Yellow Fever in Memphis!

On July 17, 1879, the Puget Sound Weekly Argus in Port Townsend, Washington Territory published a telegraph report that originated from Memphis, Tennessee on July 10. The telegraph was presented in a slough of other news from the Eastern States, on page 2. All of the telegraph reports were presented in the order received, so additional info on the same story would sometimes come after other news from other places.

Four small reports told the story that day:

1. The board of health announced to Memphis residents to "quietly remove your families to a place of safety,"^[1] while they investigated the first few reports of the fever. Of these cases was the local Judge E. R. Ray, and his two sons.
2. Later that day it was found there were only two confirmed cases: Judge Ray and his older son. Two deaths were announced, the younger son of Judge Ray, and a man named Frank Mulbrandon. 
3. Washington, D. C. issued a statement from Dr. Hamilton, the supervising surgeon general of marine service, saying he doesn't suspect the fever would be as bad as the year before.
4. By that night, New Orleans announced that it "was never healthier, being entirely free from yellow fever."^[1]

This marks the beginning of a ravaging fever season that would last 116 days.

The board of health stationed on boats to stay away from the infected city.^[a]

The rest of July

The first week after Memphis' first announcement came with little news.

After a few deaths, it was reported that there was only one case left in the city: the surviving son of Judge Ray. There is no explicit mention if the Judge survived, or died within those few days since the initial report. Due to the news, the quarantines on the railroad by Little Rock, Arkansas and other stations were prepping to be lifted if no new cases were reported.

Washington Territory readers had to wait a week to see the dire shift in the disease. On July 31, the Argus published telegraphs from the week of July 23.

33 new cases and seven deaths were reported in Memphis, with others popping up in neighboring cities and counties. Dennis Manning, a fireman for a steamer that traveled between Havana, Cuba and New York died of yellow fever in Brooklyn, New York. 

All the train stations on the line spanning between Memphis and Grenada, Mississippi closed in fear of spreading the disease. Tents were donated to Memphis to help establish a camp 7 miles outside of town.

There was debate among physicians of whether the fevers were true yellow fever, or different types of malarial fever. Either way, it was thought to be not as bad as the fevers of 1873 or 1878.

The Howard Association, a relief group, announced only three cases in Memphis needed assistance, and placed "a few new nurses on duty."

It was during this week that the Argus published a short, anonymous statement on page 4 reading:

"The hope that the yellow fever down south might not be as destructive this year as it was last, has been entirely given up since the telegraph wires have been so burdened with news of its awful ravages."^[3]

The following week brought some hope:
A check for $2,000 was donated by Washington, D.C. banker W. W. Coehran to help aid the poor leave Memphis.
While physicians in Memphis were discovering that those with yellow fever in the past were still succumbing, they were still hopeful that the worst had passed.
Quarantines became stricter with Memphis and even New Orleans. Within New Orleans, there was debate among the board of health and private physicians about the number of yellow fever cases. The board officially acknowledged four cases, while physicians estimated closer to 17.


Perhaps in response to all of the yellow fever news, the Argus printed a letter that was presented at the city council meeting the week of August 7. The letter was addressed to the Board of Trustees of Port Townsend, written by the city's Health Officer, Dr. Thomas T. Minor.
Minor wrote that he had "made careful inspection of those localities of this city, in which I had reason to believe disease germs were liable to arise from noxious odors and prevalent filth."^[6]
Although Minor stumbled across a few wash houses that required directions to clean their garbage and run-off, he found nothing else of much note. Follow-up inspections of the wash houses to see how they cooperated were announced to be 10 days later.

August

Telegraphs during August brought news that the fever was worsening and spreading.

The Howard Association assigned 25 more nurses to Memphis on August 7, and announced the daily expenses were about $500.

A telegraph timed at 6 p.m. that the last 24 hours had 29 reported cases and that "this is a marked increase in the number of new cases, and plainly indicates that the fever is rapidly spreading."^[7]

On August 14, a total of 40 new cases were reported to the board of health, with 10 deaths mentioned by the city's undertakers.

On August 21, the Howard Association announced that every cent would go toward helping the South with the fever. The group's daily cost was estimated to be $1,000; with almost $20,000 used from their treasury. With funds dwindling, the group asked the North to contribute help and money to the cause, as had happened the year before. Other groups, such as the Knights of Honor, were also aiding the South at the time.

It was reported that ministers in the area had fled from their followers as the fever spread.

September

Waiting for a weekly newspaper would have been suspenseful, and doubly so if the newspaper doesn't publish telegraphs for an extra week. This gap for the readers of the Argus happened between August 28 and September 11, 1879, and the new edition brought more bad news from the South.

On September 2, a quarantine plan of Memphis by quarantine superintendent R. Johnson was approved by the national board of health. A picket was to be established around the entire city, a patrol of 50 mounted men put on duty, and quarantine law enacted for the city.

The telegraphs in the Argus reported 81 new cases in Memphis, but only 7 deaths. The board of health declared New Orleans an infected port. Despite this, a telegraph from September 10 stated the sanitary director of Louisiana claimed there were no new cases of the fever in New Orleans since the 1st, and that there were no live cases.

On September 13 the Puget Sound Mail, newly-moved to La Conner, Washington Territory, started reporting the telegraphs as well*. A New York telegraph from September 5 revealed that the wealthy railroad developer, Jay Gould (pictured above^[b]), sent the Memphis Howards $5,000 and said "he will foot their bills as long as necessary."^[11] This report was not added in the Argus.

A telegraph from September 11 mentions the fever catching in several Georgia counties, including Polk, Paulding, and Harrison. A detailed description of the fever's effects was also published.

For those tallying up the mentioned deaths while reading the Washington Territory newspapers were in for a surprise: a telegraph from September 13 mentioned the total cases in Memphis were 1,136. Only about 211 were explicitly mentioned in the telegraphs in the Argus and Mail since July 10.

Even with funding from Gould, the Howards asked for more contributions to cover their $1,000/daily expenditures in the South. So far, the season had seen $17,000 in contributions, and was expecting to last another two months.

The tail-end of September had little updates, except to announce 10 new cases and 2 deaths.

On October 2, the Argus printed on page 4, "At last accounts yellow fever ravages have subsided somewhat."^[16]

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*- The Mail could very well have been reporting the entire time when it was named the Bellingham Bay Mail, but I could not find records of it prior to September 13, 1879 in time for the assignment.

October & November

October started to see the decrease in fever reports in Memphis. In the first three weeks, only 12 new cases and nine deaths were mentioned in the Puget Sound Mail. On October 17, three Howard nurses went to Forrest City, Arkansas to help with the fever cases there. Three days later, Washington, D.C. authorized a picket and quarantine of the city to prevent further spreading.

A telegram from October 23 was published in the Mail on November 1, reporting the board of health would allow Memphis refugees to return to their houses by Sunday (October 26). That Sunday, 200 people came back to Memphis along the Louisville road.

"Resumption in Memphis" was the title of a longer report from October 27, in both the Mail (Nov. 1) and Puget Sound Weekly Argus (Nov. 6), describing that shop owners were reopening their businesses, restrictions on railroads were being lifted, and "the streets present their wonted animated appearance."^[19] A November 2 telegraph in the Mail (Nov. 8) announced no new cases had been reported, and physicians "all agree that the cold winds of last night swept away all lingering germs of fever."^[21]

A telegraph titled "Memphis All Right" from November 3 told of the cold weather, physicians giving the all clear, and ended plainly: "Thus ends the epidemic of 1879."^[22]

I could not find any other telegraphs in the Mail or Argus after that point; Memphis had the all clear, end of story. Despite other communities still having lingering cases, in all appearances to Western U.S. readers, the yellow fever epidemic of 1879, that lasted 116 days, had been vanquished by skilled physicians, and a twist of cold weather.