Smallpox Scare at Port Townsend
Rumors of a smallpox outbreak on Puget Sound trigger public panic, but health officials scramble to reassure the community.
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 seems to be much fear elsewhere of the smallpox, and as some wild stories are in circulation about the prevalence of the disease, we have made it a point to inquire into the matter for the purpose of relieving the public mind of unnecessary distress. The only cases on Puget Sound are one or two at Port Townsend. A man on board the barkentine Parlo broke out with the disease and was taken with the entire crew to quarantine three miles below Port Townsend. The vessel was cleaned and fumigated and, on Sunday last, was released. The case that caused the recent excitement at Port Townsend was that of an Indian on board a ship who broke out with measles, which a few timid ones immediately pronounced smallpox. The only two physicians at Port Townsend could not confirm the disease as smallpox, yet the man was placed in the pest house. These are the only two cases known to exist in Washington Territory. Both are well cared for, and there need be no fear on the part of anyone.
“There need be no fear on the part of any one, and the less fear felt the better for all.”
Public health panics in the 1870s relied on the same dynamics of rumor and 'timid' reaction as modern outbreaks. The reporting highlights how quickly misinformation could travel across the Puget Sound in a pre-digital era.
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