The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1900-02-23
The Smallpox Outbreak.

DR.. Robert Wood Tate, acting
President of the County Board Of
Health, read the following report
to the special session of Quarterly
Court Monday, in regard to the re
cent outbreak of smallpox in Boil
var:
To the Honorable County Court OF
Hardeman County:
l beg leave to report to your body
statement regarding the recent
outbreak of smallpox at Bolivar,
and the active steps taken by the
County Board of Health in restrict
ing and isolating the disease.
December %, 1899, l was called
to see Thomas Parran, colored,
miles northwest of Bolivar, who
had been sick four days with small
pox. That afternoon | visited
Grant Butler, colored, who was sick
with the same disease III Bolivar.
December goth, patients visited
again with DR.. Moore, who report
ed Oscar Smith suffering with the
same disease and living in a differ
ent locality of the town from Grant
Butler.
December 80, 1899, DR.. J. A.
Albright, of the State Board of
Health, visited Bolivar and confirm
ed the diagnosis, and said it was a
severe form of smallpox. He left
Bolivar at noon on the same day.
December 81, 1899, | visited
Ann Pirtle, colored, in the south
western part of Bolivar, who was
sick with smallpox; and in the
morning of the same day | visited
Ranse Dotson, colored, who was
living four miles northwest of town.
This made a total of five cases of
virulent smallpox, three cases in
Bolivar and two in the country.
By January ., 1900, these cases,
with families, were isolated-three
at the pest house, one in Bolivar
and one three-quarters of a mile
from the pest house.
A pest house, means of transfer
ing patients, bed-clothing, food,
guards, nurses and other necessities
were obtained as quickly as posi-
BILE, and steps taken to stamp out
the disease. The exposed negroes
were also isolated and detained in
camp.
All of this was done by direction
and under the superintendent of
the County Board of Health. In
Bolivar, and in the country, the
houses vacated by the patients had
to be cleaned, fumigated and white
washed, which procedure rendered
them inhabitable, and any one COM
ing in the neighborhood, or living
in them, would run no risk of con-
tracing the disease.
The dead had to be buried by i'm
munes, and the corpses disinfected
before burial.
The first death occurred about
January 2, and four negroes and
one white followed quickly.
January 9th, 1900, Oscar Smith
died of contiuent smallpox, and the
same day, after his burial, his fam
lily, consisting of wife and one child,
his mother and brother, were re-
moved to a vacant house, one mile
east of Bolivar.
BY this time the County Board
of Health had ordered vaccination
in the town, believing as every
Board of Health in the world be-
lieves, that vaccination is the best
way of restricting and preventing
the spread of the disease.
We had hopes at that time of
having the disease under control,
but were astonished by having a
young negress, Cora Ramsey, living
in the northwestern part of Bolivar,
to break out with smallpox about
January IA, 1900. She was sent to
the pest house Immediately, and
those who had been exposed by her
were isolated and quarantined.
Following the appearance of this
case, "Health Ordinance No. l"
making vaccination compulsory
throughout the County, was passed.
In this, we, as the Board of Health,
were following orders from the
State Board of Health, the example
set by neighbOring Counties, Shell
by and Madison, also believing il
best for the health of the County,
as we did not know when or where
smallpox would break out, as the
young negro, Cal Gray, tina
brought it to Bolivar, was at large
and no one knew of his whereabouts
By expiration of the time allowed
in ''Ordinance No. u for vaccina
ton throughout the County. ''Or
dinance No. 90 passed the Board o
Health, January 81, 1900, modify
ing and amending "Ordinance No
l." limiting compulsory vaccination
to District No. 6. By this time
any person in the County who hat
been exposed to Cal Gray woulC
have manifested the disease, and, a
is we'll known, no one developed it
but, in District No. 6, a great man!
had been exposed to the negress
| Cora Ramsey, for she was around