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Small-pox at Palmerston.( A cbkat amount of excitement van caused amongst the white residents of• Palmerston on Sunday morning la^t by ! a rw|*ort being circulated to the effectthat the dreaded small pox lua«l made its ayp*rance iu China Town. -Vs the I news spread from mouth to mouth, so aero the facts more ami more cxagg**r-ated, until at last no two yarns tallied iu particulars. To satisfy ourselves we paid a visit to tin* Police Station, and ' there found that there was no doubt | whatever af»out the disease having | established itself iu town ; and in a short time we were made acquainted• with the following facts concerning the I first discovery of the disease : —At af*»utI - o'clock on .Sunday moming. Corporal ‘ Waters heard a noise as of a person ' mooning from pain. The noise came from near some Chinese huts situated I off Cavenagh-street, l**twcen BeniicU-; street aiul Stokes Plat, and on the Corporal reaching the spot from where | the sounds issued he fouml a Chinaman lying on the ground with his legs l«an*I and a blanket wrapped around his middle.I He was moaning pitifully, us though1 suffering great agony. Questioned as to the cause of his being there, In* assert'd that his mates bad thrown him out of the hut he occupied because of his lieing sick. With the aid of a light Mr. Waters satisfied himself that the man was suffering from small-pox, and, without any ado he made the iek one's mates carry him l«ck into the hut The Corporal then roused up lr. Stow, Captain Marsh, Mr. Inspector FoeLsohc, and the constables needful to assist him, and in company with the doctor and Constables Martin and Hague he returned to the hut A short examination enabled Dr. Stow to corrulmrate the opinion of Corporal Waters as to the nature of the Chinaman's illness, and the other occupants of the hut having been secured by the police, they were made to procure a handcart, into which the patieut was put and carried to the old jetty, the cart being drawn by his countrymen and guard'd by Dr. Stow and the police. By this time the little Government steam launch hud steam up.found lying in the l»u»h a short distance behind the School House. The poor wretch was in a deplorable condition, almost entirely helpless, so tliat to get him out of the way tlu* services of two Chiuamru and a handcart had to be secund. He was thus conveyed through China Town to the old iettv, poliee keeping guanl on the way down ; and thence taken by Imat to the Quarantine Station.NNo fresh developments were reported on Wednesday.On Thursday moming the two men who cleared away from town early iu tlie week returned from the Peninsula in a sampan, together with two other Chinamen, and the whole four were iinnndi-atcly arrest'd by the authorities and sent to the new quarantine ground at Point Emery. One of those infi*ctrd ones is rath'T a well-to-do married uian, and it seems that tin* pair had taken a cook with them and provisions enough to lost them for a good spell.In tlu? course of a search which Dr. Stow made 011 this day he came upon a Chinaman who was just rid of the disease but Juul apparently beeu twomonths ill with it. ‘ITw convalescent resided iu China Town, and believing this to 1.* true the small-pox must have been establish'd in Palmerston months ago.We were unable to learn of any fresh developments during Friday.T»ir:utinamwagviaitGENERAL NOTES.After the bunting of the huts hadblawanufaxextwaKnthenetinaadioffaitin 1offtaking“samtheseewaHoca!lt;whfrolioil*en completed on Sunday morning a deputation of District Councillors and the Board of Health Inspector waited 011 the Acting Government Resident for the purpose of obtaining his sanction to : bui burn down a nauiiier of filthy looking 1 wei dens adjacent to those already con- cap detuned. Mr. Justice Pater, however, informed the deputation that he was not prepared to meet their wishes, and the huts were therefore not touched.Since Monday the medical requirements of those in quarantine have been attend'd to by Mr. M*Crory, who has been in the employ of Dr. Wood for and the five Chinamen (the sick one ami some time, and is reput'd to be a very four mates) were put into the police gig ; capable dispenser. Tim infected Mon-and towed by means of a long rope over | golians are accommodated iu two M bell to the quarantine ground at Goat Island, tents on the beach, while the healthyU|Keveweithiforuinliewa.*weiConstable Hague accompanying the , ones have quarters al-oord the steamerlaunch to see that everything was j Ellcngowan, which has been rented by properly done. In the meantime Dr. | the Government to serve as a quarantine Stow, Corporal Waters, and Constable , hulk.Martin underwent a thorough process of fumigation, and on the launch's return all in her were treated similarly; and the boat in which the Chinamen were towed to the island was sunk near shore. All this occupied about two hours.By 9 o’clock on Sunday morning the news was well scattered over the town, and about an hour later the Acting Government Resident (Mr. Justice Pater), Mr. Inspector Podsche, Mr. Waters, and a constable proceed'd to the place from where the patient had been taken for the purpose of havingNotice* written in Chiucse characters were posted round town on Tuesday commanding that all Chinese infected with suudl-pox should be reported to the police, under a very revere penalty for disoliedience to this order. The police were compelled to do something of this kind because of the disposition of the Chinese to hide their sick countrymen.The Government Resident on Tuesday issued instructions to the Supers isor of Works to have an an-a cleared and fenced ou Point Emery to act as a second quarantine ground, the excusepucshohU hat ud the «4jou.in* o.« d«tro«L for thu b|am|i,r ,= ^ ^ ^the Chinese were given time to remove Jtheir boxes, pots and pans, and other articles about which there was no fear of infection ; pigs, poultry, and such like. Accordingly as the tenements were vacated the police put fireaticks in them, and aa they were all built of liark or old pine boxes and roofed principally with thatch, a great blaze was created in an incredibly short space of time. A total of about 30 humpies were treated in this way, by far the moat complete process of fumigation; but besides the dwellings there were numerous lean to's and pig sties demolished. During the burniug, pigs, dogs, cats and fowls now and then ran the fiery gauntlet, and got off with a singing; the surprised Chinamen looked on with faces long a^ tho proverbial violin, wondering, no doubt, why all this fuss was made over a solitary case of small pox; while from all points of view clusters of Europeans enjoyed the unusual spectacle. The huts were all in ashea by noon, when the excitement that had been worked up over the scare seemed to take its cue from the fire, for it subsided also. The dens destroyed were the very home of filth, continually creating sickening stenches, and always suggestive of small pox, cholera, or other epidemic.Throughout Sunday the police kept up a vigilant enquiry among the Chinese in Chinatown, with the reward that by evcuing they had information of two other Chinese being al-out somewhere infected with the disease--one a female domestic servant living at John Allen's store, and the other a man who recently came in from one of the railway camps, and was wandering al*out all through China Town. There being some doubt alout the woman's illness Dr. Stow proposed to examine her on the following morning. Constable Hague in the meantime acting sentry at the house. The other victim of the disease was thought to lie in one of the camps on tl*c outskirts of the town, and thither Constable Martin proceeded ou Sunday night to search lor him ; but he found him not late iu the night, however. Constable Hague caught sight of a man runningexisted on Goat Island there was no probability of being able to build proper habitations over there. Mr. Kingston immediately put a squad of European la* tourers on to do the work.All the laundry establishments of the town were visited by tlu: health authorities on Wednesday, and the washermen were notified that they must not take in Chinese clothing to wash with clothes belonging to Europeans. As but few establishments took in washing from Chinese, this restriction did not fall severely on the people concerned.As a further measure of precaution against the spread of the disease all Chinese engaged in hawking vegetables have bceu ordered to attend at the doctor's residence every third day for examination. Dr. Stow will also inspect all camps near the town at regular intervals; and all the Chinese washer-have been notified that they mustwa:vici^ I.ip,weiMrtill!citldris:disnw*ratJbel1Di»No.Mr1Mr(mgoffbairefhocHrthemen3horranMiMrjMr4Mrsubmit to regular examinations. Vegetable hawkers and washermen, being iu constant contact with the European residents, are to lie supplied with certi- ‘ ficatcs on which the date of each examination will l«e inscrilif«l, thus affording a ready means of detecting any suspected of evasion.All town and country aboriginals have been ordered to keep to their camps and have nothing to do with the Chinese in any way.James Baker and George Harrison have been convicted at Sydney for impersonating females iu the public streets, jostling men, and using disgusting expressions.Sydney Trades and Labour Council are expressing great indignation at the action of mcmlx-rs of the Executive Committee of the Bulli Relief Pand, whom they charge with coercing the widows of miners killed into altandouiug proceedings against the mine owners.A riot took place aiming the navvies at Kiama recently, who hail a serious conflict with the police ; three of thethrough China Town with a blanketover him. Tho constable gave chose but the Chinaman dodged him down the lanes and was finally lost sight of.Monday was comparatively quiet. Early in the day Dr. Stow examined a woman shown him at the store before mentioned and who was said by the Chinamen to be the alleged infected one, and he unhesitatingly pronounced her quite free from small pox. But it is considered that the two women are not identical; that the one examined was a substitute for the other, who appears to have been removed so that her employers might escape quarantine.Some time during this dav the police heard of one resident of China Town who had developed the disease and cleared to the Peninsula; also of a lottery ticket vendor having gone into hiding somewhere about the town, baJ with the disease.Utter were dangerously wounded, oneto*leatinth«pnIOCnwwr1Upon I ati« ThMMiMiM.MiTuesday was more eventful from a practical point of vj.-w, as late on that day the Chinaman whom Constable ’ Hague chased ou .Suuduy night wa*receiving several stabs in the chest.Late intelligence from Afghanistan regarding the Ghilzai rebellion states that continual fighting is going on I**-tween the Ameers troo|«s and the insurgents.The passengers and crew of the steamer Fitzroy were recently spectators of a mortal comlsit, off the New South Wales coast, Viet ween a swordfish and a large sperm whale. When first seen the swordfish was making re|rf*atrd attacks on tho unfortunate marine monster, who at times fairly leaped out of the water, and the s»*a all around was coloured with blood. This attracted shoals of porpoises and other fish to the scene of carnagn. In a very sliort interval the monster rose to the surface apparently lifeless, and when last seen the water around it was alive with fish, and hundreds of birds hovered over the scene.Another case of hiishrauging is re-por'el fr mi Neu South Wales, the mail !• twe«Mi Manilla and Bitchmir having b.vu stuck up and rutktlfieKialitbiniDtCleaC’thatthfoccUloflelecl.VMta-MM
Newspaper Details
Darwin North Australian
Darwin, Northern Territory, AU
Sat, Aug 06, 1887
Page 3
Full Page
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Anonymous
GB 23 Apr 2023
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