The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1871-09-08
THE CHOLERA.
How 1t Reaches New YOrk-Its Former
ROutes-Preeaationary Measures.

Cholera has never been brought to
America except by ships. Early in
1892 the brig Carrick, with emigrants
| from England, arrived at Quebec.
Forty-two of the passengers had died
with cholera on the voyage, and the
disease broke out in severe epidemic
form at Quebec on the 9th of June. By
| the 10th it had travelled up the st. Law
renee to Montreal, and soon reached
Detroit. In the latter part of June the
ship Henry ". arrived at New York
with cholera patients, and the disease
appeared in the city by the oath. 1t
soon appeared up the Hudson river,
joined the Canada trail, and was quick
ly carried to the West.
During the second epidemic in Eu-
rope, in 1913, two vessels sailed for
Havre, where cholera prevailed; one,
the New York, for New York, and the
other the Swanton, for New Orleans.
Both contained large numbers of Ger
man emigrants. On one the cholera
appeared when sixteen days out, with
fourteen deaths; on the other in TWEEN
ty-six days, with thirteen deaths. The
New York arrived at Staten Island De-
cember 2, 1848, and a severe epidemic
antine grounds. The Swanton arrived
at New Orleans December IL no quar-
antine was instituted, and in two days
patients were taken into the Charity
Hospital. This was the beginning of a
severe epidemic, which increased in
power all winter, till in June, 1S49,
$500 died of it in New Orleans. De-
cember 20, 1913, it reached Memphis by
steamboat from New Orleans, where
for twenty-five days it was confined to
the landing place, but then spread. In
the spring it was carried to st. Louis
and Cincinnati and the whole Mississ-
ippi Valley. In October it reached
Sacramento, by means of overland emf
grants, and almost at the same time by
the United States steamer Northerner,
from Panama. The Chinese of Califor-
mia suffered most severely. Whatever
after occasion there may have been, the
poison which wrought all this ruin was
directly traced to infected clothes On
those two ships. In the case of the
ship New FORK it was proved that one
of the passengers had chest of cloth
ing that belonged to person who had
died of cholera. A peculiar feature of
the cholera of lS49 was the violence
with which it ragged al the foot of Reed
street, Philadelphia. The dwellings
sewer emptied its contents upon q mo-
to 1854, the effects of the Swanton cpl
demic were regularly carried to Forts
Laramie and LeaVenw orth by troops
and emigrants, the last named place be-
ing then a rendezvous for all troops GO
ing further West.
In the latter part of 1853, cholera was
brought to Liverpool, and prevailed
that winter all through England. In
the following fall cholera ships came in
great numbers to New York in Octo-
Der alone, % infected ships arrived with
1,141 cases, and the disease became cpl
demic at Staten Island quarantine, but
seemed to die out during the winter.
In the spring, other vessels gave it a
start, and it spread to the large cities,
the epidemic actually breaking out in
Detroit and Chicago before it did in
New York, where the emigrants land
ed. In October, 1856, the steamer At
lanta brought cholera from Havre to
New York. II was also brought by the
steamers England and Virginia. The
outbreak of the disease on Wards
Harris, Governors and Tybee islands
begun with Atlanta passengers.
There have been IA epidemics of
cholera at Staten Island, but only four
have reached New York. There has
been q gradual improvement in the
Eng lAsA oAu <An!eIAcau 4unIauIAHc anu
sanitary regulations. In 1882, only 90
cases of cholera were received at our
quarantine, yet there were 1872 deaths
in the city in 1S49, 23O cases at quar-
antine and SOL deaths in the city; in
1854, 415 cases at quarantine and $500
deaths in the city in 1866, COS cases in
Lower Bay and only 1910 deaths in
New York, Brooklyn and vicinity.
The same decrease is shown in London,
where the deaths were in 1848, IA, 137
in 1854, 10,73S; in 1866, 5,4SO, of which
1900 were in the Eastern District
Neic York Tribune.