The San Francisco call., 1897-09-21
DANGER OF THE sCoURGE.
Fleeing Thousands Threaten to
Spread the Dread Yellow Fever
Sill Further.

fiS0inS lnOuS6noS III TSdlSI ~
Spread the Dread Yellow Fever
Still Further.
The outlook for New Orleans and other
places on and near the Gulf coast or con-
nected Herewith is not good. A repeti
ton of the experiences of '53 rs and '79
is threatened in spite of the vigilance
exercised in every quarter-enforced sani-
tary measures and rigid shotgun quar-
antine.
At the very first note of alarm the sapi-
tary battlements of every city. town and
village in the whole section were manned.
Expert medical scouts were hurried to the
front TO investigate, and Immediately
upon their prompt report rigid quaran-
tine was thrown around each center, all
communication suspended and the place
OF the first appearan ce of the dread scourge
entirely isolated. but all too late to pre-
vent the scattering OF the seeds OF the
infection to the north, east and west.
Ocean Springs. where the first pro-
nounced case OF yellow fever occurred, is
situated on the line of the Louisville and
Nashville Railroad. about half way be-
tween Mobile and New Orleans. The
town stands on the eastern side of the en-
trance to Biloxi Bay, has a fine beach for
bathing and is much frequented both
winter and summer as health resort.
"Dengue" fever, said to be malarial
affection, prevails there more or less all
the time but UP to the time OF the first
death recognized as from yellow fever
out of some 600 ca ses of fever there had
been only four or five deaths.
On Saturday. September 4 DR.. Bemis
died suddenly after a short illness with
very sus picious symptoms. The news of
his death was soon carried to New Or
leans, Mobile, Jackson and other places,
and health officials and medical experts
hurried TO the scene. Before their ar
rival, however, the words yellow fever"
had been whispered around among the
thousand or more guests and a hurried
fl ght from the scene of danger began.
The doctors were not fully agreed as TO
the cause of Bemis' death, and not until
another occurred and an autopsy was held
on Monday, the 9th inst, did they ali
feel justified in pronouncing the cause
yellow fever-a term which carries we'll
founded terror throughout that part of the
country.
By this time the visitors of few DAYS
before were so scattered as to be beyond
the reac ch of the restrictions of the health
boards, and the work of preventing the
spread of the disease was multiplied a
hundred fold.
simultaneously with the verdict of the
visiting physicians came the the death of
young Gelpi, who returned sick from the
springs on the 4th inst, at the home of
his parents, in the well-to-do quarter of
New Orleans; then nine cases in other
quarters of the city, and OF people who
had not been near the danger. Next fol-
lowed the cases at Biloxi Pass, Christian.
Edwards, Jackson, Mobile and other
places, with a hurried exodus of the in
habitants and a further dissemination.
Where it will end is harI 10 predict.
With the places mentioned and many
others, perhaps, it is now fight till frost,
which will not come for some weeks, vet.
perhaps, not for three months.
In regard to the origin of yellow fever
great differences of opinion prevail among
scientific men. 1t is generally admitted,
however, that it is not indigenous to the
United States and that it exists psrenially
in the West Indies, on the gulf coast of
Mexico, on the northern coast of South
America, in Central America and the
Guinea and Niger coasts of Africa, which
latter place Is doubtless Its original
habitat.
While Havana. Vera Cruz and Rio
Janeiro are now regarded as endemic foci,
the dates of the importation OF the disease
to all these places can be readily fixed.
While 1t appeared at Santo Domingo as
early as 1914. it was not known in any
Cuban port until maay years after. and
not in Havana until 1851. 1t is we'll e<-
tablished that it was brought there from
Vera Crrz. where IL first appeared in 1699
Its first appearance in the United States
was at Philadelphia in 1899, since which
time 1t has appeared in various places in
eighty eight different years.
In seventy-seven of these there is eyery
evidence OF importation. and in SEVENTH
one of the seventy seven OF its Gaming
directly from the West Indies. where ali
conditions are favorable 10 its propaea-
tion from one years end to the other. A
more or less dense population. with the
usual accom- panlment OF fifth, a low aiti-
tude with moderate moisture and pro-
tracted tenn perature OF above 70 degrees
Fahrenheit are all that the disease needs
to thrive continuously. Once thorouphiv
acclimated there is little to fear. bur Wis
Itors from other colder sections are at No
time entirely safe. In the visitation of
1873, 132 towns in the United States wera
stricken, with $4,000 cases and near rs GOO
deaths. 1t came first TO New Orleans on
steamer from havana, May 28. None
OF the crew, all gulf sailors, were tesen
out two of the officers. Americans. and
new men on the ship. died four or five
davs alter coming ashore. Then. as in
the present case, the trouble began.
At the nrst mention of yellow fever the
exodus commenced and the disease was
carried all over the country up TO the
OHIO River-1100 died in Vicksburg. 5000
IN Memphis and even as far as GalIipoiis,
Ohio, where New Orleans boat tdischargad
some passengers there were some thirtv-
hve deaths. The violence of the niaona
only abated with the coming of frost. on
| October 25. oi'
With the quarantine at Ship Island
where ships from all quarters of the world
are to be found, keeping up constant and
irse communication with the mainland