The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1899-08-05
VERY SERIOUS MATTER.
The Outbreak of Yellow Fever at
the National Soldiers Home
q. at Hampton, Va.
SIX DEATHS ARE THUS FAR RECORDED.
The Conditions Serious. AS There
Have Been Many Visitors at the
Home and the ContaGion May he
More widespread than Appears Mt
Present.

Washington, Aug. 1.-Surgc0n-GeE-
.sral Sternbcrg has received the lilo
ing from Lieut.-Col. Dewitt, at Fort
Monroe, regarding the outbreak of
yellow fever at the soldiers home at
Hampton, Va:
Official Report.
Fort Monroe, Va, July 31-Surgeon
General, L. 5. A., Washington: At
four o'clock. yesterday, Surgeon Pet
tus. United States marine hospital
service, quarantine officer, officially
stated that yellow fever was at ma
ticnal soldiers home, Hampton; 81
case with six deaths.
The commanding officer took imme-
di1tc measures for quarantine.
Surgeon Pettus states that the sur
gcon general of the marine hospital
service was notified yesterday after
neon. DE WITT, Surgeon"
The Condition Serious.
Adjt.-Gen. Corbin and Maj. Johnston,
assistant adjutant general, were at
Fort Monroe Sunday and were present
whe3 Surgeon Pettus made his report
to Lieut.-Col. Dewitt regarding the
outbreak of yellow fever at the sol
d.crS' home. Gen. Corbin says that
from all accounts there is little doubt
that the conditions are serious, and
there is no telling how far the infec-
ton may have reached. There is 4
trolley road along the beach for n dis
lance of more than six miles, and eX-
cursion parties have been coming to
Oil Point and adjacent places and have
taken the trolley to Newport News.
aud TO the soldiers home.
One Theory of the Cause.
Gen. Corbin says that one theory of
the way in which fever might have
been brought to the home is that one
OF the soldiers recently visited sam
tiagC. He returned some time since,
suffering with what the physicians
thought to be dengue. 1t seems it was
not until the inmates of the home be-
gan to die that the disease was dis
covered to be yellow fever.
No Question About the Disease.
Gen. Corbin says there is not the
least question about the character of
the disease, physicians who were pres
eat at the post mortem on SOM of the
victims declaring that yellow fever
w.s surely present.
According to advices received at
the war department there nave been a
total of 40 cases, six of whom have
died.
Concerned for Fort Monroe.
The soldiers home has no connec-
ton with the war department. 1t is
under a board of managers created by
congress-, which mcna,- 70 all the sol
dicrs' homes throughout the country.
Tie men admitted are soldiers of the
wa OF the rebellion. Officers of the
WI department are very much on
cerned on the part of the military post
at Fort Monroe, which is within six
miles of the home.
Held a Conference.
Adit.-Gen. Corbin and ~Surgeon-Gen-
eral %Sternberg had a conference, and it
was determined to hold everything in
readiness to take care of yellow fever
should it appear among the troops.
Surgeon Pettus, through Gen. Cor
bin, has requested Surgeon-General
Sternberg to send him such expert inn
hume yellow fever surgeons as he can
fiEC.
Hospital Officers
The marine hospital officers are as
tonished at the presence of yellow
fever in that locality. The last cpl
demic of the disease occurred at Nor
felix in 1855, having been brought into
port on the steamer Ben Franklin on
June Z of that year, and in the cpl
dCmic which followed there were 1,SO7
deaths.