The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-08-28
THE HEALTH OF THE Getty.

THE HEALTH OF THE Getty.
Every year about this time there are hum
dred different rumors about sickness and cpl
denies. Through ignorance, or thoughtless-
ness, sometimes through malice, reports OF
this character are originated, detrimental to
the commerce of the city. With view of cor
recting these irresponsible reports, and remov-
ing every possible cause for doubt, or suspicion
in the premises we learn that, by the order OF
the Commanding General, the Chief Health
Officer of the city will hereafter publish
weekly mortuary report, that every one' near
and far, may see the sanitary condition OF the
city. This is right and eminently proper, for
if the city is healthy it is proper that it should
be made known, and so, ON the other hand, if
there is present any infectious or contagious
disease, the people have right to be informed
of it at the first possible opportunity; and we
publish accordingly, in our issue this morning,
the report for the week ending August "a,
1867.
We have taken pains to ascertain some facts
relative to the health of the city, and after
careful inquiry of the City Registrar and the
Military Medical authorities, as we'll as many
of our private practitioners, we are happy to
have it in our power to state that the city, at
this time of year, was perhaps never more free
of diseases Of gravity than it is at present.
This is the more remarkable when we con-
slider the extraordinary amount of rain that
has fallen the present summer. From every
Quarter almost of the United States, we have
reports of the prevalence Of epidemic diseases:
In the West cholera, on the Gulf yellow fever,
and the several types Of miasmatic fevers
everywhere. Druggists inform us that never
before has there been such demand for quiz
nine. The great chemical laboratories of the
North are entirely unable to meet this unprece-
dented demand. We have not remained en-
tirely exempt from this visitation. In the out
skirts of the city, especially in the northern
and northeastern parts, the physicians report
IN unusual number of cases OF the several
forms of miasmatic fevers. But the disease is
confined to those localities, and needs must owe
its origin to local causes The heart of the
city, the entire business portion, has never
been more exempt from every form of disease
than is the case at present.
True, it may be said the summer is not yet
over. There is plenty Of time yet for an cpl
demic In this opinion we cannot concur The
hot season may be considered over. The days
will be shorter, and the nights cooler, and the
calorifc rays of the sun will have less power
to foment into disease and epidemic any chance
morbifc cause found in the atmosphere. With
ordinary caution, such as we have every rea-
son to believe has been exercised oil this sum-
mer, and is still being exercised, We may con-
fdently hope to "turn the line' in continuance
of our present immunity from serious disease,
and thus safely run into port-our winter
quarter, where exhilarating breezes and in
vigoraiing health await us, to compensate for
the waste of vital force incurred by our long
and spending summers.
Through the kindness of the City Registrar,
we were permitted to examine the reports OF
the Health Department, Mortuary Reports,
Thermometric Register, etc., etc., from which
we make the following extracts, which, we hope,
may not prove uninteresting to our renders
The Health Department has charge Of the sick
poor of the city, black and white, both in
hospitals and in "private quarters" Under
an agreement with the Freedmen's Bureau, the
city provides them with medical attendance
and hospital room, while the Government abun-
dainty supplies rations, medicines, hospital
stores, etc. The city pays six physicians to
attend them, and enjoys the services Of two
additional physicians, paid, we believe,
from the fund of sHIRAn's Dispensary.
All of these make weekly and monthly
reports to the Chief of the Health De-
partment. From an examination of the July
reports, we find there were during that month,
in the bounds of this city, both in hospital and
dispensary practice, among the freedmen, l56
cases of illness, continued from the previous
month, and 749 new cases, giving total of 9O5
cases of sickness treated by the dispensary and
hospital physicians of the city. Among the
"Refugees" Fiction for "white poor") there
were in July, continued from June, lOS; new
cases 534. Total, 642. Total Of deaths in
July-whites, a; colored, 35.
The miasmatic diseases in July prevailed
to the following extent among the freedmen,
spoken of in the last paragraph 1905 cases,)
Typhoid fever 10 cases. of which four fatal.
Remittent 35, one fatal, quotidian intermittent
rs, one fatal; tertian intermittent 6S; con-
gestive fever 2, of which one fatal We are
aware that we may be charged with ignorance
or wilful inaccuracy, in enumerating typhoid
fever among the diseases of malarious origin;
but we hope not; our reason for 80 doing
being the fact that classifcations thus made
(for the City Registrar) are seldom very relia
BILE for scientific purposes, and we therefore
prefer to give the zymotic diseases, which may
by any possibility owe their origin to local or
malarious causes.
Of refugees, or white poor, (642 cases in
July,) . are marked typhoid, 81 remittent, rs
quotidian intermittent, 80 tertian, quartan,
and congestive intermittent, one of which
proved fatal.
The mortality reports for July 1867, are as
follows During the first week in July, there
were 33 deaths from all causes in the City of
Charleston, 13 whites, and 20 coored; of
which from miasmatic diseases. During the
second week 26 deaths, white and 10 colored,
G from miasmatic diseases. During the third
week 30 deaths, 10 whites and 20 colored-7
from miasmatic diseases During the fourth
week % deaths-7 whites and q colored, 5
from miasmatic diseases.
In August the mortality reports have been
as follows: During the week ending August