104 History of Animal Plagues. 



and they became emaciated and weak, and after a few days died. 

 Then this fearful pest rushed onwards in its terrific course 

 through the whole world, and raged against miserable man in 

 a most deadly manner/ ^ 



At Rome, at the same time as mankind, cats and dogs, 

 fowls, and all other animals, became sick and died.^ At Gaza, 

 23,coo people and most of the animals were carried off in less 

 than six weeks.^ 'As it (the Sorte Diod) advanced, not only 

 men but animals fell sick and shortly expired, if they had touched 

 things belonging to the diseased or dead. Thus Boccaccio him- 

 self saw, at Florence, two hogs on the rags of a person who had 

 died of plague, and which, after staggering about for a short time, 

 fell down dead, as if they had taken poison. ' What gave the 

 more virulence to this plague was that, by being communicated 

 from the sick to the hale, it spread daily, like fire when it comes in 

 contact with large masses of combustibles. Nor was it caught only 

 by conversing with or coming near the sick, but even by touching 

 their clothes, or anything that they had before touched. It is 

 wonderful what I am going to mention, and had I not seen it 

 with my own eyes, and were there not many witnesses to attest 

 it beside myself, I should never venture to relate it, however 

 w^orthy it were of belief. Such, I say, was the quality of the 

 pestilential matter, as to pass not only from man to man, but, 

 what is more strange, it has been often known that anything 

 belonging to the infected, if touched by other creatures, would 

 certainly infect, and even kill, that creature in a short space of 

 time. One instance of this kind I took particular notice of. 

 The rags of a poor man just dead had been thrown into the 

 street; two hogs came up, and after rooting about amongst 

 these rags, and shaking them about in their mouths, in less than 

 an hour they both turned round and died on the spot.^* 



In other places, multitudes of dogs, cats, fowls, and other 

 animals fell victims to the contagion;^ and it is to be presumed. 



^ Cutteis. In Farlato Illyricum Sacrum, vol. iii. Frari. Op. cit. p. 314. 

 ■^ Mdaxa. Op. cit. Vol. ii. p. 141. 3 j/ecker. Op. cit. 



* Boccaccio. Decameron, Giomo i . introd. 



* Auger, de Bitteris. Vit^ Romanor. Pontificum Muratori. Scrip, vol. iii. 



556. 



