The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1901-01-08
SMALLPOX
EPIDEMIC
The Entire Country Is In
Danger.
MONTANA SITUATION
Bozeman Said to Have Thirty Gases,
Billings, Missoula and Other
Towns Infected.

by smallpox. The disease is more
or less prevalent in all the more I'M
portant towns of the state. The cpl
demic of the disease last year was
considered a serious one. but it is be
lieved there are more cases of small
poX in the state now than there were
at any time a year ago. Up to two
years ago, smallpox was rare indeed
in this state. The first cases appear
ed at Glasgow, and We're believed tc
have started from the porter OF
President James J. Hills private car
who contracted the disease in
some mysterious way while travel
ing over the line. Butte and Great
\ Falls were the principal sufferers
while Kalispell and Helena came in
for share of the trouble.
Helena was more fortunate last
year than any other Montana town
and has had fewer cases this year
than it did last winter. Butte was
the principal sufferer. 4 short time
ago there were 81 cases in the pest
house at Butte and other cases I'M
der quarantine about the city. Hell
ena has only six or seven cases of the
disease at the pest house in the val
ley. City Health Officer Leslie Sui
grove thought for a time yesterday
that he had discovered another case
but upon investigating it. found it
was not smallpox.
Bozeman is now contending with
an epidemic of the disease in mild
form. A Bozeman physician is au-
thority for the statement that there
are now not less than thirty cases of
smallpox in that city. No especial
attention is being paid to the disease.
Not all the cases are under quaran-
tine, and the authorities have not
established pest house or attempt
ed to segregate the afflicted per-
sons other than in a number of in
stances, to quarantine their homes.
~ AiooI StlctS Ill bOLcludH luS us
ease has been particularly mild,
but the physicians pronounce it gen
uine smallpox. number of the
best families in the town have con-
tracted the disease.
Billings has number of cases Of
smallpox. The first patient was Il
woman, who was thought to have CON
tracted the disease in Kansas City.
She had been visiting relatives at
Junction, from where she went to
Billings. Another Billings case came
from Carbon county, while two others
came from a graders camp on the
Toluca-Cody branch of the Burling-
ton, where the disease made it's APP
pearance some time ago.
Missoula has several cases #
smallpox. Two or three of them are
said to be traceable to a lumber camp
visited by an East Helena man who
had the smallpox and who exposed
about 60 men in that one camp to
the disease
Great Falls has not been free from
the disease this winter and other
towns throughout the state have had
it.
DR.. John Darling, eX-regimental sur
geon OF the Third United States III
fantry, which went from Fort Smell
ling to the Philippines, believes that
the country is on the verge of ar cpl
demic o. smallpox and that contagion
has been spread by returning soldiers
from the Philippines. DR.. Darling
says that the situation is alarming
and should engage the attention of
the authorities the country over.
This country is on the verge of
an epidemic of smallpox" said DR..
Darling. For the past two years
the returning soldiers from the Phil
ippines have been bringing the germs
of the disease into the country. Vague
press reports within the past six
weeks are even now presaging the
arrival of an epidemic.
Il have just read report from New
York to the effect that there are
probably 10000 cases in that city.
can say nothing of the truthfulness
of the report, If it is true, speaking
from what know of the disease, the
city of New York will probably he
quarantined against the world within
a short time. When the disease
reached New York, it had completed
its trip across the continent In the
trail of the returning soldiers, who
landed on the Pacific coast, this dis.
ease followed. l think it may be
said that there is not state in the
union that is not, at present, coping
with the disease. For ourselves in
this state. we know that very few