Smallpox Hits the Upper Town
A young child’s illness sparks a strict quarantine as the city grapples with a frightening outbreak.
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.
Another case of smallpox was discovered Tuesday morning. It was a little boy, one of a family named McFarland, living at the upper end of town. The afflicted lad was immediately removed to the pest house and the house in which the family lived placed under strict quarantine. It is not known how the boy contracted the disease. One of Mr. Munet's children died Sunday at the pest house; the rest of the patients have recovered or are past danger. There are now but four cases in reality, all told; there is little danger of its spreading.
“The afflicted lad was immediately removed to the pest house and the house in which the family lived placed under strict quarantine.”
Smallpox was a recurring terror in the late 19th century, frequently triggering intense public fear and rapid-fire quarantine measures. The 'pest house' reference reminds us of the stark, often isolated ways the city once managed contagious outbreaks before the advent of modern public health infrastructure.
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