The Arizona sentinel., 1889-07-06
FIGHTING THE FEVER.
How Florida Family Escaped the
 Dread Yellow Jack.

Up the St. Johns river 1 met ; Northern man who had a cottage anC an orange grove there. As a usua thing he stayed in Florida only in win ter, but last summer he stayed there all through the epidemic, and he tolC me how, by means of a rigid quaran tine, he escaped the dreadful scourge o yellow fever.
 We intended to go North," he said
 'but we put it off too late. My wife was more afraid of the yellow fever than any thing else on earth, and SC was l, for that matter. You see, we have a large family, and we didn't want to take any chances. We have seven boys and girls, and when il comes to moving back again to Illinois, it is quite big job, and that was what delayed us until it was too late for us to move. In fact, we didn't really be- lieve that yellow fever was coming last summer, until it was right here. You see we didn't get all the Florida re- ports you fellows did in the North, and think that anyhow the papers made the epidemic good deal worse than it really was. However, having stayed here all last summer, l may say that now l am not afraid of any epidemic that could come to Florida.
 Well, as 1 was saying, the first thing we knew Jacksonville was closed up, and as the only way we could get to the North then was through Jackson vile, we were, in measure, in a trap. Along the St. Johns river it is pretty healthy in the winter time, although it is said it is rather malarioUs in sum- mer. Of that, of course, we didn't know any thing because we had never stayed here for d summer. But as soon as I found that Jacksonville was closed up, 1 made up my mind that we would quarantine our place and we would keep out the yellow fever if it took the last cent we had. 1 have four boys and three girls, and we held a consultation over the matter, and we agreed that by taking turns we could hOCp up d OOlll JICIC llolI b1llC cII the place, and not let any infected per- son, or any person at all, for that mat ter, within a mile of the house. My wife was so frightened when she really came to understand that Jacksonville was closed up with yellow fever, that 1 was afraid she would become sick from the very terror of it. My boys are all strong, strapping young fellows, although, you see, 1 am not very strong myself In fact, if I had not lived my winters down in Florida 1 should not be alive to-day. The winters of Illinois would have killed me long before this. So we laid our plans and arranged it so that one of the boys and myself kept quarantine during the day, and the other boys took turns at it through the night. We thought that in this way we would make the thing positive ly certain, and run no risk from the epidemic"
 And were your plans successfuI?" I asked him.
 Perfectly" he answered. We never allowed a person to set foot on our grounds during all the summer ex- cept once, and that once we had sent for the man who came. l suppose it was being out in the hot sun so much, for the heat was very damp and sultry and oppressive that summer. You see we had a good deal of rain and hot, muggy weather. And any how a per- son who stayed in Florida in summer, especially a Northern man, should keep out of the sun during the middle of the day. Well, as I was saying, after two or three weeks of quarantine I got sick with a low malarial fever. You see it is a kind of malari- ous anyhow in summer, especial ly for Northern people who are not acclimated. Even the natives here do not work or are not out in the sun in the middle of the day, and as l stayed out keeping up quarantine right through the heat of the day, it is not surprising that 1 was taken sick. Keeping quarantine is not like keep ing any thing else, except it be a tavern You have to keep it all the 7 time or it is no good. At any other work you may drop off an hour and a half at noon, and quit at six o'clock, but not with keeping quarantine. You may keep it for months, and then being off for ten minutes let in the very person whom you have been try ing all the time to keep out. Although I felt bad for quite a number of days l did not give up, until I was hardly able to stand. Then l had a siege of it. My wife and eldest daughter nursed me and brought me through all right, but the strain was too much for my wife, who is not strong, as I I said before. And just as 1 was get ting well, although too weak to be up, my wife succumbed to the malarial attack, My being in the house made