: TO DR. JOHN REDMAN COXE. DEAR SIR, H EREWITH you will receive, agreeably to your request, the letters addreffed to me by your late ingenious friend Dr. Dryfdale, containing an account of the yellow fever as it. appeared in Baltimore in the year 1794. They are at your service, to be published if you think proper, in your Museum. By thus collecting and publishing histories of our autumnal epidemics in different years, and in different cities and states, we fhall, I hope, attain fuch a knowledge of them, as will enable us to treat them fuccefsfully, and finally to prevent their recurrence in our country. YOU have requested a history of the yellow remitting fever, as it lately appeared in Baltimore; and I have, perhaps inconfiderately, promifed to gratify your wish. The difficulties, which neceffarily accompany fuch a task, increase in number, as I travel in imagination through the region before me; ." Hills peep o'er hills, and Alps on Alps arise :" and when I contraft them with the powers of my youth, I am almost dissuaded from the attempt. But I now enter on the undertaking with this pleafing reflection, that you will indulge the deficiency of execution, where the critic would condemn: for I am convinced with Dr. Moore, that "thofe, who have the greatest knowledge in their profession, are best acquainted with its uncertainty, and most indulgent to the mistakes and errors of others." An account of the weather, which preceded the appearance, and accompanied the progrefs of this awful disease to the close of its career, will be given more properly in another place. But it may not be unnecessary to mention here, the principal diseases which characterised the summer and autumn. In the town, the cholera made its appearance among children as early as the months of April and May; but it is very remarkable, that this disease was unknown through the fummer upon Fell's Point. On the lower part of Baltimore, the month of May was unufually healthy, a catarrh only affecting many children. In the beginning of June, intermittents and dyfenteries became more general, and as the feafon advanced, remittents alfo made their appearance. These three diseases, especially the first and laft, ranged through every part of the country, and infested even the highest grounds. But the most remarkable difeafe was the natural small-pox. It appeared very early in the fummer and foon became epidemic. It advanced with the year, and made fuch devaftation among its unfortunate victims, that Baltimore, perhaps, never before experienced fo fevere a fcourge from this disease. Even they, who were inoculated in the fpring, required peculiar attention; for it was fo unusually infidious, that many unexpectedly suffered from its malignity. The first case of yellow fever, that I faw, was on the 7th of Auguft. The patient was in the fourth day of the disease, and had been harassed several hours with the vomiting of that dark fluid, fo greatly refembling ftrong coffee muddy with its grounds. His eyes had been very red, but were now, together with his skin, yellow: the latter was dry and cool; his pulse was flow and full. He was either oppreffed with ftupor-or deranged with a mild delirium. In a few hours he was dead. I could not paufe a moment in believing his disease to be the yellow fever. I mentioned freely what I had feen, and expreffed my apprehenfions that this cafe might prove the prelude of a scene of calamity. The Point was now becoming confiderably fickly, and many deaths occurred there fuddenly, or after a very short indifpofition. The feveral deaths that had occurred, together with the report, that the yellow fever had made its appearance, excited alarming apprehenfions in the minds of the people. An inquiry was confequently made, by three of the most respectable physicians, into the state of the health of Baltimore. On the fifteenth of Auguft, they reported that, "Conformably to a request made by the grand jury, we yesterday proceeded to inquire into the grounds of a report, which for fome days paft had created very serious alarms among the inhabitants of this town, viz. that the West India yellow fever did prevail very generally at Fell's Point, and was accompanied with its ufual mortality: that there are no grounds for believing that the yellow fever is yet among us. "After a careful examination of feveral perfons, confined with fevers, and the most minute inquiry respecting those cases, which have lately proved mortal, we are unanimous in the following conclusions :-That the prevailing fever of that place is the common epidemic of this feafon, which annually vifits our southern and middle states, viz. the bilious remitting fever: that the late mortality at that place, which has been greatly exaggerated by report, has not been owing to any one class of diseases in particular: that during our late very hot weather, most of the inftances of fudden deaths arofe from accidental caufes. Many of the laborious class of the people were destroyed by the extreme heat of the fun, while employed in their ufual labours. Intemperance was the cause of death to fome, whilst indifcretions of different kinds proved destructive to others. "On the whole we are of opinion, that the mortality of this feafon has not exceeded that of many former ones, which paffed unnoticed, &c. &c. Signed by Doctors GEORGE BROWN, Every funeral recalled to the minds of the Baltimoreans the late calamitous fituation of Philadelphia. With the hearfe and the grave they invariably associated the idea of the yellow fever, which had destroyed fo many thousand citizens of a rival city. It is therefore not wonderful, that an alarm fhould have been excited, difproportionate to the mortality, that had yet occurred. The agreeable affurances they had just received, (and I am confident, that the phyficians who gave them, had not met in their fearch a single cafe of yellow fever,) calmed the apprehenfious of their minds. It is indeed to be deeply lamented, that any fubfequent misfortune fhould have broken this tranquil fituation of the town. On the fourteenth of Auguft, Mafter M'C-, (who lived on Bowley's wharf, in the same store with the gentleman who died on the feventh,) became difeafed. He recovered from his fever; but on the nineteenth, a yellowness was very obfervable over his body, and foon became as intenfe as in jaundice. On the morning of the twentieth of Auguft, Mr. M--ncalled on me for advice. On the first evening of his difeafe, I fufpected the real nature of his fever, and did not hesitate to mention my apprehenfions. I attended this gentleman in company with Dr. George Brown, my former preceptor in medicine:-a person, who truly combines all the merits of a profeffional character, with all the endearing and refpected virtues of a gentleman. Mr. Me was attacked on the morning of the twenty-fecond: Mr. A------- on the evening of the fame day; and Mr. A-------n on the following morning. Thefe four gentlemen were engaged in commercial business on the fame part of Bowley's wharf. VOL. I. E Some other perfons living at the fame place were alfo difeafed at this time, but they did not fall under my obfervation. The peculiar fymptoms, attending the fever of Mr. M-----D, from its commencement to its fatal close, called from Dr. Brown an unequivocal declaration of its nature. His apprehenfions were increafed by the occurrence of the other cafes at the fame time and at the fame place. The declaration I had made near three weeks before, was now feconded by an authority of the moft indifputable nature. A town meeting was in confequence fummoned, which terminated in the nomination of a committee of health. Their chairman, Guftavus Scctt, Efq. was a gentleman of the highest honour and integrity; and it is therefore to be regretted, that his neceffary avocations from town, foon took him away from the regulation of their conduct through the scenes that followed. Fell's Point was now becoming very unhealthy, and many cafes of disease had terminated there speedily in death. On the thirty-first of Auguft, I vifited with Dr. Allendre, Mr. J. R. in the feventh day of his difeafe. He had now a conftant hiccup, and a copious vomiting of the coffee grounds: his eyes were very yellow, his skin cool; his pulse full but fo irregular, as to beat fometimes three pulfations in one-fixth of a minute; fometimes fifteen in the fame period of time. He died the next morning. On the fame part of Baltimore, I attended with Dr. Brown, Mr. Thomas L----- who was taken ill on the twentyfixth of Auguft; his apprentice boy on the twenty-feventh; and his maid fervant on the thirty-firft. Mr. C------'s fon Thomas was attacked on the twenty-eighth ;---himself and his fon Robert on the following day. A boy of captain F---'s was attacked on the twenty-feventh. In the town, three persons, who had contracted their fever on the Point, came under my obfervation on the twenty-ninth and thirtieth of Auguft. All thefe cafes, except one, terminated favourably. While this scene of disease was extending on the Point, the town became unufually healthy. Some took advantage of this circumstance, to oppose the affertion that a yellow fever had |