Man's Mortal Enemies 7 



tively unknown from the 1 6th century to the year 1871, 

 when it broke out in the Chinese province of Yunan-Fu and 

 soon spread to surrounding areas. By 1894, when it reached 

 Hong Kong, it was a serious epidemic, and when it arrived in 

 India it killed six million inhabitants of that country in a 

 period of ten years. 



From India the plague spread to the sea ports of all the 

 continents of the world, and the United States had its first 

 taste of this disease in 1900 when it reached San Francisco. 

 The United States' epidemic of plague spread fear through- 

 out a population that was well aware of what had happened in 

 other parts of the world when plague became established; 

 but the worst fears were not justified. The total number of 

 recorded deaths was only 314, most of which were reported 

 from California although eight other states contributed to the 

 total. Undoubtedly, the number of unreported plague deaths 

 was much greater than the number reported, but even if we 

 allow for these, this epidemic was a far cry from the Black 

 Death of l4th century Europe. Nevertheless, everyone 

 breathed a sigh of relief when, in 1904, there were indica- 

 tions that this outbreak of plague had died out. 



Unfortunately, the United States did not get off as easily 

 as it seemed at the time. Plague is here to stay; and some 

 day, if we are not careful, the black, distorted features of vic- 

 tims of bubonic plague may become commonplace in the 

 cities of America. We will explain this a little more fully 

 later, but first we should tell you how this disease is spread. 



Rats, Fleas, and Plague 



Throughout the centuries that plague ravaged the earth, 

 all efforts to control the spread of the disease were ineffective 



