The Smallpox Panic of 1876
Busy-bodies spread false rumors of a smallpox outbreak in Seattle, prompting a swift rebuttal from the local physician.
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.
There is always a certain class of individuals in every community whose only business seems to be to circulate sensational reports. They will tell you, with all the philosophical gravity of owls, of some dire calamity which has befallen somebody, or they can tell you all about your neighbor's private business, or what Stewart made his greatest mistake. They seem to subsist on this sort of gas which they are constantly generating. One of this class confidently informed us yesterday, that there were already fifteen cases of smallpox in town. Some such individual reported yesterday that a new case of smallpox had just been discovered at the P. H. Hotel. The news reached Dr. Weed, who, upon visiting the place, found the report entirely without foundation; there was not even a case of sickness at the house. Another case was reported in the same manner last evening at a boarding house off the corner of First and Main streets. Dr. Weed upon hearing the report went immediately to the place only to find the report false.
“They seem to subsist on this sort of gas which they are constantly generating.”
This 1876 account illustrates that the 'rumor mill' is a permanent fixture of urban life. The town’s quick reliance on a doctor to debunk panic-inducing hearsay mirrors how we struggle with the viral spread of misinformation today.
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