When a people step outside...
Illustration
When a people step outside of their protective traditions and try to embrace others' actions and customs without fully appreciating the depth of their meaning, they could unwittingly be making an alliance with death. In 1910, Chinese fur traders became enticed by the boom in the fur market and being motivated by greed, they moved into northern Manchuria to take advantage of the situation. When the Chinese hunters found a sickly animal, they considered it their good fortune that they could make a killing with such ease.
They did not realize that these marmot skins passed on the deadly bubonic plague. The marmot, a rodent whose skins resemble sable, had been hunted by the Mongols for many years and they were aware of the strange sickness that afflicted it. Thus, Mongols would never hunt a sick animal. The meat and fat of marmots was considered a delicacy, but a sick one was taboo. They knew that the lymphatic gland under its armpit could become diseased and legend said that this gland housed the dead soul of a trapper.
Not realizing that their greed had caused them to covenant with death, many of the Chinese hunters contracted the illness and spread it to the town of Manchouli. This town was famed as the end of the Chinese Eastern Railroad. The plague traveled the rail route for 1,700 miles and, before it was contained, approximately 60,000 people had died.
They did not realize that these marmot skins passed on the deadly bubonic plague. The marmot, a rodent whose skins resemble sable, had been hunted by the Mongols for many years and they were aware of the strange sickness that afflicted it. Thus, Mongols would never hunt a sick animal. The meat and fat of marmots was considered a delicacy, but a sick one was taboo. They knew that the lymphatic gland under its armpit could become diseased and legend said that this gland housed the dead soul of a trapper.
Not realizing that their greed had caused them to covenant with death, many of the Chinese hunters contracted the illness and spread it to the town of Manchouli. This town was famed as the end of the Chinese Eastern Railroad. The plague traveled the rail route for 1,700 miles and, before it was contained, approximately 60,000 people had died.
