Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1869-02-11
IHE SMkll-P0x.
Fearful Rava-es oil the
Disease on the Pa
cilic COaSt.
The Entire State OF California
fni~ssed-Towns Decimnted
a land Of Dentb.

= - St0AG AukkIORnyA
lnG~s,ed-Towns Decimnted
a Land Of Denth.
San Francisco, Jan. 1s) Correspondence Of the
New York Sun.
Early in December tho small .pox broke
out in this city. At frst but little stten-
ton was paid to it, beyond the ordinary
course of vaccination. But the disease
grew virulsnt, and MANY deaths occurred.
Through some fesrfu! mistake, nun bars Ct
persons were vsccinated with. impure. ma.
ter, AID the erdiaary rssdicL 'srsstnent
seemed TO have scarcely any effect upon
the disease. So fatal were its ravsges that
ublic attention Vas Immediately drawn to
u. ss 81. 90
fA pseph tseane excitsd, sua ( lsrg.
meeting was held to devise means 70 stop
the spread Of the econtagion. The pro-
ceedinRa Of thil westlng. were published
ip ne San FssntlAco .jSufnsls, lbut they
~sre toned down 10 = moderate degree,
through fear Of affecting the usds, winter
and spring tide Of immigration. People
seem disposed TO cover up the fearful raya-
yes Of the disease and 10 conceal lie deac '
character. The streets are filed with
funerals, and the grave digger has his hand.
and graves full. In some cases burials are
made by night
Despite every precaution the cortag ion
remains as deadly as ever, aud though il
can scarcely be said 10 be increasing, III
decline is hardly percep,itl.. All the peat
/ houses are full. Fathers, and children
+, IN otheis. brothers. and sisters expire daily
and nearly every person in the city has lost
some acquaintance Or relative. The Chi.
ness have suffered terribly. Their native
doctors have neither experience nor Gem
mon sense in the TIRE atraent Of the smallpc !
and a. . natural consequence three out oi
every Ave Of their patients run into etsrn
isy. -$
But the ravasss Of the epidemic are mel
oonnued to San Fnncisee. Nearly the
whole State is infected, and some towns
have been decimatsd BY the psstilsnss.
Thus far, Sacsamento. Masysvills. and
Stockton have escaped the Malignant type
Of the disorder, bot Il has run throsgh the
Devsr counties II the State like . Murfain.
In 0ilrey and Los Angeles the diae,se has
been fatal beyond precedent, and San
Frapcieco car. y eslled reasonably healthy,
whom its death rass 10 csmpsrSd with those
Of the former towns. Some Of these
affected appear to rot by inches in spite 81
every available prescription. The physi-
clans stand aghast. In some csses vaccin.
aties seems to have entirely lest its power,
and men, women and children with vaccine
| scars on their arms as large as twenty
shilling pieces have fallen victims to the
| epidemic. Hospitals have been hastily
furnished, and every effort has been made
in these towns TO stay the progress Of the
d,sease, but thus far with but little siIec,
Whole families have died. In enc instance
father and four children died within
twenty four hours. and in q hotel at Los
Angeles nine persons died within week
But tho plague spot Of the State, thus
far, has been the the town OF San Jusn, in
Monterey county, some one hundred miles
from San Francisco. The town contains
about 900 persons. Ths alarming accounts
Of the mortality in San Francisco and
t'ilroy excited some appreh ions, and an
effort was made 10 prevent the appearance
Of the epidemic in San Juan. A man
came down from tho grape >growipg district
Of Sonoma county, and registered his name
IN the hotel. When questioned concerning
the smallpox in the north, he acknowi.
edged its fatal virulence, and said that,
fearing he might catch it. he had taken the
precaution to be vaccinnated before leaving
home. 10 81 hours his arm aweiled to the
sizs Of his body, and was covered wi.h
gangrenous sores. An examination by the
ph s,cana resulted in the Aacovery Of the
lac, that the man lad actually been inocu-
lated with the most malignant type Of the
small pox.
lie died, n sickening mass Of putrl6cA
ton, in AZ honrs, and Was buried at mid
night. Steps were taken on the instant 10
prevent the spread Of the d,sease. The
dead mans blankets. underclothes, and
| other garments were burneo but unior-
| tuuately some school children discovered
tho hslfburnsd rags, and caught the infec
ton. Ia one week mum bers Of them died
and tho epidemic Obtained . firm foot. hold
in San Juan. out Of a population Of one
thousand, four hundred were taken dow n
with small.pox, and Of these four hundred
| persons one hundred aad sixty died.
This is fearful rate Of mortality, and /
doubt whether the annals of this loathsome
disease can surpass il In some count v
towns, away from the reach Of >kilful doc.
tors. and where the proper medicines are
scarce, to thirds Of the cases prove fatal
| Throng aout the Stat ths mortality has bccn
| unprecedented
have thought it my duty to give your
readers this information, because Of the
disposition thr,ughou, California to keep
the whole thing as que. as possible Il is
proper that people intending to come to
California from the States should be made
acquainted with the facts, and send them
to you earnestly hoping that you will placs
them before your readers. The truth fas
been too long concealed.