The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-09-02
COLERA IN 1856.
1t Was Only Sporadic in
Jersey City and Few
Persons Died.
HISTORY FRO M DIR. WATSON
No Cases of the Pest in New York
Quiet at Quarantine
Situation in Europe.

0Aph&ilV1 ia AA1VpOe
The last serious outbreak of cholera in
this vicinity was in the summer of 1866.
1t was brought to New York from
Europe and spread over this entire Sec
tion of the country. 1t made its appear
ance in this State in Hudson, Essex.
Union, Burlington, Camden. Gloucester
aud Cumberland counties. Hudson
county suffered severely. but strange as
IL may seem old Jersey City suffered less
in proportion to its population than any
other city. 1t had only three cases, Two
of which were local and one imported
from New York, while no less than sew
enty were attacked in old Hudson City.
the plague broke out in June. 1866, at the
works of the Lodi Poudrette Manufac-
turing Company on the Meadows on the
west bank of the Hackensack River
About sixteen deaths occurred when
the place was vacated. 1he weather
was warm and the atmosphere
was steaming, particularly at night.
The purifying night soil fmpregnated
the whole atmosphere and everything
the workmen ate and drank. On July
IL the weather was hot and the nights
steamy, meats spoiled with rapidity aud
about that time five or six deaths oc-
cured in other parts of tine Hill A
wealthy family OF fastiduously cleanly
habits suffered from the Scourge, SUPER
induced by the intolerable stencil and
eff1uvia which came from the purifying
carcas of Il dead horse which lay a few
yards to the wiIdward of their residence,
and through official neglect remained
I1f,l l,f1ni niad han
length poor German was induced to
remove and bury the offensive mass. He
was taken with cholera asphyxia and
died the same night
FAVORABLE CONDITION FOR CHOLERA.
On August 80. 30 and 81 the thermom-
etric and hygrometric state of the atmos-
phere being similar to that of July 2S,
four cases, all fatal, occurred. The vic
Tins drank from shallow wells, the sur
face water of which was nouiceabiy un-
palatable, and brearhed an atmosphere
redolenG of filth and corruption.
During the last days of September
twelve cases occurred within circum-
scr1bed area having clsy subsoil over
laid with muck and always wet and mtry
except during protracted drought. This
was Jay street, which was the flthiest
street in Hudson City. 1t was a bad
smelling place at all times, but at that
time the stencil was Slckening and un-
bearable. The bodies Of dead animals
tainted the atmosphere to remarkable
degree, and yet the miserable citizens
paid no attention to the carrion. Neigh
boring outhouses had overflowed their
vaults, and the street cutters were dis
gustingly foul.
Shallow wells furnished them with
water tor household use. drained from
vaults, pig pens and a surface soil alike
abominable. sluggish east wind pre-
vailed nearly all the time, bringing hither
from the greater cities lying to the east
ward focal odor, distinctly recognizable
all along the eastern brow of the hill.
The night air was foggy and suffocating.
This outbreak came after the locality
had been thorougly disinfected and did
not return. The burdened east wind,
however, still prevailed or alternated
with oppressive calms nearly all the
month of October.
THE BEACON AVENUE OUTBREAK.
On October II cholera appeared in Bea-
con avenue in a house 25x3O feet, three
stories high, with narrow stairs ascend
ing through the centre. 1t contained no
less than six separate tenements for poor
families, two on each floor. and at that
time it was crowded with people.
The owner occupied one apartment on
the second floor, the carpet of which had
not been removed, except on one occa-
sion, in twelve or fourteen years. The
walls and ceilings had not been white
washed or cleansed since it had been
erected. The vault had overhowed and
new vault had just been built along its
side to receive its overflow.
Fourteen deaths occurred in this house
The city authorities caused the building
to be vacated and torn down. About
October 2S the cholera disappeared en-
tirely from that neighborhood.
One of the cases in old Jersey City was
that of man from New York He had
been in the vicinity of O cholera hospital
and he came over to Jersey City to visit
some friends who lived on Newark ave.
nue. about opposite the City Hall. He
had the notion that he would die with
the scourge and nothing could get the
idea out of his head. About three o'clock
In the afternoon he was attacked with all
the symptoms of genuine Asiatic cholera
and at ten O'Clock he died. The authori-
ties took prompt action and no one else in
the house was attacked
NO CAUSE FOR ALARM HERE,
DR.. B. A. Watson, VINO had consider
able experience with the scourge in the
epidemic of 1865, and who has given the
disease much careful study, said last
evening that he did not think that the
cholera would gain any foo5hold in this
country. few cases might get into
New York, he said, but with the sanitary
precautions which the health authorities
were taking he thought that those cases
could be isolated and the pest kept from
spreading. Moreover, he said, that the
weather was becoming too CO Id for th e
scourge to make any headway.
When asked If there was not danger in
the germs becoming numbed by the cold
only to break out again and spread at the
return of warm weather in the summer,
he replied that he thought not. He said
that his experience had taught him that
that Such was not the case