Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-11-13
YELLOW JACK AT SEA.
The Dread Disease Carries OF Four
of a Steamships Company,
INCLUDING A YOUNG PHYSICIAN.
The Vessel Slips Unchallenged Through
Quarantine at New York.
PRECAUTIONS TO PREVENT A PANIC

ESPECIAL rELrGRAN TO THE DrsPArcH.i
New YORK, Nov. 12.-Passengers on the
United States and Brazil mail steamship
Alliance, which arrived at her dock in
Brooklyn to-day from Brazilian and West
Indian ports, were glad to get into the lati-
tude of frost. They had been for three
weeks in constant dread of catching yellow
fever, which carried eff four of the ships
company. including young DR.. II. r. Ro-
senthal, of this city.
The Alliance got through Quarantine and
had been at her berth seven hours before
the health officer knew she had "yellow
jack" aboard. Purser Wainwaring told
Dr. Skinner at Quarantine that four men
had died on the voyage hither between
Bahia and st. Thomas. He said that, as he
was not physician, he could not tell what
the men had died of, but he volunteered to
describe their symptoms. The health doctor
called the disease malarial fever, and the
steamship was not detained. There is lit
tie or no danger that any of the 80 passen-
gers, 12 of whom were in the cabin, will
spread the contagion in this weather; be-
sides the ship was scrubbed and fumigated
DR.. Rosenthal the First Victim.
DIR. Rosenthal, who was on his first voy-
age in the Alliance as ships physician, was
the first victim of the pestilence. 1t is sup
posed that he caught it at Santos, where it
had been epidemic for several months.
The Alliance Left Santos October IA. Dr.
Rosenthal was confined to his room on the
l. 90 he oarta i,,of
after the ship sailed from Rio Janeiro. He
began to suspect the nature of his ailment,
and prescribed for himself accordingly. He
appeared to be better on the evening of Oc-
tober %, when the ship steamed away from
Bahia. He became delirious in the morn
ing, and died just before noon. His body
was sewed in a canvas hammock, weighted
with two CRATE bars, and 81 into the sea at
night. Captain Grifiths read the burial
service.
Three of the crew had caught the disease.
They were Frank Westfahl, fireman, aged
80; Thomas Lyons, second pantryman, aged
%, and Christopher Ruckh, butcher, aged
20. Captain Grifiths decided that the three
men were suffering from yellow fever. He
rugged up a "sick bay forward, and had
the patients isolated there. A young
apothecary, known on shipboard only as
'Fred," compounded the medicines for the
patients They were attended by the cap
tain, First Officer Swift and Purser Main
waring.
Precautions to Prevent a Panic.
Sulphur was burned all over the ship
every day, and every part of her was
cleaned and scrubbed. All the passengers
guessed what the trouble was, and gloom
pervaded the cabin and steerage until the
vessel got away from st. Thomas on Satur-
day last, when all knew that the danger
was over.
On the day after the doctor was buried,
October "a, Butcher Ruckh died. He was
buried at night, that the passengers might
not needlessly be alarmed. Westfahl died
October 26, and his body was consigned to
the sea the next night. Lyons fingered un-
til Friday last, when the Alliance was mid
way between Barbados and st. Thomas. He
was also buried under cover Of darkness.
Peter Brown, the assistant steward on the
Alliance, was turned over to the police of