Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1879-01-03
THE CAUSE AND COST OF THE VEL
LOW FEVER

coat OF course this is a cold blOOded way of
looking at things, but somehow it seems to be
only too true that the tenderest part of the
public is the place where it carries its wallet.
Our readers have it fresh in their minds that
tie steamer Emily B. Souder has just been
lost with all on board This fact lends all the
more interest to the following narrative. We
copy from IT,. Sdnitorinn as follows: The
irst case of the epidemic of 1878 undoubtedly
we're two of the officers of the steamship
Emily B. Souder, namely, Clark the purser,
and Elliott one of the engineers. Clark was
i, when the vessel reached quarantine, but
managed to pass inspection as suffering merely
from neuralgia Lately it has TRANSFERRED,
Through inquiries of the Yellow fever Com
l,.ission that he boosted after arrival at New
Orleans that he had "beaten" the quarantine
doctor Be that as it may, he went ashore
.ck when the vessel arrived at her wharf, on
May 22d, and two days afterwards died with
symptoms which belong Enthusiastically to vel
low fever at a house on Claiborne street. near
Cont He was attended both on board and
ashore by physician long resident in this
Guy anu idnllidr VITA yellow leNeI hives
.igstion of the case at the house where he
lied showed that the treatment was more
suitable to yellow fever than to any other
disease; still a burial certificate was given of
Gesth by malarial fever. This case not
brought to the notice OF the Board of Health
tv any direct communication, official or
otherwise, but from information received
through street lulnor Elliott sickencd after
liz arrival. and was attended by private
f.sysician, at his boarding house, until the
evening before his death, apparently without
T.. suspicion on the part Of any one that he
lad the yellow fever. Late Or the evening
II May Doth he was removed to the Hotel
Dieu where he died within lew hours. A
careful post-mortem examination made
by two competent physicians, and the body
tss subsequently inspected by the speaker.
NJ further time was lost in making use of the
Usual means Of disinfection III and around
the houses where Clark and Elliott had been
.cs, and those 10 which they had been re-
moved No more cases followed within the
period Of their apprehended occurrence, and
I was supposed that the danger was past,
ABOUT the middle nf july some cases of /,
a-rondy Suspicious character came to light on
Constance street, near its intersection with
1ef7.sichore, and in q few days all doubt was
rAs.oved nf their true nature, About a week |
previously young man named Conn came to /
lie Tnuro Intrmary from Gasquet street, !
LET wecn Msrais and Where, presenting strong /
IL, 81
hAt.rr attention WAS drawn to Constance !
street. and hi, case was considered question: !
able Within a few days cases were found !
lear the corner of Front and Girod streets, |
.nere Elliott had sckened; on Bienville. /
2sear whore Clark had died Oh Claiborne |
street: and case on Robertson street, near
tie home Of Cohn, who had been at the in
urinary, not more than a quarter of mile
from where Clark died and still less dis
lance from the Hotel Dcu, where Elliott
lied. The line of infection seems tolerably
Gear, though long latent, from Clark to COhn,
,nl subsequently to the cases on BiCnville
and Robertson streets and also from Elliott,
.lcA in his boarding house, to the subsequent
outbreak at the corner of Front and GirOd
hut the outbreak on Constance street was so
ia from the wharf of the Souder fully half
q mile. and so long after her arrival-more
than SIX weeks, that it was long considered
out Of question to establish a connection be-
tween them. Recent investigations show
that some of the earliest cases OH Constance
street occurred i'll the family of Mr. Coven,
uhr is engineer of the tug boat Charlie Wood.
This boat lay at the same wharf occupied by
the Souder immediately after the departure
II the latter for Havana, as stated by Coycn
himself at the time of his illness. Mrs.
Wass0n, Governs mother law, was sick at
the beginning Of July, with symptoms an ,
swering closely to those observed in yellow
FEVER. and two weeks later other members
NJ the family were known to have yellow :
fever About the same time several children y
III neighboring family named Bolton de f
Veloped the same disease and it has been as |
that a colored laundress, Emma +
Watts, living in the yard of the Bolton fam
iiy, had there done washing for Mrs Wasson y
and hung up her clothes to dry in the yard of a
- the Bolton family. About the same time '
occurred several cases near by on ad iacent ,
streets, alleged, on lay testimony, to have I
been yellow fever. The objection naturally L
arises that the distance is too great from the t