Smallpox Scare Deepens in Snohomish
A messenger boy and a recent arrival from Seattle have contracted the virus, forcing schools to remain closed and court sessions to be postponed.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
This city was well over the smallpox scare yesterday, but this morning it was discovered that two new cases had appeared. One was Willie Jackson, a messenger boy in the employ of the Postal Telegraph Company, who it is supposed contracted the disease from the company's lineman, who was the first victim here. The other was a man named Chisholm, who came from Seattle two days ago. Considerable excitement was created temporarily from the fact that Willie Jackson's sister, who has nursed him two days, works in the auditor's office, and it was feared the disease might spread there, but it is thought there is no danger. The court term has been postponed to the 27th. It will probably be further postponed and the public schools will probably not reopen Monday. All possible precautionary measures will be employed by the city authorities to prevent further spread.
“This city was well over the smallpox scare yesterday, but this morning it was discovered that two new cases had appeared.”
Public health scares in growing boomtowns like 1892 Snohomish were constant, with the rapid movement of people via rail and wire making containment nearly impossible. Modern Seattle continues to grapple with the tension between individual mobility and public health requirements during outbreaks.
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