Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1873-11-07
Yellow Fever.

The following pen-picture of the
terrible pestilence is furnished by
DR.. L. II. Cohen to the Quincy
Wig:
Perhaps 10 more appalling sight
can be imagined than the malig,
nant type of yellow feyer-that
which is now raging IN these strick-
en- cities; even in its mildcr forms
it is bad enough. Not infrequently
the doomed victim is apparently
but slightly attacked; may be seen
sitting up i'll his bed, reading per-
haps, and to all appearances but
little indisposed; yet in such a case,
at his very next visit, the physician
may find but litelcss corpse, gone
from this world without q struggle.
The disease is SO teariully insidu.
Gus, that no one can torctcll how
the primary attack may result, and
the seeds of the malady may be
lurking in the veins for days, unno-
ticed, like smouldering spark, un-
til the flames burst forth with rage
that knows 10 conquer.
Such instances as those described,
almost without any symptoms are
comparatively rare. Usually all
cases are attended with intense and
agonizing pain. The dreadful head
ache and backache with which the
attack is ushercd in cannot be COM
pared with aught else in the line of
human suffering; while the flushed
face and brilliant injected eyes
sometimes tearfully beautiful in
their strange brightncss), must be
anxiously watched, for not the most
consummatc skill or longest expert
cnce may prophesy the time when
these shall give place to the ghast-
ly, livid lips, and the jaundicc skin
and yellow cyeballs from which the
fearful malady derives its name.
Or perhaps tie dreaded second
stage, hemmorrhagc appears, her.
aided by the frightful vomito or
black vomit-nay, perhaps, attend
ed with bleeding from every pore
of the body Then comes the hor-
rib!c dclirium, when the patient,
perhaps u refined, delicate woman,
or Il tender child, but now a raving
maniac, possessed of the strength
of five inturiated men, taxes to the
utmost, sometimes for hours, all and
more than all the resources of the
worn and exhausted friends at the
bedside, until at last death closes
the dreadful scene. These are no
fanciful pictures; they are realities,
that have been witnessed time and
again, and are occurring by scores
in these plague-stricken cities OF
Memphis and Shreveport.
When recovery takes place-and
thanks to the dictates of reason and
common sense rccoveries do occu,
in far greater number than in SINH
lar epidemics of by-gone years-the
poor patient is left weak and help
less as newborn infant; if he at
tcmpts to leave his bed unassisted
he will most likely fall tainting t,
the floor, and such fainting fit is
usually but the torerunner of death
For days and weeks he must be
closely watched, and guarded
against any imprudence, for he has
in great measure lost for time the
power Of control over himself and
his judgement, and the slightest
act Of incaution may bring on the
ever-to- o-be-dreaded relapse, more
dangerous by far than the original
seizure.
A slight idea of the eapense in
cured in q case Of the yellow fever
may be simply imagined. A nurse
far more important even than a
physician, must be in attendance
night and day, for woe to the
yellow fever patient who is left
alone for single moment. The
stretching forth of the hand for a
glass of water on the table near the
bedside may in second work the
irreparable mischief.
While so carefully attending
every change and movement must
be jealously noted. The strength
may fail, and the mechanism of the
oyerwrought system suddenly run
down like a worn-out clock.
1t is the physicians duty to do
all in his power to guard against
such accidents, and whatever he
may ordcr-the rarest conserves,
the most expensive wines-must be
| furnished without delay, for every
| minute is fraught with danger, and
| with every second the subtitle poison
| in the blood is doing its awful
work and hurrying on the wing OF
! the Death Angel.