On the local origin of the yellow fever epidemic of British Guiana / in a letter from Daniel Blair to John Davy, with appended documents.

  • Blair, Daniel.
Date:
[1851?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the local origin of the yellow fever epidemic of British Guiana / in a letter from Daniel Blair to John Davy, with appended documents. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    part of the city. In addition to this exposure, he had at various times yellow fever cases introduced into his house. The Rev, Mr. Haig's case was one; the Rev. Mr. Stevenson's another. In a third instance, the captain of the Duke of Gordon, Mr. Longmuir, was brought to his house, and there remained throughout a most severe illness and protracted convalescence. Dr. Struthers' family at that time consisted of thirteen persons. Now, neither of these clergymen, nor any of the inmates of their houses, ever contracted the disease. The Bishop of Guiana, not now in the colony, had a large family of children and a large retinue of servants. Two of the latter (whites recently ar- rived) died of the yellow fever, but the disease never spread in the house. During the presence of the disease in the colony, the bringing of the sick into the midst of families was of usual occurrence. No fear was felt. There was no difficulty in obtaining nurses; no dan- ger was incurred. Several years after my own illness, I brought a favourite white servant who was very ill to the room next my own bedroom, that I might see him two or three times during the night. My brother-in-law. Dr. Manget, did the same with one of his ser- vants. There was nothing remarkable or heroic in this; it was a mere matter of course, and practised by dozens without remark or laudation. I have, not communicated, you will observe in the Ap- pendix, with either the Roman Catholic pastors or those of the Wesleyan persuasion. The reason is, that none of either denomina- tion, who saw the epidemic, are now in the colony. But, as far as I recollect, the Wesleyan clergymen had no deaths among them, and only one priest died of the yellow fever, although the services of their church brought them frequently among the Portuguese immigrants in the Colonial Hospital. The priest who died was considered at the time as having inhaled the malaria in crossing the Demerara River, in an open boat, at night. I have now done with Dr. Fraser's most extraordinary letter. It may be thought strange, and it is so, that no one, save an anonymous correspondent of the Guiana Chronicle, took the trouble to expose and refute a production so unfounded, at the time when it was dis- covered. That expose, too, never saw the light, — no doubt for some personal reason of the editor, either of ill-will to the assailant or friendship for the assailed. Colonial apathy, which in many things disregards the opinions of home, operated, likely, as a sedative. Where all disbelieved it here, where was the use of trouble merely to set the profession in England right ! Compassion for the old gentle- man who had so terribly committed himself, I know moved one individual to forbearance. Some despised the production, although endorsed by Sir Andrew Halliday. For there is no use in con- cealing the circumstance, that although Dr. Fraser was an old prac-