i**t'L
ARMY MEDICAL LIBRARY
WASHINGTON
Founded 1836
Section...........................____
Number__5__ o__O__y_JT___
Form 113c, W. D.. S. G. O.
bpo 3—10543 (Revised June 13, 1936)
jJ^L^
A* C O U N T ^^C^^^£T^
OF THE
W*
YELLOW FEVER, >V'<*v
AS IT PREVAILED IN ,< ^
J O
THE CITY OF NEW-YORK,
IN THE SUMMER AND AUTUMN OF
1822.
BY PETER S.TOWNSEND, M. D.
Honorary Member of the Royal Jennerian Society of London; Fellow of the
Literary and Philosophical and of the Physico-Medical Societies
of New-York; Member of the American
Geological Society, &c.
rhundidti
PUBLISHED BY O. HALSTED, -.- yy -rj> •* T ff X fT
No. 249 Broadway, corner of MurrayJ3tre. ■>
\NCK
BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the thirtieth day of January, in
the forty-seventh year of the Independence of the United States of America,
O. Halsted, of the said district, hath deposited in this office the title of a book,
the right whereof he claims as Proprietor, in the words and figures following, to
wit:
" An Account of the Yellow Fever, as it prevailed in the City of New-York in
the Summer and Autumn of 1822 By Peter S. Townsend, M. D. Honorary
Member of the Royal Jennerian Society of London; Fellow of the Literary and
Philosophical and of the Physico-Medical Societies of New-York; Member of
the American Geological Society, &c.----xai auTon'&ov aMouj naaxovras.—Thucy-
dides.'1'
In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, entitled, " An
Act for the encouragement of Learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts,
and Books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein
mentioned. And also to an Act, entitled, " An Act, supplementary to an Act
entitled, an Act for the encouragement of Learning, by securing the copies of
Maps, Charts, and Books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during
the times therein mentioned, and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of
designing, engraving, and etching historical and other prints.
JAMES DILL,
Clerk of the Southern District of New-York.
. •:< %...■ ».
. J»l r v > \ \ « / 1
V* >^ • , * * J - -i v \
> ^>i.»
S\ v
V
TO
JOHN W. FRANCIS, M. D.
PROFESSOR OF OBSTETRICS AND THE DISEASES OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN
IN THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW-YORK, FELLOW OF THE MEDICAL
AND CHIRDRGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, &C. SiC.
Sir—Your intimate acquaintance with the occurrences of
the past,season, and your individual experience in the malady,
.the history of which I have undertaken to narrate, will apolo-
gise for my freedom in inscribing this production with your
name.
As you have seen and braved the pestilence in its own do-
minion, you are fit to be the umpire of my pretensions.
I submit it to you, to determine, whether the delineation I
have given be true or false.
Your friend,
P. S. TOWNSEND.
.M.i-.ii-.-.t
f»|».jr. Hi «
iOw< .lit'" ■■'■■■
,,. d /io -At «u '»':
.(l/M''/ ''''
PREFACE.
When I had begun to visit some of the first cases
of the late fever, I determined, for my own private
use, to take a particular minute of all the phenomena
and changes in the disease, which I might have an
opportunity of observing, without, however, any
distinct intention at the time of making my remarks
public. I was the more anxious to study the sub-
ject, as I had hitherto seen but few cases of yellow
fever, and because so much difference of opinion ex-
ists among practitioners in this country, and in
some parts of Europe, as to its nature and origin.
Every day opened to me new and interesting
information concerning its character, much of which,
no doubt, would have escaped my notice had I not
made it a rule to pass a considerable time in the cham-
ber of the patient, in order that I might faithfully and
attentively watch his actions and symptoms.
When the epidemic terminated, the experience I
had obtained during my visits to the sick, and espe-
cially from a careful and daily examination of some
of the more strongly-marked and malignant cases,
warranted me in believing, that the opinion I had
V* PREFACE.
formed of the nature, origin and laws of this disease,
though it differs in many particulars from the views
of those for whom I entertain a high regard,
might nevertheless be entitled to some share of con-
sideration. I accordingly arranged my observations
in a manner somewhat more systematic than that
in which I had written them, and was much sur-
prised to find that the different topics of which I
treated had swelled out to a bulk far beyond what
I anticipated. On reading them afterwards to some
of my friends, they were pleased to approve of them,
and prevailed upon me to permit them to appear in print.
Such as they are, I present them to the world, with-
out, however, importuning either their indulgence or
their applause, regretting only that the short space of
time in which they were drawn up has rendered it
impossible for me to make them as worthy of ap-
probation as I could have wished.
For many of the opportunities I have had of
seeing the yellow fever of the past season, I am
under great obligations to several of my medical
acquaintance, who, where it was practicable, af-
forded me every facility of visiting their patients.
A number of valuable facts communicated to
me by these gentlemen will be found inserted in
the work.
I have taken particular pains in the first chap-
ter to show, that yellow fever is of foreign origin;
that it was imported into the city from the West-
Indies, and that it is propagated solely by a specific
PREFACE.
vii
contagion. I have extended this chapter to great
length, in order that I might embody and preserve the
volume of facts brought to light on this subject dur-
ing the prevalence of the disease. I have not done
this with any view to excite a spirit of controversy,
but because I have found myself unable to resist
the evidence which has been thus collected; and
therefore conscientiously believe in the truth of the
deductions which I have made ; and because, more-
over, the establishment of these positions is preg-
nant with consequences of the highest importance
to society, inasmuch as they discover to us the
means by which, if faithfully and vigorously put into
execution, we may reasonably hope to exclude the
disease from our city, and prevent, hereafter, the
recurrence of this deplorable calamity.
I take great pleasure in returning my acknowledge-
ments to his Honour Stephen Allen, Esq. the
President of the Board of Health, who gave me
free access to the documents and official papers re-
lating to the introduction and progress of the disease,
in his own possession; as well as to those in the ar-
chives of the Board. I am also under many obliga-
tions to Dr. Bayley, the Health Officer; to General
Morton, the Secretary to the Board; to Dr. Cuming,
the city Inspector; and also to the Assistants of the
Board, who in their respective official stations have
had it in their power to furnish me with many in-
teresting and important facts, which I could have no
where else obtained.
Vlll
PREFACE.
During the time the latter part of the first chapter
was printing off, I was unfortunately prevented by
indisposition from superintending it, by which means
several palpable typographical errors occurred.
A careful list of the errors is to be found at the end of
the book, and I beg to refer the reader particularly to
this, while he is perusing that part of the chapter.
Among the authors who have written with most
ability, on the origin or nature of yellow fever, and
upon whose candour and veracity, most reliance
can be placed, are Towne, Warren, and Bruce, ofBar-
badoes, the Dutch author Rouppe, and Lining of
Charleston. The description of the disease by these
old and classical writers, who flourished nearly a
century ago, has never yet been equalled by those
who have followed them. That by Warren, and
by Lining evince a clearness, profundity and originali-
ty of thinking, and a purity of style which might well
serve as a model for physicians of the present times.
Nor must I omit the names of some excellent mo-
dern authors, whose writings are every way worthy
of their distinguished predecessors. Of these, Sir
Gilbert Blane, Moseley, Chisholm and Hosack, Sir
James Fellowes, Arejula and Pym, are particular-
ly pre-eminent. Their pages are rich with informa-
tion, and sound and practical reflections. The
late work of Sir James Fellowes, on the Pestilential
Disorder of Andalusia, (London 1815,) contains more
abundant circumstantial and positive evidence in
favour of the contagious nature of yellow fever, than
^ *L yjUA^ f^vw ^"TREFACE. '^- Wv^-*X *i jX -^^^v- ^ 7
I have ever before met with. I am confident no un- ^^-fJ *K.y***"
prejudiced person can peruse the book of Sir James o^^-^ y^^ '
without being thoroughly convinced of this truth. ^/^^^ &^*-
The words Contagion and Infection, it appears to > v ca/u} s*h
me, have occasioned much unnecessary dispute, as ?*&^-- ^ ^
I do not see any thing particularly mysterious in 6wi*^«^ ^**i
their meaning. By Contagion, I understand a sped- ^^u u^>Ai
fie poison or virus, emitted from the body of a person £.-..^a->»J&^ '■
labouring under disease, and possessing the power of . v»A4U*XuL
reproducing the same disease in another individual, bwJc**}- ov -h
either through the medium of the air or by contact. -jucMM #***
The word Infection refers, on the contrary, to mor- j|^ <^j*cZwJUww , »
substances, in a state of decomposition, -t ^Ut L 'Vv^w
The word Infection I have occasionally used as -^Mj* Mf&cL
synonymous with Contagion. %J*jM*s+ v >
The word Infectious is not, I believe, to be found Uam**-**** *Jfr*
in this work. The word Infected occurs very fre- ^Jaa*»~* *-
quently. I was under the necessity of adopting it be- ^\Jt*amp+* t\.
cause the term Contagion has no corresponding verb, **-*"*Ai*'f+4 6.
and, of course, no preterite participle. ?Cvlv# ^^^
By Infected, I mean that condition of the atmos- <^x'^^-*y-
phere where it is charged with the matter of contagion, jf „
as it is found to exist in apartments, neighbourhoods, i LoJm ^
or certain sections of streets, where many; persons ^ o-fajla-. u
have fallen sick of yellow fever. Virus and Poison ^ cn-Ar*-*'*
are also used synonymously with Contagion. i^. v o*A^ . v^ fkj^a^^^-*-^ jUtK. (/*■*
.,*-*~ jl A^V^ ^ PREFACF. ' ™ . XI , „, , J,
For this rare and invaluable acquisition T am in- *^*T , /in-
debted to the courtesy of General Laight and Henry/
Laight, Esquire. ^ ' ,i *
The extensive abridgment which I have made J*ri^
from the tables, and inserted in the Appendix, will be **
the better appreciated, as the greater part of these ob- . ,j
servations have never before appeared in print. \
I am also indebted to I. L. Kip, and C. Bogert, y"'"
Esquires, whose private Meteorological Observations *"
have greatly assisted me in making out my abstract. /Vv^ *" u
This comparative view of the weather triumphant- py^'h****»[
\y proves, what reiterated experience had long ago
maintained, that the variations of atmospheric tempe-
rature and humidity have, in this climate, as little to do
with the production of yellow fever as any other of
those domestic sources to which it has been attributed.
The communication of B. B. Seaman, Esq., in rela-
tion to a subject which occasioned a good deal of re-
mark during the prevalence of the fever, will be read
with particular interest.
I have placed by itself, in the Appendix, an ac-
count of the cases of yellow fever that occurred on
Brooklyn Heights. It is one of those powerful links
in the chain of proofs in favour of contagion, which
time will not corrode, and which neither arguments
can sever, nor sophistry distort.
Nkw-York, Jamjar*, 1823.
N*w-York was founded by the Dutch in 1609- It is built on the southern ex-
tremity of the island of Manhattan, at the conflux of the Hidson and East Rivers.
The island is fifteen miles long, and varies from half a mile to two miles in
breadth, being gently undulated from one extremity to the other, and in the
more central parts from forty to fifty feet of altitude. Its position for health
and salubrity, as well as for beauty, is surpassed by very few other place?.
North of the city, the island is occupied, almost exclusively, by country villas,
whose shrubbery and ornamental trees, growing with great luxuriance, add
much to its picturesque appearance. The shores are bold and every where
more or less elevated above the water, and on the north west part high and ab-
rupt. There are no marshes or low lands, except those of Haerlem Creek ten
or twelve miles north of the city, on any part of the island ; nor any on the ap-
posite banks of the rivers; that of the Hudson, rising into a lofty mountain para-
pet of columnar basalt, known by the name of the Pallisado Rocks, and that
of the East-River, be-.iv formed by the high hills of Long Island.
The soil of Manhattan Island is of good depth, and very fertile, but rather
dry than wet, the foundation consisting of solid primitive rock, chiefly mica
slate, which here and there appears above the surface. Where the two rivers
join, they expand into an oval and very elegant bay of seven miles diameter,
bounded by green sloping hills, and on the south, by the passage called the
Narrows, where it empties into the ocean.
The latitude of the city, according to the observations of Mr. Nash, is 40° 42'
45" north J and its longitude 74° west from Greenwich Observatory.
The number of the inhabitants of New-York, is about I26,0o0.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Origin, Progress and Propagation,
page 17
CHAPTER II.
Analysis of the Symptoms,.....143
CHAPTER III.
Pathognomonic Symptoms, - • . . . jgg
CHAPTER IV.
Diagnosis,.......175
CHAPTER V.
Autopsic Appearances, - - ... jgg
CHAPTER VI.
Pathology,.......193
CHAPTER VII.
Treatment. - . 206
CHAPTER VIII.
Prevention and Purification, - . . _ £19
CHAPTER IX.
Immunity and Predisposition. - 237
XIV
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER X.
Weather.........256
CHAPTER XI.
Diseases,........270
CHAPTER XII.
Conclusion,.......277
APPENDIX,
No. 1. Statement of Dr. Joseph Bayley, the Health Officer,
in relation to the introduction and origin of the yellow fever
of New-York in 1822,......291
No. 2. Statement of Dr. Walters, in relation to the first
cases of the yellow fever of New-York, in »822, - 299
No. 3. Letter of N. I Quackenbos, Resident Physician,
[referred to in Chapter I. p. .34.] .... 305
No. 4. Additional remarks on the yellow fever in Cheap-
side-street, - - ..--.. 306
No. 5. Additional Remarks on the yellow fever in Lom-
bardy-street, - - - - - - - 310
No. 6« Proofs of the inefficacy of our present Quarantine
Laws, ...... 322
No. 7. Mr. Seaman's letter on the sickness in the Sugar
House in Liberty street, .... 339
No. 8. Letter from Professor Francis, on Burial
Grounds, ..... . . 334
No. 9. Additional Facts in support of Contagion, to wit,
1 In Cheapside-stieet, - 33Q
2. On Brooklyn Heights, - -3^9
CNOTENTS.
XV
3. At New Orleans, [communicated by Prof. Hosack,] 345
No. 10 State of the Weather for the last 34 years, abridged
from the Meteorological Tables of Mr. Laight, - - 349
No. 11. Letter from Professor Francis on the yellow fever
of St. Augustine, in 1821,.....381
SYNONYMES OF YELLOW FEVER.
Matlazahualt----By the native Mexicans.
Coup de barre, [stroke of a whip—from the pain in the
legs]----Father du Tertre.
Peste )
Fievre de Matelottes. \----In the French West-Indies.
Mai de Siam. )
Vomito Prieto----By the Spaniards.
Kendal's Fever----Formerly at Barbadoes.
Febris Ardens Biliosa----Tvwne.
Malignant Fever----Warren.
Putrid Bilious Fever----Hillary.
Typhus Icterodes----Cullen, Sauvages, <$-c.
Contmua Putrida Icterodes Caroliniensis----Macbride.
Elodes Icterodes----Vogel.
Febris Maligna flava Indiae Occidentalis----Moultrie.
Causus Tropicus Endemicus----Moseley.
Remitting Yellow Fever----Rush.
Malignant Pestilential Fever----Chiiholm.
Pestis Occidentalis----Hosack.
Synochus Icterodes----William Currie.
Typhus d'Amerique----Bally.
Pestilential Disorder of Andalusia----Fellowes.
Bulam Fever----Pymt fyc.
Ardent Yellow Fever----Bancroft.
Fievre gastro—adynamique----Pinel.
ACCOUNT
OF
IN NEW-YORK, 1822.
CHAPTER I.
Origin, Progress, and Propagation.
The poison, contagion, or infection of yellow fever, by
whatever name it may be termed, was this season introdu-
ced into the city, of New-York, at the foot of Rector-street,
from the port of Havanna. It commenced at that spot, and
in conformity with the same laws which have always go-
verned it heretofore, slowly diverged or radiated from the
, point where it first sat out, multiplying itself by becoming
compounded with, and diffused through the air, until it
had spread over nearly one half the city.
Previous to entering, however/more directly on the sub-
ject, it will be necessary as a preliminary step, to make a
few observations on the topography of that part of the city,
where the yellow fever first appeared, and which was in the
first instance, with more particular propriety, denominated
the " Infected District."
It has been with much reason thought, that the imported
poison must have been unusually concentrated, from the
extreme fatality which it occasioned among those who were
3
18" Account of the Yellow Fever.
first exposed to it, and from its having begun and spread,
from a part of the city where it never had appeared before,
and which, from its salubrity and cleanliness, was thought to
be entirely exempt from its influence; so much so, that with
the exception of Washington-street, this part of the town
had for a great number of years been selected by wealthy
merchants, as a place of residence, rather than of resort or
business. It is exclusively occupied by them, without
being mingled at all with the poorer classes of the popula-
tion ; and having only two narrow streets crossing it, one
of which is Rector, and the other Beaver lane, both begin-
ing at Broadway, and ending on the wharf.
The situation of this part of the city, near the pro-
menade of the Battery, and fronting the Hudson, the bay
of New-York, the Narrows and the Ocean, together with
the spacious and airy avenues of Broadway, and Green-
wich streets, which run longitudinally through it, and near
and parallel to each other, and the open unprotected posi-
tion of the store houses which stand on the wharf, expose
the whole of this beautiful quarter e£4lie=*eky, to con-
stant ventilation, from air the cooler and purer winds of the
horizon, and snch as at the same time are the prevailing
winds of our climate; the cold North and N. West, rushing
down the Hudson from the highlands, and the South West,
and southerly breezes, which every afternoon of summer,
sweep up from the ocean through the Narrows, and coming
directly off the bay, render the air here almost always cool,
agreeable, and refreshing.
Had not, however, the late interesting discoveries of the
Spanish and French physicians, concerning the laws of
yellow fever, proved past all doubt, that the theory of domes-
tic origin, and of local filth, is utterly inapplicable to tropi-
cal as well as to northern latitudes, and that this disease to
Account of the Yellow Fever. 19
all appearance pursues its course, independent of what in
common language is understood by a pure or impure air,
we should' have had more reason to wonder than we now
have, that it began in the part of the town where it did.
Rector street, in which the disease commenced, and to
which it was for several days exclusively confined, is a very
short street, which begins at Broadway, between Trinity
and Grace churches, and making from thence a precipitous
descent, passes down across Lumber and Greenwich streets
to the wharf on Hudson's river. That part of it between
Broadway and Lumber streets, is taken up by the yards of
the two churches. From thence to Greenwich-street, the
declivity continuing very steep, there is perhaps from 5 to
10 two story dwellings, generally of brick, on either side
of it. Thence again till it opens upon the wharf, it is
more level, and has not more than three or four houses on
either side ; the distance between Greenwich and Washing-
ton streets, in other words between Greenwich-street and
the wharf, being chiefly occupied by the yards of the two
corner houses which stand fronting on Greenwich-street.
It was on this last section of Rector-street, and which is
only 133 feet long, that the first cases occurred *
The declivity of Rector-street is greater, and more ab-
rupt, than that of almost any other street in town ; so much
so, that it is always remarkably clean. Indeed, if any filth
were ever collected in this street, or if the character of the
inhabitants or the nature of the buildings were such as to
give rise to its accumulation, it would as instantly be washed
away by the torrents produced by rains, or which could at
any time be artificially created by opening the pumps,
* The width of Broadway is GO feet, of Ree tor-street, S2 feet, arfd
of Greenwich-street. €>G feet.
20 Account of the Yellow Fever.
The part of Broadway, between Rector-street and the
Battery, long known for its salubrity, and as much admired
for its beauty, is entirely occupied by superb dwellings.
The same may be said in a more particular manner of the
part of Greenwich-street, between Rector-street and the
Battery, where this street, as well as Broadway, both ter-
minate. There are about 180 houses in this part of Green-
wich-street, all of which are elegant three story brick
buildings, and almost all of them built uniformly alike.
This part of the street is, however, from 20 to 40 feet lower
than the parallel part of Broadway, being on a level all
the way to the Battery, while Broadway from Rector-street
gradually descends to it. Washington-street, next below,
and parallel to, and lower than Greenwich-street, and
much nearer to it than Greenwich-street is to Broadway,
consists of one single row of brick stores, running like the
wide wharf on which they stand, and open in a direct line
to the Battery. This wharf is substantially built, and being
of the nature of a long quay, which runs parallel with the
stores, and with but few recesses or projecting piers where
filth might collect, and become stagnant, as it does in the
irregular slips on the east side of the town, the current of
the river freely and constantly washes by it, and keeps it
always clean. Hence the reason why this side of the town
has heretofore been thought protected from the introduction
of the pestilence; and hence, too, the cause why the com-
missioners of health, and the board of health, as their re-
spective minutes will show, have always preferred to send
suspicious vessels, which the law has allowed to come up
from quarantine, to this, instead of the opposite side of tha
town.
The yards of the houses in this part of the city, in corres-
Account of the Yellow Fever.
21
pondence with the buildings to which they belong, are
almost without a single exception clean, airy and spacious, \
and enriched and ornamented with trees and shrubbery.
From the extensive and beautiful promenade of the Bat-
tery on the bay, at the termination of Broadway and
Greenwich-street, to Rector-street, which may be consider-
ed the northern boundary of the district we have been de-
scribing, this whole section is in no part of it in the least
degree cramped or confined. Much the greatest portion of
ground included within these limits, is occupied by the
streets which traverse it, to say nothing of the large open
space comprised in the yards, particularly those in the rear
of the houses on Broadway, on the side 4$ Greenwich-street. &vwjvi>'
We have been thus minute, in order to make ourselves
understood to those who live at a distance, and may not be
particularly acquainted with our city. The part of the
town we have delineated, was the more particular and im-
mediate seat of the disease for several weeks after it first
broke out.
The part of the city above Rector-street, being a con*
tinuation of Broadway and Greenwich street, and where
many cases afterwards occurred, so nearly resembles the
other part, that it is unnecessary to describe it.
When the yellow fever broke out on the wharf, at the
foot of Rector-street, and radiating slowly in different
directions, had not, until after the lapse of 30 days, finally
ascended the steep declivity of that street, and the street
called Lumber-street, which traverses it, and passes behind
the stone wall of Trinity church yard, a suggestion, which
until this period had lain dormant in the minds of those
who have the credit of conceiving it, was put forth, that this
church yard was possibly the sonrce of the pestilence! A
22 Account of the Yellow Fever.
church yard which, during the 120 years it had existed, and
the generations of human bodies that have been interred
there, has been notorious for the salubrity of the atmosphere
which surrounds it, and for the healthiness of the elevated,
spacious, airy and beautiful part of the town in which it is
located. The only time of which we have ever heard it
spoken of before as a source of disease, was on one occa-
sion during the American revolution, when the British, who
then had possession of the city, finding it becoming offen-
sive, owing to the graves of the soldiers, who had been
buried there in the hard winter of 1780-1, being neces-
sarily dug very shallow, caused the yard in the succeeding
summer to be covered with a thickness of fresh earth. But
we are told of no sickness or pestilence, much less of a
yellow fever, having been generated by this stench. We
have the authority, also, of the reverend gentlemen who
are attached to this church, for saying that they have never,
during all the burials they have attended in this cemetery,
been offended at any time with a putrid or disagreeable
smell, except in those few instances when vaults have been
accidentally left too long open. The sextons, and grave-
diggers employed in the ground, also testify to this fact.
It may also be asked, why the disease, after passing up
Broadway, until it nearly reached the spacious yard of St.
Paul's church, seemed to have been checked in its progress,
and instead of becoming more virulent in the neighbour-
hood of this cemetery, took on the contrary a direction
through Wall and Broad streets, Maiden-lane, John, Ful-
ton, and other streets, leading down to the slips on the East
river at the other side of the town, instinctively attracted, a&
it were, to this more compact and crowded part of the city,
and where from the greater concentration of human effluvia,
Account of the Yellow Fever. 23
it was sure of meeting an atmosphere much more conge-
nial to its propagation. Why, also, in passing down these
streets, was it not rendered more virulent in the neighbour-
hood of the cemeteries of the churches in Wall, Garden,
Liberty, and Fulton streets, in the vicinity of which places,
the disease was perhaps less prevalent than] in any other
part of what was called the infected district.
The further disscussion of this subject, however, is not
worthy of our attention, and is at least too chimerical to be
treated of in the narrow limits which we have assigned
ourselves.
The Yellow Fever was introduced this year, into the citv
of New-York, by several vessels from Havanna. The fol-
lowing is the mode in which we have every reason to be-
lieve the contagion was brought to the .'wharf, at the foot of
Rector-street, where the disease first made its appearance.
Between the 25lh day of June, and 1 st day of July,
1822, there arrived at Quarantine, after a few days passage
from Havanna, the following vessels.
The Brig Spanish Soldier, arrived June 25tb.
Brig Abeona, . . . 28th.
Brig Ambuscade, . . 28th.
Ship Eliza Jane, . July 1st.
The Abrona, was what might be termed a regular trader
to and from Havanna. The crew also, being all Spaniards,
were therefore accustomed to the climate of the tropics.
The Ambuscade, might be considered in the same light.
Her captain was a veteran in the West India trade.
The Spanish Soldier lost two men with yellow fever on
her voyage, one of whom died aftw days before her arrival.
The Eliza Ann, also, lost two men of yellow fever on the
voyage.
The cargoes of all these four vessels, consisted chiefly of
?24 Account of the Yellow Fever.
Havanna sugar in boxes, and it was all brought up to town,
and landed at or near tne foot of Rector-street, between
the 1st and 9th days of July. The vessels employed to do
this service, were decked lighters, having of course holds,
where the air might be confined, and carried from one
place to another, without the chance of being dispersed.
Each lighter had from two to three men, all of whom had
been in that service many years, and were frequently expo-
sed, and necessarily habituated to the air of infected ves-
sels from West India ports.
Between the dates above specified, viz. from the 1st to the
9th of July, 24 lighter loads of boxes of sugar, out of the
above named vessels,were brought up from Quarantine, seven
miles distant from the city, and discharged at or near the
foot of Rector-street, in the short distance between Carlisle-
street, and the piers at, next to, and south of Rector-street.
About five lighter loads were discharged each day, amount-
ing to nearly one half the cargo of either of the vessels.
More than one half probably of the cargoes of the above
four vessels was discharged within three or four days of
the period mentioned. The cargoes were stored in the
ware-houses which stand and open on the wharves to
which they were brought.
During the time the lighters were receiving their loads
from the Havanna vessels, the thermometer ranged steadily
at a high temperature, and the weather was unusually calm.
At the house of the health officer, which is upon an elevated
and airy position within the Quarantine ground, and open
to the sea, and where the weather was of course much
cooler than in the city, the thermometer in the shade, in all
this period, comprised within the nine days, averaged at 2
p. m. 80°. At 8 in the morning, and G in the evening, the
average was 77°. The medium for the whole day was 78°.
Account of the Yelloio Ftver. 25
The weather was so calm, that scarcely a breath of air was
stirring, so that very little or none of the infected matter
adhering to the cargoes, could be blown off or dissipated.
We thus see, that during all this period, an accession of cau-
ses, each of which of itself was almost sufficient to have
introduced yellow fever, was daily accumulating, and that
too under circumstances peculiarly favourable for the intro-
duction of the disease, at one particular point of the city.
That the contagious matter did adhere in considerable
quantities to the cargoes of the vessels, which had so re-
cently arrived from Havanna, and where the yellow fever
was prevailing, at and after the time of their sailing, there
can be no doubt. We have direct and positive proof, that
two of the vessels, at least those in which several of the
crew died, contained the poison in all its virulence. The
boxes of sugar, to those who know the manner in which
they are constructed, are extremely well calculated to im-
bibe, as well as to retain this virus. They are made of
rough pine boards, presenting an exterior surface of a
porous or bibulous nature, which like fomites, and similar
solid and spongy substances, for which the contagious
poison of yellow fever is known to have so strong an affi-
nity, must have been particularly well calculated to en-
tangle and retain it. This will appear still more probable,
when we recollect the compact manner in which these
boxes are put together, and the great number of them that
may be stowed in the hold of a vessel; for this porous sur-
face is thus multiplied to a prodigious extent. One of the
vessels contained near six hundred boxes.
There never perhaps had accumulated before, so large
a mass of cargo from Havanna vessels, at that particular
season, and in so small a space. This was owing to the
circumstance of the frequent piracies in the West Indies,
4
2(3 Account of the Yellow Fever.
and particularly to the nest of pirates who infested the
coast of Cuba, whereby our merchant vessels were obliged
to come under convoy of our ships of war, in consequence
of which a considerable number frequently arrived in port
nearly at the same time.
I have said, that the lighter-men had become habituated
to the infected air of Havanna vessels, and were to a cer-
tain degree insusceptible to the contagion of yellow fever
brought in such vessels. We will give one or two striking
examples as an illustration, and which are abundantly
sufficient to establish this fact. Two of these same lighter-
men were employed at the foot of Rector-street, in taking
off cargoes from out the stores near the wharf at Rector-
street, in the latter part of September, and one of them
slept on board of a lighter for four nights at the foot of
Rector-street. Not one of the men thus exposed, took the
disease. In addition to this, it may be stated, that from the
beginning up to the termination of the epidemic, labourers
have been constantly at work in building out a dock at the
foot of Rector-street, none of whom have taken the disease.
The disease began at the two opposite corners of Rector-
street where it terminates on the wharf in Washington-
street, July 10th, 1822. As Washington-street has but one
row of buildings, fronting the wharf^ Rector-street, termi-
nating also here, has but two corners. The N. W. corner
was the cooper-shop of a Mr. Reder, and his house, a neat
two-story building, stood next to the shop on the same lot
but in Rector-street. The opposite corner was a building
occupied as a grocery, by a Mr. Falkner. The first cases
were Reder's two little girls, the one named Amanda aged
1 X, the other named Caroline, aged 9, and Andrew Thomas,
a young Scotchman, aged 23, of a robust, hale con-
Account of the Yellow Fever.
27
stitution, who had only been in this country three or four
months, and who was clerk in Mr. Falkner's grocery. They
all sickened July 10th, 1822. Dr. Walters was called to
see Reder's two daughters the following day, July 11th.
Thomas was sent immediately to the New-York hospital,
without having been attended by any physician, and died
there July 16th, with black vomit, but was not reported to the
board of health, nor recognized in that institution, accord-
ing to the best of my information, as a case of yellow fever.
The great question now to be determined, is from what
source these first cases derived their sickness. It is very
evident, that both Thomas and the little girls, by falling sick
on the same day, with the same disease, in two opposite
though different houses, derived their illness from the same
cause. At least it is hardly possible to suppose, that a
coincidence so extraordinary as this should have happened
by mere chance. It is also beyond all question, that this
was the beginning of the pestilence ; for a few days after-
wards an alarming number of persons took sick of the very
same disease, most of whom died, in the houses in Rector-
street, next to Reder's, and to the grocery. We see that
the lighters had been discharging their cargoes at, above,
and below the wharf directly at the foot of Rector-street,
and not more than fifty feet distant from the houses where
the three first cases happened, up to the day before that on
which they all sickened. This alone is sufficient to account
for the origin of the disease, supposing the Reders and
Thomas to have had no direct communication with the
lighters. But in addition to this we know it to be a fact,
that the two Reder girls, at least, were still nearer than this
to what we consider to have been the source of the disease.
Reder, in his vocation of cooper, was constantly employ-
*C HvU-^-v^fli d*. c>wWw-iA^.t^<*4*j Itu^visited their father, while he was at work, and were in the
XA cv»-#wixv Xv daily habit of amusing themselves in playing about the
i dock. Whv others did not fall sick until after the Reders
and Thomas, and not at the same time with them, though
" many were doubtless exposed to the same original cause,
js^ f^^y\ cannot be determined. Because perhaps Thomas especi-
JLJUks\ tJv ally was peculiarly predisposed to the disease, and the
w-c*% \^*JU*J{ Reder girls particularly exposed to the cause which pro-
i duced it.
» Because, moreover, the boxes as they were discharged
s-£t'J-tTM UA** h^MJlj) on tne wnarf> an(^ tnus m tne same wa>' as when shut down
t ' j and confined under the hatches of a vessel, placed in a
' -* ' <*" situation in which it was impossible for them to give off the
-^Wv^_n> fatal poison adhering to them.
/i- tyfL* w Here then we have detected the disease in its origin.
i ■ \ J I A There can be no confusion of dates and names and places;
' i no cavilling about the beginning of the disease, and the
•■iLw v~ ^hJ> first cases of it, a species of subtlety, which has been so
\Aa+ U^/aJU* often resorted to in previous years, and which to those who
< Av^tr k.*fcJf~ 6} ^ not know tne motives by which they who used it were
I S actuated, has for a time passed off as a plausible objection
vsvvt^x** tQ tne doctrine of the importation, specific character, and
> >;K t*~ ***M" contagious nature of yellow fever./
,1 i ,..,( We do say boldly, and without the fear of having our
I * assertion contradicted by any medical gentleman of this
v }!jW^^v/^UA4^ community, that before the cases of Thomas and the Re-
i . . . *
j.\r J ders, nothing this year of the kind had happened in any
r 1 part of the city ; no disease which bore the least resem-
,a~-4k/ ^ - blauce to theirs, or with which it was possible to confound
Account of the Yellow Fever. 29
their symptoms. The season had been uncommonly mild
and serene, and continued so during the whole of the sum-
mer and autumn, so that it was the subject of general and
pointed remark, that the air had never been observed to be
more perfectly free of fog, vapour, or clouds, the tempera-
ture never more pleasant and uniform, nor the city more
generally healthy before as well as during, and after the
epidemic, except in that particular part where the yellow
fever prevailed. There had been but little rain in all
June, and the sky continued unclouded through all that,
and the succeeding months of July, August, September
and October. There were no sudden vicissitudes of exces-
sive heats for three or four days, followed by remissions to
which our climate is so subject. There were no forebodings
of the approaching calamity, no long prevalence of dry
winds, nor hot oppressive weather, no previous pestilential
and morbid condition of the atmosphere, blighting the
hopes of the harvest, corrupting the fruits and waters of
the earth, and poisoning with death, not only human beings,
but insects, fish, and all the other tribes of inferior animals.
The atmosphere never perhaps exhibited so few of the
usual phenomena of the season. Most of the time, the
weather was calm, or only a gentle breeze blowing from
the South West or South East. Hence the scrupulous and
studied silence which has been observed by the advocates of
domestic origin on the subject of those general and imagi-
nary causes, which under the various denomination of astro-
logical and meteorogical influences, malaria, epidemic con-
stitution of the atmosphere, and yellow fever periods, have
heretofore been insisted upon with so much pertinacity.
These fanciful pictures, drawn with so much apparent
care and detail, but which are found to be the copies of an
30
Account of the Yellow Fever.
antiquated and now obsolete superstition, are delineated
with much more taste, by the immortal bard, than in the
laboured productions of modern writers.
Therefore the winds, piping to us in vain,
As in revenge, have sucked up from the sea
Contagious fogs ; which, falling in the land,
Have every pelting river made so proud,
That they have overborne their continent:
The ox hath therefore stretch'd his yoke in vain,
The ploughman lost his sweat; and the green com
Hath rotted, ere his youth attained a beard :
The fold stands empty in the drowned field,
And crows are fatted witli the murrain flock ;
The nine men's morris is fill'd up with mud ;
And the quaint mazes in the wanton green,
For lack of tread are undistinguishable ;
The human mortals want their winter here ;
No night is now with hymn or carol blessed :
Therefore the moon, the governess of floods,
Pale in her anger, washes all the air,
That rheumatic diseases do abound :
And thorough this distemperature, we see
Tlie seasons alter : hoary-headed frosts
Fall in the fresh lap of the crimson rose ;
And on old Hyems' chin and icy crown,
An odorous chaplet of sweet summer buds,
Is as in mockery set; the spring, the summer,
The childing autumn, angry winter, change
Their wonted liveries ; and the mazed world,
By their increase) now knows not which is which.
Midsummer-Night's Dream.
/
Account of the Yellow Fever.
31
Audi alteram partem :
" Arrive" a Philadelphie dans le commencement du mois d1
Aout 1793, je n'ai pu ttudier les constitutions medicales antt-
Fieures. Je crois cependant ne"cessaire de donner une idee de
celle qui avait prex^de la maladie, d'apres les rapports cer-
tains qui me furents faits. L'hiver avait ete tres-doux, le prin-
temps tres-precoce,et K'te excessivement chaud. 11 n'y avait
eu ni pluies, ni orages ; Vair avait ete tres-sec. Les gens de
la campagne avaient observe que la sueur des ouvricrs ne cou-
lait point sur leur corps, ccmme a Vordinaire ; mais qu'elle
etait absorbs a mesure qu'elle se pr^sentait a la surface de la
peau. Les fruits furent de tres-mauvaise qualite, Peau des puits
trcs-corrompue et les rivieres trts-basscs. On vit une grande
quantite de poissons mortsfiotter sur les rivieres ; ceux de la mer,
ainsi que les huitres qu'on portait au marche, etaient maigres et
d'un gout fade tres desagreable. Les vents principaux qui
soufflerent venaient de la partie du sud, et il y eut une quantite
extraordinaire d' insectes. On observa arant Vepidemie une
epizootic qui attaqua les chats ; il en inourut un grand nombre.
La meme chose arriva en 1797.
" Avant que la maladie se manifestat, il avait regni beauccup
de maux de gorge, qui etaient e'videmment d'un caractere in-
flammatoire. Quelques jours apres se develloppa cette fievre
jaune, dont les effets furent si funestes." Traite de la Fievre
Jaune,par Jean Deveze, p. 20. Paris, 1820.
" The common atmosphere, for the most part, was opaque
and smoky, as if the earth's surface were undergoing a slow
combustion. It seemed a heterogeneous mixture of particles,
in a state of opposition and propulsion ; respiration frequent
and unrefreshing. The sun, in mid-day height, appeared as a
volume of blood, dark and angry. As it declined to the western
horizon, its diameter widened greatly ; and at an hour's height,
or more, was almost invisible, or shrouded as with sack doth.
These appearances, however, were not constant." Account of
32
Account of the Yellow Fever,
the Yellow Fever, as it appeared at Boston, in 1798. By
Samuel En wn, M. B. Boston, 1800, p. 26-7.
Reder's daughters appeared to be affected very much
alike, without any inordinate excitement, but with some
heat of skin and a soft frequent pulse. The symptoms of
both went on, pari passu, from the beginning, but on the
morning of the 5th day, Caroline had black vomit. That
same day, in the evening, Monday, July 15th, John Re-
der, aged 16, a son of Mr. Reder, and who had officia-
ted as a clerk to his father, took sick. He and his
sisters were pronounced, July 17th, by Dr. Walters, to be
cases of Yellow-Fever; being the first cases that had
occurred this season, and the first that were reported to
the board of health. Caroline died on the 16th. Aman-
da recovered ; and John died on the 22d. Dr. Walters, be-
fore reporting these cases, had mentioned them to Dr. Ho-
sack, the Mayor, to Messrs. Phillips and Noah, the editors
of the National Advocate, to Dr. Francis, and a number of
other individuals, to all of whom he freely declared, that
they were, in his opinion, unequivocal cases of yellow fever,
and that we now had a disease among us that could not be
indigenous. But the board of health, and some of the pub-
lic prints, were unwilJing to believe this unwelcome intelli-
gence. Too many melancholy r oofs, however, soon after-
wards occurred of the truth of what he had asserted. Dr.
Waiters was so well satisfied that he could not be de-
ceived in his opinion, that he recommended, at that ear-
ly period, to Mr.------, who lived in Rector-street, next
to where Thomas sickened, and to Mr. Waldron B Post,
who lived in Greenwich-street, in that neighbourhood, to re-
move as speedily as possible. Mr.------moved accord-
ingly with his family to Brooklyn, where one of his sons
fell sick with yellow fever, and narrowly escaped death.
Account of the Yellow Fever.
33
On the 20th of July, a little girl by the name of Louisa,
daughter of Mrs. Rose, and who had been in the habit of
playing with Reder's daughters, and who sickened the
same day as John Reder, was reported at the corner of
Greenwich and Rector-streets, about 80 feet from Reder's
house; and on the 26th, Euphemia Dobson, Mrs. Ed-
wards, Leonard W. Archer, and Mrs. Waters, were all
reported in the same house, where Miss Rose sickened
and died. They took sick the 24th and 25th of July.
As none of these cases after those reported by Dr. Walters,
were designated to the board under the appellation of yel-
low fever, and as the Resident Physician, the official adviser
of the board, and who had seen these, as well as the first
cases, strenuously persisted from the beginning, that there
had been no yellow fever in the city, the citizens lulled
themselves with these assurances into a fatal security, until
the 31st of August, when two of the cases at Mrs. Rose's
were now announced by Dr. Neilson, to the board, as
having developed unequivocal symptoms of yellow fever.
Six out of the whole number of reported cases having now
died after a few days illness, and the board remaining still
unconvinced, the public became alarmed at their extraordi-
nary apathy, and feeling no longer that implicit confidence
in their decisions which they were wont to in previous years,
began to judge for themselves on the measures most prudent
to be adopted, to stay the pestilence or escape its ravages.
The Resident Physician also, finding that the course which
the Board, at his instigation, pursued, had become the sub-
ject of severe and general animadversion, at length ac-
quiesced in the common belief, and on the 4th of August,
nearly one month after the disease had begun, and when
it was now no longer possible to stop the impulse
.5
34
Account of the Yellow Fever.
which it had received, or to stifle the truth, reported
Mrs. N. Phillips, who had removed from Greenwich-stredl,
near Rector-street, as a case of yellow fever, stating by
way of explanation, that the infected air which had until
then produced nothing but bilious fevers, had now become
sufficiently concentrated to generate yellow fever. [See his
Official Communication to the Board of Health.'] The dis-
ease now began to radiate slowly and regularly in every
direction from the spot where it began, proceeding as it
were step by step, to the different houses in Greenwich and
Washington streets, adjacent to this part of Rector-street,
and on the 9th of August it had ascended to Lumber-street,
half way up the hill of Rector-street, on its course towards
Broadway. In this short and narrow street, (Lumber,) ly-
ing under the hill, and cramped up behind the high stone
abutment, which supports the rear of Trinity church yard,
and so shut in at either extremity, as to be deprived of a
free circulation of air, the disease proved uncommonly
mortal. In the mean while, however, it had continued to
extend, North and South, along the level of Greenwich
and Washington streets, and as early as the 6th of August,
had arrived also at the Albany basin. On the 19th of
August, most of the inhabitants in the immediate vici-
nity of Rector-street, having now retreated before the
appalling malady, and fled from their homes, the disease
kept steadily on its march, attacking the few persons who
remained, and made its appearance in Cedar-street, another
narrow street, running down to the wharf, beyond Al-
bany-street, and parallel to, and at a considerable distance
north of Rector-street. On the 22d, it had arrived to Li-
berty-street, the cross street next beyond and parallel to, but
wider than Cedar-street. On the 23d, it had completed the
Account of the Yellow Fever.
30
ascent of the hill of Rector-street, and reaching the ridge
of Broadway, through this street, as well as by intercommu-
nication between the yards of Lumber-street with those of
Broadway, below Rector-street, now crossed Broadway, and
began to descend again east towards the other side of the
town, down the hill of Wall-street, and down the gentle de-
clivity of Broadway, south, to the Battery, creeping at the
same time at an equal pace along the dead level of Broad-
way, north of Wall-street. On the 24th, it had passed out
of Lumber-street, into Thames-street. On the 26th, it had
descended to No. 19 Wall-street; on the 27th it had begun
to descend rapidly the declivity of Broadway towards the
Battery. In the mean while it had passed southerly from
Rector-street, along the level of Greenwich and Washington
streets, where, finding nothing to afford it pabulum, as al-
most all the inhabitants of this part of those streets had fled
it proceeded on the 28th, westerly up Beaver-lane, which,
like Rector-street, also runs down from Broadway across
Greenwich and Washington streets, to the river. Here it
met another column of the infected air coming down Broad-
way from Rector-street; for we find, on the 26th, a case was
reported at No. 96 Broadway, and on the day after, one at
No. 84, and on the 28th one at No. 82, and two at No. 40
Broadway. On the 29th, it had descended southerly from
Wall-street, into New-street. On the 1st of September, it con-
tinued to descend Wall-street, towards Broad-street, and on
the 2d, it had passed from Broadway, down the steep de-
scent of Garden-street, as far as the corner of New-street.
On the same day it had arrived at Courtlandt-street, the
cross street parallel to, and next above Liberty-street. It
must be observed* that, while the infected air appeared to
36 Account of the Yellow Fever.
have taken the hill of Rector-street, as the most direct
course to Broadway, and no doubt first reached this spacious
avenue through this route, it had soon afterwards attained
it also through Beaver-lane, and through Greenwich, Wash-
ington, and Marketfield streets on the south of Rector-street,
and through Lumber, Thames, Cedar, Liberty and Court-
landt streets, on the north of Rector-street. It had begun
to descend Wall-street, as early as the 23d of August, as
this was in" the immediate vicinity of Rector and Lumber
streets; but having had to go some distance north in
Greenwich-street, before it came to Liberty-street, it did
not reach the summit of that street at Broadway, until a
short time before September 7th ; for on that da}r, we find it
had already crossed Broadway at that street, and descend-
ing as it had done, down Wall-street, reached the sugar
house at the corner of Liberty and Nassau streets, in
which building so many fatal cases occurred. Having
now descended Broadway, south from Rector-street, and
having before reached Broadway by a southern course also
through Greenwich, Washington and Marketfield streets
and Beaver-lane, we find on the 6th of September, that it
had crossed Broadway, at Beaver-street, and had met the
column of moving poison, which had passed down Wall and
New streets, and down the hill of Garden-street from Broad-
way ; for on that day a case was reported in New, near
Beaver-street. On the 9th, it had got into Pine-street,
where, as most of the inhabitants, being wealthy, had fled,
very few cases occurred. On the 10th, in its course
through Broadway and Greenwich streets, north, it is
said to have reached Dey-street near Greenwich-street, next
above, and parallel to Courtlandt-street; and on the same
day, showed itself at the foot of Broadway, in aa opposite
Account of the Yellow Fever.
87
direction, near the beautiful little park, called the Bowling-
green, adjacent to the extensive promenade on the point of
the island known by the name of the Battery. This is another
proof how intensely concentrated was the poison, converg-
ing and meeting, as it were, at this point from several quar-
ters at once, and capable of infecting the three or four soli-
tary individuals, who had been left to take charge of the
superb dwelling houses in this open and airy section of the
city. On the 11th, it is reported to have reached Maiden-
lane, and to have already descended that street, on its
way to the East river, as far as William-street.
On the same day it is said to have ascended not only
Courtlandt-street but also Fulton-street, the street next
above, and north of Dey-street, as high as Broadway. We
have seen that it had already passed some distance down
Wall-street. On the 13th, it descended from Wall down into
Broad-street, one of the widest and most beautiful in the
city. On the same day it is said to have reached Broadway,
also at the summit of Dey-street, which is the cross street be-
tween Courtlandt and Fulton streets. On the 15th of Sep-
tember, having passed through Greenwich, Washington and
Marketfield-streets down Broadway to the Bowling-green, it
proceeded along Whitehall-street to the corner of Stone-
street. But on the next day, viz. the 16th of September, three
cases were reported at No. 4 Lombardy-street. As these
cases could not be traced to what had hitherto been consider-
ed the infected district, and as Lombardy street was at least
half a mile north east of any part of this district, the intel-
ligence of the disease having appeared in thi* street occa-
sioned considerable alarm. On the 20th ol September this
alarm was greatly increased, for on that and the next day five
cases, none of which could be traced to the old infected dis-
38 Account of the Yellow Fever.
trict, were reported in Cheapside-street, a narrow but
remarkably clean street, parallel to, and next below, and
east of Lombardy-street. Three of these five cases died,
and the board of health immediately recommended the aban-
donment of that part of the town, and on the 21st they com-
menced spreading lime through this street and Lombardy-
street. On the 17th of September a case was reposed also
in Mill-street. On the 23d another case was reported in
Cheapside-street. On the 25th two women were reported,
who had nu"seii Catherine Bailey, their sister, who had died
in Cheapside-street. They were sent to Quarantine, and
died with black vomit. In the mean while the disease had
now appeared not only in the different streets between 'he
Battery and the Park leading from the east side of Broad-
way, but also at the various slips on the East river, or oppo-
site side of the town to tint where it had begun. Thus,
the 17th of September a case was reported at Old Slip ; at
which place we recollect that the advocates of domestic
origin had pretended to say that the yellow lever of 1819 had
been generated ; on the 20th a case occurred at Fly market
slip, and on the26th one at Coffee house slip, cases occurring
in the mean time in Water and Front streets (then mostly
abandoned) which run along the East river in that part of the
town. On the 26th, another case was reported in Lombar-
dy-street, on the 27th another in Cheapside, and one at
Fulton-slip on the East river. On the 30th, another
case was reported in Lombardy-street; and on the 3d
of October, another case, Moses Ward, who came down
from CorlacrsHookto No. 20 Cheapside-street to attend and
assist at his father's funeral. On the 6th, another case in
this street. On the 10th, another in Lombardy-street. On
Account of the Yellow Fever,
3.9
the 11 th, one at No. 36 Lombardy-street. On the 13th,
another in this street. On the 16th, one on the corner of
Cheapside and Catharine streets. On the 19th and 22d, two
others in Lombardy-street. On the 23d and 25th, two
others, traced to Cheapside-street.
From the 17th of September up to November 1st, when
the epidemic terminated, straggling cases continued to oc-
cur also in Stone, Mill, Pine, Pearl, Nassau, William, Wa-
ter, Front, and similar streets in that low and compact part
of the city, between Broadway and the East river, but as
nearly all the inhabitants had prudently abandoned this
part of the old.infected district at a seasonable time, those
few only perished, who, from obstinacy,, fool-hardiness, or
indigence, remained behind.
The following comparative table will give some idea of
the progress of the disease, and its relative mortality in the
different streets :
Street. Cases. Deaths Street. Cases. Deatl
Rector, 19 11 Courtlandt, 12 8
Washington, 27 18 Broad, 14 7
Greenwich, 22 11 Maiden-lane, 10 4
Lumber, 11 7 Fulton, 4 2
Albany, 2 2 Nassau, 10 5
Carlisle, 3 1 William 11 4
Cedar, 8 7 Pine, 2 1
Liberty, 16 9 Dey, 1 0
Broadway, 33 20 John, 2 1
Thames, 6 4 Beaver 5 2
Wall, 7 4 Stone, 3 1
Beaver-lane, 4 4 Mill, 1 Q
New, 3 2 Moore, 2 0
Garden. I 0 State, 3 1
40
Account of the Yellow Fever.
Street. Pearl, Cases. 13 Deaths 8 Case! Persons who fre-
Water, Front, 19 9 14 4 quented the in-fected district,
Old-slip, 2 2 but resided in the
Dutch, Ann, Ferry, 6 1 1 2 1 1 upper part of the city, . 65 Persons who lived
Chamber, 1 0 in or frequented the vicinity of Cheapside St., 46
34
23
Total, 401 230
In addition to which, 11 deaths occurred out of the city,
and 10 after the Board of Health had adjourned. (Oct. 26.)
Thus, then, we see that the disease being once fairly intro-
duced at the foot of Rector-street, it spread from thence at
a slow and measured pace over all the lower parts of the
city. At first every case reported, could be traced to the
immediate neighbourhood of Reder's and Rose's. Then,
after it had enlarged a little its boundaries, the cases were
traced to the vicinity of those houses. After some days had
elapsed, the air of Lumber-street also became imbued with
the virus of the disease, for an alarming number of persons,
the greater part of whom where found to have had com-
munication with the neighbourhood first infected, were all
taken sick in this street nearly or about the same time.
Then the streets north, south and east of Rector-street im-
mediately adjoining, and parallel to it, began to be includ-
ed within the limits of infection more or less according as cir-
cumstances favoured its introduction and propagation, so
that, although the disease did appear to some to have ra-
Account of the Y'ellow Fever.
41
€iated or divaricated as it were from a point or centre,
and that we also have availed ourselves of this metaphor
to make the description more clearly understood ; yet this
ought not to be taken in the literal sense of the word. To
make the language accord with the facts which really did
occur in the progress of the epidemic, we ought rather to
say, that there existed, or was created, one after the other,
in all the lower part of the city, several centres, or foci,
each of which had, indeed, either directly or indirectly,
sprung from the point where the disease began, but when
once established, constituted of themselves new foci of
propagation. Many, however, who were impressed with
the belief that the disease did radiate or diverge at an
equal pace, and in all directions from the foot of Rector-
street, thought, in confirmation of this opinion, that they
could make it appear that the infection had penetrated
through brick walls, and over fences, with a determinate
march, and in straight lines, so that it actually arrived at
the same date to places which were equi-distant from the
point where it began. So confirmed were several per-
sons in this belief, that when the disease appeared at
any given spot, they thought they could predict by the
scale and compass where it would next show itself. The
date at which the cases appeared in several places, did,
at first view, seem to correspond with this opinion. It
was, however, more specious than true, for the course of
the disease, according to this hypothesis, was studied with
reference merely to the absolute distances of these several
places from the foot of Rector-street, as though the city
were an open uninhabited plain, and without making any
allowance for the obstructions which the infected air must
necessarily have had to encounter from the angles, turn-
6
t'2 Account of the Yellow Fevei.
ings, and elevation of the streets. The progress of the
epidemic was, however, ceteris paribus, at an equal ratio from
the point at which it was first introduced, which was a re-
sult natural enough to be expected when it is remembered
that it was from this place more particularly that the popu-
lation commenced their retreat, falling back and dispersing
during the first month of the epidemic, exactly in propor-
tion to the advances which the disease made. In several
instances, however, we shall see that it anticipated its vic-
tims, and by forming new centres of propagation where it
was least expected, cut them off in ambush before they had
tALtJbju timetoVs^da^fefere.
THE OASES IN THE VICINITY OF CHEAPSIDE-STREET.
This new focus of contagion, or the " upper infected
district," as it was termed, was put into action by the seeds
of the disease having been transplanted there from the ori-
ginal, or lower infected district. Samuel Ward was re-
ported sick of yell ow fever at No. 36 Lumber-street, in
the old infected district, on the 9th of August, 1822. His
father, Nathaniel Ward, who lived at No. 20 Cheapside-
street, and his mother and several of her sons and daugh-
ters, came down into Lumber-street, then uninfected, to see
him, and staid there on several occasions to nurse him until
Friday, the 16th, when they had him carried up into their
house in Cheapside-street. The introduction of a sick man
into that street, considered and known at that time to be
perfectly healthy, produced a great deal of alarm. Mr.
Corgan, living about 10 doors below, on the corner of
Cheapside and Catherine streets, together with Mr. Mes-
senger, and a number of others of the most respectable per-
sons iu that neighbourhood, took the precaution before the
Account of the Yellow Fever.
43
sicH man came, to remonstrate to the Board of Health
against having him brought there, at which the father was
very much incensed. The petition was not taken no-
tice of. We shall soon see what were the consequences.
Ward soon recovered. He is stated to have brought with
him his bedding; but this Mrs. Ward denied, feeling
herself, I presume, implicated in the distress which had been
occasioned in that neighbourhood, in some measure, per-
haps, through her agency. As the sick man lived in Lum-
ber-street, and as his father and mother and their children
were constantly down there to see him before he removed,
it is altogether preposterous to suppose that some of his
clothing, at least, was not brought up into Cheapside-street.
I learn from such authority as leaves no room for doubt, that
the dirty clothes of Ward, which he had accumulated during
his sickness, and before he was removed from Lumber-street,
were all packed up in a large bundle, and taken along with
him in the carriage, the day he arrived in Cheapside-
street. On that and the succeeding day, the 17th, they
were unpacked, washed and dried; after which they
were sent to his brother, Moses Ward, who lived with a Mr.
N—, in Walnut-street, Corlear's Hook. From thence they
were sent to Flushing, where the family of the sick man were
then staying.
Mrs. Ward also denies, but it is positively averred by
the neighbours, that the bedding upon which Ward lay,
was hung out, for several days, upon the fence which
separates the deep broad yard of Ward's house from
that of Mrs. Brown's, next door, and which is No. 18.
Ward's house stands on the street, but Mrs. Brown's
stands back at the bottom of a deep yard, so that
the front part of the house is but a few feet behind the rear
-14
Account of the Yellow Fever.
of Ward's. Fanny Ward, aged 6, daughter of Ward, Mrs,
Ward his wife, and another of her daughters, and also
* two Misses Morrison/, wljo lived up stairs in Ward's house,
all took sick about one week after the dirty clothes had been
unpacked to be washed, i. e. about the 25th or 26th of Au-
gust, but the attack being slight in all except Fanny, they
soon recovered. Fanny remained sick in bed about a
fortnight. When I first visited Ward's house, viz. Septem-
ber 21st, the father was then lying dead of yellow fever.
Hannah, aged 10, was sick of that disease in the same
room, having been taken on the 19th, and Fanny was walk-
ing about, but very feeble and emaciated. From the rela-
tion which was given me of Fanny's symptoms, and from
the deep greenish yellow tinge of her adnata and of the face,
neck, arms and chest, there can scarcely be a doubt that
her disease had been yellow fever. Ward, the father, sick-
ened on the 15th or 16th of September, and died on the
20th, on which day he was reported by Dr. Boyd to the
Board as a case of yellow fever. His skin, which I examined
as he lay a corpse, was all over of the peculiar tinge of the
disease. Hannah was also reported on the same day, and re-
covered. On the 15th of September also sickened of yellow
fever Mrs. Brown and her daughter, who lived, as we have al-
ready stated, next door to Ward; and on the same day also
Catherine Bailey, an Irish girl, aged about 14, who had been
but a short time in America, and died in a cellar at Mr.
Scott's,No. 12Cheapside-street, three doors below Brown's.
Sept. 9th, a Mrs. Carey and a Mrs. Snow her daughter,
sickened of yellow fever at No. 4 Lombardy, the street
next above, running very near and parallel to Cheapside-
street. The distance of their house from that of Ward's was
Account of the Yellow Fever.
45
about 150 feet. Mrs. Carey died on the 14th, and Mrs.
Snow on the 15th. They were both reported on the 16th.
A young man by the name of Mott, who slept at this house,
also sickened September 6th or 7th. As the house of Ward
was the source of the disease in Cheapside-street, so was
that of Mrs. Carey the more immediate source of the dis-
order which spread through Lombardy-street. For a few
days before Mrs. Carey, Mrs. Snow, and Mott sickened, a
son ofMrs. Carey arrived with his clothing and effects in
the ship Superior, captain Jocelyn, from New-Orleans. The
yellow fever had already begun at New-Orleans, and spread
to some extent before the ship sailed from that port, al-
though no notice had yet been given of the existence of the
pestilence either by the official authorities or in the public
gazettes. His mother, Mrs. Carey, was employed previous
to her attack in washing Carey's clothes. His bedding had
been destroyed before she sickened.
Mrs. Brown and Catharine Bailey died. The latter
was lying dead in the cellar when 1 made my first visit
to Ward's house, September 2!. The inhabitants of the
street.had also many of them abandoned it on that
day, and the Board of Health had strewed it with lime.
On the 22d two cases were reported in Bancker-street, the
street next above and parallel to Lombardy-street, neither
of which could be (raced to the old infected district.
On the 24th, Mrs. Bailey and Eliza Bailey, sisters of
Catherine, whom they had nursed in Cheapside-street, were
taken sick, and both were removed to the Marine Hospital,
where they died with black vomit. I saw Eliza Bailey a few
hours before her death, Monday afternoon, September 30th,
1822; it was a genuine and strongly marked case. Her
sister-in-law, Mrs. Bailey, died on the. evening before. Eliza
4(5
Account of the Yellow Fever.
was about 18, and her sister Catherine, who died of yellow
fever in Cheapside-street, September 21, about 14. They
had been but 17 months in America from Ireland. Mrs.
Bailey was also Irish, but had been several years in
the country. Eliza and Mrs. Bailey died both with black
vomit within 24 hours of each other. Here we have a
strong proof of the peculiar predisposition of northern con-
stitutions; but what is more important, a clear and unequi-
vocal instance of the direct commuuicalion of the disease from
Catherine to her sisters.
On the 27th Mr. Vreeland was reported, who sickened
the 21st, and who kept a grocery in Cherry-street, directly
in the rear of Ward's and Mrs. Brown's, their yards join-
ing upon each other. The disease continued to spread
through Cheapside and Lombardy streets, as we have al-
ready said, up to the arrival of frost.
The following recapitulation will place this subject in a
clearer light:
August 9th.—Samuel Ward, who had been down to the
foot of Rector-street, was reported sick of
yellow fever in Lumber, near Rector-
street. He was the first case in that street.
16th. He was brought sick with his dirty clo-
thing to his father's, No. 20 Cheapside-
street.
I6lh—17ih.—Dirty clothes of Ward were
washed.
26th—30th—Mrs. Ward sickened, also Fanny and
another of her daughters. Two Misses
Morrison in the same house.
Account of the Yellow Fever. 47
September 6th or 7th.—Mott sickened from No. 4 Lom-
bardy-street—died in the country.
9th.—Mrs. Carey, at No. 4 Lombardy-street,
sickened—died.
—Mrs. Snow, in same house, sickened, died.
15th.—Mrs. Brown, next door to Ward's, sickened
—died. Her daughter sickened.
—Catharine Bailey, three doors below Mrs.
Brown's, sickened—died.
16th.—Nathaniel Ward, father of Samuel, sicken-
ed—died.
19th.—Hannah Ward, his daughter, sickened—
recovered.
2ist.—Vreeland, directly in the rear of Ward's
and Brown's, sickened—recovered.
24th.—Mrs. Bailey sickened—died. And also
Eliza Bailey, do. do. Both had nursed
Catharine who died the 21st.
26th.__A case at No. 30 Lombardy-street was
reported.
27th.—A case from No. 21 Cheapside-street re-
ported, nearly opposite to Ward's.
30th.—One case at No. —, Lombardy-street, re-
ported—died.
October 3d.—Moses Ward, son of Nathaniel, died.
6th.—Another at No. 28 Lombardy-street.
10th.—A case at No. 53 Lombardy-st. reported.
11th. do. 36 do.
____. do. 52 do.
13th. do. 23 do.
16th.—Corner of Cheapside and Catherine.
48
Account of the Yellow Fever.
19th. from 31 Lombardy
22d. do. 37 do.
23d. do. 7 Cheapside-street.
25th. do. 7 do.
To Ward, therefore, who was brought sick of yellow
fever with his dirty clothing into Cheapside-street, and to
Carey, who brought his effects to his mother's house at No.
4 Lombardy-street, are we to attribute the sickness which
began at these houses, and spread into the adjacent and
neighbouring houses in those streets. How can we resist
this obvious conclusion, when we see that the cases, like the
continuity in the links of a chain, arc all united together, and
began regularly to succeed each other from Ward and from
Carey immediately after their arrival in Cheapside and
Lombardy-streets.
Setting aside the cases of Mrs. Ward and one of her
daughters, and those of the Misses Morrison, as all doubtful,
there occurred in the two streets of Cheapside and Lom-
bardy, within the short distance between Market and Cathe-
rine streets, and comprising not more than 60 houses, the ex-
traordinary number of twelve cases in Cheapside and eleven
in Lombardy-street, though nearly one half of the houses
mentioned, and nearly every house in Cheapside-street, were
abandoned as early as September 21st. The distance between
Catherine and Market-streets is about 500 feet; the width
of Catherine-street is 45 feet, and that of Market-street 60
feet. Both run down transversely to the river by a very
considerable descent, being at their junction with Harman-
street, at their upper extremity, about 20 feet higher than
Lombardy and Cheapside-street?, which on the other hand
run parallel with the river, and are not more than 15 feet
above its surface. Cherry-street, parallel to and next below
Account of the Yellow Fever.
49
Cheapside-street is 60 feet wide; Bancker-street, parallel to
and next above Lombardy-street, is 45 feet wide, bein«-
also from 15 to 20 feet higher than that street.
I have purposely abstained from placing in the above
list, the names of those cases which were reported in Banck-
er-street, and that neighbourhood, because I have satis-
factorily ascertained, beyond the possibility of contradiction,
that each, and every individual of those persons, had had
communication with the infected part of Cheapside and
Lombardy streets.
The following is the order in which they occurred, and
their history, derived from personal inquiries, made at the
time, in company with Dr. Francis.
Sept. 22. Mr. Scott, at No. 122 Bancker-street—died.
Mary Mosier, at No. 125 Bancker-street—
recovered.
Oct. 16th. George Whetty, at No. 118 Bancker-street—
died.
17th. Mary Kirk, No. 90 Bancker-street—reco-
vered.
Whetty, son of George, 118—died
19th. Elizabeth Crawford, No. 12& Banker-street—
died.
Clarissa Chapeau, . . . —died
Scott had been down to the shop of Mr. Jacobs, merch-
ant tailor, at the corner of. Maiden-lane and Nassau-street,
for whom he worked as a journeyman, about five or six
days before he was taken sick. This fact was not known to
the board of health at the time he was reported. Con-
sequently, as Maiden-lane, and particularly this very part
of it, had been before that period included within the
infected district, from several cases having previously occur-
red there, he must be put down as having derived his disease
50 Account of the Yellow Fever.
from that place, and none other. The next was a little girl,
by the name of Mary Mosier, aged ten years. She had
been in the daily habit of passing in the vicinity of the in-
fected part of Cheapside and Lombardy streets, on her way
to the market at the foot of Catharine-street. Although,
therefore, we are fully persuaded, that she received her
disease from Cheapside and Lombardy streets, we will, for
argument sake, suppose, not only that it was a genuine
case of yellow fever ; but furthermore, that she had not been
sufficiently near the infected parts of those streets, to have
taken her disease from that source.
Not until after Mary Mosier was reported, did, as far as
I can learn, a single person remove out of Bancker-street.
About forty or fifty person only now left it, while the great
mass of inhabitants continued still to reside there, with the
most perfect security ; for we see that not until nearly after
the lapse of an entire month, was another case reported in
this street.
This was George Whetty, at No. 118. His son was re-
ported the day after at the same house. The father had
been down several times through Cheapside and Lombardy
streets, a few days before he sickened. He was an in-
temperate man, and in the habit of ranging all over the
city. The next is Mary Kirk, a young girl at No. 90. She
was taken sick on a Thursday, and on the Sunday before,
had walked through Lombardy-street. The last two were
Crawford and Chapeau, both women of indifferent cha-
racter. Crawford was taken sick of a Monday night. A
short time before, and particularly on the Saturday pre-
vious, she took a walk to that part of Cheapside and
Lombardy streets, where they terminate in Catharine-street,
being but a few doors from Ward's house ; Chapeau, four
Account of the Yellow Fever,
51
or five days before she was taken sick, had been down into
Lombardy and Cheapside streets, on her way to and from
the market.
If, indeed, the local accumulation of filth, crowded, damp
and unventilated apartments, the condensation of human
effluvia, and habits of excessive intemperance and depravity,
can generate yellow fever in this latitude ; then surely ought
the solitary case, which we have supposed to have occurred
in Bancker-street, to be attributed to these sources. But
why, if as some pretend, this part of the town produced
from its own resources all these different cases, as well as
the mortality also in Cheapside and Lombardy streets, and
without the necessity of supposing any foreign cause ; why,
I repeat, did not these domestic causes become operative at
an earlier period ? Why, out of the mass of dissolute popula-
tion in Bancker-street, none or but very few of the inhabi-
tants of which fled then, or since, from the pestilence, while
Cheapside became almost entirely, and Lombardy-street
nearly all deserted, did not other cases also fall sick of
yellow fever in Bancker-street ,?*
Why had the lower and extreme parts of the town, and
especially the salubrious and cleanly neighbourhood of the
Bowling Green and Battery, and the terminations of Broad-
way and Greenwich streets, suffered so long before this
period, and so severely from the pestilence, while Bancker-
street, the very hot-bed of filth, was enjoying for months, and
until the middle of autumn, a peculiar exemption from dis-
ease of any kind ? Why, again, I finally ask, if Bancker-
* There were not altogether more than fifty persons who fled from
this long and thickly populated street* during the whole season, and no
erne removed until after Mary Mosier was reported.
52
Account of the Yellow Fever.
street and filth, were the sources of the disease in this upper
part of the town, did the first cases break out in Lombardy
nnd Cheapside streets, both of which, and particularly Cheap-
side-street, by being retired and never made use of as tho-
rough-fares, are in comparison to Bancker-street, or indeed
to most parts of the city, proverbial for their cleanliness, and
for the reputable character and comfortable condition of
their inhabitants ?
Why, if this statement be, as we know it to be, true, after
this solitary case in Bancker-street was reported, did no
more cases originate there, while the disease continued up to
the termination of autumn, to be limited and circumscribed
to the narrow short streets of Cheapside and Lombardy,
comprised between Market and Catharine streets, and con-
taining both together not more than sixty houses. Whereas in
the most filthy and thickly populated and nearest and cor-
responding part of Bancker-street, where each individual
house almost contains from three to five or six families,
nearly all of whom continued to remain there, not a case of
yellow fever occurred ?
The following notice from the New-York Statesman of
Oct. 15th, 1S22, though we do not accede to the inferences
which it makes in favour of the use of lime, will give some
idea of the number of persons who continued to occupy this
part of Bancker-street, up to that date.
" In what has been called the upper infected district, about
Bancker and Lombardy streets, lime has been used in the
streets, and in^the yards, alleys, sinks, &ic. The yellow fever
which has appeared there, has had a crowded and filthy
population to spread among them its contagion or infection,
but the disease has been arrested, because if the lime had
done no good, the yellow fever would not have stopped its
Account of the Yellow Fever,
53
ravages in a concentrated population of 3000. I say 3000,
because the person now engaged, reported on Saturday
morning 1997 persons, and he was little more than half done
taking the «ensus of the square lying south of Henry-street,
to the East River, and between Cathariue and Pike streets."
From my own personal examination of Cheapside and
Lombardy streets, and especially of the five adjacent build-
ings in Cheapside-street, where the cases of the Wards,
Bailies and Browns occurred, I can positively affirm, and
with the concurrence of every physician who has been
to those houses, that there is in no part of the city
five buildings of the same dimensions more cleanly and
commodious in their apartments, nor furnished with more
spacious and beautiful yards ; nor any streets, especially
Cheapside, more free of filth or refuse of e\ery kind,
whatever.*
If the yellow fever of Cheapside and Lombardy streets
was generated there, the domestic causes must have been
totally at variance with those which existed at Rector street.
There was neither decayed wharves, nor putrid bilge water, W4^JL.
nor offensive timbers of shipping, not so much as a single
grave yard within the compass of a whole mile, from which
might ooze out the foetid distillations of human putrefac-
tion ! What then were these peculiar domestic causes, which
seemed so intense within the narrow limits* of these two
small streets ? I ask the question by anticipation, knowing
* The yards are all of them from 60 to 100 feet deep, and from 20
to 40 feet in width. I could not help admiring the neat, dry and clean-
ly manner in which they were kept, and the numerous flower-hed$ and
Vines which tastily adorned them, occurring to me at the time as a
eilent, bat most eloquent comment on the theory of domestic origin.
54
Account of the Yellow Fever.
that although no person has yet had the boldness to offer,
or the ingenuity to invent, any plausible explanation, on the
principles of domestic origin ; something of this nature will
in the course of time be advanced. I answer it, therefore,
by saying that no such domestic causes did exist, and that
whatever circumstances did exist there, being totally different,
and indeed in direct opposition to those which, according to
this hypothesis, are to be found at Rector-street, they could
not, as the causes which did in reality exist, have done,
produce the very same effects. In other words, contrary
causes could not generate the same specific and identical
disease.
Why, too, if these cases of Cheapside and Lombardy
streets originated from domestic sources, did the interme-
diate section of the town between this and the lower infect-
ed district, and that which had in previous years been con-
sidered the seat of the pestilence, in other words, the whole
of that compact, populous, and filthy part of the city, inclu-
ded between Fulton and Catharine streets, escape its rava-
ges, though it continued to be inhabited for some time after
Ward, and many others, had died in the neighbourhood of
Cheapside-street f If domestic sources could possibly
generate yellow fever, then at an early season might we
have reasonably looked for it not only along the filthy
wharves, docks and sewers, of Fayette, James, Roosevelt,
Dover, Peck and Fulton slips, in this section of the town,
but also along the whole range of docks on the East River
between Fulton-street and the Battery.
During the yellow fever in the vicinity of Old Slip in
1819, and also daring the present season, the wharf from
Dover to Roosevelt-Street, has been undergoing an entire
alteration. The proprietors of that section of the town
Account of the Yellow Fever.
55
have settled out; a bulk head, which being still unfinished,
stagnant water has collected in different places along the
dock, where, from the filth, excrements from tubs, and dead
animal and vegetable matters usually thrown in while fil-
ling such places, the air, especially during the hot weather,
and the progress of their decomposition, has been render-
ed excessively offensive. But neither in the yellow fever
of 1819, nor during that of the present year, has a single
instance of the disease occurred there. On the contrary,
a short distance above Roosevelt-street, and between that
street and James-street, several cases of yellow fever,
just before the termination of autumn, occurred at Nos.
343 and 349 Water-street, two small wooden sailor board-
ing houses which stood about forty feet apart on the same
side of the street. Although this was close to the slips
where, in previous years, the yellow fever had broke out,
and been extremely mortal, [especially in the memo-
rable year of 1798,] and although this part of the town
had been all the season placed as it were between the two
fires of the upper and lower infected districts, the inhabi-
tants continued to reside therewith impunity, and the ship-
ping to remain at the docks. No one took sick in the si-
milar dwellings opposite, nor in any part of the neighbour-
hood. Even after these cases had happened no alarm
was produced, for the season had now become quite cool
and chilly, and a few days after the last died^a frost ac!u- j
ally occurred. (October 2S.) The people were, there-
fore, satisfied, that it was absurd to imagine that any exha-
lations from docks, privies, confined apartments or yards,
would have been harmless or suspended during all the hot
weather, and now at this late hour of autumn, just at the
arrival of frost, become so intense as to generate yellow
56 Account of the Yellow Fever.
fever. No one was fool-hardy enough to say it originated
in the two houses. Consequently, upon inquiry, and per-
sonal examination, accompanied by a medical friend, it was
found that the sickness was as usual traceable to the old
infected district. No. 343 was occupied by John Bres-
land, and No. 349 by Mrs. Bolien. Bresland was report-
ed Wednesday, October 9th, and died that day. On Mon-
day following, October 14, Martin Keaugh, a boarder in
Bresland's house, a labourer about the docks, was taken
sick. He was in the habit of seeing Bresland frequently
while the latter was lying sick. The next day, Tuesday,
October 15th, John Freeman, a sailor, and also boarder
in Bresland's house, sickened. He had also seen Bresland
repeatedly during his illness. Bresland confessed, on his
death bed, that he had been a few days before down to
White-Hall, in the lower infected district. Keaugh and
Freeman took it without doubt from him, and as is usual
with the law by which the contagion of yellow fever is
propagated, from four to six days after exposure to the
disease. [See the valuable letter of Dr. Joseph Bayley,
health officer of this port, New-York Medical and Physical
Journal, vol. 1. No. 1.*] The ample experience, and close
and accurate observation of this gentleman, Has almost
definitively settled this point. Keaugh died. Both he and
Bresland were Irish.
On Thursday, October 10th, Robert Smith, who had
been complaining the night before, took sick of yellow fe-
ver at Mrs. Bolien's, No. 349. He was mate of the brig
Margaret, lately arrived from Turk's Island, and had been
wandering about through the city in all directions, and on
the Saturday preceding his illness, viz. October 6th, had
* JSditedby Drs. Francis, Dyckman, and Beck.
Account of the Yellow Fever.
57
made an excursion on foot, down Broadway, and through
the fences into the old infected district. He was quite
frightened on his return, and told ->f it, saying he had been
" where the town had all been shut up." Mrs. Bolien's
black woman who officiated afterwards as nur?e to Smith,
rebuked him for his inconsiderate conduct, and asked him
how he could be so rash. He endeavoured to excuse himself.
Smith was now confined to his bed, which was in a very
small apartment of low ceilings of about 12 feet square in the
second story of Mrs Bolien's house. About four feet from
Smith's bed slept,in the same contracted apartment, an Irish-
man, by the name of Joseph Curiel, on another bed. Curiel
had been for a long time a cripple on crutches, and had not.
for five weeks been farther from the house than the door.
He had been a sort of clerk or accountant to Mrs. Bolien ;
consequently, this was no wanderer, and had been neither
in the upper nor lower infected district. On the Saturday
night, [Oct. 12th] following, the day on which Smith sick-
ened, this man also took sick, having continued from
the beginning of Smith's indisposition to sleep in the same
room. The room and bedding were perfectly clean, and
without any offensive odour; and Curiel, beyond all doubt,
took his disease from Smith. They both died. Curiel had
unfortunately taken an emetic the second day of his illness
at the recommendation of some peps m who told him his dis-
ease was merely a bilious fever. This is one of the sad and
fatal consequences of the unitarian system of confounding
the symptoms as well as causes of all diseases together.
To recapitulate :
Oct. 9th. John Bresland reported sick of yellow fever
at No. 343 Water-Street, died.
P
58
Account of the Yellow Fever.
10th. Robert Smith taken sick of yellow fever at
N.». 349. Reported Oct. 17th, died.
12th. Joseph Curiel sickened at No. 349. Reported
Oct. 17 th, died.
14th. Martin Keaugh, sickened at No. 343. Re-
ported Oct. 17th, died.
15th. John Freeman sickened at No. 343. Re-
ported Oct. 18th.
Thus while the slips and sewers above Fulton-street re-
mained, during the whole epidemic, free from infection,
those below Fulton street, comprehending Beekman, Fly-
Market, Coffee-House, Old, Coenties, and Whitehall slips,
afterwards included within the infected district, did not be-
come so until the poison had, after the lapse of more than
two months, been carried thither from the streets in the
vicinity of Broadway, or those across the town, on the op-
posite side of the city.
" During the present season, the two long wharves on
the east and west side of Coffee-house slip have, owing
to the decayed state of the timber, been broken up. The
work was commenced about the 10th of June, and con-
tinued, by a great number of men, through the hot season,
to about the middle of August : the logs were in dif-
ferent states of decay; some entirely rotten, which, with the
discoloured earth, was piled in large quantities in front of
the stores in South-street, about two rods distant, a part of
which remained subject to the effect of heat and moisture,
until the 24th of October; during which time it is said no
bad effects have been experienced from it, either by the
workmen employed or others; and from its commence-
ment, even during the present sickly season, the store at the
corner of South-street and Coffee-house slip has been con-
stantly occupied, and is within about two rods of the de-
cayed timber, &c. referred to.
Account of the Yellow Fever. 59
" As this timber, so much decayed as partly to be thrown
up with shovels, was taken out during the hottest season of
the year, without producing any bad effects, it might be
inferred (unless cases to the contrary could be referred to)
that the timber saturated with, and decayed in salt-water,
was less dangerous when exposed to the air than if decayed
in other situations.'*
So far from these places being the generating foci of in-
fection, as in previous years they were represented to have
been, Catherine market and slip at the foot of Catherine-
street, in the immediate vicinity of Cheapside-street, and Ful-
ton market and slip, at the foot of Fulton-street, remained
during the whole season exempt from sickness, insomuch
that persons continued fearlessly to resort to those markets,
and the ferry-boats, between those slips and Brooklyn, to
ply with their accustomed regularity.
Market-street and Catharine-street, the street next above
and parallel to it, and both in the immediate vicinity of
Cheapside-street, as well as Cherry-street, immediately be-
low and parallel to Cheapside-street, and lower and nearer
than that street to the river, continued, with the exception
of Mr. Vreeland, who lived directly in the rear of Mr. Ward's
and Mrs. Brown's yards, free of sicknes, while the few indi-
viduals in Lombardy-street, and the still fewer number who
continued in Cheapside-street, one after the other fell sick
of yellow fever, until the frost finally extinguished the poi-
son. It was absurdly conjectured by some, that the part
of Bancker-street corresponding to Lombarby and Cheap-
side-streets, as it continued up to the termination of the
* R. Bulklcy's letter to the Board of Health, on the subject of pu-
rifying sewers. See New-York Statesman, Oct. 26,1822.
60
Account of the Yellow Fever,
disease nearly as thickly populated as before, owed it:i
exemption to the lime scattered through the street. I am
not in the least prejudiced against the supposed disinfecting
properties of this substance, but on the contrary am
disposed to believe that it might prove of considerable
utility. Those who have hazarded this opinion of its
efficacy in Bancker street, and who, strange as it may
appear, attribute at the same time the production of yel-
low fever to domestic filth and confined apartments, forget
that, while Cheapside and Lombardy streets, so much more
cleanly, and so much less populous, than Bancker-street,
were also strewed with lime, and almost totally deserted of
their inhabitants, those few individuals who remained nearly
all fell victims to the disease !
" Adverting to the condition of the city of New-York,
anterior to the American revolution, and before a regular
system of police regulations was adopted; to the offensive
state of the town during the revolutionary war, when inha-
bited by the British troops; to the immense collection of
foul materials of every sort in the cellars of the numerous
buildings, destroyed by the great fire of 177G, during the
whole of which period, this city enjoyed a total exemption
from the pestilential fever, we must be convinced of the limi-
ted and incorrect views of those who look no farther
for the origin of this evil. In like manner trie offen-
sive state of our slips, our wharves and our market places,
until within a very few years ; the putrefactive processes at-
tendant upon our tanneries, morocco, starch and glue manu-
factories, slaughter houses, tallow chandleries, sugar houses,
&c. he. the filthy and neglected condition of our streets, and
we may add, of many of our burial grounds, furnish incon-
testible evidence, that these are innocent, when considered
,^ wvrux.. ^ ^ l^oi OluJLk tUjuf tr Ur*3
Account of the Yellow Fever. 61 ~\
as the primary causes of the mortal epidemic, which has! ^ (^Z>.
desolated our cities."* I £U *$L s •
Iustead of yellow fever breaking out as by the laws of ttH' 2-
domestic orirnn. if snrh tlic.ro Ua It n,,~u* *~ i---- .1___• -r T ^—j
domestic origin, if such there be, it ought to have done in
the densely populated, and low, dirty, and confined slips on :
the East river, especi ally in the neighbourhood of the marHr- 7? *'
kets and sewers, at the foot of Broad-street, and at Old, f £ £f P^j
Burling, Fulton, Peck, Roosevelt, and Catharine slips,t | ^J ^ £
we see it after the season was far advanced, and that itS^ * j^T
seemed to have expended itself on the lower and west side I ^Y" < (
of the town, now entirely deserted, making a sudden irrup- ^p^^f -?
tion into the clean and retired streets of Cheapside and Lom-
bardy, in the north-eastern suburbs o f the city, and where
all the streets, with the single exception almost of Cheapside f V \j
and Lombardy, are unusually wide, and regularly laid out it y\\
on a dry and sandy soil, sloped into the form of a long in- 5
ciined plane, elevated at the upper part at least 40 or 50 r- rj v"
feet above the river towards which it descends. It is, in "j \ 5
truth, no less extraordinary and unaccountable on the doc- f "
trine of domestic origin, that the disease should have first-*7
broke out on the south-western side of the island, in what ■•
had hitherto with good reason been considered the mostff
healthy, cleanly, and beautiful quarter of the city, thanthair "
it should afterwards have suddenly made its appearanceF
near the high and airy suburbs on the East River, and at so *
great a distance from the place where it had proved mosij?^
mortal, and to which, with this exception, it continued^. ^v
even afterwards to be exclusively confined. -J^-
* Hosack on the Laws of Contagion, N ew-York, 1815, p. 69,noteE.
f Any person who might visit, as I have done it often, our narrow^ f~ j
and low streets, especially along- the east side of the town, will be .lf^/1/
struck by, and convinced of the presence of a deadly air or offensiveLiJ
smell, mostly of the cloacinae kind."—Extract of a communication from ^ ,y I
Dr. Felix Pascalis, (vid. Commercial Advertiser, Oct. 22, 1822.) F* ^ ~^.U.it *
fl k. *u a svju^jo\^. ^ I ljujlj!:- . 10 LoffjU* £j^ lU U m\ o^ i*-Jx.cA,i t ^ »\* h f.ii
_____ -"---------------------------------------------
Q2
Account of the Yellow Fever.
There is often, says a distinguished writer.* a blind im-
pulse in public opinion, which arrives by a more speedy and
eertain method at the truth, than all the reasonings of phi-
losophy. May not this too serve us as a guide in the strong
sentiment of repugnance and open expressions of alarm and
discontent manifested by all the inhabitants of Cheapside-
street, when Ward was brought into that neighbourhood ?
What induced them to fear this intruder, and why do the
world continue on all occasions to show that dread of ap-
proaching near the persons of those who are doomed to be-
come the victims of this cruel malady ? Does this show us that
the theory of importation and contagion, as some persons
have had the temerity to say, is an exploded phantom, en-
gendered in superstition, and sustained by misrepresenta-
tion and duplicity.? Does this show that quarantine re-
strictions are a libel upon the common sense of mankind,
and an insolent usurpation of their rights?
Whether the yellow fever of Cheapside and Lombardy-
streets be ascribed to the clothing or person of Ward, or to
the clothing and effects of Carey, or to both, we see the com-
municable character of the disease brought home to our con-
viction, without the possibility of mistake or deception. We
see ourselves irresistibly compelled to believe that the dis-
ease had, in reality, the power of propagating itself directly
or indirectly from the sick persons to those who were well,
and through those again the mems, had such existed within
the sphere of its influence, of multiplying itself by its own
specific contagion, as it had already done in Rector street
to an indefinite extent. Had not the population of Lom-
bardy and Cheapside-streets fled as precipitately as they
did, or had the season been not so far advanced, hundreds
* Abbo de Pradt.
Account of the Yellow Fever. 63
might have perished. Thousands of lives too have thus
been saved to the public by the timely desertion of the
lower parts of the city.
It maybe asked why the numerous cases of yellow fever
in uninfected parts of the town, and who had either taken
the disease in, or were removed sick with it from the infected
district, together with the large quantities of furniture, bed-
ding and goods brought out of this district, did not also
communicate the disease. With regard to furniture, goods,
and other articles, it may be observed, that it was almost ex-
clusively taken out of those streets which the disease had
not yet reached, and moreover, that it was all carried into
the open suburbs of the city or to the village of Green-
wich, to which last place the custom-house, post-office, .*-
banks and insurance companies, together with the great
body of the merchants and tradesmen, removed as soon as
it was ascertained that there was danger in remaining in the
lower part of the city. So also with those persons who
lived and were taken sick in the infected district. Those
of them who were removed were all carried, together with
their effects, either to the suburbs or to the neighbouring vil-
lages, or to some distance into the country, but very rarely
or never into other parts of the city.
But Ward we see came doubly fortified with the powers
of contagion. He not only contained it in his person, then
labouring under yellow fever, but in the more virulent and
concentrated form of fomities in his dirty clothing. Be-
sides which he removed from Lumber-street, and had taken
his disease in Rector-street, in the very heart and centre of
the infected district, and where, from the great mortality
which occurred in those streets, the poison must have been
uncommonly virulent. I venture to say that no person was
removed out of the infected district under circumstances so
favourable as Ward to communicate the disease. Out of 415
cases, which was as nearly as can be ascertained, the whole
v^L&. dj/t wvU: iV- UsrdL a "/^a-uaJ ,
64 Account of the Yellow Fever.
number that occurred between July 10th and November 5th,
when the disease terminated, about
70 were removed to the Marine Hospital at Staten-
Island,
104 were sick of yellow fever in uninfected parts of
the city,
73 were removed to the country,
44 to the suburbs of the city,
16 to other parts of the infected district,
2 to the New-York Hospital,
1 to Bellevue Hospital, out of town.
Of those taken to the Marine Hospital it may be remark-
ed, that they were removed successively at distant intervals,
and but two or three at a time, and therefore never accu-
mulated. As the wards also of this spacious building were
kept in the most perfect cleanliness, and from the healthy
situation of the building exposed to the sea, are more roomy
and airy than are to be found in most other hospitals; and
as there were also but few or no persons sick in the house of
other diseases during the whole of the epidemic, there was
nothing for the contagion of yellow fever to operate upon.
There are but two phj'sicians attached to it, the Health
Officer and Dr. Harrison; and no person was allowed to
have any communication with the sick but the three or four
nurses of the establishment, who, like the physicians, had
been long habituated to the care of yellow fever patients,
and were therefore less liable to take the disease, especially
in the diluted condition in which the poison must have ex-
isted in the airy rooms of this fine building. Their effects,
of course, were not allowed to accompany them.
Out of the 104 persons sick of yellow fever in the unin-
fected parts of the city 65 out of this number did not re-
side in the infected district, but had been employed there
Account of the Yellow Fever.
65
as labourers, or merely passed through it. These, therefore,
could have brought neither dirty clothing nor any other
infected articles with them. Why these, however, and the
remaining thirty-nine scattered over various parts < f the
city, supposing some of them to have brought their b' dding
or clothing with them, did not communicate the disease to
their physicians, nurses or attendants, or to the inhabitants
living in the neighbouring houses, it is perhaps impossible
to say. I will not deny, that several of these cases, from 'he
confined situation of the apartments in which they lay and
the inattention of their nurses, seeme 1 to have been placed
under circumstances particularly favourable to communi-
cate the disease. But it must be remembered that all these
were individual cases, and more or less insulated, not only by ti^
being placed in parts of the city remote from each other,
but because they were in a great number of instances aban-
doned through fear by their relatives as well as friends, by
all indeed but their physician, and some desperate fellow
whom cupidity more than philanthropy tempted to do some
few reluctant services to the forsaken sufferer. On the
other hand, as an extraordinary exception, all the family
of Ward seemed by their actions, as well as conversation, to
set at defiance altogether the idea of yellow fever being a
contagious disease. Hence they continued to remain at
their house in Cheapside street through the thickest of the
disease. The poisonous emanations from each individual,
by being insulated, and therefore readily weakened by dilu- £c
tion with the circumambient air, were not of themselves
sufficiently intense to infect the neighbourhood in which
these cases occurred; but had they been concentrated into
one confined spot, as were the Reders, Thomas, &c. at the
foot of Rector-street, or the Wards in Cheapside-street, and
the cases at Mrs. Carey's ; and had the persons in the ad-
0
* fix. <*^ t^^^^T^h^T^^^uA^S^^^^^^J^J^^
Uvv* a Wouto 'jvt^^L^i^XtJL ^ vU \x^J« V^ul6uw .
"^iv-» t«J/i (^u^ ktotXjr a J(rw b> Ww
JfjUX C>^JL 66 Account of the Yellow Fever.
i __ "j joining houses continued under such circumstances to re-
* VfK4y^'Vv>A^.raajnj impru(jently as they did in the vicinity of Rector-
*■ 6rw)t^>t^-s*>Ks,reet f°r several weeks after these emanations were put in
Il \rA ,. motion, there can be no doubt that the result would have
' been precisely, and in every respect, the same.
• | i Tx Mr. E. H. Brien, in his communication to the Transport
. . Board, London, expresses very nearly the same opinion.
ji» *\ia~ *^He considers the disease not communicable to those conti-
** pk Uirv^sAx^ guous, when occurring only now and then in an individual,
!*/M/w ftULxi but h'ghly contagious when several were labouring under it,
Dtrw»x ^L^wy- at tne same *,me : [Bancrofts Sequel, p. 162.] So also Dr.
rv L™ r Currie, of Philadelphia, says it can only become contagious
. J when accumulated or concentrated in the atmosphere in
¥K JM-*v~ confined unventilated situations. [Letter to Dr. Hosack.
yi^f^ * kaji^x. Amer^ Medm ^ philoSt Reg^ p 195 j
J^WT »A UTv To those whose obstinate adherence to preconceived
tv^w Ix^jAjtt/ theories will take nothing as true unless it squares precisely
LJrf x t i C/K Wltn lne'r not,ons» tnis explanation will not of course be
' ^ satisfactory. In return, therefore, I may be allowed to put
s/?/wu^ *>v certain interrogatories to them.
l{ % ( «x^vt^-A-*i fhyM
tlrftob 6v ^^>U^vU y**s*4 UA vJ-^e uMJj^.^ ^Z^j
f
A^Jua dU^r, * ^dUA, Lw.^^ <*Ux/ , * «U-L
68 Account of the Yellow Fever.
deserted this part of the cit\ as did. While at Montpellier,!
became acquainted with Dr. Bally, who was then on his re-
turn from Barcelona to Paris. He stated his opinions very
frankly, and told me tiiat the disease which prevailed at
Barcelona was the genuine yellow fever, and that the con-
tagiousness of the disease, as well as its importation, was de-
monstrated by a thousand examples. Dr. Biliy appeared
to br> very conversant with the peculiar doctrines taught in
the Medical Repository, and was by no means sparing in his
stri 'ures on th> editors of that work.
Of the physicians at Barcelona, nine-tenths he said coin-
cided in opinion wifh the commissioners.
The remnant who maintained the domestic origin of the
disease, attributed it to a foul sluggish sewer in one of the
streets, over which the stones were so loosely placed that
the putrid vapour generated there exhaled freely into the
air of the street. But, unfortunately for this o; inion, it was
at the very mouth of this sewer, that three hundred fisher-
men, alter the fever had first broke out at the little healthy
village of Barcelonette, came to moor their barks. Not
one of them took the disease, except four or five who
went into the city. On the other hand, the street called
the New-street, the widest and most airy and beautiful in
town, suffered most from the pestilence.
By the earlier advocates of domestic origin, we were told
that yellow fever was a disease produced by marsh mias-
mata, and therefore the same as the common autumnal re-
mittents all over the world. But if vegetable miasms be the
peculiar and proper source of all these diseases why
does not yellow fever, which Bancroft and a few other
writers call a higher grade of remittent, prevail among
the boundless marshes, swamps, prairies and savannahs on
the coast and in the interior of our country ? Why is the
Account of the Yellow Fever.
69
disease confined exclusively to our sea shore and sea ports ?
It is indeed very extraordinary that this higher grade of re-
mittent should have proved so mortal in the city of New-
York, built on an elevated ridge of primitive rock, entirely
separated by the rivers, at whose conflux it stands, from the
high surrounding country, and where, with some few excep-
tions on the opposite side of the bay, and at the distance of
several miles from the city, no marshes are to be found, and
none that ever proved unhealthy.
" It may also be remarked as an additional testimony to
that stated by Dr. Stewart, on the yellow fever of Granada,
(Amer. Med. U ^ U.JJ ec4c /✓&/» *vn* if £■ 4-wirv; ^-J^rt w. ^F-U^v. Mfiit-j/T tU fa+^L^mJU
£TJ ^^vv^^H^5-^CCom^ o/fAc FeZ/ow j&W. ^^'ff^^ fy* 4 k*i\ V
7 " 7: John Wild, taken sick on the 19th of June, and died £u&*&*£5» 1* $-*
on the 25th. He had redness and wildness of the eye—yel- ff~77 jjJutigL
low skin—vomited a dark matter, and on the last day <"Y- ^^itU)
brought up some blood. On inquiring of the superiniendant . /*._». h \^Ji
of the factory where Wild had been previously to his attack, A*Jja JT JboA
we found, that two days before, he had been on board of a uf-)
sick on the 21st of June, two days alter Wild was attacked, ' . ' \
and with the same symptoms; red eyes—great distress's^v/y / /) J
about the praecordia, together with irritability of the sto-*<} \y^JkJZi1/6^,1 >■
mach ; brought up the same kind of matter. She had been , ' h „ J^'ff i
at the factory for one month. She recovered ; the fevery La
corning to a crisis on the seventh day. /
" 9. Rhoda Clark, another of the girls working at the fae- JT& $ )^'h ''
tory, where she had been only three days, was taken sick on J rutx/f^b lOt'
the 23d of June. She was immediately removed to her fa- y ST'T^T * „ ^
ther's, about a mile and a half south of Middletown, where i , I
(!) v~U J-ti-yv^-fc
Dr. Tully attended her. She had the red and muddy eye / r~l
—great precordial distress—coma, and decided black vomit.^ *>»~j~ss&£l*u.i)f
She died on the 27th. *f>j'
80 Account of the Yellow Fever.
" 10. Catherine Hubbard, another girl at the factory,
where she had been one week, was taken sick at the same
time with Rhoda Clark. Symptoms very similar to those
of Abigail Treat. She recovered.
" It does not appear that any of the three girls who were
sick at the factory had been on board of any vessel. On the
Sunday previous, some of them had been down to Middle-
town, but at this time the Sea-Island lay four and a half
miles above that place.
" During Wild's sickness, the superintendant informed us,
that the girls occasionally went in to see him, and that they
slept in an adjoining room, with only a wooden partition be-
tween them. Only one circumstance more concerning the
factory is worth noticing, and this is, that a state of invari-
able general health has always prevailed about that place."*
Surrounded thus on all sides, and driven to the last
extremity, the shifts and subterfuges of which the advocates
of domestic origin had heretofore availed themselves, being
exploded were abandoned in despair; leaving us, so
far as regards the promises which they had held out to
us of clearing up this matter, absolutely more in the dark than
ever, except with the advantage of knowing that the im-
mense mass of error and rubbish under which the truth has
been so long hidden, and which has served so much to en-
cumber the march of our discoveries, has now been removed
out of the way.
The reviewers in the London Quarterly Journal of Fo-
reign Medicine and Surgery, (a very useful work) though
avowedly the advocates of domestic origin seem to have
been aware of the necessity of relinquishing the old ground
of this controversy as utterly untenable. They have veered
entirely round, and now propose that the domestic produc-
tion of yellow fever be attributed to the richer constituents
* New York Medical and Physical Journal, No. 2.
Account of the Yellow Fever. 81
of clay and absorbent soils eliminated in the state of gas, and
associated with aqueous vapour by the direct rays of the
sun ! " This source of yellow fever we had obtruded on us, by
observing that the most malignant type of this disease [on
the coast of Africa] took place in situations where those
deep and rich soils most abounded, and where they had
been inundated during the rainy seasons." It was observed
to be still more malignant after the rains, and during the
dry season when the earth was cracked into deep fissures.
[See their review of M. Devtze's work on yellow fever.
Vol. III. p. 101.] Dr. Shecut, of Charleston, has made still
greater concessions, and having abandoned both the earth
and the sea, thinks he has discovered the source of yellow
fever in a specific gaseous poison, caused by an insufficient
quantity of electric fluid in the air. [See his Med. & Philos.
Essays, p. 92, et seq.'] We are not prepared to accede to
this assertion without farther proof, although it must be con-
fessed, that if the facts stated by Dr. Shecut are true, the
condition of the atmosphere, which he speaks of, appears to
have favoured the propagation of the disease. He says the
years in which yellow fever has prevailed most at Charles-
ton, viz. 1732—39—45—48—have been either excessively
hot and dry, or excessively hot and moist, and always at-
tended with but little thunder and lightning, (p. 97.) But
he afterwards states some exceptions, (p. 105.)
After endeavouring to show that yellow fever depended
upon this or that extraneous cause, and exhausting the
whole catalogue of chemistry and meteorology, to find
some substance with which to associate it, it has been at
last found, that in the eagerness of the chase we have
overreached ourselves, and been more prodigal of our
conjectures than close in our investigations. The farther
we have pushed this inquiry, the more do we find ourselves
U
52 Account of the Yellow Fever.
compelled to admit that yellow fever is the product of a
specific poison governed by its own laws, and capable of
propagating and multiplying itself by contagion in an at-
mosphere of a certain temperature, especially when ac-
companied with humidity, and rendered impure by human
effluvia, but often totally independent of soil or situation.
The more it multiplies in any given spot, the more conta-
gious it becomes, and the less dependent on human efflu-
via. Hence, by the increase of the sick, the whole atmos-
phere, to a certain extent, becomes charged as it were
with the poison, and thus itself the source apparently of
the disease ; so much so, that those whocomeoutof a dif-
ferent atmosphere, and are immersed in any part of this,
are almost sure of taking yellow fever, though the infect-
ed part of the town may have, for some time before, been
entirely abandoned both by the sick and the well. In
proportion to the number of sick, and the circumscribed
limits which they occupy, facilitated, no doubt, also, in its
progress by certain states of the air, and certain degrees
of temperature and humidity, will be the danger of the
poison spreading.
That yellow fever does usually prove most fatal in the
place where it first appears, is a fact that no one will deny.
The reason is obvious and familiar to every one. Be-
cause, when the first cases happen, the inhabitants in the
vicinity, not being willing to abandon their homes before
they are well assured of the existence of the disease, have
o-enerally delayed too long a time within the reach of its
influence. Thus it happens, that the contagious poison,
having had full time to propagate itself to the immediate
neighbourhood, has become accumulated to so great an
amount, that no human means can stay its march. The
spark being once kindled, it is too late to extinguish the
Acount of the Yellow Fever. S3
flames. This, however, is not always true, for on many
occasions, yellow fever, like other contagious diseases, has
proved equally fatal in those places to which it had after-
wards become propagated as in that particular neighbour-
hood into which it was first introduced. The inference
of Bancroft, therefore, that yellow fever is not contagious
from this circumstance, is unfounded. [Vide his Sequel
to an Essay on Yellow Fever, p. 125.]
The disease, after being introduced, has always multi-
plied itself caeteribus paribus in a direct ratio to the num-
ber of individuals exposed to its influence, and the circum-
scribed space which they occupied. The fever of the
present year was equally as virulent, and more so in seve-
ral parts of the town, and in several houses, far removed
from the place where it first made its appearance. Thus
it began on the two corners of Rector-street in Washing-
ton-street, on the dock, and the mortality in Rector-street
between that point and Greenwich-street, which is only
183 feet distant, was exceedingly great. But when, as
we have seen, it had reached Lumber-street, on its ascent
up the hill of Rector-street to Broadway, and which was
not until one mouth after it broke out, its mortality was
observed to be greater than at any other time. Again ;
several weeks after this period, and at the distance of se-
veral hundred yards from the foot of Rector-street, it be-
came alarmingly fatal in the wide avenue called Broad-
way, and about that part of the city at the intersection of
Wall, New, and Broad streets, of which streets Broad and
Broadway are remarkable for their width and salubrity.
So, also, did it cause much sickness in a house at No. 164
Broadway, still farther off, where Mr. Dover lived, and
who took the disease and died; having refused to remove
from a persuasion that this spacious street would, as it had Ifv^MacK
A.
84 Account of the Yellow Fever*
in every previous year, nfijityan immunity from the disease.
So, also, on the opposite side of the town, at Nos. 48
and 50 Pearl-street, and near the intersection of De-
peyster and Front streets. But at the sugar house in Li-
berty-street, which is nearly as remote as those from the
foot of Rector-street, the disease proved so, uncommonly
mortal, that it became the subject of a general remark.
We shall explain the reason of this in another place.
And, lastly, at the distance of nearly two miles from the
foot of Rector-street, and not until the beginning of Sep.
tember, the disease was introduced into Cheapside and
Lombardy streets; in which streets, but only in that short
section of them comprised between Maiket and Catha-
rine streets, it proved nearly as mortal as in any street in
the lower part of the city.
Does not the gradual and regular progression of the
disease, and this power which it possessed of multiplying
itself at different points in the course of its march, as cir-
cumstances happened to favour its propagation, prove
most conclusively i's contagious character ?
What need have we to collect individual facts to prove
the contagiousness of Yellow Fever, when the general his-
tory of its progress, fiom its introduction into the city, to its
extermination by frost, constitutes of itself one entire mass
of overwhelming evidence in confirmation of this truth ?
To those who marvel at the disease having been trans-
ferred to, and propagated through, Cheapside and Lom-
bardy streets, trom the clothing and person of Ward and
the effects of Carey, I might put in return the question
why, in its regular march towards the north, in the old in-
fected district, it seemed to have been suddenly arrested
at Fulton-street. For, although the open space at the Park
may, perhaps, account for its not proceeding any higher
Account of the Yellow Fever.
85
up Broadway, no reason can be given, on the doctrine of
domestic origin, why it should not have crossed Fulton-
street, and continued on its course on the west and
east sides of the town. But allowing that the current of
fresh air passing through Fulton-street, as it is the first
street in advancing from the Battery north, that gives full
sweep to the breeze from river to river; allowing that this
free draught and ventilation cut off to a degree the com-
munication between the infected district and the upper part
of the city, it is scarcely credible that it should have put
an effectual check to it. For the almost mathematical pre-
cision with which it diverged, and slowly crept along, as it
were, in every direction from the point where it sat out,
spreading wherever it found subjects to operate upon, proves
that up to the time it had reached Fulton-street, it could
have been but little influenced either by the winds and rains
with which the city was several times visited, or by
the.height, width, declivities or windings of the streets. This
measured gait of the disease does not correspond with the
irregular and undefinable march of an epidemic produced
from general causes existing in the soil or atmosphere,
breaking out simultaneously in places remote from eaeh-
other, an d levelling, as it were at one blow, whole popula-
tions at once. On the contrary, this disease slowly and
methodically enlarged its boundaries, and regardless of
promenades or burying grounds, cist-pools or sewers, clean
or dirty streets, pursued its retreating victims in every di-
rection, wherever they tarried long enough to come within
the range of its deadly influence. The advocates of domes-
tic origin will find themselves puzzled to reconcile, or even
to enumerate the endless variety of contradictory and dis-
similar circumstances which they will be obliged to encoun-
ter in following up the progress of this disease.
50
Account of the Yellow Fever.
Why, then, I again ask, if the air had become all infected,
and that the cause according to the theory of domestic ori-
gin, existed from the beginning, and constantly afterwards
in the air itself, dispersed promiscuously over all the lower
part of the city, without being at all modified, or rendered
in the least degree more deleterious by the disease which it
produced, why did it not extend beyond Fulton-street, to
the other streets which are immediately above Fulton-street;
and which, though principally deserted before the disease
had reached Fulton-street, continued to be inhabited by a far
greater number of persons collectively, than could be found
in all the streets together of the lower part of the town,
south of Fulton-street? This exemption is certainly no
less extraordinary than the introduction of the disease into
Cheapside-street at so great a distance from what had been
denominated the infected district.
We will now see that this difficulty entirely vanishes
when we come to examine it on the principles of contagion.
The poison had at first accumulated in prodigious quantities
in the immediate vicinity of Rector-street and Lumber-street,
owing to the narrowness of those streets, and from the in-
habitants having neglected to move out in time ; but seeing
at last that the only security was in flight, the panic ex-
tended so far into the city, that the streets became entirely
deserted up as far as Fulton-street, as early as Sept. 1st,
and before the disease had actually reached there. In con-
sequence of which, the quantum of poison necessarily di-
minished from the want of subjects to operate upon, and
though more and more diffused, became of consequence,
less and less intense, so that the few scattered individuals who
afterwards fell sick on the confines of the infected district,
below Fulton-street, had not the power of communicating
Account of the Yellow Fever. 87
the disease to those who continued immediately above it,
and who were placed without the radius of contagion.
I consider the doctrine of importation and contagion to
be one and the same thing. If we admit that this disease
may be imported, it follows conclusively, that it is conta-
gious. Thus if it be true, that Yellow Fever may be
brought here in a vessel from the West-Indies, it is no
more unreasonable to suppose that it may be brought
from Rector-street to Cheapside-street, or to any other
part of the town. It was not until after a long struggle
that the advocates of domestic origin have been driven
to the necessity of acknowledging that yellow fever is in
every respect a peculiar and specific disease, totally,
and altogether different from Typhus, Plague, or Remit-
tent, Intermittent, and Bilous Fevers, as much so as Hy-
drocephalus differs from Small Pox. But they do not know
how valuable a concession they are making to their oppo-
nents when they grant that the disease may be imported.
It is a subject of congratulation, however, that this opi-
nion is daily gaining ground, showing that the simple and
unsophisticated truth, though its march be slow and gra-
dual, must in the end, triumph over all opposition.
To give the appearance of a spirit of reconcilia-
tion, or to ingratiate themselves in the eyes of the peo-
ple, many have affected to declare that the doctrine of
importation does not militate against that of domestic origin,
and that both may be true. This is not only unphiloso-
phically calling to our assistance a redundance of causes,
but when we come to examine this double-faced creed,
which professes to harmonize all disputes and differences,
we shall see that it is a gross imposture, purposely intend-
ed to mislead the public into a snare. For we find in pur-
suing the investigation, that such as maintain this opinion,
S3 Account of the Ydlow Fever.
are in fact advocates of domestic origin in disguise. Thus,
say they, if a vessel possesses in itself those causes, or that
combination of circumstances, which under the influence
of a tropical heat, will generate yellow fever here, these
causes may also in the hot season of our climate produce
the same disease, while the vessel lies at our wharves
This however, is no more than the identical doctrine of do-
mestic origin, transferred from the land to the water.
The advocates of this theory saw, though they were un-
willing to confess, that the occurrence of yellow fever in the
United States is some how or other always intimately con-
nected with the shipping and tide water. They feh them-
selves obliged to admit, what is now, with some few solitary
exceptions, conceded, on all hands that this disease,
unaccountable as it may seem, is invariably confined to ma-
ritime situations. They have therefore consented, at last,
to transfer the dispute from the marshes of the interior to the
sea-board, and finally to the decks of the ship. I am afraid,
however, that the field of controversy will be found too con-
tracted for the broad and sweeping mode of warfare which
they are in the habit of resorting to. If it were true,
that the disease is not contagious, and was this year gene-
rated in shipping at the wharf, I would ask how it came to
break out only at that particular spot, where West-India
produce happened at "the time to be arriving in unusual
quantities, and how it came to be propagated slowly and
regularly from thence up to Broadway, and finally over all
the lower part of the city. After affecting Thomas and the
Reders, or others who were directly exposed to its influence,
and within the radius of this supposed local cause, it ought,
if this opinion were true, to have proceded no farther. For,
having no means of increasing its amount but to a very li-
mited extent, and the disease produced by it being, accord-
^7
Account of the Yellow Fever. 89
ing to this opinion, not contagious, and therefore not capable
of multiplying itself in this way, why did it increase in a slow
and regular ratio from the first cases, and afterwards, long
after all the shipping had been entirely removed, spread into
the interior of the city ? It ought to have been confined to
the streets along the wharf, and to have extended up and
down Washington-street, not directly back, and from one
single point only of the wharf, up the hill of Rector-street,
into the town. The merchants with their clerks remained in
their counting houses on the wharf of Washington-street,
close to the termination of Rector-s'reet, employed in heir
business as usual for some days after the first cases occurred.
The same may be said of the seamen in the shipping, and
the car!men and various labourers, and other persons in
their different vocations about the docks. If the disease
was generated on the spot, from the foul holds of the ship-
ping which continued to lie there, why did it not attack and
simultaneously also, those who must have been every mo-
ment then, as well as long before, directly exposed to the
influence of the cause which, according to this opinion, pro-
duced it, and who were, therefore, imbued with and breath-
ing in large portions of 'he infected air. On the contrary,
many of these very persons were in the habit of going down to
the wharf in the vicinity of Rector-street before, and for
days, for a fortnight indeed, after the Reders and other first
cases sickened, while the shipping all still lay there—but
after the lighters had gone, and their cargoes had been stored,
did not fall sick, and when they did it was not until some
time afterwards, and when the fever had^regularly pro- /■
gressed up into the interior of the city, and attacked them
in their own dwellings I So also did persons who, out of
curiosity, or from necessity, went down to this "part of the
town months after the shipping had been entirely removed
12
m
90
Account of the Yellow Fever.
away, and when the winds ought to have completely dis-
persed the air which they had poisoned take the disease and
die.
Bancroft has been one of the first to advocate this new
doctrine. He contends that yellow fever, which has so fre-
quently occurred in New-York, and other northern sea-
ports of the United States during the hot season, was ge-
nerated [Sequel to his Essay on Yellow Fever, p. 213.]
from the foul condition of the holds of vessels lying at our
wharves, from bilge water, unclean limbers, putrid vegeta-
ble and animal exhalations. But it is, on the contrary, no-
toriously true, that out of some hundreds of vessels, always
lying at our wharves, the disease is always directly trace-
able, not to several ships, not to a number of ships, coming
from this or that part of the world indiscriminately, but al-
most always to some one or two vessels, and they perhaps
in a perfectly clean condition, but always recently arrived
from a West-India port, where the yellow fever had pre-
vailed. Is it not incredible and preposterous to suppose
that such could be the fact if the foul state of the holds of
ships lying at our wharves in hot weather could generate
yellow fever ? If it were true also that this latitude, during
the hot weather could thus generate yellow fever, then
ought vessels arriving here in the summer, from the Baltic,
from England, France, and from the colder latitudes of
Europe, to be affected in precisely the same way as they
are known to be on going into the tropics. The exhala-
tions from their holds ought to become alike offensive and
deleterious, and generate yellow fever in the bay of New-
York in the same manner as in the harbour of Havanna—
which is absurd.
" During the years in which our commerce with the West-
Indies was interdicted by the embargo, and during the
4
Account of the Yellow Fever.
91
subsequent years of wars with Great Britain, when our
communication with her possessions in those climates and
countries, the usual seat of fevers of this description, was
altogether suspended, the cities and towns along the whole
of our seaboard were totally exempt from the fever of the
tropics.
" A recurrence, too, to the meteorological observations of
that period will show a thermometrical range frequently
higher than in those years when the yellow fever prevailed
in our cities; the rain too fell as in ordinary seas >ns and,
judging from the prevalent diseases, a general constitution
of atmosphere favourable to the generation of this malig-
nant form of fever, if domestic causes could engender it,
pervaded our country as heretofore ; the local circumstances
of our seaports were the same, nay worse, for they were
crowded with shipping; the new made ground remained un-
changed in its condition ; the same offensive vapours arose
from our slips, our market places, our privies, and from the
soil where the latter did not exis!—yet, unfortunately for
the doctrine of the believers and supporters of the domestic
origin of yellow fever, the health of our cities remained un-
disturbed by the deadly visiter."*
But the most conclusive refutation of this opinion of
Bancroft and others, that I have any where seen on record,
is that which is contained in the unanswerable letter of Dr.
Joseph Bayley, and which cannot be too often quoted.
Communication from Dr. Joseph Bayley, Health Officer
for the Port of New- York.
New-York November 10, 1820.
Dear Sir,—At your request, I am induced to give you a
concise statement of some observations which are founded
on facts, as noticed by me at the Quarantine establishment,
* Hosack on Medical Police.
^ tk^Jvii^ri <^J r~ l^fowfl /c^W ki/vw <»i* 'OAt* v^Xa-j j-ti^£ ^ ) m^
92 Account of the Yellow Fever.
of this port, relative to the influence which the apparently
foul or clean condition of vessels has on the health of their
crews; which occurrences were recently mentioned to you,
when we were conversing on this subject. I have known
many vessels to arrive here, from ports where yellow fever
prevailed, that were free from any unusually offensive
smelj^ amHhejjLcargoes in ja^sound state; also vessels in
stone ballast, from ports similarly circumstanced which
were infected with the same contaminated air that existed
at the pla<;e they sailed from without its appearing to pro-
ceed from any foul materials generating it on board such
vessels that could be detected by the senses. The evi-
dence of such infection was not only manifested by the
crews and passengers having died on board after leaving
port (which, in many cases, would properly be ascribed to
/-their being infected before they sailed,) but even after such
I crews had apparently resisted the malignant influence of
\ such infected port, they have sickened and died of yellow
fever after they began to discharge the cargoes, which
were in goocTcondition, May not such occurrences arise
either from the infected air, which was confined in the
hold, becoming more virulent by its being shut up ? or may
not the crews be rendered more susceptible of infection,
after they have breathed the pure atmosphere of the ocean ?
or from the combined influence of both causes acting at the
same time? It may not be irrelevant to remark, that these
seamen are very slightly, and, but for a short time, exposed
to the confined air below the decks (until they begin to dis-
charge the cargoes ) which in some degree affects the fore-
castle, the usual place of their residence; for they com-
monly prefer sleeping on deck, in the summer season, to-
* occupying that place. *
But soil stronger cases have been remarked by me, which
iZZ^ij^ir,i J^K~ ***** V n. (Mv.it^^ ^*rw>^
Account of the Yellow Fever. 93
do not admit of the same objections as may be offered to
the before mentioned facts : it is where the crews of vesssls
who were accustomed to make West India voyages, have
arrived here from sickly ports without any interruption to
their health during the voyage, or the continuance of their
quarantine ; while other persons employed on board with
them to discharge the cargoes, have died of yellow fever i
although the cargoes were in a sound state, and the vessels /
free from any unusual impurities. This feet certainly
proves the presence of a deleterious air, that does not ap-
pear to arise from any evident cause originally in the ves-
sels or their cargoes, but infection derived from the un-
healthy port from whence they sailed, received into such
vessels, and contaminating both them and the cargoes It
may be said these are only negative proofs—that the yel-
low fever is not generated on board by a decomposition of
animal and vegetable substances—and, although not cogni-
zable by the senses, that such decomposition is neverthe-
less constantly in operation. * ^
I now ask your attention to the following observations
which may be adduced as the converse of the above stated
facts, where, in many cases, animal and vegetable de- |
composition had taken place on board vessels from southern '
latitudes, yet no yellow or any other fever ensued from such
causes. I have known extremelyjbul vessels, coming from
healthy places in the W^est Indies, and other southern ports,
at the same season of the year as those above mentioned
some of which passing through the tropics,with damaged
cargoes of jerked beef in bulk, hides, coffee, and cotton,
without the health* of the crews being^imparred ; and, 1 add,
that other persons employed to assist in discharging and
receiving these cargoes, have performed such service with
impunity. In these cases there were animal and vegetable
Uv l^TVA t^-£v- ^-* *-W*A U -UUv>e-VL s^JQ^MsfSs- V'VyA^Q*^/ (^- Cuklyy^
94 Account of the Y/llow Fever.
decomposition accelerated by heat and moisture, yet no
yellow or malignant fever ensued. Whether these causes
of disease had not been long enough operating to produce
their effects, or how long a time is essentially necessary
for such perishable materials to be acting on each other,
before a sufficiently deleterious air is evolved to cause pes-
tilential fever, I am ignorant: but I have often noticed that
these vessels, loaded with jerked beef and hides, which were
partly damaged, had these articles 1-ng enough on board
to taint the timbers and planks (those of the ceiling particu-
larly) of the hold, to so great a degree, that after such ves-
sels had been well scrubbed with water and ventilated, as
to remove for the time the extreme]y__o^ensiye^smell exist-
ing in them, it has, after the applicatien of whitewash to the
planks, been reproduced to a much greater degree than it
was at first; and upon the second cleansing with lime, made
a few days after, when the foul air was very much lessened,
the putrid effluvia was again renewed; which same pheno-
menon was repeated in a diminished degree after each
whitewashing, until the vessels were purified. This obvious-
ly is the result of the chemical action of lime on putrid
matter adhering to the timbers and planks, which would ir
not have been so extricated, and thereby rendered evident,
without some such agency. May we not hence with pro-
priety infer, that contaminated air producing infectious
fevers, attaches itself to the timbers and planks of vessels,
although we are not acquainted with the manner in which
it can be rendered apparent, and discover itself only from
its effects on the human constitution .? It is on such facts
and observations that the provisions of our health law, re-
lating to the external means of preventing the introduction
of infectious fevers, is founded;—and I am persuaded that
every unprejudiced person, who will deliberately reflect
(£*> / tV «ii^) -/ lid" c^rV ^(tL/JU^j fl <^u^ iuX< > handle the affairs of men,, we will furnish a table and cata-
logue of particulars, which, we venture to affirm, are suffi-
cient to reconcile even the scrupulous nicety and delicate
perceptions of this microscopic class of philosophers. We call
upon them, with their elaborate machinery of dates and names,
and circumstances, to produce more positive, unambiguous,
and detailed testimony, in favour of the contagious nature
of any disease, than that which we shall soon offer in
support of the contagiousness of yellow fever,
COMPARATIVE TABLE,
Sliowing the number of cases and deaths that occurred in the same,
adjacent and opposite houses, and also the whole number of cases
and deaths in the streets in which those houses were situated, as
well as the condition of those houses in which two or more cases
ik, occurred in each.
Rector-street. Greenwich-street.
Total cases, . . 19 Total cases, . . 22
Deaths, . . . 11 Deaths, . . . 11
At No. 26, four cases, clean— At No. 89, two cases.
two deaths. At the two corners of Cedar-st. \
At No. 24, one case. four cases, clean—one
At corner of Washington-st. death.
\ opposite, two deaths, Corner of Liberty-street, two
clean. cases, clean—one death.
At corner of Greenwich-st. At No. 4, two cases, clean—
clean, same side, eight one death.
cases, four deaths.
At No. 15, two cases—clean. Washington-street.
Total cases, . . 27
Account of the
Deaths, . . • 18
At No. 55, three cases, clean
—two deaths
At 21, one case.
At 23, one death.
At 40, one death.
At 42, two deaths—dirty.
Lumber-street.
Total cases, . . 11
Deaths, ... 7
At No. 32, one death.
At 34, one death.
At 36, one case.
At 38, three cases, clean-
two deaths.
Broadway.
Total cases, . . 3^
Deaths, ... 20
At No. Ill, two cases—clean.
At 61, one death.
At 62, two deaths—clean.
At 82, one death.
At 84, one death.
At 40, two deaths—clean.
At 42, three cases, clean—one
death.
At 116, one death.
At 118, three cases, dirty—
one death.
At 164, three cases, clean—
one death.
City Hotel, two deaths—clean.
At 94, one case,
Yellow Fever. 101
At 96, two cases, clean—one
death.
Carlisle-street.
Total cases, . • 3
Death, ... 1
All of which were at the same
house—clean.
Beaver-lane.
Total cases, . . 4
Deaths, ... 4
Of which there were in one
house three—dirty.
And the other in one opposite.
Albany-street.
Total cases, ... 2
Deaths, ... 2
These two cases were at No.
6—clean.
Thames-street.
Total cases, . . 6
Deaths, ... 4
At No. 14, two cases, dirty—
one death.
At No. 12, one death.
Cedar-street.
Total cases, . . 8
Deaths, ... 7
At No. 78, three deaths-
clean.
102 Account of the
Wall-street.
Total cases, . . 7
Deaths, ... 4
At the two opposite corners of
New-street, in this street,
two deaths—clean.
Broad-street.
Total cases, . . 14
Deaths, ... 7
At No. 23, twu>-^ 4-tMfe to JL U/i^\Ji^l
Account of the Yellow Fever. 105
part where it runs into Greenwich-street, is precluded in
some degree, at least, much more so than Greenwich-street,
from ventilation. Hence, though Greenwich-street is two
miles long, and courses all the way.upon a dead level the *
whole length of the city, the disease, though it did finally
proceed along this street, north as high as Fulton-street,
showed constantly a much stronger inclination to pass up
the cross and narrow streets which descend transversely into
it on their way from Broadway, and which in respect to ven-
tilation, are all under the same disadvantages as Rector-
street. Hence, therefore, the total number of cases in Green-
wich-street amounted to but twenty-two, out of which ten
occurred in four houses.
Washington-street.—The small number of cases in this
street is accounted for from several circumstances. In the
first place, from Liberty-street to the Battery, all the build-
ings, with the exception of six or seven small and indifferent
houses, occupied by poor persons, are ware houses or stores; ) UA^vvML* Iwm|
and all on one side the streeL and thus so completely exposed C- ,j *~ .
to the prevailing winds of the climate, as well as to those ^ .
that blew during the continuance of the epidemic, that the ^^ **** S^ae^J
air could not possibly have remained infected for any consi-
derable length of time. Hence, too, the exemption of a
number of labourers who were constructing a long pier di-
rectly at the foot of Rector-street, and who continued to
work upon it about two hundred feet from Reder's house,
with perfect impunity during the whole season.* The situ-
ation of Washington street explains also why the disease did
not extend higher north through this street than Liberty-
*A similar occurrence took place at Barcelona, during the dreadful
epidemic which desolated that city in 1821.
14
106 Account of the Yellew Fever*
street, although it had parsed up Greenwich-street, which,
unlike Washington-street, is sheltered by houses on each
side as high as F'dton-street: Hence, of twenty-seven,
the whole number which occurred in Washington-street, all
were in the immed ate vicinity of, or below Rector-street,
'divl five of these in two small dirty houses at Nos. 55 and
42, only a few doors, however, from Rector-street.
Lumber-street.—We have already adverted to the confined
situation of this street as accounting for the great mortal-
ity which occurred here ; in addition to which it may be re-
marked that the houses being mostly occupied by poor per-
sons, were crowded with inhabitants.
Broadway and Broad-street.—Wo have also spoken of this
street, and endeavoured to explain why the disease proved
here so mortal. It will be observed, that this mortality was
principally confined to the lower section of Broadway, be-
tween the Battery and Rector-street; in which street and in
Lumber-street, immediately in the rear of Broadway, the
disease had previously spread in the most alarming manner ;
Broad-street beiDg unusually wide, many persons con-
tinued to occupy their houses, under the fatal belief that
they would escape. The poison, when it reached there, did
in reality appear to have lost somewhat of that intensity
which it acquires by being compressed, as it were, into
narrow streets. Thus, though it had reached Wall-street,
near Broad-street, as early as Aug. 23, and as early as
Aug, 29, had begun to pass down New-street; and on the
6th of September, had descended the hill of Garden-street,
from Broadway as far as the corner of New-street and Bea-
ver-street ; Broad street remained exempt until September,
" ^ 11th.- Why did the poison prove so mortal in Broadway,
which is nearly as wide as Broad-street, and so much more
elevated ? Because it had been pouring into this street
through various channels. Rector-street afforded a short
Account of the Yellow Fever. 107
and direct passage, beside all the collateral and parallel
streets which traverse Broadway, Greenwich and Washing-
ton streets, on their way from the North River. Because,
also though the disease had never appeared here before,
and though the mortality was greater in the same given
space, than in any of the narrow streets on either side of it,
most of the inhabitants, from its being so remarkably wide,
cleanly and elevated, continued to reside there, even after
the disease had crossed this street into Wall-street, under a
belief, like those of Broad-street, that it would be exempt
from the pestilence. The mortality, however, was prin-
cipally confined to that particular part of it nearest to
Rector and Lumber streets, where the disease began, and
where the contagious poison must necessarily have been
accumulated in the largest quantity. May not the inhabi->z?>>^- ^
tants of Broadway have been rendered more susceptible
to the disease, by living in the pure air of that spacious
street ? " For those (says Dr. Hosack in his work on
Contagion, p. 33, 4to.) who were least accustomed to the im-
pure air of the city, or of the infected spot, were uniformly
observed to be most susceptible of the contagion."
Carlisle. Beaver-lane, Albany, Thames; Cedar, and that
part of Liberty-street, west of Broadway. These streets are
all narrow, and though almost entirely abandoned at an early
period, furnished a number of cases of the disease From
a comparative view of the mortality it occasioned among the
few who remained, it is very evident that the disease is much
more readily^propagated through narrow confined and shel-
tered passages like these, than through such as Broad-
way and Greenwich-street. The cases in Thames-street
were chiefly in that part of it where it receives Lumber-
street. ^Those in the other stress were principally in those
sections of them joining Greenwich-street, and therefore
108
Account of the Yellow Fever.
but a little distance from the spot where the disease broke
out.
Wall and Broad streets.—We have spoken of Broad-
street. Wall-street being almost exclusively occupied by
banks, insurance companies, and other public offices, was
immediately and totally deserted on the appearance of the
first cases in the street.
Courtlaadt-street, Maiden-lane, Liberty-street, east of
Broadway.—No one scarcely remained in Courtlandt-street,
with the exception of those in the houses where the disease
occurred. It is worthy of remark, that it proved most mor-
tal in three boarding houses, the apartments of which are
always necessarily more or less confined and surcharged
with human effluvia. Hence, out of twelve cases in all this
street, eight occurred in three of these houses, namely, Nos.
5, 43 and 69, the first and last of which are at two opposite
extremities of the street, and several hundred feet apart.
The same observations apply to Maiden-lane, where, out of
ten cases, five were at two houses, and to Liberty-street, on
the east side of Broadway, where there were nine cases in
two houses, being more than one half the whole that occur-
red in this street. This purl of Liberty-street is extremely
narrow and confined, and five occurred in the sugar house,
of which we shall speak in another part. These cases in
the sugar house did not take the disease from one another,
but they all lived in the upper parts of the town, and per-
sisted in coming down to work at this house, though it was
well known to be an infected neighbourhood.
Nassau, William, Pine, Dutch, State, Pearl, Water, and
Front streets.—As this is the oldest" part of the city the
streets are irregular, narrow and compact, and the ground
undulated into hollows and hills such as existed before the
place was settled. This holds true, particularly of WiI-
Account of the Yellow Fever.
109
liam, Front, Water, Stone and Nassau streets, where the
windings of the streets might readily stagnate and diffuse
the poison undisturbed. But on the West side of Broadway,
which street may be considered as a central line dividing the
city and island longitudinally, the ground which is also
generally much higher, especially above Courtlandt-street,
has been levelled down into a gentle descent, towards the
Hudson, while the streets, at the same time, are all wide and
straight. We have thus a solution to this fact, why the
disease, though it has generally broke out much later in the
season, has in previous years proved, notwithstanding, so
much more mortal than in this : for it will be remembered,
that hitherto the yellow fever has always been introduced,
first upon the east side of the city; and especially at the
jower and older part of it, of which we have been speaking.
It is to the circumstance of its having broke out this year
where, from some experience, it was thought we had rea-
son to suppose it could not be introduced, or at least genera-
ted, that we are principally to attribute the small number
of deaths that have occurred, when compared to the amount
of population. The timely and almost total abandonment
of all that part of the city south of Fulton-street, served
still more effectually to check its progress, for although the
germ which had been unsuspectedly permitted to take root,
could not be destroyed, its growth by this measure was
materially retarded, until the frost finally came to complete
the salutary work which prudence had begun.
We see also that this older part of the city, being vacated
before the disease had fairly reached there, but very few ca-
ses occurred in the streets we have enumerated. For, about
the last of August, or first of September, when it was clear-
ly ascertained that the disease had crossed to the east side
of Broadway, and that cases had begun to occur at the
no
Account of the Yellow Fever.
junction of that street and Wall-street, all the inhabitants
south of Fulton-street, following the officers of the custom
house, post-office, banks and of other public institutions in
this part of the town, deserted the city, en masse; with the
exception of some few individuals scattered in different
houses, and about 2 or 300 persons, who continued to re-
main in the streets immediately adjacent to the East River,
principally between Fulton-street and Old Slip. The in-
•» J ter.communication between Broadway and the streets along
/ the East River, being thu$ cut off, the disease did not pro-
pagate itself to that side of the city, and appeared therefore
only in a few insulated spots, to which those who had had
communication with the sick or with infected houses near
Broadway, carried the contagion. Beside which, as these
cases did not happen until late in the season, and when it
began to grow cool, the transmission of the contagion was
circumscribed generally to those few houses into which it
had been introduced. Hence in Pearl, Water and Front
streets, which run along parallel and near to the East River,
and nearly the whole length of the city, out of thirteen
cases in Pearl, nine occurred in three houses ; out of twen-
ty-three in Water, sixteen occurred in six houses, and the
five in Front all occurred in two houses. In those streets
nearer Broadway, and where the disease appeared much
earlier in the season, the few families scattered here and
there, who persisted in remaining in their houses, suffered
dearly for their temerity. Thus in almost all those families
one or more deaths occurred, for out of ten cases in Nassau-
C/SY^ street, six occurred in three houses,.eight out of the eleven
cases in William-street were in three houses; in Pine-street,
which being the residence of persons of affluence, was al-
most entirely abandoned at an early period, the only two
cases that occured were in the same house; in Stone-street.
Account of the Yellow Fever.
Ill
to which the same remark applies—the only three cases
in this street were in one house; in Dutch-street, which is
quite short and narrow, and entirely shut out from
the wind, and at the same time occupied chiefly by poor
persons, the six cases that occurred were all in two houses ;
in State-street, to which the same observation applies as to
Pine and Stone streets, the only three cases that occurred
were in two houses.
We may thus form some idea of the havoc the disease
would have occasioned, especially in these narrow streets,
if there had been subjects for it to act upon.* It is the sick
who infect the air} not the air that infects the sick.
Cheapside. Lombardy and Bancker streets. We have
already entered fully into the examination of the disease,
as it happened in those streets.
Fulton-street.—This seems to have been the ultima Thule,
or extreme boundary of the lower infected district. I am
of opinion, however, that neither this street nor John-street,
the next below, ought at any time to have been included in
the enumeration, of what is understood by infected district,
any more than Ann-street, the northern part of Nassau-
street, Vesey-street, Chamber-street, Ferry-street, or any
* Hence it happened, that as the contagion had no chance of multi-
jplying itself in this deserted part of the town, such as went through
those streets where the disease had not existed, escaped; as was the
case with labouring persons, several merchants, physicians and others,
who made a constant practice of going down into this part of the town.
This points out to us, in a still more imposing manner, the important
fact, that the disease is only propagated by contagion, and that the air
is in no other way infected than by the emanations from the sick. The
watchmen, also, though double the number on this side of thedisdiet,
to those on the west of Broadway, generally escaprd, whereas nearly
»ne half the latter perished.
112
Account of the Yellow Fever.
other part of the town above Fulton-street. I have already
expressed this, as my opinon, also in regard to those parts
of Front, Water and Pearl streets, below Fulton-street, and
which run along parallel with the East River, but at a con-
siderable distance from the paralled and infected sections of
Nassau and William streetsi I mean those sections of these
streets which are below Fulton-street. Some three or four
cases, as we have seen, did occur in Ann, Vesey, Ferry, Cham-
ber and Nassau above Fulton-street; but most, if not all,
were upon examination found to have had communication
with the part of the town below Fulton-street But we
might with the same propriety say that those streets in the
upper and thickly inhabited part of the city, to which pa-
tients were removed sick with the disease from below, were
also infected streets, which would be absurd. The same
observations apply to Gheapside and Lombardy streets, to
the full extent. In regard to the extreme limit of the lower,
or original, infected district, it is probable that the air never
became actually infected higher north than Courtlandt-street
and Maiden-lane, most probably not even beyond Liberty-
street. The limit on the east side of the town did not per-
haps extend farther than William-street, and its continuation
through Stone-street to Broad-street, and thence to the
East River.
On the west, the infected air reached the Hudson. The
infected district, therefore, ought properly to be comprised
under the following boundaries : beginning at the intersec-
tions of Liberty and William streets, and proceeding thence
down William-street, south to Stone-street, through Stone-
street to Broad-street, and thence to the East River, then
following around the Battery or southernmost point of the
island, and taking the Hudson River as the western boun-
dary, and as high north as Liberty-street, and thence through
Account rf the Yellow Fever. 113
that street again to the place of beginning. It is impossible
to reduce things of this kind to exact measurement ; but 1
am firmly persuaded, that most, if not all the cases which
occurred without these boundaries would, if this subject
had been closely investigated, have been found to have had
communication with the part of the city comprised within
the above limits. There were in all but fifty five cases
which occurred without these limits, of which twenty-three
are directly traceable to that part of the city ; leaving only
twenty-two doubtful cases, concerning which the general
impression is, that they all had been within the infected dis-
trict. Many circumstances also are stated, which have left
but little room to doubt, that they had actually received
the disease there. Setting those aside, however, they con-
stitute so small a number, in proportion to the grand total
of cases, that it is of no manner of consequence to say any
thing of them when discussing tlie general position which
we have laid down. In the mean time, I must not be under-
stood to mean by the word inf-cted district, that the whole
air of that part of the city included within the limits I have
given was absolutely infected with the contagious matter
of yellow fever. I do not believe that the whole number of
cases, which occurred this season, when considered in re-
lation to the space of ground which they covered, and the
early abandonment of the lower part of the city, could have
possibly inficted so large a quantity of air. Nor do I
believe, that the air itself ever becomes, to any considerable
distance, and throughout, impregnated with the virus of the
disease. Such an effect could not take place, or at all events,
if it did ever happen, it could, from the mobility of the
atmosphere, continue so but for a very short time, except
perhapslow down in the air, and in very narrow sheltered and
confined streets, as in European cities, particularly those in
15
114
Account of the Yellow Fever,
the south of Europe—Italy, France, and Spain, for ex-
ample, where, in order to be shaded from the rays of the
sun, which is scarcely ever obscured in that brilliant climate,
the houses are built to a great height, and the streets made
uncommonly narrow. The long continued mild tempera-
ture of those latitudes, together with the compact and un-
healthy mode of constructing their cities, the crowded and
fl/yj^ small condition of their houses,.the necessary concentration
of human effluvia which must result from this state of things,
\ explain! why the yellow fever, when once introduced
here, has always spread and multiplied with inconceivable
rapidity ; meriting, in every respect, the appellation of an
epidemic. In the cities and sea ports of the United States,
constructed in general upon a plan entirely different, and
the streets of which are, for the most part, spacious, and the
houses in general never crowded to excess with inhabitants,
the yellow fever seldom or rarely becomes epidemical, unless
peculiar circumstances, connected with the introduction of
the disease, have favoured its propagation. But never, as
I ruve said before, can I believe that the air becomes univer-
sally and totally infected with the contagion of the disease.
What I mean by an infected part of the city, is where so
many cases have occurred in particular houses, or particular
neighbourhoods or streets, that the air to a certain extent
surrounding those places more or less, according to the
XJL,- number of cases that have occurred within a given space,
. becomes infected for a certain length of time, the duration
of which depends, in a great measure, on the chemical and
physical changes which afterwards take place in the state
of the atmosphere.
From whence it appears, that out of about 422 cases, the
total number this season, 295, or very nearly two thirds,
occurred in eighty-six houses, all of which were either
fa^AJ* KA >oJtr*> ^^> M~ t*kf, tfb- p**^* thhz^
Cr\kM q ^ xt^tk*M
1 Account of the Yellow Fever. 115
opposite to, or adjoining each other, or contained each from
two to eight cases. What is still more worthy of re-
mark, two hundred and seventy-six of the whole num-
ber of cases occurred in sixty-seven houses, and each
one of these sixty-seven houses furnished from two to
eight cases, and out of these same 27G cases 104 died;
that is nearly one half of the whole number of deaths of yel-
low fever on the records of the Board of Health ! This ac-
cumulation of cases in particular houses appears in a still
more striking light when we call to mind that out of the re-
maining 146 cases, which did not occur together in the
same houses, 65 were persons who resided in uninfected
parts of the city or in the country, and caught the disease by
exposing themselves to those places in the lower part of the
city where many persons had sickened. Thus, out of four
hundred and twnty-two, the whole number this season, there
remain but eighty-one cases which did not occur in the
number of more than one or as many as eight in the same
house; or in other words, there were but eighty-one cases
which occurred singly in different houses. -¥*■
Facts such as this table exhibits do not need the embel-
lishments of diction—their eloquence is irresistible. Though
twenty-two out of the sixty-seven houses, and in which sixty-
one cases and forty-one deaths were reported, were 'n a very
filthy and crowded condition, the forty-five others, in
which one hundred and nine cases and sixty-five deaths
occurred were, in every respect, perfectly clean. If num-
bers therefore have any weight, the reasoning on this sub-
ject ought rather to preponderate in favour of that opinion,
which looks only to the specific contagion of the disease,
and not to filth or uncleanliness, as the cause of its propaga-
tion, since two thirds of these sixty-seven houses were clean,
comfortable dwellings, and twice the number of cases
116 Account of the Yellow Fever*
occurred in such houses to the number which occurred in
those that were filthy. It will be observed, however, that
the average number of cases in those houses that were filthy
or dirty, was greater than in those that were clean Thus in
the former it was nearly three cases to each hou-e, while in
the later it was only a little more than two in each. But
the houses that were filthy were, it must be recollected, also
crozoded wiih occupants, which indeed was the principal
cause of their filth. The habits of those who occupied them
corre-ponded also to their condition of life, which accounts
also for the mortality bei g somewhat greater than in the
clean houses, the families of which were, of course, respecta-
ble persons. The concentration of human effluvia in the
crowded and filthy houses, facilitated, without doubt, the
propagation of the disease ; but whether their loose and in-
temperate habits predisposed them to it is not so certain.
The filth with which they were surrounded is generally ad-
mitted to have a contrary tendency.
The more,I suspect, we examine into this subject the les9
we shall find t^fe. filth has to do with the propagation, and
infinitely less with the generation of yellow fever. It it cer-
tainly true that in the lower part of the ciy, and especially
on the west side of it wisere the disease broke out, there are
few or no houses which can wi'h any propriety be denomi-
nated filthy. The inhabitants are all of a respe< t >ble east,
and most of them wealthy and of the first consideration in
society. Very Hi tie or no business being carried on on that
side of the town except in ihe counting houses of the mer-
chants along Washington-street, it i> not, as 1 have said be*
fore, a place of resort. The houses being almost exclusively
dwelling houses, are none of them over crowded with occu-
pants with perhaps some eight or ten exceptions. There are
besides no manufactories in this nor in any other part of tho
Account oj the Yellow Fever.
lit
city below Fulton-street, nor any work shops or places where
unwholesome fumes or exhalations are emitted in the differ-
ent processes of the arts. On the east side of the city, how-
ever, which is, at the same time so much older and more
compact and filthy than the other, nearly all the trade
and commerce of the port is concentred. Along Front
and Water-streets especially, which are near the East-River,
there are a great number of indifferent buildings occupied
by mechanics and tradesmen, or persons who keep board-
ing houses or small groceries, fruit shops, &c. The popu-
lation of this part is therefore crowded ; and hence it is, that
from the concentration of human effluvia more especially, \
and not so much from the accumulation of filth attendant
upon this condition of things, that yellow fever, when intro-
duced into this part of the city has always spread so rapidly
among the inhabi'ants.
Two thirds of all the cases of the yellow fever during the
present epidemic occurred, we have seen, either in adjacent
or opposite houses, forming small clusters, scattered here
and there, over different parts of the city. Does this look like
a disease arising from a pestilential condition of the atmos-
phere spreading over the whole city, and as abundant in one
street as in another? But to say nothing of this fact, which
of itself is sufficient to set at nought the whole theory of do-
mestic origin, let us come more directly to the point. Why
did nearly all those cases occur in so few houses ? How
came it to pass that two hundred and seventy-six out of the
four hundred and twenty two reported cases of yellow fever',
occurred in sixty-seven houses ; and that from two to eight
cases occurred in each and every one of these houses ? Can
any one be so mad as to suppose that a local cause existed
in each of those buildings sufficient to produce this disease ?
Admitting, for a moment, that such a iause could exist)
118
Account of the Yellow Fever
would any person in his senses hazard the assertion that
lhis cause was identically the same in each house ? For this
is the necessary inference, seeing that each and every one
of the cases fell sick in th se houses, with the same identical
disease. If then these local causes were different, what was
it that brought about that peculiar arrangement, or combi-
nation of circumstances which produced the very same dis-
ease in each house? Can it be possible, that these causes
may be apparently different, and yet, that all the variety of
combination, of which they are susceptible, may each gene-
rate yellow fever ? Is the production of yellow fever a
matter of so little difficulty ? If that were true, one would
say, that the chemist in his laborjtory could at any time
artificially produce it. Ought not these causes, also, which
were so promiscuously dispersed over different parts of the
city, and in streets and houses between which no one ever
before discovered any particular analogy ; ought not these
causes to have begun to give out their morbific exhalations
nearly at or about the same period ? Can we conceive that
the causes which produced such frightful mortality at Mrs.
Rose's, at the f >ot of Rector-street, in the beginning or mid-
dle of July, would remain inert and innocuous, during all
that month, and even during the warm months of August
and September, and up to the cool of autumn and middle of
October, and then prove so ieadly m the houses of Bresland
and Bolien, in so distant a quirter of the city from that
where the disease began ? Can we conceive, that these
local causes, strewn about in this manner over the city, and
the activity of which are supposed to depend upon particu-
lar states of temperature and the humidity of the air, would
one after the other begin to go into operation in defiance of
all the changes of wind and weather, occurring in this long
interval between the beginning of JuJy and last of October ?
Account of the Yellow Fever.
'119
If, too, this local condition of things existed in each one of
those houses, were not the occupants or residents in each ^
alike exposed to it? And ought they not, supposing the
predisposition to sickness to have existed, or to have been
necessary, ought they not in each house to have one and all
fallen sick, nearly, or about the same time ? But now let us
see what did actually happen. Instead of cases falling sick
in different parts of the city, nearly at the same period of
the season, the disease occupied a range of several months
and ygtakamm progressively from place to place, Recording £L-
as circumstances, more or less favoured its introduction
and propagation, through particular neighbourhoods,
Instead of the inhabitants in each of the sickly houses falling
sick simultaneously, or nearly at the same time, they fell
sick in succession, one after the other, and nearly all at de-
terminate intervals. Supposing all the inhabitants of any
given house to have been at a certain time exposed to any
given cause of disease, it is utterly impossible to believe that
the constitution of each, should have been affected in so
peculiar a manner, as to cause them to fall sick, one after
the other, and that too exactly within a given period of
time. Supposing, then, that where five or six took the
disease in the same house, that all had been at the same
time exposed to places or neighbourhoods, where the air
was admitted to be infected, it is altogether impossible to
think that they would have fallen sick in regular succession.
Let us even imagine, for a moment, that these five or six
cases were all exposed to this sou.ee of disease, one after
the other tff intervals would be observed in the different ft/M^L
times in which they fell sick. Could an occurrence like
this take place in any considerable number of instances ?
Is it possible to believe, that this could happen in two thirds
•fall the cases reported? In every direction, in which
120
Account of the Yellow Fever.
we examine thi^ theory of domestic origin it leads us always,
to the same preposterous and absurd conclusions.
On the other hand, we know for a certainty, there were
not more than ten or fifteen cases out of the two hun-lred and
seventy six that fell sick in the -ame house simultane usly,
or at such long intervals that their disease could not be
attributed to one another.
If, then, it be found in this longcata'ogue of cases con-
stituting the great bulk of all that occurred, that in the
sixty-seven houses mentioned, the cases in each house oc-
curred in succession and at regular and determinate periods,
or intervals of time; are we not bound to believe, that they
were in some way or other, intimately associated or linked
together, some how or other dependent upon each other
after the manner of causes and effects. Although we may
never see the chain which binds them, the same philosophy
applies here, that forms the basis of the greatest discoveries
that have ennobled human nature. The same process of
reasoning, and the same deduction from cause to effect,
hold true in studying the affections of the human body, or
in investigating the sublime subject of the mechanism of
the universe.
If, then, from the case which first fell sick, the rest fol-
lowed after, each in its turn, and at the lapse of a definite
number of days, and that the disease in each was, in every
respect, identically the same; it is of no manner of conse-
quence for us at present to consider from whence the first
derived his sickness.
In other words, the disease with which he was afflicted
caused the disease in the one who succeeded him, and so
on in regular order ; proving that it was communicated from
one to the other, or, which is the same thing, that it is a
contagious disease.
Account of the Yellow Fever. 121
EXAMPLES OF THE CONTAGIOUS NATURE OF YELLOW FEVER.
The numerous instances in the lower part of the city of
individuals falling sick one after the other in the same build-
ing, were of such frequent occurrence that very few or no
persons took the pains to note them. Though we are un-
able, therefore, to give, with as much precision as we could
wish, the exact periods of time which elapsed between their
sickness, enough may be gathered from the dates on which
they were reported to the Board, and those on which their
deaths were afterwards announced, to serve as a criterion
by which we may arrive at an estimate very near the truth.
We shall find that the whole together is sufficiently distinct
in all its parts, and that it will constitute, with, the details
we have given of the progress of the disease, from street to ,. „
street, a mass of evidence in favour of the doctrine of con- ^V\Jtjfl£Lf-', 6U\J£j
tagion. ^ ^/
1st. To begin with the house of Reder, where two of the
first cases happened. Caroline and Amanda sickened July
10th—Caroline died July 16th. On the same day her bro-
ther John, aged 16, sickened, and died on the 22d. Re-
der was from Holland, and is, as is proverbially known
of the Dutch in every part of the wo: Id, uncommonly neat
and particular in his mode of living. His family was not
large, and his house was in every respect commodious, and
always kept clean, as well as the yard attached to it.
Dr, Walters particularly remarked this circumstance in his
attendance upon the family ; and observed to me, that it
would have been preposterous to attribute the sickness in
his house to any local causes. Though Reder himself es-
caped, perhaps from his time of life, and his constant habit
of exposure along the docks to an atmosphere more or less
impure; it is, nevertheless, highly probable that he had
communicated to a certain degree the natural predisposi-
16
122 Account of the Yellow Fever.
tion of his constitution, and which those from the north of
Europe never entirely get rid of in this latitude, to his
children. Is it not also probable that the age of his children,
all of whom were between nine and sixteen, and their high
health also rendered them, as well as Thomas, who lived
opposite, and who had in addition to this been but three or
four months in this country, more particularly liable to an
attack of yellow fever ? The brother took it from the girls,
and it was communicated probably on the first or second f
day of their illness, h«©»g four days for^development. t
2. But when we come to the neighbouring house of Mrs.
Rose, at the corner of Rector and Greenwich streets, and
about 120 feet from Reder's, the contagious nature of the
disease is illustrated in so overpowering a manner, that no
one could any longer doubt, though it were the only
solitary instance on record. This is a small two story
wooden building, the lower part of which was occupied as
a small grocery ; consequently, the unusual number of occu-
pants who resided here were crowded in the upper story.
From this circumstance the disease w s the more readily
propagated from one individual to the other, and thus
proved uncommonly mortal. It was the mortality in this
house, which about the Lst of July first occasioned so great
an alarm through the city; though the Board of Health,
while the pestilence was immolating its victoms took no pre-
cautionary measures, but continued, under the consoling
assurances of their official adviser, to slumber upon their oars
until it was too late to remedy the evil. They did not
give official notice of their having had a meeting to take
this important subject into consideration until July 31st.
On the following day Mr. Coleman, the editor of the Even-
ing Post, and who, though not a member of the profession,
by his unremitting vigilance and able defence of the doctrine
Account of the Yellow Fever. 123
of contagion, merits the highest eulogium, published this
meeting in his Evening Post, together with the judicious re-
marks which accompany it. As it contains the particulars of
what occurred at the house of Mrs. Rose, und< r the sign ma-
nual of the Resident Physician, we cannot do better than in-
sert here the part which more immediately relates to this
matter.
Board of Health, July 3Is/, 1822.
On the 20th, the Resident Physician visited Miss Rose,
at the corner of Greenwich and Rector streets, and reported
that she was seven years of age, had sickened on the 16th
of July, and had bilious fever. The child died on the 24th .'
instant.
On the 26th he visited Euphemia Dobson, at No. 10
Beaver-street, aged 38 years: she sickened on the 24tb,
and removed from the house of Mrs. Rose, at the corner of
Greenwich and Rector-streets, where she had assisted in
s nursing the child that died on the 24th. He also visited
Mrs. Edwards, aged 46 years, sister to Mrs. Rose, and a
resident in the same house; she sickened on the morning of
the 25th with bilious fever. Also, Leonard W. Archer, ,'
aged 23 years, nephew to Mrs. Rose, and residing in the
same house; he sickened on the morning of the 25th in-
stant, and has bilious fever. The Resident Physician was
also informed that a Mrs. Waters, aged 58 years, had like-
wise sickened at the house of Mrs. Rose on the evening of
the 24th but was afterwards removed to Brooklyn. She had
been indi-posed for the last three months, and died on the
evening of the 29th, with very malignant symptoms. This
person was not seen by the Resident Physician.
On the 29th, the Resident Physician reported that he had
visited another child of Mr. Reder, who was sick with the
same disorder as those before reported; that he had also
124 Account of the Yellow Fever.
visited Susan Buck, aged 11 years, residing at 24 Rector-
street, opposite the house of Mr. Reder; that she sickened
on Friday, with biljous fever.
On the 30th he visited Mrs. Jones, at No. 115 Washing-
ton-street, who sickened on the 27th, and has bilious fever.
He also visited John Hamilton, a cartman, whose stand was
in the vicinity of Rector-street; he resides at No. 20 Howard-
street, and sickened on the 27th with bilious fever.
On the 31st, Dr. Neilson reported to the Board of Health
two cases of yellow fever, viz. Leonard W. Archer, and Mrs.
Edwards, both at the house of Mrs. Rose, corner of Green-
wich and Rector-streets. On Monday last Dr. Neilson ap-
peared before the Board of Health, and declared these two
cases to be bilious fever. The resident physician visited
those patients again this day, and reports them as bilious
fever. There has no case of fever occurred in that vicinity
within the knowledge of the Board of Health, for the last
three days.
By order of the Board of Health.
STEPHEN ALLEN, President.
REMARKS.
" Such remarks as my duty calls upon me to make on
the above report, I shall submit to my readers, regardless of
any offence they may give to any individual. Disclaiming
any desire to interfere with medical men or medical science,
I am well aware that these will not, and perhaps ought not
to attract much serious attention ; but let them pass for what
they are worth, valeant quantum valere.
" The Board of Health is the source of information to
which the people are taught to look for the real situation of
the city, as to its being healthy or otherwise ; and some go
so far as to declare that we are bound to give implicit credit
Account of the Yellow Fever. 125
to their official reports, when published. Without giving
an opinion on this point, we may at least be allowed to ex-
press some doubts, when those reports contain the opinions
of physicians which stand staring in the face of each other;
I say, I cannot think it improper, or arrogant, in such a
case, for any plain man to entertain and to express doubt as
to which of them is right, since it is very evident both can-
not be. In the report before us, we have the opinion of the
Resident Physician, an officer of the Board, and consequent-
ly entitled to our confidence, that the disease which now
exists in a certain quarter of the city, and agitates and
alarms its inhabitants, is but a bilious fever of ordinary oc-
currence, and ought not to excite any alarm, and that those
extraordinary measures of precaution which are sometimes
resorted to by the guardians of the public health, would be
superfluous and unnecessary, and we find it stated in the
same report, that another equally respectable physician,
after having formerly, when he first saw the disease, expres-
sed the same opinion of its characier with the Resident Phy-
sician, yet now, having attended it and watched its symp- . —-__.
toms and progress for a week, deeBimg it due to truth, to OL£&?7v£
himself, his fellow citizens, and to the Board of Health, to
acknowledge that he was mistaken in that opinion, and to
pronounce it a clearly marked case of yellow fever, that
justly dreaded scourge of our cities when once it has been
introduced into them. And here I beg permission to ask,
if, in such a case as this, where the health and prosperity of
a city is at stake, it would be any violation of the delicate
rules of politeness and etiquette, if the Board should invite
other respectable gentlemen of the faculiy, to visit the pa-
tients and report their opinions to them ? But it so happens
here, that although the physicians above alluded to have not
given in detail the reasons on which they have founded their
I2(i Account of the Yellow Fever.
opposite judgments, yet the facts in the case are recorded
with sufficient particularity. It appears that no less than
sixteen cases of fever, (using the general term,) have appear-
ed in quick succession at the lower part of Rector-street,
mar the wharf, since the 10th of last month, and that of
these, six have died, the disease having run its course in from
four to six days, that one recovered, that three are consi-
dered convalescent, that six are yet ill, and th ir fate un-
certain.* N w we submit these facts, without one word of
profane comment, (which would render us liable to the
chnrge of quackery) to the judgment of experienced physi-
cians, (whether their theories be those of domestic or foreign
origin.) and request them to say whether they are the cha-
racteristics of yellow or bilious fever. We merely will add,
that we have been informed, that the cases alluded to have
been seen and examined since yesterday morning, at the im-
portunate solicitation of many of our most respectable citi-
zens, by a number of our first physicians, and particularly
by Dr. Hosack, all of whom, we are told, unite in the opi-
nion that the disease in question is decided yellow fever.
" We now expect from the wonted vigilance and activity
of our Board of Ilealih, the immediate adoption of those
prompt and vigorous measures the occasion imperiously
demands. Better in such a case, is it to err on the side of
over-precaution, than on that of hesitating procrastination.
We hope this plain and zealous language will be excused
by the candid on consideration of the motives of the writer.
The explanatory Letter of Dr. Neilson is also annexed.
TO THE PUBLIC.
" From the manner in which the Report of the Board of
Health is worded this morning, it would appear that I had
* One of these, Leonard W. Archer, died this morning'.
^ %yi v> XPU Waaa -u^-j^ dwjfa^
Account of the Yellow Fever. 127
made two contradictory statements to that body. Justice
demands an explanation of the facts.
" By an ord nance of the Board of Health, every physi-
cian is required to report all cases of malignant fever which
may fall under his care. In compliance with this regula-
tion, on Monday last I reported to the Board of Health two
ca^es of malignant fever, at the corner of Greenwich and
Rector str< ets. On being asked whether I reported them as
cases of yellow fiver, I answered. No—but as cases of bi-
lious fever of a very malignant character. I also strongly
urged th'j propriety of measures being taken to have the
family removed to a more healthy situation, as they were
not in circumstances to remove themselves. Although the
Resident Physician and Health Commissioner^ upon whom
I called, saw these cases, no farther notice was taken of
them ; and the malignancy of the symptoms increasing on
Wednesday morning I reported them as cases of yrtlnw fe-
ver. It may be remarked, that the disease of the young
man (A»cher,) was ushered in by copious bjHojis^ymniting.
c' Now, if a yellow skin ; red, suffused eyes ; cool surface
and extremities ; puNe nearly regular; tongue red and dry ;
and, as the disease progressed, vomiting of black flocculent
matter, and bleeding from the gums and nose, all of which
symptoms took place—if these do not constitute malignant
fever, in its worst form, I should be glad to know from the
Resident Physician, or Health Commissioner/ what mere is
wanting. These symptoms your Resident Physician w as,
or ought to have been, acquainted with. Some of these
did not rievelope themselves, until after I had the honour to
appear before the Board of Health, and declared the disease
to be, in my opinion, bilious malignant fever—not simply
bilious fevf-r, as is erroneously expressed in the report of the
Board of Health.
128
Account of the Yellow Fever.
" The young man died this morning. Mrs. Edward
continues very ill.
JNO. NEILSON."
Thus the contagion passed from the daughter of Mrs.
Rose to her nurse, Mrs. Dobson, to Mrs. Waters, to Mrs.
Edwards, and to Archer, all living in the same house, and
who had had, constant intercourse with the little girl in the
small apartment in which she lay during her illness. Miss
Rose had been sick eight days, and Mrs. Dobson, and Mils.
Waters sickened on the day of her death, viz. the 24th day
of July, and Archer and Edwards the day after. Supposing
the interval from the reception to the development of the
contagion requires from two to four days, the contagion
must have been received from her the first or second day, or
between the first and third day of her illness. Miss Rose
had passed the house of Reder and Mr. Falconer's groce-
ry daily, on her way to Mrs. Melmoth's school in Washing-
ton-street, a few doors from Reder's shop : a few days be-
fore she sickened she called at Reder's stoop to inquire after
Amanda's health.
3. From Rector-street we shall go on to the numerous
parallel instances of contagion in other houses, taking them
up according to the dates at which they were reported to
the Board of Health.
Matilda Ann Hill, aged 16, sickened at No. 6 Albany-
street, next street but one north of Rector-street, on the
evening of the 4th of August, and died on the 7th. Mr.
John Hill, her father, aged about 40, an Englishman, who
had been in this country for years, and was a coppersmith and
pewterer by profession, sickened on the evening of the 7th,
and died the 13th. Both father and daughter had been in
great dread of taking the disease. The house in which
Account of the Yellow Fever. 129
they lived is a wooden three story building and clean, but
the famiiy very large.
4th. John Scorgic, a Scotchman by birth, aged 49, grocer,
and his daughter Mary, who had both been frequently to
the foot of Rector-street, removed from No. 55 Washington-
street, between Rector-street and Beaver-lane, on the 15th
of August, and were'reported on the 17th following—they
both sickened on the 16th—rthe father died on the 19th.
Jj^is wife, also Scotch, and aged 48, and therefore, like him,
predisposed, sickened on the 19th, and died the 23d. This
places the periods of communication and development near-
ly the same as in the last cases.
5th. John M'Kenna, an Irishman, and grocer, aged 27,
sickened on the 17th of August, and died on the 20th. He
lived in a two story wooden building at the corner of Green-
wich and Cedar-streets. He was the first case that had oc-
curred so high north in this street. Edward Arcularius, who
had been frequently with M'Kenna during his illness, and in
whose arms it is said M'Kenna died, sickened at the same
place on the day of M'Kenna's death. This agrees with
the other cases. Arcularius's father is a German. The
house was perfectly clean, and also the yard.
6th. Miss Jenkinson, a dress maker, who had been through
Cedar-street, where cases had occurred, sickened on the
20th of August, at No. 62 Broadway, in which street no
case had yet occurred, and died on the 26th. Elizabeth
Jackson, a mulatto woman, aged about 50, who had been
nursing her, sickened on the 27th, and died on the fourth
day of her illness, with black vomit. The contagion was
here sufficiently concentrated, it would seem, to overcome
even the natural insusceptibility which coloured persons are
usually found to possess.
7th. The first case reported in Courtlandt-street, which is
i?
130 Account of the Yellow Fever.
remarked for its cleanliness and the elegance of its buildings,
was Ellen Kearney, an Irish servant girl of Mr Morse, keep-
er of the York Hotel, at No. 5, a few doors from Broadway.
This is a very respectable hotel, and being much resorted
to, and at the same time a small building, is therefore most
of the time crowded. The boarders moved away on the
24th August. Mr. Morse came to a determination to move
his family on the 30th. On that day, in the evening, Ellen
was taken ill, and vomited considerably. She had been
down into the infected part of Broadway as far as the City
Hotel a few days before. It was attributed to fatigue in pre-
paring to remove. The next morning early she appeared a
little better, but grew worse in the course of the day. Mr. and
Mrs. Morse moved away that morning. Ellen remained. In
the course of the day her brother John, aged 20, who was a
clerk, and her sister Mary, and both from Ireland, came to
stay with and nurse her. Mary did not leave the house.
They continued with her until the 5th of September, when
they both sickened. John was removed to Orange-street,
and Mary to Kip's bay, out of town. John died September
8th, and Mary the 13th. When Mrs. Morse moved away
she was not sick, but was taken down on the 5th of Septem-
ber following, and died on the 11th. She had not been be-
low Courtlandt-street, but had seen Ellen several times du-
ring the first twelve hours of her illness. Though Ellen
recovered, as Mary and her brother John, and also Mrs.
Morse, all took sick on the sixth day after having seen
Ellen, there is no doubt they took the disease from her. As
Mrs. Morse saw her only during the first twelve hours of
her illness, she must have received the contagion from her
at that early period of the disease, though it did not take
effect until five days afterwards. After it had begun to take
rjfleet, however, it ran its course with much greater rapidity
Account of the Yellow Fever. 131
than in Mary, in whom it took effect sooner, for she did
not die until two days after Mrs. Morse. This is also to be
accounted for from the circumstance that Mrs. Morse had
not been in good health for some time previous.
8th. About the 20th of August, Mrs. Aphya Colfax, aged 34,
was taken sick of yellow fever at No. 69 Courtlandt-street.
She kept a respectable boarding house at this place. Her
mother had gone out of town the day before, and her board-
ers had moved away about a week before she fell sick.
She remahaed sick a fortnight, and recovered. On the
4th day of September her daughter Mary, aged 10, and
who had not been out of the house, took sick of the same
disease, and also recovered after sixteen days illness. Three
days after Mary sickened, namely, on Saturday September
7th, Mrs. MaryMerrit, aged 32, from Connecticut, sister of
Mrs. Colfax, and of an asthmatic habit, also took sick, and
died on the 13th. Three days after Mrs, Merrit sickened,
namely, on the 10th, her husband Charles Merrit, from
Massachusetts, and her son Frederic Forsyth, a boy, both
of whom had nursed Mrs. Merrit, and frequently lain on the
same bed with her during her illness, also took sick, but
both recovered. After Mrs. Colfax's mother and boarders
had removed, she and the four others whom we have said ,
fell sick, were the only persons who regorwod in the house. L£4Xc2^H£^
As it was next to impossible to procure a nurse, in order to
assist each other, they all lived together, but in the same
room, which is an apartment of low ceiling in the back
part of the house on the first floor, and not more than
fifteen feet square ! Whether this was not enough to con-
centrate and propagate the disease I leave the impartial
reader to decide. Mrs. Merrit was perfectly well assured
that she had taken her disease from her niece, and
said before her death that she might have saved her
IJ2 Acconnt of the Yellow Fever,
life if affection had not forbad her to desert her. Mr,
Merrit also was satisfied that he and his step-son had both
received their sickness from their attentions to Mrs. Merrit.
It is of no consequence where Mrs. Colfax received her
disease—who will deny that the others owed their illness to
her? It seems that the intermission belween Mrs. Colfax
and her daughter's illness was much longer than that be-
tween the others. It is curious to observe how the poison
multiplying itself through the mother and daughter did not
prove fatal until it had reached Mrs. Merrit, and afterwards
seemed to have lost again its intensity when it reached the
husband and son. But the circumstance of habit and time ,
of life are to be taken into account.
9th. The contagion of the disease spread in a most remark-
able manner through the family of Mr. Bunn, shoemaker, who
lived in a small confined but clean house at No. 69 William-
street. Mr. Bunn's family consisted of himself, wife, and
ten children, beside three or four other persons, who lived
or were employed in the house, all of whom continued to
remain, though this part of the street had been for some
time before entirely abandoned. There are perhaps very
few houses in the city of the same size which contained so
many individuals under the same roof. Hence, their situ?
ation must have necessarily been very crowded, and the air
of the apartments loaded with human effluvia. The mo-
ment the spark was introduced it communicated to almost
every individual; but what is singular, the disease, though
strongly marked in the greater part of them, proved fatal to
one only. No cases had yet appeared in this street.
Amelia Torbuss, aged 22, the first, sickened Wednesday,
August 28th—recovered.
Sally Bunn, aged 14, sickened 29th August—recovered.
Rosetta Bunn, aged 8, sickened September 5th—reco-
vered.
Account of the Yellow Fever.
133
A black woman who was a servant, sickened September
13th—recovered.
Mrs. Bunn, the mother, sickened September 14th—reco-
vered.
An infant of Mrs. Bunn's, aged 2 years, sickened Sep-
tember 17th—recovered.
Mr. Bunn, the father, aged 52, sickened September 19th
—died.
Sophia Bunn, aged 12, sickened September 29th—re-
covered.
Mrs. Mount, sickened September 26th—recovered.
Thomas Bunn, aged 19, sickened September 30th—re-
covered.
The disease was no doubt introduced by Amelia and
Sally, the first two cases. They had been in Broadway,
where there were several houses in which cases had previ-
ously occurred. Rosetta, the third case, slept in the same
room with Sally, to attend upon her. Mrs. Bunn, and the
black woman, had both been employed in taking care of
Sally, Amelia, and Rosetta, and Mrs. Bunn frequently slept
in the same room with them. Mr. Bunn had devoted him-
self to his wife and children during their sickness, and died
24th September, in the arms of Mrs. Mount, who took sick
two days after. Thomas had also assisted in nursing his
afflicted sisters and parents. The family did not remove
until after Mr. Bunn's death. Mrs. Bunn and the black
L wom|n took the disease probably from Rosetta ; and the
infant, the husband, and Sophia, from Mrs. Bunn. Though
the contagion did not prove mortal until it had reached
Mr. Bunn, twenty-two days after the first cases sickened, its
intensity, or at least its power of propagating itself, ap-
peared to have been as great before as after his death. Its
^
134 Account of the Yellow Fever.
fatality in him was attributable perhaps to time of life, na-
ture of his occupation, or some other circumstance.
10th. Mr. James Woodhull, kept a very respectable pri-
vate boarding house, a neat three story brick building, at No.
35 Maiden-lane. He continued to remain there with his wife
and three or four boarders until most of the neighbourhood
had removed, and cases" had begun to occur in the ad-
jacent streets south of Maiden-lane. Cases had already oc-
curred near Maiden-lane in Broadway, but none near Mr.
Woodhull's. He took sick September 14th, a day or two
after all his boarders removed, and among them Mr. Alexan-
der Murray, who went to Powles-Hook< but came daily to
see Mr. Woodhull until the 20th, when he was also taken
^ sick. Mr. Woodhull recovered, but Murray died on the
23d, at Powles-Hook. Mr. Woodhull moved himself with
his family from Maiden-lane September 21st, and on the
23d his wife, Mrs. Harriet Woodhull, aged 33, who had
been nursing him, also sickened, and died the 29th. Thus
Mr. Woodhull, who was sick about seven days, and escaped
nevertheless, communicated the disease to Murray, and to
Mrs. W. who both died : in the first the eontagion was re-
ceived and developed within the first five days of Mr. Wood-
hull's illness ; but in Mrs. Woodhull the period required
nine days. The duration of the disease was however more
v rapid in Murray than in Mrs. Woodhull, for the first died in
four days, and the last in seven days.
11th. On the 14th of September, Ralph Smith, aged 35,
segar maker and day-watchman, sickened at No. 22£ Nas-
sau-street, and died the 19th with black vomit. On the
18th, Mrs. Smith, his wife, was reported at the same house,
and recovered. Her husband was reported on the 15th, at
which time she could not have been sick or she would have
been reported with him. She sickened therefore in all pro-
Account of the Yelloio Fever.
135
bability on the 17th. Therefore, the contagion must have
been communicated and developed with as much rapidity
as in the case of Curiel, at No. 349 Water-street, and others
of which we have already spoken. It was received by the
wife from the husband on the first or second day of his ill-
ness, and began to take effect in her two days after she had
received it. Cases had occurred in Liberty-street near their
place of residenee. It may therefore be doubted by some
whether the disease was communicated from the husband to
the wife, or whether they both received it from the infected
houses in that neighbourhood. As they sickened, however,
one after the other, and as the interval nearly agrees with
the law which appears to have been observed in the pre-
ceding cases, it is most probable that she received the dis-
ease from her husband. This opinion is strengthened also
by the frequent recurrence of similar facts ; for we see that
in many instances those who were allied together by the ties
of consanguinity or marriage, have been too often doomed
to share the same grave.
12th. Thomas Smyth had been engaged in his mechanical
employment, that of white-smith, in repairing locks in
some of the more infected neighbourhoods of the city, con-
stantly, to within a few days of his illness- He sickened
on the 11th September, at No. 6 John-street, where he
had removed some time before, and in which no case of
yellow fever had occurred. The following letter, in my
opinion, shows most undoubtedly, that the disease of Smyth
was communicated by him to his wife, although the writer
(Dr. Francis) does not seem to have felt himself warranted
in coming to that conclusion.
To the Editor of the New York Evening Pout.
Learning that some uneasiness and misapprehension
136
Account of the Yellow Fever.
exist in the public mind relative to the case of Mrs. Smyth,
who is represented to be, at present, extremely ill of yellow
fever, at Westchester County, I beg leave to communicate
the following particulars.
The late Mr. Thomas Smyth sickened of yellow fever, at
his residence No. 6 John-street, on Wednsday the 11th of
September. I was requested to see him professionally, on the
evening of Friday, and I reported him to the Board, at their
next meeting on Saturday. At the time he was first seized,
his wife was in the country. She returned on the afternoon
of the 14th, and continued with him, at the house in which
he sickened, until he removed on the following day at noon
to the corner of Grand and Sullivan streets. Here she also
attended on her late husband until his death, on the morn-
ing of the 17th. Mrs. Smith was within what is termed the
infected district about twenty hours.
The doctrine of the occasional contagiousness of the yel-
low fever rests upon multiplied experience and undoubted
evidence; but derives no support from the case of Mrs.
Smyth. I make this communication, fearful that the public
might be needlessly alarmed, and an opinion obtain, that the
present infection has diffused itself more extensively than is
the fact.
JOHN W, FRANCIS.
New-York, September 27.
13th. Mrs. Wilcox, who had had charge of a house in the
infected part of Broadway, near the Bowling-green, and
had moved from thence to No. 66 Pine-street, near the
East River, and remote from the infected district, on
Saturday September 14th, took sick on Sunday follow-
ing, and died on Friday, September 20th. Two of
Account of the Yellow Fever*
137
her daughters, who had been staying with their mother
in the house of which she had charge, were taken sick
on Monday, September 16th, and recovered. Mrs.
Margaret Rix was sent by the Board of Health to nurse
the Misses Wilcox on the 21st: she took sick on the 24th,
that is, on the fourth day after exposure, and on the same
day was sent to quarantine, where slu; recovered. The
house was very clean and comfortable : no other cases had
occurred before, nor none occurred afterwards in this street.
I am indebted for these particulars to Dr. Eddy, who was
the famih physician.
14th. John Murphy, aged 6 years, living at No 51 Pearl-
street, who had been in the infected parts of Broad-street,
was taken sick, September 19th, and died the 22d. Mrs.
Hull, an English woman, aged 30, who lived opposite, and .
had been in to see this boy am his illness, took sick on the OK
morning of September 29th ; and on the 30th, in the even-
ing, John Hull, her husband, aged 35, also English, was
taken sick. The house at which they lived was No. 50
Pearl-street, an old wooden building of contracted apart-
ments, extremely dirty, and crowded at the time with about
twenty poor tenants. Hull was one of the men employed
as a watch ; but whether he took the contagion from his
wife or from without, and that its development in her only
served to excite into action the poison in him is not so easy
to determine. They both died on the 5th of October, with
black vomit. They occupied the same bed, in a small
dirty room, about ten feel square. On the 2d of October,
Mrs. Lawler and her brother-in-law, Edward Kearney, who
lived in an upper apartment, and both had been frequently
in to see Hull and his wife, both sickened and recovered. On
the 18th of October, William Nettle also took the disease
18
138
Account of the Yellow Fever.
in the same house, and was sent to quarantine, where he re-
covered.
15th. Eliza Fury, aged 13, of Irish parents, who had been
in infected parts of the town a few days before, sickened
at No. 88 Front-street, in a part of the street where no cases
had yet occurred, Sunday, September 22d, and recovered.
Catharine Dempsey, aged 50, Irish, who lived in a small
dirty apartment, about twelve feet square, in a back
wooden building in Mrs. Fury's yard, came frequently to
see Eliza, from the first day of her illness, and sickened
September 26th. She died on the 30th. John Dempsey,
her husband, (Irish, a porter) who continued to sleep on the
same bed with her, until her death, took sick the day she
died, was sent to quarantine October 2d, and died on the
11th. As Catharine took sick on the 4th day of Eliza's
illness, and John on the 4th day of his wife's, the contagion
in both was probably received on the 1 st or 2d day of
the disease, leaving from two to three days for its develop-
ment
16th. On the 23d of September, JohnWareham, aged 57,
an Englishman, a man of intemperate habits and a bell-
hanger by profession, was reported sick of yellow fever at
No. 67 Water-street. He died the same day. He had
rambled all over the city. About the 7th of October, Jane
Wareham, his wife, aged 45, and an Irishwoman, sickened
at the same house. She died the 15th. Supposing Ware-
ham, her husband, to have been sick four days when he
died, and she seven on the day of her death, the contagion,
if she took it from him, must have been lurking in her sys-
tem at least two weeks before she fell sick. On the 11th
or 12th of October, a man by the name of Abraham Ball,.
aged 67, an Englishman, sickened of yellow fever at the same
house, and died on the 17th. His wife also sickened about
Account of the Yellow Fever. 139
the same time, and was sent to quarantine, and recovered.
They had lived in the garret, and had been nursing and
attending upon Mrs. Wareham. Mrs. Sarah Walker, aged
30, who lived in the room back of Mrs. Wareham, and
had been frequently in to assist her, and also to see Ball,
sickened about the 17th, and died the 22d. It is immate-
rial where Mrs. Wareham got her disease, the others took
their's from her in quick succession. We do not know
why the dates at which Mrs. Wareham, the Balls, and
Mrs. Walker sickened have not been given, but the date of
their deaths is on record in the public archives, and cannot
be garbled or concealed.
Mrs. Wareham died on the 15th of October.
Abraham Ball died on the 17th of October.
Sarah Walker died on the 22d of October.
Mrs. Wareham had been sick six or seven days. Ball
and his wife and Sarah Walker about the same time.
Then Ball and his wife took sick on the third day of Mrs.
Wareham's illness, and Mrs. Walker on the fifth day of
Mr. and Mrs. Ball's. The house is an old two story wood-
en building, in an extremely dirty state, and was crowded
with poor tenants, each small apartment containing a family,
and being not more than fifteen feet square. There were
a man and his wife in the back room on the first floor ;
Wareham, his wife and five children, occupied the front room
of the second floor ; Walker and his wife and three children
occupied the room back of them ; and above, in the garret,
there were Ball and his wife. Before Mr. Wareham's death,
there had been no cases in this part of Water-street.
17th. John Laddy, a cartman, lived at 28 Lombardy-
street, in the front room of the first story. It is a small un-
comfortable house, and not remarkably neat nor dirty. Lad-
dy was aged forty-four, and was an Irishman, had been h* Cv*
140 Account of the Yellow Fever.
&/m0
this country about six years. On Wednesday morning,
September 25th, an alarm occurred by the deaths of Mrs.
Snow, and Mrs. Carey, a few doors below his house, and
the recommendation of the B >ard of Health to the inhabi-
r
tants, September 21 j to abandon the street, i duced him to
move with his family to Division-street. He had been long
uiuhr great apprehensions of taking the yellow fever, and
on the evening of the same day he had removed to Division-
street he actually took sick of the disease. He continued sick
until the Monday following, September 30, when he took it
in his head to move baek again to Lombardy street, as he
preferred to die in his own house. He died that night. Mrs.
Letty Farley, aged 30, of robust habit, and who had been but
three years in America, lived in the garret of the same
house. She came down stairs on Tuesday morning, Octo-
ber 1st and was greatly alarmed to find Laddy a corpse,
not knowing that he had come back to the house. She had
been in great terror of yellow fever—she took sick on the
Thursday following, and died October 7th, of the s«me
disease. The day after Lad y's death Mis. Laddy began
to wash his things—she had also been lying on the bed with
her husband during his illness, and was constantly over him
to nurse him. She had been complaining a day or two be-
fore his death, having lain in only two weeks before, which
had very much exhausted her. About two days after Mrs.
Fatley began to complain Mrs. Laddy was also obliged to
take to her bed, and continued sick two weeks, but reco-
vered. Mrs. Laddy is also Irish, and has been in this
country about three years. Mrs. Farley's son, about ten
years of age, who had come out from Ireland with his mo-
ther, and lived with her, sickened the same evening with her
of yellow fever^ and recovered.
Account of the Yellow Fever.
141
The disease seems to have taken twice as long to become
developed in Mrs. Laddy as in Mrs. Farley and her son.
and, contrary to the usual mode, the contagion appears to
have been given to the two last as late as the last ori»8i»th /'$a
day of Laddy's illness. We can hardly suppose that
Mrs. Laddy had not received it during the second and third
days of her husband's illness; but her debrhtzttod situation fUts&ovXj^
may have rendered her less susceptible to it, which is most
probable, inasmuch as she was not severely attacked, and
recovered. Eight days before John Laddy took sick he had
been helping to move some bedding and other things where
a woman was sick of yellow fever. But it is not improba-
ble that he may have taken the disease from the infected , .
house a few doors below that utfasjse he lived. *■"* W/n*C/X
18th. George Whetty, Irish, aged 34, an intemperate man,
and sawyer by profession, who had been in the infected part
of Lombardy and Cheapside streets, sickened October 11th,
in a small back room, about fifteen feet square, in a two
story wooden house, at No. 118 Bancker-street. No case
occurred in Bancker street during all the month previous,
though it continued, as we have already said, to be thickly
inhabited : while in Cheapside and Lombardy-streets, pa-
rallel to it, and only 300 feet distant, the disease proved
uncommonly malignant. Whetty and bis wife, and two or
three children, all slept and esrt in the same small room .j/jL
which they occupied. His son James aged seven, slept on
the same bed with himself during his illness, and sickened
on the 14th. They both died on the 17th.
19th. The cases which occurred at Nos. 343 and 349 Wa-
ter-street, were also striking illustrations of the contagion of
the disease. They are detailed in the body of the work. (^-^ n-^™
20th. Patrick Phelan, Irish, aged 55, a respectable grocer,
142
Account of the Yellow Fever.
living in a commodious three story brick building at the
corner of Depeyster and Front-streets, sickened October
7th, no cases having yet occurred in that neighbourhood.
Phelan died the 13th. His son Andrew Phelan, who had
been taking care of his father, took sick immediately after
his death, and died the 19th.
21st. Catherine Jones, aged 37, sickened of yellow fever at
No. 7 Cheapside-street, and nearly opposite to where Ca-
therine Bailey had died, on Wednesday, October 16th, at
noon, and died on the 23d with black vomit. Her daughter
Henrietta, aged four years, sickened in the same house,
October 21st, that is, on the beginning of the sixth day
of her mother's illness, and died on the 30th. The con-
tagion here also was received probably on the first or se-
cond day of her mother's illness, leaving from two to four
days for it to become developed, f"' JflA^T Uj<^- tr»j-
yfjijj^i. tMx>* i^JsttrU-yti/jLl Ifu on^y^tM uv
CHAPTER II.
ANALYSIS OF THE SYMPTCXWS.
INVASION.
The invasion was generally sudden, and at night; some-
times in the morning, and most usually like that of an ordi-
nary fever, with, or sometimes without chill; also gaping,
yawning, loss of appetite, languor, hurried respiration,
faintness, nausea, and in some instances vomiting of bilious
matter, or rejection of drinks and food : most usually acute
pain in the head and back, and sometimes violent affection
of the nervous system, and severe rigors. In a few instances,
the patient had been complaining for some hours before he
was taken down, and imagined that he had caught cold, to
which the first symptoms of the disease do, in fact, bear
some analogy.
FIRST STAGE.
Most usually considerable excitement, especially in full
habits, anught always to be re-
collected when the physician is called to the poor or la-
bouring classes. Pain usually over and across the eyes,
and through the eye-balls, often very severe, and locating
itself more especially along the superciliary ridge, causing
the patient to contract his eye-brows, or about the centre of
the forehead, extending occasionally through the head to
the occiput. In some few instances the pupils were un-
usually dilated, and in others the eye was intolerant of light.
Sometimes the patient described the pain as deep seated, ap-
Account of the Yellow Fever. 145
parently at the bottom of the orbits. This was observed
by Dr. Francis, in the present epidemic, and by Dr. Hqgh
MLean, in that of 1798.
Tongue.—Generally thick and somewhat swollen, more
frequently pointed than broad; most usually in the begin-
ning covered with a dirty white or lead coloured fur; darker
towards the base.
In one mild case there were no other symptoms than a
slight retching on the first day, with some nausea and lan-
guor, a pulse little more frequent than natural, and dilata-
tion of the pupils, without the least redness of the eye until
the sixth day, when a slight hiccup came on, and lasted for
a few hours—on the seventh day the pulse was 72, and then
came on a dingy yellow hue of the adnata with a little suf-
fusion. The tongue from the beginning had been of a livid
colour, moist, and unusually thick and broad, and utterly
destitute of slime or fur until the seventh day, when it grew
a little brown and dry only towards the base.
In some few instances the tongue was besmeared with a
thin white moist slime or paste until towards the termina-
tion of the disease. In one very mild case, the fur was
of a bright and light yellow hue, and the tongue unu-
sually flat and thin ; but the red vessels, and afterwards
the yellowness, succeeding upon the adnata, though it never
reached the neck and trunk, and also the red clear margin
on the tongue, (which however was less distinct and nar-
rower than in any other case I saw,) together with the con-
stant nausea and oppression, without vomiting or irrita-
bility, and only slight pain on pressure; and also, what was
of more importance, the slow measured pulse of convales-
cence, are sufficient to show that it was a genuine case of
yellow fever. In a few instances the tongue was very nar-
row and pointed; but in one or two others, so broad, thick,
19
146
Account of the Yellow Fever.
and swollen, that it was with difficulty the patient could
thrust it out of his mouth.
Pulse.—Varies from 90 to 120, and in children, 150.—
Sometimes as low as 80, and even 60, and 55* from the
beginning of the attack ; in which case the stage of excite-
ment had not existed at all, or passed within a few hours into
that of collapse; generally full, but in a majority of in-
stances, not sufficiently strong to resist any considerable
pressure. In a case attended by Dr. Minor, it was 60 on
the first day, and never afterwards rose beyond 80. The
patient recovered. In a case under the care of Dr. Francis,
the pulse, six hour- after the invasion of the disorder was 45,
and never became more frequent than 70. In such cases the
skin was, for the most'part, unnaturally cool from the begin-
ning.
Skin.—Flushed, generally hot, and somewhat dry in this
stage; the degree of temperature corresponding with the
force of the circulation ; moist often throughout, but rarely
or never characterized by the biting, stinging heat and dry
surface of typhus.
The skin is sometimes, (says Warren,t) though rarely,
parched and dry, but oftener, and indeed generally moist,
and disposed for sweat.
Respiration.—Hurried in proportion to the violence of
the excitement and almost invariably attended with deep
sighing, evincing the influence of the poison on the nerves.
Bowels.—Gem rally constipated in this stage, but after
they had been opened the evacuation continued often natu-
ral in colour and quantity, without foetor, and as Lining
says, rarely bilious, soft or liquid, during the whole progress
of the disease.
* The case of Mr. Dusenberry, attended by Dr. Blachley. The
pulse was 55 the first day, and rose afterwards to 60 and 70.
t Warren on the Malignant Fever of Barbadoes. p. 9.
Account of the Yellow Fever,
147
In three fatal cases, one of which was unattended with
hiccup or black vomit, the disease came on with a diarrhoea,
which continued uniil a few days before death. And in an-
other case, which was attended with black vomit, but reco-
vered, the menstrual discharge, and dysenteric symptoms,
accompanied with tenesmus and griping, supervened in the
last stage of the disease. The catamenia were, in this case,
more copious than usual.
Stomach.—Usually calm, but sometimes a constant nau-
sea or sense of oppression at the prascordia, accompanied
occasionally with eructations and cardialgia. Sometimes,
but very rarely, extreme distress and pain at the praecordia
from the beginning of the attack, producing violent spasms
and retraction of the abdominal muscles and legs on the
slightest pressure. 1 saw this in a case attended by Dr.
Francis.
Urine.—Variable ; often natural in every respect; but in
many cases the urine was scanty and high coloured ; in
some few the discharge was copious or natural.
Countenance.—Most usually natural and flushed ; often a
Wild stare and gaze of the eye, and not unfrequently the
expression of the countenance remained unchanged to the
last.
Position and actions of the patient.—Invariably lies on his
back, and has an inclination to throw his arms above his
head. Rouppe also observed the position of the patient.
" Semper in dor so jacuerunt atgri."
intellectual functions.—Occasional delirium, attended
with coma, especially if the excitement be great. '
SECOND STAGE.
In some few instances the first stage was protracted even
to the fifth day. In the case of Denn, in Barclay-street,
attended by Dr. Francis, there was a state of high ex-
148 Account of the Yellow Fever.
citement until the morning of the fifth day. Deveze also
saw it protracted to the fifth day.
But most usually the first stage having continued from 24
to 48, or sometimes to 72 hours, there now comes on, not a re-
mission, but a sudden prostration of all the animal forces
producing what is termed a slate of collapse or metaptosis,
as denominated by Dr. Moseley. The excitement fails, the
countenance is more or less pale and shrunk, and the pa-
tient becomes calm and composed, and though languid and
debilitated entirely free of pain. The blood retires appa-
rently from the surface to the interior organs, which ac-
counts, fn the opinion of some, for the stomach being now
more irritable and more predisposed to haemorrhage. But it
must be remembered, that this predisposition to haemorr-
hage exists also in the external passages, which shows that
it is not so much owing to the retiring of the blood as to the
subsidence of the circulation, and the general loss of tone in
the contractility of the capillary arteries, occasioned doubt-
less by the paralizing influence of the poison.
Eye.—The red vessels begin to disappear, while a yellow-
ness is now fiivt observable at the angles, especially at the
outer angles, accompanied at the same time with, or followed
soon after by a yellowness in the ruga), running down from
the alas of the nose to the corners of the mouth ; also around
the eyes and borders of the lips, and between the lower lip and
chin—as this stage advances the red vessels gradually dis-
appear, and the eye becomes less turgid as the adnata be-
comes more and more yellow.*
Tongue—The fur often remains moist and still of a dirty
white, or leaden colour, but most usually accumulates and
* We cannot say, with that accurate observer Dr. Lining, that we
ever saw the inflammation of the conjunctiva to increase at this stadium.
Account of the Yellow Fever. 149
becomes at the same time with or before the adnata, of a
brownish yellow hue, and dry and darker towards the base,
surrounded almost invariably by a moist clean red or livid
margin, now distinctly contrasted wi li the thick, dark fur, ^
and extending along the sides and mtmd the apex of the &/\*OW*A
superior surface—the papilla) on the apex also frequently in-
flamed and swollen. An unfavourable symptom, and which
frequently happens at the termination of this stage, is a
spasmodic movement of the tongue when thrust out of the
month, as is often seen in typhus-
Lips.—Most usually dry and cracked, or somewhat
parched.
Pulse.—-Sinks to ninety, eighty, or seventy, rarely lower,
varying a little more or 1 °ss, from day to day, becoming at
the same time soft and easily compressed. In one or two
fatal cases the pulse in this stage sunk as low as GO, 50, or
even 45 ; but I never saw it intermittent. In the case of a
young man ill, on the fourth day, Dr. Francis observed
the pulse to intermit. Dr. Physic saw a case in the yellow
fever of 1793, at Philadelphia, in which the pulse sank
to 30.*
Skin.—Becomes comparitiv)ly cool, but still retains a
higher temparature than is natural. The heat and mois-
ture of surface are often unequally distributed, and the feet
and hands are now frequently cool, especially as this stage
advances; while the trunk, particularly about the epigastri-
um, is preternaturally warm. In a great majority of cases, es-
pecially in those which were more mild, the yellowness which
began on the adnata and about the eyes and mouth, did not
extend farther than over the face, blending with the partial
flush which .still remained over the face, and giving the
* Rush on Yellow Fever of 1793, p. 54.
150 Account of the Yellow Fever*
countenance a yellowish red, or damask hue. But in the
more srongly marked and worst cases, it became of a
greenish hue and extended down the sides of the neck,
over tbe scalp, to the chest, shoulders and arms; gradually
growing deeper and spreading over the trunk on the eighth,
ninth and tenth days ; but not reaching the lower extremities
until just before, or even after death.
When this colour is perfectly formed, it has, if the com-
plexion of the patient be fair, a pale lemon colour, and is of a
greenish, mottled or bruised appearance; in some instances
darker and resembling a vegetable stain; in others the
appearancee of a dead body, which has begun to putrify.
If the skin was naturally sallow, it resembled a deep
orange or saffron colour, epithets used by Towne, Jack-
son and other writers, to designate this appearance.—
Dr- Pym says, it is of a pale lemon colour, when the dis-
ease terminates favourably. Sir James Fellowes says, in
strongly marked cases, the colour was of a dark yellow
tinge; and Sir Joseph Gilpin, aho, says, that the colour
in this disease was of a dingy yellow hue unlike the bright
yellow of the bilious remittent. The observations of Fellowes
and Gilpin are conformable to general experience.
I do not believe, however, that the yellowness is in any
manner connected with a putrefaction of the body. It gene-
rally becomes of a deeper, stronger, and somewhat darker
or dingy hue in malignant cases, and after it is fairly out.
In one fatal case it was of a bright golden yellow after
death, but the patient was an Irishman, and of fair, sanguine
complexion. In some few mild cases, the only syrntom
was this peculiar greenish yellow tinge, which gradually
came out, and in conformity to the laws of the disease, spread
entirely over the trunk and extremities at the usual period ;
while the pulse, skin and other functions remained perfectly
Account of the Yellow Fever. 151
natural.* Dr. Harrison, who from his long residence at
the Marine Hospital, has had ample opportunities of be-
coming acquainted with yellow fever, mentioned to me a
case of this kind, where the patient continued to walk about
for several days, as though he was in perfect health ; the
stomach and other functions all regularly performing their
duty, until bla^k vomiting suddenly came on, and in a few
hours carried him out of the world.
Where the deep yellow tinge spread entirely over the
trunk, the disease proved almost invariably mortal. I saw
one exception, which was, in every respect, a most extraor-
dinary case. [Sarah Cadwell.] Every symptom was
present in the most aggravated form, beside several un-
common symptoms. Black vomit, whi h came on about
the sixth day ; haemorrhage from the mouth, hiccup which
continued during convalescence, eructations ; the beautiful
pink coloured adnata in the beginning, changing to a deep
green yellow towards the termination ; the yellowness ex-
tending over her trunk and down to her feet on the eighth
day, and of a dark or dirtier hue, frnn the sallowness of her
complexion ; delirium frequently, but most usually a listless
state of pervigilium, convulsions, deep, anxious and frequent
sighs, pensive sadness of countenance, great distress and
irritability at the praecordia, particularly on pressure; dys-
enteric sy nptoms, with tenesmus, griping, and frequent but
scanty discharges of black foetid matter ; a fiery red tongue,
besmeared with blood, inarticulate moaning, retracted legs,
petechiae; towards the termination a petechial or purple
efflorescence, or extravasation in large blotches on the trunk
and limbs. In addition to these, a painful swelling of the
jaws and cheeks and of the parotid glands, and an ulcerated
•----------c___________________________________________
* Sir Gilbert Blane was the first, I believe, who particularly noticed
tbis peculiarity.—Vide Diseases of Seamen, p. 406-7.
152 Account of ihe Yellow Fever
condition of the inner lining of the lips with a mercurial
foetor (though she had taken no mercury,) all of which
continued and even increased duriug convalescence. The
breath was exceedingly offensive from the coagulated and
decomposed blood collected under her tongue and between
her lips and teeth. What was remarkable, the menstrual
discharge came on, though ifr was not the period, and was
protracted until near the termination of the disease. This, by
Lining, and especially Deveze, is considered a favourable
symptom. The excoriations also produced about the anus
and thighs, by the involuntary discharges of the catamenia
and from the bowels, towards the last days of the disease
caused distressing pain, and bled considerably. She was a
native, of the melancholic temperament, tall and robust, with
jet black eyes and hair, and very dark skin, aged 40. She
was neither bled nor blistered, nor but once or twice gently
purged.
In a young Frenchman, at quarantine, the chafing between
the scrotum and thighs from lying, also, brought on hae-
morrhage, during convalescence. Deveze, in his Traite de
la Fievre Jaune, mentions a case where the general organs
were very much inflamed and greatly augmented in size,
ending in gangrene of the scrotum, (p. 92.) In the yellow
fever of Cadiz, in 1800, there was often observed a con-
siderable irritation of the urethra, similar to patients labour-
ing under an attack of stone.* Towne, also, sometimes saw
in the decline of this disease, painful pustules, and aphthae
in the mouth, and dangerous imposthumations in the throat.
[Diseases 'of the West Indies, 4'C. p. 51. ed. 1726.] Lind
says, buboes and a swelling of the parotid glands are un-
usual, though salutary symptoms.
----------——----------------------------«____________
* Reports on the pestilential disorder of Andalusia, p. 56. Lond.'
°15.
Account of the Yellow Fever. 153
Petechia*, not always an unfavourable symtom, consisting
of little spots of variable shape, of extravasated, purple or
pink-coloured blood, without any elevation of the cuticle,
are now observable about the forehead, cheeks, and on the
neck, but more especially on the backs of the hands, and r.
on the arms and chest. Mjf. Bally thinks they are favoura- j
ble, if they preserve a rose colour, but unfavourable if they
pass to a violet, or brown.
I observed in one or two fatal cases, a vesicular eruption
about the corners of the mouth, interspersed with petechiae :
but Rush says, it is a favourable symptom. In one
strongly marked case, (a German from the sugar house, Li-
berty-street, attended by Dr. Van Arsdale,) which recovered,
a miliary vesicular eruption appeared all over the surface,
on the third day. This was frequently observed in the yel-
low fever of Spain. Moseley has remarked, that a prickly
heal has often saved the new-comer in the West Indies. War-
ren has seen the patient recover by a large critical erup-
tion of boils, or small abscesses all over his body. Sir Gil-
bert Blane observed, that an eruptionvof white pustules on
the trunk, at the termination of the disease, was a favoura-
ble symptom. It is otherwise with anthrax, which now
and then, but very rarely, has been observed to form on
some part of the body, being always an unfavourable symp-
tom, and not appearing until the last stage of the disease.
Out of 425, the whole number of cases, there were only
two instances of anthrax. One was a female patient at-
tended by Dr. Neilson. The tumour formed about the.
lower jaw and parotid gland, and went through all the sta-
ges of that affection The other occurred on the knee
of a boy* in Vesey-street, who died. It was mentioned
V> me by Dr. Pascalis. Out of seven thousand deaths of
154 Account of the Yellow Fever.
yellow fever in Cadiz in 1800, Arejula saw only three instan-
ces of carbuncle, two of which proved fatal.*
Respiration—Continues perfectly natural and easy, except
that the sighs are now deep, long, and frequent.
In one case only (Mrs. Clear, 75 Cheny-st.) there was oc-
casionally a hacking loose cough. It had existed for years. In
another (Mrs. Brown, in Cheapside-st. attended by Dr. Howe* 2)
there washsemorrhage from the gums, and also from thejungs,
accompanied with cough just before death. The respira-
tion, Deveze says, is always difficult in this stage. One
would suppose, by the indistinct manner in which some
writers speak, that the respiratory functions were as much
disturbed in this disease as in pleurisy. This want of pre-
cision in their language must lead to a gross, misconcep-
tion of the nature of jellow fever; for the sighing is the
peculiar and only phenomenon which the lungs exhibit.
Bowels. Stools occasionally become foetid and dark ;
but in a great number of cases retain their natural eolour,
and remain in every respect unchanged, to the termination
of the disease.
Stomach. This stage being formed, the patient generally
begins to reject his drinks and medicines, and about the
third or fourth day of the disease, complains of a soreness,
tenderness, slight burning, or irritability at the pit of the
stomach, and appears in great distress on pressing the hand
upon this part, or on giving him any thing unusually cold or
hot to drink; at the same time the heat appears to be con-
centrated on the surface of that region. In most.cases, this
irritability was unaccompanied with nausea, but sometimes
there were distressing flatulence and cardialgia from the be-
ginning of the disease, but unlike remittent and bilious fe-
* Sir James Fellowes, p. 56,
Account of the Yellow Fever.
155
vers, seldom or never with continued or severe retching,
or vomiting after the invasion, or first day of the disease.
But at no time of the disease was there pain or tension of
the right hypocbondrium.
Urine.—Generally diminished, and of a deep yellow co-
lour, where the yellowness had extended over the trunk.
Sometimes entirely suppressed for several days, which usu-
ally proved to be a fatal symptom. In one instance of a
male patient, aged about twenty-eight years, attended by
Dr. Francis, there was a total suppression of the urine, at-
tended with great distress in the region of the kidneys,
which continued for three days. The patient was finally
relieved by saline cathartics and the use of the sweet
spirits of nitre. Hence a plentiful discharge of urine, as Sir
Gilbert Blane has also remarked, was observed to be a fa-
vourable symptom. In a case attended by Dr. Van Arsdale,
it was critical.
Countenance.—Usually more or less anxious and melan-
cholic, or marked by an expression of pensive sadness.
Never or very rarely entirely deprived of its florid colour,
though this is somewhat modified or clianged to a damask
hue by being blended with the yellow.
Intellectual Functions.—Sometimes muttering delirium,
but the delirium was never long-continued; at other times
more or less comatose and disinclined to talk during the
whole disease. Most usually constant pervigilium, occa-
sionally interrupted by dozing;* the eye now frequently
has a wild fixed gaze, and appears inattentive to what is
*The patient whose case is detailed, [Cadwell] had been quite deaf for
years, but could now hear a whisper, but lost the sensibility of this organ
again on becoming convalescent. Dr. Rush, however, says that in
some cases there was observed a deafness and also dimness of the sight.
- (jdXyKty*Ut^f~^ U^M tftu^u ^A^J
**^**/ 156 Account of the Yellow Fever.
passing, as if the rnind was abstracted; the patient being
disinclined to talk, but always answering promptly to any
questions that are put; showing, as does indeed also the dis-
tressing pervigilium which characterizes this disease, that the
sensibility of some of the nerves is often morbidly increased.
The only author in whom I have seen this peculiarity of
yellow fever noticed, is Rouppe, who describes it in so ac-
curate a manner, that it would be impossible to mistake it:
" segri, insuper anxii. inquieti, leviter dehrantes, admodum
incuriosi, nihil aestimantes, nihilque querantes, evaserunt ;
attamen adquresita fere semper, recte responderunt."* Some-
times, however, the patient affects a forced gayety, becomes
extremely loquacious, talks over his affairs to all that enter
the room, and proposes to himself schemes of business and
of pleasure. He appears to be under the dominion of a de-
lusive train of ideas, and a fatal confidence that he has re-
covered from his illness and is about to resume on the mor-
row his wonted occupations. In a case attended by Dr.
Francis, (Denn, already mentioned,) the patient began to
count over his money and examine his accounts and papers,
as he lay in bed on the seventh day of his disease. He died
on the ninth day. In others this hallucination changes to
a particular species of derangement, and the patient g<-ts up
out of his bed, dresses himself, and says he wUhes to go
home, the muscular powers remaining unimpaired to the last
moment of life. He does not seem to recognize his nearest
relations, and loses also the consciousness of his own per-
sonal identity, thinking that some other individual is talked of
when his own name is mentioned, and joining in the conver-
^f sation as though he were a third person. .K
In one case there were convulsions for a quarter of an
* Demorb. Navigant.
Account of the Yellow Fever. 157
hour on two successive occasions, but there was little or no
mental derangement, the patient lying constantly in a listless
or torpid state, disinclined to talk, but not comatose.
' Position and actions.—It is unfavourable at this,time to
see (he patient showing an inclination constantly to keep
his legs drawn up to his abdomen ; for this position is as-
sumed to obtain momentary relief from the distressing
burning of the stomach. Another unfavourable symptom
is an irregular twitching and restless motion of the hands
and arms, as if the patieut were affected with chorea.
THIRD STAGE.
The second stage'continues from two to four, five, six*
or even to seven or eight days.
The transition from the second to the third stage is much
less perceptible than from the first to the second. The
symptoms are all rather aggravated than changed. The
countenance becomes more anxious, the adnata of the eye
of an unnatural green yellow of the deepest hue, and entire-
ly clear of red vessels, which, contrasted with the brilliant
colour of a blue or hazel corne3, gives the look an unnatural
and grotesque appearance. The globe of the eye seems now
to have resumed its natural shape, and the wild stare is rarely
seen at this late period. In two or three cases I observed a short
time before death a purulent secretion from the meibomian
glands, of so glutinous a nature in one fatal case, (William
Cisco, a remarkably robust and light-coloured mulattoe,
attended by Dr. Plerriot,) that the patient could scarcely
open his eyes with the aid of his fingers. The lids also in
this case were puffy, livid and bloated, and the inner lining
of them deeply inflamed and pouring out a bloody sanies.
In several strongly marked cases, I observed towards the
close of the disease, a dark extravasated appearance under
the lower eye-lids. Dr. Walker also informs me that he
158
Account of the Yellow Fever.
saw in one or two cases livid spots on different parts of the
surface before death. Rouppe also, one of the oldest and
best writers on yellow fever, mentions this: " in nonnullis
magnas lividas vidi maculas."* The aspect'of the face does
not materially change. In fatal cases, and sometimes also
in strongly marked cases which recover, the yellowness
generally becomes of a deeper and stronger tinge, and
continues to extend farther down the trunk and upon the
lower extremities, often however not reaching the feet until
just before or after death : and where the case terminates in
death, before the seventh day not usually reaching below
the trunk, as in White in Franklin street, a printer who
returned to town from the country, and died on the seventh
day, attended by Dr. Walker. Sometimes the patient has
furious delirium, and cries out in inarticulate sounds, expres-
sive of his distress, particularly when he has inclination to
vomit. Sometimes the skin, circulation, and other organs,
all assuming as it were, their natural functions, give for a
few hours the fairest assurances of speedy recovery. Sud-
denly, and without cause apparently, the pulse is observed
to become greatly accelerated, amounting perhaps to one
hundred and ten and one hundred and twenty, at the same
time full but exceedingly weak and compressible, while a
corresponding glow and warmth is suffused over the sur-
face and extremities, giving the appearance of a feeble
effort in the system to produce a paroxism or exacerbation.
But in a few hours it sinks again, or retaining the same ve-
locity, becomes thready and vermicular to the feel, and at
length entirely imperceptible at the wrists. Though these
exacerbations and remissions may occur several times in the
last twenty-four hours of the disease, and the surface and
* De morb. Navigant
Account of the Yellow Fever.
159
extremities become alternately heated and flushed, or cold
and damp, they observe no certain periods, and are alto-
gether too irregular and adventitious to be mistaken for the
symptoms of a remittent. Should the pulse retain its natural
size, though soft, and subside gradually to forty or fifty beats
in a minute, and move with a slow measured and regular pace,
accompanied with a natural condition of the other functions,
it shows that the force of the poison is spent, and is one of
the peculiar and most characteristic indications of conva-
lescence. It is astonishing indeed to see how long a
time it takes for the circulating functions to regain their
tone, and to recover from the deleterious and deadening in-
fluence which the poison seems to have produced upon the
contractility of the arterial system.
The extremities now begin to lose their heat entirely, and
are pervaded by an unnatural coldness and clammy mois-
ture, which finally extends over the forehead, shoulders,
chest, and thighs, the surface at the precordia still retain-
ing its heat. There was in two cases which came
under my notice at this late hour of the disease a gene-
ral tremor of the whole body as if from a chilly sensation,
or when the blood retires from the surface. [The case of
Eliza Bayley, and that also of Mrs. Clear, Cherry-
street.] In one case there was an hour or two before
death, a subsultus of the muscles of the mouth, gastroc-
nemii, and of the eye, producing in the latter a strabimus, ac-
companied at the same time with remarkable dilatation of
the pupils. [White, in Franklin-street, already mentioned.]
The tongue cleans or sloughs off, and becomes dry and
of a fiery deep red colour, sometimes moist, but very fre-
quently having its surface parched brown towards the base,
and rough to the feel.
The only author I have met with who has accurately de-
scribed the appearance of the tongue in this stage, is Dr.
160 Account of the Yellow Fever.
Bruce of Barbadoes, published in Lind. "Linguain princi-
pio, muco albescenti obducta, squalescit circa finem morbi et
in media scabra. coloris primum rufi,dein quasi, nigrescenlis,
horrida apparet."
The gums and inside of the lips also, as Lining and Jack-
son have remarked, became spongy and of a deep florid
red colour, while the lips externally perhaps, were pale or
livid. The blistered surfaces also became of a deep red
colour, as if they were highly inflamed, and in many cases
the inner lining of the eye-lids also became engorged with
blood as in ophthalmia tarsi.
These ought all to be considered very unfavourable symp-
toms, as they indicate a state of engorgement and hsemorr-
hagic disposition in the capillary vessels; all doubtless, at-
tributable to the sedative and relaxing influence of the
poison, and not to the excitement caused by the reaction of
the blood vessels in the beginning of the disease.
The patient was now observed occasionally to be hoarse,
and complained of a huskiness or dryness of the throat, and
of great thirst and a strong desire for cold water.
A soreness of the throat, which came on in several instan-
ces at this period, was observed to be a fatal symptom. But
thirst is usually a rare occurrence in the earlier stages of
this disease. Dr. Rush considers it, in the last stage, an
alarming symptom.
Blood of a bright florid hue and watery consistence dis-
tilled in a number of instances from the gums and nose, and
besmeared the tongue, or, becoming dry on the teeth and
lips, encrusted them with a black sordes, as though they
had been covered with soot, resembling the appearance of
the teeth and lips in the last stage of typhus, where,
however, it proceeds not from the blood, but from the foul-
ness of the excretions.
Account of the Yellow Fever. 161
In one formidable instance, besides black vomit, there
was haemorrhage from the mouth, nose, and also
from the blistered surfaces. Dr. Francis also saw in
a case under his care, haemorrhage from the blistered sur-
faces, which commenced forty hours before death. In
another there was black vomit, and haemorrhage from the
nose, mouth, ears, and eyes. This was a black, attended
by Drs. Francis and Clinton. Lining also mentions having
seen haemorrhage from blistered surfaces; and in the
years 1739 and 1745. one or two instances of" haemorrhage
from the skin, without any apparent puncture, or loss of
any part of the scarf skin."
If the stomach becomes more irritable, as most usually
happens at this late period, the patient now complains of a
distressing burning, and incessant, though not acute or
darting sensation at the praecordia, causing him to wince
and cry out on the slightest pressure, though the surface is
not blistered, nor his drinks rejected. He sighs more fre-
qutntly, and every now and then hiccups, which causes him
to place his hand involuntarily on his stomach, and forcibly
to draw up his legs, the pain producing in some cases loud
cries and shrieks, which may be heard across the street.
The disease having now reached the sixth, seventh, or
perhaps eighth day, and die burning sensation at the sto-
mach, continuing to increase, the patient rejects every thing
that is taken, and begins to vomit up, from time to time,
a reddish brown, turbid-looking, insipid, and perfectly
inodorous matter, which settling in, but without co-
louring the beer, porter, water, or other drinks he has reject-
ed, resembles very much coffee grounds, or blood that has
undergone partial change, from having lain some time in the
stomach, mingled with mucus, which gives to it a ropy and
glutinous feel, and causes it to stain and dry upon the
blankets, sheets and pillow. There were also seen floating
21
162
Account of the Yellow Fever
in this coffee ground substance, transparent pieces of gelati-
nous matter here and there streaked or tinged with florid
red blood. These may have come from the trachea in
vomiting, as the blood which they contained appeared more
of a natural colour, and not at all coagulated. The ropy
mucous coffee-ground black vomit was also observed by
Jackson to be sometimes streaked with blood, which indu-
ced him to believe that it came from the throat or gums.
" I may now add, says he, that streaks of blood were some-
times found to be joined with them, [villous or mucous
flakes,] the greatest part of which seemed to come from the
throat and gums." I cannot by any means concur with this
learned physician in opinion, that " the black colour of the
vomited matter was evidently owing to a mixture of vitia-
ted bile." An old and faithful delineator of this disease in
1760, and who had ample opportunities of studying it in the
West Indies, did not discover this intermixture of bile in the
matter of black vomit:—" Remittente dein febre sanguinem
fuscum sat copiose vomitu rejecerunt et hi fere omnes obie-
runt, et quidam paucis horis post hujus symptomatis appa-
ritionem."*
Rush does not consider this coffee-ground matter black
vomit; but applies the term to some other discharges from
the stomach, of which, however, he does not give any defi-
nite description.
When the coffee-ground matter was examined by the so-
lar microscope, it appeared to be an inorganic mass.
Strained through coarse linen and dried on paper, it retain-
ed its dark brown and red colour, and by the mucus which
it contained adhered to the paper in streaks. When the re-
siduum of the first straining was passed through fine mus-
* Rouppe, de Morb. Navigant. p. 304 ef seq.
Account of the Yellow Fever- 153
lin, and an impression taken off with white paper, I found it
to be a dark brown powder in fine particles, resembling mi-
nute scales of smoky mica, both in the colour, feel,
and general appearance. I am inclined to believe that
the matter of black vomit consists chiefly of the red globules
of the blood, which from the dissolved condition of this
fluid when poured out from the exhalents, have easily sepa-
rated from its other constituents, and become decomposed
or disintegrated by lying in the stomach, or by the action of
the gastric juice or other secretions of this organ. There is
always more or less of the same kind of dissolved blood
which oozes from the gums, nose, &c. We see also that
this blood which distils from the nose and gums acquires
the same colour as black vomit, hot becomes dry on the [J
lips and teeth, in consequence of exposure to the air ; where-
as the matter of black vomit is held in a fluid state by the
heat and secretions of the stomach. Sometimes the forma-
tion of the matter of black vomit is first announced in the
alvine discharges, succeeded soon afterward by the ejection
of the same matter from the stomach.
Contrary to the usual observation of writers, the stomach,
in a very considerable number of cases, (some of which were
fatal,) was affected only with nausea or slight irritability on
pressure, and retained the drinks and medicines, to the last
moment, without the occurrence of vomiting Black vomit-
ing was comparatively less frequent than in previous years,
but there were very few fatal cases in which there did not
exist a morbid and distressing irritability at the stomach af-
ter the third or fourth day, sometimes not until the sixth or
seventh. The species called the coffee-ground black vomit
was most frequent. In a number of cases I observed it was
not thrown up more than two or three times, being in several
suspended many hours before death. They all died but
lj 164 Account of the Yellow Fever. ' . y
three. I did not see a single case of the flaky or tin-
der-like species of black vomit, though I am informed, on
such authority as leaves no room to doubt, that this remark-
able species of black vo mt was observed in several instan-
ces, as appears from the following note, which I have re-
ceived from Dr. Francis. " I do not find that the black
vomiting, comparitively speaking, was so often met with,
in this, as during the preceding years, when the yellow
fever has prevailed among us. It was, however, equally
fatal when it did occur, as in former seasons. Of sixty two
cases of yellow fever, which I witnessed from the com-
mencement to the termination of the late fever, I have ob-
served only sixteen cases in which the black vomit took
place. Of these, three were of thekind generally denomina-
ted the flaky or tinder-like vomit." Out of two hundred and
fifty-four deaths reported to the Board of Health, I cannot
discover that there were more than eighty or ninety cases of
black vomit, which, compared with the whole number of
deaths, makes the proportion a little more than a third,
though most usually it has been found in previous years that
J£ one half who died had this symptom..
In a very considerable number of cases, the alvine dis-
charges which had been dark and offensive at first, became,
as Lining also has remarked, perfectly natural in colour,
smell and quantity but a few hours before death; and what
was still more extraordinary, in several cases which occurred
in the practice of Dr. Walters, natural discharges actually
alternated with dejections which were in every respect pre-
cisely similar to the matter of black vomit.
Although there was in some instances a disagreeable
odour emitted from the mouth, owing to the blood which
had oozed out from the gums, collecting under the tongue
and between the lips and teeth, and after lying there some
Account of the. Yellow Fever. 165
time and mingling with the saliva undergoing de-
composition, there was nothing as in typhus, particularly
offensive in the breath, sweat, stools, urine, or other excre-
tions ; nor was there ever, at any time, as far as my experi-
ence goes, a foul cadaverous effluvium from the body, a
symptom spoken of by Deveze and others, and so peculiar-
ly characteristic of the latter stage of typhus with which
yellow fever, however, ought not to be confounded. On the
contrary, in a majority of cases, every thing about the pa-
tient seemed perfectly inodorous, and for hours after death,
showing that the fluids were comparatively exempt from
taint, and much less concerned in this disease than the. ner- j
vous system. In a patient with black vomit at the Quaran- tjra
tine, I was particularly careful in examining the breath f
three or four hours before she died. There were no foul
excretions in the mouth, and the air expired was as inodorous
and untainted as in the most perfect health. In another, "H
the breath from the nostrils and mouth two hours and
a half before death, were without the least odour. Nei-
ther did I observe in any case a gangrenous condition of the
blisters on the skin which Monsieur Deveze speaks of.
The restlessness and inquietude now increase to an
alarming degree; the face, cheeks and^lips become bloated
and livid, and the respiration hurried and painfully labo-
rious ; the muscles of the neck being actively engaged to
assist the breathing, and the os hyoides and larynx forcibly
drawn down in every inspiration. Sometimes he wheezes
or pants, like one labouring under asthma.* Even in thi^.
dying state I have seen the patient get up and methodically '^t
* Towne also mentions "heaving of the lung-s" as a symptom of
the last stage, p. 21.
166 Account of the Yellow Fever.
put on his clothes, cravat and hat, and though all the while
partially insane, retain the natural motions of his limbs
and his heari.ig, and other senses as well as his powers of
deglutition and voice, in all their perfection. Though the
perceptions and reasonings of the patient appear somewhat
confused and troubled, they are not obtunded, but like the
muscular s'rength retain, apparently, their energies up to the
very moment of dissolution. The loss of sleep and the ravages
of the disease produce, however, more or less exhaustion,
and the voice, towards the close of life is, most usually,
somewhat enfeebled, and the ability of the patient to walk
evidently impaired, for as he gropes about his bed or around
the room he staggers and is very willing to be supported
by the attendants.
In one remarkable instance of this kind, (Fowler, attended
by Dr. Brush and myselfj the patient seemed to labour
under a kind of intoxication. He dressed himself, put on his
over coat and hat, and though his laborious inspiration,
livid bloated face, and cold extremities showed that he was
actually dying, continued to grope about the room, and
was even, to the last hours of his life, with difficulty restrain-
ed from going into the street. He repeatedly went to the
door, to the astonishment of all the neighbours, saying,
that he wished to breathe the fresh air and to go home.
No one at first would have singled him out, as the patient
among the friends and physicians, who came to see
him, were it not for the blood which almost constantly
oozed from his nose and stained his lips and jacket, and
the remarkable deep yellow of his adnata contrasted with
the beautiful azure blue, of a most brilliant and transparent
cornea. Nor was there any bleeding from his gums or
mouth, but the blood from his nose had concreted in black
scales on the lips and at the external openings of the nares.
Account of the Yellow Fever.
167
What was still more extraordinary in this case, was, that
the stools continued perfectly natural until death, that
he did not reject his drinks, and that there was at no time
black vomit, although for the last two or three days of his
illness, there was a constant inclination to vomit, and
agonizing distress at the praecordia. He lived until the
termination of the tenth day, and the laborious respiration
and other symptoms of dissolution had continued for more
than thirty-six hours ! His face, trunk and limbs, were all
deeply imbued with the peculiar tint of yellow fever during
the last three or four days of his life. He had been ad-
dicted to intemperate habits, and often, also, to a bleeding
from the nose. When the exacerbations came on, and
the skin grew warm, the epistaxis was suspended. He
had been employed by the Board of Health to carry lime
into the infected district, but though surrounded constantly,
as he must necessarily have been, with a cloud of this sup-
posed antidote, fell a victim, nevertheless, to the poison
which he inhaled there. These " cold walking cases," as
they have been termed, were not unfrequent. A patient
attended by Dr. Walker, and who had black vomit to a
profuse degree, (James Mc Ginnis,) got up an hour before
his death, said nothing was the matter with him, and drag-
ged his bed-stead across the floor, to the window.*
It was difficult at this time, to make the by-standers
believe that the patient would not recover. The laborious
inspirations, the extreme restlessness, the livid bloated face,
the occasional rattling in the trachea, the irregularity and
* In several instances, the patient after having lain, during the
whole disease, in a state of alternate coma and pervigilium, was
seized with furious delirium, and rushed out of his bed just at the mo-
ment of death.
168 Account of the Yellow Fever.
threadiness of the pulse, the cold, damp moisture on the '
forehead and extremities, though they escaped the notice
of the inexperienced observer, were however, but too manyV
certain indications of the near approach of death.
In several cases, there seemed to be a partial paralysis
of the tongue, and an impaired condition of the organs of
speech, rendering the articulation indistinct and thick,
without, however diminishing the strength of thC'voice.
In one case it was accompanied with a quivering of
the lower lip, and general tremor of the body. The
intellectual functions were not impaired in the slightest de-
gree, though the patient was then throwing up the coffee-
ground black vomit, and died four hours afterwards.
Dr Perkins also observed the same affection of the tongue
in a number of cases.
More frequently, however, at this late hour of the disease,
the eye and countenance remaining calm and perfectly
natural in their expression, and the intellectual functions
unclouded, the patient lies tranquil and unconscious of
danger, and expires without a struggle. " In some, says Dr.
Rush, •' the last hours of life were marked with great pain and
strong convulsions; but in many more, death seemed to
insinuate itself into the system with all the gentleness of
natural sleep."
CHAPTER III.
PATHOGNOMONIC SYMPTOMS.
The first or forming stages of all fevers bear in their
symptoms so close a resemblance to each other, that the
most skilful and experienced practitioners confess themselves
at this early period incapable of determining their pathogno-
monic and diagnostic features. There may be sufficient
data to form a probable opinion as to the shape or character
which the disease will assume, but, in regard to yellow fever,
it is not until after it has existed for some time that its phe-
nomena are boldly and unequivocally developed. The se-
cond or third day, at farthest, usually puts it in our power
to come to a definite and positive conclusion.*
fjidtfo.
* " In mild cases of this disease," says Dr. Pym, " it is impossible to ' ' ' *Wl /*■**■■$
point out any symptoms distinguishing it from an attack of fever from y / t t~
any cause; and even in bad cases, until the fatal symptoms make their • , " ■'-*'-- ,
appearance, I may say, excepting its prevailing epidemically, that it
is as dimcult to decide positively upon its real nature, as it is in the
fever of small-pox, before the appearance of the eruption.''
This, therefore, is no objection to the specific, idiopathic and peculiar
nature of yellow fever; for the same objection obtains to the vast and
entire catalogue of all Pyrexious diseases, or those whose invasion or
22
170 Account of the Yellow Fever.
The anxious solicitude of the patient, and of his friends,
as well as the eager curiosity of the public to unravel this
mystery, often places the physician in a dilemma, from which
he cannot always extricate himself without considerable dif-
ficulty. A regard for his reputation ought to teach him to
exercise the utmost caution and discretion in giving an opi-
nion ; but the pressing importunities and interrogatories
with which he is besieged, assisted sometimes perhaps by a
vain ambition to acquire the credit of being gifted with more
than common acumen, too often induces him to hazard
assertions which it is afterwards found necessary to retract;
and which, to the confusion of the short-sighted policy he
had adopted, have a contrary tendency to that which they
were designed to produce. Numerous illustrations might
be given of the truth of this observation; but it is not our
business at present to enter into any personal allusions, in-
commencement is characterized by febrile action. Physicians, in this
respect, are placed on the same level, and have only to blame the
imperfection of their art. It is disingenuous, therefore, as well as
unphilosophical and unworthy of any writer, however he may be be-
wildered by the delirium of controversy, to attempt to make use of this
fact, to establish the identity and unity of these diseases. Bancroft,
however, who is never scrupulous about the means which he employs
to support his extravagant assumptions, urges it as an overwhelming
argument against the specific nature of yellow fever ! Vide his Sequel
to an Essay on Yellow Fever, p. 32-40.
The world do not make allowance for the perplexities with which
physicians have often to contend, in disentangling the peculiarities of
one diseasefrom those of another. Though they are at all times ready
to doubt the infallibility of our art, they are on the other hand, often
led astray by the other extreme, and on those occasions where they find
themselves in the dark, look up with a superstitious credulity to the
physician, to do what is beyond the capacity of human ability to
achieve.
Account of the Yellow Fever.
171
asmuch as we are ready to acknowledge that we are all
liable to err, and that we ourselves in a more particular
manner are desirous of maintaining as good an understand-
ing as possible with our medical brethren. Where there is
so much room lor debate, from the very nature of our pro-
fession, it is not only prudent, but praiseworthy, to abstain
from all superfluous disquisitions.
As far as our observation has gone in the yellow fever of
this season, it would appear that the following are the pathog-
nomonic or undeviating symptoms, constituting an aggre-
gate or assemblage, which, though few in number, and some
of them apparently trivial or unimportant when considered
individually, were, however, when the disease was well
formed, almost always found associated together, or at least
a sufficient number of them to characterize yellow fever
from all other diseases.
Tongue.—Covered with a moist thick and dirty yellow, or
sometimes thin slimy white fur, bordered almost always by
a broad clean red margin, and clean edges—the fur usually
growing thicker, darker, and drier, and sloughing and
clearing off like the cuticle in blisters, while the surface of
the tongue itself became moist, and of a fiery deep red colour,
and near the base frequendy dry, and rough to the feel to-
wards the termination of the disease.
Sighing.—Deep and frequent, accompanied ordinarily
with a sense of lassitude or tired feeling, and sometimes
faintness. Jackson judiciously observes, that this faintness
when present is more owing to a torpor of the nervous
power than to excess of mobility. " The patient, says he,
was often able to stand upright for some time, even to walk
to a considerable distance; and when at last overcome, was
observed to fall down in a torpid, rather than in a fainting
state."
172 Account of the Yellow Fever.
Eye.—Almost constantly an adnata injected with vessels
carrying florid arterial blood, radiating or diverging from the
outer parts of the ball of the eye, and especially from the
canthi towards the cornea. The eye, at the same time,
QUUYHtrt \ often suffused with tears, as in catarrh, but the cornea^al-
ways unusually brilliant and transparent, and never in-
flamed. The adnata afterwards becoming yellow, first on
the outer angles, the red vessels at the same time gradually,
and at length entirely disappearing, while the yellowness
becomes of a deeper and greener hue, and extends up to
the cornea. The yellowness, as the disease advanced, be-
ginning to appear about the eye-lids, eye brows, base of the
/ / nose and forehead, and around the lips, and at length if the
\M I v I disease protracted or prove* mortal, extending down
( / upon the neck and chest, and arms, not reaching the lower
extremities until the eighth, ninth, or tenth day; sometimes
not until just before or even after death.
Pain.—More or less acute, over the forehead and along
the superciliary ridge, shooting for the most part from
thence through the eyeballs to the occiput, and in almost
every instance, down the back and loins to the lower ex-
tremities, affecting in many cases, more especially the
calves.
Pulse.—After the disease is formed, and the stage of col-
lapse supervened, regular, very little more frequent than
natural, but always more or less soft and »ompressiHe.
Stomach.—A morbid irritability most commonly after
the third or fourth day, sometimes not until the seventh
or eighth day, always before the disease terminated :—
especially denoted on pressure at the praecordia, ac-
companied sometimes with nausea, a sense of oppressioni
f-. at the stomach, eructations, hiccup, cardiajgia, inclination
to vomit, or rejection of drinks. Very frequently about the
«J& V>-ft AJlXt>4v-V^. (r^ >C«M/k**-j iu >A*>s6 cj<^(- 'cLiA^OL^ Vun/w-4^ £*>v ; |
. _ f"„F"L I? Ackount of the Yellow Fever. ' 173 , *
. (^^WH»4^f V *±*s&&wkto,l &n»-r y'UkJt- -MJ^U ■
fifth or sixth day, in the more strongly marked cases, or
where the disease proved fatal, a vomiting of dark co-
loured matter, resembling coffee grounds, attended with a
burning and distressing sensation at the prsecordia, fre-
quently accompanied with, or preceded by, haemorrhage
from the nose, gums, and tongue./i^
It may appear strange to see the phenomena of the
tongue, which have by many been thought an uncertain
indication, placed here in the foremost ground. The unan-
imous testimony of the profession, however, and my own
particular observation, authorizes me in giving it this pre-
eminence in so far as it regards the fever of the present
year.
The same may be said of the symptom of sighing,
which though sometimes a symptom of typhus, and of
other diseases, was next to the appearance of the tongue,
perhaps, more constantly present than any other symp-
tom.
The eye was less constantly affected than could have
been anticipated, had we depended for our diagnosis on
the representations of most writers on the yellow fever,
for this is usually their leading symptom. The pain was
in the beginning of the disease a good criterion; for al-
though the distress over the orbits is common to many other
diseases, and especially to those fevers that are attended
with or caused by a deranged condition of the alimentary
functions, yet it was found, on tracing the direction of this
symptom, that it observed a peculiar route, and affected
almost constantly and exclusively a particular set of nerves.
Thus it rarely or never failed to become seated in the balls
of the eyes ; often towards the bottoms of the orbits, almost
invariably passing through the head to the occiput, and
down the back and loins: less frequently, however, ex-
lAyVf*-^ iMv**~ *Uw o ^y W ^^ *~y
,^*vk^A 5r-"V\Xv^ rf IC a--vlA^- i^^aj, XtsjZjfr . .4^ t/T ^
K^Xi /; ' H4 liST Account of the Yellow Fever. ^^^f^^
. i t - !tenc"ng to tne thighs and calres, but rarely or never af-
Guvt fr. %*-jm,. fecting the anterior part of the trunk, nor the chest nor ab-
Ck^*Jr~ At^U-v^v domen, except occasionally when there was present an
fi ii.^» - u jmiversal soreness of the surface./
The pulse was only1 remarkable in a negative point of
view, by retaining in so extraordinary a manner after the
first stage had passed off,, nearly all its natural phenomena,
at the* same time that other functions were characterized by
the most alarming symptoms. The quiet state of the cir-
culation, and the calm, tranquil and confident manner of
the patient, interrupted only by occasional sighs, often led
the friends and attendants to indulge in flattering hopes,
which were but too soon to be destroyed. The pulse be-
came unnatural only in convalescence, of which its slow
\ and measured pace, as well as the long protracted debility
of the body, were found to be the most characteristic
symptoms.
The same remark applies to the stomach, which, never-
theless, unerringly proclaimed its fidelity to the dominion
of the disease, at all events before its termination; fully
4l_ justifying.the eloquent words of Dr. Warren, that this is
" the chief seat or throne of the furious conqueror."
f- CJTll* y****) frlliAjtj
)
CHAPTER IV.
DIAGNOSIS.
After determining the pathognomonic symptoms of yel-
low fever, or those which give to it a specific and idiopathic
character and contradistinguish it from all other diseases,
our next object is to contrast it with those particular dis-
eases, to the symptoms of which some of those belonging to
yellow fever, bear a resemblance, and with which they
might possibly be confounded. This constitutes the
Diagnosis of yellow fever, and requires in the practitioner,
as a preliminary step, a thorough knowledge, not only of the
pathognomonic symptoms of yellow fever, but also of those
symptoms, which are never, or only sometimes, present in
that disease, as well as an intimate acquaintance with the
symptoms of those diseases, which most nearly resemble
it.
I am not acquainted with any author who has not, as far
as I am able to judge, scrupulously avoided entering into the
examination of the diagnosis, though undoubtedly the
most important subject which could possibly claim the at-
tention. I have been induced to undertake it, fully sensible
of my incompetency, to perform it in the manner in which
176
Account of the Yellow Fever.
it ought to be done. I shall feel the satisfaction, at least, of
having opened the way for others.
We shall confine the diagnosis to the following diseases:
Synocha, Typhus, Intermittent Fever, Remittent Fever,
PI cue, Gastritis, Enteritis, Hepatitis, Phrenitis, Catarrh,
Intoxication, and Asthma. ,
Fevers.—To this order, the febr'de action present in the
beginning or first stage of yellow fever, renders this disease
more or less analogous. But what particularly distin-
guishes the pj'rexia of yellow fever from them, is, that it is
constituted of but one paroxysm followed by a sudden re-
mission, which remission, though accompanied usually by a
moist natural skin, an abatement of heat and entire absence
of all previous pain, is not followed by an immediate solu-
tion of the disease, as in fevers of a synochal type, particu-
larly : nor by a periodical exacerbation of arterial excite-
ment after a determinate lapse of time, as in those of a
remittent or intermittent type, but by great prostration of
the system. The remission of yellow fever, therefore, is an
alarming state of collapse, though it comes under so insi-
dious a disguise. It behooves us, therefore, to have closely
watched the preceding symptoms, with the greatest care,
in order that we may be prepared to undeceive the by-stan-
ders and friends of the patient, of those flattering expecta-
tions, which they are too apt to form, of the favourable ter-
mination of the disease, at this stage of it.
Synocha.—In fevers of this type, there is usually more
general heat and dryness of skin diffused equally over every
part of the surface. The pulse, also, is strong; the tongue
covered universally and without a margin or clean edges,
with a bright white fur, not slime ; yellowish when
bilious symptoms are present. The eye, also, does not
present that unusual redness, or turgid watery appearance,
seen in yellow fever. The activity and tone of the absor-
f
Account of the Yellow Fever. 177
bents produce rather diminution of the lachrymal, as well
as other secretions. Hence, synochal fevers, are sometimes
called ardent and inflammatory fevers. There is rather a
dryness or aridness of every part of the system than
moisture in the first stage of the disease. There is, also,
most generally a universal soreness, or pain over the sur-
face. The pain does not observe, as in yellow fever, a de-
terminate and peculiar course, nor is it, as in yellow fever,
almost invariably located along the superciliary ridge and
through the eye-balls, except when the stomach is particu-
larly deranged from engorgement of bile, in which case the
pain of the head, though seated more particularly in the
forehead, is diffused over that part. The respiration is
hurried, but without sighing : the analogy between infla-
matory fevers and yellow fever, however, soon vanishes
when the second stage of the latter disease arrives.
Typhus. The beginning, or first two or three days of
typhus, may much more easily mislead the unguarded prac-
titioner than synocha. For as in yellow fever, there is
never present that vigorous and unremitted impetus in the
movement of the arteries which characterizes, in so peculiar
a manner, fevers of inflammatory action ; it will be found,
however, that the pulse in typhus is far more frequent, and,
what is more striking, quicker, smaller, and more irritable
than in yellow fever; whereA on the contrary, it is most usu- /
ally full, bounding and soft. The tongue is not particularly
marked in the commenreinpnt of typhus. The pain, also, is
chiefly located in the occiput, but follows, as in yellow
fever, the track of the vertebral column. The heat, also, ¥>
is universally distributed over the surface in thh disease, and
i* characterized by producing a remarkable sensation of a
biting or stinging nature, called color rnurdar. totally
different from the skin in yellow fever, which even in th?
5, f X^fctkJUJlZ^c^ fL. to^< f"*^ HaL^aw U^teUw- t^Xo^tei
Im/M-ji
t*~ iM/M"-**^-
178 Account of the Yellow Fever.
first stage is often pliable, soft, and suffused with a degree of
moisture.^
There is a hebetude or sluggishness, also, of the intellec-
tual functions and a loss of energy in the organs of sense ;
symptoms rarely or never present in the beginning of yellow
fever. Afterwards the tendency to continued coma as
contradistinguished from the distressing pervigilium of yellow
fever, places the disease in a relief too bold and imposing
to be mistaken. We often hear physicians speak of yellow
fever terminating in typhus or typhoid symptoms. I never
saw this phenomenon, but must be permitted to declare, that
as far as my experience goes, this disease is throughout jts
course totally unlike typhus, and especially so in its con-
cluding stages. I have already adverted to this in the
chapter on Analysis of Symptoms ; but I cannot refrain
from observing, that the tongue, and in a more especial man-
ner, the eye, the cold, clammy moisture of the skin, the
regular, full and soft pulse, the precordial anxiety, and
abscence of pain in all other parts of the system, together
with the untainted and inodorous condition of the excretions
and the remarkable self possession of the patient, remove
the pathognomonic and diagnostic character of yellow fever
too far from that of typhus, for any person, possessed of
ordinary apprehension, to confound the two together.
Instead of the parched black scales, collecting on the tongue,
from the foulness of the excretions, the surface of this part,
at this stage of yellow fever, is most usually of a deep fiery
red colour, often soft to the feel, or only a little rough to-
wards its base, and most generally besmeared with fluid
arterial blood. The blood also, which oozes from the gums
in y> How fever, and dries on the teeth, of a black colour,
though it resembles the sordes often observed upon the
teeth in typhus, is a haemorrhage, which has undergone this
Account of the Yellow Fever. 179
alteration ; whereas in typhus, it is an excretion. More-
over the lips in yellow fever, though often dry and some-
what cracked and scaly, are not covered with that thick
black excretion observed in typhus. On the contrary, they
are often pale, livid and clean to the hour of death, which
never holds true of typhus, where the universal taint and
putrescency of the fluids shows itself in every excretion,
insomuch so, that the body itself emits a tainted, cadaverous
and extremel)' offensive odour.
The subsultus tendinum, sighing, tremulous motion of the
tongue and palsied state of some of the secretory organs,
form points of resemblance too imperfect to merit atten-
tion.
Intermittents.—I shall not dwell on the resemblance of
yellow fever to this well-defined order of fevers. The
common symptoms of intermittent fevers are as familiar v
to the uneducated million as to the most skilful practitioner.
It may be observed of one striking symptom of these fevers,
the chill, that it is not commonly present in yellow fever.
It would be preposterous to discuss, at this age, whether
yellow fever be a type of the intermittent. Tt may serve
the purposes of those who are hard pressed for arguments
to show the domestic origin of yellow fever; but it will never
do to be brought into a serious debate on the specific cha-
racter of this disease.
Remittents.—The same remarks apply to these, but in a
more limited sense. The remission observed in these fevers
is like that of yellow fever, a part of the train of phenome-
na which characterizes the disease, but does not bear so de-
ceitful a resemblance to that perfect state of apyrexia,
which constitutes the solution or termination of synochal .
fevers, as the state of collapse in yellow fever. O^^ '
When this stage arrives in yellow fever, the hasty ob-
ISO
Account of the Yellow Fever.
server is apt to imagine from the regular and nearly natural
pulse and the cool temperature, softness and moisture on
the skin, that a perfect apyrexia or absence of fever and
an entire solution of the disease have taken place until the
unnatural slimy fur and margin on the tongue, the frequent
sighing for breath, and above all, the burning itritation at
the praecordia particularly on pressure, show the physician
that all is not going on right, but that he has more danger,
perhaps, to apprehend from this contradictory assemblage of
symptoms than if they existed separately. He will be
still more deceived if, under the erroneous impression that
yellow fever and remittents are descended from the same
parentage, he waits to see a return of the exacerbations and
"iK^jrrt cXlur&M/) remissions. There are sttmclioacs bilious symptoms associated
f'^vfr^' }.-&jJkiA w*^ remittents. It is these which have given rise per-
haps, to more errors on the pathology and diagnosis, and,
I lament to say, treatment of yellow fever, than any other
circumstance.
I will not undertake to say that the yellowness in yellow
fever has no connection whatever with the bile, though I am
very much inclined to be of this opinion, not only from its
being always of a hue or tint fltWtfy different from that pro-
duced by the bile ; but because, as we shall afterwards see
the biliary organs! in this climate, at least never or very
rarely participate in any degree with the symptoms of yel-
low fever. The subsidence of the red blood from the eye in
yellow fever is followed by the dusky tinge which spreads
over the adnata in the place of it, and afterwards the yel-
lowness comes out methodically and in regular succession,
first around the eyes, nose and mouth, then down the neck
and over the breast and shoulders and arms, finally spread-
ing over the lower part of the trunk and the legs, the patient
sometimes dying before it reaches the knees. Is this the
V^^A^it^^Ul
f
Account of the Yellow Fever. 181
erder followed by a suffusion of bile over the surface ? Doc*
not the bile, as in jaundice for example, spread at once over
the whole or the greater part of the body ? Is it not always
also a harmless symptom ? But in yellow fever, who does
not know the formidable dangers of which it is too often the
harbinger.
In remittent fevers, bilious symptoms uw BJiwp"p*ri" B^"
i mMjiprr They may occur in typhus, and in synocha, p^M>
and especially in hot seasons or climates ; also in all the
phlegmasia? ; in short, in any disease.
But there is another set of bilious symptoms which con-
cern particularly the stomach. It is contended that the
£"*"■ vomiting, 1i*i iiiiui and irritation of the stomach in yellow
fever, are all to be ascribed to an engorgement or redundancy
of bile in that organ, and that the disordered state of the
stomach so frequently present in remittent fevers, is pre-
cisely the same as these symptoms. A very serious and im-
portant objection to this opinion is, that the gastric and pre-
cordial irritation in yellow fever are attended with a deficien-
cy in the quantity of bile as well as of other secretions in the
stomach ; while in remittent fevers they are entirely attribu-
table to a redundancy of this secretion. Moseley points out
this in the most clear and explicit manner: " The nausea
and bitter taste in the mouth in yellow fever indicate the
quality, not the quantity of the offending secretions. The
vomiting is from irritation in the stomach, not from pleni-
tude." I refer also to Sir Gilbert Blane on the Diseases of
Seamen, and other authors, for illustrations of this truth.
What proves that the bile cannot have any share in this
disease is, that the biliary organs exhibit very rarely any
functional or organic derangement during life, or morbid
appearances after death. In all cases of the yellow fever
that came under my observation, I never saw one complain
182
Account of the Yellow Fever.
of distress in the right hypochondrium or region of the liver
and gall bladder.
There is another discrepancy which occurs to us in com-
paring the gastric irritation of yellow fever with the vomiting
present in bilious fevers of a remittent type. It conclusively
puts this dispute at rest; for it appears that the gastric irrita-
tion in remittents is never or very rarely of an inflammatory
character, and that it comes on in the invasion or first stage
of the disease from inordinate secretion of bile, and may be
effectually removed by cleansing out the stomach with
emetics, whereas, in yellow fever it is of an inflammatory
character, and in a great majority of cases, does not exi si
at all as far as our senses are capable of judging, until the
third day or afterwards, but unlike that of remittent fevers,
becomes more and more aggravated from day to day, es-
pecially if emetics are given, until the burning distress at the
praecordia and black vomit close the scene.
Though a slight vomiting sometimes attends the invasion,
it may be set down as an almost invariable rule that the irrita-
tion of the stomach rarely, and the yellow tinge of the eyes
and skin never, come on until about the third day ; whereas
in remittent fevers the yellowness most usually comes on at
or soon after, and in some instances, before the accession of
the fever. Dr. Hosack, in his Nosology, has happily made
use of these peculiarities to contrast the two diseases. The
diagnosis we have given has been verified and confirmed
in every case of yellow fever that has fallen under my no-
tice. It is also corroborated in every particular by the de-
scription of those authors who have treated of the Jungle
fever of the East Indies, the Bilious fever of Africa and the
Mediterranean, and lastly by our own authors (already quoted
in chap. 1st,) who have treated of the Remittent and Intermit-
tent fevers of the lakes and marshes in the interior and
southern parts of the United States.
Account of the Yellow Fever. 133
The cases of yellow fever also that were transported from
this city to the Marine Hospital at Staten Island, prove the
idiopathic and specific character of the disease, and its total
dissimilitude from bilious fevers in the most conclusive man-
ner. It must be recollected that those persons who are sent
to this public hospital, are of the most indigent and gene-
rally of the most depraved description of the community.
Consequently, from the habits/>f intemperance and irregular
life so common among that class in this country, we ought
to look naturally for hepatic obstructions and bilious symp-
toms in any disease that might befal them. Let us see if
those expectations were realized : for, certainly, if yellow
fever be a bilious remittent fever, the type of the disease,
assisted by this powerful predisposition in their systems to
disorder of the biliary organs, ought to have developed bi-
lious symptoms. But out of seventy cases taken to the ^
hospital, four only had hepatic obstructions, which, how- At^^'^t^y
ever, did not commence until after they had recovered from yb M&cvwfc
the yellow fever. Of this number two or three died. fflAat^l
Dr. Warren, of Barbadoes, who had the good fortune to
live at a time when the wholesome admonitions of common
sense were more implicitly obeyed than the illusions of the
imagination, and when it was not thought derogatory to
the interests of science to apportion a certain part of their
duties to a close observation of facts, has dwelt with so
much force, clearness and truth on the fallacy of those spec-
ulations which have deduced the identity of yellow fever and
bilious fever from the symptom of yellowness which charac-
terise the former disease, that I am sure I shall be pardon-
ed by the reader for having transplanted his invaluable re
marks into the pages of this work. In describing the symp-
toms of yellow fever, he comes to the second stage. " Thk
is the second stage of the distemper, which I cho^ to call o/
u
184 Account of the Yellow Fever.
by the plain name of the yellow state ; for the word bilious
or icterilious, I take to be very improper and inadequate
terms. This yellowness, I am persuaded, chiefly arises from
a more complete colliquation or dissolution of the red glob-
ules of the blood into a yellowish serum, which will naturally
soon give that tincture to the whol6 skin. The same is often
observable on human bodies soon after the bites of some
poisonous serpents or other venomous animals; and in such
cascTit cannot with any reason be supposed to proceed from
f ^ a suffusion of bile, but rather from a colliquation, and per-
haps gangrenous^diathesis of the sanguineous mass, occa-
sioned by the force of the deleterious venom that had been
infused into it. What is observable every day in all com-
mon bruises of the flesh, may serve somewhat farther to il-
lustrate this matter ; for here when the texture of the extra-
vasated blood begins to loosen and dissolve into a liquid serous
consistence, in order to acquire a proper fluor and permea-
bility for passing on and being received again into the mass
of circulating juices, a very visible yellowness does always
appear in and about the part; but this soon goes off again,
when the matter is fully absorbed back into the vessels,
where it commits no hurt, but is readily overcome by the
force of nature, as the quantity of such dissolved blood Is
small, and at the same time very innoxious. I do not, how-
ever, deny, but that through a great propensity and straining
to vomit, some quantity of bile may be thrown into the
blood; but then I must observe that the yellowness of this
distemper I am speaking of, very frequently shows itself
when there has been no vomiting or retching at all, or
scarce any sensible sickness of the stomach, for the truth cl
k which I can appeal to many."*
'* Warren on the Malignant Fever inBardadoes, p. 11. el seq.
Account of the Yellow Fever.
185
Plague.—As I have not had an opportunity of seeing
this disease, I shall not enter into a detailed comparison of
its symptoms with those of yellow fever. The frequent oc-
currence, however, of carbuncles and buboes in plague, and
their very rare occurrence in yellow fever, besides several
other symptoms and peculiarities of plague, are sufficient to
show that the two diseases are radically different. Out of
forty-eight thousand cases in Cadiz in 1800, Arejula saw only
three carbuncles, two of which proved mortal.*
In the yellow fever of the present year, out of four hun-
dred and twenty-five cases of yellow fever, there were two of
carbuncles, one of which proved mortal. Buboes are rare-
ly or never seen in yellow fever.
Gastritis.—This is a local disease, and begins with all the
strongly characterized symptoms of inflammation of the
stomach, accompanied constantly with those common to
other phlegmasia?. The principal of these are the pale
visage, hard, small, frequent pulse, tenderness to the touch
at the prsecordia, and rejection of drinks, Sic. There is no
particular affection of the head or eyes, or back or limbs, as
in yellow fever, where the gastric irritation does not an-
nounce itself distinctly till the third day, before which time
gastritis has generally terminated in gangrene or sphacelus.
Enteritis.—It is hardly necessary to describe the pecu-
liar symptoms of this disease, as they are so well known to
every practitioner. What has been said of gastritis applies
for the most part also to this disease. Its course is equally
rapid. It is scarcely possible to confonnd this local affec-
tion with yellow fever.
* See Sir James Fellowes' Reports on the Pestilential Disorder •)
Andalusia, p.50,56.
24
186
Account of the Yellow Fever.
Hepatitis—Under the head of Remittents, I have said that
there are rarely or never present in yellow fever any symp-
toms of disorder in the biliary organs. Hepatitis is to be
considered as included in that remark. As yellow fever
therefore and hepatitis are as distinctly characterized from
each other as it is possible for a gtneral and local disease to
be distinguished, and as they never come into collision with
each other, il is scarcely necessary to compare their symp-
toms.
Phrenitis.—This is a local affection, confined altogether
to the head, and very rapid in its course. The affection of
the head proceeds from an inflammation of the membranes
and substance of the brain, and is therefore much more vio-
lent and of an entirely different nature from that of yellow
fever.
Catarrh.—There is no disease, perhaps, which might be
so readily mistaken at first sight for yellow fever as this.
The pain along the superciliary ridge, the redness, suffusion
and pain in the eyes, flushed countenance, with a pulse of-
ten full, frequent, bounding, but somewhat compressible, and
a skin frequently soft and moist, with pain in the back and
limbs, resemble so nearly the first symptoms of yellow fever,
that an imperfect examination of the disease might lead to
the most serious results- A close inspection, however, of
the symptoms, will soon unravel the difficulty. It will
be found 'hat the pain over the eyes is owing to an inflamed
condition of the mucous membrane, lining the frontal sinuses,
and that this inflammation follows the membraneThrough
the nares and throat, passing from thence into the trachea
and lungs and through the esophagus into the stomach. It
is found on questioning the patient, that the voice is evidently
alteied, that a glairy fluid distils from the nose, and that the
patient, in most instances, every now and then coughs. All
Accouiit of the Yellow Fever. 187
these are quite different from yellow fever. Arejula consi-
ders *' dry nostrils" as one of the symptoms of the disease.^ /
Intoxication.—The stupor, insensibility and comatose
condition in which persons labouring under intoxication
are usually found, together with the spirituous odour gene-
rally perceived in the breath, are sufficient to prevent the
physician from being misled by the redness of the eye and
flushed countenance. Besides which, as the stupor goes
off the patient evidently improves in proportion, and the
vomiting is followed by relief. The nature of the dis-
charges from the stomach will also throw light on the
cause of his complaint.
Asthma.—I have been induced to put asthma in the list,
because I have observed, by the careless and very errone-
ous manner in which autnors have spoken of the respira-
tion, many would suppose that this function was as seriously
impaired in yellow fever, as in asthma or pleurisy: and
one writer, Dr. Pascalis, I afrigfflb by a description of this hJ&U,Cj£~
disease, which he has published in one of the public prints,
has led us to infer that the anhelation throughout the disease
is so great that it very nearly resembles the condition of a
patient lalouring under asthma. Nothing is so well calcula-
ted to mislead those who have never seen the disease as
remarks of this kind. It is true, I have myself spoken of
this anhelation, and compared it to what is observed in asth-
ma ; but it must be rememhered that it is by no means,
properly speaking, one of the characteristic symptoms
of the disease—but the last laborious efforts of respiration,
which indicate the near approach of death, and which never
appear until 24 or 36 hours before that event happens.—
Moreover it is not uncommon in other diseases, though it is
unusually frequent in this disorder, owing no doubt prima-
/fcxr
188
Account of ihe Yellow Fever*
rily to the same cause as the sighing, and which I have
attempted to explain in the chapter, on the Pathology of
the disease. r>
There is nothing of this anhelation seen in all the first
and second stages, and throughout the greater part of the
last stage of yellow fever.
CHAPTER V.
AUT0PS1C APPEARANCES.
Owing to the dread with which the living world look
upon the body of a person who has perished of yellow fever,
and the common, but erroneous notion, that it is a putrid
offensive mass, ready to drop to pieces by its own corrup-
tion, the sick have been in almost every instance, not only
abandoned during life by their relatives and friends, but
after death wantonly hurried to their graves, almost before
the last spark of life was extinguished ; sent off as it were
" before their time," in violation of the solemn rites of bu*
rial or ties of kindred. Though all nearly that have died
have been in private families, this has not protected their
remains.
Hence the difficulties which were opposed to the strong
desire evinced by different members of the profession to
make autopsic examinations.
The following interesting account therefore of the ap-
pearances in this disease after death, and fir which I am
indebted to the particular kindness of Drs. C. C. and E. S.
Blatchlev, will b« highly acceptable.
" Ansel Keith, who d e.: of yellow fever August 21st,
1822, on the fifth day of the disease, was examined by us
( La^JUOH Ju^lurv^ t*/t kft,vL U:A!TTKe4W ^ flki^ST^A^
t^flu^h t/v- VfospJUA* ,\JC ^ CwOurw» U \jriJt ,^cJ' v^ to)- *^'4
v- wit/ k^w^'Tc jacr^,^vtc ^eM^-t^l^uM) j^jtA-e^PO JurJlj
a*. *^l9ti' ^, Account of the Yellow Fever. tl -. , , ■'
^U^- 4^ ^^ ^- 1-0 y,t,, ■■- n c^-^U^ d^tltfL'
about two hours after his decease. Extravasations of a livid
colour were no'iced in the lips, ears, blistered surfaces,
scrotum, he. The cellular membrane, the stomach, the
liver and its substance, the mesentery, dura mater, apex of
the heart, pleura, peritoneum, and internal membranes ge-
nerally, were tinged with yellow. The blood in the heart
was fluid; the lungs were very brown or black; the liver
was unusually tender, and seemed small; the omentum and
dura mater appeared a little congested; the glands of the
mesentery were somewhat enlarged; the spleen was natu-
ral; the bladder was nearly empty, the patient having
made no water for thirty-six hours before his death. The
gall bladder was neither empty nor full. The patient had
Jfc had no black vomiting, but the stomach was found to con-
tain about a pint of the matter of black vomit. The villous
coat of the stomach was lined with a coat of black matter or
bloody extravasation, and its texture was so very tender
that it was easily removed.* The brain and spinal medulla
looked quite natural; they were without marks of inflam-
mation, but seemed slightly congested externally.
" Another patient examined was so similar to the above
that it is needless to repeat particulars."
I have been politely furnished also with an account of the
autopsic examinations made by Dr. Harrison of the Marine
Hospital at Staten-Island, of the cases which occurred
there during the last summer, and which will throw addi-
tional light on this subject, and supply, in some measure,
the want of experience in the cases of the present year.
* M. Bally observes, that the gangrenous state of the stomach has
been too much exaggerated, and says, that where it does exist it is
almost always confined to the mucous membrane, and rarely extended
over a great surface.
Account of the Yellow Fever.
191
" There was no appearance of active inflammation on
opening the abdomen, but only a slight blush over the sur-
face of the internal membranes generally. The internal
coat of the stomach was extremely tender and easily abraded,
particularly in those places where there were observed
small livid spots. The gall bladder generally contained
the usual quantity of bile, sometimes a little inspissated, but
resembling in no way whatever the matter of black vomit.
In one case nearly two quarts of the matter of black vomit
was foun ! in the stomach, and in distinct masses in the in-
testinal tube, especially in the colon. But there had been
in this case no black vomiting." /^
In a communication on the late fever, with which Dr.
Francis has favoured me I have been gratified to find a no-
tice of two cases of dissections, which fell under the obser-
vation of Dr. A. D. Wilson of this city, which also I here
insert.
tb I have not myself, says Dr. F. made any post mortem
examinations of persons dead of yellow fever, and can hence
only communicate to you what I have heard from those
who have. Yet, what little is known, in this way, goes to
confirm the pathological fact, that the stomach is primarily
the seat of irritation, and that the ravages of the disorder
are most conspicuous in this organ. The cases, neverthe-
less, whu h Dr. A. D. Wilson has sent me, give also evidence,
that the pestilence occasionally induces morbid changes in
the hepatic viscus. I enclose you Dr. Wilson's note.
November 10, 1822.
Sir,
1 enclose you a brief account of the appearances I noticed
in the dissection of two persons who died of the late yellow
fever. The caes exhibited the disease ihr ughou in a very
formidab e manner. They were both male subjects, and
about thirty years of age.
M/VL^Um, tv A*/ H-Av^l ^ V) 'MTV 0/w WJAj**- - l^Vw^ijLjJt^ \~. J
192 Account of the Yellow Fever
CASE I.
Mr. A----had been ill of the characteristic symptoms
of yellow fever, which terminated with black vomit of a
tinder-like appearance. He died on the fourth day. The
external surface of the body was of a deep yellow hue.—
The whole internal surface of the stomach was in a state
of gangrene and sphacelus. The omentum exhibited a
state of violent inflammation, which in some places had
terminated in almost its entire destruction. The liver
was of the ordinary size, and presented slight appear-
ances of incipient decomposition. Something like a cre-
pitus was observable upon making an incision into it, and
a fluid of a frothy appearance and of a brownish red
colour escaped. The resistance made to the pressure of the
fingers was very trifling. The small intestines were also in
many parts highly vascular.
CASE II.
Mr. B-----died on the fifth day of his illness : his symp-
toms were violent from the commencement of the second
day. He had not black vomit; but suffered much from
prsecordial anxiety, and great tenderness of the abdomen.
The appearances in this case were much the same as in
the preceding one. Though the disease was of longer
standing, the abrasion of the inner coat of the stomach was
not so great; no morbid change of the brain itself was per-
ceived. The membranes of the brain and the peritoneal in-
vestures were tinged with a deep yellow colour.
" I remain, your's,
A. D. WILSON."
To Prof. Francis.
Chapter vi.
PATHOLOGY.
Though no disease is better characterized than yellow
fever, when fairly and fully developed, and none more diffi-
cult to distinguish than its milder and more evanescent
forms, it will not be disputed, that those causes which influ-
ence all other diseases subject this also, to slight modifica-
tions. Such are the climate or situation in which it occurs,
the vicissitudes of the weather and the character and condi-
tion of those who are the subjects of it. However varied,
or combined, may be these different influences, the type
of the disease always so far retains its original character,
that no one who is in reality conversant with its symptoms,
can ever be led to confound them with those of other fevers.
The yellow fever of the present year, according to the
testimony of practitioners who have had an opportunity of
comparing it with the epidemic of former years, has not as-
sumed any appearances materially different from those which
have always been observed to accompany this disease.
The last cases were as well defined as the first. The organs
of voluntary motion, the glandular and lymphatic systems,
and the thoracic, as well as all the abdominal viscera, except
25
Lh^±« ^-^ - ^ 4^ Hr^ "z*r '>* ^
r*** 1Q4. Account of the Yellow Fever.
L
^ $coUi*
194
^- the stomach and lungs, have as usual been generally exempt
from affection.
vW vuw->^ Except in bilious temperaments and in foreigners of
(fl iriJU, ^„ full habits unaccustomed to the warmth of the climate, the
^SS^uultj' hepatic viscera have been but little affected. If the season
had not been unusually temperate, or had the summer heats
been as excessive as we have sometimes experienced them,
there can be no doubt but the disease would have been
much more inflammatory, and consequently more frequently
ushered in with bilious evacuations. In the few instances
in which they did occur, they seemed to depend entirely on
the excitement attendant upon the invasion or first stage
of the disease, or the peculiarity of the habit or tempera-
ment ; unlike bilious fever to which the disease has been
compared, disappearing entirely after the first or second
i- day.^
The circulating system, was for the most part, in the first
stage of the disease considerably agitated, and the pulse, in
several instances, hard and inflammatory. This excitement
in the beginning of the disease, is the reaction opposed to
the deleterious influence and first effects of the poison upon
the nervous system ; for the heart and arteries soon after
seemed to have lost their momentum, and the disease pass-
ed abruptly into the stage of collapse. That there was,
generally, less disposition to black vomit and other haemor-
rhages than was manifested in previous years, was owing
perhaps, to the mildness of the season, as there can be no
doubt that the heat of the weather by rarefying the blood
and augmenting its impetus, increases the natural tendency
to hsemorrhage which characterizes this disease. A.
Hence, also, the reason why the eye, though for the most
part affected with acute pain, was less than ordinarily inject-
ed with red blood; a symptom, which has been, thought st
characterestic of the complaint.
t
\
t
»h>ih a precision and regularity which, to
those who have heretofore thought the fluids or their vessels,
the nidus of the disorder, has appeared almost miraculous.
What furthermore corroborates the view we have taken
of the state of the fluids, is the fact, that the blistered surfa-
ces, though engorged and red with blood in the lasi stage of
the disease, rarely sphacelate or become gangrenous. Dr.
Rush also noticed this, and adduces several other powerful
objections against the supposed putrescency of the fluids in
yellow fever " The smell emitted from persons affected
by this disease, was far from being of a putrid nature; and
if this had be^n the case, it would not have proved the exis-
tence of putrefaction in the blood ; for a putrid smell is often
discharged from the lungs, and from the pores in sweat,
which is wholly unconnected with a putrid, or perhaps any
other morbid sate of the blood. There are plants whi ;h
discharge an odour which conveys to the nose a sensation
like that of putrefaction ; and yet these plants exist at the
same time, in a state of the most healthy vegetation ; nor
does the early putrid smell of a body which perishes with
this fever prove a putrid change to have taken place in the
Account of the Yellow Fever.
201
blood before death. All animals which die suddenly, and
without loss of blood, a. e disposed to a speedy putrefaction.
This has long been remarked in animals that have been
killed after a chase or by lightning. The poisonous air
samiel, which is described by Chardin, produces when it de-
stroys life, instant putrefaction. The bodies of men who have
died by violent passions, or after strong convulsions, or even
after great muscular exertion, putrify in a few hours after
death." [Medical Inquiries and Observations, vol. iii. p.
70.] He furthermore adds, that in yellow fever " putrefac-
tion did not take place sooner after death than is common
in any other febrile disease under equal circumstances of
heat and air." lb. p. 71.
That a morbid irritability of the stomach was always
present, and that it invariably increased as the disease ad-
vanced, without, however, at any time excessive retching or
vomiting, was obvious to all. But does not the highly or-
ganized condition of the stomach and the vast supply of
nervous energy which it receives, together with the frequent
absence of haemorrhage, prove that this irritability was more
a nervous than an inflammatory aflVction. Does it not
prove, and do not also the regularity of the abdominal func-
tions generally, show that yellow fever has no more to do
with gastritis than with remittent fever or with hepatitis or
enteritis ? If the irritability of the stomach was a pure in-
flammatory affection, and a symptom of gastritis, surely
this ought to be greatest on the first day of the disease, for it
is then only that the arterial excitement exists, and not come
on afterwards when the vascular system has lost its force,
and the relaxed capillaries are pouring out drops of blood
and sweat.
Besides, it is the character of gastritis, enteritis, and all
•ther inflammations of highly organized membranes, to be
26
202
Account of the Yellow Fever.
accompanied with excruciating pain, and a tense pulse, and
to terminate speedily, within a tew hours from the attack,
in gangrene or sphacelus. To me it would seem impossi-
ble, that any practitioner, who has had opportunities of
observing the yellow fever of the present year, could ven-
ture to confound its symptoms with those of a remittent or
intermittent. It has borne not the slightest resemblance to
either of those autumnal fevers, neither in its beginning, its
progress, nor termination. It has been of the pure conti-
nued type of one paroxysm, terminating in a state of col-
lapse ; but never attended with, nor passing into remissions,
and exacerbations, either regular or irregular. Instead of
beginning or going off in a remittent or intermittent, its in-
vasion and convalescence have both been as str mgly cha-
racterized, and as totally different from ihose of remittents
and intermittents, as the symptoms of the disease itself.
We will here make one single remark, to show how little
dependence is to be put upon the deductions of Dr. Ban-
croft, the great authority on domestic origin, and non-conta-
gion, to prove that yellow fever, is no other than a higher
grade of intermittent, remittent, and bilious fever, and that
they run into and out of each other, with a supleness which
is almost inconceivable, and depending entirely upon cir-
cumstances. He quotes Mr. Lea, surgeon of the 26th regi-
ment at Gibraltar, as having had ample experience in the
yellow fever, which occurred there in 1814, and as being
therefore entitled to the highest confidence. Now it app' ars
that Mr. Lea had under his care three hundred and four-
teen cases, enough to be sure to afford any man of com-
mon apprehen ion a clear and accurate conception of the
nature of the disease. But what is incredible. Mr. Lea lost
ou' ofthi large number only twevty cases! We are in-
deed thereioie compelled to believe with Mr. Lea, that the
Account of the Yellow Fever. 203
disease which he saw could not have been other than what
he terms it, a " bilious remittent." So also Mr. Weld, sur-
geon to the 67th regiment, and likewise quoted by Bancroft.
He had one hundred and twenty-seven cases, and lost but
TWENTY-SEVEN.*
If the nervous tissue be that on which the poison chiefly
expends its force, the brain, as J ck-on also has thought,
must have a great share in the disease, though in this cli-
mate it does not perhaps bear so much the burden of its vi-
olence as the other portions of the nervous system.
The frequent occurrence in this disease of a particular
species of mental derangement to which we have alluded,
as also the pain in the back, loins and legs, the sighing and
lassitude, and hiccup, and the slow depressed pulse more es-
pecially seen in convalescence, together with the peculiar lo-
cation of the pain about the back, loins, forehead, eyebrows
and eyes, the occasional constipation of the bowels, and
frequent suppression of urine, as also the occasional dilata-
tion of the pupil, and the constant affection, and sometimes
partial paralysis of the tongue, and above all, the gasiric
irritation, go very far in support of the opinion, by no
means novel or original, that yellow fever is, in fact, a dis-
ease of the nerves. 1 Does not this opinion also account for
* Sequel to Bancroft's Essay on Yellow Fever. London. 1817.
p. 16, 17.
f The pain on the superciliary ridge, and the pain and redness of the
eyeballs, the suffusion of tears, and occasional dilatation of the pu-
pil, and frequent tendency to epiptaxis, which distinguish this disease,
may be explained perhaps by the connexion between the extreme
(j^ branches of the supra-orbit^r and nasal nerves, with the ophthalmic gan-
glion, these nerves and thelganglion being the divi^pn*of the ophthalmi* ^i/fWi
or first branch of the fifth pair. Perhaps the connexion of these with
204
Account of the Yellow Fever.
the exemption of the organs of voluntary motion and the
vascular tissue of the lungs, liver, spleen, and kidneys, from
any particular irritation or inflammatory action, these or-
gans being comparatively destitute of nerves when contrast-
ed with the coats of the stomach ?
Does not also the black or dark colour of the substance
of the lungs, frequently found after death, show that their
nerves have been partially paralyzed, and that the decarbo-
nization of the blood was imperfectly performed ? The same
as is seen al o in autopsic examinations of those who die
from the bite of certain venomous animals, and to the poi-
son of which that of yellow fever may be analogous f
And lastly, does not this explain also the remarkable
symptom of sighing in this disease, and which in all pro-
bability is an involuntary effort in the respiratory organs, to
the olfactory nerve ought to lead to the belief that the poison of the
disease attacks the system through the organ of smell. Has not also
the paralysis of the tongue, and the peculiar inflammation of its papillae,
some connexion with the affection of the organ of sight, by means of the
inferior maxillary nerve, which, like the ophthalmic nerve is also a
branch of the fifth pair, and gives off the linguar or gustatory nerve to
the muscles and point of the tongue. The extraordinary affection of
the cheeks, lips, and jaws, in the case of Cadwell, detailed in Ch. I. may
be also explained perhaps by the intimate connexion between the small
• branches of the inferior maxillary, and of the gustatory nerve, which sup-
ply the sublingual gland, buccinator muscle, lips, and other parts of the
cheek. Does not also the connexion between the reflected branch of
the superior maxillary or second division of this same fifth pair, and the
filaments of the sixth pair or abducentes, with the great sympathetic,
and through that, by means of its ganglia and the cervical branches, with
the par vagum and phrenic nerves, serve to explain why the affection of
the bead is linked with those more striking phenomena of the disease,
which act in so peculiar a manner upon the circulation, the respiration,
and the functions ef the stomach.
Aceount of the Yelloiv Fever.
205
remedy the disordered condition of their functions, and, like
the slow measured pulse of convalescence, the dilated pupils,
the suppression of urine, and the passive haemorrhages at-
tributable to the sedative operation of the poison ?
j LjLL /UXuur^ wfck- yn+s #^t J£T j-wT ^j^uM <*+> &<^^
tu *,«, ~~tf^uJZ~ r^~ hrr h^i H
CHAPTER VII.
TREATMENT.
The mode of treating the disease, very generally baffled
all the efforts that were made to combat it; so rnnch so, that
ungenerous imputations were too often thrown, not only
upon the profession, but upon the science of medicine
itself, by ihe ignorant and the prejudiced, who seemed to
assume on this occasion the prerogative of boldly en'ering
the lists of disputation, and so far as regarded the specula-
tions which they put forth, of taking the management of
the disease into their own hands. The fear of infection,
or contagion, however, linked at the bottom of their calum-
nies, and there were very few persons, except the members
of the profession itself, and I regret to be obliged to sayj
not all of -them, who did not scrupulously avoid approach-
ing the infected part of the town, or the chambers of the
sick.
We must also except from this remark some four or
five of our citizens, who, animated by a pure benevolence,
and without the expectation of reward or desire of notoriety,
generously risked their lives in administering con-olation
to those sick persons who continued in the infected district.
Among this number, Mr. Andrew Glover was particularly
Account of the Yellow Fever.
207
pre-eminent, by his philanthropic and assiduous attentions
to the sick, and the intrepid exposure of his person in the
most infected parts of the city. Ol the medical gen tlemen
who more especially signalized themselves in these humane
service^ I should do injustice to the public as well as to my
own feelings, dH I not make honourable mention of Drs.
C. W. Eddy and J, W. Francis.
It cannot be denied, however, that so little is known of
the mode, of curing this disease, that the subject was as
heretofore left entirely open for experiment and adventure,
and each practitioner thought himself justified in pursuing
whatever course his own judgment or ingenuity suggested.
However humiliating it may be to our pride, we are con-
strained to admit, that recovery depended more frequently
on the vigor of the constitution of the patient, or ihe less
degree of intensity in the poison, than on the skill or pre-
scriptions of the physician.
As most of the cases occurred among the labouring poor,
from their being employed in the district, or obstinately con-
tinuing to reside there after it was abandoned, and as the
constitutions of these people are usually, more or less im-
paired by fatigue and exposure, atid by the intemperate use
of ardent liquors, to which that description of the commu-
nity in this country are so much addicted ; and as the disease,
also, wa* most ripe in the hottest months of the year, when
the system of even person is more or less relaxed and un-
able to sustain depletion/ Venesection was had recourse
to but in very few instances. There is no doubt, however,
that it w uld have proved an invaluable resource, and
particularly in the lorm of topical bleeding by leeches or
cupping, had the physician been called in time^f in the
invasion or incipient stage, where the system was labouring
under high excitement from the reaction of the blood-vessels
208
Account of the Yellow Fever.
and where the constitution of the patient and his mode of
life would have sanctioned the employment of this remedy.
In a case attended by Dr. E. S. Blatchley, the pulse pre-
vious to evacuations though only fifty-five, was strong, full,
and laboured, as in cases of asphyxia from inspiring car-
bonic acid gas. This shows, perhaps, that the poison of
yellow fever, though it usually acts at first as an irritant, is
in its nature of a narcotic quality, and operates primarily
on the nervous system. That this was the true pathology
of tru disease was furthermore corroborated by the fact
that the pulse in this case, a few hours after bleeding, and
when the palsied vessels were unincumbered of their bur-
den, rose to sixty-five, and gradually in the succeeding days
to seventy beats in a minute. The patient recov ered.
In another case which came under my observation, bleed-
ing was performed on the third day, lo the amount of eight
ounces, but the disease proved fatal. The utmost caution
should be observed in the use of the lancet. If com-
mon rumour be correct, one or two individuals who bled
their patients profusely after the third and fourth days,
must be put "down as chargeable with their death. " For
the truth of this observation I appeal to ali, (says Dr. War-
ren, of Barbadoes.) who have been conversant in the busi-
ness of medicine here during this reigning constitution, who
I am persuaded will readily own, that taking away blood in
a large quantity, or often, a>d especially alter the first day.
has always aggravated the disorder, and exasperated all the
symptoms, and laid a sure foundation icr inevitable ruin."
p. 30.
The violence with which the d'se -sp is always ushered in
under the influence of a high tempc ■ uure and the conse-
quent danger of the organs breaking down under the impe-
us of the shock, explains why bleeding has been found s«
Ltosa^j^h f yZ u 4^^9o l£+J~l)'un^d- t
the northern latitudes of the American continent.t 4* Ur^^JJce^sd, %
The remedies, however, which seemed most to be de- Lp^Z'ujLJ^
pended upon, and which, to use the emphatic language of' r~ ^ ^^
Jackson, did most, perhaps, towards " changing the genius .
of the disorder," were active doses of calomel in the begin- "**-*^- fyi
ning, followed by saline, alkaline, and emollient cathartics,^6**1^ "»- L*/p*U
frequently repeated in the course of the disease, together /^ dhtQ4^4\Si^J. •
with strict attention to the skin by frictions, stimulating em-
brocations, warm ablutions, and mild tepid drinks, so as to
withdraw the excitement and fluids to the surface and to the
bowels j and by keeping these important passages of the
system open, give every opportunity for the disease to es-
cape.
The early application of blisters to the epigastrium, chest,
back of the neck and extremities, in order to anticipate by
counter-irritation upon the surface, the dangerous affection
of the stomach which almost constantly supervened as the
disease advanced, was in many instances found, advanta-
geous. Too often, however, fomentations, rubefacients,
sinapisms, and other temporizing measures were trusted to
as substitutes, while the more efficacious mode of freely blis-
tering was timidly withheld until it was too late to do good ;
the blood having retired from the surface to the internal
parts of the body, and the irritation of the stomach advanced
* « 'Tis true indeed, (says Dr. Warren, of Barbadoes,) that common fy* ** tXj£ ^
fevers in these hot and sun-burnt parts of the globe, do generally make C^^J jf*
a much greater progress than in colder climates, and consequently re- £tvt- cUntV^
quire large and speedy evacuations at the beginning." p. 31.
f Vid. Jackson on fevers.—Also, the late Reports of the French Phy-
sicians sent to investigate the fever of 1321 at Barcelona.—Vide al*o
Sir James Fellowes, p. 487, &c. j
210 Account of the Yellow Fever.
so far, and the tone of the circulation become so much im-
paired, that no benefit could be derived from this applica-
tion. Sir James Fellowes thinks that sinapism? of mustard,
vinegar and soft bread to the feet were preferable to blis-
ers.—[p. 407, 8.]
Dr. Perkins found anodynes extremely serviceable in calm-
ing ihe irritability of the stomach. Dr. Harrison also, at
the Marine Hospital, has used opiates in protracted cases
with great benefit. Dr. Francis found them do harm.
In most cases the bowels after the excitement of the first
stage had subsided, were not particularly inactive, nor were
the repeated evacuations which the medicines procured usu-
ally followed by a sensible change or mitigation of the dis-
order. It seemed in some cases as if this mode of depletion
did not, in any respect, alter the character of thf* complaint'
The same may be observed of the sudorific plan ; for ma-
ny cases proved fatal, in which the discharge from the si exist in the nerves of the
kidneys, rather than those which are directed more parti-
cularly to the vascular functions of those organs.*
* Tinct. muriatisferri, for example, and which is of such signal benefit
■n the torpid state of the secretory functions of the kidneys so often met
within the last stage of typhus.
Account of the Yellow Fever.
211
Dr. Francis, guided by the same reasoning, in a case
accompanied with a dangerous suppression of urine, found
the use of ether highly advantageous. It was from similar
pathological views that some writer has ingeniously pro-
posed to produce a metastasis of the disease by creating an
artificial dysentery with injections of cantharides. I have
already mentioned, that in a remarkable case where the dis-
ease, through neglect, had been left to pursue in a great
measure its own course, the accidental occurrence of the
catamenia and dysenteric symptoms, probably gave a
favourable turn to her complai.it. In a strongly marked
case, attended by Dr. Hosack, a dysentery which superven-
ed towards the crisis was, he informed me, in his opinion
the means of saving the life of the patient. The frequent
arid alarming suppression of urine in this disease seems to
have suggested also to Towne the use of diuretics, [p. 34
of work on the Diseases of the West Indies.] The effect of
cantharides upon the bladder, as a diuretic and irritant is
another motive with Towne for recommending the use of
blisters. But then it was under the erroneous belief that
there was a redundancy of bile in this disease, and that the
increased discharge of urine might help to carry off the
inordinate secretion of this fluid.
When the formidable and apalling affection of the stomach
which had been apparently slumbering in the first days of
the disease, and which the physician had in vain endeavour-
ed to parry, now .began to develop itself; it became necessa-
ry to abandon this important point of the system, and to
seek some other place for attacking the disease. At this
late period, however, it was impossible to make any particu-
lar impression upon the complaint, either through the me-
dium of the skin or by means of eaemata. The attention
ef the physician was therefore turned, as a primary step,
212
Account of the Yellow Fever.
towards the restoration of the stomach, and to endeavour
to overcome the nausea, hiccup, eructations and gastric irri-
tability, by absorbents, anti-emetics and emollient drinks ; all
of which, however, proved in most cases to be an unavailing
and hopeless attempt. Besides lime water and milk, porter,
beer, the effervescing draught of Riverius, he. several
physicians employed, also, stimulating drinks such as
ordinary punch, lemonade, pyroligneous acid, in the form of
lemonade, essence of spruce, and >n some instances pulve-
rized charcoal. The charcoal was used at the suggestion
of several recommendations, which appeared at the time in
the public prints, on the erroneous supposition, I presume,
that yellow fever was a putrid disease whirh required
antiseptics ; but it proved of no service. In one fatal case,
I particularly recollect the irrilain^ properties of this crude
and mineral-like substance aggravated the gastric irritation,
and renewed the vomiting. Two patients whom I saw, one
under the use of the pyroligne--us acid,* and the other of the
spruce,^ have both recovered ; but how far their recovery is
to be attributed to these remedies it is not, perhaps, possible
to say until we have had more ample experience.
By some physicians it has been with great plausibility
maintained that the vomiting is a symptom of debility ra-
ther than of excessive action, and that the stimulating plan
begun early in the second stage of the disease has, by pro-
ducing a new, healthy, and more powerful excitement, en-
tirely subdued the morbid irritability of the stomach, and
re-establi- hed the tone of this organ.
I ought not to omit to mention that several cases reco-
vered after the alarming symptom of black vomiting. Of
* Attended by LVs. Van Arsdale and Y\ alter*.
f Attended by Drs. Miner and Walter?.
Account of the Yellow Fever. 213
these four fell under my own observation. One occurred
in the case of a black woman at the Marine Hospital. Two
were patients of Dr. Walker, one an Irishman, the other a
boy, who was a native. The fourth was Cad well, whose
extraordinary case is detailed in Chapter II.
Sir Joseph Gilpin observes, that u a r< petition of purga-
tive injections, and ihe patient's refraining for some hours
(shoud his strength admit of it,) from swallowing either
m< dicine or food, has a good effect" in cal.ing the sto-
mach.*
Although the exp rhnce of the present year has not
thrown any new tig t upon the successful treatment of the
disease, it has nevertheless served to point out to us some
of the rocks that we ought to shun. The pernicious effects
of tartar emetic, in every sta^e of the complaint, has, we are
bold to say, been fairly tes ed and established. It had al-
ready been condemned by the almost unanimous s< ntiment
of the profession, which did not, however, deter a number
of physicians, some of whom were, perhaps, governed also
by an erroneous pathology of the disease,f from practically
determining its properties under their own immediate ob-
servation. It has in almost every instance of which we
have heard of its employment, been attended with disastrous
* Report on the Fever of Gibraltar, 1813.—Medico-Chirurgical
Transactions, London, vol. 5. p. 324.
f This erroneous pathology was not new even in the infancy of this
disease. " For the unsuccessfulness of the common practice (says Dr.
Warren, as long ago as 1741) there may be several more immediate
causes, very justly assigned. The first is either mistaking this malig-
nant disease for a common inflammatory fever, and treating it as such,
even when evident signs have been discovered of an uncommon malig-
nity ; or the being inadvertently over-swayed by the vulgar opinions
that these sort of fevers are truly bilious.''''—p. 27.
214 Account of the Yellow Fever.
consequences The eloquent imprecation of Moseley against
this dangerous medicine, cannot be too often repeated, and
should serve as a solemn admonition to those to whose lot
it may hereafter fall to treat this disease. " How often have
I seen and lamented the effects of emetic tartar, giveu to re-
move the supposed cause of the treacherous symptom of
vomiting ! Even in slight degrees of fever in the West In-
dies, in young plethoric subjects, newly arrived, the stomach
has been sometimes destroyed by it. Instead of removing
the irritating sickness of this fever, or exciting diaphoresis, a
spasm has been produced in the stomach, incessant vomiting
and inflammation ; the vessels of the thorax and head have
been stifled with blood ; and the patient has vomited away
his life."* To which may be subjoined the emphatic cen-
sure of Dr. Bruce, of Barbadoes : " Qua re emetica min-
ime exhibeantur, nisi perpetuam vomitionem inducere velis
et gangrzenam."f
It has been asserted that the yellow fever which proved
so fatal in the late cruise of the U. S. ship Macedonian, in
the W. Indies, was successfully treated by the use of arsenic.
The lamentable death of the amiable and accomplished sur-
geon of that vessel,J who is said to have employed this
remedy, has put it perhaps for ever out of our power to
come to an actual knowledge of the facts on this subject.
Don Tadeo Lafuente, a Spanish physician of Algesiras,
speaks very highly of the use of bark in powder in conside-
rable quantities, both as a preventive and curative remedy
in the yellow fever of Spain. He began very early in the
* Moseley on Tropical Diseases, p. 434.
f See Lind, on the Diseases incidental to Europeans in hot climates,
p. 286.
J Dr. John Cadell, of tliis city.
Account of the Yellow Fever.
215
disease, and gave usually about eight ounces in forty-eight
hours, and some patients took as much as twenty ounces in a
few days. This practice was generally disapproved of by
the other Spanish physicians.*
I shall conclude this chapter with an extract from the
communication of Dr. Francis, already referred to. " You
must have observed, says Dr. Francis, that in the methods
of treatment in the yellow fever pursued by physicians,
(without noticing the absurd and ridiculous practice of the
vulgar,) that there was almost the same discrepancy as in
the views entertained as to the characteristics of the disease.
It would be uncandid, however, not to admit that our thera-
peutical indications are yet to be established, as the best pa-
thological principles have contributed but little to our means
of cure. Nevertheless, if the remedial process in the yellow
fever be liable to the charge of inconsistency and absurdity,
enough is ascertained to justify us in proscribing certain
measures adopted by some with the same confidence that
we would enforce others.
" Blood-letting cannot be enumerated among our curative
means. I wish to be understood as speaking generally.
Under particular circumstances the loss of a few ounces of
blood from the arm, I have known in two cases, to prove
serviceable. The extraction of blood by the application of
leeches, or of cupping glasses to the head,*has also afforded
relief, and better prepared the patient for the administration
of other remedies. In those cases in which the system is
oppressed by general fulness of the sanguineous vessels or
local congestion of the brain, this mode of relief is perhaps
always to be preferred. In several instances I am convinced
that venesection accelerated the fatal period.
* See Sir James Fellowes, p. 316. et seq.
216
Account of the Yellow Fever*
" I cannot conceive upon what principle the use of emet-
cs was ever had recourse to. Fortunately this practice was
very limited. I have understood it to prove almost uniform-
ly de tr dive. I saw one instance in which the patient
withstood the shock of a dose of antimony. I have been
informed of another instance in which an emetic given on
the second day of the disease, was immediately followe ! by
black vomit, which ceased but with the extinction of life.
To use the language of Towne, on another occasion, the
physician who prescribes emetics in yellow fever, * signs the
death warrant of his patient when he writes his prescription.'
" The Epsom salts and the milder evacuants had the ad-
vantage of the drastric purgatives.
" Mercury was considered, by some physicians, as con-
spicuous among the curative means in the treatment of the
yellow fever of the late season; while, by a few others, this
powerful article of the materia medica was had recourse to
but in small quantity in certain conditions of the system, and
then chiefly -o as to effect the end secured by a mild cathar-
tic. My own opinion of the remedial powers of this me-
dicine was in accordance with this latter view of its action.
Many cases of the disease occurred in which all attempts at
exciting salivation proved ineffectual. The disease trium-
phantly pursued its formidable course, and terminated its dis-
astrous career, frequently before the least change could be
perceived to have been wrought upon the salivary glands
by mercurials ; and even when the mercurial exhalations of
the mouth gave evidence that the system' was under the in-
fluence of this agent, the safety of the patient did not, there-
by, appear to be secured. Noihing could be more untena-
ble than the speculations upon which the administration of
mercury was occasionally suynorted; that the hepatic vis-
cus was primarily affected, and uiai the leading phenomena
Account of the Yellow Fever.
217
of the complaint were ascribable to bilious disorganisation.
The number of d< aths in the late fever was unquestionably
augmented by this preposterous practice. In a striking
case of the disorder, und-r my care in which the debili-
tating influence ofextrem. gastric distress and violent black
vomiting, with scarcely any intermis-ion for three days,
gave little prospect of the coxinuance of li'e beyond a few
hours, the blue pill was obtrusively suggested, in order
to excite a new action, and " move the bile," as if not a mo-
ment's interval were to be allowed to the sufferings of the
patient from the commencement of the disease to its
final catastrophe. In short, the violence of the disorder,
great and alarming as it was in some cases, not unfrequent-
ly fell short in the celerity of its morbid consequences when
compared to the therapeutical treatment of some prescribers.
" The diuretic remedies to which I gave the preference
were a compound of one or two grains of calomel with a few
grains of nitre, or the sweet spirits of nitre, in mild diluent
drinks. Squills I avoided, fearful of the nausea they some-
times produce.
" In almost every stage of the disease I have employed
blisters. Their timely application to the epigastric region
I consider among our most powerful means of /elief. Ap-
plied to the extremities even in the advanced stage of the
disorder, they are calculated to produce a salutary diversion
of morbid action. However malignant the symptoms,
I have never witnessed mortification as a result of the sore
created by a blister.
" Perhaps the most important indication which claims the -
attention of the physician, is to relax the cutaneous surface, .<
and induce active diaphoresis: after the ordinary evacuations,
the compound powder of ipecacuanha, in moderate doses,
ought not to be overlooked. I was guarded in the use
©f opiates, and had no cause to regret my caution.
28
218 Account of the Yellow Fever.
" In one case I had reason to attribute the death of the
patient, on the third day of his illness, to a large dose of
laudanum, given with a view, as 1 learned, to diminish the
stricture of the chest.—The saturated tincture of hops ap-
peared to me to mitigate for a while the gastric anguish in
some instances.
" In another patient, a draft of cold water renewed the
black vomit, w hich had been suspended for thirty hours.
" I have arrested the black vomit by porter and lime water.
"Although the stomach throughout seems to be the pri-
mary seat of this disease, yet I have been induced to believe
that the pyloric portion, is at times, more especially that
part upon which the noxious poison delights to pr< y. This
conclusion I have drawn from the circumstance that the
manner in which the sufferer ejects the contents of the sto-
mach is often precisely similar to that which characterizes
vomiting in stricture of the pylorus. I have not had an op-
portunity of confirming this conjecture by any examination
of the subject after death."*
f-"A , \ * ^^* commuuicatioa to the author.
CHAPTER VIII.
PREVENTION AND PURIFICATION.
When the yellow fever broke out in this city in 1791, af-
ter forty years exemption from the pestilence, every physi-
cian then practicing, with the exception of two or three of
the oldest members of the profession, were utter strangers
to the disease. Experience, however, in vain unfolded her
pages before them. Instead of studying the character of
this new visiter with laborious and patient attention, they
began first to search for evidence to prove its domestic ori-
gin, and that it was indigenous to the soil, as much so as the
ordinary remittent and intermittent fevers which prevailed in
every part of the country; that it was not a contagious dis-
ease, and could not be imported; and that all measures of
precaution, and especially the system of quarantine restric-
tions were a useless and degrading imposition. The influ-
ence which these pernicious doctrines have had upon the
minds of our public authorities make^tbeir authors account- '
able for the lives of thousands of innocent beings.
At length, in the year 1819, it was determined by the
Board of Health of that year to discard the temporizing
system which the Boards of preceding years, infected by the
220 Account of the Yellow Fever
dangerous doctrines which prevailed in their time, and led
astray by their official advisers, had too long pursued. An en-
tire new system was put into force. It was resolved,
although the disease might be introduced, to endeavour at
least to stop its mortality and mitigate its horrors. The
melanch ly catalogue of deaths in almost all the preceding
years stood like a written monument, which, while it quick-
ene.i their apprehension to danger, strung their nerves with
fresh courage. The disease was looked upon as a conta-
gious pestilence, and the part of the city where it was in-
troduced, immediately and totally cleared of its inhabitants,
and those who would not remove of their own accord, turn-
ed out of their houses by force. What was the result ?
About 150 cases of yellow fever happened, and 50
deaths. Compare this with the mortality of other years,
and especially of 1791 and 1798, when the mass of the popu-
lation remained at their homes, taught by their physicians
to believe that the disease was some ordinary bilious fever,
which would soon pass away; or that the whole atmosphere
for miles into the interior, was so tainted that it would be
folly to run from it. I am persuaded that had not the Board
of Health of the present year thought themselves placed in
the disagreeable dilemma of being obliged to wait the im-
primatur of their official adviser, before they could have re-
course to precautionary measures, the city would have been
saved millions of dollars and many valuable lives, be-
sides being secured from the ignominious and undeserved
imputation of giving birth to an odious and frightful pesti-
lence. As it is, the Board of Health deserve great praise
for the energetic measures which they put into execution,
when they were convinced that the disease was actually in
the city. They were satisfied from the experience of 819,
that when the disease is once introduced, there is no safety
Account of the Yellow Fever. 221
but in flight, and that all that can be done is to disperse the
inhabitants, and to remove the sick with the utmost expedi-
tion into the pure air of the country, and to erect an insu-
perable barrier between the infected and uninfected parts of
the city, Accordingly they forthwith began to depopulate
and barricade that part of the city where the disease was
introduced, stopping up all the streets and lanes which ran
into this section of the town. But such were the prejudices
of the community against this novel procedure, first intro-
duced in 1819, and such the fallacious hopes that the dis-
ease would not continue to spread, that the Board were un-
der the necessity of adopting this measure with the greatest
caution ; by which means the disease kept the start of the
barricades that had been interposed, until the general panic
which seized all the lower part of the city about the fim of
September, caused jthe inhabitants to abandon their homes
en masse, and served to put an entire stop to the progress of
the disorder, except among those few who wilfully exposed
themselves by remaining in their houses, or by going too far
down into the most infected streets.
" The sole object of precautionary measures, (say the
Spanish physicians in their Report already quoted,) is not
to prevent the introduction of a contagion, or to smother it
in its origin ; they ought also to attempt to limit its pro-
gress and dispute with it every inch of ground, in order to
lessen the number of victims. Ten persons sick with the
fever may infect one or another individual, in spite of the
measures that are taken to prevent it; but if the intercourse
with them be unrestrained, they will produce as many more,
or double the number of infected ; and the foci being suc-
cessively multiplied, it will at length become general. In
the year 1814, the yellow fever appeared at Cadiz, at a time
when there was within its precincts a great expedition des-
tined for America, and when many of its inhabitants had
222
Account of the Yellow Fever.
never had it. The Conde de Abisbal, then governor and cap-
tain-general of the Province, established a Lazaretto, with-
out the walls, and ordered, under severe penalties, that eve-
ry person who should be taken sick with the disease should
be carried to it, which was done with one hundred and four-
teen persons : it is very probable that some would remain
secretly in their houses, but being obliged on account of
their disobedience, to refrain from intercourse with other
persons, the consequences were so beneficial, that the fever
diminished instead of increasing, till at length the cold wea-
ther came, and the troops and inhabitants were saved."
When the air in various places in the lower part of the
city had now become contaminated from the numbers who
had fallen sick of yellow fever in such neighbourhoods, and
when almost every street, as high as Fulton-street in the un-
infected part of the city, was depopulated, and an effectual
stop, there I' re, put to the propagation of the disease, propo-
sitions were made to thr Board of Health, recommending
diffeient modes of purifying the infected air. It would have
been befer. perhaps, to have called the attention of the
Board of Health to this subject at an earlier period, and be-
fore the inhabitants had gone, for then the utility of these
experiments could have been fairly tested. The proposi-
tions differed according «to the different views entertained by
their authors of the orign of the disease. The believers in
domestic ori. in clinging with obstinate tenacity to their ex-
ploded hypothesis, proposed some of them to cover over the
streets with an impermeable matter, which would shut in the
noxious exhalations, supposed by them to be issuing out of
the earth, and to be the cause of the disease. Others, of the
same way of thinking, proposed to purify the cellars, privies,
gutters, sinks, sewer>, and grave * ards. I lament to be
obliged to a«ld tint '"any of these recommendations, by the
puerile and ludicrous auditions they contained, reflected
I " . ' r ~* «""
■------ Account of the Yellow Fever, f 223^-, , J
[ ttofs lj>6 --(,./,:
no little discredit on the profession. We have the more ^-f j
reason to deprecate such indiscretion, because the great body j <
of the profession, though innocent, are obliged to participate
in the obloquy which ought fright to a'tach itself to those
only who, by their conduct, make themselves deserving of it. s£
Some* suggested the propriety of using the acid fumiga-
tions of Morveau and Smyth. Othersf recommended
spreading lime, ashes, bark, or «>ther alkaline and absorbent
substances over the surface of the streets. This mode, (for
what reasons it is impossible for us to say.) was preferred to
that of acid fumigations. It is now universally c needed,
however, that in making this experiment, the public moneys
have be.n uselessly expended, without producing the least
benefit. The progress of the disease towards the north had
already been arrested by the desertion of the lower part of
the city before these substances began to be scattered
through the streets, and the contagion continued to spread
through Lombardy and Cheapside—treets, though the lime
was applied, and that most of the inhabitants moved away
ummediately after the first cases occurred there. Beside
which, a number of persons employed in carting those sub-
stances took the disease and died.
I cannot, however, understand how any of those methods
could have possibly eradicated the disease. So long as
there were subjects to generate the contagion, and others
ready to receive it, so long would the disease necessarily
spread. If the whole soil, for many feet in depth, could
be turned into unslaked lime, it might for a single day,
perhaps, deprive the air of some of its moisture, and ihus
* Dr. Hosack, Mr. Griscom, Ac. f Dr- Akerly, &c.
224 Account of the Yellow' Fever.
render it a more difficult medium of transmission to
the contagious emanations from the sick. The prevalence
of the disease, however, in the most arid state of the atmos-
mosphere, shows that the propagation of the poison does
not absolutely depend upon an abundant supply of moisture
in that element. Human effluvia, as it is a compound of
animal exhalations, very naturally forms, as we have seen,
the most ready conductor of the contagion of the disease,
which is itself a specific emanation from the body. This
renders it probable that this contagion is communicated
through the breath.
It was observed in Spain, that in those infected towns
where the inhabitant's were unwilling to refrain from attending
mass, more persons always fell *ick on the days immediate-
ly succeeding those on which that religious service was
performed.*
This contagion thus associates most easily with those
matters which it more or less resembles; but how far it
assimilates such matters lo itself is another question. In as
much as it is of a gaseous nature, and therefore possessed of
great mobility ; its volume, as happens in the experiments
of mixing certain known gases, may, in the opinion of some,
become much enlarged when it comes into contact with
human effluvia. I very much doubt, however, from the
facts which are related in the first chapter, whether this
union increases its virulence; for as these substances must
be more or less analogous, the association is most probably
a simple union. Certain it is, that after all the methods
that have been employed of disinfecting the air, the ad-
mixture of pure air, next to frost, seems to be the most power-
* See the Report of the Physicians of Cadiz to tke Spanish govern-
ment ; also the work of Sir James Fellowes, passim.
Account of ihe Yellow Fever. 225
ful antidote with which we are acquainted. Hence the
importance of ventilation with pure air, which, when effectual-
ly performed, is equally salutary in (he chambers of the sick
in arresting the propagation of the disease, as a storm or vio-
lent tornado would be in the streets and lanes of a city. Does
not this affinity of the contagion of yellow fever to human
effluvia prove that it is an exhalation or excretion from the
livi-ig body, n t an emanation from dead matter in a state of
putrefaction, nor the product of vegetable or animal decom-
position ? It is an offence against all chemical laws, and mere
sophistry, to pretend to get over this difficulty in the way of
the theory of domestic origin, by saying that the exhalations
from the living body .re in a state of putrescency at the very
moment they are i;iven off. We see that the pure chemical
element of the atmosphere seems to be of a nature directly
opposite to die gaseous and contagious matter of this disease ;
for when they are mixed, they produce a new substance,
which is totally innocuous. Is it not most probable that
this m.xture is something more than the ordinary mixture
of one gas with another; something different, also, from
mere dilution, the term commonly used to express the asso-
ciation ? Is it not more probable that it is a chem cal
union, and that a new compound is formed, and the conta-
gion decomposed and precipitated. The importance of
ventilation and admission of pure air, are strikingly illustrated
in what takes place in removing the sick of yellow fever
into the country. The contagion is rarely communicated,
unless in a very crowded apartment, and under extraordinary
circumstances, accidentally favouring the accumulation of
human effluvia, and the retention of the virus about the per-
son of the patient; whereby a state of things is brought
about, which resembles very nearly what occurs so frequent-
ly in cities ; thus accounting, in the most simple mariner, for
the reason why the disease is so much more readily propa-
29
220
Account of the Yellow Fever.
gated in cities than in villages or country towns. Cases of
contagion, however, do now and then happen in the pure
air of the country, as well as in the best ventilated and most
elevated, spacious, and cleanly streets of cities. Where
this occurs in a pure country air, the person who takes
the disease has, in general, been peculiarly predisposed,
or come into immediate contact with the sick, and of
course with the contagious exhalation emitting from
his body. For the constant admission of new masses of
pure air must successively destroy the contagion as it is
given out, and therefore very much contract the radius of
communication. Where these cases of contagion have ap-
peared in high and spacious streets, as this year in Broadway,
they arose from the circumstance of that part of this street
becoming infected which was in the immediate neighbour-
t, hood, and adjoining, as it were, the part of the city where
the virus of the disease had accumulated to a prodigious
amount, and had become, therefore, of great intensity.
It is probable that frost, also, acts by decomposing the
unknown elements of this destructive virus, and which, from
their losing their affinities at the point of congelation, are
obviously in union with a certain portion of water when ia
their gaseous or natural state. May not th-se facts, in re-
gard to the probable chemical action of atmospheric air,
or a freezing temperature upon this m sterious substance,
help to throw some light upon its real nature ? But can
we from this ever hope to discover any artificial combina-
tion or substance which will as effectually destroy the con-
tagion or arrest its progress as frost or pure air ? We will
allow it is possible thai in the brilliant march of chemical
philosophy, something may be discovered which will actual-
ly do, to a certain extent, what nature herself now does with
her grand laboratory of the elements. But is it probable
that there ever will be found out a method of furnishing
Account of the Yellow Fever.
227
this artificial antidote in sufficient quantity? We can
hardly imagine that we shall ever become possessed of
this means. It may serve to check the progress of the dis-
ease, which itself would be an incalculable blessing, but then
its power would be circumscribed. It could have but
little avail, perhaps, when applied over the extensive sur-
face of a wide street, and still less when used to disinfect
v_ -^w whole city. We cannot expect to cope with such pow-
erful means, as nature herself shows us she is obliged to use
before she can subject this pestilence to her dominion.
As we cannot command the changes of heat and cold, but
^ must wait patiently the arrival of the frost, when the disease
is once introduced, and as ventilation cannot be carried into
effect in cities, but under great disadvantages, we should be
particularly careful to make our streets wide and regular,
and to leave as many open spaces and squares as possible,
and those of large dimensions,* for those small parks which
are to be met with here and there in modern cities are more
ornamental than useful, as may be illustrated by the fact of
persons taking the disease in the vicinity of them and also
of grave-yards, which are of the same nature. All these
spaces, however, are serviceable to a certain degree ; and
Dr. Rush has very properly included grave yards among
them, as being excellent reservoirs of pure air. There is no
doubt that the spacious cemetery of St. Paul's church, and
also the Park, had, this year, considerable influence in
staying the march of the disease towards the north, though
the desertion of the city, the only certain and secure de-
pendence, did much more. Yellow fever, though it does
sometimes, in order to apprise us of its power, show itself,
as we have seen, even on mountains or in cities built on
high rocks where men had thought themselves secure, yet
this has been favoured generally by the circumstance of the
* Vide Hosack on Contagion.
228 Account of the Yellow Fever.
population of such places being too compact and crowded,
and the streets, for the most part, extremely narrow and con-
fined, and deprived of ventilation. This was always the
case in the south of Europe, where this fact ha- been repeat-
edly noticed, although it appeared perfectly mysterious and
miraculous to the believers in domestic origin, because in
these dry and elevated places, they could not find a stagnant
collection of water to generate the vegetable or marsh mias-
mata which they aver lo be the cause of the disease. Yel-
low fever will, when introduced into cities and towns, con-
structed like those we meet with in the south of Europe, al-
ways spread. Nay, it would, under such circumstances, be
propagated on the top of the Andes or Alps, did not that
region of perpetual snow form an eternal barrier against
the introduction of the contagion.
Although the imperfection of medical science places the
cure of this disease too often beyond our control, and that
our means of counteracting its progress are limited, a wise
Providence has indemnified us for these losses, by putting in-
to our hands an effectual method of totally preventing the
recurrence of the disease, by shutting out its introduction
from abroad. It is left for us to carry into execution what
our own judgment must now teach us is the only resort that
is left.
As I firmly believe the source of the disease can only be
cut off by a rigorous code of quarantine restrictions, so am I
persuaded that that which is now in operation is totally in-
efficient. We must not depend merely upon civil restraints
and tribunals. Our quarantine ought to be, as in other
countries, (as in Marseilles, for example, the model of all
great maritime cities in similar latitudes.) an institution es-
sentially military. The execution of its provisions should
be vested in a military and naval armament, but un U■•: the
direction of medi'-al oTic rs of high respectability, and of the
most responsible character.
Account of the Yellow Fever.
229
Our health laws, which are now perhaps of too general
an application, and in this respect too severe, ought to be
limited more particularly to the West India ports and isl-
ands, against which hey should be made more rigid th*n at
present. It t! e direct intercourse between the city of New-
York and the West Indies were entirely prohibited during
th< months of June, July, August September and October,
the temporary embarrassment which our commercial rela-
tions with that pari of the world micrht experience would,
in our judgment, be far more than counterbalanced by the
exemption of this city from the irreparable disasters and dis-
tress which always follow the introduction of yellow fever.
Th.e dangers to which the health of the city is exposed by
the admission of Havanna, Port au Prince and oth< r West-
India vessels, into our ports during the warm weather, may
be conceived, not only from the disastr us event "f the past
season, but by what occurs here every year. Scaicely a
week passes over from the fii t of July to the first of No-
vember but from two to four, or sometimes more patient*, ill
of yellow fever, arrive among the passengers and crews of
the > essels ihat are constantly entering the harbour duri ig
that period from sickly ports in the West-Indies. [See the
weekly reports of the Healih Officer to the Board of Health,
passim]
In one year the sick arrived in such numbers that they
amounted at length to several hundred, so that the Health
Officer was obliged t> encamp them in tents.
It is true that the disease has not generally spread from
the sick to the persons employed in the quarantine ground,
nor to the adjoining settlement immediately outside the
walls of the establishment; because the communication be-
tween the sick and well has been interdicted as much as
possible, and ihat the sick have arrived successively and
been carefully separated from each other, so that they were
230
Account of the Yellow Fever.
placed under the same circumstances as in the pure air of
the country, particularly so at this place, as its situation
fronting the bay, narrows, and ocean, opens it to free ven-
tilation from every point of the compass.
-, There are several melancholy exceptions, however, to this
\ 'ltnr%'L J remark, and one that occurred during the last autumn.
^-~ J owing to a dreadful storm, which drove a very considerable
number of infected vessels which were lying at anchor, upon
the chores of the quarantine ground.*
But when we consider that during all the warm season
there has been every year a constant intercourse between
the village adjoining the quarantine ground and the city,
by persons passing in packet boats, and by lighters, trans-
porting cargoes of West-India vessels into the very ware-
houses of the city—that during the last few years this inter-
course has been doubled, by the increase of the West-India
trade, and by the daily passage of steam-boats, for the ac*
commodation of passengers, is it not almost miraculous,
that until this year the disease never has been communica-
ted through this channel ?
Does not also a system, which is so lame and defective in
its provisions as ours is known to be, seem more like a bur-
lesque upon the principle of quarantine restrictions than a
serious effort to prevent the introduciion of the disease from
without ?
I have no doubt but that a supply of pure and wholesome
water into the city, and the erection of permanent fountains
in different parts <-f it, as in the cities of all warm climates,
would have a most salutary effect upon the public health.
A strict attention also to the cleanliness of the streets, and
to the correction or removal of nuisances of every kind,
/ ' Xft-fyJ rnAA * See New-York Medical and Physical Journal, rh^
Account of the Yellow Fever. 231
particularly during the warm season, would render the at-
mosphere more pure, and therefore secure us from those
diseases which filth and animal and vegetable putrefaction
are sometimes known to produce. But in carrying these
measures into execution, we ought to be careful that our
attention is not diverted from what I have endeavoured, and
I believe successfully, to show, is the only sure and efficient
mode of preventing the reappearance of the pestilence.
All the schemes, however, that may be devised, will have
but a partial effect, so long as the country is unprovided
with a national code of quarantine laws. Unless one gene-
ral system of this kind be adopted by all the sea ports of
the union—unless an unbroken line of lazarettoes be estab-
lished along the whole coast, to guard against the pesti-
lence at every point, we never can hope to be entirely secure.
What wll avail the most efficient system of quarantine laws,
established here and there in a few cities on the coast, if all
the intermediate and adjoining towns, with whom a con-
stant intercourse is going on freely, admit vessels coming
from infected places ? The whole of our maritime towns
must act in concert; otherwise the attempts to carry into
full effect quarantine restrictions in any particular place
will always be liab'e to be feded.*
There is one mode of prevention, or rather of meliorating
the evils of pestilence which falls more immediately within
our province, and to which the public attention ought to be
in a particular manner directed, in as much as no specific or
definitive provisions on this subject have hitherto been made.
I mean the establishment of Fever or Lazarettof Hospitals
placed on elegible sites at a proper distance from the
city, and exclusively designed for the reception of patients
ill of yellow fever, or other pestilential diseases.
* To Dr. Hosack belongs the honour of having first recommended a
■ational system of quarantine. [See his Discourse on Medical Police.]
t After the manner of European cities.
232 Account of the Yellow Fever.
The believers in domestic origin and in importation and
contagion will all agree in the propriety of creating institu-
tions of this nature ; for no one will deny that the accumula-
tion of a great number of sick, either in the infected or unin-
fected parts of the town, must necessarily render theair of such
places better fitted to generate and propagate the disease.
The Marine Hospital at Staten Isiand* is the only place
which has been opened for the reception of the sick. But
besides being intended for other objects than the accomoda-
tion of persons ill of yellow fever, it is entirely at too great
a distance from the city. The sick, who have been trans-
ported there, are obliged to be carried in boats across the
bay; in consequence of which, from the exposure and fa-
tigue to which they are subjected, they have rarely been
benefited by the removal.
We had occasion of bestowing upon Dr. Hosack praise
which we think him fully entitled to for having first agitated
the g.eat subject of a national s stem of quarantine. To
the same gentleman are we also indebted for having first
distinctly brought beforj the notice of his fellow citizens the
proposition of establishing hospitals for the exclusive ac-
commodation of persons ill of yellow fever, or other pestilen-
tial diseases. I cannot do better "than serve myself with his
language :
* The late Dr. De Witt, Vice President of the College of Physicians
and Surgeons, a man whose indifference to fame caused his splendid
talents and his attainments to be unappreciated at the time at which
he lived, has the honour and merrit ef having devised the plan of this
beautiful building; surpassed by few in Europe, and by none in this
country: he was then Health Officer of the port. He fell a victim
to yellow fever, taken on board a vessel he visited the succeeding
year ; making the jifth out of seven Health Officers, who have perished
at that plaee in the same manner since its establishment.
i/tccomt of the Yellow Fever.
233
" Under the conviction" says Dr. H." of the benefits to be
derived from a permanent establishment to receive the sick
poor, and to separate them from the well, and thereby to arrest
the progress of infection, I early in the past season [1820.]
called the attention of the Board of Health to this subject, and
recommended, upon the first appearance of typhus fever in
our city, the instantaneous removal of the sick, either to
Bellevue, or some other suitable place to be provided; but
such removal, owing to the want of accommodation, to the
extent desired, proved impracticable. I then earnestly
urged upon the Board the necessity of some permanent
provision being made on that subject, commensurate with the
increasing population of this city.
" A committee was accordingly appointed to make the
necessary inquiries, relative to the expediency of such an
establishment, and to ascertain the site most proper for such
an institution. A spot of ground, connected with the public
property at Bellevue, was found to possess every advantage
that can be derived as it regards air, water, and other means
of accommodation. By several members of that committee
such an institution was deemed of great utility, and they
concurred in the opinion that the plan proposed ought to be
carried into effect without delay; while by other members
it was considered to involve an expense altogether inexpe-
dient during the present depression of the times. But when
the Board of Health and the Common Council shall be con-
vinced that the sufferings of the poor will be alleviated, and
many valuable lives preserved to their families and to the
community; that by arresting the progress of contagion, the
inhabitants will be secured from the further diffusion of an
infectious disease, they cannot but unite in their approbation
of such an establishment. When it is also taken into con-
sideration that an abundant quarry of excellent building
stone, the property of the Corporation, is on the premises;
30
234 Account of the Yellow Fever,
that mechanics of every description that can be required are
to be found in the Penitentiary, perfectly competent, under
the direction of a ski ful architect, to erect the plain un-
adorned structure that is contemplated, and, thus make some
return to the state for their maintenance; and. consequently,
that the chief expense to be incurred will be for lime and
timber, I cannot but indulge the belief that the Corporation
will take the necessary measures to carry the plan proposed
into operation, in time to meet the exigencies of the ensu-
ing year."
If, as I believe, the recurrence of this pestilence can only
be prevented by the institution of a rigorous and well-organ-
ized system of quarantine ; so is the conviction equally
strong upon my mind, that the code at present in force is
totally inadequate for the purposes for which it was intended.
We must take as our model the sound policy of Marseilles,
and other southern ci'ies of Europe, which, like ourselves,
have no doubt suffered dearly in their day by the combined
influence of ignorance and chicanery.
It was to Dr. Hosack, who ha< exerted himself with so
much ability, perseverance and success, to prove the foreign
origin, and specific and contagious nature of this disease, to
whom the honour, as we have said, is due of having first
pointed out to his countrymen the importance of establish-
ing a national and universal system of quarantine.*
Though the recommendation ot Dr. Hosack has now died
away, and Congress have not thought proper to make
it the subject of their deliberations, the time will doubtless
come when not only this city, but the country at large, will
have reason to respect his memory for the deep interest he
took in their welfare, at this early period of our history,
* See his Discourse on Medical Police.
Account of the Yellow Fever.
235
and the many valuable lessons which he has left in his
works on the subject of promoting and preserving the pub-
lic health. While we are on this subject, I will take the
liberty of suggesting some improvements in regard to the
mode of organizing a Board of Health.
I am firmly persuaded that the care of the health of the
city ought to be committed, as at present, to some of our
more distinguished citizens, who have an interest at stake in
the city, and whose consideration in society gives to them a
weight and responsibility of character. Were it exclusively
made up of medical gentlemen, there is too much reason to
fear that their different opinions might lead, as too often
happens, to interminable disputes, and to most disastrous
consequences. There should be, however, a sufficient
number of medical gentlemen attached to the Board to serve
as advisers ; to be ready at all times lo inform the Board
of the true state of the health of the city ; and to recom-
mend the most effectual means of guarding against the in-
troduction of pestilence. They should be persons of liberal
education, or at least those whose natural and uncultivated
powers of understanding we e s strong and so clear, that
tk&y might serve as a substitute for this deficiency. They
should have seen much practice, and especially have become
familiarly acquainted with the various forms of fever before
they presumed to offer themselves as candidates for this situ-
ation.
It is difficult to say of how large a number the medical
department of the Board of Health ought to consist. They
should, at least, be a minority to the citizens who are
not physicians, and who constitute the other part. I am of
opinion with his honour the Mayor, in his late proposed re-
visal of the health laws, that the health officer and the com-
missioner ought to be appointed by the State, and the rest
of the medical department by the Board of Health itself. It
236
Account of the Yellow Fever.
is the opinion of Dr. Walters, and I have heard none which
I more approve of than his, that the physicians to be ap-
pointed by the Board ought to consist of five resident Phy-
sicians, and that the city ought to be divided into fiv* dis-
tricts, apportioning one district to each Resident Physician.
These Physicians should have equal powers in the Board*
and when a suspicious case occurs in any part of the town,
the Board should immediately cause a consultation of the
whole number.
The past season has convinced us that it is placing too
much responsibility on one person, and paying too dear a
price to make the welfare of 120,000 individuals depen-
dent upon his mere opinion. We would have little to
fear from procrastination, or theories concerning the bilious
nature of this disease, if five respectable, experienced prac-
titioners of liberal opinions and high sentiment^ of honour*
were placed in that Loard, to determine what was yellow
fever, whence it originated, and where it first appeared i»
our city..
CHAPTER IX.
IMMUNITY AND PREDISPOSITION.
It has been stated, on the high authority of Dr. Pym,
Arejula, Sir James Fellowes, and Sir Joseph Gilpin, that
the yellow fever, as it has appeared in Andalusia, and at
Gibraltar, has never been known to attack the same per-
son twice. It is impossible to call in question the testimony
of the gentlemen who have made this declaration, and espe-
cially the multiplied proofs with which they have accom-
panied it, derived from their extensive experience and close
observation of the disease. In the tropics it is well known
to be the popular and universal belief; and in Spain it was
also averred, that this idea had already become prevalent
among the people before any investigations had been un-
dertaken to test its truth. These afford strong concurrent
evidence in its favour. The manner in which this subject
was first brought before the notice of the public will be best
understood by the following extract of a letter from Doctor
J. W. Francis, of this city, to Dr. Hosack, dated London,
June 16th, 1816.
Dr. Fr ncis has the merit of having made the earliest
communication of this intelligence to his brother physicians
in America, and of attracting their attention to this striking
peculiarity.
238
Account of the Yellozo Fever.
" But I have to solicit your attention to another impor-
tant circumstance, made known in the volumes of Dr. Pym
and Sir James Fellowes, and to communicate which this
letter has been written. Dr. Pym, who had the advantage
of seeing the disease not only in Europe but in the West-
Indies, contends, that the Bulam fever attacks the human
frame but once; and supports this position by the strongest
proof. I will not do injustice to his statements by attempt-
ing to abridge them. Irrefragable evidence is advanced by
Dr. Pym, that the Gibraltar, West-India, or Bulam fever,
(the malignant pestilential fever of Chisholm,) are the same
disease. In a subsequent essay, Dr. P>m has enlarged on
the subject of the disease affecting the human body but
once.—I must be indulged in one or two extracts.
" ' At Gibi altar, during the prevalence of the disease in
the years 1810, 1813, 1814, there was no well authenticated
in tance of a second attack : every person escaped ii, who
had had it at any former period : and this fact is now so
well established there, that among the quarantine regula-
tions against the introduction of die disease this year, (18 i 5)
all the troops who have not passed it are e icamped, while
those zoho have passed it are doing the duty of the town. At
Cadiz, Carthagena, and Malaga, ihe fact of persons not be-
ing liable to a second attack of this disease, is considered to
be as firmly established as it is in the small-p>x."
" 'Two more proofs of the Bulam fever not attacking a
second time, were in the 70th and 55th regiments. The
first suffered severely from the disease in the West Indies, in
the year 1794, and returned to ihat climate from Europe in
the year 1800, filled up with new officers, with the excep-
tion of six, viz. Col Dunbar, Major Eiliot, Captains John-
stone, Lawrence, Hutchinson, and Boat, who had had the
fever at a former period in the West-Indies, and who now
escaped it, although the corps buried ten of the newly ap-
pointed officers in a very short time."
Account of the Yellow Fever.
239
y ' Upon a moderate computation, there were one hundred
and fifty officers (civd and military) at Gibraltar, who had
not had the disease before, and twenty-five who had passed
it in the West-Indies ; and making an allowance for one or
two doubtful cases, where the disease was so mild as not to
confine the patient to the bed, one hundred and forty-five at
least out of the one hundred and fifty were attacked by it,
while every individual of the twenty five who had it before
escaped it; proof positive that the Gibraltar, West-India,
or Bulam fever are the same disease, and mat the human
frame is not liable to be attacked by it a second time, even
after a lapse of ten years.' Appendix to Dr. Pym's Ob-
servations.
" This same peculiarity marked the pestilential fever of
Spain. According to Sir James Fellowes, it never has been
known to attack the same person a second time in that coun-
try. ' This fact,' says Sir James. ' which wa> first observed
by the native practitioners, has now been confirmed by the
experience of several years, and by the concurrent testimony
of all the surviving inhabitants of ifiose places where the
disorder had most prevailed ' Introduction, p. xxiii.
" I have dwelt so long on the performances of Sir James
Fellowes and Dr. Pym, as almost to be deterred from re-
ferring to any other authority ; yet I cannot forbear making
a short extract from an account of the epidemic fever which
occurred at Gibraltar, in the years 1804, 1810, aud 1813,
and for which the public are indebted principally to Dr.
Gilpin, one of the inspectors of the hospitals. The paper
throughout is one of singular merit, and eminently calcula-
ted to do away the doubts of the sceptical, and strengthen
the faith of the wavering. It is gratifying to the philanthro-
pist to read the answer given by Dr. Gilpin to the eighteenth
query, addressed to him by the Medical Board of the army.
240
Account of the Yellow Fever.
" The points embraced in this query involved the consi-
deration of several matters, to wit: were many of the at*
tendants of the sick in private houses and hospitals attacked
with the same disease, and where this did not happen, were
there any circumstances evident, that might have rendered
such persons unsusceptible of the contagion ; such as their
age, previously having had a like disorder, particular pre-
cautious, he. ?
" ' In private houses, in most cases,' replies Dr. Gilpin,
' the attendants were attacked. There were undoubtedly
many exceptions in the hospitals ; but it was to be accounted
for, as, generally speaking, the attendants were persons who
had had the disease previously, either in the West-Indies or
in Spain, or here, in 1804. At the commencement of the
disease last year, it was calculated that there were about five
thousand persons within the walls who had previously passed
through it; and after careful inquiry, there does not appear
to be one well authenticated case of a person's having re-
ceived the infection a second time. I heard, indeed, of three
or four; but as the nature of the previous fever could not be
exactly known, these exceptions have but little weight in so
momentous a question. The exemption from a second at-
tack, I am credibly informed, is firmly believed in Spain,
At Cadiz, last year, though the fevpr put on the very worst
symptoms, and destroyed the patient frequently in forty-
eight hours, the deaths did not exceed, in a population of
upwards of seventy thousand, fifty a day; and these were
chiefly strangers. The Spaniards are so fully convinced
they cannot receive the infection a second time, that having
passed the disease is matter of great rejoicing among them :
a medical certificate of the fact is a sufficient passport into
an infected town, which they enter without the smallest ap-
prehension." Consult the Transactions of that active and
-?>
Account of the Yellow Fever.
241
distinguished association, the Medical and Chirurgical So-
ciety of London, vol. 5, for more ample details.
" The immunity of the constitution from a second attack
of yellow fever is a peculiarity so strikingly characteristic
of most disorders of an acknowledged specific nature, and of
such great practical interest both in a social and political
point of view, that it is extraordinary it should have met
with so little notice before Professor Arejula made mention
of it in the year 1806. "The yellow fever at Andalusia,"
says Arejula, (I avail myself of the translation of his account
in Sir James FelloweSReports, p. 67.) " attacks persons but
once in their lives, and it is of great importance to the physi-
cian to know this, in order to form his prognosis and his plan of
cure,as well as for the individual who may have passed through
this disorder, that both of them being assured of this fact, may
step forward without fear to the relief of their fellow crea-
tures who may hereafter be afflicted with so dreadful a ma-
lady." Dr. Pym, however, enjoys the reputation of being
the first English physician who promulgated this principle.
I have not the sources of information at hand to enable me
to determine how many of the writers on the malignant
fever, as it has prevailed in our country, have entertained
this opinion, though I well recollect Dr. Lining to have
been one; as may be seen in his account of the fever in
Charleston, published more than sixty years ago, in the
Edinburgh Physical and Literary Essays, volume second.
In the interesting correspondence on the yellow fever which
was maintained a short time anterior to this period by Dr.
John Mitchell, of Virginia, and Lieut. Gov. Colden, of New-
York, nothing is alluded to from which we might infer their
knowledge of this law of the disorder. See the American
JVIedical and Philosophical Register, vols. 1st and 4th. In
31
242
Account of the Yellow Fever.
the Facts and Observations of the College of Physicians of
Philadelphia, on the Nature and Origin of the pestilen-
tial fever, after establishing the identity of the yellow fever
which existed in that city in 1793, 1797, and 1798 with 'he
West-India pestilence, the College state, that it is a cir-
cumstance that deserves particular attention, that ' very few,
ifany,of the Creole French in this ('ty, [Philadelphia,] suffer-
ed from the contagious maligi ant fever which prevailed here
in 1793, 1797, and 1798, though the disease was introdu ed
into their families; and children boin in this country of
Creole parents, died with it la>t auumn, while the parents
and the children born in the West Indies were entirely ex-
empt from it.'" We look in vain, if my memory serves me
for any thing of th* same sort in the Additional Facts and
Ohservaiions, a subsequent publication of the College of
Philadelphia.
"In he Sketch of the Malignant Contagious Fever as it
appeared in the same city in (793. Dr. Cathrall observes,
" it does not appear to affect the same person twice. Al-
though careful inquiry," adds he, " has been made by seve-
ral of my medical friends and myself, it only api ears that some
of the patients had a slight relapse of fever, but without any
of the distinguishing sympsoms of the disease, and very soon
recovered." It is much to be regretted, that the several
histories of this disease published by that able medical an-
nalist- the late Dr. Rush, should have been so confused and
unsatisfactory on so momentous a matter. In his account
of the bilious yellow fever of 1793, you will, nevertheless,
find that the refugees from the French West Indies " uni-
versally escaped the disorder," though this was not the case
with the natives of France who had been settled in the city.
On the other hand, Dr. Currie, of Philadelphia, in his Trea-
tise on the Synochus Icterodes, states, that several instances
occurred of the disease affecting the same individual a se-
Account of the Yellow Fever. 243
cond time, and under circumstances so unequivocal that it
could mt be fairly ascribed to a relapse. This assertion,
you will see, is not strongly made, and may be deemed
rather matter of opinion than matter of fact.
" D . Currie also tells us, that the French West-Indians,
particularly tiose from St. Domingo, almost to a man,
escaped the disorder, though ihey made use of no precau-
tion or the purpose, * while those from France were as
liable to it as >he Philadelphians.'' N thing in relation to
. the securty from a second attack of the disease is advanced ,
oiick by the late Professor, Barley, in his excellent volume on the L
Epidemic Fever of New York in 1795; though in the
Collection of Papers published by Mr. Webster, this writer
on the epidemic of New-York, of the same year, alleges that
he knew not a decided instance uf an individual labouring
under a second seizure.-------But at preseut I am not duly
prepared to enlarge on this point, by reference to other
American authorities.
" Dr. Pym ha? referred me to a passage in Sauvages on
this disease, in which it is asserted, that it operates upon
the constitution but once. Typhus icterodes contagiosus
est. Albos tantum, maxime peregrinos ex regionibus frigi- a j • • .
dis adyenas, Indos, Hybridos, mulatros omnes, exceptis <^ti~ ^ ^l^
infantibus, una tantum vice afficit: nigri vero ab eo morbo
nonquam afficiuntur." See Nosologia Methodica, torn. i.
p. 316, of the quarto edition of 1768. We must here bear
in recoilection, that Sauvages has depended mainly on Li-
ning, as authority for this peculiarity. Does your own ex-
tensive experience in the malignant epidemic of New York
agree with the opinion that the human constitution is invul-
nerable to a second attack of yellow fever, corresponding
in this respect with small pox, and other specific disorders ?
244
Account of the Yellow Fever.
In answer to this question, which has frequently been put to
me by practitioners of medicine in England, I have uni-
formly ventured to assert that it holds good as a general
fact. Those who have once had the disease are certainly
less susceptible of its influence a second time.
" Permit me now to make known to you the important
results of the recent deliberations of two of the most distin-
guished medical associations of this kingdom. The deci-
sions of the Royal College of Physic ans of London and of
the Army Medical Board are at length broug' t to a close.
These two learned bodies, alike distinguished for scientific
attainment and practical knowledge, have been for a consi-
derable time pa^t devoted to a consideration of all the facts
connected with the nature and character of the yellow fever,
particularly as it has of late years appeared in Spain. The
Royal College have pronounced that the yellow fever is a
highly contagious disease, which decision they have report-
ed to the Lords of the Privy Council. With respect to its
attacking the human frame but once, they say they think it
extremely probable, but that upon a point of such importance
they cannot venture to give a decided opinion. The Army
f Medical Board, at the head of which presides Sir James
f M'Gr^gor. have also given it as their opinion, that the yeliow
fever is in its nature contagious; and they further add their
conviction, thai the fever of Spain is not only strictly conta-
gious* but like other disorders of a specific character, it af-
fects the human frame but once. 1 have be« n kindly fa-
voured with an abstract of these proceedings, and I here-
with enclose an extraci from the official report on Dr. Pym's
publication made by the Army Medical Board. The ope-
ration of climate, soil, and other local causes, in adding viru-
lence to febrile contagion, may be considered almost an
Account of the Yellow Fever.
245
axiom in physics; and the necessity of a strict adherence to
your improved system of quarantine laws, and all municipal
regulations for the purpose of domestic cleanliness, cannot
be too strongly enforced. On this subject the Royal Col-
lege and the Army Medical Board are united in opinion.
(COPY.)
EXTRACT FROM THE REPORT UPON DR. PYltf's PUBLICATION
BY THE ARMY MEDICAL BOARD.
Army Medical Board Office, 6th May, 1816.
" It is due to Dr. Pym to state, that we consider him to
have been the first English medical man who promulgated
the opinion, that the disease in question (the Bulam fever)
is capable of attacking the human frame hut once; and if
that opinion be correct, which we believe it to be, it is cer-
tainly an important fact, and led Dr. Pym to employ those
persons as attendants on the sick, who had undergone the
disease, and therefore were not likely to be affected by the
contagion of it, and thus probably saved man) lives. Un-
der these impressions, we beg leave to ;■ ♦commend the indus-
try and research displayed by Dr. Pym. in his book, to
Lord Palmerstone's favourable consideration.
" Signed,
" j. m'gregor,
" w. franklin,
" w. somerville."
" The advocates for the unity of disease will, I believe,
find it insuperably difficult to reconcile with their theory
the facts which I have thus hastily communicated to you;
while the fundamental principle, that there is a radical dif-
2 46 Account of the Yellow Fever.
ference between remitting fever and yellow fever, between
fevers depending upon marsh miasms as their source, and
those that take their rise from human contagion ; in short,
that yellow fever is a distinct idiopathic disease, acquires
additional support. It may not therefore be of disservice
to make known the purport of this letter. The doctrine
maintaining that different fevers are of one common origin,
is in reality so unfounded in fact and so pernicious in its
consequences, that the sooner it is discarded the better
will it be for the interest of science and humanity."
The immunity of the human constitution from a second
attack of yellow fever, which subject has occupied
the special deliberations of the Army Medical Board of
Great Britain, and the seasonable communication of their
deliberations to the physicians of this country, have been the
tojRivAujrv means of exciting »pur practitioners to this interesting fact.
"' Since ihe appearance of Dr. Francis' Observations on Febrile
Contagion, in a pamphlet form, in 1816, to the present day,
additional light has been thrown on this subject, and we
believe, many medical men, who have witnessed the ravages
of yellow fever in different parts of the United States, con-
cur in opinion that the pestilence rarely or never afflicts the
same individual a second time. In the MS. communication
of Dr. Francis, concerning the late fever of New York, to
which I have more than once already referred, speaking on
this point, I find the following language :—
" I hope," >ays Dr. F. " you will pay due attention to the
question, whether the same individual is afflicted a second
time with yellow fever. Since I have addressed this query
to the medical practitioners of this country, the almost uni-
form reply is, ihat the constitution is rarely subjected to the
action of a second illness from the dUorder. Several of the
most experienced physicians of our city affirm it, as their
Account of the Yellow Fever. 247
belief, that the constitution is invulnerable to a second attack
of the disease. The late Dr. Richard S. Kissam was con-
spicuous in this number. His Excelleucy Governor De
Witt Clinton, who was president of the New-York Board of
Health during the prevalence of the disease in this city, in
1805, and who had ample opportunities of acquiring a
knowledge of the peculiarities of the fever, assures me, that
no case, so far as he learned, came to the cognizance of the
Board of the same person being twice under the influence of
yell< w fever. Dr. Walters, who has been practically conver-
sant with yellow fever since 1798. is of a similar opinion.
" Dr. Hosack, who has recently paid much attention to
this peculiarity of the yellow fever, states, that the sys-
tem is rarely or never liable to become twice afflicted by it,
and his correspondence with several eminent physicians, in
different sections of the union, corroborates the correctness of
this belief. I shall observe, in conclusion, that Dr. Rogers,
the President of the Medical Society of New-Orleans, a
gentleman, who since the year 1804, has witnessed the ra-
vages of yellow fever in that city, gives me the strongest as-
surances, that the human constitution enjoys perfect immu-
nity from a second attack of the disorder. He has never
seen an individual sick of the complaint a second time. But
1 forbear to enlarge on this head."
There is another species of immunity which is said to
belong particularly to the natives of those latitudes to which
j'ellow fever is indigenous. This differs from the kind of
which we have been speaking, because it gives to the con-
stitution an exemption from even a first attack of yellow fe-
ver. The other is acquired ; this is congenital; but the for-
mer is said to be a more perfect protection to the system than
the latter : for if we are to believe the observations made in
Spain, those who have once had the disease, as in other con-
248
Account of the Yellow Fever.
tagious diseases, are ever after exempt from it; but those
who owe their escape from it to their birth-place, are known
to lose this immunity by living a few years in a cold lati-
tude.
With regard to this immunity from birth-place, it is now
almost reduced to a certainty that it does not strictly belong
to the inhabitants of any part of the territory of the United
States, even to those parts of our continent which are nearest
to the tropics. There is, however, a certain degree of in-
susceptibility to this disease, which the natives of the Uni-
ted States possess, derivable, no doubt, from this cause, and
existing in a more and more perfect state the nearer they
reach to the equator. But this does not amount to that
positive and absolute immunity to which we have reference,
and which is possessed in so eminent and remarkable a de-
gree by the natives of those places where the causes which
generate this disease are known to exist. Hence it happens
that although those who have migrated to the United States
from the northern and higher latitudes of Europe, constitute
but a minimum of the population of any of our sea-ports,
they have, notwithstanding, always been peculiarly obnox-
ious to yellow fever, even though they may have resided
here several years, as is shown by the epidemic of the late
season.
The disease spread over the lower part of the city where
the wealthiest portion of the inhabitants reside, almost all of
whom are natives, and where there are very few foreigners ;
for this description of persons being chiefly Irish and poor,
dwell almost exclusively in the suburbs and upper parts of
the town. Yet, as we shall soon see, nearly one half the
deaths were foreigners. The same has been observed when
yellow fever has prevailed in any of our cities. These facts
show that the unsusceptibility to yellow fever growing out
of birth-place belongs, in a certain degree, also, to the na-
Account of the Yellow Fever. 249
tives of the continent of North America, as well as to those
who inhabit its islands in the Carribean sea.
That some of us do not possess this immunity in a higher de-
gree seems strange, when we recollect that Pensacola is in
30° 30' north latitude, New-Orlean* and St. Augustine in 29#
5S', and Havanna in the island of Cuba, 23G 12', which is
only a little more than six degrees farther south than the
two last mentioned sea ports of the United States. But that
this peculiar difference between 'he islands of the West-In-
dies as well as the towns on the continent within the tropics,
(such as Vera Cruz, Carlhagena, he.) and the sea ports of
the United States, does actually exist, every year, almost,
furnishes strong and positive proof; and particularly in
what occurred this very season at the little town of Pensaco-
la. Though the greatest number who perished of the yel-
low fever which recently made such dreadful havoc in this
small town, were emigrants from the northern states; the
old residents and natives also, such as the Spaniards and
French, and even the Creek Indians themselves, who are the
aborigines of the soil, as well as a considerable number of
Negroes fell victims to the disease ! The epidemic broke out
on the 25th of July, about ten days after the arrival of a ves-
sel from Havanna, that came directly up to within a few
feet of the town, and landed a cargo of damaged fruit.
There were then one thousand inhabitants. Six hundred
fled a few days after into the woods, leaving about three
hundred Spaniards, French, Negroes and Indians, and one
hundred Americans, Irish and English. Of these there
perished up to the 1st of October:*
* See letter of Mr. Barber, of Pensacola, dated Pensacola, Sept. 20,
1822, published in the New-York papers.
250
Account of the Yellow Fever.
> 100 American and Irish, ) Adults and
200 whites, J 100 Freuch & SpaniardSj 5 children.
50 Negroes, } 50 Negroes, ) Adults and
30 Indians, \ 30 Creek Indians. > children.
280 280
It is remarkable that from Oct. 1st to Oct. 26th, out of
the three hundred of all descriptions then remaining 'uptown, foa/C"
there were one hundred and twenty who had died, nearly
all of whom were children of Creole (i. e. native) parents,
and who on that account, from being natives of the town,
had been considered safe !
From facts like these, we are constrained to believe that
yellow fever is indigenous to no part of the territory of the
United Stales, and that it has mver appeared in any of our
cities without having been brought there from some West-
India port.
I For this repugnance in our organization to become so
JU VWk Uk'h-tkAC^ modified^as to acquire a perfect immunity from the disease,
,~ is strong pre-umptive proof that yellow fever cannot be a
COuAuIa^ native production of our soil or
4/}/Jl.\ \\4*X. W To return lo the subject of immunity from a second at-
.\J
tack. It is conjectured that out of more than four hundred
cases of yellow fever which have occurred this season, none
have had the disease before. One half, at least, were fo-
reigners from England, Ireland, Germany, or France, or
persons from more northern parts of the United Slates, and
who had never had yellow fever. Of the remaining half, no
instance has come lo my knowledge, of the disease having
attacked the same person twice.
From a review of the whole controversy on this subject,
we are led to believe that an immunity from a second at-
Account of the Yellow Fever.
251
tack does belong to yellow fever as well as to most other
contagious diseases : but under this modification, which will,
we think, express the terms of the law in an unexceptionable
manner/
Those who have passed through yellow fever once, very
rarely take it a second time, especially if they continue to re-
side in the country where they first had the disease.
The fact was first stated very nearly in the same lan-
guage, by Dr. Mc Arthur, late physician to the Naval Hos-
pital at Deal, in his Report on this subject to the Commis-
sioners for the service of transports, and sick and wounded
seamen, he. " I have reason to conclude, (says this phy-
sician.) from my own experience, that it rarely attacks the
human frame more than once, so long as the objects of its
attacks continue in the country, or do not commit irregu-
larities." [Bancroft's Sequel, p. 55.]
The total number of deaths of yellow fever in the city, re-
corded on the books of the City Inspector, Dr. Cunufing,
during the summer and autumn of 18^2, was one hundred
and sixty four.
They were from the following countries and states:
Foreigners. Americans.
Ireland, - 32 New-York, - 58
England, - 26 Connecticut, - 14
Germany, - 9 Massachusetts, - 7
Scotland, - 3 New-Jersey, - 7
France, - 2 Pennsylvania, - 1
Holland, - 2 Maryland, - I
--- Rhode-Island, - 1
Total, 74 90 Nova Scotia, Total, 1 90
Deaths, 164
252 Account of the Yellow Fever.
Of the ninety Americans, the following came from lati-
tudes much higher north than that of the city of New-York.
Thus from
Connecticut, - - 14
Massachusetts, - - 7
Rhode-Island, - - 1
Nova-Scotia, - - 1
23
These of course were much more predisposed to the
disease than the natives of the city. It was observed also in
the yellow fever of Cadiz in 1810, that those Spaniards
who had fled from the northern parts of Spain to take re-
fuge in that city from the French armies, were more obnox-
ious to the disease than the natives of Cadiz.*
Out of the whole number of deaths, in New-York, during
the late epidemic,
5 were between 1 and 10 years of age.
17 - - 10 20
40 - - 20 - 30
40 - - 30 - 40
36 - - 40 - 50
15 - 50 - 60
8 - - 60 - 70
2 - - 80 - 90
Of which six only were coloured persons, of whom three
wer- blacks and three mulaitoes. There were fifty-nine fe-
males. The number of females was therefore to that of
males a little more than one to three.
Out of the whole number of females, it is worthy of re-
mark, that twenty-three were foreigners, and eleven from the
* See Sir James Fellowes, p. 219.
Account of the Yellow Fever*
253
more northern parts of the United States, making the ratio
of susceptibility between those of northern constiiutions and
those who are acclimated, hold nearly true in respect to fe-
males also, as well as to both sexes, when included to-
gether.
Of the whole number of deaths, two thirds it appears
w^re between the ages of twenty and fifty; and of the re-
mainder nearly as many under twenty as over fifty. There
were more than three times as many between ten and twen-
ty as between one and ten; and nearly twice as many be-
tween fifty and six'y as between sixty and ninety. It isa
little remarkable that very nearly the same numbers died
between twenty and thirty, between thirty and forty, and be-
tween forty and fifty.
A number of blacks, who had been employed as watch-
men, or to take furniture and goods out of the infected parts
of the town, were thus particularly exposed to the disease
long after the original inhabitants of the district had deserted
it. Dr. Lining says he never knew an instance of a black
taking the yellow fever at Charleston. There were much
fewer of the night watch who took the disease than of those
who were employed also on the day watch. Dr. Rush attri-
butes it to habitual exposure to the cool night air. There
were also five or six Germans took sick, who continued
constantly to work in a sugar-house in Liberty-street,
near Nassau-street, long afnjr that neighbourhood had
become infected—ihey lived in ihe upper parts of the
town, and several of them died. This circumstance excited
a good deal of remark. It was no doubt rendered more fatal
in this building from the peculiar predisposition which all
foreigners have to this disease. Their occupation also by ex-
posing them to an intense heat in confined apartments, may
have contributed, perhaps, to render them more liable to the
254 Account of the Yellow Fever.
disorder. Deveze remarks, that blacksmiths, bakers, he.
are, on th it account, particularly subject to tak^ this com-
plaint. Sir James Fellowes, speaking of the yellow fever
in Spain says, that those who were obliged to remain long
near the fire, as cooks, he. were very liable to the disease.
The disease, as usual, prevailed most among the poorer
classes—first, because they either wantonly, or from ne-
cessity, exposed themselves to it more than the rich—and
secondly, because the small apartments in which they usually
live, rendered impure by human effluvia, became a more
ready medium of contagion. At least one half, and perhaps
two thirds, were labourers and mechanics; but no particular
occupation appeared to be more obnoxious to this disease
than another. Its fatality seems to have been regulated more
by the condition of life than by the occupation or tempera-
ment. For we find it proved remarkably fatal where ihe
air must have been from necessity impure and surcharged
with human effluvia, as in boarding houses, and as was re-
marked, in previous years, in small sailor taverns and similar
houses, usually resorted to by the poor. In two respectable
boarding houses in Broadway, the mother and her daughter,
in each, took he disease, out of which number three died.
Out of three respectable boarding houses also in Court-
landt-street, in two of them the ladies who kept thein died,
besides six other persons belonging to the houses. In two
small sailor boarding houses in Witer-street, (see Chap. I.)
there were five taken down with yelLw fever, four of whom
died.
There were scarcely any persons of consequence, and
very few of the wealthier part of the inhabitants who fell
vict ms to it, with the exception perhaps of five or six, who
unnecessarily expose ! themselves, by remaining too long
in the infected district, though it was in their power to
escape.
Account of the Yellow Fever. 255
When it is considered, that this city counts upwards of
10 or 12,000 coloured persons among its inhabitants, and
that the greater part of them remained, no doobt, in town,
a,t the time the yellow fever prevailed, and were as much or
more exposed to the chances of taking the disease as others,
it must be confessed, that the disproportion in the number
of them who died, to that of the whites, was very great;
showing, what was long since pronounced to be true, but
lately at'empted for certain purposes to be controverted,
that this description of persons do, in reality, possess a
much higher degree of insusceptibility to the disease than
whites. Contrary, however, to the positive assertion of
Rush, I must say, that some of the most malignant cases
of this disease, and particularly those in which there was
most a palling haemorrhage, have been among this small
number of blacks who died. P ^C tfju> C -\^ a^tnf iLi
1>
V
/A*
fat**J(rti, d ftcJ&J ~ Jbs <^f ^^ &>& ''foyv
A jm-i •(A^.fM, )-rs.4A*~ f^
GHAPTER X.
WEATHER.
By noticing (he highest range of the thermometer during
the summer and autumnal months, it is found that there has
been . t no time those excessively hot days, which have usual-
ly been observed to occur in July or August. This is cor-
roborated by the fact, as we shall see in the chapter on
deaths which succeeds this, that there have been but very
few deaths from drinkng cold water, of which there are every
year a considerable number during the prevalence of extreme
hot weather, as is shown by the list of mortality for 1820, and
v by the preceding years., The thermometer on such occasions
has usually exceeded 98° and 100. But this year the ther-
mometer was at 2, P. M. during all June only six times
above 90° and then but two or three degrees higher than
that point. In July, at the same hour, it exceeded 90 on ten
occasions, and only four times before the first cases of yel-
low fever sickened. In August it was only seven times over
90° at 2 P. M. but it never during all the summer exceeded
96, and did not reach as high as that point exrept on one
day, which was the 20th of July, at 2, P. M. In September,
the mercury on five days rose as high as 90° ; but in Octo-
ber it did not reach as high as 80° except on three occasions;
Account of the Yellow Fever. 257
on.one of which, \'yl. the 20th, it attained at 2 P. M. 84°.
Nor was there at any time those sudden depressions of the
thermometer which occasionally happen; for during all
the summer, the quicksilver did not fall below 60°, and ne-
ver as low as that, excepting one day, viz. the 14th of June,
at 9 P. M. During September, also, it did not fall below
60°, except on five days, at 7 A. M. on one of which, viz.
the 18th, it was as low as 54°. In October, however,
towards the latter part of the month, it sank as low as
37° on the 23d, on which day, ice was for the first time
found in the immediate vicinity of the city. On the
26th, the day on which the Board of Health adjourned,
the mercury fell to 36° at 7 A. M. From that day to the
4th of November, there happened thirteen deaths of yellow
fever.* From the 23d of October to November 1st, it was
asserted in the public prints, that ice had been several times
seen in the city. Of this, however, there was no substantial
proof, which is confirmed by the fact that the quicksilver did
not, at any time of this month, fall to the freezing point:
The thermometer which we have used as our standard
is kept at the New-York Hospital, which is considered to
be one of the most open and elevated places in the city, the
air having free admission to it from all quarters, and the
building being surrounded with a large enclosure, at the
distance, on every side of it, of more than one hundred or
one hundred and fifty feet from the buildings of the city.
Ice, however, may have nevertheless formed in some of the
* When the first part of this work was printed off, the report of death*
from yellow fever had not been entirely completed. Hence instead of
ten additional cases having1 occurred after the Board adjourned, I should
have stated the number at thirteen.
33
258
Account of the Yellow Fever.
more sheltered places of the town. If it did freeze, it was
probably on the north west or shaded side of the city upon
the Hudson. It could not have formed on the East River
or sou'h-eastern and sunny side of the city; for the cases
that occurred between October 26th and November 4th, af-
ter the Board of Health adjourned, were in this part. Other-
wise we shall be obliged to admit that yellow fever may,
to a certain extent, go on to prevail after freezing weather.
I did not myself ascertain the existence of frost in the city
until early in the morning of Nov. 5th, when the ground in
shaded places was covered with it, and continued so for
some time after the sun had risen.
That a general frost had not occurred in the city until
this date, is furthermore confirmed by the fact, that the very
last case of yellow fever that happened died on the day be-
fore, to wit, Nov. 4th.
Cases. Deaths.
From July 10th to August 1st, there occurred 15 7
August 1st to September 1st, - 95' 58
September 1st to October 1st, - 211 109
October 1st to November 5th, - 93 69
July was mild, and for the most part clear, but the air was
unusually humid compared with the preceding month. The
average of the thermometer at 2 P. M was very nearly 88°,
and in June, at the same hour, only 83°.
The yellow fever may be said to have begun to be propa-
gated about the 15th of July, that is five days after the first
three cases sickened. Notwithstai.ding the humidity of
this month, and that the atmosphere, though noi particularly
calm, was at no time disturbed by violent ..usts or storms,
and that the inhabitants in the neighbourhood where the
disease began, from being st II unaware of the ir tiodu- tion
of this pestilence, had not abandoned their homes, still the
Account of the Yellow Fever.
259
disease at first seemed to have made but little progress, for
during all the remaining half of the month, there did not oc-
cur bat fifteen cases !.
Conformable as the state of the elements seemed to be with
the hypothesis of domestic origin, the disease was too stub-
born to acknowledge its authority, but sternly obeyed its
own laws. But if a long continuance of hot, dry, clear
weather also, would generate the di-ease, why did it not
break out in June ? There was certainly heat enough in
that month. But June must be reserved, I presume, in or-
der that the preparatory concoction which the elements re-
quire, might have full time to be matured. The average
heat in August also, was 8o° at 2 P. M. nearly the same as
that of July, but there occurred only ninety-five cases, a
proportion four times as great as in July, but yet not a very
extraordinary number, considering that the mass of the pop-
ulation in the lower part of the city still remained there, and
that the temperature of the air seemed to be favourable to
the propagation of the disease. The season indeed seems
to have given the theory of domestic origin a fair trial.
First, a dry hot month, which could produce nothing, then
a hot and very moist month which produced but very little;
and lastly, a dry hot month again when the proportion of
cases was only quadrupled. But in September there was
much more wind than during all the summer, though no
violent commotion of the air, and the average heat at 2 P. M.
was 81° only, being two degrees less than that of June.
There was also a medium quantum of moisture, compared
with the three preceding summer months. This state of
things, that is a moderately high heat and moderate degree
of humidity in the air, seemsloTTave been most favourable
for the propagation of the disease, for in this month, though
260
Account of the Yellozu Fever.
nearly all the lower part of the city below Fulton-street was
deserted as early as the first of the month, yet more than
two hundred and eleven cases occurred, being more than
twice the number of what had occurred in the previous
month. How are these discrepancies to be reconciled with
the hypothesis of domestic origin? Will it be said that in
July there was a good deal of electrical matter in the air,
and that this counterpoised the deleterious influence of an
excessive humidity. But in June the temperature was near-
ly the same as in September, and there was not only a great
deficiency of moisture in the atmosphere, but much less
thunder nnd lightning than usual, which, however, was also
the case in Sepiember. In September 'he cause which pro-
duced the disease seemed to have been more active than at
any other time, though less mortal than in the succeeding
month.
When the thermometer began to fall towards the middle
of autumn, the disease, as usual, became in correspondence
more circumscribed in its limits, but more fa'al ; for in Oc-
tober there were ninety-three cases, the same number as in
August, lacking only one, but the proportion of deaths to
the cases increased, and became as three to four.
Upon the whole, it would seem from the meteorological
phenomena of the present season, that this disease sets
at defiance the ordinary vicissitudes of the atmosphere.
Neither its progress nor its origin seem to depend, as many
would have us believe, upon any definable state or condi-
tion of the elements. Nor have those sudden and extreme
changes of the weather which sometimes characterize the
seasons, any more to do with the production of yellow fever
than the usual train of atmospheric phenomena. If we can
repose confidence in one of the oldest and best writers on
Account of the Yelloio Fever. 261
this subject, this fact holds true also in the West-Indies
which we are generally accustomed to consider as the birth-
place of this disease. " Nei'her the alteration of ihe weather
or winds, nor the different seasons of the year, have ever of
themselves been able to produce this contagious disease
among us. Many years (I may safely say seven or pight
or more successively,) have, to my certain knowledge, pass-
ed over, when the sultry heats and long intolerable droughts
of some, the almost incessant rains of others, or the tempes-
tuous weather of many, and that from uncommon points of
the compass too, must surely, in some degree or other, have
given rise to such an epidemical malignity, if it could pos-
sibly be derived from such causes; and yet no footsteps of
the fever did appear all that time."*
It would be almost useless to enter into a comparison of
the state of the weather this season wuh what was observed
in previous epidemics, for it brings us out to the very
same results. Taking September as our criterion, all that we
can positively affirm is, that the propagation, in other words,
the contagion of yellow fever, appears to be favoured by a
steady range of temperature, somewhere at or a little above
80°; and perhaps also by a moderate share of humidity in the
air. But whether a deficiency of electric matter in ihe atmos-
phere, which Dr. Shecut, of Charleston, avers, gives rise to
the generation of the disease, has any thing to do with fa-
cilitating or retarding its progress, I cannot pretend to say.
The contagion this year seems, in truth, to have been mul- .
tiplied with much greater rapidity during the monthjn I ^^u V*X€^.
which there was scarcely any thunder or lightning observed
* Treatise concerning- the Malignant Fever in Barbadoes, by Hen-
ry Warren, M. D. London, 1741.
262
Account of the Yellow Fever.
than in August, when there was a good deal noticed, or ill
July, when there was a still more frequent recurrence of
electrical phenomena, and when the number of cases, though
the propagation of the disease seemed to have been appa-
rently favoured by other circumstances, was unusually
small. May not this incease of cases in September be
owing also, in some n-easure, to the fact, that this is always
one of the most sickly months of the year, and that ihe al-
ternations of chilly evenings and hot days, which so peculiar-
ly characterize this monti, must predispose the body to dis-
ease, and render it of course more susceptible to morbific in-
fluences of every kind, and therefore more vulnerable to the
poison of yellow fever, as well as to all other causes of dis-
ease r
The tables of which we have availed ourselves in the
foregoing observations, are kept by Dr. R. Pennell^
and by him published in the New-York Medical and
Physical Journal, edited by Drs. Francis and Beck. As
they are drawn up with uncommon care and accuracy, and
are intimately connected with the subject under considera-
tion, I have thought it not irrelevant to insert the months al-
luded to entire, together with those of May and November,
Account of the Yellow Fever.
263
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS
FOR MAY, 1822.
ffiade-attftg-New-York Ilunpitalrby RiciiAUo-PcTTirETrcrM. TJ.
- ■ Thermo- R , , i 1
Barometer. meter. Wind«. Rain. 1 Weather.
~- 7 2 9 7 2 » 7 1 Z I y . Jauge.
A M P M V M IMF M P M A M P M sw P M SW
• 1 30 101 JO 08 30 06 B21 14 7f -AY variable
2 30 06i 30 06: 30 20 61 JU 7E se sw sw cloudy
3 >0 25. 30 25: 30 25 63 75 hf ne ne ne variable
4 30 25 30 25. 30 03 58 r)5 5'^ ne ne ne —.74 cloudy
5 29 70 29 70 29 78 50 ^547 ne nw nw do.
6 29 88 29 96 29 9b 46 72 bi [ w w w clear
7 30 00 30 00 30 00 54 74iu [ w nw nw variable
8 29 96 30 00 30 18 60 76 65 I nw nw nw ;ioil(ly
9 •$0 20 30 26 30 26 56 71 51 I nw nw ■) IV do.
10 30 35 30 27 30 2~ 54 70 5i 3 ne >w A clear
" 30 27 30 27 30 34 56 75 5 ( w sw SW do
12 JO 45 30 47 30 4: ,5 74 5 7 sw sw sw do
13 30 4" 30 47 30 44 58 75 b ± sw sw stv do
14 30 40 30 >8 30 3- 61 78 6 1 sw s s do
15 30 16 30 10 30 2- 60 75 6 8 s 8 n — 1 cloudy
16 30 24 30 24 30 28 t>2 7^6 4 n SW sw —.05 do
17 ^0 3o 30 35 30 35 58 606 6 sw s s do
18 >0 30 30 26 3'» 22 02 7b 6 8 s sw nw —.28 do
19 30 20 30 2-2 30 20 ;--4 80 7 2 s s sw variable
20 30 3< 30 30 30 30 63 75 6 ' 1 s s s cloudy
21 30 3(J 3o 24 30 It, 64 70 H i S s s — 05 do
22 30 06 29 96 29 90 «!i 8., 7 5 s w w —.20 do
23 30 00 30 OK 30 08 70 bO. T >»w sw sw do
24 30 22 30 2b 30 3b ■>'4 '5 t ne nw nw variable
25 30 6(J 30 60 30 60 60 G-b 5 sw sw sw clear
26 30 6C 30 5G 30 4b "•8 75 0 se se sw —.10 cloudy
27 30 34 30 34 ■Mi It ,6 6s r" .' sw sw sw —.05 do
28 30 U !30 14 30 1, 64 85 7 SW , SW sw clear
2SJ 30 Of 30 U 30 2( 72 80 7 5 sw se s< variable
3( 30 2£ 130 2t 30 2: or 73' ( ^e se ne —.07 cloudy
31 |)30 28 30 2£ 30 2£ lis •78 rc :>e s —.02 do
The quantity of rain which fell in May, is 1 inch and 74-lQ0ths.
On the 8th, a few drops of rain from a passing cloud. 16, at 7 p. M.
lightning, with very loud thunder, and a small quantity of rain; 18th, mode-
rate showers; at 7 p.m. thunder. On the 22d, 10 p.m. a gust of wind
from the S. W. thunder, 4-c. The sun was obscured on the 4th, 18th, and
30th. Fog en the mornings of the 7th, 14th, and 15th.
r
264
Account of the Yellow Fever.
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS
FOR JUNE, 1822.
MadeLaUthe.3&eauYork Hospital, by Richard Va.mKt.LL,~M7^'.
. Th< jiho- ;
Barometer. meter. Winds. Rain c*. 51)4'
— 7 | 2 9 7 : 2 9 7 2 9 Weather.
AM j P M 1 P M AM PM 84 PM AM PM s P M jauge. 2 E
1 30 20130 20 30 16 08 70 s S 772 cloudy
2130 10 30 10 30 10173 90 79j se sw sw 784 do
330 10 30 10 30 10 77 88 74|nw sw sw 720 clear
430 10 30 10 30 18 70|91 65i sw sw ne —.24 760 cloudy
530 29 30 32 30 30 61/4 64 ne se se 648 do
630 32 30 30 30 306473 64 ne ne ne 643 do
7:30 27 30 18 30 0865j74 68 sw sw sw 643 variable
8 29 90 29 90 30 04 71185 74 sw sw sw 620 cloudy
9,30 04 30 04 30 04,70:89 75 nw sw sw 595 clear
10*30 06 30 06 30 06|7093 75 w w w 572 do
1130 00 30 0030 0073:88 72 w sw sw —.15 600 variable
1229 97 29 9730 1073,93 73 n n n 584 clear
13 30 25 30 3030 34 65 80 70 n s s 580 do
1430 48 30 48 30 50 6 5 *,0 60 se se se 575 cloudy
1530 50 30 50 30 256585 75 se sw sw 584 do
1630 02 30 00 30 007089 72 sw sw nw 572 clear
17 30 00 30 00 30 00 70J88 72 nw nw nw 573 cloudy
1830 00 30 00 30 0O;64:7 2 64 nw nw sw 573 do
19 30 12 30 12 30 12 62:80 64 sw sw sw 586 clear
20 30 18 29 94 29 941646564 sw se se 1. 01 608 cloudv
2129 94 29 90 >9 90j6480;70 s s 3 616 do "
2229 90 30 00 30 0870|8572 nw w W 600 clear
23 30 18 30 18 30 18 70,84 71 w sw SW 594 do
24 30 18 30 18 30 18;72'85 7 5 sw sw sw — 22 634 cloudy
25 30 18 30 18 30 I8i70;74|67 ne sw sw — 19 b60 do
26 30 18 30 10 30 io'688l'68 e e e —.04 704 do
2730 18 30 20 30 20 65 84)72 ne ne sw 690 variable
28!30 20 30 20 30 2o!64 88i"5 sw sw sw 626 clear
2930 20 30 20 30 20!72 92 78| sw sw sw 628 do
3( )30 20 30 20 30 2( )'7£ »;92 78 sw sw sw 639 cloudy
Mil
The quantity of rain which fell this month is 1 inch and 85-100th.
At the commencement of this month the atmosphere was very humid,
and the mornings foggy ; there was hut little thunder and rain. On the
2d and 21st, there fell a small quantity of rain from Nimbus, passing
over. The sun was obscured on the 20th and 25th, and the greatest
part of the 1st and 8th; the sky generally was clear at night; those days
on which there was but little wind the heat was very oppressive, espe-
cially on the 10th and 11th. Vespertine lightning on the 2d, 16th and
30th.
* This is aver}' neat instrument, invented by Cant. Kater, in which the spare
between extreme moisture and extreme dryness is divided into 1200 equal pais*.
Account of the Yellow Fever.
265
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS
FOR JULY, 1822.
Ma(Te~3Hhc New York Ho6pitri7fty~Ri7JHARij PnAiflELEj M. D.
Thermo-
Barometer. meter. Winds. Rain u 41
7 2 9 7 2 9 7 2 | 9 Weather.
A M P M PM AM PM PM A M P M j P M Gauge ££
1 30 18 30 18 30 18 78 94 73 SW SW s —.16 653 cloudy
2 30 18 30 12 30 10 75 87 71 s sw sw 1. 63 685 do
3 30 08 30 00 30 00 76 87 /6 SW sw s 700 do
4 30 00 30 08 30 18 76 93 75 s s s 1686 do
5 30 20 30 24 30 20 75 88 76 s s s 694 do
6 30 20 30 20 30 20 77 87 75 s s s 1. 84 720 do
7 30 20 30 10 30 10 78 92 75 n s s —.18 736 do
8 30 04 29 94 29 90 75 92 74 sw sw sw 748 do
9 29 90 30 04 30 18 ~6 85 76 nw nw nw 660 clear
10 30 33 30 33 30 30 73 91 80 nw sw sw 653 do
11 30 30 30 22 30 16 77 85 76 sw sw sw • 650 variable
12 30 08 30 08 30 08 75 86 74 sw sw nw —.34 710 cloudy
13 30 10 30 10 30 00 7684 72 nw nw nw —.67 7*6 do
14 30 00 30 00 30 00 72 88 78 sw sw sw 732 variable
15 29 96 29 98 oO 06J78 87 72 sw w w —.11 730 cloudy
16 30 10 30 18 30 2417288 76 w nw nw 700 variable
17 30 30 30 30 ;,0 30 70 87 77 nw nw sw 660 clear
18 30 30 30 30 30 30 75,92 79 sw sw n —.06 663] variable
19 30 30 30 26 30 20 76;92 78 n s s 66 5, do
20 30 18 30 10 30 10 79 96 78 sw sw sw —.04 656 cloudy
21 30 18 30 18 30 18 79 90 78 sw sw sw 645 clear
22 30 10 30 06 :i0 00 76 85 78 w w sw 645 do
23 30 00 30 00 30 00 76 90 76 sw sw sw —.28 675 do
24 30 00 30 00 30 00 78 88 71 sw n n 655 cloudy
25 29 94 29 98 30 00 72 82 76 w w w 665 do
26 30 08 30 20 30 26 68 80 70 w nw nw 630 clear
27 30 28 30 28 30 28 65'81 73 nw nw nw —.32 645 clear
28 30 20 30 12 30 12 7088J75 s s nw —.03 670 cloudy
29 30 10 30 26 30 26 7383)73 nw n n 650 clear
30 30 40 30 40 30 40 70|85-74 n e e 634 do
31 30 47 30 47 30 40 71 87 70 e e e 1650| do
The quantity of rain which fell this month, is 5 inches 66-100 ths.
This month was remarkable for its unusual humidity, and its numerous
and heavy falls of rain. We were visited by thunder, lightning, and
rain on the 1st, 2d, 6th, 7th, 18th, 20th, 24th, and 28th. Vespertine
lightning on the 3d, 7th, and 28th. The sun was totally obscured on the
6th. The rain on the 27th fell in the night.
34
266
Account of the Yellow Fever.
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS
FOR AUGUST, 1822.
M«de^t^eNew-YoTfc-«tw|«tarrby-R«:HARD F^m^u^M. D.
Thermo-
Barometer. meter. Winds. Rain iuo«J
— 7 2 9 7 2! 9 7 2 9 Weather.
A M P M P M iM PM|PM K M PM P M Gauge. IE
1 30 40 30 40. 30 38 70 B472 e e SW 656 clear
2 33 30 30 2230 20 71 87|73 sw sw SW —.27 670 cloudy
3 30 16 30 16!30 10 75 89 76,sw s s 705 do
4 30 03l30 00J29 80]76 94! 7 4 s s nw —42 698 do
5 29 9030 06 30 10i74 80 70nw nw nw 665 clear
6 30 10 30 22 30 28 64 78 67 ne ne ne 647 do
7 30 38 30 4030 40;67 75 68 e se se 643 do
8 30 47 30 47 30 47;64 82 72 se ne ne 638 do
9 30 47 30 40 30 40J72 86 70 sw s 3 645 do
10 30 40 30 4030 34 72 88 72 s ■ 650 do
11 30 30 30 3030 30,72 92 74 sw sw sw 645 do
12 30 30 30 2830 23174 90 79, sw sw sw 648 do
13 30 23 30 2030 2075 89 79 sw sw sw 652 do
14 30 32 30 3230 22 70 85 70 nw nw nw 670 cloudy
15 30 10 30 00 30 00174 92 75| s s s —.02 662 do
16 30 17 30 17 30 17|70 90>76 nw sw sw b50 clear
17 30 17 30 17 30 17 74 91 78, sw sw sw 664 do
18 30 20^30 20 30 20 70 86 74 ne ne ne 680 cloudy
19 30 15'30 15 30 00 72 85 75 se s s —.17 700 do
20 30 0030 00 30 00 77 94 76 s s s 660 do
31 30 00!30 00 30 00 75 88 75 nw nw nw 660 do
22 30 0830 10 30 18 73 85 74 e e e —.17 660 variable
23 30 25 30 25 30 25 65 8071 e ne ne 672 cloudy
24 30 25 30 25 30 25 69 80,75 se se s —.03 670 do
25 30 36 30 36 30 36 66 8574 s ne se 660 clear
26 30 36 30 36 30 30 70 84,70 se se se 660 do
27 30 3C 30 30 30 20 68 78168 ne ne ne 656 do
28 30 16 30 16 30 16 67 8070 ne ne ne 660 cloudy
2g 30 2C 30 20 30 2C 72 8873 ne ne ne 660 clear
3oi30 40|30 40 30 4C 64 81|69jne ne ne 656 cloudy
31 30 4f 130 40 30 4C !6£ 82 |7C ne 1 ne ne 656 do
The quantity of rain which fell this month is 1 inch and 8-100ths.
This month attracts our notice for the number of devastating tornadoes
that happened in different parts of the United States ; its arid atmosphere,
clear itarry nights, and moderate rains. 4th. Clear morning, wind &;
at 3 P. M. wind changed to N. W.; it soon began to blow tremendously;
the dust ascended in large quantities, so as to obscure some parts of the
city; it laid prostrate a number of trees, and did considerable damage;
it was accompanied with loud thunder, lightning and rain, which lasted
until half past 4 P. M. We had likewise thunder, &c. on the 15th and
22d. A beautiful double rainbow was seen in the south on the 15th, at
7 P. M. Vespertine lightning on the 4th, 15th, 19th, and 20th. On the
nights of the 9th and 10th I observed a number of shooting meteors.
Account of theYellowFever.
267
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS
FOR SEPTEMBER, 1822.
i"t we niiwiu FK no spr [Hry-i *r** fW-=*TET fWEL l, iu. \j;
Bnrometer. Thermo-meter. Winds. Rain Gauge. U £ p So
7 | 2 9 712 9 7 2 9 Weather.
A Ml P M P M amJpm PM A M P M P M
T 30~37 30 30 30~22 70 85 74 se se se —.08 685 variable
2 30 10 30 04 30 00 76 81 70 s s nw —.90 724 cloudy
3 29 90 30 00 30 00 69 87 74 sw sw sw 704 variable
4 30 08 30 20 30 20 66 82 67 sw sw sw 684 clear
5 30 26 30 26 30 26 62 81 69 sw sw sw 656 do
6 30 26 30 26 30 26 65 82 71 ne sw sw 645 do
7 30 26 30 26 30 15 68 88 76 sw sw sw 636 do
8 30 15 30 15 30 15 70 88 75 nw sw s 638 cloudy
9 30 10 30 10 30 22 72 85 76 sw s s 672 do
10 30 20 30 20 30 20 70 90 76 s s sw —.01 690 clear
11 30 14 30 14 30 14 75 94 78 sw sw sw 687 cloudy
12 30 27 30 27 30 27 76 91 77 sw sw sw 660 clear
13 30 27 30 27 30 27 78 94 79 sw sw nw 684 clear
14 30 27 30 20 30 20 72 84 72 sw se sw —.31 695 cloudy
15 30 14 30 14 30 00 74 90 74 sw sw nw 670 clear
16 29 90 29 90 30 10 72 82 69 sw nw nw 638 do
17 30 30 30 44 30 56 60 68 60 nw nw sw 622 do
18 30 64 30 60 30 52 54 71 62 nw sw sw 619 do
19 30 38 30 38 30 30 64 79 68 s w sw nw —.38 660 cloudy
20 30 00 30 00 30 00 69 75 69 se nw nw 1.62 680 do
21 29 90 30 00 30 12 65 72 62 sw sw nw 650 clear
22 30 36 30 36 30 40 58 70 62 nw nw nw 645 do
23 30 57 30 57 30 57 55 70 60 nw nw nw 642 do
24 30 50 30 50 30 50 58 73 62 une ne sw 648 do
25 30 44 30 44 30 44 59 74 68 cal. sw sw 650 do
26 30 44 30 30 30 30 64 75 73 sw sw sw —.07 718 cloudy
27 30 30 30 16 30 16 70 77 74 sw s s 80f do
28 30 16 30 \( 30 00 73 83 75 s se se —.03 832 do
29 30 00 30 0C 30 00 73 78 72 s se se 834 do
30|30 00 30 00|30 12 68 77 7C nw nw nw 75C clear
The quantity of rain in this month, amounted to 3 inches and 40-1 OOths.
The therraometrical range for September was considerably higher than for the s»e"o*th
in the preceding year; it was unusually moist, especially towards the latter part. Very thick
fogs and light winds, on the mornings of the 3d, 9th, 24th, and 26th. Theautumnalequ.no*
mfde its appearance at 10 P. M. on the 19th. and continued until the even.ngof the:20th. 1 uf
™n was obscured the greatest part of the I4th, and completely so on the 20th, 26th, and . U.
T^heTermometear,7aced in the sun. on the 6th, at 2 P. M. stood at 106°. Thunder I.ghtnmg.
andra^, on the2d and Mth. Vespertine lightning on the llth and I3th. The rain on th« lit,
10th, and 19th, fell in the night.
268
Account of the Yellow Fever.
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS
FOR OCTOBER, 1822.
Made at the ^Tew-York Hospital, by~R*ci4ARD P &»«***> -MrD.
Barometer. Thermo-meter. Winds. Rain Gauge. V E o 5:
•j 2 S 7 219 7 2 9 Weather.
A M P M p M AM PM'PM AM nw PM nw PM nw ----- X 1 i0
1 }<> 27 30 21 30 ■"/ J 6 • » 08 30 08 65 HO 65 nw nw nw —.07 730 clear
9 30 20 30 go }() 18 65 73 63 nw sw sw 7.'i0 do
10 30 15 30 15 30 !0 67 75 70 sw sw sw —.11 735 cloudy do
11 30 04 30 00 30 00|70 78 72 sw sw sw —.03 780
12 30 00 30 00 :<0 156o 74 61 sw sw sw 825 do
13 30 25 30 24 30 3C64 7458 sw sw sw 7 70 clear
14 30 35 30 45 30 4551 66\56 ne ne ne 732 cloudy clear
15 30 45 30 45 30 45149 63 54 nw qw nw 686
16 30 45 30 40 30 3352 70 62 se w w 672 cloudy clear
17 30 22 30 20 30 20 56 73 6:: w w sw 682
18 30 20 30 14 30 10 59 78 67 sw sw sw 687 cloudy do
19 30 10 30 00 30 00 63 83 70 sw sw sw 725
20 ;jo 00 29 97 29 86 71 8J 72 sw sw sw —.02 732 do
21 29 75 30 00 30 20 71 68 62 s nw nw 686 do
22 30 26 30 34 30 40 52 75 49 nw nw nw 680 clear
23 ^0 40 30 40 30 40 37 58 45 n n n 657 do
24 30 40 30 34 30 22 43 54 44 n n n 632 cloudy do
25 30 20 30 30 :<0 36 40 54 42 ne ne ne 623
26 30 4') 30 40 30 40 36 54 46 ne ne ne 622 clear
27 30 35 30 18 30 04 42 49 46 ne ne ne 1. 42 640 cloudy do
28 29 68 29 60 29 60 49 55 46 ne nw n w —.67 655
29 29 60 29 80 29 87 45 54 45 w w w 650 do
30 29 95 29 90 30 03 41 54 4a w w w 650 clear
3' 30 05 30 00 30 00 42 68 56 sw sw sw ".50 do
The quantity of rain which fell this month, is 2 inches and la—innth.
■n. ab, od the 8ih, mi . ,5.rt ui™ b.f„, tmSS ^ """"i «' » 0'el»«
Accacint of the Yellow Fever.
269
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS
FOR NOVEMBER, 1822.
Mado attho-New-ifork Hospital, byftrc»*ft» PewwErrrM; D.
Barometer. Thermo-meter. Winds. Rain Gauge. 0i V E o CUD
7 2 9 7 2 / 7 2 1 9 Weather.
A M p M p M AM 4-i PM PM 44 AM nw PM PM >> X
1 29 90 29 94 JO 05 nw W 644 cloudy
2 30 05 30 05 30 00 38 54 46 w w w 638 variable
3 30 00 30 18 30 34 44 61 45 w w n 635 clear
4 30 44 30 44 30 34 36 60 43 n n n 630 do
5 30 44 60 44 30 38 35 58 aS n n n 632 do
6 30 30 30 28 30 28 44 59 51 nw nw nw 645 cloudy
7 30 28 30 22 30 16 49 59 56 nw sw sw —.66 682 do
8 30 04 30 18 30 34 56 75 60 sw sw sw —.13 695 do
9 30 48 30 50 30 56 44 51 45 ne ne ne 687 do
lo •50 67 30 67 30 64 40 50 49 ne ne ne 690 do
11 30 50 30 46 30 32 48 61 56 ne ne ne 710 do
12 30 30 30 30 30 30 51 60 58 se se se 758 do
13 30 30 30 18 30 08 56 49 48 ne ne ne 2.80 758 do
14 30 00 29 82 29 98 48 51 42 ne nw nw —.57 763 do
15 30 24 30 36 30 42 37 58 46 nw nw sw 746 clear
16 30 48 30 48 30 48 42 61 50 sw sw sw 734 do
17 30 48 30 48 80 4o 41 64 42 sw sw sw 728 do
18 30 36 30 36 30 29 45 51 47 ne ne ne —.78 742 cloudy
19 30 2> 30 29 30 34 45 54 47 nw nw nw 741 variable
20 30 34 30 30 30 26 44 38 50 nw nw nw 741 cloudy
21 30 20 30 20 30 14 50 61 55 sw sw sw 741 do
22 30 00 29 84 29 70 46 47 44 n n e ne 1.94 746 do
23 29 60 29 98 30 08 44 57 44 w w w 735 do
24 30 20 30 38 30 56 40 46 40 nw nw nw 716 variable
25 30 56 30 30 30 26 35 59 4-J nw sw sw 727 do
26 30 26 30 26 30 26 36 44 39 nw nw nw —.20 710 do
27 30 26 30 26 30 26 34 45 40 nw w w 705 clear
28 30 16 29 90 29 98 40 53 50 s s s —.36 736 cloudv
29 30 00 30 00 i9 95 47 58 45 w w w —.10 765 do "
30 29 90 29 84 29 84 56 69 61 s 3 s —.31 774 do
Tne quantity of rain which fell this month wan unusually great, being 7 inches and 85—
looths.
Tne 8th was very sultry, with vespertine lightning;, and rain, at 9 P. M. The grass and
housetops were white with hoar frost on the mornings of the 4th, 5th, and 17th. ©n the
18th, moderate rain all day, with lightivig in the S. W at 7 P M. The sun was par-
tially obscured on the 29th and 30th, anJ totally on the 7th, 10th, 11th, 13th, 14th, 18th,
21st, and 22d On the 26th the sun was overclouded a short time af'er it had risen; rain
sonu commenced, intermingled with large flakes ol snow, which instantly melted when
they came in contact with the earth: it continued until 11 A. M. when a clear afternoon
and a starry night succeeded.
CHAPTER XI.
DISEASES.
As the weather during the present year has not been
characterized by any extraordinary vicissitudes of tempera-
ture, or humidity, different from what has been observed
in previous years, so neither have the diseases indigenous
to this climate been distinguished by any unusual phenome-
na. The general, as well as local affections, incidental to
the different seasons, have each reigned in their turn pre-
cisely after the manner of preceding years when no yellow
fever existed, and without becoming at any time epidemic,
or assuming other than the ordinary type and symptoms
which always accompany them.* The inclement seasons
of winter and spring have, as usual, brought with them de-
* " During the tyranny of this fever,1' says Dr. Warren of Barbadoes,
speaking of the malignant fever, which occurred there between 1733,
and 1738, "common sporadic distempers appeared now and then as
usual, such as anginas, peripneumonias, asthmas, pleurisies, rheu-
matisms, colds, coughs, diarrhoeas, dysenteries, &c, which, however,
were not so general as to deserve the name of epidemics, nor did they
seem to have any relation to the predominant constitution of the
year." p. 69.
X /tw^ u o-u^ *r*jnr (st^JUl^X r/*/"/L cHsy*-*- 1^a>^l
Account of the Yellow Fever. 2tl
fluxions upon the chest in the form of consumptions, catarrhs,
croup, pleurisies, he. which may be considered the predomi-
nant, and most fatal diseases of the climate.
So great is the determination upon the chest, produced
by the severe, unsteady cold of winter, and the chilly, rainy
months of our long spring, that its effects are seen in the
diseases of all the succeeding months of the year. Thus
contradictory as it may seem, consumptions continue to
preponderate even during the summer and autumnal months ;
and it is not unusual to find the diseases of other ogans, as ■>
well as all the different forms of febrile complaints, which
are natives of this latitude, at times more or less complicated
with pulmonic symptoms.
The summer is acknowledged to be our most healthy
season; the very season, however, in which yellow fever
usually makes its appearance, as if to fill up a space in the
catalogue of diseases which would otherwise be incomplete.
This of itself shows that there can be no morbid condition
of the atmosphere, naturally existing at that period of the
year, and is, therefore a strong, presumptive argument in
favour of the foreign origin of this disease^—The only dis- •/ K
ease which may be said to prevail during summer, is the
cholera infantum, (Febris Remittens Infantilis of modern au-
thors,) which carries off great numbers of children under the
ages of two and three years : towards the close of summer,
and during the first two months of autumn, defluxions upon
the bowels in the form of dysenteries, diarrhoeas, &c. become
the reigning diseases, but rarely or never epidemical; after
which there is a truce of one month, during November,
which is usually considered a very healthy month. ,. The re- "*T
vulsion upon the bowels now changes again to that upon the
272
Account of the Yellow Fever.
chest, and the diseases succeeded each other in the same
routine as before. The contagion of measles, seems to be
more readily propagated during the spring, and that of
whooping cough during summer.
COMPARATIVE VIEW OF DEATHS
From prevailing diseases, for June, July, August, September^
and Octobir, 1820, 1821, and 1822.
1320.
1821.
1822.
79 63 23 fr. fever,
12 13 11 bilious fever,
13 12 13 bilious remittent,
rtone none none * hectic fever,
5 3 1 inflammatory fever,
none 4 6 intermittent fever,
4 3 3 puerperal fever,
IS 21 17 remittent fever,
3 1 1 scarlet fever,
85 57 51 typhus fever,
none 3 none malignant fever,
17 6 6 apoplexy,
2 none none catarrh,
30 11 16 cholera morbus,
269 284. 233 consumption
106 81 71 convulsions,
31 35 45 diarrhoea,
51 54 32 dropsy,
10 10 13 dropsy in the chest,
72 74 48 dropsy in the head,
216 122 83 dysentery,
167 110 111 infantile flux,
Account of the Yellow r tv*.. 273
1820 1821 1822
6 1 37 6 2 46 2 fr 6 34 haemorrhage, haemoptysis, hives,
1 1 none inflammation of the bladder,
38 25 34 inflammation of the bowels,
11 15 9 inflammation of the brain,
37 37 29 inflammation of the chest,
12 17 IS inflammation of the liver,
4 3 4 inflammation of the stomach
9 21 7 34 5 13 jaundice, marasmus,
45 16 none measles,
2 14 5 2 2 1 none 6 2 1 7 1 none 6 1 2 6 1 menorrhagia, peripneumony, pleu risy, pneumonia typhodes, quinsy, schirriis of the liver,
1 5 11 sore throat,
14 54 15 44 11 43 sprue, tabes mesenterica,
1 14 12 none 53 6 none 10 10 vomiting of blood, whooping cough, worms,
These include all the diseases, with the exception of cases
of old age, still-born children, and a few casualties and sur-
gical cases. It is remarkable to see how the numbers, with
few exceptions, correspond for each year, showing most . y.___
conclusively, that there was this year, no more than in,pre- < A.C (A'L-'O
vious years any epidemic constitution of the atmosphere,
'jrl/p'L imMiHr before, during, nor after the prevalence of the yellow
35
274 Account of the Yellow Fever.
fever. The deaths, from different diseases, were not parti-
cularly affected th's year by the removal of the inhabitants,
for they merely changed their residence from one part of
the city to another, and not a great many more went into
the country than usually go during the hot weather. 1 have
not enumerated, in the list of diseases, for 1822, those from
yellow fever.
Several deaths, reported under the name of different local
and general disorders have been ascertained to have been
cases of yellow fever, which must be therefore deducted from
the amount of those diseases as set down in the table. The
City Inspector, Dr. Cuming, has politely favoured me
with the list of these cases, which, as it leads to some curi-
ous inferences touching the pathological and nosological
views entertained concerning this disease, deserves to be
inserted here as a precious morceau of medical his-
tory :—
3 deaths from yellow fever were reported
under the name of fever,
3 bilious fever,
2 remittent fever,
1 inflammatory fever,
1 liver complaiut,
1 - - inflammation of the brain,
1 inflammation of the stomach,
1 - - inflammatory bilious fever,
1 insanity.
Tt. 14
We look in vain, in the general list of diseases, for those
local and general affections with which yellow fever, if we
are to believe the romantic doctrines of some writers, is
Account of the Yellow Fever.
275
said to inosculate so freely, some of which are averred
before the appearance of ihis disease to have become epidemi-
cal, and to be, as it were, the forerunners, or avant-couriers, of
this fatal malady. No unusual affections of this kind were
observed to prevail either before, at, or after the time at
which this foreign disease was brought into the city ; no pe-
culiar gastritic, enteritic, hepatic, or cerebral disorders; no
bilious fevers or influenzas, no quinsies, sore throats, scarla-
tinas, haemorrhages, or carbuncles. It was with a view
particularly of upholding the hypothesis of domestic origin
that yellow fever has been so often engrafted upon the indi-
genous disorders of this latitude. For if it could be proved
that there was a strong analogy and close affiliation be-
tween any of the reigning aud ordinary diseases of the sea-
sons, and yellow fever, very few would doubt that all were
alike natural to the soil. Hence, those who have pushed
this doctrine to its farthest extent have always been scrupu-
lously tenacious of this point, and particularly careful to
place it in the foreground of the argument.
The total amount of deaths from April to December of
1822, also sho;vs, when compared with the deaths in the
corresponding months of 1821 and 1820, that the present
year has been throughout an uncommonly healthy year,
which is corroborated also by the universal health which,
wit;> the exception of the yellow fever of Pensacola and
New-Orleans, existed in every part of the Union, as well as
by the fact that the products of the earth have never been
of superior quality nor more abundant in quantity. The
crops of grass in some parts of the slate were injured by the
drought in June.
J76 Account of the Yellow Fever.
Total of deaths for six months.
1820. 214 1821. 1822.
May, 257 237
June, 204 - 223 235
July, 374 - 331 318
August, - 503 - 456 370
September, 439 - 360 328
October, 342 - 323 306
Total, 2076 1950 1794*
* Exclusive of Yellow Fever, and without taking into view the in-
crease of population.
CHAPTER XII.
CONCLUSION.
The facts and arguments adduced in the foregoing pages
go to prove the truth of the following propositions, which
may be taken in some sort as an analysis or summary of
the work.
1. Yellow fever is a contagious disease, propagated in no
other way than by means of a peculiar poison generated in
the hunnn body, and transmitted from one individual to an-
other, either by direct and immediate contact, or through
the medium of the air or fouiites.* Because we have di-
* We will here take occasion to remark, that many have been led
to doubt the contagious nature of yellow fever, because they do not
clearly understand the distinction between direct and indirect conta-
gion. Direct contagion takes place where the disease is communicated
from the sick person to the relations, physician, nurses, or other at-
tendants, either through the medium of the air in the chamber of the pa-
tient, or by personal contact. Indirect contagion is where a person
takes the disease either from fomites, or from the open atmosphere,
which has become tainted or infected, in other words, charged with the
contagious matter of the disease in the immediate vicinity of houses,
neighbourhoods, or streets where numbers of persons have previously
fallen sick of the disease. But it is as much contagion in the one case
as in the other, whether it be taken directly and fresh from the breath
J l^*J&^ m Germany and Ireland, crowded with emigrants, where,
from the great number of persons, (amounting sometimes to
four or five hundred in one vessel,) who are confined to-
gether in a small space, great quantities of filth must neces-
sarily collect, and the air become extremely foul and un-
healthy. But although typhus fever has frequently broke
out on board these vessels during their voyage, and continu-
ed to prevail up 'to their arrival in port, Yellow fever has
never, in any instance, been traced to such sources.*
* This is confirmed by the " Statement of Facts" concerning the fe-
ver of Banker-street in 1820, by Drs. Hosack, P. S. Towvsend, and
J. B *yley, Commissioners of Health. " A high grade of typhus, attend-
ed with bilious symptoms, has oftentimes occurred in this as well as
other countries, at the same season of the year at which tins disease
prevailed ; and a very remarkable instance of it took place in the year
1801, when many vessels, unusually crowded with passengers, arrived
at this port from Ireland during the summer and autumn. Out of at
least seven hundred and fifty patients who were admitted into the Marine
Hospital, almost all of whom were sick of this disease, nearly three
hundred died, besides a great number who perished on their passage.
The disease, which was simply typhus, on board the ships which first
arrived, became, as the vessels progressively arrived later and later in
the season, (from the same ports, chiefly from Belfast,) combined with
bilious symptoms, which acquired more and more intensity as the sea-
son advanced."~p. 9.
Account of the Yellow Fever. 281
6. Yellow Fever is more readily introduced and propagat-
ed in cities of temperate latitudes, when the air remains steadi-
ly within a certain range of temperature, somewhere about
80° of Fahrenheit's thermometer.
7. That y< How fever may have the power of becoming
epidemic, from those whom it first attacks, the contagious
matter must be accumulated to a certain amount, and cir-
cumscribed to a confined and crowded neighbourhood, the
atmosphere of which is more or less charged with human
effluvia.
8. Human effluvia are the most powerful conductors of the
contagion of yellow fever.*
* The following facts, in addition to those in the body of this work,
strikingly illustrate this law :
" It was remaked as a curious fact," says Sir James Fellowes, in
his account of the yellow fever of Gibraltar in 1804, " that the Jews who
were very numerous in Gibraltar, and who it was thought would have
been more predisposed to disease, from their habits and mode of life,
were not generally attacked by the prevailing disorder, until after the
18th of September, the day of atonement, on which the Hebrew nation
meet together in the synagogues.
" On the 19th, four Jews were reported to have died, but it was not
ascertained how long they had been ill. The Feast of the Tabernacles
took place on the 15th or 16th of September ; and it is customary at this
time for the friends and acquaintance to meet at each other's houses
and to enter the synagogue. Previous to this, the Jews had cautiously
kept to their own families at home, and not one of them was said to have
been ill of the prevailing disorder, until after the feast alluded to, when
there was rejoicing, and permission given for the admission of strangers
amongst them.
" This assemblage of the Jews, and the communication which fol-
lowed evidently facilitated the propagation of the malady, and after-
wards occasioned such a mortality, that between seven and eight hun-
36
282
Account of the Yellow Fever.
9. The radius of communication is increased in a direct
ratio to the quantity of the contagious matter emitted from
the sick within eiven limits.
10. Though the disease (as during the present year,) may
be sometimes rapidly propagated solely by the force and in-
tensity of its specific contagion,* without being sensibly mo-
dified in its direction or fatality, either by the width, eleva-
tion,.narrowness, declivities, windings, cleanliness or filth of
streets, or by the ordinary humidity or movements of the
atmosphere, yet as a general rule, it is usually most mortal
and most readily propagated in confined, low, narrow and
sheltered streets, where the population is most dense, be-
cause in such places the air is stagnant, and the morbid as
well as healthy effluvia emitted from the body are more
concentrated, and therefore more virulent.f
dred fell victims to its fury."—Fellowes on the Pestilential Disorder of
Andalusia, p. 108-9.
It has also been generally observed in Spain, that in those towns
where yellow fever prevailed, and where the people did not refrain
from attending mass, and going in processions, that greater numbers
always fell sick a few days after the performance of those religious
ceremonies.—Vide Report of the Physicians of Cadiz to the Spanish
Government, 1822.
In the late epidemic, the churches of this city, and which are chiefly
in the infected district, were all closed soon after the beginning of
September, immediately after the time at which we have said a panic
fortunately seized the people and depopulated all that part of New York
south of Fulton-street.
* Proved by such evidence as it is impossible to invalidate in the
novel and highly important facts already quoted from the able report
of the physicians of Cadiz to the Spanish government.—See Chapter I.
supra.
f "Btoftt animal and vegetable putrefaction have nothing to do with
Account of the Yellow Fever.
283
11. Violent commotions of the atmosphere, whether in
the form of wind, thunder-gusts, or storms, by washing
away, diluting, decomposing or dispersing the poison, al-
ways check the progress of the disease.
12. A calm, stagnant, and at the same time moist state
of the air, when long continued, favours the accu-
mulation of contagious matter, and the propagation of the
disease.*
13- The sudden depression of the thermometer for several
days during summer, or the gradual approach of the cool
weather of autumn, has always diminished the number of
cases, but rendered the disease more mortal in those who
were sick; while it developed the contagion in those in whom
it would, perhaps, have otherwise lain dormant.
r 14. The occurrence of black frost destroys the con-
tagion, and totally extinguishes the disease.
15. Extreme heat by volatilizing, or decomposing the
the generation of this disease, I refer the reader to the facts detailed in
this work, and to the overwhelming evidence produced by that learned
and distinguished ornament of the profession, Dr. Chisholm, and also
by Dr. Stewart, in Hosack on Contagion, p. 60. note E.
* " It has also been remarked of the plague, as well as of yellow fever,
that the infection spreads most rapidly when the atmosphere was not
only heated and loaded with moisture, but when it was least agitated by
wind or thunder-storms. During those calms, when the air may be
said to be relatively at rest, it has been uniformly remarked that the
contagion of the yellow fever has multiplied itself most extensively,
as was always very apparent by the greater number that were seized
within five or six days after such close weather had been observed; all
which circumstances certainly conspire to promote the fermentative
process that has been contended for."—Hosack on Contagion, p. 39.
284 Account of the Yellozo Fever.
matter of contagion, and thus rendering it inert, has,
also, always been observed to arrest the progress of the
disease.*
16. Though the contagious principle of yellow fever is
of a subtile, gaseous rarefiable nature, it has a strong affini-
ty for porous, spongy or bibulous substances in the form of
what is termed fomites ; in which state tie virus is found
to be highly concentrated and »• alignant.f
* Hence, as was first remarked by Sir Gilbert Blane, the febrile con-
tagion of yellow fever, like that of typhus, rarely becomes epidemic in
the tropics. That of the plague is so volatile, that it has never been
found either in the East or West Indies. Typhus, which seems to come
next to it in this property, is less frequently epidemic in the tropics than
yellow fever. Hence too, JVI. Gerardin has been induced to make two
species of yellow fever: 1st. Non-contagious, indigenous, sporadic,
tropical yellow fever. 2d. Contagious, imported, epidemic yellow
fever of temperate latitudes. [J\Icmoires sur la Fievre Jaune par J\I,
Gerardin, Paris, 1820. p. 49-63.]
f Hence the reason why the contagion is so frequently imported under
this form. In respect to its affinity for those substances, it resembles
the contagious matter of dysentery, which from the attraction it has for
solid matters, or from its being, according to !-:ir Gilbert Blane, more
gross and less volatile, is most usually found associated with the excre-
tions, and therefore more contagious in hot climates than fevers We
may thus explain, also, why the contagion of yellow fever, when intro-
duced or afterwards generated by the sick, seems to adhere with so much
tenacity, and for so great a length of time, to the apartments of those
buildings in which many cases of the disease have occurred; and to
the a tone pavements, wooden and stone stoops, and brick and stone
walls of houses, and wooden fences ofyards, in streets that have become
infected from the great mortality that has occurred in them. So strong
is this affin ity between the contagion of yellow fever and solid substances
•
Account of the Yellow Fever.
285
17. Those who have passed through yellow fever once,
very rarely take it a second time, especially if they continue
to reside in the country where they first had the disease.
that many streets and neighbourhoods have remained infected through
all the vicissitudes of the weather, and the occurrence of storms of rain
and thunder gusts, until the arrival of frost, though it would have been
thought that these commotions in the atmosphere would have either
blown or washed away the poison. Dr. Rush, in his account of the
yellow fever of Philadelphia in 1793, says, that there was a great mor-
tality, observed in wooden houses, owing probably, he supposes, to the
small size of those houses, their want of cleanliness, and to the miasma-
ta becoming more accumulated by adhering to the wood. As the
buildings in that part of New-York where the disease this year prevailed
are almost without exception of brick, there was no means of
determining whether the contagion has a stronger affinity for wood or
for mineral substances. When the disease occurred in wooden houses
then; was great mortality: but their apartments were always smaller ;
and from the rent being cheaper always than that of brick houses, they
were crowded with tenants, and those generally of the lowest description
of persons.
Perhaps this affinity may be assisted, also, by ttaw animal poison,
which the disease throws off, being of a ponderable nature. If that be
true, it must always occupy the lower stratum of the atmosphere, and
never rise to any considerable height. It is not very probable from
the circumstance of its great specific gravity and affinity for solid sub-
stances, that it enters into a chemical combination with the atmosphere;
bu' this union is probably only a state of mixture. If it were in 1he
simph,ct state of chemical combination with the air, that of solution for
example, it holds to reason that the disease would become much more
rapidly spread through it than we find that it is. The radius of con-
tagion, in this case, would soon be extended to an interminable distance;
and the disease, instead of creeping along slowly, from house to house,
fajL,tZ'Cams itAjJjD frJ^jtf- o^iy-Ui.ifl PHytnyo LeMe-
286 Account of the Yellow Fever.
18. Gradual and habitual exposure to the contagion of
yellow fever, the habit of breathing impure air,* certain
periods of life, the feminine sex, African extraction, self
possession, &c. j all impart to a certain degree an immunity
or exemption from an attack of the disease.
19. On the other hand, the indulgence of the venereal
appetite, the sanguine temperament, the constitution of a
high northern latitude, particular occupations, and the state
of pregnancy in women, strongly predispose the system to
be acted upon by the contagion of yellow fever.
and from street to street, employing several months to perform its tour
through a space of one or two square miles, would most probably infect
a space of quadruple dimensions, in one tenth of the time. But the
contagion being, according to our supposition, of a ponderable nature,
and only in a state of mixture with the atmosphere, remains in or near
the place where it was first generated by the bodies of the sick. Hence
no house or neighbourhood became infected, unless a number of cases
of yellow fever had previously occurred there. The march of the dis-
ease always preceded that of the infected atmosphere, which was Us effect,
not its cause. When I use the word creeping, as applicable to this dis-
ease, I do it metaphorically, and must not be understood to imply that
the cause of the malady is either an insect or an animalcule, possess-
ing life and locomotion; an opinion which many persons, during the
late epidemic have maintained, with more ingenuity, however, than
success.
A.
* See the works of Blane, Hosack, &c. This proposition is striking-
ly proved by its inverse; for several remarkable instances occurred
during the late epidemic, of persons who came out of the pure air of
the country, and from bravado went through one or two infected streets;
but in a few days after paid for their unpardonable folly with the loss
of their lives.
Account of the Yellow Fever.
287
20. The air does not in general become universally in-
fected neither in particular streets nor in particular sections
of the city, except in those cities or towns which are built
unusually compact, and crowded with population ; but that
part of the atmosphere only becomes infected which imme-
diately surrounds particular houses or neighbourhoods,
where many persons have been taken sick of the disease,
and in a direct ratio to the number of cases which had pre-
viously occurred, and the circumscribed space they occu-
pied.
21. The air continues infected in any given place a lon-
ger or shorter time, ceteribus paribus, in proportion to the
quantity of contagious matter which has been generated.
22. Yellow fever, like other contagious diseases, possesses
a peculiar, determinate and constant type, in its invasion,
tflrijtuice and decline.*
23. The period of reception,^ or that at which the conta-
gion is received, is most usually between the first and third
days of the disease. Because it appears that during this
interval the contagion is given off more abundantly than at
any other time.;j;
* Vid. the late work on the subject, by Professor Brera, of Padua,
1819.
f I have made use of this word to express what has hitherto been al-
luded to under a circumlocution.
t In this it is the reverse of the contagion of small pox. Sir James
Fellowes is of opinion, that the contagion is given off most abundantly
in the latter periods of the disease. It is most reasonable to believe,
however, that the contagion has less intensity, and is in a much
more natural state when it is beginning to act upon the system in the
first stage than afterwards. It is at least certain, from the cases detail-
28S Account of the Yellow Fever.
24. The period of development, or that required for the
contagion to take effect,* after being received is for the most
part from three to six days.
25. The period of duration is most usually from three to
seven days t
ed in Chap. I. that it is emitted from the body at the very moment al-
most when the disease is beginning to be developed. It is presumable
that in the second and third stages, the contagious property of the dis-
ease has undergone a considerable change, and become much weakened;
for it must be allowed that at that time a considerable modifica-
tion has taken place in the phenomena and aspect of the dis-
ease. The concluding stages may be considered, with more propriety,
as the effect or consequences wrought upon the body by the poison,
not its direct and legitimate operation. This subject has lately elicited
the notice of Baron Larrey. He says the virus of yellow fever is more
fugacious and subtle than that •§ any other contagious disease. " It
lasts but a moment at the highest point of the disease, and then loses
the power of transmitting itself." But he does not say at what time of
the disease this takes pace.
* This period is usually known under the name of the interval be-
tween exposure and the formation of the disease, but we have endea-
voured to make the language on this subject more precise, and conform-
able with what precedes and follows it.
f Out of 106 deaths,
8 died on the 3d day
22 - 4th
18 - 5th
31 - 6th
12 - 7th
6 - 8th
5 - 9th
2 - - 10th
1 - 11th
1 - - 13th.
Account of the Yellow Fever. 289
26. The periods of reception, development, and duration,
are retarded or accelerated in a direct ratio to the quantity
of contagious matter taken into the system.
27. The period of reception, development and duration fQ
do not necessarily observe any precise or determinate rela-
tions to each other, but vary in the same individual accor-
ding to adventitious circumstances, arising from predisposi-
tion, state of the atmosphere, treatment, he.
2 j. The fatality of the disease varies from on§ sixth to
two thirds of those who are taken sick of the disease,
amounting most usually to one third or one half.
29. The only effectual barrier against the introduction
of the jeilow fever is a rigorous system of quarantine, di-
rected more especially against West India ports. The re-
strictions at present in force being by the frequent occur-
rence of \ ellow fever, proved totally inadequate to accom-
plish the purposes for which they were enacted, ou^ht,
therefore, to be entirely revised and remodified, or abroga-
ted and replaced by such as will fulfil this object.
30 When yellow fever, however, j» at any timeunfortu- C4
naely introduced, the only means which are placed in our
power to prevent its spreading is, to depopulate as speedily
and as thorougly as possible, not only the infected neigh-
bourhoods and streets, but all the adjoining and surround-
Two thirds it appears died on the 4th, 5th and 6th days. As many
as six-sevenths of the whole number died between the 3d and 7th days.
The greatest number, it appears, died on the 6th day, and mpre than
two thirds of the whole number of deaths were previous to this period.
If this table may serve as a guide, the disease must be stated as having
terminated more frequently on the 6th day than on any other day con-
sidered separately. There was one case in which death was protracted
to the 13th day. Arejula saw a similar case.
37
290
Account of the Yellow Fever.
ing streets where the disease has not yet appeared; tore-
move the sick into the pure air of the country, and to inter-
dict in the most absolute manner all communication what-
ever between that part of thp city which has been de-
serted, and those parts which continue healthy ; because by
clearing out the populaton to a considerable distance, and
in all directions beyond the places that are infected, a natu-
ral cordon is thrown around ihe disease, which completely
interrupts its progress, and cuts off the means of its propa-
gating itself to the healthy parts of the city.
31. The contagious nature of yellow fever, especially
among the crowded population of cities, proves the necessity
of removing the sick into the purer air of the country, and
the necessity, therefore, of establishing what are call' d Fever
Hospitals or Lazarettoes, where they may be comfortably
accommodated, and placed in a situation in which there is
no longer any danger of their communicating the disease.
;*v|JW ti ^trvvw^i Q*^
292 Appendix.
vessels from sickly ports have given rise to the yellow fever,
where no local causes existed for its production, that even those
who believe in its domestic origin admit that it may be imported.
If, then, pestilential air escapes from a vessel at the wharf,
while the cargo is discharging, may not the cargo of such vessel,
immediately transported in lighters, under particular circum-
stances, retain a portion of pestilential air, and the cause of dis-
ease be conveyed to the city in this manner ? The following
statement of the transportation of cargoes from sickly Havanna
vessels, or which sailed from that port when yellow fever pre-
* /) k . vailed there, has been carefully compiled from the record*
rUL ^ *p* * *- kept by the revenue officer at quarantine.
^ June 14 3. lighter loads from the brig Rapid, 363 boxes of sugar.
15 2 do. do. 189 do.
28 1 do. brig Spanish Soldier, 77 do.
29 1 do. do. 100 do.
July 1 2 do. brigs Span. Soldier & Abeona 177 do.
2 3 do. brigs S. Soldier, Abeona, and
Ambuscade, 260 do.
3 3 do. do. do. do. 181 do.
5 4 do. do. do. do. 216 do.
6 5 do. do. do. do. 384 do.
8 4 do. do. do. do. ) „,_ ,
\ 317 do.
and ship Eliza Jane, j
9 1 do. do. 106 do.
Aug. 5 1 do. brig Packet, 70 do.
6 1 do. do. 70 do.
7 2 do. do. 145 do.
8 1 do. do. 75 do.
34 2730
'• From the above particulars it appears that 2730 boxes of
sugar were transported in thirty-four lighters from several
v sickly Havanna vessels,^ and those not sickly were navigated
by persons who had made frequent voyages to that port,) be-
htfi/Ak^ ^VH^\t CvwaU^U tl,;fo YJO *VlsJ>^^
Appendix. 293
tween the fourteenth of June and eighth of August, and landed
at the wharves, within the limits of one hundred and twenty
yards on each side of Rector-street : but the circumstance to
which our attention ought chiefly to be directed, is the impor-
tant fact, that more than two-thirds of the whole quantity,
amounting to 1918 boxes, the entire cargoes of the three brigs
Spanish Soldier, Abeona, and Ambuscade, and part of the cargo
of the ship Eliza Jane, were conveyed in twenty-four lighters,
between the twenty eighth of June and ninth of July ; and even
nineteen of the twenty-four in the short period of six days,
from the second to the eighth of August. The lighters were
generally loaded before noon, at which time, the weather was
frequently calm, consequently the infected air adhering to those
boxes could not have been completely driven off in passing
them from the hold of the vessel to the hold of the lighter The
heat of the weather in the shade at Statcn-Island. between the
twenty-eighth of June and ninth of July, was above eighty de-
grees at 2 P. M., and upwards of seventy-seven at eight A. M.
and six P. M. ; and for the whole period between eight A. M.
and six P. M. the average was more than seventy-eight de-
grees. It has been erroneously stated in some of the public
prints that it was my opinion that the pestilence had been con-
veyed in boxes of sugar. I never entertained such an idea ;
but I conceived it possible that infected air, shut up in the hold
of a vessel during a West-India passage, would as readily per-
vade, and be retained in the spongy texture of rough pine
boards, of which those boxes are made, as the more dense
structure of smooth oak planks, of which vessels are built; and
that several lighters, loaded with such cargoes, being landed
daily at or near one place, would probably convey as much pes-
tilential air as a single vessel discharging at the wharf, and
which has been known to produce the disease. In the instance
before us we have the cargoes of three vessels discharging at
the (same time, and near the same place.
" It may be asked, if the cargoes from sickly vessels, or from
294
Appendix.
sickly ports, have not been brought to other parts of our city
where no evil has been produced from them ; and if the pesti-
lence can be conveyed in that manner, how could such places
be exempt from it ?* To answer this question, I have ascer-
# The cargoes of the following vessels from Havanna were dis-
charged at other parts of the city than at or near Rector-street:
At Old-slip.
June 20 1 lighter load from schooner Retrieve, 60 boxes of sugar, 50
bags of pimento.
22 2 do. from schoon. Retrieve, 172 do. 20
hhds. do. and 50 bags of coffee.
28 1 do. from schoon. Cerena, 30 do. 26 hhds. do.
29 1 do. do. 35 do.
July 1 1 do. do. 35 do.
At Fulton-street wharf.
do. from the brig Venus 256 hhds. Molasses.
At Stephens* wharf.
do. from the schr. Virginia Packet 135 boxes of sugr.
do. do. do. 191 do.
do. do. do. 82 do.
Between Old and Cojfee-House-slips,
u ^ 1 ^ £ 1 do. each day, sch. Kennebeck Trader, 200 do. 115
hhds. and barrels do.
12},
13 V1
16 S
Aug.
Near Old -slip.
18 1 do. brig Fame, 108 do.
19 1 do. do. 47 do.
20 2 do. do. 140 do.
22 1 do. do. 106 do.
23 2 do. do. 141 do.
1 1 do. brig Packet, 84 do.
5 1 do. do. 67 do.
27
1565 boxes—497 hhds.
Appendix.
295
tained the amount of produce from Havanna, which has been
landed at all parts of the city, other than was discharged near
Rector-street, and find by the revenue officer's reports, that
1518 boxes of sugar, and 361 hogsheads and 107 barrels of
molasses and sugar, have been transported in twenty-seven
lighters, between the twentieth of June and the eighth of Au-
gust ; (after which time no cargo was brought here from sickly
vessels, except such as was purified by washing the casks, &c.)
" But the greatest number of lighter loads, landed at or near
one place in six successive days, did not exceed seven, which
occurred only in a single instance. From the eighteenth to the
twenty-third of July these lighters conveyed the cargo of the
brig Fame, on board of which vessel no person had been sick
during the voyage ; whereas nineteen lighter loads, from three
vessels, were discharged in the same number of days, near
Rector-street, from the second to the eighth of July. This, in
my opinion, is an obvious difference; for a small quantity of
pestilential air may be inoperative by mixing with a large por-
♦ * ...
tion of atmospheric air, while a greater quantity, existing in a
more concentrated state, proves fatal. The fever which took
place at the quarantine ground in 1821, when many vessels
were there driven on shore, is an example directly in point : it
was evident that the foul air issuing from those vessels at the
same time contaminated the pure atmosphere of the country,
which occurrence never before happened from a small number
at the wharf. Other circumstances, that might make a differ-
ence between the cargoes which were landed at Rector-street
and other places, could have been ascertained, when the ves-
sels arrived here, if I had been aware that any such particulars
would have been of any practical use : such as the place where ... • -?
the vessel laid in the harbour, as some positions being healthier c <-■*• *> < ^^' J
----'"- The crews of those vessels, except the brig Venus, were healthy
during the voyage : that brig lost one man, June 7. Dr. Morrel, a
passenger on board, it is said, died of bilious, and not yellow fever.
296 Appendix.
than others ; and whether the cargo came immediately from
the country, or had been stored in a sickly part of the city. It
is a well authenticated fact, that vessels coming from Havanna,
loaded with molasses, are healthier than those loaded with dry
sugar, although the bilge water of the former is much more
offensive than that of the latter : the reason of this difference in
the healthiness of their crews is attributed to the circumstance
that the first are loaded at a village called the ficgaiats, situated
on the opposite side of the bay to the city of Havanna, where it
is generally healthy.
The following extract from the same letter relates to the experi-
ments made by Dr. Bayley, to ascertain the temperature of
the earth.
" Many persons who believe in the local origin of the yellow
fever in our city, attribute it to the gas arising from the decom-
position of animal and vegetable matters generated at some
depth below the surface if the earth. It was readily perceived
by those persons, that if they ascribed it to the putrefactive pro-
cess, which takes place on the surface, then its effects would be
felt much earlier in the season, than at the last of August or first
of September, at which period the pestilence has often begun ;
for the heat of the weather was as great and often greater during
the two preceding months, than it was when the disease com-
menced ; consequently, the noxious gases produced from such
decomposition must have been diffused in the atmosphere a
much longer period, before its evil consequences are experi-
enced, than facts will warrant us in allowing. But to account
for the continuance of the disease in autumn from this cause
was a difficulty of still greater magnitude, as the evolution of
gases from the decomposition of putrescent substances on the
surface would be checked or prevented by cool weather.
Since then the gases from the decomposition of animal and
vegetable substances on the surface of the ground, do not satis-
Appendix. 297
fectorily explain the origin and continuance of yellow fever, we
were induced to examine into the more plausible theory, that
the noxious gases which are said to give rise to it, were pro-
duced at some depth below the surface of the ground, which
would better explain why the disease did not appear until the
sun had been long acting on the earth, and imparted its heat to
it, and why it continued after cool nights had checked decom-
position on the surface. For this purpose we made a number
of experiments between the 18th of September and 26th of
October, by burying the thermometer in the earth from three
inches to seven feet, and letting it remain there from six to
twelve hours. In thirty experiments made on different days
at or near sunrise, the thermometer, lying on the ground, stood
at some point between 35 and 72 degrees, and when taken out
of the ground after being buried twelve hours at various depths,
from three inches to seven feet, it ranged between 44 and 67
degrees. To the depth of nine inches, the temperature of the
earth was altered by alternate changes of atmospheric heat, but
very little variation was observed in the thermometer when bu-
ried between one foot and seven feet, although the change was
considerable on the surface of the ground. For instance, when
the thermometer, lying on the ground, was at 52 degrees on the
24th, and 64 degrees on the 27th of September, it was 64 de-
grees one foot below the surface on both those days. Also, on
the 5th, 9th, and 11th of October, when the instrument was
laid on the ground, it was 51, 54, and 69 degrees, but when it
was dug up from the depth of four feet the same days, and at
the same time, it was 64 degrees each day.
" In twenty two experiments made in the same manner, be-
tween one and three o'clock, P. M. the thermometer, laid on
the ground in the sun, ranged from 76 to 91 degrees, but when
buried for six hours in the earth at various depths, as between
three and twelve inches, it varied from 56 to "6 degrees, accord-
ing as it was placed near to or at a distance from the surface ;
ftfr iostance, on the 18th, 21st, and 23d of September, the ther-
38
298 Appendix.
mometer laid on the surface of the ground, in the sun, was 84,
90, and 90 degrees at one o'clock, P. M. but after being buried
six hours, and the sun acting all the time on the same spot, when
the instrument/ were taken up at one o'clock on the same days,
from the depth of three inches,.stood at 74, and at the depth of
six inches at 70. But when placed below the depth of one foot,
4tvWas as little affected by the heat of the sun as when buried in
"'the shade, for it stood at 68 and 64 degrees, at various depths
between one foot and seven feet, while the instrument laid on
the same ground in the sun varied between 80 and 91 degrees.
From those experiments made in ground not materially different
from that which I saw dug up at the foot of Rector street, it ap-
pears that the earth a foot below the surface, in the latter part of
September and in October, varies very little in its temperature
when the sun-beams have been acting upon it for seven hours,
or when it is shaded by twelve hours night, the heat being
about 64 degrees.* This is a much lower temperature than I
have ever heard would give origin to the cause of yellow fever ;
the heat of the earth one foot below the surface not being more
than 64 degrees in September and October, we must therefore
infer, that the continuance of the disease in autumn by the ex-
traction of gases from the depth of several feet in the earth, is
not a more satisfactory explanation of the cause of it, than that
of the noxious gases emitted from the surface of the ground.
We are not prepared to adopt this theory of the origin of yellow
fever, unless adequate fermenting masses, producing internal
* On the 24th and 25th of September two thermometers, which had
been buried for twelve hours, to the depth of nine, twelve, fifteen, and
eighteen inches, when taken up at sunrise, stood at 63 and 64 degrees,
although the instrument lying on the surface was 52 and 50 degrees.
But when the thermometers were buried at similar depths, for seven
hours on the same days, the sun acting on the same ground all the time,
they stood at 63 and 64 degrees at 2 P. M. although the instrument laid
in the sun on the same place was 80 and 85 degrees.
Appendix.
299
heat, and sending off pestiferous gases, are proved to exist-
constantly in the neighbourhood where pestilence prevails.
" I have thus presented to you a plain statement of facts,
upon which I have formed my opinion of the introduction of
the cause of the late pestilence, and offered a few observations
connected with the subject, which I have been induced to do
from a persuasion that they may be of some practical utility,
and contribute to the improvement of our quarantine system.
" With great respect,
Your most obedient
and very humble servant,
JOSEPH BAYLEY."
No. II.
Statement of Dr. Walters in relation to the first cases of Yellow
Fever in this city.
[Extracted from a letter addressed lo the President of the Board of Health
dated Dec. 17, 1822.]
" On the evening of Thursday, the 11th of July, 1822,1 visit-
ed Mr. Reder's daughters, Amanda and Caroline, the former
aged eleven, and the latter nine years. I found them both la-
bouring under the general symptoms of a violent fever. Their
mother informed me that they had sickened on the preceding
evening. Mr. Reder resides in a neat, airy, brick house; two
stories high, situated at the west end of, and fronting Rector-
street, one door from Washington-street. This spot, in com-
mon with all the west side of the city, was always, until the
present season, justly considered remarkably healthy, and, in-
deed, its local advantages in favour of health are certainly very
great, as it lies entirely open to the cooling and ventilating ope-
ration of the southerly and westerly winds which prevail nine*
tenths of the time during our summer months.
" Friday the 12th.—I found my patients without any abate-
ment of fever.
3©fc> Appendix.
" Saturday the 13th was a rainy day, and being myself indis-
posed, I therefore did not visit them.
" Sunday the 14th.—I saw them at 10 o'clock in the morn-
ing, and found that all their feverish excitement had entirely
subsided ; their eyes, necks, and breasts had become tinged
with yellow, and Caroline had black vomit. At this juncture
it was not easy for one who had marked the symptoms from
their commencement with fever to their present maligiant
change, to be mistaken with respect to the nature of the dis-
ease ; I therefore, in a guarded and private manner, expressed
my opinion to a few of my friends, for at this time I did not
mean to give the alarm, in anticipation of the measures of
the Board of Health, nor even to name the disease to the
public.
" Monday the 15th.—I found Amanda much as on the 14th3
but Caroline appeared to be fast approaching to the fatal ter-
mination of he.r malady. After visiting my patients on this
morning, I called on Mr. Waldron B. Post, with whom I had
some business. He resides in Greenwich near Rector-street; I
informed him that the yellow fever had appeared in his neigh-
bourhood, and that the safety of himself and fimily required
"■ _ ~\ his attention to the circumstance ; which I believe he immedi-
'd/i>Lt4^6L ti J ately did, by looking out without delay for a place of retreat.
Towards evening on this day, in a walk down Vesey-street, I
met with Doctors Hosack and Francis ; I informed them that
yellow fever had broken out in Rector-street. Dr. Hosack
inquired, whether I had reported it to the Board of Health. I
answered in the negative : he replied, ' If 1 knew it to be yel-
low fever, I would report it as such.'
" Tuesday the 16th.—On the morning of this day I found
Amanda convalescing, and Caroline growing worse ; but John,
an interesting youth of seventeen years of age, had sickened
during the preceding night; from the violence of the first
symptoms I judged that his case would in its course become
aighly malignant. On my way from Rector-street, in Broad-
Appendix.
301
wav I met Dr. Daniel W. Kissam, in company with a gentle-
man with wv.om I was unacquainted. I informed them that
yellow fever had made its appearance in Rector-street. I now
proceeded directly to the City Hall, where I reported the cases
nearly in the words of the following conversation, which took
place between his honour the Mayor and myself:
" ' Sir, there are three cases of fever under my charge, which
I think demand the attention of the Board of Health.'
" ' What are the names of the persons sick, and where are
they to be found ?"
" ' They are the children of Mr. Reder, who lives in Rector-
street, next door to the corner of Washington-street.'
" ' What kind or description of fever do you think they
have ?'
" ' I think it such a fever as our soil and climate are not cal-
culated to produce ; a fever depending on the introduction of
foreign poison for its origin, and exotic in our country, and
such a fever as is likely to do great injury, if it be allowed to
spread ; and I wish the Resident Physician may be requested
to examine the patients, and name the disease ; and I further
wish, that neither Dr. Hicks, nor any of the assistants of the
Board, be permitted to visit them at present ; if, however, you
think it would be agreeable to the Resident Physician, I will
wait on him, and introduce him to the patients.'
" The Mayor replied, * I will write him a note to that effect,
and request him to await your call at his own house at four
o'clock this afternoon.'
" Agreeably to the above arrangement, I called, in company
with Dr. W. Miner, on the Resident Physician at four o'clock,
when the following conversation took place between us :
" ' Doctor, your patients in Rector-street have bilious fever^
" ' Have you seen them. Doctor ?'
" ' Yes, after receiving notice from the Mayor this morning,
I happened to be in that part of the city, and I thought it more
convenient to visit them before dinner.'
302 Appendix.
" ' Well, I am glad you found the disease nothing worse. I
fear, however, it will give you some trouble before you have
done with it'
" After some other observations on the subject of our dif-
ference of opinion, I left the Doctor, not at all offended at his
having visited my patients at an earlier hour than had been sug-
gested to him by the Mayor."
" Wednesday the 17th.—On this day Caroline died, and John
grew worse. The Board met at 2 o'clock, when the Resi-
dent Physician stated, ' that he had no report to make.' He
had, to be sure, visited my patients in Rector-street, and found
them ill with bilious, but not yellow fever. Finding the Board
about to take no measures on the subject, and that, of course,
not only my friends, but also the public in the neighbourhood
of the disease, would be exposed to the danger of a spreading
pestilence, I resolved at once to throw off the caution which I
had hitherto observed, and state, to every inquirer, my opinion
on the whole matter. I accordingly lost no time in declaring to
every member of the Board, with whom I was acquainted, and
to all its assistants, that the disease in question was positive-
ly yellow fever. Among the members thus informed, were
his Honour the Mayor, Aldermen Fairlie and Hall, Doctor
Dyckman, the Health Commissioner, General Morton, the
Clerk of the Board, and the Assistants, Doctors Cutter and
Hicks, and Captain Mills. Three days after this, Alderman
Taylor, of the eighth ward, with whom I was unacquainted at
the time, learned my opinion of the disease, in a conversation
which he commenced in the Mayor's office, as follows : ' Doc-
tor, we think it very strange that you should tell your friends
that there is yellow fever in Rector-street, when you have not
reported it as such to the Board.' My reply was, ' I mention-
. ed the existence of this fever to the Mayor, on last Tuesday
morning, in such terms as, I thought, might call the attention
of the Board to it ; but, in that report, for particular reasons,
I purposely omitted the use of the word yellow; but 1 now tell
Appendix.
303
you, that it is positively the yellow fever, and, knowing it to be
such, 1 consider it my duty to inform my friends of the fact,
that they may be enabled to take care of themselves in time.
I am aware that the Resident Physician is of a different opi-
nion, but it is immaterial to me, as an individual, what either
he, or the Board, may call the disease.'' We think very highly
of Doctor Qjiackenbos ; he was very correct in the year 1819.'
« As a man, I think very highly of him too ; but my conduct in
this affair must be governed altogether by my own opinion of
the nature of the fever in question.'
" Thursday and Friday the 18th and 19th.—John's symp-
toms progressed from bad to worse, until Saturday the 20th,
when black vomiting began. On the morning of this day the
Resident Physician visited him, in company with Doctor
Manlev, who started a new opinion of the nature of the dis-
ease, by calling it ' Savannah fever.,'.which, by the by, is a
species of bilious fever that is never communicated from vessels
or goods to our shores, so as to become located, and to affect
the inhabitants. But, by some means or other, it happened
that Doctor Manley was employed to attend John, with me, as
consulting physician. We saw him together at 12 o'clock,
and I observed the Doctor began to think his morning opinion
not tenable ; and at his evening visit, he stood perfectly cor-
rected ; for, as we left Mr. Reder's house, we met Mr. Noah,
the editor of the National Advocate, at the corner of Rector
and Greenwich streets, who made some inquiry of. us touching
the nature of the fever in the neighbourhood ; to which Doc-
tor Manley replied in these word, : ' If I was obliged to give
an opinion of this disease, under oath, I should say it is yellow
fever ;' and to an observation of Mr. Noah, ' We are in dan-
ger here, if that is the case,' I answered, ' Yes ; while stand-
ing on these paving stones, you may consider yourself as
knee-deep in pestilence.' On Monday the 22d, John died.
The^nlylamnyTbesides that of Mr. Reder, living in Rector:
C
\
304 Appendix.
between Washington and Greenwich streets was that of Mr.
De Lange. This man 1 advised to leave the neighbourhood,
which he did on the 22d, but not early enough to escape suf-
fering, as one of his sons had the disease severely, after retiring
to Long-Island. A few days after this time, the Board met
with closed doors, in the small room adjoining the Mayor's
office. I happened to be in the hall at the time, and was in-
vited into the room before the assembled Board. 1 he Re-
corder expressed a wish to hear what I had to say on the sub-
ject which had called them together. I stated, that ' I had
been compelled, by the symptoms of the disease in Rector-
street, to consider it precisely that variety of yellow fever
which overran this city in the year 1798.'
" During my attendance on Mr. Reder's children, after much
inquiry, whether any other person had sickened in the neigh-
bourhood, I learned that Andrew Thomas, a young Scotsman,
had been sent sick, on or about the 11th, from the south-west
corner of Washington and Rector streets, to the "New-York
Hospital, where he died on the 16th. I mentioned these cir-
cumstances to the Mayor, who caused inquiry to be made,
from which it was clearly shown, that Mr. Thomas did die of
strongly marked yellow fever in that Institution, witliout greatly
disturbing the quiet of its managers.
" As the Board seemed to feel itself bound to consider all in-
formation, not derived from the Resident Physician, incorrect
or unofficial, it of course continued to act in an undecided
and hesitating manner, until the 5th of August, when the alarm-
ing progress of the disease forced that officer to acknowledge
its true character. Dr. John Neilson, to be sure, after a little
disputation with the Board about that unmeaning word bibous,
did, on the 31st of July, report two ca^es of this disease as
yellow fever, the symptoms of which he well described in a
letter to the Bo ird on the following day. His report, how-
ever as it did not come from the right source, like the declara-
tions which for two weeks previouaTl had daily made on the
n~
l^ }\6srJ^ Lc~< f^tru*. 0+
same subject, was insufficient and unavailing towards influen- » J - \
cing the decisions of that assembly. frdA . '
" The number of cases continued to increase daily until the ^^ e\&Me*€*
9th of August, when the Resident Physician seemed to think vA^^ctA^ ^
that the public mind demanded some little explanation, in or-
der to enable it to account, in the most reasonable manner, for
what was going on. This explanation he made in the follow-
ing words : ' From the above facts it appears evident, that the
cause or causes, which at first were only sufficient to produce
bilious fever, have now become so concentrated as to create
yellow fever.' This puzzling and unaccountable concentra-
tion of the cause or causes of this disease, if it really took
place, was certainly a manoeuvre calculated to mislead the
most discerning. We have, however, good reason to doubt
the fact, as the number of deaths before the announced con-
centration of the cause or causes was fully equal to what hap-
pened afterwards, in proportion to the number who really had
the disease."—JV. Y. Med. & Phys. Journal, Vol. I.
I
No. III.
Board of Health.
New-York, Aug. 9,1822.
The following Report was received from the Resident Phy-
sician :—
" The Resident Physician reports Mr.---- Milespaugh
sick with yellow fever, at the corner of Sullivan and Houston-
streets. This case appears to be mild. He sickened on the
evening of the 5th inst. and had been employed as a labourer in
a store at the corner of Washington and Carlisle-streets.
The Resident Physician also reports Miss Roberts sick with
yellow fever, at No.----Lumber-street, directly in the rear
of Trinity church. She is attended by Dr. Boyd ; from
whom the following statements were obtained this morning, in
relation to others. Dr. Boyd was called to see Miss Machett,
o
0
306 Appendix.
who sickened with fever on the morning of the 7th inst. at the
corner of Lumber and Rector-streets. She went yesterday to
Newark. Dr, Boyd was also called to see Miss Kayler, who
sickened with fever on the night of the 7th instant, in Rec-
tor, next to the corner of Greenwich-street, towards Lumber-
street. She went yesterday to Harlaem. Dr. Boyd was called
this morning to see Miss Myers, who sickened last night with
fever in Lumber-street, third door south of Rector-street. She
is about to leave the city. Dr. Boyd states that all these per-
sons are attacked in a similar manner, which leaves no doubt
their disease is yellow fever. From the above facts, it appears
evident that the cause or causes which at first were only suffitielk
to produce bilious fever, have now become concentrated ; and as
the disease is now progressing towards Broadway, I suggest and
recommend the propriety of enlarging the present enclosed lim-
its, so as to include Grace and Trinity churches, thereby pre-
venting any collection of persons in those places.
Nich's I. Qjuackenbos.
No. IV.
Yellow Fever in Cheapside-street.
Statement of Dr. Walters, relative to the Yellow Fever in
Cheapside street.
[Extracted from the letter already quoted, and published in the
New-York Medical and Physical Journal, vol. I.]
" On or about the 7th of August, Mr. Samuel Ward, who re-
sided in Lumber-street, within the infected part of the city
sickened with yellow fever, and was reported as such, by Doc-
tor Perkins, to the Board of Health. Here he lay ten days very
ill. During this time, his father's family, who lived at No. 20
Cheapside street, manifested on this occasion the most laudable
anxiety for his welfare. He was not only visited daily, or often-
er, by his father and mother, but his brother, a dumb boy, fif-
Appendix. 307
teen years of age, and a sister of thirteen, were constantly with
him, as nurses or assistants. They slept at his house every
night until the 17th, when it was thought that he had so far re-
covered as to enable him safely to leave Lumber-street, which
he did, and went to his father's house, from whence he set out
for the country the next day. He brought with him from
Lumber-street a quantity of clothing, which, however, was said
to have been washed there ; that is, washed in pestilence, and |
dried in the poison of pestilence. About five days after he was
gone, his brother and sister above-mentioned, who had returned
with him to their father's house, both sickened with fever.
The sister's case was not very severe ; but the brother was
extremely ill, and as he could not speak, he expressed his sense
of pain by laying his hand on his head, his back, and stomach.
On the fourth and fifth day of his disease he was taken with
profuse bleeding from the nose : after this, they both gradually
recovered. Now, there is not in my mind any manner of doubt,
but that both these children had yellow fever. A few days after
this, another daughter of the elder Mr. Ward was taken ill.
Doctor Boyd was called in, who, no doubt very correctly, re-
ported it yellow fever : and in a few days more, the elder Mr.
Ward and another son were seized with the same fever, both of
whom died. Mr Ward's house, and its immediate vicinity, may
now be fairly considered a second infected district, located only
about sixty or seventy feet from No. 4 Lombardy-street."
Remarks.—Dr. Walters' statement throws additional light on
this subject, but differs from that of mine, [p. 46, Chap. I. su-
pra,] in some minute and inconsiderable circumstances, which,
however, do in no way invalidate the inferences that both of us
have made. It seems, according to the information received by
Dr. Walters, that a sister andjsrother [a dumb boy] of Samuel
Ward slept at his residence for several nights successively,
and constantly nursed and attended him, and also that Samuel
was not brought up on the 16th, as I have stated, but on the day
after, at which time he was nearly recovered from his illness
308 Appendix.
The next day he went into the country. It is also said, but
not positively affirmed, that his clothes, instead of being brought
up to Cheapside-street dirty, were washed in Lumber-street
before he left there. The sister and brother mentioned must
have fallen sick about the 23d or 24th. They also, therefore,
and not Samuel only,from whom they had taken the disease, were
the source of it in Cheapside street ; showing that the mischief
was on a much larger scale than I had imagined. About the 6th
or 8th day of the illness of these two children, i. e. from the
30th to the 2d of October, must have been the time at which
Mrs. Ward and Fanny (which last had not been down into Lum-
ber-street,) took the disease. We have described Fanny's ap-
pearance, and she had no doubt had the yellow fever. She
was sick from eight to ten days. Her father, Nathaniel, took it
from her, as he fell sick the 15th or 16th. I believe there was
no case between them. The one spoken of by Dr. Walters, as
reported by Dr. Boyd, must have been Hannah, who fell sick
two or three days after her father, having taken the disease
from him.
It was with much difficulty tha> Dr. Walters and myself have
been enabled to ferret out the facts which relate to the intro-
duction of yellow fever into that street; the Ward family being
unusually taciturn, and somewhat refractory in an affair in which
they knew well their conduct was deeply implicated, and had
been severely, and, as it proved, justly censured. The cir-
cumstances, however, are now all brought to light, or a suffi-
cient number of them to prove, in the most conclusive manner,
that this disease may be transplanted from one part of the city
to another quite remote, and there form a new focus of propa-
gation. The cases of the Wards are not only highly interest-
ing as the source of the disease ip Cheapside-street, but as be-
ing one of the most powerful examples of direct and unequivocal
contagion that has, perhaps, occurred in the city. While the
different members of the family were successively falling sick,
and at the determinate periods of time usual between the re-
Appendix. 309
ception and development of the contagion of yellow fever, the
outward air was pure, wholesome and uninfected. The re-
monstrance of the highly respectable inhabitants of Cheapside-
street, as well as the evidence of those who visited that place
at the time, indisputably establishfjj this fact. There were no
sewers in this clean and secluded street, nor sinks and cfest-
pools in the spacious and beautiful yard of Ward's house to
generate the disease. It was by contagion alone that it spread
through the houee. Enough of the poison was generated in
this single building to have infected a much larger space than it
did, had not the timely arrival of cool weather suspended its
progress.
The following is the remonstrance presented to the Board of
Health, Aug. 15th, by the inhabitants of Cheapside-street,
against the removal of Ward from Lumber-street into that
street. This clear and energetic appeal reflects great praise on
their foresight and prudence, and on the just views which they
took of the nature of the complaint.
" We whose names are hereunto subscribed feel ourselves
most lamentably aggrieved in having an unfortunate sufferer with
the yellow fever brought from an infected neighbourhood, di-
rect into the middle of Cheapside-street, where, at present,
nothing but health prevails ; for from this circumstance, we
may expect nothing short of being driven from our homes, with
the loss, probably, of some of our dearest relatives. We
therefore earnestly request your immediate investigation of this
business ; and if found as herein represented, we trust and
hope a removal may be ordered without delay, or we shall be
of an opinion, that instead of correcting and regulating this un-
fortunate malady, it will be instrumental of circulating its dread-
ful effects throughout the city ; for nothing can possibly tend
to this object more than suffering various parts of your city to
be planted with the disease, by placing the infected with the
healthy." [Signed by Messrs. Corgan, Messenger, fyc]
310 Appendix.
No. V.
Yellow Fever in Lombardy-street.
By the following extract we learn, that the Board of Health,
of New-Orleans, held a meeting on the third September, 1822.
" Board of Health,
" New-Orleans, September 4, 1822.
" At a meeting of the Board on Tuesday, the third of Sep-
tember, 1822, the following address was adopted and ordered
to be published :
" It becomes the duty of the Board of Health to state to the
public, that five cases of fever have lately occurred, in which
all the symptoms which are usually exhibited in the yellow fe-
ver, were observed. It is hoped, from the favourable state of
the weather that the disorder will not spread, as it has not oc-
curred except in persons who had undergone great exposure to
fatigue, and had been much exposed to the sun. The precau-
tions taken to render more strict the measures adopted to pre-
vent all communication between this city and the places abroad,
and in the vicinity where the disease prevails, will check its
progress. This hope is more confidently indulged from the cir-
cumstances of no new cases having been reported to the Board
as having originated within the last two days. With the excep-
tions noticed above, the city never has been more healthy, and
it is believed that the* mortality during the last three months
has not much exceeded that which took place during the three
months preceding them.
"1 certify the foregoing to be a true copy from the minutes.
H. K. GADON, Secretary."
This is altogether a very curious and suspicious looking do-
cument. We cannot but admire how cautiously it is worded,
and how very scrupulously the Board have avoided touching
upon the terra firma of dates and names, determined to leave
us in the dark, among the rocks and quicksands of a Jesuitical
Appendix.
311
phraseology, the precise meaning of which it is impossible to
interpret.
They tell us the cases lately occurred, but when or where,
or who they were, is left for us to guess. They say these cases
had all been much exposed to fatigue and the sun. This is the
old story that has been rung in our ears ever since the prepos-
terous hypothesis of domestic origin first bewildered our Ame-
rican physicians. It lets us immediately into the secret of what
kind of materials the New-Orleans Board of Health is com-
posed, and shows us that we must be extremely careful how we
make up our opinions from any statements of facts, documents
or addresses, coming from such a quarter. If the disease de-
veloped, as they say it did, all the usual symptoms of yellow
fever, it was yellow fever—it was that, and no other disease.
What need then was there to say that it occurred only in such
as had been greatly exposed to the sun and fatigue ? Do they
mean that this exposure was a predisposing, exciting, or real
and original cause of the disease ? Were the sun and the
fatigue the actual cause of the disease, or was it produced by
that specific cause alone which produces yellow fever ?
Were these cases to be understood as exceptions to the dis-
ease, and yet bearing all its characters ? This disingenuous-
ness, to call it by no worse name, is unworthy of a solemn de-
liberative council appointed to so important and responsible
a station as that of the guardianship of the public health.
A few lines farther on they have accidentally let fall a word
which seems to call in question what is stated in the beginning.
They speak, at first, of only five cases, but now they
speak of the vicinity where the disease prevails. How
long had the disease prevailed ? One, two, or eight or ten
weeks ? And how many had died of it ? These are questions
to which we fear no answers will ever be given.
Again; near the conclusion it is fondly hoped the disease will
be arrested, among other reasons, because no new cases had been
reported to the Board as having originated within the last two
days. Now, as far as our limited observation goes, cases are
312
Appendix.
rarely or never reported to Boards of Health until they have
existed at least three or four days ; and I should, therefore, not
think it strange at all that no new cases had been reported,
which had originated within the last two days. At that very
time, however, the Board in all likelihood, may have known of
the existence of twenty cases that had originated within the last
three or four days! For from the manner in which they mention
the five cases in the beginning of their address, we are induced
to believe that they were the most malignant cases only.
Our physicians here are not so much in a hurry in reporting,
for experience has taught them that the cases which they had
too often precipitately believed to be yellow fever, afterwards
turned out to be other diseases. This, therefore, was a false
foundation to build their hopes upon, and they should never
have attempted to lead astray the public feelings and expecta-
tions by what they must have known at the time to be an un
meaning quibble.
After this impartial analysis of the component parts of the
address, no person, I think, will deny that the Board evidently
attempted to conceal from the public the true state of things
then existing at New-Orleans.
Does not conduct like this authorize us in doubting the whole
of their statement ? May we not conceive that where a Board
like this existed, yellow fever might have been prevailing for
weeks, nay, for months, without their deeming it worth
while to notice it ? Is it probable that such a Board would
have been induced to go into a sitting for a public address,
without some very urgent cause ? Is it not probable, indeed,
that the disease at the time at which this address was made
was desolating the city to an alarming extent ? For we
remember well that the next arrivals almost to those
which brought the account of this meeting, brought also
disastrous tidings of the progress of the pestilence. The
general impression here is, from information derived from va-
rious sources, and which may be fully relied on, that the yel
Appendix. 313
low fever broke out in New-Orleans as early as the beginning
or middle of July. In this city it was prevailing one month be-
fore our Board of Health publicly announced it, although they
were constantly on the alert, to give intimation of its intro-
duction, whenever that should occur. They had met for this
purpose privately for many days before. In New-Orleans,
where both the citizens and Board of Health have ever shown
so much reluctance and unwillingness to acknowledge the exis-
tence of the disease, is it not extremely probable that as has
often happened heretofore, it might have been prevailing for
more than two months even before they took official notice of it ?
The disease had probably been progressing slowly, until just
before the termination of August, when, having got fairly into
the city, it suddenly spread, as it is wont to do, after existing
some time, 'and multiplied to so alarming a degree, that the
Board was compelled to make an official publication, as a feeble
effort to calm the fears of the people.
But arguments on this subject are quite superfluous, since we
have the facts to show that the disease actually prevailed in
New-Orleans at least for more than a month anterior to the
meeting of the Board of Health.
" The second grand division of causes," says Dr. Wal-
ters, in the letter already alluded to «' which were likely to
originate the late fever in Rector-street, comes next to be ex-
amined. These, all of foreign origin, are to be sought after
in suspicious vessels, which were permitted to come to the
wharves in that vicinity, or in goods landed there from vessels
known to be infected. The officers of the quarantine establish- '
ment for this city, have designated, as four-day vessels, a cer-
tain class, which are always to be regarded as suspicious, be-
cause, owing to a defect in the law, they are privileged to carry
pestilence wherever they go ; thus jeopardizing the lives ol
thousands, and rendering all other quarantine regulations use-
less. To prove the above allegation, it is only necessary to
state a few facts, First, it is well known, that the different
419
IP
VU yXt,uL u^c*4*«* j f , , ,
} Boards of Health of the cities and towns on our seaboai*
/ are, five times out of six, among the last public bodies which
\ come to the knowledge of pestilence in their respective dis-
tricts. Hence, in almost every case where a pestilential fever
appears in any city, from one to two months elapse before iU
Board of Health become officially informed of it. During
this period the public authorities of the place continue to issue
clean bills of health to every vessel sailing from it. One of
these vessels, though infected with the poison of yellow fever,
may have arrived at this port with a healthy crew, or one or two
Of her hands may have sickened or died on her passage, and the
officers, as it is always their interest so to do, may disguise or
conceal the real character of the disease. This vessel, on her
arrival here, is liable to be stopped only four days at the qua-
rantine ground, to undergo the too often useless operation of
white-washing. She is then permitted, by law, to come to our
wharves, with a strong probability in favour of her kindling
pestilence wherever she touches. Cases of the above descrip-
tion are by no means of rare occurrence ; it is, however, un-
necessary to mention more than one or two. The ship Asia
Bailed from New Orleans some time in the month of August
last, and arrived here on the I8th of September. She left
three of her crew sick with yellow fever, in the hospital of
that city; yet, strange as it may appear, she brought a clean
bill of health, signed by the proper authorities of the place.
And, during the first three weeks of the late fever in this city,
it is well known that vessels sailed daily from this port with
clean bills of health ; one of these, the ship Illinois, howeveiy
which left Rector-street wharf, on the I6th of July, did lose a
passenger by yellow fever."
Mr. Ludlow Morton, who was one of the crew of the Asia,
arrived at this port some short time after the Superior, and in-
formed me that he was one of the persons who had had the dis-
ease, and whom the ship was obliged to leave behind. He had
been ill sixteen days before the ship sailed, which was on or
about the last of Aug. Consequently he must have takenthe dis-
/
Appendix.
315
ejase somewhere about the middle or towards the beginning of
» August Dr. Flood informed him, he says, that the disease had
been prevailing for a month before he was taken ill.
It is for these reasons that we believe the yellow fever to
have existed at New Orleans at the time the ship Superior sail-
ed. The following statement, communicated to me by a Mr.
Banta, together with that of Dr. Walters, accompanying it, and
especially the circumstance of the destruction of the mattress
upon which Carey was lying, and which Mrs. Snow never
woald have directed to be done without some good cause ; and
also Capt. Snow's opinion, who must have known something
about its history, are sufficient, in my judgment, to show that
through the instrumentality of Carey, the contagion of yellow
fever was brought into his mother's house. The current opin-
ion is that he had the disease in New Orleans. That the mat-
tress belonged to some person who had died of it is conclusively
established by Dr. Walters' statement, and that person most
probably was some friend «>f Carey in New Orleans ; for we
shall see by what follows that Carey called this, as well as the
chest, his own property ; but said that they had belonged to a
person who had died of yellow fever. Consequently he knew
how this property had now come into his possession, and was
therefore, no doubt, acquainted with all the circumstances of this
mysterious affair.
Banta's Statement.
I called upon Banta about the middle of November 1822,
and the following is an accurate transcript of the statement made
by him to me, of all the particulars and circumstances with
which he was acquainted, relating to the sickness in the family
of Mrs. Carey, and the probable source of it.
He says he is a labouring man by profession, and that his
wife goes out to wash'and to do days work.*
* The house in which they live is a small wooden building on the
north side of, and adjoining that in which Mrs. Carey and Mrs. Snow
died.
316 Appendix.
On the eighth day of September, 1822, he says he was called
upon late at night by Mrs. Snow, to go down town after Doctor-
Webb, and to request him to come up there and see Carey,
(Mrs Snow's brother,") who was taken with epileptic fits, to
which he had long been subject Banta's wife and himself both
went in the house the same night to assist him. The Doctor
also came, and in the course of prescribing for Carey, the lat-
ter spoke of a vial of medicine which he had in his chest. Ban-
ta went down into the kitchen where the chest was, and took
the vial out. The chest was filled with dirty clothes, such as
bed and body linen, consisting of sheets, pillow-cases, &c It
was the same chest that had been brought to the house some
days before. Carey had arrived at this port from New Or-
leans August 18th, in the ship Superior, to the crew of which
vessel he belonged [This ship brought a clean bill of health,
dated July 27h, 1822. She had been quarantined for six days
after that period.] The mattress upon which Carey was lying
was extremely filthy and offensive, and had been brought to the
Jf Ihouse with the chest. Mrs. Snow told me I had better take
^/it out of the house and destroy it. Another bed was procured
for him, and I destroyed the mattress that very night before
twelve o'clock. '1 he next morning (Monday, Sept. 9th,) Mrs.
Carey took sick, and in the evening of the same day, Mrs.
Snow. Mrs. Snow continued to be attended by Banta's wife and
himself. On Saturday, the fourteenth of September, Mrs. Carey
died ; and on the next evening, Sunday the fifteenth, Mrs.
Snow. That Sunday afternoon, and before Mrs. Snow's death,
and after Mrs. Carey had died, Mrs. Snow lying at the time on
the first floor, where Mrs. Carey also had lain, and the weather
being very warm, the people in the street, principally the
neighbours, having heard of the sickness in the house, collected
around it in considerable numbers, and gazed in the windows,
which were at the time hoisted. There were as many as
twenty or thirty persons collected before the house. After the
death of Mrs. Carey and Mrs. Snow, the people began to move
Appendix.
317
out of the street. The disease, however, never extended be-
yond that section of it included between Catharine and Market-
streets, in which distance there are about forty houses, each of
which was occupied upon an average, by five persons, amount-
ing altogether to about one hundred and twenty inhabitants.
About forty or fifty of these persons moved away. Captain
Snow, the husband of Mrs. Snow, was persuaded that the
source of his wife's disease was connected with the mattress
and effects bronght into the house.
Dr Walters' Statement.
No. I. (copy.)
Jonathan Darrow, cartnian, No. 5 Jefferson-street, in the city of
New York, being duly sworn, deposeth and saith:
That on or about the second day of September, in the present year,
he was requested by a young man, at or near the New Market, at the
bottom of Catharine street, in the city aforesaid, to take up and put on
his cart, two chests, a bed, a hammock, and a bundle of clothes, tied up
in a blanket. This young man had with him a sailor, as from his dress
he appeare d to be, who appeared to own a part of the things aforesaid.
The young man first mentioned, after the articles, were put on the cart,
got on himself with them, he then requested this deponent to drive to
number four Lombardy-street, which request was complied with.
While on the way thither, a conversation took place between this depo-
nent and the said young man, in which the latter observed, " a part of
these things now on the cart does not belong to me, but they did belong
to a young man who lately died of yellow fever," or words to that ef-
fect. And this deponent further says, that he drove his cart to the
house, number four in Lombardy street, where he delivered that part
of the goods, to wit, one chest, one bed, and the blanket containing the
clothes, which the young man above mentioned had charge of, to an old
woman and a young woman, who both received the goods, and placed
them in the entry of the house number four Lombardy street. And
this deponent further saith, that he then drove into Bancker-street,
abouthalf way between Catharine and Market streets, where he deliver;
318
Appendix.
ed the remaining part of the goods, to wit, one chest and a hammock.
And further this deponent saith not.
(Signed) JONATHAN DARKOW.
Sworn before me, this 18th day of December, 1822.
(Signed) HARRIS SCOVELL,
Assistant Justice.
No. II. (COPT.)
We, whose names are hereunto subscribed, hereby certify, that we
saw, during the first week of Septemqer, in the present year several
different times, a chest on which was placed a bundle of clothes, or
bedding, as they appeared to be, tied up in a blanket, as we believe,
standing in the entry of the house number four in Lombardy-street.
Given under our hands, the 18th day of December, 1822.
(Signed) WILLIAM H. MOTT,
FRANCIS SCHRODER,
ELEBRED POLHAMUS.
No. III. (copy.)
I, Sarah Potter, residing at number twenty, three Lombardy street,
hereby certify,
That I was employed by the late Mistress Cary and the late Mistress
Snow, on Tuesday, the third day of September, in the present year, to
wash some bedding and clothes, which I was informed had, or did belong
to some person who had been sick, and that I accordingly did wash one
rose blanket, one bed quilt, one pair of socks, one handkerchief, one
waistcoat, and three shirts, and that the shirts were very offensive and
very yellow. And that, while I was washing the said clothes, the late
George Washington Mott came near to the washing tub, and inquired
of me whether I took in washing.
Given under my hand, this 8th day of December, 1822.
(Signed) SARAH POTTER.
" On two occasions, it seems that infected clothes or bedding
may be peculiarly mischievous, viz. when they are first opened
Appendix.
319
in a warm atmosphere, after having been long closely packed
up; and again, when they are put into warm water, for the
purpose of washing. The profuse vapour of warm water seizes
the matter of infection with the utmost avidity, and conveys it,
in its most active state, to the noses, mouths, and lungs of the
bystanders. This fact was shown in a very striking manner;
for, at the time the clothes referred to in document No. 3, were
washing, George Washington Mott, having that day come to the
city, was, with Mrs. Carey and Mrs. Snow, standing by the tub :
they all sickened with yellow fever on the same day, and all
died within a few hours of each other. The infection in Lom-
bardy and Cheapside-streets reached to Catherine-street; thus
taking possession of three principal avenues which lead to the
wharves and the New Market, from the upper part of the city :
and to this second infected district, no doubt, we may justly
charge some cases of fever which occurred to the eastward and
northward of it, and which were not at the time fairly traced : a
case in point was that of Mr. D. Rogers. There were, how-
ever, three or four cases that fell under my own observation,
which were reported to the Board of Health as yellow fever, in
the upper part of the city ; about which I shall not speak, un-
less I was disposed to trace a drunken frolick, or something as
unlike yellow fever as drunkenness, to the infected district.
" I shall conclude with the case of yellow fever that follows,
and which was among the most mischievous that occurred in the
upper part of the city, during the late autumn, causing more
alarm, and consequently more unnecessary removals than any
other. This was owing to two reasons •; first, the supposition of
it being impossible to trace it to the infected district ; second,
it being ascribed to a broken sink in the neighbourhood, a thing
which too often happens in like cases. The subject of the case
here alluded to, was Mr. Scott, who resided at 122 Bancker-
street, by trade a tailor. He had received his work for months
by the job from Messrs. Pierson'and Jacobs, whose store is at
the corner of Maiden-lane and Nassau-streets. For wages or
320 Appendix.
work he went there two or three times a week during August,
and until the 10th of September, on which day the store was
closed on account of the alarming progress of the fever in the
neighbourhood, as several cases had already occurred at the
noted sugar house a few yards distant, which terminated fatally.
On this day, the 10th of September, he settled with his em-
ployers, but was detained there much longer than usual, owing
to some difficulty in his accounts. After receiving his wages,
as he stated, on his return home he went through Maiden lane
to Broadway, merely to witness the desolation of that part of the
city. Six days after this, to wit; on the 16th of the same month
he sickened of yellow fever, and died on the 23d. Another
journeyman employed by the same firm, who was at the store
on the same diy, sickened about the same time that Scott did,
and was reported to the Board as a case of yellow fever, but
recovered. Mr. Pierson, one of the partners of that firm, how-
ever, soon after this took the disease, and it proved fatal."*
The ship Superior was released from quarantine on the 24th
er 25th of August, and a day or two after came up to Brooklyn,
a village on Long-Island, on the opposite side the East-River,
and about three quarters of a mile distant from the city. She
lay consequently directly opposite to the foot of Catharine-street,
and part of the town where Mrs. Carey lived. It is therefore
highly probable th it the things which the Cartman took from
the wharf, at the foot of Catharine-street, had been brought
there from the ship opposite. Dr. Walters informs me, that
the cartman observed a small boat near where the articles lay,
and that the sailors in it appeared to be acquainted with the
transaction, and were most probably the persons who had just
landed the things spoken of.
The following statement tends to confirm what has been said,
and also accords with that of the cartman, as to the time the
* Letter of Dr. Walters, in the New-York Medical and Physical
Journal
Appendix. 321
chest and other articles were brought to the"house. It was
made to me on the same day as that of Banta, by a respectable
coloured woman, who lives in a small one* story wooden
building on the south side of, and adjoining the house in which
Mrs. Carey and Mrs. Snow died. It may be remarked by, the
way as a circumstance somewhat curious, that almost every
other house in which cases of yellow fever occurred in this
street are two story wooden buildings, while this in which the
disease broke out is a spacious three story brick building, and
the only one in that part of the street where the disease pre-
vailed ! We would ask those who when cases of yellow fever
have been reported in certain houses were in the habit of
searching in the yard or cellar for some sink or cist pool, or
other local nuisance, in which of the two kinds of bouses in
Lombardy-street it is probable the yellow fever would have
originated if it had been owing to domestic sources 1
E. CLVNTON'S STATEME1VT.
EUender Clynton, a respectable black woman, aged about
sixty-five, and brought up with Mr. Richard Lawrence of
Flushing, on Long-Island, has been living during the past year
in a small one story wooden building, adjoining the three story
brick house No. 4 Lombardy-street, and in which the disease
broke out. Early on the Monday morning of the day, on which
Mrs. Carey sickened, that is September 9th, 1822, Mrs. Carey
came into Ellender's room to borrow some coals—she com-
plained of feeling very unwell. Ellender then asked her what
was the matter ? Mrs. Carey said she had been washing some
• clothes which her son had brought up with him to the house
when he came from the ship. Ellender told her it was no won-
der, for she thought when she saw Mrs. Carey hanging up the
clothes in the yard to dry that it might make her sick. She
had seen Mrs. Carey's son come to the house some days before,
about the beginning of the week, with a sailor's chest and a
large bundle of clothes tied up in a blanket, which she under-
41
32£ Appendix.
stood came from a ship. The clothes which Mrs. Carey wash-
ed Ellender says were those which Carey brought to the house
when he first arrived in port, and consisted of three or four
pieces, chiefly shirts. Ellender did not go into the house after
Mrs. Carey sickened, being afraid of taking the disease.
The cartman who brought the things did not know, it seems,
who the young man was that hired him at the dock and rode
with him to the house to which the things were taken. But by
. Ellender's statement we learn the important f.»ct, that it was
tyl0fl'ftQrvWtoT Mrs. Carey's son. With him, therefore, rests the true secret of
*—• this affair; but whether any measures will ever be taken, or
inducements offered to have it divulged, is more than we can
say. As it was Carey himself who was on the cart, he has made
known enough for our purpose, inasmuch as he has confessed
that the articles brought to his mather s, to wit, the mattress,
chest, kc. had belonged to a person who had died of yellow
fever. With the rest of the story we have nothing to do. We
have proved that the matter of contagion was brought into
Lombardy-street before the yellow fever prevailed there.
It appears that Carey's own things were not brought from
the ship until about the twelfth of September, that is three days
after his mother and sister sickened.
So. VI.
Proofs of the inejficacy of our present Quarantine Laws.
From the following table some idea may be formed of the
active and extensive intercourse maintained between this port
and the West-Indies, and especially with those islands and
towns where yellow fever most usually prevails. It fully justi-
fies what we have said on this subject under the head of pre-
vention ond purification. No one certainly can feel more real
gratification than myself, in beholding our country prosper in
all the varied pursuits which engage the bold, persevering, and
enterprizing genius of her citizens. But when the lives of some
hundred thousand individuals are placed in jeopardy to gratify
/
dftju^j IL o^L^kJOf' 'w^L^e- Ur-(L~'
' Appendix. / 323 cK<» f
the cupidity of an inconsiderable portion of the community, I
cannot hesitate to withhold my assent to any measure, the object
of which is to perpetuate this unnatural condition of things.
There are, doubtless, those in whom avarice would obliterate
every noble feeling; but I trust and believe, that there are very
few of the mercantile community whose philanthropy as well
as patriotism would not induce them to make large sacrifices of
their own private interests rather than bear the imputation of
doing any thing that might be detrimental to the public welfare.
I am therefore satisfied in my own mind, that when propositions
come to be advanced before our legislative tribunals to remodel
and perfect the quarantine system none will go farther than such
persons towards rendering it as complete and efficient as possi-
ble. They will see at once the-glaring inconsistency, the mon-
strous absurdity, and the wrong done to the public, in expend-
ing enormous sums of money to maintain this mummery and '
mockery of a quarantine, which, instead of barring the door
against the pestilence, serves, as a depot to receive and fos-
ter it.
List of Vessels arrived at New-York, during the summer and
autumn of 1822, from West-India ports where Yellow Fever
usually prevails. ^c
HAVANNA.
Arrived, Quarantined
June 11th. Brig Rapid—1 died of yellow fever, May
31st, 30 days.
16th. Schooner Retrieve—none sick, do.
18th. Brig Venus—1 died of bilious fever June
7th, on the passage, do.
22d. Brig Aspasia—2 were sick on the passage do.
23d. Schooner Virginia Packet—none, do.
25th. Serena—none, do.
324
Appendix.
Awived QwrwitiiMd
June 25th. Brig Spanish Soldier—1 died on shore at
Havanna, probably of yellow fever—1
died on the passage June 17th, of yellow
fever [passenger,] 30 days.
28th.----Abeona^none, do.
----------Ambuscade—none, do.
July 1st. Ship Eliza Jane—1 died of yellow fever
on shore at Havannah, June 10th,
[mate]—1 died June 18th, of yellow
fever on the passage, do.
2d. Brig Nancy—1 sick in Havanna, do.
---- Schooner Lively Hope—none, do.
8th. U. S. Brig Enterprize—10 sick. " This
vessel,'' says Dr. Bayley, in his weekly
report to the Board of Health, " arriv-
ed here the 8th inst. 24 days from Ha-
vanna, (where she remained three
days off the Moro Castle and about
one mile from the city,) via Charleston.
At the latter place she remained eight
days. Lieutenant Coxe was taken ill
the day after she arrived at that port,
and died on the 1st of July. Ten persons
[of the crew] were sick of malignant
fever when she arrived here on the 8th
and twelve have since been taken ill.
Those persons who died have all had
that fatal symptom, the black vomit.'' do.
July 9th. Schooner Kennebeck Trader—none, do.
12th.---------Tartar—1 died of yellow fever
on board on the IOth, [seaman,] do.
----------.......Pirate—none, do.
13th. Brig Fair American—I sick [seaman]
left at Havanna, * do.
15th.----Fame—none, do.
Appendix.
325
Arrivec1, Quarantined
July 15th. Sloop Wave—none, 30 days.
----Steam Ship Robert Fulton—1 sick of fever,
left at Charleston, do.
27th. Brig Francis—1 died on shore at Ha-
vanna, [seaman,] do.
29th.----Packet—none, do.
Aug. 3d. Brig Betsey—none, do.
15th. ----Lucy Ann—4 died of yellow fever,
3 on shore at Havanna, 1 on the 10th
on the passage, to 1st of Oct.
20th. H. B. M. Brig Dotterel- none, 30 days.
---- Schooner Three Sisters—1 died of yel-
low fever at Havanna [seaman,] do.
21st.--------New-Orleans—none, do.
31st.--------Dolphin—2 sick of fever at
Havanna, [captain and a seaman,] do.
Sept. 2d. --------Huntress—none, do.
12th. Ship Thomas Wilson—none, do.
14th. Brig Factor—3 died of yellow fever
[crew] 1 died Aug. 22d, onshore at Ha-
vanna, 2 on the passage, Sept. 6,
and Sept. 8th,—1 sick of yellow fever
arrived convalescent, [passenger,] do.
20th.----American—4 sick, captain and 3
of the crew at Havanna. do.
28th.----Neptune's Barge—none, do.
Oct. 3d. ----Packet—4 died of yellow fever,
1st and 2d mates and one seaman on
- shore at Havanna, and a new first
mate on the passage, Sept. 21st, do.
8th. ----Abeona—none, do.
15th.----Fair American—none, do,
17th. Schooner Neptune—none, do.
------Richard—3 died of yellow fever
before sailing, do.
In the space of 128 days arrived 38 vessels, in which 57 were
sick, of whom 44 had yellow fever, of which 21 died.
326
Appendix.
MATANZAS [Ctt&O.]
Arrived, Quarantined
June 11th. Brig Agenoria—none sick, 4 days.
—•- Ship Shamrock—none, do,
18th. Brig Emma, ---- do.
24th. ----Margaret, ---- do.
July 1 st. ----Helicon—2 sick, arrived with yellow
fever, a third had yellow fever on pas-
sage, 30 days.
7th. ----Mary—1 sick at Matanzas [seaman,] do.
15th.----Planter—none, .. do.
30th Schooner St. Stephens—none, do.
Aug. 2d. Brig Radius—none, do.
7th. Schooner Planet—none, do.
Sept. 3d. Brig Betsey—none, do.
20th.----Prize—none, 10
Oct. 8th. ----Castor—none, 7
In the space of 119 days arrived 13 vessels, in which 4 were
sick, of which 3 had yellow fever.
ST. JAGO DE CUBA.
June 14th. Sch'r Industry—none sick , - 30 day a.
30th. Brig Georgiana—2 died of yellow fever
on shore there, [seamen,] do.
Sept. 19th. ----Traveller—1 died of yellow fever, 20
Oct. 20th, ----Mermaidn—none, - 6
In the space of 127 daysx arrived 4 vessels, of which 3 of the
crews' died of yellow fever before sailing.
fort-au-prince, [Hispaniola.]
June 21st. Brig John, London—none sick, 9 days.
July 7th. Sch'r Nile. do. 30
Appendix. 327
Arrived, Qaarantined.
July 17th. Sch'r Ariadne—2 sick with fever ; one
on passage, the other at Port-au-
Prince, - - - 30 days
Aug. 4th. Brig Buck—2 died of yellow fever ; one
on passage July 13th ; the other at
Port-au Prince, [seamen,] - do.
15th. Sch'r Combine-2 died of yellow fever
on shore at Port-au-Prince, [seamen,] do.
____ Brig Vorwartz- 2 died do. do. do.
____ ----Harmony -none, do.
20th, Sch'r Atlanta--none, do.
____ Sloop Active -none. Went through the ,
Sound.
Sep. 13th. Sch'r William Henry—1 sick [seaman,]
on passage. - - - 18
28th. Brig John, London--none. Went thro'
the Sound.
Oct 12th. Sch'r Nile—none. - - 5
13th. Brig Francis Jarvis—none, - do.
In the space of 118 days, arrived 13 vessels, in which 9 were
sick, of whom 6 had yellow fever, and all died.
VERA CRUZ.
July 17th. Ship Victoiy—-12 sick while there,
[seamen,] and 2 died there [mates]
8th and 18th of June, - 30 days.
27th. Brig John—1 sick with fever there
[seaman] - - - do.
28th, Sch'r Swan—4 sick there with fever, do.
In the space of 11 days, arrived 3 vessels, in which 19 were
sick with fever at that port, of whom 2 died.
Appendix.
RECAPITULATION.
Arrivals No. of
from. vessels.
Havanna, 38
Matanzas,' 13
St. JagodeCuba, 4
Port-au Prince, 13
Vera Cruz, 3
Total, 71 92 56 32*
In addition to this, it may be observed, that the intercourse
kept up between the different ports of the Union, or what is
called the coasting trade, is incessant, especially during the
warm weather, and between this city and New-Orleans, Pensa-
cola, St. Augustine, and other towns in the southernmost part of
our territory, and which, from their proximity to the West-In-
dies, are almost every year afflicted with the visitation of yel-
low fever. We have this year seen what distress it has occa-
sioned at Pensacola and at New-Orleans.
We perceive by this table that vessels often arrive here
from sickly ports, and that the first intimation we have of the
disease prevailing in such places, is the death of some of the
crews during the passage. Vessels from the same ports, and
which sailed and arrived perhaps some three or four days pre-
vious, are permitted, after the short detention of four days at
quarantine, to go up to the city, on the presumption that such
ports were healthy. So that pestilence may have been carried
in cargo loads to our wharves and into our houses, before the
Health Officer can be aware of its introduction, and when it is
too late to repair the disaster. For, by the letter of Dr. Bayley,
in Chap. I. p. 92, 3, we learn, that although none may have
* This is exclusive of the deaths of the crew of the U. S. brig Enter-
prise.
No. of Sick of yellow Died of y el-
sick, fever. low fever.
57 - 44 - 21
4 - 3
3-3-3
' 9 - 6 - 6
19 — - 2
Appendix. 329
died or been sick on board such vessels, and that although the
vessels may have been in a perfectly clean condition, with no
taint in any part of them perceptible to the senses, yet if yellow
fever prevailed in the ports whence they sailed, the air of their
holds may come surcharged with the contagious poison of this
malady.
Notwithstanding, therefore, the Health Officer has good
grounds to be suspicious of all vessels arriving from such
ports, it would be considered a very harsh measure on his
part, and would, no doubt, excite much clamour, if he under-
took to throw so great an obstruction in the way of the West-
India trade as to use the discretionary power with which he is
invested* of detaining these vessels thirty or more days.
Such are the loose ideas entertained by many, of the nature
of quarantine laws, and such the leniency and inefficiency of our
present code, that I have no doubt if these indulgencies were
not granted, the Health Officer, however meritorious he might
Seem in the eyes of those who are aware of the absolute neces-
sity of a fixed and unyielding line of conduct in those who hold
these responsible situations, would be thought little better than
a despot.
What happened this year in regard to the port of Matanzas,
is in point. Between June 11th and 24th, four vessels arrived
here from that place. On July 1st, that is, six days only after
the last arrival, came the brig Helicon, on board of which came
also two cases of yellow fever ; and a third had had the disease
on the passage. The four first vessels were quarantined but
four days, and then went up to the wharf in the city. It was on
this account that the disease was attributed by some to the ship
Shamrock, which arrived from Matanzas on the 11th of June,
and hauled into the wharf very near the foot of Rector-street.
* Health Laws, sect. 3. p. 11. 1020.
42
330 Appendix.
There can be no doubt that the four vessels which arrived be-
fore the Helicon, at least those that arrived only a few days be-
fore her, were perfectly well apprised of the state of the public
health at Matanzas before they sailed.
Thus, besides the danger to be apprehended from vessels
which may in this manner illicitly introduce the poison of yel-
low fever directly into the city, we never can possibly feel
ourselves secure while we are maintaining, under the name of
a quarantine, and at the distance of but sig-ejLswcn miles from
the city, an institution which, did it not seem too much like tri-
fling with a subject too serious for ridicule, might be said to be
intended rather to prolong the existence of this deplorable ma-
lady than to contribute to its extinction.
When we compare the large proportion of the deaths from
yellow fever of the vessels from sickly West- India ports, to the
number of cases of that disease, it is evident there can be no
mistake as to the name and character of the complaint. And
when in connexion with this, we look at the total number of
vessels, and consider that there were as many as seventy-one
arrivals from yellow fever ports; that these arrivals all took
place in the short space of one hundred and thirty days, in the
hottest season of the year, that near one hundred persons
were sick of the crews and passengers of these vessels,
much more than half of whom had yellow fever ; and
that the length of the voyage was not usually much more
than from twelve to twenty days ; those who confess them-
selves unable to resist the evidences in favour of im-
portation, will be ready to acknowledge, that here are abundant
sources for the introduction of yellow fever.
No. VII.
Sickness in the Sugar-House in Liberty-street.
I have already said, under the head of Immunity and Predis-
position, that the sickness of the Germans was owing, doubtless
to their continuing to frequent this building long after the neigh-
Appendix. 331
bourhood, from the number of persons who had fallen sick in
the vicinity of that building, was well known to be infected ;
and that the predisposition of a foreign constitution had also
probably contributed to their illness. By a reference to Chap.
I. and to the reports made to the Board of Health, it is found,
that cases had already occurred in that vicinity, in William-
street, and also in Broadway north of Liberty-street, as early
as the latter part of August.
To become better assured, however, of what 1 believed to be
the true explanation of this sickness, I addressed a letter, con-
taining several queries, to B. B. Seaman, Esq. one of the pro-
prietors of that establishment, who in his answer, dated January
1st, 1823, politely furnished me with a minute and very satisfac-
tory, detail of all the circumstances connected with the cases
which had occurred there.
This statement corroborates, in every respect, what I had
asserted. It appears that the house was not actually closed,
nor did the Germans cease to go there until October second.
Mr. Seaman says they avoided, as much as possible, in their
routes to and from the sugar-house, those places that were con-
sidered infected. They were, however, in the midst of it;
besides which, their high susceptibility to the disease would
have rendered them the subjects of it if only a partial stream of
the poison had been wafted from a distance to the building,
while, to a native, perhaps, it might have proved perfectly
harmless.
I shall insert the answers of Mr. Seaman at full length, though
I do so without his permission ; being fully persuaded, that he
will excuse the liberty I have taken from my unwillingness to
withhold from the public the interesting information which they
convey.
The fact related of Martin Hauser, in the 10th answer, is
particularly worthy of remembrance, being the longest period
[fourteen days] from the reception to the development of the
contagion that occurred. In two other cases the poison lay
332 Appendix.
dormant ten days, and periods somewhat longer than fourteen
days have been observed occasionally, but very seldom, by
Arejula and others in Spain.
" Sir,
u In reply to your first query, which will also be an answer to
the second, I assure you that we had not, for a long time pre-
vious, or during the continuance of the fever which prevailed
this last season, any sugars from the Island of Cuba, excepting
such as had forfeited their right to a drawback of the duties ;
they must, of course, have been at least one year in the coun-
try.
3 " The sugar-house has never been closed in any former
season, but was always kept in full operation.
4th. " Nor has there ever before occurred a case of fever
in it.
5th. " Germans, almost exclusively, have been employed in
our business.
6th. " Our men who have families lodge at home, in the up-
per wards of the city, above an east and west line intersecting
Chatham-street, at the commencement of the Bowery. The
single men reside in the building attached to the sugar-house,
and also adjoining to the yard of the New Dutch Church.
7th. " The men, both -married and single, continued their
regular habits until the 21st September, with the exception of
three, (one of whom, Martin Hauser, is mentioned in my 10th
answer) who left the sugar house entirely on the 9th day of
September, and did not return until the fever disappeared. Af-
ter the 21st September, the single men discontinued lodging at
the sugar house, but occasionally worked there in the interval
between the 21st September and 2d October, when they ceased
to go there altogether. It ought to be mentioned here, that the
boiler, or foreman, continued to live there until the first day of
October, and one of the men during the whole season, both of
whom continued healthy.
8th " The men in their routes to and from the sugar-house
Appendix. 333
avoided, as much as possible, what was considered at the time
the infected parts of the city.
9th. " The first case which occurred among our men was
Lear Bush, on the evening of the second September. He ate a
hearty supper, of a very indigestible nature, laid himself down
on a bench level with the sill of an open window adjoining to,
and also level with the surface of the church yard, where he
slept until morning When he awoke he complained of violent
pains in every part of his body, and removed to a lodging house
in Mott street, where he died on the 9th of September
10th. " Christopher Fisher was next taken sick, on the 7th
of September, while at work in the sugar house. He returned
to his family in Forsyth street in the evening and laid for some
time very ill, but recovered. Martin Hauser, (one of the
three men referred to in my sevdnth answer) left the sugar-
house entirely on the 9th September, and took lodgings in
Stuyvesanl's lane : he was reported as a case in September, at
least fourteen days after his removal, (during which time he
assured me he had not been below Canal-street) and died on the
fifth day. Herman Hartman worked at the sugar-house until
the first of October, went at evening to his boarding-house as
usual, but was out that night very late, and returned intoxicated
and wet, having been exposed no doubt in that state to the
effects of a severe storm : he was taken down the next day, and
died on the seventh. Lawrence Wendenman, the last man who
was taken sick, had left the sugar-house on the 21st with the
rest ; he returned to work seven days afterwards, and early
in October was taken down ; he died on the ninth day.
11th. " With most of these cases I was personally intimate,
and during the whole time of their sickness was in the habit of
visiting them at least twice a day, and remaining some time in
the same room with them, assisting occasionally in removing
them : neither I, nor their constant attendants, were ever af-
fected in the least by the disorder.
12th. " Our men are certainly exposed to a considerable
degree of heat in the performance of their labour, but it has
334
Appendix.
always been supposed by them, as well as ourselves, that it
rendered them less susceptible of infection, and I think we will
be borne out in this opinion by medical authority, who gene-
rally (1 believe) think that constant and profuse perspiration is
one of the most effectual safeguards against fever. I am satis-
fied in my own mind on this subject, and believe that if we had
kept the house in full operation, and consequently the men in
the same regular habits, to which the discipline of the house
subjects them, we should have saved one or more of the single
men.
13th. " In reply to your last query, I have to refer you, in
part, to my last answer, and to add, that we have had repeated
visits of examination, from the proper authorities, who were
always satisfied from the healthy appearance of the men, that
there could be nothing injurious to health in their occupation,
and that every attention was paid to cleanliness consistent with
the nature of so large an establishment. The steam arising
from the sugar, when boiling, is the only thing about the manu-
factory which can possibly offend the neighbourhood. But this
steam, although it may be offensive when met in such large
quantities, is, I believe, frequently used to purify the air of a
sick room.
" I am, your obedient servant."
" B. B. SEAMAN."
Dr. Townsend.
New-York, January 1, 1823.
No. VIII.
Burial Grounds.
Letter of Professor John W. Francis, addressed to the Author.
New-York, December 24, 1822.
" Dear Sir,
" In answer to your query, ' What agency, in your opinion,
had the Trinity Church yard in the origin of the late yellow
Appendix. 335
fewer; and were you at any time during the prevalence of that
disease sensible of .noxious exhalations arising thence P I deem
it my duty to state :
" From a candid and impartial examination of all the facts
which I have been enabled to collect, I am convinced that the
late yellow fever arose from causes in nowise connected with
public burial grounds. The evidence on this head is ample ;
and as I am persuaded you will be able to put the matter in its
true light, at least so far as concerns the church yard, I shall
not here enlarge.
" As to the second part of your query, a regard to truth in-
duces me to give an opinion in opposition to what has been
repeatedly asserted the past season. During the prevalence of
the late fever I had frequent occasion to visit parts of the city
in the neighbourhood of the cemetery of Trinity Church, and
of other places of public interment. On no occasion did I ex-
perience any perceptible effect in those situations. This opi-
nion will perhaps have the greater weight when I add, that
these vi-its were often made at a period when the fever was at
its height; during the hottest weather of the summer, at differ-
ent times of night, and of day, and in all the varieties of wind
and temperature. I know that what 1 have advanced differs from
the speculation of many respectable persons ; but I am em-
boldened to affirm it, because the observations I have made are
the deductions of personal experience, and I suspect the con-
trary opinion has been too hastily adopted. Moreover, I am
strengthened in my sentiments by the testimony of others,
who had every opportunity of correct information.
" The farce got up in Trinity Church yard, during the
prevalence of the fever, is now better understood, and I shall
dismiss it without comment. Yet one cannot but regret, that
among those who gave it countenance were several of the public
authorities of our city.
" lam not aware that any apprehensions have ever been
entertained by the intelligent of the deleterious consequences
of burial grounds in the large cities of Europe, and the theory
336 Appendix.
which attributes yellow fever to such source in our own coun-
try is equally novel and false.
"I remain your's,
JOHN W. FRANCIS."
Dr. Townsend.
No. IX.
Additional facts in support of Contagion.
CASES OF THE BAILIES IN CHEAPSIDE-STRECT.
The death of the two females by the name of Bailie, who
went out of the uninfected parts of the city to take care of their
sister in Cheapside-street has already been alluded to in the
first chapter, as a marked instance of the contagious nature of
yellow fever, and of the peculiar susceptibility of a northern
constitution.
The particulars relating to their sickness, and which the de-
sertion of the city rendered it impracticable to procure at the
time I visited Cheapside-street, I have since had the satisfac-
tion of receiving from Mr. Scott, with whom it will be remem-
bered, Catharine, the first of the three cases that sickened,
lived.
She was an Irish girl of robust, sanguine temperament, and
fourteen years of age, of very regular habits, and, unlike most
other persons of this description, rarely left the house, or mani-
fested any disposition to ramble about the city. She was ta-
ken ill Sunday, Sept. 15th, about noon. Ward's house is about
fifteen yards from that of Mr. Scott's, but Mr. S. says she had
no communication whatever with the family. As so much
sickness, however, had already occurred at Ward's before
Catharine was taken ill, and as her system, from her short resi-
dence in this country, [being, as we have before said, but
seventeen months from Ireland,] must have been highly pre-
disposed to the disease,, there can be scarcely a doubt that if
she had merely passed the house, the degree to which the air
'■.n,L -m
'4*/
Appendix. 337
without must have necessarily been infected, was all sufficient
to have created the disease in her, although others more habitu-
ated to breathe the morbid effluvia of sick chambers, and who
were natives and long resident in the city, might, as we have
seen in numerous parallel instances, remain for hours in such
an atmosphere with perfect impunity. Mr. Scott cannot possi-
tively affirm that Catharine was not a few days before her illness
near the house of Ward. As the pump stands near it, howe-
ver, there is every reason to believe that in going to fetch water
she must have been much exposed to take the disease. Mr.
Scott is of opinion that she took the complaint in another way.
It appears that next door south of Mr. Scott's house, there
stands a small back two story building, which fronts upon the
rear of his yard, and the windows of which open upon it, not to
exceed twenty feet distance from the cistern. On the Monday
previous to Catharine's being taken sick, i. e. the 9th of Sep-
tember, a painter by the name of Williams, died in the front
upper or second story ?oom of this building. Dr. Joseph M.
Smith informed me that from the representations which had v
. been made of Williams' symptoms, there was every reason to
believe that it was a genuine case of yellow fever. No one,
however, could precisely tell the manner in which he had re-
ceived it, though the current opinion is that he had been em-
ployed in painting the cabin-work of an Havanna vessel, or
had been visiting infected parts of the city. That he had been
down into the lower infected district is not denied. A few days
before he sickened he told of his intention to go there to do
some work, and said in justification that in hard times like these
it was necessary for poor folks to run some risk. I have the
documents in my possession which prove these facts, but I
have not thought it necessary to insert them. The day of his
death the bedding upon which he bad died was hung out of
the window of his chamber. It so happened that nearly all
that day Catharine was constantly employed in washing at the
43
II:
338 Appendix.
cistern, and of course was directly exposed to the effluvia that
must have been exhaling from the chamber as well as from the
bedding. Just six days after this exposure Catharine sickened.
If Williams died of yellow fever, though not a reported case,
Catharine then had, in all likelihood, taken in from this source
some of the seeds of the poison, enough, perhaps, to have gene-
rated the disease in her person. She may also have received
more or less of it from having approached too near Ward's
house.
Mrs. Bailie, sister-in-law to Catharine, came to see her on
the 18th of September, and again, it is said, on Friday ; but did
not stay with her constantly. Eliza, however, the sister of
Catharine, and who had arrived from Ireland at the same time
with her, came to see her on Monday the 16th, and remained
with her day and night until her death. Catharine died Satur-
day morning early, Sept. 21st. Mrs. Bailie and Eliza took
sick in Orchard street on the 24th following, and both died at
the Marine Hospital; Mrs. Bailie on the 29th, and Eliza on
the 30th. It is somewhat remarkable that Eliza and Mrs. Bai-
lie should both have sickened on the very same day, although
Eliza was exposed to the contagion during the first, second and
third days of Catharine's illness, and Mrs. Bailie not until the
fourth ; and it is also still more surprising that the disease in
Mrs. Bailie, who had been several years in this country, and
whose susceptibility would have been thought much less than
that of Eliza's, should have evinced higher marks of malignity,
and been also of much shorter duration. These anomalies,
though apparently irreconcilable, were doubtless owing to
circumstances^vhich, in the present imperfect state of our
knowledge of the laws of this disease, our senses are incapable
of taking cognizance. It is obvious that Mrs. Bailie did not
receive the contagion from Catharine until the conclusion of
the third day, or beginning of the fourth day of her illness.
Appendix. 339
Cases of Yellow Fever on Brooklyn Heights.
The following is a copy of a deposition made at my request,
by Mr. Thomas Baiseley, an old inhabitant of Brooklyn, whose
veracity is unimpeached. His verbal declaration would have
been sufficient, but the severe etiquette of controversy obliges
me to adopt this form, for the narrative of the facts I have ad-
duced.
" Brooklyn, King's County, state of New-York, ss.
" Thomas Baiseley, of Brooklyn, being duly sworn, deposeth
and saith, that on or about the ninth of August, 1822, John
Davis, coachsmith, of New-York, who lived in Washington-
street, hired, and a few days after removed into the upper part
of the house occupied by this deponent, in Poplar-street,
Brooklyn. That the said Davis removed from the city to
Brooklyn in consequence of the fever which prevailed in the
part where he had resided. That on or about the first day of
September he, the said Davis, went into the most infected part
of the city, to wit, in Washington-street near Rector-street, for
the purpose, as this deponent believeth, of procuring his tools
of trade.
" This deponent further saith, that on the tenth day of Sep-
tember following, being Tuesday, the said Davis sickened of
yellow fever, in the apartment which he had hired of this de-
ponent, and that the said Davis died, and was buried the thir-
teenth day of September. That on the sixteenth day of Sep.
tember, Samuel Isaacs, coachsmith, who lived and boarded with
Davis, and had helped to lay out Davis, also sickened of yellow
fever • was removed to quarantine on the twenty-third, and
died on the twenty-fifth. Isaacs had accompanied Davis in his
visit to Washington street. This deponent further saith, that
5$j* Davis told his, the deponent's wife, that her husband, Davis,
had passed blood by stool during his the said Davis' illness.
340
Appendix.
" This deponent further saith, that after Davis died, the bed-
ding upon which he died lay out in the yard for several days
exposed to the sun, and that no care was taken to avoid it by
any persons living in deponent's house. That on the eigh-
teenth of September, the son of this deponent ,Nicholas Baiseley
sickened of yellow fever, and died the twenty-fourth following.
That the said Nicholas had black vomit, but that he had not
been in the room where Davis lay during his sickness and no
nearer to him than in the entry on the same floor with the room
in which said Davis was lying sick. This deponent further
declareth, that the room in which Davis was sick opens into the
entry where Nicholas had been.
" This deponent also saith, that his-daughter Antoinette took
sick of yellow fever on Thursday the nineteenth day of Sep-
tember, and died on Monday the twenty third day of Septem-
ber. That Nicholas, for the last ten days previous to his taking
sick had not been in the city of New-York except in that part
of the city with which intercourse from the town of Brooklyn
was constantly maintained, to wit, the foot of Fulton street, on
the East-River, and no where else, to which place the horse
ferry-boat continued to ply from Brooklyn during all the epi-
demic That Antoinette had not been in the city of New-York
since the fourth day of July, which was previous to the exist-
ence of yellow fever there. But that she had during the illness
of Davis been in his room, and where he was lying ill with yel-
low fever for the space of about one quarter of an hour ; and
that after Davis died she had slept, as his wife informs him, and
as he believes with Mrs. Davis, on the same bedding upon which
he, the said Davis, lay during his illness.
" This deponentalso saith, that he hath heard a strange report,
that his daughter took her disease from a chest in the room in
which she was accustomed to sleep ; but that there could be no
manner of foundation for any such belief, because the che.st
had never been opened since June, and that Isaacs and Nicholas
Appendix. 341
had often slept in the same room with it, as well as several
other persons ; and lastly, because it contained only some books
of a Mr. Levi Dyer, of Norfolk, together, as the said Dyer said,
with some clothing of his wife, who had, according to the said
Dyer, died in Norfolk, as far back as the year 1821, in the
month of November ; but not of yellow fever. This deponent
saith, that the said Dyer was an Englishman, and that the said
chest was brought to deponent's house, then in James-street,
Brooklyn, about the twelfth day of December, 1821. This
deponent saith, that from the time Davis moved into deponent's
house, to wit, a few days after he had hired the apartments of
deponent, Antoinette ceased to sleep in the room where the
chest was, as the room was one of the apartments hired by Davis ;
and that Isaacs and Davis' son slept there with the chest until it
was removed. This deponent further saith, that in consequence
of the rumour about the trunk it was ordered to be buried by
the Board of Health of this town, and was buried just before the
death of Antoinette.
" Furthermore, this deponent declareth, that the wives of his
two sons, to wit, Nancy, wife of John, and Sarah, wife of David
Baiseley, also were taken sick of yellow fever. That Nancy
was much frightened, and only went into the entry, but not into
the adjoining room where Davis lay, and that said Nancy a few
days after had the disease very severely, and that Doctors Ball
and Wendell declared her complaint to be the genuine old yel-
low fever. That Sarah, wife of David, frequently visited and
sat up with Nicholas just when he wss about getting black vomit,
and took sick the day before he died of yellow fever ; and that
neither Nancy nor Sarah lived in deponent's house ; that Nancy
had not been in the city in six weeks, nor Sarah all summer.
" This deponent also saith, that his wife also took sick of yellow
fever, on or about the .sixteenth of September, and was serious-
ly ill for three days. This deponent further saith that Antoi-
nette was eleven, and Nicholas Baiseley twenty-two years of
342
Appendix.
age, and that he, the said deponent, fully and firmly believes
that the sickness in his house was occasioned by Davis.
" THOMAS BAISELEY.
" Sworn to the seventeenth day of January, in the year eigh-
teen hundred and twenty-three.
WILLIAM FURMAN, Judge."
By this highly important document we learn :
1st. That Davis took sick on or about the tenth day after ex
posure in the city.
2d. That Isaacs who had been at the same time with Davis
near Rector-street, did not take sick until sixteen days after
exposure.
3d. That Isaacs boarded and lived in the house with Davis
before and during his, Davis' illness, and helped to lay him out.
4th. That Nicholas Baiseley had not been in any infected part
of the city previous to his illness.
5th. That Antoinette, Nancy, Sarah, and Mrs. Baisley, all of
whom had yellow fever, had not been in the city within the
last six weeks previous to their illness.
That Davis took his disease in the city is obvious ; Isaacs
must have taken his from Davis, for the interval between the
time of his exposure and falling sick was too great to suppose
that he had received it from the same source as Davis, whereas
the interval between the time of Davis and Isaacs' falling sick is
precisely in accordance with the usual period required for the
development of the contagion, viz. from three to six days.
It has also been almost invariably observed, that persons who
have been exposed to the contagion of yellow fever if they take
the disease, fall sick, cceteris paribus, very near, or at the same
time with each other, as is proved by innumerable recorded
facts. Among other sources of information on this point I refer
the reader to Dr. Bayley's account of the yellow fever at the
quarantine ground, in 1821, published in the first volume of
the New-York Medical and Physical Journal.
hM^ uKJJi ^App^hd^ '" ^^^- U
'Appendix.
<^!*' munication with the sick.
" Having thus detailed to you the manner of the yellow fever
being introduced by four infected individuals, into as many dif-
ferent habitations, all of these situated in a pure atmosphere,
free from every predisposing cause of disease, and shown, that
including tha four first cases, about thirty persons have caught
the infection ; of whom not less th.m eighteen have died, I beg
you to reflect on the probable consetju^nces of four similar
cases being introduced among the dense p< filiation of any city
in the union ; and whether thousands would not have fallen
victims, unless effectual measures were adopted to interpose a
hairier between the sick and the sound.
" There were one or two other staking instances of contagion
that occurred below the city. An Irishman who went from
town to Gener il Wilkinson's plantation, fell sick shortly after
his arrival, and died with the biack vomit. He was attended
1^ ±cJj>fUdLC Appendix. iS*r*rrM*~>Ayf~ i §49 j/UJ r~ ws^ .
61/ a man who had not been to town during the season; hi also
caught the disease and died. The yellow fever was likewise
iJ\*dJU>)^~
taken to Mr. Fleckner s plantation by a white man from town, ^fcr - aV
who there died ; also the negro nurse who attended him, and | tht - 7
the nurse of that negro also.
" Mr. Livingston's overseer, who had not been near the
city, visited one of those sitk white men, [whether at the Gene-
ral's or Mr. Fleckner's, I do not exactly know,] and he also
took the disease, and died with black vomit."
\
No. X.
Slate of the Weather for thirty four years during summer and^
autumn from the year lll>9 inclusive, to August, 1822. ^
The abstracts which follow are made out from the tables of
the late WTLaight, Esq. to which I have alluded in the pre- T^-^
face. It is believed that they are the only tables of the wea*. "** "^ '" *(T^
ther extant in the city, as it has not until very lately been the
practice either in private life or in our public institutions to pay k.
that attention to this subject which its importance merits. Our^
colleges, hospitals, and other public establishments, maty of ^ «t
which have been formed for more than half a century have ^
nevertheless, as far as I have been enabled to learn, totally ne~ v
glected this very interesting department of physical science.
The tables of Mr. Laight before the year 1800 were kept^
during the warm weather at his seat at Corker's Hook, andt ?
since that period successively in Greewich and Courtlandt^-
streets, and in Robinson street, (now Park Place.) Though f
C orlaer's Hook is in the environs of the city, it is situated on
the east and warmest side of the Island, while Greenwich, ~^>
Courtlandt and Robinson streets, are on the north-west or op-
posite side, and by their proximity to the Hudson and spa- -y VT ^L,^
cious dimensions constantly exposed to cool and refreshing ^ ^ p r"
breezes. The difference, tfrmiltaye, in the degree* of heat in S^ -v
■jg^' the two places must have been quite/tjfcmaterial.
350 Appendix.
In confined narrow streets, shut out from ventilation, the
heat may have been somewhat higher than in the wide airy
streets of that part of the city, where the thermometer of Mr.
Laight was suspended. This does not, however, affect the
relative changes of the thermometer, nor invalidate in the least
respect the inferences that may be deduced from them. Be-
sides which it must be borne in mind, that the discrepancies of
thermometers are more frequently owing to some difference of
construction, or to the quality of the quicksilver, than to the
situations in which they are exposed. This is very forcibly
exemplified in the extraordinary disagreement between the
thermometer of the New-York hospital and that of Mr. Laight.
According to the tables at the New-York Hospital, and which
we have used in the chapter on the weather for the year 1822,
the quicksilver must have ranged several degrees higher than
in Mr. Laight's thermometer. Mr. Laight's tables for that
year are wanting after the month of July ; but it is obvious, from
comparing the months of June and July of Mr. Laight's tables
with the same months in Dr. Pennell's tables, and with the
previous jrears of Mr. Laight's tables, that this difference is not
to be taken as absolute, but merely relative.
What renders the table of Mr. Laight still more perfect is,
that the same instrument has been used during the whole
time.
The hours at which the heat was taken are between 7 and 8
of the morning, between 2 and 3 of the afternoon, and between
8 and 11 in the evening. Our averages are made out for the
middle period.
There are some trifling omissions which will be found noted
in the abstracts in which they occur.
In calculating the averages, and also the sums of the averages,
I have taken particular care to accompany the integers with
the decimals, so that their accuracy may be fully depended
Upon.
Appendix.
351
In Table J. it was inconvenient to annex the fractional parts
to the averages, but they enter into all the succeeding tables.
In this table I have added one to the integers, where the deci-
mal was over .70.
The quanty of rain was not taken, but the rains and show- ;
ers noticed in a very particular manner, sufficiently so to ena- /lv£*_0 \
ble any person to judge of the degree of humidity in the air. ___ l
The thermometer used is that of Fahrenheit. C~\j Cv*^) <~4Ua, '^M^e.
U^^ W^ c^w VL lrv*~*cm -**
Appendix.
353
H— S.CM 1 •> 1 r- [ *H CM ex *CM 1 °> 1 ^o
— , j: o —• cm rM i CM '0 00 CO t- CO -* CM 1 —i CM vrj -r | CO f CO
CI i J- 5. 15 — o M < *2 i ~2 M '0 «•; -r t- 00 -T * >.0 -< CO c- .» o as — *r o co -r l i- j+ - co 1 -tf > re:
*^~ I Oi — CO CO 1 I- O) o I iQ lO CM C-| ,■- CO CD * - | D) - .-. I o - o
"t 1 . C- -.:■! .0 1 -0 co :'-
t- ; O I1 J< o 1 t- CO iQ — ! .: 3 Ol . Oi t- 1 O __ >—' cu 1 . 1- .-o
CO , CO CD 3 i.---■ t- CO ^O___ CD — Oi Oi i~ -o iO - D Z- 1 _■ CD 3 CO 1 cc CD ^<
.ii cu -r 3 o --■ c-t- CO T CM O 3 t> -— , CO O :'. CD
-T - "c ii5 ,^- . — CM O SO .o .-- to I t- CD K CO O CD CO
i t- C. O l
CM | I- CO CD — 1 l- O. • - CD -r — rr ■" CM CM 1- 31 J. B iO c- :o
"" 1 l"~ Ci" ?' ~ '-' :o Ci -r f-D t- 'O
z. a I- D CX CM 1- CO iO — I 5 -- -- — t oY ■o ^ ~ ° j ^T~CO~D~— "' D CO ■* — | 1 w 3 SO CD iO •' - JO
Oi h3 "i- ' oo CC l- lG __ "— -r O •» — c- CC Tf
CO _C CO CO CO
—co~ o ~^~d~3~~o3 t -C CD CC I- t^ .CJ — Oi 3~'^~Ci_GT 1 -_ CO '0 — j -* CD --0 "t> — J- 00 ■* | t- 3 "i -r CM
3 Oi ^ co CO
*o ;_} i3 CO CM CO X #'?: CC Jl 31 O 1
2 t- i- -T t- — t- CO CD______ 3 5 ! 6 I- 0"j .-.■■ _ —i 0 D -J-
*s i cc l- cm — | t- CO CD *3 3 co — t-t- I- o *3 3 CO CO
CM o * - L- -O Ol 'C »o r- CO CD —___ C- >0 »0 t- y-> I- CO CD — CM 3 " t O O iN t- co >o j CM *5 I •* CO 3 D I co t> "*_____ "co"— 3 ■* CD t- "*
*s -O CD -O t- — t- co -*
*i 1 I- >o CM — |t- CO o —__, i" t~0 CM OS ! c- oo "O
© Oi 3 CM Oi CD CO "O 3 O --i rj" -0 00 CO D i- -r
*5 Oi CO C- 3 CD CO 'O — .. 3 -r co O l- £0_____| '«COO iO D CO CO
*<£ CD OS CO t- 50 -0 CO CO *~ -OOfM t- CO lO
Oi to ■* «— 1 I- — i- t-Oi
*Oi t- 00 -O______ Oi — CO O t- Oi CD — *§ 3 CM O lO CM C- CO -O *3 *Oi Oi CM ■ O
*~ CM i t^ 1 *Oi !
•r OS CO Oi CO O -O CO t- Oi CO ~\> CO CO CO CO CO Oi CM Oi Cl T lO &l t- CO '0 1 t- Oi CM -O CO I- -- -vo Oi CO CO CM i-i — iO I- CO
G» Oi CO 3 CM CO t- Oi CD 3< Oi 3 CO CO t-■r ro cr
#Oi co Oi <*• «o —• t~ OD D Oi t- v.'. i". — cc t» - 'C o Oi CD —< Oi >0
a CO t- co ii o cm t- co co — co 3 -r CO 1- «• .0 Oj CO CO .?• i- T iO CD CO
CO & •< a > > — *! 'S J3 E^ 0. u; CO r ?; > cp !>' * v '« -^ li a o H o a S > « cu -S a> ^5 > -2 *;'« ~
46
354 Appendix.
TABLE II.
Average heats of June, for 31 years 74.07 for 33 years 74.04
July, 7S.50 78.44
Aug. 77.36 77,43
Sept. 70.38
Oct. 58.89
Sum of the Average Heats of June, July, August, Septemher
and October, for 31 years, 359.20
Sum of the Average Heats of June, July, and August, for
thirty-three years, 229.91
Sum of the Average Heats of June,' Sum of the Average Heats of Jane,
July and Aug. (that is 92 days.) July, Aug. Sept. and Oct. (that is
153 days.)
1789, 231.44 354.72
1790, 222.37 347.01
*1791, 233.85 357 50
1792, 228.58 355.72
1793, 235.82 365.84
1794, 230.02 for 90 days 359.45 for 142 days,
*1795, 232.78 do.
*1796, 223.94 for July Aug. and Sept.
282.89 for July, Aug. Sept. and Oct.
1797, 236.63 for 63 days. wanting.
*1798, 232.32 364.37
*1799, 228.72 356 29
1800, 230.26 for 84 days 361 10 for 145 days.
*1801, 231.07 369.12
1802, 228.63 for 91 days. 363.80 for 152 days.
* 1803, 234.76 365.22 for 146 days.
1804, 227 64 357.83 for 147 days.
*1805, 236.77 366.53
1806, 231,89 361.10
1807, 230.14 359.28
18Q8, 229.0ft 358.63
Appendix.
35b
1809,
1810,
1811,
1812,
1813,
1814,
1815,
1816,
1817,
1818,
*18l9,
1820,
1821,
*1822,
221.67 355.74
22i.07 352.73
231.44 365.89
224.91 349.36
226.12 for June, Aug. and Sept.
283.05 for June, Aug. Sept. and Oct.
227.91 357.34
230.34 357.54
219.71 344.26
222.96 348.36
231.76 359.56
236.07 367.78
235.09 364.71
227.98 361.01
153.52 for June and July.
TABLE III.
Sum of the average Heats for June,
July, Aug. Sept. and Oct. (that is
153 days) in seven years, when yel-
low fever prevailed.
Sum of the average Heats for" June,
July, Aug. Sept. and Oct. (that is
153 days) in- seven years when yel -
low lever did not prevail.
1791, 357.50 11793, 365.84
1798, 364.37 1800, 361.10 for 145 days.
1799, 356.29 1802, 363.80 for 152 days.
1801, 369.12 1806, 361.10
1803, 365.22 for 146 ds. 1811, 365.89
1805, 366.5a 1820, 364.71
1819, 367.78 2546.81 2543.45 1821, 361 01
254*45
Excess, 3.36
356
Appendix.
VARIATION.
369.12
356.29
12.83
VARIATION.
365.89
361.01
4.88
TABLE IV.
Sum oftheAverage Heafs for June, July
and Au< (that is M days.) for eight
years when yellow fever prevailed.
1791,
1795,
1798,
1799,
1801,
1803,
1805,
1819,
233.85
232.78 for 90 days.
232.32
228.72
231.07
234.76
236.71
236.07
1866.34
Sum of the Average Heats for June, July
and Aug. (tiiat is 9- days) lor eight
years, in which tuere was no yeliow
fever.
1789,
1793,
180H,
1807,
1811,
1815,
1818.
1820,
W^i^ Lv^v 4 ft. iftAKfc*
231.44
235.82
231.89
230 14
231.44
230.34
231.76
235.09
1857.92
1866.34
8.42
VARIATION
236.77
228.72
8.05
VARrATrOfT.
2-5.82
230.14
5.68
' Appendix.
TABLE V.
357
Sum of the Average Heats for June, July and Aug. of the years in which yellow
fever appeared in the immediate vicinity of New-York.
1804,
1809,
1811,
227.64 yellow fever at the Wallabout.
221.67 yellow fever at Brooklyn.
231.44 yellow fever at Amboy.
680.75
Sum of the Average Heats of three of the warmest years, in New-York, in
which there was no yellow fever, viz. 1793, 1806, and 1820.
Sum of the Average Heats for June,
July ind Aug. in eight years, in
which yellow fever prevaiU-d in
New York, or in its immediate
vicinity.
is 702.80
680.75
Excess 22.05 U
jeM^r^df^U/AO^
Sum of the Average Heats for June,
July and Aii£ in eight years, in
which yellow fever did not prevail in
New-York, nor in its vicinity.
1791, 233.85 1793, 235.82
1795, 232.78 1794, 230.02
1798, 232.32 1797, 236.63
1799, 228.72 1800, 230.26
1801, 231.07 1806, 231.89
*1804, 227.64 1807, 230.14
J1809, 221.67 1818, 231.76
J18U, 231 44 1820, 235.09
1839.49
1861.61
1839 49
Excess, 22.12 c^7a^-^v.^/aa UmMa-
VRRIATIOK.
233.85
221 67
VARIATION.
236.63
230.02
12.18
6.61
* At the Wallakmt.
*t Brooklyn.
t Amboy.
358 Appendix.
TABLE VI.
AGGREGATE VARIATION OF THE THERMOMETER FOR JUNE,
JUL? AND AUGUST, FOR 34 YEARS.
Year 1789 90 67 91 76 92 86 93 80 94 195 67 | 71 96 00 97 00 98; 99 73 78 00 70 oi 64 02 03 04 | 06
82- 76 f 82 | 65 | 00
Year 1806 07 1 03 1 09 1 (0 1 ll 1 12 1 13 1 14 1 15 1 lb i )7 1 18 | 19 20 83 21 22 76 00
00" 84 96 87 92 84 |74 00 | 85 | 75 ||05 90 82 127
TABLE VII.
SHOWING THE RELATVE DEGREES OF TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY IN
THE DIFFERENT MONTHS.
May. June. July August September. October.
1789, wet hot dry warm dry warm v. wet warm drv
90, dry cold wet cool dry cold wet cold wet
91, dry hot dry hot dry hot dry cold wet
92, dry cold wet cool Wet hot dry cold dry'
93, dry Jlot dry v. hot dry v, hot dry hot v. dry
94, wet cool v. wet warm dry hot dry hot dry
95, moist cool dry hot dry v. hot wet hot
96, wet cool v. dry cool v. dry cold dry warm dry warm dry
97, wet v. hot moist v. hot dry i:ool wet cool dry
98, v. dry warm moist coo! moist v, hot moist hot moist
99, dry cool moist warm v dry warm v. dry cold wet
1800, moist cold dry hot dry warm moist cold v. dry
1, dry warm v. dry hot v. dry warm we; v. hot dry v. hot dry
2, moist cool dry cool dry v. hot dry warm m^ist hot dry 0
3, dry hot dry v. hot dry * arm v. dry
4, wet cool moist cool moist warm moist hot dry
5, v. wet warm dry v. hot dry v. hot dry v. hot moist warm dry
6, dry v hot dry hot dry cold wet cool wet
7, moist cool moist v. hot dry warm v. wet cool dry
8, v wet hot dry #arm moist cool dry hot dry
9, v. wet cold wet v. cold moist cold moist cool dry
10, v dry cool moist v. cold moist cool wet hot dry
11, moist hot dry v. hot dry warm dry / hot dry v. cola moist
12, moist cool moist cool moist v, cold moist
13, wet hot wet v. hot dry v. hot dry
14, moist cool dry cool dry v. hot dry warm dry warm moist
15, moist cool dry cool moist cool moist
16, moist v. cold "dry v, cold dry cool dry v cold wet
17, dry v. rold wet v. cold moist cool wet warm dry
18, wet v hot dry hot wet v. cold moist cool dry v. hot dry
19, wet v hot dry y. hot dry y. hot dry
20 wet v hot dry v. hot dry v. hot moist v. hot dry
21. wet 1.00I dry cold dry hot dry v. hot dry hot dry
22, dry warm dry hot moist
The letter v denotes very.
In order to express the relative degrees of temperature, the average heat of
each month for the whole numher of years collectively, wns used as a etaaaaro,
and compared with th* monthly averages of each year separately.
Appendix. 259
Remarks on particular years accompanying the ✓
preceding tables jl.
1791.—The Spring of this year was remarkably pleasant.
June. On the 25th there was a very severe gust of wind, which
lasted about 5 minutes, and covered the whole city with dust,
so that persons could not see across the street. This was
according to the appearance of the table a clear, dry and
warm month. July. A dry, clear and hot month. August.
Dry and warm. Gusty and heavy thunder on the 26th. The
yellow fever which broke out this year near Peck-slip, the
middle of the month, was the first that had occurred since
1762.* It terminated, according to Dr. Addoms, about the
middle of October, which corresponds with the table for
this month, as snow is mentioned to have occurred as early
as the 18th, on which day the thermometer was at its lowest
elevation, viz. 38 degrees at 8 A. M. 38 degrees at 2 P. M. and
40 at 8 P. M. The middle of August was cooler than the rest,
for the thermometer was above or at 80 only on the first ten
and last 7 days. September. Cool wet weather this month,
yet the fever went on.
1793.—June. Clear, dry and warm. Though the average
temperature of this month is above the medium, it was quite cool
and unpleasant from the 26th of May to the 6th of the month.
A very heavy gust was observed on the 20th, P. M. July. A
very heavy rain on the 6th. Clear, dry and exceedingly hot
month. August. Heavy gale and rain on the 25th. The yel-
low fever broke out this month in Philadelphia, and proved fatal
to more than 4000 of the inhabitants. Weather of this month
very dry and excessively hot. September. An extremely dry and
very warm September. October. A light snow on the 28th ; I / ,, l/j- y.
J" thermometer 35, 37, 36 degrees at 8. 2, 8 towers. The kw&fhj "V ' "V
at Philadelphia ceased a few days after. / i I
1794.—More rain fell from the 23d to the 29th of May than.
had ever been remembered in the same space of time. June.
* See Dissertation on this fever by Dr. J. S. Addoms, p. 7. Also
Hosack on Contagion, p. 38
36 • Appendix.
A cool month, and incessant rains from the 23d of May to th^.
12th of June, which did much damage in New-Jersey by car-
rying away bridges, dams, &c. and drowning cattle.
July and August. Strong gale on the 12th of July, and heavy
rain on the 19th ; July nor August neither of them wet, mostly
clear and warm. September. Yellow fever appears in JVew-
Haven and Baltimore. Some of the crew of a ship from An-
tigua, and also some persons who worked on board of her, are
said to have died during tbis month of a severe and putrid fe-
fever, the poison disseminated from which may have been dis-
persed by the heavy gale and rain on the 20ih. This month
was not particularly moist. The weather was evidently pre-
pared for the reception of the yellow fever. October. Heavy
gale and rain on the 2','th, 24th and .26th, with the wind easter-
ly. November. Snow on the ! 4th.
1796.—June.. Moderate, clear and dry. Very heavy rain on
the 10th. July. The last thirteen days of June and first ten
days of this month, making t^emy-five days, were excessively dry,
and those in July very warm. There was no rain in all this period
except one little shower on the 8th of July. On the 12th very
hot, and a heavy gust and s'-.ovver at 2 P. M. From the 12th
to the 20lh moderate, and some apprehensions of yelloxs: fever
near Whitehall-slip. From the 20th to the end of the month mo-
derate, with much rain and some thunder. No traces of the
fever discovered. August. A moderate dry month. Heavy
squall and thunder gust on the 1st. Thunder again on the 9th and
29th. Pleasant and moderate weather during the whole month.
Very^ dryfrom the 16th to the 24th. In this interval, about the
21st or 22d, the yellow lever again appears ; the thermometer at
2 P. M. being from 70 to 80 degrees. On the 24th it abates.
A thunder gust and rain on the 29th ; and rain and fresh breezes
on the 30th and 31st. The rains in the latter part of July may
have checked the disease, but the drought brought it out again. _
September. Remarkably tempestuous, but moderate and ex-
tremely dry throughout the month. On the 14th, at night, a
heavy gust and showers', accompanied with more and severer
thunder and lightning than had been observed in three years.
Yellow fever, however, continued to prevail, though at a lin-
gering pace, during the whole month! There were fresh
gales on the 1st, 7th, 8th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th ; on the 22d,
with a gust and thunder ; fresh breezes on the 23d and 26th,
and much rain on the 2cth. These violent commotions of the
atmosphere counterbalanced, in some measure, but could not
overpower, the morbific influence {of the heat and drought. -^ y
October. Moderate, clear and, pleasant month as usual;
strong gales on the 2d and 3d from the N. E. and the fever
disappears about the 7th or 8th ; the thermometer in the in-
terval between the gales and termination of the sickness never
having been lower than 48 degrees, which it was on the first,
and which is the lowest Hovntiniaf this month, except on the It. AAjL-clun*-* ^K
18th, when it was 40 degrees at 8, A. M. Therefore a frost
may have occurred on the night of the first. A strong gale
again on the 18th, with rain, which probably helped to venti-
late the city, and to clear it of the poison, lt was subdued du-
ring all September by the stormy state of the weather, and
received a severe shock from the gales of the 2d and 3d of tbis
month November. Moderate month, and very dry. Strong galea
and heavy squalls on the 1st and 6th, after which there was an
Indian summer, and no rain to the 24th, the month terminating
in blustering cold weather.
1798.—There had been scarcely a shower from the Uth of
April to the 23d of May, making a drought of 52 days ! June. c
Calm 23d and 30th. A warm month without much rain.—
July. Moist and warm. Heavy gust from the N. W. on the
3d, with rain; also on the 8th, and on the 29th, when there
was thunder; heavy showers and thunder also on the 26th.
Calm 15th and 30th. The thermometer on the nine last days
from 80 to 89 degrees at 2 P. M. August. Very hot month,
and mostly clear, but considerable rain, which fell at intervals. A
heavy shower o» the 13th; and on the 14th an extraordiwt
46
362
Appendix.
rily heavy rain for three hours. On both occasions there wai
thunder and lightning ; heavy rain also on the 16th and 28th,
and on the 22d, when it was accompanied with thunder. About
and after the 15th, the heat was very oppressive, and the air
extremely humid. The yellow fever broke out on th«
20th. On the 26th and 27th it was most fatal in Pearl-
street, between Beekman [now Fulton,] and Burling-slips,
and on Golden-hill, and in Cliff-street, [then very narrow.]
The disease was attributed by some to tainted beef and pork in
pickle ; by others to the sewer in Burling-slip. A remarkable
number of calms, viz. on the 6th, 12th, 17th, 18th, 28th, and
31st, which, all, except the first, must have assisted very much
dae progress of the disease. The great heat of the last days of
July continued through most of this month. From the 4th to
the 14th, the thermometer at 2, P. M. ranged from 81 to 89
degrees. On the 14th and 15th it was below 80 degrees. On
the following seven days from 80 to 83 degrees ; on the 23d
?2, on the 24th 75 ; on the 25th 85, on the 26th 88, and on
the 27th 81. September. Clear on the third. The fever had
abated so much that only one new case was reported, owing,
perhaps to a sudden reduction of the thermometer on the
28th August, the heat between that and the 3d September
ranging between 78 and 64 degrees ; and on the fourth, in
the middle of the day, it rose again to 80 degrees. Very
distressing accounts, however, continued to arrive from
Philadelphia. On the 4th, very heavy rain and thunder early
in the morning, which had no effect on the progress of the fever;
for on the 10th, there were twenty five deaths ; on the 13th
42 died ; on the 14th, 28. Early on the morning of the 19th
there was a heavy rain, and next day 54 deaths. On the 21st,
in the morning, a heavy rain and thunder, which does not seem
to have at all suspended this dreadful distemper. For on the 27th,
fifty deaths were reported, and on the 28th, 46! On the 28th
also, there was a strong breeze from the N. W. and a gale all
»wU ui^ht from the same point of the compass. Calm on the
Appendix. 363
24th. October. Clear, very warm and dry. On the 2d, a very
heavy dew. Up to the 5th the deaths were about 30 a day. On
that day they were 24, the next 22, the next 10. On the 9th,
14 ; and on the 1 Ith, 12. This decrase was caused, perhaps,
by the rains and gales in the last days of the preceding month.
On the next five days, however, the deaths, amounted to 15,22,
12, 16, 24. On the 17tb, there was a very thick fog and calm;
and on the 18th, a very heavy dew and fresh breeze, on which
day there were 13 deaths. The next day, the 19th, afresh
gale all night, and also on the succeeding day, when there were
10 deaths ; but on the 22d, the gradual approach of the cool
weather of autumn, together with the gales of the 19th and 20th,
began to take effect, for on that day eight deaths were re-
ported, and but four only on the 23d ; the thermometer be-
ing, on the latter day, as high as 62, 60, 56 degrees, at
8, 3, 8 hours ; having been once only as low as 50 degrees in
all the previous part of the month, viz. on the 13th, at 8, A. M.
On the 24th, there were fresh gales all night, and nine deaths ;
and on the four succeeding days the deaths were 6, 10, 9, 7.
On the 2«th, the thermometer was 52, 54, 50 degrees; and on
the next day it sank suddenly to 40, 42, 86 degrees, which
produced a frost that night, the first that had occurred. On the
30th, five died, and the thermometer stood at 30, 36, 34
degrees. And on the 31st, 34, 38, 34 degrees—Calm, 2d,
10th, 16th, 28th. November. Though September and Octo-
ber had both been warm, there was snow on the first of this
month, and three deaths ; the mercury standing 32, 34, 34, de-
grees at 8, 2, 8 hours. On the 2d, 11 deaths, and the thermo-
meter at 34, 42, 40 degrees. On the 3d, 7 deaths, and the
thermometer 38, 40, 36 degrees. On the 4th, there died only
four, and the thermometer stood at 36, 43, 40 degrees. The
fever here terminated. If we suppose the frost to have actually
occurred on the 29th, the day on which the epidemic after-
wards ceased, throws some light on the period required for the
development of the disease; for those who died after the frost,
t,f."w*»W.*-
G
frtJcdU^ &&jcju^^hns*>-4^ ^yJUj^^ iij^~ aMx^Jy ^~
|A H~ £ M^-vt^ - *-*»~ ">o/..« ■'..£. y'x*. ccK^k-u^fi-ou^w^fi t*/t^
u. .,"864 ' a Appendix, 11/ j ^/j
<*-l> frJU^ Cote****.- ly'sKt-r /'•_ L.'Mi us£**- *d1 luftJ ii fcJwVu*
in otherwords between the *Oth of October and the 5th day of' £*
November, must have received the contagion before the 30th,
Presuming that those who died on the 4th received the disease
on the 29th, it places the period of development precisely at
from five $0 six days, which agrees in a most remarkable man-
ner with the united experience of the most approved writers.
Calm on the 1 /th. .
1799.—June. Moderate and moist as usual. Very heavy
thunder on the 18th, followed by rain in the evening. Heavy
rain and thunder on the 22d, early ; and a very heavy gust at
5, P. M. on the 26th. Calm on the llth,.K'th, and 24th.—
__ July. Warm and exceedingly dry month. Rain twice only,
viz. very heavy gust with rain on the 13th, and a shower and
gust also on the 26th. On the third there were rumours of
yellow fever at Philadelphia. Calms frequent, \ iz. on the 15th,
17th, 24th, -Jiith, 30th. August. Moderate, clear and very
dry. The rains in this month were mostly showers, and the
| weather was, for the most part, pleasant and clear. From the
6th to the )6th, the thermometer at 3, P M. was constantly
between 80 and 85 degrees. On the 15th there were appear-
ances of yellow fever, which produced so much alarm that one
third of the inhabitants had removed before the 27th of the
month, although it was thought on that day to have totally dis-
y^ appeared. The previous year was too recent to be forgotten,
and it is not to be wondered at that this panic should have
seized them, when they had lately learned by so many melan-
choly lessons, the danger of procrastination. The pestilence was
only smothered, and this apparent occultation of the disease was
produced probably by the tempestuous weather, which occur-
red between the 16th and the 21 st, for we find in that period
there was a constant succession of strong gales, which for those
days sank the mercury to 73, 70, 69, 67, and 66 degrees.
As late as the last days of the month, one of the most
eminent physicians of this city declared it the most healthy
August he had ever remembered} confirming what has been
Appendix. 365
repeatedly remarked, that yellow fever is totally unconnect-
ed with what is termed a pestileutial condition of the at- ?V
rnosphere. Calm on the I < th. JSepte-mher appears to have
been a cold wetmonth. The yellow fever at length made its
appearance, for it is now stated to have increased on the fourth,
and that ten persons died of it daily from the first to the tenth of
this month. From the 11th to the 20th there were generally
from 13 to L and 6 deaths daily. On the 20th there was a
heavy gale at night, and rain, but it produced no effect on the
progress of the malady, for, from that date to the end of the
month there were daily from 16 to 10, and 9 deaths : the
thermometer being constantly above 60 degrees. October.
The average heat for this month was not great. From the 1st
to the 18th the deaths varied from 8 to 7, 4, 3, 2 ; and on the
18th only one died. Up to the 17th the thermometer was con-
stantly above 50 degrees, and from that to 7o degrees, except
on the 16th, at 8, P. M. when it was 49 degrees. On the 17th, <3«X~"
it stood 36, 46, 40 degrees. On the 18th, 34, 52, 4 degrees ;
on which date, [probably the night previous,] there was a frost,
a,nd afterwards no more yellow fever. Though the mercury on
the 19th rose again, and averaged 56 degrees at 3, P. M. for
the remainder of the month ; not sinking below 40 degrees, ex-
cept at 8, A. M. on the 24th ; yet no more cases occurred. .-».
About tbe 26th, there was a general movement of the citizens
to their homes. Calm on the 2d. November. The weather,
most of the month, was what in this country is called an Indian
summer, being most usually characterized by a hazy atmosphere
and a mild temperature, and occurring generally at this time of
the year, though occasionally in winter. The thermometer
ranged from 35 to 45 degrees. " The sun," says Mr. Laight,
" was seldom visible, and the air extremely humid."
1801 —June. Clear, moderate and extremely dry. On the
16th, there were refreshing showers, lightning and thunder.
Towards the close of the month very hot. No calms noticed.
July.—The weather was hot and continued uncommonly dry
/ 366 Appendix. :
throughout this month. There had been no rain worth speak-
ing of since the 6th of May, to the 21st of July, making a
drought of seventy-five days ! Very heavy gust and shower o»
—• the 3d and 16th. A fresh gale on the 11th an3 lU ^Y^sM-rVLcJ&d L^a-^\^J~ ^Xyt^uu- ^ (A,
1
OM^ U/Kca^u/^
u^j^jii^Jr ^M~ yM. j «*>■*-, -u/^v v^/v^l t^id ^ ^*^
aion of cold days in the last of September, the sick having taken '
the disease before, when the heat was high..,On the same day of ^
this report [the 8th] the thermometer fell again to 44, 56, 48,
degrees, at 8, 3, 8, hours, and continued to range as low as ^^ , ^
between that and 65 degrees from the 7th to the 12th ; in which iw^ /V ^V
interval the mortality consequently again increased; for we find
that 23 persons who had probably taken the disease during the
first seven warm days of the month, now suddenly died, owing
to the change on the 8th. On the 13th, there was another sud-
den change, the thermometer rising to 67, 70, 65 degrees,
between which and 58 degrees it continued to range until
the 18th, with a v^ry^humid atmosphere. The five days
of cool weather previous to the 13th, had again suspended
the progress of the disease, for we now hear of no more
cases until the 24th, when 3 deaths were reported, who
had doubtless taken the disease between the 13th and
18th, when the heat was high. The thermometer from the 18th
to this date, [24th,] had sunk to 60, 50, 48, and 46 degrees, &c,
and on the 24th stood 50, 60, 54 degrees, on which day the
first ice is mentioned to have occurred, probably during a sud-
den change in that or the preceding cold nights. On the $6th
one died and none afterwards, though the weather during the days
which immediately succeeded the Frost, were warm and excessively
dry. November. The month came in with an Indian summer,
and on the 7 th there was a hard frost.
1803.—June. Clear, warm, dry. Hail storm and gust on the
1st P. M. The hail stones were two inches in circumference.
Hail and rain on the 14th, with lightning, which struck a house
in Pine-street. From the 23d to the 26th very hot. July. Ge-
nerally clear, and yery hot. Heavy showers and rains on the
2d, 14th, 16th, 18th, 23d, 26th, and 29th, but of short duration,
and no thunder except once, on the 18th, when it was heard at
a distance. A sickness among the cats prevailed about the 27th.
Between the 28th and 31st rumours of the yellow fever. About
this time several vessels having sick on board were ordered from
"Js{\&JjD - IL*A: u ^ji^JL fa* jK±±Jfa ai'th <-**&> . 1*.
the Coffee-Mouse slip to the quarantine ground. A Mr. Chad*
dler, who had removed from the Coffee-House slip to Mr. Shay's,
opposite, died on the 30th, after two days illness. The ther-
mometer had been 15 times in the month between 80 and 89
degrees ; and on the la-t three days was also above 80 degrees.
On the i 2th, the thermometer stood at i5 degrees at 3 P M.
and on the 1 >"h and lith, at 89 degrees ; and, for the following
six days from 37 to 81 degrees ; the next two days a little below,
the next three a little above jO degrees, and the next three
again a little below 80 degrees, which brings it to the 29th.
August. Dry, hot, ;ind no thunder scarcely during the whole of
the month. On the 1st, a number of persons are stated to have
died of yellow fever about the Coffee-House-slip. On the 6th,
the Mayor reports that 33 have been sick of a malignant bilious
fever, of which sixteen had died, and nine remained sick. On
the 8th the fever increased. A day or two after the Mayor
issued a proclamation, recommending the inhabitants of the S.
E. section of the town to remove as expeditiously as possible.
On the first six days of the month the thermometer was between
80 and -67 degrees at 3 P. M. From the 8th to the 13th there
were 3 and 4 deaths daily. On the !3th a violent gust and
heavy shower, with some thunder at night. There were four
deaths that day, but the thunder gust had no effect upon the fever
for, on the 17th, the deaths increased to 9, 8, and 7, and con-
tinued so until the 26th, when they decreased, without however
the intervention of any particular change of temperature or other
phenomenon to cause this diminution, and too long after the thun-
der gust to be attributed to that.* On the 15th, the Health Officer
reports 44 persons sent from the city to the Marine Hospital,
of which 21 had died. On the -9th, the New-York and Cn.led
States Banks removed to Greenwich, and on the 24th the Mer-
chants' Bank. Dr. Led yard, the Health Officer, died at qua-
rantine about the end of the month. September. Moderate, and
vejrv_ dry month, and complaints of drought all over the state,
and great part of the United States. The deaths increased again
[; -J-* ,n n the 26th, both wish rain, but
they produced no diminution whatever in the number of deaths.
October. Warm. The thermometer was once as low as 48 de-
grees, and at another time at 45 degrees, between the 1st and
18th. At all the other hours it was aoove 50 and 60 degrees.
In this interval there were two or three rains, and the deaths,
averaged daily from 18, to 7, and 6. On the 17th there was a
gale all night, and on the 18th, at 6 A. M. the quicksilver was
as low as 37 degrees. Very probably, therefore, a frost had oc-
curred the night previous, for the thermometer rose again next
day above 50 and 40 degrees, and continued from that to oO and
65 degrees up to the end of the month, while the deaths, on
the contrary, which were JO on the '1st, diminished the oay
after to 6, 4, 3, 2, and 1 daily. The fever had received
its death blow from the change of the weather on the ltith, and
expired with the month, when the Health Committee ad-
journed. There were in all i639 cases, and 606 deaths, during
the epidemic. It is strange, that many persons had begun to
move in as early as the !4th, and that as early as the 20th and
21st, the houses, almost all over the city, were opened for
rkcu~~ airing, and^the inhabitants «&«Piiteh removed into them a day or O
two afterwards. November. The last deaths of yellow fever
recorded are four on the Ist of this month. The Banks moved
in the next day, On the 7th the thermometer fell to 40 de-
grees, and on the succeeding days to 35, 35, 33, <■'*, 27, de-
grees.
1804.—June. During all the summer of thi* year there was
scarcely any thunder. About the last of this »nonlh some persons
were taken sick and died at the Wallabo*t ofyellow fever;v The ^
thermometer on the last 12 days »*' the month was, at 3 P. M.
not once higher than 79 degr^. being on those days at that hour
75, 67, 67, 68, 71, 72, **, 74, 79, 7», 74, aut ft degree*, the
47
{
It^C^ **~ 4--/• 'yUt- - 3Xt Caa^ (>1~a^ /v-^c--c f-^v>-< ^^
U K*;^-*: Hv-Cr^} 0JTcUf<^^ ILJM^ A^n^jJ A^U«_
weather most of the time rainy, misty, or clouded, and the
winds easterly. No remarkable phenomena in this month.
The weather was moderate and moist. July andi August. Mode-
rately warm and moist. September. Though the heat of this
month was considerable, there was black frost at Hellgate, a
few miles from the city, on the 30th. The weather was gene-
rally dry and clear. October. As early as the 26th snow an
inch deep; the thermometer being 45, 44, degrees. ^
1805.—June. Warm, dry, and clear. July. The thermo-
meter this month indicated an unusually steady range of high
heat, being at 3 P. M. almost constantly between 80 and 86 de-
grees. The weather clear and dry. Heavy showers, with
thunder, on the 6th and 23d. About the 18th, a person who is
said to have had yellow fever, was removed from Maiden-lane
to quarantine, where he died. Denied by Dr. Hosack and
others to be yellow fever. About the last of the month inter-
course was interdicted with Providence and Hew-Haven, incon-
sequence of yellow fever having appeared in those places ; and
a person was removed about this time from No. 127 Water-
street, sick with yellow fever, to quarantine, having previously
been on board a vessel at that place. August. Dry, clear, and
very hot. Showers with thunder on the 3d and 8th. Gust,
with rain, on the 13th ; and showers on the 28th and .i 1st. One
death oi malignant fever is mentioned on the t4th, and another
on the 31st, About the 29th, the yellow fever appears at Phi-
ladelphia, Thermometer almost constantly above 80 degrees.
September. Remarkably hot and moderately moist; and hottest
September, except two, of the 34 years. The Health Commit-
tee reported %o the 6lh, that between that day and the 2d there
had been ten cast* of malignant fever, five doubtful, and four
deaths > It prevailed H Frent and Water-streets, between Wall-
^ street an« the Fly Market The thermometer from the 19th
x to the 28th of August had bb^ from 80 to 88 degrees at half
j past 2 P. M. From thence to the ^th of this month between
75 and 78 degrees, the winds chiefly soutUrly, and the weather
^iv-^vt^ w$^ ^u-iL cLe*+{ U^A-v cU /£*_ £,
Appendix. 371
dull, rainy, and cloudy. The deaths for the remainder of the
month of this fever varied from 16 to 13, II, 9, 7, 8, 2, 1. &c.
daily. There were heavy showers on the 3d, and on the 26th,
when there was thunder. A heavy gale on the 28th from the
N. E. when the thermometer sdnk on that day, as well as on
the two succeeding days, as low as 45 and 55 degrees. October.
Came i n warm again, and the thermometer continued above
40 degrees to the 25th, when it fell to 35 degrees, and
the deaths, which had been daily all the month from 14 to
•7, 4, 3, &c. now suddenly ceased. On the 25th the Board of
Health adjourned, announcing that the exiled inhabitants might
now return. On the 28th and 29th the inhabitants returned
to town.
1806.—June. Clear, dry, and very hot month. The average
heat, for this month, was unusually high, and the range very
steady, being the hottest in all the 34 years. There was one
heavy gale the 21st, and a heavy shower on the 25th, but no
extraordinary rains or tempestuous weather nor thunder to
disturb the atmosphere, the heated condition of which ought to
have produced yellow fever, if caloric alone, as some assert,
has that power. The believers in domestic origin, as in pre-
vious years, anticipating that the spark might probably be
kindled, as the door they knew was open and the fuel ready to
receive it, put in circulation, about the 21st, rumours of yellow
fever ; but this visiter was now too familiar to the inhabitants
to be mistaken, and the false alarm created by it soon died
away. The great eclipse of 111 digits of the sun took place
on the 16th. There had been but about two inches of rain in
May. July. Dry, clear, and hot month. The tempera-
ture continued high through this month, and no unusual pheno-
mena occurred. No thunder is mentioned. There were
heavy showers on the 18th, 22d, and 28th. No yellow fever.
August. The rains in this month were remarkably heavy on
the°2d, 5th, 12th, 15th, 23d, and 24th. A gust on the 8th, and
heavy gale on the 24th. This wet weather must have occa-
sioned the reduction of the average temperature, for we find it
372 Appendix.
near three degrees less than June ! September. Moist and mo-
derate. One case of malignant fever is mentioned on the 6th.
October. All this and the preceding month the quicksilver kept
stoadily at a high range, and would have greatly favoured the
spread of yellow fever had it been previously introduced in
June or July, the weather of which months seemed to be in a
condition so peculiarly well adapted to receive the poison.
1807.—June and July. June moist rfnd moderate. July very
hot and dry. The only occurrences mentioned are two or three
heavy showers in each of these mon'hs. Not a rumour of yel-*
low ("ever August. The rains of this month reduced the tem-
perature three degrees below that of July, and may, like the
August of 18U6, have thus saved the city from the horrors of
pestilence. Heavy showers on the 3d, and on the 7jh, with
thunder ; on the t-th, with hail and thunder ; also on the 29th
j and 31st. Heavy gale on the 13th. " If heat, moisture, and
filthy streets," snys Mr. Laight, " produce yeliow fever, we
V shall certainly have it this season." The influenza reigned
I throughout the forepart of the month ; but if the poison of yel-
low fever had been introduced in that interval, it would, as on
other occasions, have taken the mastery of this and nil other
diseases September. Dry, cool month. Heavy shower on the
7th, also on the 4th, with thunder. Heavy gale on the 15th.
Towards the latter part of the month news received of the yel-
low fever at Charleston and Savannah. November. Snow on
the 1st.
1808.—June. Warm, clear and dry. Heavy thunder ;
shower on the 7th, during which several houses were struck
with lightning. July. What is remarkable in this month, the
heat was more variable than generally observed, and rose to 92
degrees on the 2d at 3 P M.. higher than had been known
since I "88, though the average heat for the month is rather less
than usual. The day previous it was 91 degrees. jPWff-f—as
Considerable rain fell during the month, mostly in showers, as
usual at this season.' Heavy showers on the 2d and 26th ; ana"
UZ^L UK*~. oU1/>t*^
ing the thermometer was during July thiee times above 90, Ot^tAM\V\r\ T
at 3 P. M. viz 92 on the 4th, 91 on the 5th, and 92 on the 6th,
the average, as in 1"00 and 1808, is less for this month than in
some years when the highest elevation was much less. In the
week ending on the 19th,there had been 17 deaths from drinking /
cold water. September. Warm and dry. In thi* month a comet ',
apppeared, and the sun on the 17th was 101 digits eclipsed ; a
very heavy gust on the 25th.
1819.—June Clear dry and hot following a wet May. July. A
comet appears about the 1st of the month. Heavy gust on the
11th. A very hot dry month. August. Hot and dry. On the 1st
the quicksilver rose to 91 degrees at 3 P. M. ; on the 2d, to 90
degrees, and continued five or six degrees above 60 for 12
days afterwards, except on the 5th, when it was 79 degrees.
In the week ending on the 7th, thore were three deaths from
drinking cold water. Repeated showers and rain during the
remainder of the month. About the 19th, news oi yellow fever
at Baltimore. The thermometer 15 times above 80 degrees in this
month. September. Except 1801 and 1P05 the hottest September
of the 34 years, and vejryjlry. On the 5th, the Board of Health
reported malignant fever at Old-Slip, and recommended the
part of the city on the East River, between that slip and Coffee- ^
House" slip to be abandoned. /(For the first nine days of this
month the thermometer was above 81 degrees, and about the
10th or 11th, Dr. Dewitt, the Health Officer, died of yellow
fever at Quarantine. Owing to the vigilance of the Board of \
Health, in clearing the infected district of its inhabitants and \
374
Appendix.
promptly fencing it in, but few cases occurred, and these at in-
tervals,from 7 to 4 and 2, on a day. A remarkably high tide
on the 21st, which filled most of the cellars near the East River
and in that part of the city where the disease prevailed ; but
the number of cases was not diminished by this event, and con-
tinued as before. The high steady heat of the three summer
months, and of September was particularly favourable to the
introduction of yellow fever ; but the energetic measures
adopted by the Board of Health, and dry state of the air in all
this period prevented the spread of the disease. October, Mo-
derate. The cases continued to occur in the same manner up
to the the 9th, when there was a heavy gale during the night;
between which and the 16th, 3 or 4 died, which were the last
cases, the fever having disappeared on the 17th. The communi-
cation between the healthy and unhealthy parts of the city hav-
ing been entirely intercepted, there were no subjects for
the poison to act upon, in consequence of which its gottam
fen ceased to go on ; that which remained in the vicinity of the
houses where cases had occurred, having been probably blown
away by the gale of the 9th. The aurora borealis was very
strong on the 13th. On the 18th the Coffee House was re-
opened, and the Insurance Companies, merchants, brokers, &c.
returned to Wall-street. On the 22d, the Mayor proclaimed
the city free of pestilence. The thermometer on the Nth
had sunk below 40 degrees, and stood at 35,55, 49 degrees,
at 7, 3, 10 hours, so that there was in all probability a frost
that night, though not mentioned.
1820.—A wet May. June. Hot, dry and clear. Heavy
showers on the 9th. July. Heavy showers on the 14th, and
heavy rain during the day on the 29th ; appears to have been
a dry and extremely hot month. To show that the range was
very steady and remarkably high, it is sufficient to mention that
the heat was twenty two days of the month from 80 to 89 de-
grees, viz. the first thirteen days, also from the 16th to the 21st,
from the 24th to the 29th, and on the 31st. This and the pre-
Appendix. 375
vious month also, was very hot and dry, but with some show-
ers. Why was not yellow fever generated ? August. Hot and
moist. There were a very considerable number of showers in
the fore part of this month, which was the cause, perhaps, why
its temperature was lower than that of July. There were
heavy showers on the 5th. Thunder was observed on the
10th at night, and on the 12th there was very severe thunder
and lightning, with a gust and shower. On the 2d news had
been received of yellow fever in Philadelphia. About the 17th
a Mr. King, who had just arrived from that city, took sick and
was sent to quarantine, where he died with black vomit.* The
next day the Mayor issued a proclamation interdicting inter-
course with Philadelphia. In the week ending on the 19th,
seven deaths from drinking cold water, though the thermometer
in the previous 7 days had been but twice above 80 degrees.
They had died probably at or immediately after the termination
of the previous week, for on the 12th the heat was 90 degrees,
and the three preceding days above 80 degrees. There were
an unusual number of calms noticed in the month, viz. on the
1st, 4th, 9th, 20th, and 21st. Thus in counting up the alleged
local atmospheric sources of this disease we have a calm stag-
nant state of the air, a high steady range of temperature, and a
moderate share of humidity immediately succeeding to two re-
markably hot and dry months, and withal the disease existing
next door to us, yet the combined influence of these united
causes unable to set the disease in motion here. Leaving all
arguments out of the question, what more direct and convincing
proof could be required, that this disease is not the product
of any particular condition of the atmosphere. September. Clear
dry and warm. On the 12th, heavy rain for several hours.
About the 25th news received of the yellow fever prevailing
* A fact to which I can testify myself, as I saw him at quarantine a
few hours before l* death, the author being at that time f^ .iJtUjAj\
Commissioner. fU^, 4 JO |7I heavy rain from 6 r. m.
3 s i ne clear clear clear '.< M 75 to 1 A. M.
4 9 s 3 clear leir clear lb 8. lib
fl 8 se se clear i lear cloudv lb 82 175
t SW s 8 cloudv c ear rain lb 80 |75 tain from 6 to 11 r. m.
7 w s 8 clear clear (loud\ 7'j 8: !7K heavy.
a sw sw SW i loudy clear clta- lb «4 79 ' muggy weather.
s nw n n dear clear clear 70 78 73 ooi and pleasant.
i(i s 8 8 clear clear clear 72 32 177
n 8 s 8 clear • lear cloud \ 7l; 81 \r<
i. s sw clouds >ln.-w'i' clear ?P 7-' 7! shower from 2 to 3 P Si.
V sw s 9 clear I lain rain ' 71 72 170 heavj rain.
u sw SW clear i It ar clear 7.\
li 9 s n clear l< !■,,(!, < lear ~\ c.0i-.3l i.?,H -.liowrrs.
Appendix.
377
It is remarkable, that the range of the thermometer should
have been so uniform and exact between the 2d and 9th ; the
very interval, we remember, in which Dr. Bayley remarks that
nineteen lighter loads of boxes of sugar were discharged out of
the twenty-four brought up from the quarantine to the wharves
at Recter-street, between the 28th of June and 9th of July.
The facts contained in the preceding pages lead to the fol-
lowing conclusions :
1. That the appearance of yellow fever is usually preceded
by, but does not essentially depend upon, a high steady range of
atmospheric heat. See Table V. also Table II., years 1793
and 1820, in which the mass of heat, during the summer, was
greater than in any of the years in which yellow fever prevail-
ed, excepting two. See also Remarks on the year 1809, when
the yellow fever prevailed in Brooklyn, opposite the city, and
when the mass of heat for the summer months was less than
that of the whole thirty-four years, excepting the cold summer of
1816, when the spots appeared upon the sun, and when the mass
of heat for the same months was only 1° 96 less.
2. That the propagation of the disease, on the contrary, though
it is favoured by, does not by any means require an elevated
range of temperature, but when introduced may go on to spread
more or less, and independently of the variations of the ther-
mometer, provided such variations do not include the point of
congelation. See Remarks on September, 1791, September,
1799, October, 1803, September and October, 1805.
3. That the propagation of the disease is notwithstanding
more retarded by a reduction of temperature, than by any other
atmospheric influence. See the Remarks in those years in
which yellow fever prevailed, passim, and particularly October,
1796, September, 1798, and the month of October of the years
1798, 9, 1801,3.
4. That a succession of heavy rains, for several days, may
check, but rarely or never puts an end to yellow fever ; and
that their power in retarding the progress of this malady de-
48
UU ™ r|A^^^^d t^ Appendix.}^ j. a ^^ ^-'^^r^^^
pended in it. See Remarks, passim.
5. That, on the contrary, rainy, wet, and particularly moist I
weather, preceding, and especially when following a long
drought, or associated with a high temperature, may, by fur-
nishing the atmosphere with a convenient medium to disseminate
the poison, have a pernicious tendency, and favour the propa-
gation as well as introduction of yellow fever. See Remarks,
and Table VI., August, 1795, August and September, 1798,
August, 1801, September, 1805.
6. That the introduction or propagation of yellow fever does
not depend essentially upon the quantity of electric fluid in the ».
atmosphere, but that the recurrence of thunder gusts or thun-
der showers may have, to a certain degree, a salutary influence
in purifying or dispersing the air in which the poison is diffused.
See Remarks on August and September, 1796, June, July, Au-
gust, and September, 1798, July and August, 1803, Summer of
1804, and Table I. passim.
7. That a succession of heavy gales, by ventilating infected
places, and supplying them with renovated masses of pure and
fresh air, has a more powerful influence than any other modi-
fying cause, except frost, in suspending the progress, and total-
ly dispersing or destroying the poison of yellow fever. See
Remarks, October, 1798, August, 1799.
8. That an unusually dry state of the atmosphere, especially
when accompanied by a high degree of heat^favours, more
than any other known circumstance, the introduction of yel-
low fever. See Table VI., years 1791, 1796, 1803, 1805,
1811, and 1819, where the seasons were throughout uncom-
monly dry, though differing greatly in the degree of tempera-
*: ture.^
9. That although certain conditions of the atmosphere seem
to be more favourable than others to the introduction and pro-
pagation of yellow fever, yet that those years in which yellow
Appendix. 379
fever appeared in this city, or in its immedate vicinity, have ex-
hibited as great, and frequently a much greater variety and di-
versity of combination in their meteorological phenomena, and
differed as much, and often much more, from each other, than
those years in which the disease did not prevail. See Tables
II. III. IV. V. VI. VII., and particularly the year 1796, as
compared with the other years referred to in the preceding
\ proposition ; and also the references in proposition 6th. In
Tables III. IV. V. and VI., it will be seen that the variation is
generally much greater in yellow fever years, and in Table
VI., that this variation in 1819 exceeds, by a great number of
degrees, the aggregate variation of the same months in any year.
In Table III. and IV.it will be seen that the aggregate heat
for a given number of months and years in which yellow fever,
prevailed, sometimes exceeded, by eight degrees, the mass
of heat for the same number of months and years in
which this disease did not prevail. But if we include, as we
ought to, and have done in this comparison, the years in which
this disease prevailed in the immediate vicinity of New-York,
the excess amounts to 22 degrees on the other side! Vide
Table V.
We thus see that in whatever point of view we examine the
phenomena of the atmosphere, whether in relation to its heat,
its moisture, or its electricity, they are in every respect at
war with, and totally irreconcilable to, the hypothesis of do-
mestic origin.
We have not leisure, at present, to extend our work to ano-
ther article, in order to see how far astrology ®r astronomy may
be interested in this inquiry. So little, however, is known of
the influence of celestial bodies, and their revolutions, upon
human diseases, that until further data on this subject are
brought to light, speculations which affect to account for the
origin of yellow fever from Such causes neither merit nor re-
quire refutation.
380
Appendix-
NO. XI.
Letter of Dr. Francis on the Yellow J?evcr of St. Augus-
tine in 1821.
New-York, December 31st, 1822.
Dear Sir.—I send you an account, which I some time since
promised, of the malignant fever which devastated St. Augus-
tine. You may confide in its accuracy, as it rests upon the
testimony of several competent and disinterested witnesses,
among whom I may particularly mention Judge Andrews, Mr.
Delespine, and Colonel Forbes. Colonel Forbes is the author
of the work entitled " Sketches of the Floridas," and was the
chief magistrate of St. Augustine at the time the yellow fever
prevailed there.
St. Augustine, prior to the late fever, had been remarkable
for the salubrity of its climate and the health of its inhabitants.
There is, I believe, but a solitary instance of its having at any
time before the late calamity, been subjected to the ravages of
a pestilential disorder. When in the possession of the British,
with a garrison of four thousand men, scarcely a death was
known to occur in the year among them. This was doubtless
to be accounted for cheiily from the circumstance that the
population of the place was composed, almost exclusively,
of Spaniards and natives of the tropics, who are less susceptible
to the disease-; for frequent communication must necessarily
have existed between Havana and this port. The diseases
which ordinarily occur there are few in number, and in no re-
spect characterized by symptoms of malignancy.
Nothing especially worthy of notice occurred in the weather
or ordinary diseases of St. Augustine, in the season of 1821.
About the beginning of September of that year, some cases of
a disorder of an unusual character made their appearance ; but
shortly after they became more frequent, and excited more ge-
neral alarm. The disease was at its height from the first to the
uJX 1- ^^ UArJtt tr*~ H^^tr^J- 4 f^ArtiSPZ^
(AJJW ,4J*kUnJ- Appendix. O- VlM^CU^ 38l fl *^CmM^ ^
tit teen th of October, oil ring whicp period the greatest mortality h' ■ * f*
pievailed. Towards the close of December, the fever ceased. ,
The disorder attacked, in an especial manner, persons of a *\ **-
full and robust constitution ; and, without a single exception, LjtC't^-^-*-^" •
was confined to new comers from higher latitudes. The emi- « . JUuu\(iA 6
grants from the northern parts of the* United States were those f \
particularly who were subjected to its influence. It is (^ CC"-^ t^fr'Q
stated, that not a single individual from the West Indies, or :, \ -i .
native of the country, nor any one who had previously suffer-
ed from yellow fever, became its victim. This immunity of
the constitution from a second attack was manifested in several
striking instances.
The fever was strongly characterized by all the prominent
symptoms of the yellow fever as it has occurred in the sea ports
of the northern states, lt was marked with great prostrationof ^
the muscular system and disturbance of the intellectual powers :
in a majority of cases it invaded suddenly, and generally termi-
nated fatally within the third, fourth, or fifth day from the at-
tack. Sometimes death took place on the second day ; very
rarely was the disease protracted to the sixth. The peculiar
yellow suffusion of the surface, and injected state of the vessels
of the eye, as they are exhibited in yellow fever,, were often
observed ; and that precordial anxiety, so uniformly noticed in
the same complaint, was found to occur in a large majority of
the cases of the fever of St. Augustine. In many instances the
black vomit terminated the sufferings of the patient.
Forty or fifty deaths occurred among the newly arrived emi-
grants before the alarm became general. Eleven deaths was
the greatest number that happened in any one day. This mor-
tality took place in October.
Of the inhabitants of St. Augustine, about two hundred were
exposed to the influence of the disease. Of this aggregate, one
hundred and forty were attacked, of which one hundred and
thirty two died. In these deaths are included three blacks. ~* fcjL fadVLA
The fever also afflicted the troops in garrison : forty deaths took (\jfU\><
382 Appendix.
place in a body of one hundred and twenty soldiers. The to-
tal number of deaths from this malignant fever, was consequent-
ly one hundred and seventy-two.
In the treatment of this disorder blood-letting, which was
had recourse to in a few cases, upon the commencement of the
pestilence, invariably proved fatal. Calomel, when it could
be prescribed so as to affect the general system, and produce
its peculiar action upon the mouth and gums, was serviceable :
but this salutary action was very rarely brought about, the pa-
tient yielding to the poison of the disease before any evidence
of mercurial excitation could be induced. Moreover, several
instances were noticed, where, although the salivary glands
became affected by mercury, the disorder triumphantly pur-
sued its course. The early application of blisters to the epi-
gastric region was a practice that was generally adopted: there
was reason to believe it advantageous ; it occasionally miti-
gated the precordial distress and laboured respiration of the
sufferer, and no bad effects followed from the blistered sur-
face. The oil of turpentine was internally prescribed, and it
was thought with benefit, in a few cases of deep gastric irrita-
tion. The black vomiting was scarcely ever controlled : in
one case of the disease charcoal was given, and the patient re-
covered. But it must be admitted that the best efforts of the
healing art in the fever of St. Augustine proved too generally
unavailing. Of four physicians who attempted to relieve the
sick three died.
There is every reason to believe that the disease was intro-
duced into St. Augustine from Havana, and the grounds of
this belief rest upon the following circumstances :
The Schooner Florida, Capt. Johnson, was employed as a
cartel to transport to Havana certain citizens of St. Au-
gustine, who were desirous of leaving that place after its ces-
sion to the United States. She made a passage to Havana
in the month of August; the yellow fever prevailing at the
time at that place with great mortality. The disorder was in-
Appendix. 383
troduced on board : a number of her crew beside the captain
took the disease, several of whom died. Upon her return to St.
Augustine a quantity of clothing was sent on shore in order to be
cleaned. This labour was performed in the house of an Irish
family of the name of Develin, which consisted of a woman who
washed the clothing, her husband, and five children. They
all took the disease, and four died. Two other persons in the
same dwelling also took the fever, and died in the same house.
These were the first cases of the disorder, and until this oc-
currence, not the least evidence of the hazardous condition
of the place had come to the knowledge of the inhabitants.
The schooner Alexander, Capt. Rogers, which had sailed in
company with the Florida, on a similar mission, returned also at
the same time. Her crew contracted the fever at Havana,
and all of them, five in number, including the captain, died on
the passage. She was brought into St. Augustine by two Spa-
nish sailors who were passengers. The clothing of the Alex-
ander was ordered by the city council to be destroyed, but
was secretly conveyed on shore. A mattress which was
thrown overboard was picked up in the river and taken to
Judge Fitch's, whose residence was distant in the country.
Unknowingly he slept on it. He took sick, and in rapid succes-
sion his wife and three children, all of whom had the fever in
a malignant form, and ended their lives with black vomit.
These were the sources of the pestilence, whence it extend-
ed itself throughout the city.
Believe me to be your's, &c.
JOHN W. FRANCIS.
Dr. Townsend.
ERRATA.
Page 19, for the words from 5 to 10 two story dwellings, &c. rpad from 4 /of. ino
story dwellings, generally of wood, on the south side of the street, and two
only on the north side. For the words not more than three or foil'- hou*
es, &<•. read nut more than two or three houses, i(c. For the worcU hcinjr
chirtiy o<< tipied by the yards, &.c. read being on the north side of the
street chiefly occupied by the yard of the corner house, St.c.
20, lor the wonN about 180, &c. Tead 80 houses
23, 3d line from the bottom, for Eliza Ann, read Eliza Jane.
27, for three or four mouths, read seven weeks.
—, for the words They all sickened July 10th, read They all sickened July
]Qih and 1 \th. For the words falling sick on the sarnie day, rand falling
sick within thirty six hours of earh other, and for the words, up to the
day before that on which they all sickened, read up fo the day before
that on which the Reders sickened.
39, for up to November Ist, read up to November 5th.
40, for 10 after the Board, read I3,