The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1878-08-31
ouARANTIrE yz. FELLOW FEVER.

want of any at all. Memphis, GRENADA ana
other places are suffering from the conse-
auences of the introduction OF the mice
tious and dangerous disease.-Lafdyette Id
rertiser. " n 90
In the attempt TO vindicate the
action of the Lafayette authorities IN
establishing a rigid and senseless
quarantine against the balance of
creation, the Advertiser has committed
a blunder which displays its lack OF
information upon the subject of the
spread of yellow fever and the prob
able causes thereof. Memphis, Vicks-
burg, Port Gibson and Grenada all
quarantined early IN the season, and
enforced the regulations with great
strictness. At Grenada particularly
so Jealous were the authorities in the
performance of their duties under the
quarantine laws that railroad trains
were not allowed to stop within the
limits of the town, but were COM
PEELED to pass through at the mini
mum speed of six miles an hour. Yet
at all the points mentioned yellow
fever has become epidemic, display
ing at Grenada a malignancy never
before exceeded anywhere. -
OF course many places which estab7
lished quarantine have so far escaped
the disease, but the same is also true
of localities with no quarantine. IN
fact we do not know of any instance
of one of the latter class being Attic
ted with the fever, save perhaps. u few
isolated cases imported from else
where which have shown no tendency
to spread. Holly Springs and Sum
nit, Miss, are examples: several
cases of yellow fever have occurred
at both these towns, the patients be-
ing persons from New 0rleans and
Grenada, but no indication of a spread
of the malady exists and none of the
regular residents have been attacked.
Our own town, Donaldsonville,
furnishes a still more forcible Illus
tration of our argument. Regular
daily communication with New Or
leans both by river and rail has. been
maintained, no restrictions whatever
having been placed upon travel or
traffic, with the single exception that
excursion parties from New Orleans
were prohibited from visiting US dur
ing the epidemic. AT this writing but
one case of. yellow fever has been re-
ported in town, being that of a mulat-
to woman who wasFtaken. i'll immedi-
ately after coming here from New Or
leans, where size had resided in the
very heart of one of the worst infect
ed localities of the city. Her attack
was mild and she is now out of dau-
ger. Two cases have been reported
near town, one resulting fatally.
The victim was a young girl whc
had been sent from New Orleans to
escape the scourge. She fell sick Q
few days after her arrival, and after
ten days illness died. Tho third case
was that Of resident Of Port Bar
row, just across Bayou, Lafourche
from Donaldsonyille, who is conva-
descent. No other parties have con-
tracted the disease here as yet, and
even those who nursed the patients
seem to be assured ofexemption from
conttgion or infection.
Contrast this with the experience OF
Plaquemine, town situated, like
Donaldsonville, on the bank of the
Mississippi, and only thirty five miles
above us. There communication
with New Orleans is had solely by
water route, and this was cut off by a
rigid quarantine, established shortly
after the appearance of yellow fever
in the Crescent city. Despite this
precaution, the disease broke out in
the town and spread rapidly; up to
Tuesday there had been about sixty
cases and fourteen deaths.
Reviewing the facts cited, we are
led to the conclusion that tile germin-
alton aud propagation of yellow fever
are due to certain atmospheric and
sanitary conditions upon which
quarantine regulations exercise no in
fluence and, further, that in locali-
ties where these unfavorable condi-
tions do not exist, although cases
may be introduced from other points,
the fever will not spread to any ex-
tent.