The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1884-06-18
The Curse Of Malaria.


1t is said that when physician cannot
tell exactly what is the matter with a
patient he calls it malaria" and feels |
pretty safe about 1t, for no one else will |
know whether he is right or wrong. The
fact that this is about the truth is the |
most unfortunate part of it. Malaria is |
80 prevalent, nowadays, that if no other
cause can be assigned for headaches and |
backsches, and for general trouble with
the nervous system, you can safely call it
malaria, and hit it nine times out of ten.
If there is meadow or a swamp near in
which the water is suffered to grow stag
nant, you must expect that the air all
around will be filled with more or less of
miasma. Let me give you little history
of the curse OF malaria which followed
the change of river bed in New Hamp.
ton, N. Y. If ever there is place that
presents an appearance of ruin and decay
it is this village, in the heart of the Orange
county dairy region, and known as Milk
Station No. 7, on the Erie railway. 1t is
surrounded by some of the finest meadows
in the county, and its location is charm.
ing one. Formerly it was one of the
thriving towns of the region, and was an
important manufacturing center. There
were stores and shops, and the extensive
Phillips mills on the Waikiki gave EN-.
ployment to small army of people, who
occupied the neat cottages and attractive
residences in the village. All now is
changed. The hotel is crumbling into
decay, but is still occupied but the
landlord says he only remains there be-
cause he can't get away. The houses in
the place are rickety, and many of them
deserted. The mills have gone to ruin.
One stout-hearted individual keeps store,
where the few remaining people may
obtain actual necessities. A blacksmith
and tinker are here yet, the latter max
ing his living by mending milk cans. The
barn where Goldsmith Maid stood twenty
years ago is the best preserved building
in the village. A few loungers may be
seen on the benches of the hotel piazza
now and then during the day, but the
streets are otherwise lifeless until the
farmers begin driving in from the sur
rounding country, toward evening, to
leave their loads of milk for the milk
train to New York. Then there is hustle
and stir about the station and hotel for
an hour or 80, and then the ensuing soil
tude. There are more people living in
the place, however, than one will ever see
if he should remain week in the place,
for the reason that usually large proper
tion of each family is unable to get out of
doors. Every other person in New Hamp-
ton and the vicinity is victim of ma
laria. The ruin of the business and
health of this village was caused by the
turning of the Waikiki river from its
natural bed, mile above here, and carry
ing it in an artificial channel in another
direction. The river formerly ran through
the village in swift current, forming
the valuable water power that led to the
establishing of the Phillips mills and
other industries. 1t added peculiarly
picturesque charm to the surroundings,
and brought health on its pure current.
But so long as the river ran in its natural
channel an immense tract of land for
twenty miles above New Hampton was
covered with water during freshets. This
was owing to the sluggish flow of the
stream for that distance-the fall in the
river being almost imperceptible, and
insufficient to carry the water off. This
rendered many thousands of acres of land
practically worthless. With drainage, il
of many years the farmers on the drowned
lands, as they are called, obtained author.
ity to divert the water of the river from
the natural dam where the fall began
above New Hampton, to point mile
below the village, by digging canal for
that distance. This not only destroyed
the water power of the mills, but left q
series of stsgnant pools for two miles
through this village. The proprietor
fought this change of channel until 1885,
when the courts decided every point
against him, and the ruin was complete
The old bed of the Waikiki became a
fostering fever spot, and all who could
get away from New Hampton and its
vicinity moved away. Many others have
died from fever. The malarial influence
of the stagnant ponds in the old bed
finally became more widespread and fatal
and five years ago the people of the
surrounding neighborhood took measures
to have the pestilence stayed. The legis
lature was appealed to. Before an inves
tigating committee that was appointed
several Middletown and Goshen physi
clans testified to the increasing danger Of
the malarial bed of the river, one of them
swearing that in the village alone there
were one hundred persons FRUSTRATED with
fever-nearly the entire population. The
state engineer was directed to examine
the Waikiki and see what could be done
He reported that at an outlay of $25,00(
the obstruction in the channel above New
Hampton could be removed, so that the
river could be again turned in its origina
course, and the drainage of the lands bt
as perfect as at present. The people
impoverished because of the diversion Of
the water, were able to raise only SIC, 1000
They pstitioned the state to appropriate
the rest. The matter was referred to 9
committee. The drowned land farmers
opposed the appropriation, and brough,
such influence to bear that the committee
never reported. And so it has been going
ever since. Now, this is bona tfde case
and we give it, with the facts and figures
because the place was healthy and pros
porous till water was allowed To stand in
stagnant pools, and then malaria followed
The old farmers laughed at the idea, but
many of their wives and children have
died with the infection, and the only rea
son some of them are yet alive is because
they are out in the open air most of tn,
J time. No better remedy for malaria ex
/. | iata than IN 1oor avarciaa and plantu ~