The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-01-18
Ell SMALL POX.
The Second Case Developed Yesterday
A Colored Stevedore St-icken-The Pest
House Being Repaired aud Both Pa
tIents will BE Isolated There-HIs;ory
Of the Pest Hospital


The case OF Stephen Johnson, colored.
who was taken with a case OF smallpox
Saturday of last week. is progressing sat-
isfactoriIy 10 Dr. Mcmillan. superintend-
ent of health, who is attending john
SON.
AT the request OF the board of health.
the Atlantic Coast Line had the caboose
car of the train on which Johnson was
a brakeman, sidetracked outside OF the
city and thoroughly fumigated. and the
bedding taken from 1t and burned. Cap
tain d. ]. George, who was the con-
ductor on the train. and all his train
hands will go to DR.. McMillan's office
today TO be vaccinated.
ANOTHER CASE DEVELOPS.
AS was fully expected, another case of
smallpox developed yesterday. James
Harge, a colored stevedore. who lives in
Latimer's alley between Second and
Third and Orange and Ann streets. was
taken sick last Thursday, but was bet
ter yesterday morning and came up
town. He went into Mr.. ]. II. w. Fuchs
saloon on Front and Ann streets, and
Mr.. Fuchs knowing that he was sick
and noticing pimples on his face, told
HllIl lie Adu DtlltE see d OOClOT. f1aESS
Immediately went to DR.. McMillan's Of
flee, reaching there about $50 a. m, and
DR.. Mcmillan diagnosed the case as
smallpox. Drs. G.. G.. Thomas, Thos. s.
Burbank and DR.. c.. d. Bell also saw
Harge, but they were not certain till
later in the day that Harge had a case
Of smallpox. Last night it was agreed
that the disease was smallpox.
AS soon as DR.. Mcmillan suspected the
case of Harge, he sent him home. quar-
antined the house and a two officers
stationed in the alley TO prevent him or
any of the inmates of the house from
going out or any person from going in or
passing through the alley. About a
dozen people live in the place and DR..
Mcmillan vaccinated them. They will be
strictly q~uarantined till all danger is
passed.
1t is not known where Harge contract
ed the infection, as no contact with John
son could be traced.
THE PEST HOSPITAL.
The city authorities gave out the con-
tract yesterday to repair the old pest
hospital at Mt. Tirzah. which it situat-
ed IN a bluff on the Cape Fear river just
below the Dram Tree, three miles from
the city. Alderman Benson has the con-
tract and yesterday began work with ten
carpenters. 1t is necessary to put new
pillars under the house, put in a new
floor, put in new windows and repair the
roof. The carpenters worked all day
yesterday and last night and will work
all day today. They expect to complete
the repairs today and both smallpox
patients will be sent out there tonight or
tomorrow morning.
The land on which the pest hospital
is situated, belongs to the Seamen's
Friend Society, but the building was
erected by the city. Permission was Sc
cured from the Seamen's Friend Society
yesterday to use the property again.
Mr.. James Sprunt, in his book entitled
Tales and Traditions of the Cape Fear.
gives the following sketch of Mt. Tirzah:
I'VE now pass Hospital Point, wherein
was placed a pest house during the small
pox plague which followed Sherman's
army. Many thousands of negro refu-
gees fell. victims of this disease. =
This place is also known as Mt. Tirzah,
and it is the property of the Seamen's
Friend Society of Wilmington. In 1885
the citizens of the town held a meeting
to establish the Wilmington marine hos
pltaI Tor the bene1t of sick Seamen in
this port for whom no provision up to
that time had been made. Subscriptions
We're taken III, a society formed, and
the Mt. Tirzah property of 80 acres and
several houses standing thereon pur-
chased from Governor Z. B.. Dudley for
81, 600.
The principal building, a house of two
stories, was converted into a hospital and
managed by the Marine Hospital Society
until April "a, 1855, when this property
and the other assets of the society We're
transferred to the Seamen's Friend Soci-
ETY., which undertook to carry on the
work in conjunction with its own benev-
olent enterprise in the port of Whining
ton. Later on the United States govern
ment established in the southeastern
part of the town a fine marine hospital,
which provided greatly improved quar-
ters and treatment for sick seamen, and
which is now one of the most interesting
features of the port of Wilmington.
The Mt. TirZah property is OCCASION
ally used by the city government for the
isolation and treatment of infectious dis