Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/295

* SMALL ARMS. 249 SMALLPOX. most .nations is constructed on the same prin- ciple as the rifle. It is never, with one exception ( Italy ), used with a bayonet. The different types of small arms in use in 1002 by the great Powers of the world will be found specified in the accom- panying table. The following countries were at that time improving or replacing the weapons therein specified as follows: .Japan, the JIurata rifle, constructed on tlie unwieldy fixed maga- zine tube system, having a range of 2000 meters, was found too heavy and was gradu- ally being replaced by the Arisaka rifle, which has a range of 2500 meters, affords more con- venience in loading, and contains 5 shots in the magazine. Portugal was gradually replacing the Kropatschek rifle by the Steyr. which weighs 8.3G pounds, and has a calibre of 6.3 millimeters. The Mauser was rejected on account of its in- ferior range and more complex mechanism. Switzerland reduced the weight of the Schmidt model of 1889-OG by shortening the breech block. The United States, as already described, has adopted the new Springfield magazine rifle, while the English army had adopted a modified form of the Leo-.Metford. SMAL'LEY, Geobge Washbukn (183.3—). An American journalist, born at Franklin, Mass. He was graduated at Yale (1853), studied law at Harvard, practiced in Boston, became war correspondent of the New York Tribune (1861), and in 1863 was admitted to the editorial stafi' of that journal. He re- ported the Austro-Prussian War (18G6), and after 1867 represented the Tribune in London, particulai'ly distinguishing himself at the time of the Franco-German War. and at the death of William I. of Germany (1888). In 1805 he re- turned to America as correspondent of the Lon- don Times. He published London Letters and Some Others (1890), and Studies of Men (1895). SMALLPOX, or Vakiola. A specific con- tagious fever having a characteristic eruption fol- lowed by permanent scarring. The first accurate description of variola was given by Rhazes, an Arabian physician, who lived in the ninth cen- tury. After the Crusades it prevailed in most of the southern countries of Europe, whence it spread into England and the more northern countries by the thirteenth century. The Span- iards introduced the disease into America in the early years of the sixteenth century. It appeared first in Santo Domingo, three years later in Mex- ico, when it destroyed three and one-half millions of people, and thence spread with frightful severity over the New World. In 1707 it reached Iceland, when more than a quarter of the inhab- itants fell victims, and in 1733 it almost depopu- lated Greenland. In the seventeenth century a careful study was made of the disease by Syden- ham, who introduced many improvements in its treatment, but no means of preventing its spread were devised until Jenner discovered vaccina- tion (q.v. ) in 1796. An attempt to mitigate the severity of smallpox was made by reviving the practice of inoculation (q.v.), and this was in- troduced into England by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu in 1718. Smallpox is one of the most contagious of dis- eases, and few who are exposed, unless protected by vaccination, escape infection. Even the un- born child may be attacked through the medium of the mother, and may be born with the charac- teristic rash or pitted. The malady is particu- larly fatal in young children and among aborigi- nal races; negroes arc especially susceptible. One attack usually, but not invariably, protects against another. No specific micvoinganism has been identified with the disease, although eagerly sought. The conUigium exists in the pustules, in the fluids of the body, and apparently in the ex- halations from the lungs and skin. The dried scales thrown ofT during desquamation are the most im])ortant element in disseminating the malady, which travels long distances and with great rapidity, through the medium of clothes, furniture, or other articles which have been in contact with a patient. The first symptoms of smallpox make their ap- pearance after an incul>aUon period of about 12 daj's. The onset is abrupt, with a severe chill, pains in the back and limbs, intense headache, and vomiting. The temperature rises rapidly to 103° or 104° F., with loss of appetite, furre* tongue and the other accompaniments of high fever. On the third day the typical rash appears. This, however, is in some cases preceded by a preliminary eruption assuming various charac- ters in different cases. These initial rashes com- monly appear on the second day, if at all, and fade away before the full development of the typical eruption. The latter begins as a collection of small red papules on the face and forehead, spreading rapidly downward over the whole body. It sometimes occurs upon the mucous membranes. On the third day after their appearance they develop into vesicles filled at first with a clear transparent fiuid, which becomes purulent in the course of the three days following, this change being preceded by a process known as umbilica- tion. Each vesicle becomes depressed in the centre, the circvnnference forming a prominent ring around it. This change is often accom- panied by great swelling of the face so that the features are unrecognizable. Tlie suppurative stage lasts two or three days, after which the pustules gradually dry up, leaving in their place depressed w-hite scars, popularly known as 'pits.' After the initial rise of temperature, coincident with the primary rash, the fever falls nearly or quite to the normal, remaining low until the vesicles begin to mature, when the secondary or suppurative fever begins. Tliis lasts for six or eight days, and is accompanied by sleeplessness, headache, and perhaps delirium. The fever subsides with the drying up of the eruption, and convalescence begins. Several varieties of smallpox are described. To the ordinary or discrete the above description applies. In this the pustules remain distinct and scattered. Confluent smallpox is a severe form in which the rash is very abundant and the pustules exhibit a tendency to coalesce and form irregular purulent blebs. The mortality in this variety is very high. Malif/nant or hemorrhagic variola is characterized by small hemorrhages beneath the skin, and is also very fatal. Modified smallpox, often called varioloid, occurs in per- sons who have been vaccinated, but in whom protection is incomplete either on account of the lapse of time or because vaccination was inef- ficient. This variety is of short duration, and recovery is the rule. In the form of smallpox produced by artificial inoculation^ a pimple arises