at London Bridge, underwent no purification whatever before distribution. It passed through a couple of ponds, supposed to act as settling tanks, but owing to the growth of the town and increased demand for water it was pumped through too rapidly to permit of any subsidence. Eels and other fish constantly found their way into the houses, while the mains were lined with vegetation and crustacea. The water-pipes of Hamburg had a peculiar and abundant fauna and flora of their own, and the water they delivered was commonly called Fleischbrühe, from its resemblance to thick soup. On the other hand, at Altona, which is continuous with Hamburg, the water was filtered through sand. In all other respects the conditions were identical, yet in Altona only 328 persons died, against 8605 in Hamburg. In some streets one side lies in Hamburg, the other in Altona, and cholera stopped at the dividing line, the Hamburg side being full of cases and the Altona side untouched. In the following year, when Hamburg had the new filtered supply, it enjoyed equal immunity, save for a short period when, as we have said, raw Elbe water accidentally entered the mains.
But water, though the most important condition, is not the only one affecting the incidence of cholera. The case of Grimsby furnished a striking lesson to the contrary. Here the disease obtained a decided hold, in spite of a pure water-supply, through the fouling of the soil by cesspits and defective drainage. At Havre also its prevalence was due to a similar cause. Further, it was conclusively proved at Grimsby that cholera can be spread by sewage-fed shell-fish. Several of the local outbreaks in England were traced to the ingestion of oysters obtained from the Grimsby beds. In short, it may be said that all insanitary conditions favour the prevalence of cholera in some degree. Preventive inoculation with an attenuated virus was introduced by W. M. W. Haffkine, and has been extensively used in India, with considerable appearance of success so far as the statistical evidence goes.
As already remarked, the latest manifestations of cholera show that it has lost none of its former virulence and fatality. The symptoms are now regarded as the effects of the toxic action of the poison formed by the micro-organisms upon the tissues and especially upon the nervous system. But this theory has not led to any effective treatment. Treatment.Drugs in great variety were tried in the continental hospitals in 1892, but without any distinct success. The old controversy between the aperient and the astringent treatment reappeared. In Russia the former, which aims at evacuating the poison, was more generally adopted; in Germany the latter, which tries to conserve strength by stopping the flux, found more favour. Two methods of treatment were invariably found to give great relief, if not to prolong life and promote recovery—the hot bath and the injection of normal saline solution into the veins or the subcutaneous tissue. These two should always be tried in the cold and collapsed stages of cholera.
See Local Government Board Reports, 1892–93–94–95; Clemow, The Cholera Epidemic of 1892 in the Russian Empire; Wall, Asiatic Cholera; Notter, Epidemiological Society’s Transactions, vol. xvii.; Emmerich and Gemünd,München. med. Wochenschr. (1904), pp. 1086–1157; Wherry, Department of the Interior Bureau of Government Laboratories, No. 19 (October 1904, Manila); Wherry and M‘Dill, Ibid. No. 31 (May 1905, Manila).
CHOLET, a town of western France, capital of an arrondissement in the department of Maine-et-Loire, 41 m. S.E. of Nantes on the Ouest-État railway between that town and Poitiers. Pop. (1906) 16,554. Cholet stands on an eminence on the right bank of the Moine, which is crossed by a bridge of the 15th century. A public garden occupies the site of the old castle; the public buildings and churches, the finest of which is Notre-Dame, are modern. The public institutions include the sub-prefecture, a tribunal of first instance, a chamber of commerce, a board of trade-arbitrators, and a communal college. There are granite quarries in the vicinity of the town. The chief industry is the manufacture of linen and linen handkerchiefs, which is also carried on in the neighbouring communes on a large scale. Woollen and cotton fabrics are also produced, and bleaching and the manufacture of preserved foods are carried on. Cholet is the most important centre in France for the sale of fat cattle, sheep and pigs, for which Paris is the chief market. Megalithic monuments are numerous in the neighbourhood. The town owes the rise of its prosperity to the settlement of weavers there by Edouard Colbert, count of Maulévrier, a brother of the great Colbert. It suffered severely in the War of La Vendée of 1793, insomuch that for years afterwards it was almost without inhabitants.
CHOLON (“great market”), a town of French Indo-China, the largest commercial centre of Cochin China, 312 m. S.W. of Saigon, with which it is united by railway, steam-tramway and canal. Cholon was founded by Chinese immigrants about 1780, and is situated on the Chinese arroyo at the junction of the Lo-Gom and a canal. Its waterways are frequented by innumerable boats and lined in some places with native dwellings built on piles, in others by quays and houses of French construction. Its population is almost entirely Asiatic, and has more than trebled since 1880. In that year it had only 45,000 inhabitants; in 1907 it numbered about 138,000. Of these, 42,000 were Chinese, 73,000 Annamese, and 155 French (exclusive of a garrison of 92); the remainder consisted of Cambodians and Asiatic foreigners. During the rice season the town is visited by a floating population of 21,000 persons. The Chinese are divided into congregations according to their place of origin. Cholon is administered by a municipal council, composed of French, Annamese and Chinese traders. An administrator of native affairs, nominated by the governor, fills the office of mayor. There are a fine municipal hospital and municipal schools for boys and girls. The principal thoroughfares are lighted by electric light. The rice trade, almost monopolized by the Chinese, is the leading industry, the rice being treated in large steam mills. Tanning, dyeing, copper-founding, glass, brick and pottery manufacture, stone working, timber-sawing and junk building are also included among the industries.
CHOLONES, a tribe of South American Indians living on the left bank of the Huallaga river in the Amazon valley. The name is that given them by the Spanish. They were first met by the Franciscans, who established mission villages among them in 1676. They are a wild race but mild-mannered, very superstitious, and pride themselves on their skill as doctors. Their chief weapon is the blow-pipe, in the use of which they are adepts.
CHOLULA, an ancient town of Mexico, in the state and on the plateau of Puebla, 8 m. by rail W. by N. of the city of that name, and 6912 ft. above sea-level. Pop. (1900, estimate) 9000. The Interoceanic railway passes through Cholula, but the city’s commercial and industrial standing is overshadowed by that of its larger and more modern neighbour. At the time of the Spanish Conquest, Cholula—then known as Chololan—was a large and important town, consecrated to the worship of the god Quetzalcoatl, who had here one of the most imposing temples in Anahuac, built on the summit of a truncated pyramid, the largest of its kind in the world. This pyramid, constructed of sun-dried bricks and earth, 177 ft. high, and covering an area of nearly 45 acres, is the most conspicuous object in the town and is surmounted by a chapel dedicated to Nuestra Señora de los Remedios. A corner of the lower terrace of this great pyramid was cut through in the construction of the Puebla road, but nothing was discovered to explain its purpose, which was probably that of furnishing an imposing site for a temple. Nothing definite is known of its age and history, as the fanatical zeal of Cortez and his companions destroyed whatever historical data the temple may have contained. Cholula was visited by Cortez in 1519 during his eventful march inland to Montezuma’s capital, Tenochtitlan, when he treacherously massacred its inhabitants and pillaged the city, pretending to distrust the hospitable inhabitants. Cortez estimated that the town then had 20,000 habitations, and its suburbs as many more, but this was undoubtedly a deliberate exaggeration. The Cholulans were of Nahuatl origin and were semi-independent, yielding only a nominal allegiance to Montezuma. They were a trading people, holding fairs, and exchanging their manufactures of textiles and pottery for other produce. The pyramid is believed
