Smallpox, a Cover-Up, and the Threat of Quarantine on Puget Sound
Two cases surfaced near Government and Cormorant streets while Victoria's papers stayed silent; with 21 cases there and two at Snohomish, Sound cities braced to cut themselves off — and the fumigation of mail only just halted.
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.
PORT TOWNSEND, Aug. 30. [Special.] — Reliable information from a reputable authority was received today from Victoria stating that two cases of smallpox were discovered in the vicinity of Government and Cormorant streets, Victoria, last Saturday afternoon. The patients were removed to the pesthouse. The Victoria papers made no mention of the fact, and it was apparent that the authorities were trying to suppress the matter. Some of the Victorians, according to the report, were incensed because the health officers did not officially report the cases. Victoria is very apprehensive lest a quarantine again be declared by the Puget Sound cities. At last accounts there were twenty-one cases of smallpox at Victoria, and two at Snohomish. [Victoria, Aug. 30.] — L. R. Jenns, who was quarantined almost two weeks ago by Vancouver authorities, threatens to bring suit for $2,500. Fumigation of mails for the Sound ceases tomorrow unless orders to the contrary are received.
“The Victoria papers made no mention of the fact, and it was apparent that the authorities were trying to suppress the matter.”
A border city quietly hiding an outbreak to avoid being cut off, neighbors weighing quarantine, and the mail treated as a vector — the 1892 smallpox scare reads like a rehearsal for the public-health fights of our own century.
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