"Who dies in the waters of the Ganges obtains Heaven"
From Stereograph, copyright by Underwood & Underwood, N. Y.
(See page [iv])]
CHAPTER VIII
Synopsis of Chapter. Sanitary Awakening—Realization of the Danger of Unwholesome Water—Cholera in London Traced to the Broad Street Pump—An Historical Stink.
Truth is mighty and will prevail, but sometimes it is centuries before its voice can be heard and additional centuries before its language is understood. As early as 350 B. C., Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, pointed out the danger of unsterilized water and advised boiling or filtering a polluted water supply before drinking. He further believed that the consumption of swamp water in the raw state produced enlargement of the spleen. Had his warning been heeded the lives of millions of people who were carried to untimely graves by the scourges of pestilence which swept over Europe, Asia and Great Britain, might have been saved. Some idea of the ravage caused by filth diseases can be gained by reviewing the mortality due to cholera in London during the epidemics of 1832, 1848, 1849, 1853 and 1854.