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Article PARTICULARS OF THE PLAGUE IN PHILADELPHIA. ← Page 2 of 5 →
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Particulars Of The Plague In Philadelphia.
depopulated : businefs of almost every kind was suspended ; inward bound ships came to the villages down the river ; and for nearly two months our streets were deserted by all , but a few sorfowful persons , walking , " as with their hands on their loins , " about the necessary concerns of the sick , and hearses condufted by negroes , mostly without followers , to and from the different grave-yards . with that will always do
A number of citizens , however , a courage them honour , formed themselves into a Committee , headed by the Mayor , borrowed money upon the credit of future subscriptions ; established an hosp ital about a mile from town , for the poor ; procured carriages to convey the sick to it ; sat daily at the City-hall , to receive applications and administer relief ; and two of them , Steven Girard , a and Peter Helm born here
French merchant , long resident here , , or German parents ( men whose names and services fhould never be _ forgot ) had the humanity and courage constantly to attend the hospital ; and not only saw that the nurses did their duties , butthey actually performed many of the most dangerous , and at the same time most humiliating services for the sick with their own hands . These gentlemen are mercifully preserved alive and well , though four of the committee who sat at the City-hall , took the disorder and died . Their names were Daniel OfRey , Joseph Inskeep , Jonathan D'Sergeant , and Andrew
Adgate . . , . The mortality was great in proportion to the number of the sick , in the beginning - , but as they increased , although the number of deaths increased to a terrif y ing degree , so as aftually to exceed one _ hundred . persons per day on some days ; yet , after a little cool weather in the 9 th month , the disorder took another type , and was not so mortal ; which hopesthat a change usuallexpefted in the temperature of our
gave , y air , with heavy rains , before or about the time of the equinox , would bring us a providential relief ; but these rains and this change were looked for in vain for six weeks after their usual time of coining , and v . e were left under the aflli & ion till about the 24 th of last month , when
it pleased Divine Providence , who permitted the affliction , to give it a check , without much apparent change in our atmosp here ; from that time the number of deaths rapidly decreased , and of convalescents increased ; and some rains and cool weather , which have succeeded , seem to have nearly , if not altogether eradicated it , as we have heard of no new cases for ' many days past ; and most of those who had it before ,, are recovered and recovering , though from the violence of the remedies
recommended by several physicians , and most generally adopted , many are left in a very weak state , which will require time to restore them to their former strength . This calamity , we confceive , has been nearly , if not quite as fatal , in proportion to the numbers , as the plague in London , in 1665 ; for , if we compute that thirty thousand persons remained in town , and that of these about four thousand died , which , when the accounts are all collected , we believe will be near the matter , it will approach to one seventh of the whole in about three months , which is pearly equal to the proportion \ yho died in London in a whole year .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Particulars Of The Plague In Philadelphia.
depopulated : businefs of almost every kind was suspended ; inward bound ships came to the villages down the river ; and for nearly two months our streets were deserted by all , but a few sorfowful persons , walking , " as with their hands on their loins , " about the necessary concerns of the sick , and hearses condufted by negroes , mostly without followers , to and from the different grave-yards . with that will always do
A number of citizens , however , a courage them honour , formed themselves into a Committee , headed by the Mayor , borrowed money upon the credit of future subscriptions ; established an hosp ital about a mile from town , for the poor ; procured carriages to convey the sick to it ; sat daily at the City-hall , to receive applications and administer relief ; and two of them , Steven Girard , a and Peter Helm born here
French merchant , long resident here , , or German parents ( men whose names and services fhould never be _ forgot ) had the humanity and courage constantly to attend the hospital ; and not only saw that the nurses did their duties , butthey actually performed many of the most dangerous , and at the same time most humiliating services for the sick with their own hands . These gentlemen are mercifully preserved alive and well , though four of the committee who sat at the City-hall , took the disorder and died . Their names were Daniel OfRey , Joseph Inskeep , Jonathan D'Sergeant , and Andrew
Adgate . . , . The mortality was great in proportion to the number of the sick , in the beginning - , but as they increased , although the number of deaths increased to a terrif y ing degree , so as aftually to exceed one _ hundred . persons per day on some days ; yet , after a little cool weather in the 9 th month , the disorder took another type , and was not so mortal ; which hopesthat a change usuallexpefted in the temperature of our
gave , y air , with heavy rains , before or about the time of the equinox , would bring us a providential relief ; but these rains and this change were looked for in vain for six weeks after their usual time of coining , and v . e were left under the aflli & ion till about the 24 th of last month , when
it pleased Divine Providence , who permitted the affliction , to give it a check , without much apparent change in our atmosp here ; from that time the number of deaths rapidly decreased , and of convalescents increased ; and some rains and cool weather , which have succeeded , seem to have nearly , if not altogether eradicated it , as we have heard of no new cases for ' many days past ; and most of those who had it before ,, are recovered and recovering , though from the violence of the remedies
recommended by several physicians , and most generally adopted , many are left in a very weak state , which will require time to restore them to their former strength . This calamity , we confceive , has been nearly , if not quite as fatal , in proportion to the numbers , as the plague in London , in 1665 ; for , if we compute that thirty thousand persons remained in town , and that of these about four thousand died , which , when the accounts are all collected , we believe will be near the matter , it will approach to one seventh of the whole in about three months , which is pearly equal to the proportion \ yho died in London in a whole year .