The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-09-07

guage as bitter as at those moments. Still
never having seen a case OF yellow fever,
did not insist any further on the correctness
OF my diagnosis, based entirely on book learn
ing, and therefore. submitted to my more ex
perienced colleagues. Time soon showed how
correctly | had judged the character OF tht
fever. In referring to the dates OF the differ
ent cases mentioned In tho report, there alst
I has happened some confusion on the part 81
those who attended the examination, not be
ing able to master the German language. Ii
fact. the statements made In that report o
the com mission, on page &, are 80 mixed, ant
the dates 50 incorrectly given that can hard
| Iy recognizes them MS those correctly made
by me. | have, therefore, to repudlate the
whole statement and replace 1t by my memo
randas. The first case saw on board OF the
Augusta happened On the twenty-third oil
May, a snitor hGd fatten sick on the evening o.
| the tDe,ttU first. another OF the crew, John
Haar, was the second case. presenting his lrst
symptoms OF fever on thh twenty-fonrth
Woste was tho third, and with Brunt on the
twenty-sixth Of May. Another OF TIE
crew took sick on the twcnty-eighth
| On the twenty-seventh or May had seen
d case on Seventh street, butcher,
who IL still alive at the present time. This
| was tho first case | have seen recover from
| the genuine vomito. This butcher had stall
in the French Market, aud had come there IN
contact with the butcher who carried meat on
| the Camboden Castle. Such, ut least, seemed
| to me the most probable means Of explaining
his Infection. After the death OF the two
| sailors whom had transferred to the Charity
| Hospital, and that Of Mr.. PashIey, no doubt
was any longer entertained BY my colleagues
| that the yellow fever diagnosis had been the
| correct one and that the disease could even
appear as early ~ the mouth OF May.
| Let Us see, now, how the commission Or
| gned with regard to the origin Of the fever
"Regardlng the singular coincidence as to
the time Of the first sickness on both these
neighboring vessels nhe Northampton and
| Augu5tal IN interesting question offers Itself
as to the source whence Was derived the same
disease on both these ships. We have Just
stated thnt we shall presently introduce evil
dence going to prove that the Northampt on,
although from analogy competent 10 origin
ate In nsr foul hold ard putre5cent atmosphere
the disease among those on board, yet can
not bs fairly deemed by any rule OF 1nduc-
tive reasoning the salient point for the
fever which spread like rain.cloud
over our city. Can she be deemed the
| cause Of the outbreak on the Augusta
Hardly, we should think; for II our dates ars
correct, it was q cOncurrenC phenomenon on
both these ships, and we should rather sup
pose Indicated some common locality. For
| parity OF reason we are di5incined to the
| proposition that the Augusta may have In
| fected the Northampton. Ii this conjecture
be- urged as u means of explanation, let lls
| follow it out in all It's Consequences We
| must then assume the Augusta to have taken
the infection FROM the Camboden Castle; but
to do this we must first prove that two ships,
separated by the breadth OF Il t0WbOat but
with free intermngllng 0f the crews, can
communicate an Infectious disease, although
neither Of them are known to have any sick
and, secondly, that the air OF the Cam
i boden Castle must have contained such iufec-
| ton, although she WAS thoroughly cleansed
and lined before sailing-was twelve days at
sea before coming In contact with the Au-
gusta, and had neither during her voyage
hither nor her stay In our port sickness OF
any kind among her crew; all OF which seem
true Of the Camboden Castle"
Denying the competency Of the commission
to prove, even by analogy, the creation OF
yellow fever by foul holds of ships or
been surmised believed, but had never been
proveDl, | will put the question: Can It
be- doubted that the commission would
have been moment longer in doubt
II 1t had known the fact that three
OF tho crew or the Augusta had been on
board Of the Camboden Castle? Ger
tainly not. The establishment OF this single
fact, then, obliterate5 all further reasoning
about the origin Of the fever on the sh p Au-
gllsta. That the commission should have
doubted that vessel may carry an infectious
or contagious disease, though not single
one of an acclimated crew shows SYMPHONIC
of the disease, can hardly be admitted, even
| II such vessel might have been cleansed and
| lined, and was twelve days on her voyage
1t was known to the commission that the
Camboden Castle had lost captain, mate, and
| half dozen sailors from yellow fever; that d
vessel on board Of which such has happened
must be hearth OF infection, nobody will
| doubt for an instant. When the commission
| therefore, ntinues:
"Whlp the Augusta was almost decimated
| of her crew, the CambOden Castle not only
| did not lose any, but we are utterly unable tc
| trace to ber even single case of sickness Oh
death among the men who unloaded or loade4
| her. SO much for the hypothesis OF the Cam
boden Castle being the source of sickness on
board Of the Augusta. We know what te
| think Of 1t.
Just like the present crew Of the Camboden
| Castle so were the laborers loading her, mostly
! negroes aecilmated, or people who were not
constitntOnaIly liable TO infection. While
nearly 5000 white people died during that cpl
detntc only twenty-eight colored were
burIed--a sufficiently strong argumentfn favor
CT the colored race with regard to the power
OF resisting Infection. Once off the track,
and becoming confused by their own i'm
proper reasoning, the members OF the com.
mission fall back .9p the Northampton. aud
ma with the Augusta, they give her up also
and search for another common locality
for the fever to come from, and meet
ing again insurmountable obstacles
| they finally conclude to decline In giving
Judgment, leaving it to others to s'strike the
balance" However, no other epidemic we
have since had offered an equal opportunity
to trace the source with such certain and
assured 1aclllty. How the commission couiu
speak Of "coincident phenomena, i do not
know The first Of the crew Of the gusta
fell sick on the evening of the twenty first,
and paid my first visit on the morning OF the
twenty third while McGugan, the watch
man OF the Northampton, who was mentioned
as the first death that had happened, was
sent 70 the Charity Hospital on the twenty
seventh, after, as stated, he had been sick four
or five days Ii this was 50, then his sickness
dates from the twenty-third- days tate,
than my first case on the Augusta; though
there Is an obstacle II his disease could have
been traced to the Camboden Castle, that ne
might have been infected even before. A per
son may be infected by another without thai
other person being sick, and so may u person
be infected by ship, although not 3
/ single case of sickness be on board
4 That the Camboden Castle, on boart
of which SO many had been sick and died hae
become perfect pest hole, must be obvious
| How the fever virus will last, especially II tine
ship is DID, some Of her wood rotten, we have
J ha Mi pH Itafn