The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1897-09-20
NO OCCASION FOR ALARM
DR.. D. r. Stuart on the Yellow
Fever SitustiOn.
HousToN's VETERAN PHYSICIAN
Assures the People That There In
No Dnnger-Rcm niscenccs of the
Great Epidemic of 1867.

office Yesterday on the subject OF yellow
fever. and his past experience with the
scouree.
The reporter opened the subject by say-
Ing to the doctor: you are regarded as
the nestor Of the medical profession In
Houston and have had wide experience In
yellow fever practice Anything you may
say upon the subject will doubtless be of
great interest TO the public just at this
time. What do ven think OF the type Of
| yellow fever ms It now exists in New Or
leans Ocean Springs. Mobile and other
points in that locality?"
The doctor reDlied ut is OF an exceed
ingly mild tyne. much more so than any
| yellow fever that has ever come under my
observation. In fact have no lnowl-
edge Of yellow fever ever existing In this
country and the mortality being SO light. F"
| Dr. Stuart was then asked what he
thought about the danger OF the disease
spreading. in view OF the mildness OF the
| fever and present climatic conditions. He
| said
with the season 10 FAR advanced and an
| effective quarantine there is no possible
chance of its spreading. do not consider
a quarantine effective where people COM
| ing from any infected localities are allowed
| to even Dass through the city.
| IF these people are kept out and the
| train crews are changed mt the State line.
| we are perfectly safe and in no danger
| whatever. except from some scapegoat who
| NAV sneak through and come In through
the back door by violating his oath
THE climate Is now dry and the con-
| ditipns here are not favorable to the spread
| Of tho disease even should II come, that
is. If we take proper hygenic precautions
"One thing which should be very thor
oughv Impressed upon the street cleaning
department Is that all this vegetation and
decaved matter should be promptly re-
| moved after 1t is scrnped up into piles,
because they generate poisonous gases from
| the moment thew are rsked IN until they
are hauled awav. The work of dislntect-
ing should be done Immediately after the
| cleaning"
In tho epidemic OF 1867" he continued,
Our sanitary and hvgienic conditions woe
| deplcrable The city was very dirty, the
| water was bad and ye had no system of
sewerage. The disease first appeared In
Galveston having been brought in ty
shins. We had no quarantine system In
those DAYS. DR.. FleweIlen and myself were
practically The creators OF this quarantine
business. | don't mean that we created
the law. but we had the thing brought
before the legislature and the quarantine
law was passed. General Charles q, ;flin
was in command at Galveston when the
epidemic started. and as soon as he found
IL was yellow fever he left aud care to
houston. locating in the old Rice house,
| where the Office OF The Post formerly
stood lie came away too late, however,
fcr he sckened and died of yellow fever
within few DAVIS after his arrival here.
from ms case the fever spread like wild
nfe. Our population then was a little over
lLoOo. and there were $50 deaths registered
from the endemic. OF course there were
great many deaths that We're never record
Ed From Houston the fever spread
lrishttullv. going to Huntsville. iaG.ange
brennan ana great many other interior
towns. Ihose towns were all depo oulated
IL went cut to Anderson, Nnyaeota and
Bastrcp. and was very fatal everywhere IL
went l think the epidemic OF 81 was tie
MOST fatai ever known in this COUNTRY"
The doctor was then asked II there led
ever neen any cases of yellow ever in
this section since '67
me only case OF yellow fever" said he
mat ! nave any knowledge Of in this oity
since " was when Mr.. W. ID. Cleveland
contracted the disease in Galveston in 1872.
He returned home as soon as he ,ns taken
sick and | treated him
Then In 1878 there was an enid mic az
called yellow fever at Calvert, Sh,eyc-
port and Columbus. There has always been
question. however. as to whether the dis
ease which prevailed at those places was
genuine yellow fever. The sickness at
Shreveport was caused by pulling n lot ~
dead cattle out Of the river and not MIX
ing prompt and proper disposition Of them
Inc poisonous Eases from those decom-
posed carcasses made the whole community
sick.
AT Columbus the epidemic was brought
ABOUT bv vast amount OF cotton worm
peison being used all ND the Colorado river
Heavv rains fell washing the cotton yorm
noison Into the river and thousands of fish
were killed bv it, These dead fish were
distributed hv the high water all over the
nat country around Columbus AMI a great
mnny people became sick. quite Il number
DIVING. The alarm of yellow fever was then
raised aud IL came near depcs,,laiing tnat
section IN and around Columbus
me Calvert yellow fever scare was tho
result or the BRACES river overtlowag. A
great deal Of water was left standing
around the town. which became staunant
ana bioueht on pernicicus form OF ma
laria. from which quite number n, nconis,
died. and hundreds emigrated. thin sme 4,
was vellcw fever e ~
therefore, continued DR., Stuart 81
say tnat II is questionable II yellow fever
existed In these places In 1875 Tho min
.oh " the medical fraternity has Always
been divided on the question and from INV
experience with yellow fever have 'i tam, 'ny
the negative side"
when the source or cause OF yellow fever
was mentioned. DR.. Stuart said:
MOST every enc knows that yellow favor
foreign disease. 1t does not belong
IN TINS country. but was imported from
india and other foreign tropical countries
Ihat 1t is very CONTAGIOUS is beyoad cues
uon' II is taught, and we know from, CHI
servation that when case of yellow fever
apocass IN a community II is like throwing
sack of INDIGO into tub OF water. II
we had one case in Houston and the oe.n.
ditions We're favorable for It's propa s,iion
II would be but n short time until almost
every man, woman and child i'm tho si,y
would no sick.
Knowing this. II is rather hard TO he
ieyc that the present epidemic 4, genuine
yellow fever. Some OF the physirians IN
the Infected district saw IL is. while diners
contend that 1t Is not, Even admitting