Benjamnin F. Butler, Butler's Book: Autobiography and Personal Reminiscences of Major-General Benjamin Butler

[408] manner of animal exhalations only in a confined atmosphere will produce plenty of typhus fever. Vegetable exhalations in a like close atmosphere will produce congestive fevers, but none of the typhus type. But putting together both the animal and vegetable exhalations under like conditions, and adding a germ of yellow fever, that scourge will be propagated and will permeate the territory just as far as the atmosphere containing those conjoint elements shall extend.

Fortunately for my theory, I had a confirmation of it. A little tug came over from Nassau, a port which was interdicted because the yellow fever prevailed there. The captain and his vessel being examined by the health officer, it was found that she was loaded with barrelled provisions from New York and that she had stopped at Nassau only to take on coal. It was sworn to, also, that she took on nothing else, especially no passengers, and no part of the crew came from Nassau. They all came from New York, and the tug stopped nowhere, and they all seemed to have been afraid to go on shore at Nassau on account of the fever. As I did not believe that yellow fever could be brought in soft coal, and as the tug had provisions which were needed, I allowed her to come up to New Orleans without the forty days quarantine.

About four or five days after she got to New Orleans, my medical director came in one morning at orderly hours with a look of great concern upon his face. He had never possessed faith in my ideas about the prevention of yellow fever.

“General,” said he, “I am sorry to tell you that you have got two cases of yellow fever down in Frenchtown.”

“Ah! Where did they come from?”

“There were two passengers on board the little tug that came from Nassau.”

“You must be mistaken, doctor. It was sworn expressly that there were no passengers on board, and certainly none from Nassau,” and I called for the report, which was at hand.

I found that I was right, but the oath had been false.

“Well, doctor,” I said, “here is a little order to the lieutenant of the provost guard to have a squad of sentries around that square down in Frenchtown in which these yellow fever patients are. Doctor MacCormick, you will post them. Let nobody go in or out ”