The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-11-06
RETURNED FROM DAY ST. LOUIS.
Capt. j. II. Johnston Talks of the
yellow Fever As He Found 1t.

Capt. James II. Johnston returned yes
terday from Bay St. Louis. Miss, where
he was called on account of the Illness
of his son. who had the yellow fever, but
who has recovered.
Capt. Johnston is a veteran of three cpl
denies in Savannah, those of 1854, 1858 and
1876, and in one of the former was a suf-
ferer himself. He was one of the first
members of the Savannah Benevolent As
ISOLATION, of which ne is now president,
and which did hard work during the cpl
demic of 1876. He is therefore, an author
lty on yellow fever.
The disease prevalent in the stricken Sec
ton, Capt. Johnston says, is mild type
of yellow fever, and very different from
that form which has appeared in the Sa-
vannah epidemics. There are six symp-
toms In yellow fever. Capt. Johnston
says, which usually appear simultaneous
~, but in the cases which came under his
observation while al Bay st. Louis only
two or three of these symptoms appeared,
and they did not come together.
Il can see very WELL" he said, under
these circumstances why the first cases
were put down as supects. The disease as
it appeared did not really look like yellow
fever, but, of course, there is no doubt
now that that is what 1t is.
THE great trouble has been that the
people in that section were not prepared
for the attack. Those who have had to
deal with the disease in many instances,
knew little or nothing about it, 1 be-
lieve that fully 50 per cent. of the mortal
ity has been due to improper handling and
careless or ignorant nursing of the cases.
In one case that l know of a patient was
brought for a meal dish of chicken hash
and hominy, and at another time a dish
OF preserved pineapple. But the fever
seems to be a very mild type, and with
better care 1 am satisfied the death rate
would be much smaller.
Another thing l noticed was the bad
sanitary conditions prevailing in many
places. The system is one that must be
deleterious to the health of many of those
communities, and the epidemic in this re-
spect will undoubtedly be a lesson to those
who have suffered by it,"
Capt. Johnston said the business of that
section was almost entirely destroyed.
Where the Louisville and Nashville rail-
road formerly operated six trains day in
and out of New Orleans, there is now only
one, and that carries very few passengers.
Some of the quarantine experiences are
quite amusing. Through some of the cities
and towns the trains travel at the rate
of sixty miles an hour with all the win
dows closed and the doors locked. Going
through Pike county, Alabama, for in
stance, the conductor would have all the
windows shut and the doors locked and in
struct all on board that they must under
no circumstances leave the car.
Another thing noted was the fact that a
train in going from one yellow fever town
to another, as from Montgomery to Mo-
bile, always had to change it's crew a few
miles out of each city, and in making the
changes these crews were not allowed to
come in contact with each other. The
mi nrfNr l1fll-xy ,ef
side off the train and the Mobile crew
would get on on the other. There seemed
to be an objection to mixing the different
kinds of yellow fever germs, in the event
that any members of either of the train
crews were carrying them around in their
clothes.
Capt. Johnston did not care to pass his
ten day period of detentioHin detention
camp. When his son had recovered, there
fore, he went to New York by rail and re-
manned there a day or two, after which
he took the steamer City of Augusta for
Savannah