The Plague Panic at the Border
As smallpox cases surge in British Columbia, Seattle and surrounding towns scramble to implement strict quarantine measures and mandatory vaccinations to keep the disease at bay.
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Smallpox cases have broken out in Vancouver and Victoria, B.C., leading to a frantic quarantine effort across the Puget Sound. Authorities are intercepting travelers by sea and rail, with local health officers like Dr. Sparling aggressively vaccinating passengers on arriving trains. In Ballard, police successfully blocked travelers from bypassing health checks by detraining early. Meanwhile, Friday Harbor residents have demanded protection from Indian travelers arriving from British Columbia, and refugees attempting to reach New Westminster have been met with armed constables at the docks. Seattle remains officially free of the disease, though local papers in Victoria are accusing Seattle officials of boycotting their city under the guise of public health.
“The authorities of Seattle certainly showed a bad spirit from the first, and the fact of their having first declared a quarantine, and then visiting the city to see if it was necessary, proves that there was a determination to boycott Victoria on the slightest pretext.”
This 1892 quarantine crisis mirrors the local anxieties of the 2020 pandemic, showing that Seattle's tension with cross-border travel and public health mandates has a long, fraught history. The reliance on the Ballard police to 'frustrate' those trying to evade health screenings highlights the recurring struggle to enforce borders within the Puget Sound region.
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