The Planters' banner. [volume] (Franklin, Attakapas Co., Lou.) 1849-1872, 1853-09-29

eXtenueQ form IN Dr. Carpenters ~oFh
already referred to:
About the middle Of August, 1922,
yellow fever from Havana was COM
municated to Pensacola From this
place, it was introduced into New Or
leans about the 21st of August, by two
sloops, the Ann and the Eliza, both
crowded with passengers, who were
flying from the fever Some of these
passengers were sick when they en-
barked, others sickened and died on the
passage, and nearly all the remainder
after having landed in this city, died of
the disease. These vessels reached the
city by way of the Lakes and the Bay
ou St. John, and consequently eluded
the quarantine officers, none of Whom
tcere stationed in that direction.
The first cases that occurred here
among our citizens, in the year 1922
were traced to infection from the pass
engers above mentioned
The year following, 1923, fever made
its appearance in the city early in Ju-
ly. We are without any information
as TO the manner in which the conta-
gion Of this year was introduced. From
its first appearance among the shipping,
however, we are left TO infer that it was
introduced by a breach of the quaran-
tine regulations. DR.. Forsythe, the
quarantine officer, had previousl Y re-
ported 10 the Board of Health of New
Orleans, sthat with the means placed
at his disposal, it was not practicable
in all cases to prevent passengers and
seamen from leaving their vessels and
getting to the city" He concluded by
declaring that vessels were "permitted
10 go into port without the necessary
precautions being taken," leaving it
with ''the board to decide what influ-
ence vessels thus entering may have
had in producing or aggravating the
malignant epidemic which afflicted the
city"
In 1924, the schooner Emigrant arri-
we'd from Havana and was brought TO
the quarantine station about the Goth
of July of that year, by the towboat Ba-
lize. This vessel was brought up along
side the Balize, from the mouth of the
river, to within six or seven miles of
the quarantine station, when she was
gdropped astern, and towed up in this
manner the remainder of the way. 1t
appears that the other towboats were
likewise in the habit of thus towing up
alongside vessels from ports infected
with yellow fever. The health officer,
on boarding the Emigrant, found one
Of her passengers dying with yellow fe-.
yer, and another that had been danger
ously sick of the same malady. By
the affidavits subsequently taken it ap-
pears that during the passage up tho
river of the towboat Balize and the
schooner Emigrant, there was no re-
straint upon the intercourse between
the two vessels; that number of the
hands of the towboat went on board Of
the schooner that they there saw the
two men above referred to, who were
laboring under the effects of the fever
and that three of these hands were af-
forwards taken with the fever, and
brought to the city. The captain and
mate of the Emigrant also took the fe-
yer and died. Soon after, the towboat
Post Boy, having had communication
with vessel from an infected port,
bringing her up alongside from the Ba-
lie to the quarantine station: two of
her hands were taken sick with the
fever, and brought 10 the city. About
the same time the towboat Enter
prise brought up the schooner Dorothy.
from Tampico, also alongside-the in
tercourse between the vessels during
the passage being unrestrained and,
having left her tow at the quarantine
station, proceeded to the city. The first
cases of yellow fever that occurred this
year in New Orleans were among the
hands of the towboat BaliZe.
When, as at present, we are left with
out the shadow of protection against the
introduction of disease from abroad
when even the pretence at supervision
of such introductions only tends to mis-
lead, and to lull US into false security,
it is difficult, if not impossible, upon the
sudden appearance among US of i'm
ported contagion, 10 furnish the public
with incontestable proofs of its importa-
ton. But give US even the mockery of
protection which was furnished by the
quarantine regulations Of 1921, and the
fact that yellow fever is of foreign orr
gin is no longer a matter of doubt or
contestation. If these regulations ef-
fected no other service, they at least en-
abled US TO trace the epidemics of 1922
and 1924 to their respective sources.
They enable us positively to prove, that
the first cases of yellow fever which |
occurred in this city on each of these
occasions were those above mentioned, |
and that thenceforward the disease
spread rapidly among the inhabitants.
So far from furnishing arguments
against the utility of efficient quaran-
tine regulations, we are, through the
agency of the quarantine then existing,
enabled positively to assert that the |
seeds Of the epidemics of 1922 and 1924
were communicated to this city-the
first from Pensacola, by the sioops An
ma and Eliza, and the second from Ha-
vana, by the schooner Emigrant. We
find that by gross breach of the quar-
antine, which rendered nugatory all It's