The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1900-02-09

"On Monday the 2gth, another
Chinese named Wong Chin, at o'clock
in the morning. went himself into the
Chinese hospital for treatment. lie was
put into the little cottage on the prem
ises which is used for suspect cases. |
saw him about two hours after he ar
rived there. He had fever. He told
me he had been working In the Pan
theon stables up to the previous after
noon or evening Sundays; that he had
been ordered off because he was not
well: that he had no place to go, and
wandered around on Sunday night and
took shelter under some bushes In Nuu-
anu Valley in the neighborhood OF
where the first man was found. He
slept there and in the morning had
gone himself to the Chinese hospital.
He was sick all of Monday and Tues
day-from January Goth to Feb
ruary 1st-when he died. He did not
present any definite symptoms Of
plague
Evidence of Infection.
1T was not strongly suspected that
he died of plague. But there seemed
to be no sufficient cause of death. He
died suddenly; that was the main sus-
picious circumstance. A postmortem
was held; the symptoms were not pro-
nounced. The postmortem appearance
was not pronounced enough to make
the diagnosis positive. No baciln
could be found in blood slides made,
and 1t was only several days later that
we got positive diagnosis of plague,
through finding bacilli in cultures made
from his blood. The cultures demon
strated positively and plainly any
quantity of bacilH. This man died OF
plague and he came from the Pantheon
stables. These two cases are good evil
dence that the place itself was infected
and that the men had become injected
there. This is not positive evidence
they may not have contracted the dis
ease somewhere else. 1t is strong cir
cumstantial evidence, however, con-
sidering that there were only few
Chinese or Japanese on these premises,
and that two of them had within rev
days of each other, died of plague. III
there was evidence lacking, certainly
three cases ought to prove concluslvely
that the place is infected.
"On Saturday, when | closed up the
saloon and stables, l Immediately took
census of all the people employed
on the place. Among these names
was that of J. H. Hartman, night
Waterman, who was reported as not
to have been at work the night be-
fore, because he was not feeling well.
closed the place up that same even
ing. Then DR.. Wayson came to me
and said he had been treating Hart
man. / saw Hartman with DIR. Way
son. He had some fever, but he pre-
scented no distinct symptoms of plague.
He had some hard glands in his in
guinal-femoral region, but they felt
like old glands. They seemed to be
simply hardened glands, and he HIM
self stated that he had had them a
long time / saw him again on Sun
day. On Monday i got report from
DR.. Wayson. Yesterday morning DR..
Wayson reported that he was much
better. He had not very high fever
and his symptoms in general did not
resemble the constitutional symptoms
of plague, although he was considered
suspicious enough to be carefully
watched. Last evening there was a
change, the bubo began to develop
rapidly, and the patient was promptly
removed to the pest hospital and is
now under treatment.
"These three cases of plague from
these premises seems to me to prove
positively that the premises are infect
ed. AS we'll as these three cases, there
is another man, a Japanese, who
worked on these premises up to five
days ago. He has fever and some kind
of hardened glands, although no def
mite bubo at all, his condition being
something like the condition of Hart
is in a house on Queen and South
street and the whole place has been
quarantined. His case can be classed
as a suspicious case.
"That Is direct evidence. There Is
other evidence in the fact that sick
rats have been found on the premises
ever since early in January. / think
we have sufficient evidence to declare
the premises infected by plague"
F. M. Hatch: 81 move that the Pan
theon Stables and Saloon be declared
infected by plague, and that the pub
lie safety requires their destruction by
fire." Carried.
President Wood: II think 1t is i'm
portant that we should destroy all
premises infected by plague. and that
such places should be dealt with right
away"
II might here say" said President
Wood. that the stock of goods in
both places are such as we have con-
sidered can be disinfected. Bottled
goods can be easily disinfected, as can
also carriages and vehicles. The
horse is an immune animal and can
be easily disinfected by having their
hoofs treated. This block Is right adj
Joining the old infected portion of
Chinatown. 1t is not very remote
from the place where the infection
first appeared. It is not very far from
Block 10. One of the first fires which
the Health Department caused was d.
rectly back of Fowler's yard and Fowl
er's yard is directly back of the pres
emit premises. 1t seems as IL the
whole Of this neighborhood may be in
fected. Again, livery stables are
known to be places where rats collect