosses the Caucasus Mountains in the neighborhood of Tiflis. 

 Both of these routes are quite extensively traveled and pass 

 through cities of considerable commercial importance. Samar- 

 kand has extensive manufactures of cotton and silk, and carries on 

 considerable trade by means of the Transcaspian Railway with Eu- 

 ropean Russia. The second route passes through Teheran, the 

 capital of Persia, with a population of about two hundred and 

 twenty-five thousand. This route is also largely employed by com- 

 mercial travelers, especially from Russia. The third overland 

 route passes through Persia and Turkey in Asia up to Constanti- 

 nople. This route can not be called a commercial highway, but it 

 is used to a considerable extent, especially by pilgrims, and since 

 at no point do travelers along this route come in contact with Euro- 

 pean guards against the plague, it is most likely that the pest will 

 find its way into Constantinople by this avenue, if at all. The 

 first two overland routes are guarded by Russian medical inspec- 

 tors. Russia has not been slow to protect itself against the intro- 

 duction of this epidemic. In December, 1896, the following lines 

 of action were determined upon, and have apparently since that 

 time been carried out quite thoroughly: Eirst, Russian medical men 

 were sent to the larger cities of Persia, such as Teheran and Me- 

 shed, for the purpose of watching the approach of the plague. All 

 Russian consular officers in Persia were requested to inform these 

 medical men of every rumor of the epidemic. Second, points of 

 embarkation on the Persian shore of the Caspian Sea have been 

 watched, in order to detect suspicious cases that might pass to Russia 

 along this route. Third, observation stations have been established 

 along the frontiers of the Transcaspian Province. Inspection offi- 

 cers stationed at these places have been notified to close the fron- 

 tier, with the exception of certain points where inspection stations 

 have been established. Fourth, inspectors have also been placed 

 to guard the region of Tiflis against the introduction of the plague 

 from both Persia and Turkey. Eor the reasons above mentioned, 

 it seems to me probable that if the plague reaches Europe, it 

 will likely do so by way of Turkey in Asia, across the Bosporus 

 into Constantinople. The large number of pilgrims passing along 

 this route, with the Turk's well-known fatalistic belief, render it 

 quite probable that infection gathered anywhere along the route 



