Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1885-07-12
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WHERE FEVER EVER Turks.
II a Wall b Tern Down Ia Vera
Cruz, Fever Appears.


VERA CsUz, MEX, June 2T.-This CITY of
the True Cross. which for nearly two hun
bred years has been Stunned as the very lair
OF Yellow Jack, Is really q much mshgned
locality. In spite Of fever, and still more
deadly yomito, either Of which may be taken
IN varying doses at any time Of year, it is a
far more healthy abiding place than the city
OF Mexico. l sm aware that few people
will C-soIt This statement, because of deep
seated prejudice sgaiost Vera Cruz; but in
proof thereof We haze bot to turn to official
statistics, which give the annual death rate
at the capital as 1--WE per cent more than
in this old town, where pesTilence is forever
lurking. The reason lies in the fact that,
though the city of Mexico is far above
the fever line, being nearly 5000 feet
above Vera Cruz, there Is no possibility OF
draining it. On the contrary, the cup.hke
hollow wherein the Aztecs founded their
Tenochtitlsn, more than i've centuries aud
hall ago, and which has ever since been the
site of populous city. has been sink hole
for sll the surrounding country during that
long period. Innumerable schemes have
been yaialY tried for draining the valley Of
Mexico, and millions OF dollars have been
spent IN the abortive attempts Ii naturally
follows that the accumulated impurities
from successive generations througn nearly
900 years furnish annually q richer harvest
for the grim reaper than fever aud yonito
can gather on the coast.
That the fever is no longer an occasional
visitor an Vera Cruz, but has taken up its
perpetual abode here, is not the fs1ls OF the
authorities or the citizens. as has been
alleged OF some sections of our own South.
Even the Holland villages are not cleaner
than Vera Cruz. Twice in every twenty
four hours Its streets are swept as tidy as .
parlor floor. Through Its cutters, which
are dug along both sides aud down the
middle of every street, water runs continual
ly from the Tampa River, and every night
they are thoroughly washed and eleslssd
of al impurities, while those excellent
scayengers, the zopiiOtiS (buzzArds) are
carefully protected BY law. Though these
huge birds swarm in countless Numbers,
like yultures upon field of battle, blackeu.
ing the towers and uttering dlscordsat cries
as they tumble elumsily about on the house.
tops, fine Of s. is imposed for killing one
of them.
Here, as elsewhere on the continent, yell
low fever is the direct result of the slave
traffic, the dread scourge having been un-
known in America until brought here by
that trade. The African disease, intensified
BY the filthy habits of human esrgoes, came
first to this port with slave ship in 1899,
and IN ike manner was transferred to all
the West Indies. In Vera Cruz, whenever
an old wall is taken down or q street dug
into, the fever is sure to break out with re-
doubled force in that locality, thus showing
that the germs are always present, though
sometimes dormant until disturbed.
Among the numerous yellow fever stories
with which Vera Cruzsns are wont to cheer
visiting strangers, they tell Us that once
vessel drifted into port apparently al ran
dom, and without hosting any of the usual
signals. Rumors ran through the town
that pirate snip had arrived, or some for
eign embassy on a secret mission; but 6nal-
iy the strange craft was boarded by the au-
thorities, who found it to be charnel
house OF deconp1sing cOrpses, for every
soul on board had persisted Of vomit One
day q Norwegian vessel touched a. Vera
Cruz on some trivial erraud, the captain
having hesits;ed, it is said, about doing so,
as there was no especial necessity for stop
pins. The result was the taking on OF
passenger. Who. a teS days later, came
down vi b yellow fever, and every man on
the ship both officers and crew, died at sea
before their destination was reached
During seasons OF epidemic, when Vera
Cruz is crowded with the dead and dying,
stranger parents need not expect much
care, though the hospi ais are many aud
well managed. Money cannot buy nor
Christian charity bes,oE that for which the
demand Is so mach greater than the supply.
Frghtful tales are told of numbers who
barely escaped being buried alive and only
on the resurrection day can It be knoFn
how many miserable Wretches have actually
met that awful fate. Last year as the driV-
er Of the cart which conveys eorpses from
the hospital to the cemetery was making
his nocturnal journey he was frightened
nearly out Of his senses By one OF his load
suddenly kicking the cover of his coffin and
to know bis destination. Others,
but carelessly buried by sleepy Workuen,
have been known 10 unearth themselves,
8 nd have been found in the morning sitting
st the cemetery gate airly attired in wind
Dg sheets.
1t is stated that a few years sgo, an
American lady, who was supposed to have |
died during an epidemic, was about to be |
cast, uncoaned, into the common pit with q |
score Of eorpses. The sexton, espying 1
valuable hing upon her finger, tossed her /
upon the ground at one side, intending to
rob before burying her. The shock of the
fall partially restored her from the comstose !
II. L. ,ll
When the ghoul had completed the remain
der of his task and turned to secure the
iewel he was Mortified to see two big blue
eyes fixed upon him. Fortunately but by
rare chance, be did not dash her into the
waiting Grave, nor run away in alright, but
carried the halt conscious creature back to
he hospital, where she was restored to
health.
Yellow fever, when not contracted during
! time Of violent epidemic, is by no means
he worst sickness under the sun. Every
hing depends upon careful nursing, and
possibly somewhat upon temperate habits
and the previous condition Of the system.
The msjority do not die, and it must be re-
nembersd that only the number Of deaths
are recorded, not the thousands who have 1t
md recover. 1t certainly has advantages
over me Roman fever, typhoid, and kindred
ailments in that the victim is quickly killed
or cured, and there are no secondary stages
nor bad effects left lingering in the blood.
When / fell into inconsistencies, one hot
March morning, after vainly lighting against
the disease for some days, the Vera Cruz
friends seemed to regard ii in the light Of 9
ioke which could have but one happy ter
Enthusiastically from future danger.
The brave little lady in whose house We
were quests has nursed many Of her coun-
try people through the fever, and not one
has died. She and her husband are both
from the United States, and have hVed Tor
several years in Vera Cruz through su the
successive epidemics, and have no teAr OF
Yellow Jack.