The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-03-13
THE EPIDEMIC IN sKAGWAY.
Physician In Oregon says Cerebro-spinni Men'
inKitis There Is swift ana Deadly.
From tho Portland o%regonian.

From the Portland Oregonian.
A prominent physician of Portland, who does
not desire his name to DO used, said. concerning
spinal meningitis: 1.-The disease runs in cpl
denies and is due mainly to bad sanitary condi-
tions. 1t is an Inflammation OF the mem
branes Of the spinal cord and of the brain, and
is accompanied by terrible headaches and pains
in different parts Of The body. Young. healthy
persons are more liable 10 it than any other
class, and it attacks male and female alike. Tho
disease is accompanied by q breaking out Of
purple blotches all over the body, and for this
reason is sometimes called purpuric FEVER.
There is no known cure FOR the disease, and
nine out OF ten people attacked die inside of
that time. II one does happen to recover, he is
left deaf or blind. or afflicted in such a way that
The sanitary conditions in ssagway are
very bad. There is no drainage whatever. all
Stops, &c., being thrown on the ground. The
water is very. bad, as the creeks are null of dead
horses by the hundreds. Then the cold weather
conpels the Inhabitants TO keep all the win
dows tightly closed. shutting, out all y~entila-
ton and adding to the general bad health. 1t
is u very terrible thing, and nothing on earth
in the town. While it is probably not conta-
gious. the, conditions that give it to one person
will give 1t 70 another Just as Well"
climate renders men easier prey to the disease.
Up to the latter part OF, January the winter,
from the Arctic Ocean to the Mexican line, had
been exceedingly mid. Since then the Alas
ka coast has been constantly swept by icy
gales. which have been destructive alike 10 lire
and property. During this brief period the
Clara Nevada has boon driven to her destruc-
ton in the Lynn Canal, the Oregon has been
blown ashore, other vessels have had minor acct
dents, and many people have died at Skagway
ana Dyca and on the mountain passes leading
Strong indeed is the constitution that escapes
ills in the northern regions at. this season OF the
year. Few of the many thousands who have
left Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle for the
north since the first OF the year can truthtully
say thatthey arrived al Skagway In perfect
health. All complained OF some nilment-Cold
IN the head, stiffness of the limbs, sore throat,
backache, DC. The long steamer trip is not
conducive to bodily comIort., Soasickness is
anything but pleasant, and lack OF exercise
causes languor and failure OF the eXcretory or
gHns to DO their duty. Scrupulous attention to
the functions Of these organs Is an essential In
the treatment of cercbro-s spinal meningitis. but
whether II avails as IA precautionary measure Is
for doctors TO say.
As the majority of the north. bound speople
come from south OF the Both parallel, they do
not have any great difficulty in ACQUIRING n
point OF Vancouver Island and pokes her nose
into the waters OF Queen Charlotte Sound. In
Aliska it ID not considered good form TO kill
II cold with whiskey. The main reason is that
whiskey in the northern regions does more
harm than good. mother reason Is that the
liant or M n medicine. Is pure, rot ana is or no
value. One drink OF Alaska whiskey will mako
II man yearn for tho return OF his money: the
second win cause him to tell I'LL no knows to
any one having. lilne ana pntIchce 10 listen 10
h'HA fAAhA
hunt for mis- wife relations.
mo sanitary condition OF SkaRway IL as bad
as il pos sibiy could be, but meningitis is just as
prevalent and Just as fatal in the mountain
passes, where there is no end OF fresh mir and
unrivallcd scenery, as II is in the mud nat called
SkagHay.
Exposure to cold in Alaska, especially when
men know what the result will be. is due large
ly to cRrolessncSs. Men Will hug n C d-hot
stove for hours and toast their shins TO pertcc-
tiun and then venture into tho icy wind with
tho hat on the back of the head, the coat I'M
buttoned, or the neck insuiiicicntly protected.
In the course OF n few hours they rack their
minds - lin! ont why this cold in.the head.
why this. weakness and other ailments which
are the sure rOrerunncr OF pneumonia. grip. or
meningitis. Others will stand on street cor
ners until the muscles of tho feet twitch and a
chill runs M the back from cold. Others Will
keen bundled all day in furs, ,woollen under
clothes, heavy stockings. high shoes. and warm
overshoes, with a woOllcn cap pulled down
over the head, leaving only part OF tho face eS-
pO.ed. In u burst of confidence in the atInos-
pheric conditions they will throw open tho
coat and put the cap In n normal position on
the head. In n comparatively short time tho
wind Is at the warm scalp and neck and quick
ly works its way inside the %clO'hing To the
chest and TO tho spine and the foundation for a
period OF sickness ID etfcctuaily laid. Mon
working on the mountain passes with their
OUTFITS are as careless as people In the town.
The lack OF hospital facilities at Skagway
gives the meningitis sufferer but little show
for his life.