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

tion could not have come from the Cambeder
Castle. on account Of an interval OF twenty
three days, from the time the Niagara hac
been moored In the neighborhood Of the Cam
boden Castle, II the time OF contact has MOI
been mentioned, to prove that the time OF lat
entness had been overreached? lf,according t
q statement OF the report, q mere mel shDorhoOc
OF decks, s. parated only by the breadth OF
| towboat, could not cause an Infection, nov
much less Is such to beexpeGted from g neigh
boring mooring? "Wnile the Camboden Gas
tie is competent to infect the Augusta during
n twelve hours run up the river. says Int
| report, why should the same tnfect'on re-
quire an interval of eighteen days to contaml
nate the S ,xon, which lay immediately along
side of her?"
The, Infection of tho Augusta was not
caused by the twelve hours run up the river,
but the CambDden Castle having been boarded
by three OF the crew OF the Augusta, the
identical three sailors who fell the first
victims Of the fevsr-vlrus which they
brought home. That any such Visit occurred
from the crew Of the Saxon has nowhere been
| mentioned. We therefore cannot lind any OF
the insuperable difficulties Of the com mission,
and need not follow the report for further
discussion of the laws OF latentness. fully
agree with tho commission when 1t says: FOR
Infection more ia needed than mere adlou-
Ing Of decks" The Saxon came up the river
In tow with the bark Sri. from Rio, an in-
feeted ship, which while In Rio had also lost
the captain and several OF her crew, but evil
IDENTIFY there had been no communication be
tween them like between the Augusta and the
more Is necessary than an adjoining deck to
communicate the fever. 1t Is more than
probable that those Of her crew who became
afterward Infected, took the Infection rather
Sirf, yet those cases on the Saxon APP
peared long after those on the A-
gusta; and In regard to tho origin
Of the fever have no further interest 1t is,
therefore, absurd to say that the Saxon, be-
cause she had been here seven days previous
to the arrival of the C4mboien Castle, might
be considered as the fOns mali OF the fever.
But, though not all the absurdities the re-
port contains have ended here, there is 10
necessity to go after 1t any further. Still, 1t
is cef taiuy OF interest to learn how the COM
mission finally arrived at the conclusion that
the fever we have met on the different ships
had originated In their localities, and why
the commission observes the presence OF
some general and widespread agencies
operating ia the locality Of those ships and
a6 different distant places. TO this view
the commission was mainly induced by the
statement OF three witnesses. One whom L
know personally. and have reason 10 distrust,
declared that he had seen case Of yellow
fever on the twenty-second OF May in the up
per part Of the city. The next was the state
ment OF another physician, who asserted to
have attended Case Of the fever far away
from the shipping on the second OF May. But
bl1S IuIueu Out W 20 Y iui5tthe, anu ouSht w
be on the second Of June; and, finally. my
own case on Seventh street, already men
toned. Such, then, are those early cases OF
fever which had to serve to make up "the
general aud widespread agencies" and here
with have fallen the last pillars on which the
lettering ifice of tho commission rested, the
buIwark against importation, and favoring q
native origin of the fever The Bremen ship
Augusta may. therefore, claim the unenvia-
BILE precedence of having had on board the
first cases of genuine yellow fever OF that
ever memorable epidemic, though the real
cuprit Is the English vessel Camboden Castle,
whatever the Sanitary Commission In IS I'M
appsalabls sagaeity and penetrating wisdom
may say to the contrary.
NJ SoHUPpERT, M. D.