Sanitation in Panama

by William Crawford Gorgas

I felt myself more or less responsible, and thought that she was going into the jaws of death by this kind of exposure. I therefore called for the assistance of one of the nurses, and used some force in getting her into the next room. She at first reproached me, but as soon as we got her into the adjoining room she seemed at once to regain her mental balance, spoke rationally to Mrs. Gorgas, and asked me to arrange the details so that she could take her husband’s body with her when she sailed on the next vessel for the United States.

Mrs. Gorgas and I walked with her to her room and gave certain directions with regard to her care and comfort for the night. She asked me for a sleeping dose which she might take in case she was unable to sleep. I recollect that I put this up in such quantity that she could not hurt herself even if she took it all. The rooms were separated by very thin wooden partitions, and she asked about the location of persons in the adjoining rooms.

About two A. M. Mrs. Gorgas and I went to our quarters. We had been home just a short time when I was aroused by a hurried step and a knock at the door. I found it was a messenger summoning me to the hospital, with the information that the lady had killed herself.

When the door of her room was forced, we entered and found our friend apparently in a peaceful, quiet sleep. One arm had dropped naturally to the side, and the right arm was lying across the chest, the hand still holding the pistol with which she had killed herself. The appearance was exactly that of a piece of marble. She had shot herself behind the ear, and the hemorrhage had been so sharp that the body was entirely blanched. From where we stood the hemorrhage did not show. She had concealed a pistol in her trunk which she had procured in the United States at the time she started for Havana. She had placed fresh clothing on a chair by the bedside, apparently with the intention of being robed in it after death.

In looking back I could see various things in her actions and conversation that indicated the intention of taking her life. At other times she had entirely forgotten this, and was preparing for her sad future in this life. She had apparently been dazed by her grief and was temporarily unbalanced, unable for any length of time to follow in her mind any definite plan of action.

The Major having been our chief commissary and a man with whom we were in daily contact, this tragedy profoundly affected the military community. The next day we took husband and wife out to the little military cemetery at Camp Columbia where the American troops were cantoned, some five miles from Havana, and laid them to rest in the presence of a large concourse, military and civil.

While there, a member of the Commanding General’s staff, Captain Page, had a chill, returned home sick, developed a severe case of yellow fever and died within a week. This was looked upon by all the community as evidence that the disease had been contracted by contagion from the Captain’s having attended the funeral.

DEATHS FROM YELLOW FEVER IN THE CITY OF HAVANA

Years	1856	1857	1858	1859	1860	1861	1862	1863	1864	1865	1866	1867	1868	1869	1870	1871	1872	1873	1874	1875	1876	1877	1878
Months
January																18	20	32	7	16	24	8	26
February																23	13	23	4	16	24	9	13
March																12	4	27	18	32	29	11	5
April																54	4	37	22	34	33	8	28
May																91	13	127	85	32	103	16	53
June																201	68	378	172	142	292	143	184
July																234	68	416	361	187	675	249	504
August																138	70	127	416	144	250	285	374
September																72	59	35	186	102	97	234	179
October																55	38	28	91	109	42	185	106
November																51	85	5	42	105	31	150	53
December																42	73	9	21	82	19	76	34
Total	1309	2058	1396	1193	439	1020	1386	550	555	238	51	591	290	1000	572	991	515	1244	1425	1001	1619	1374	1559

Years	1879	1880	1881	1882	1883	1884	1885	1886	1887	1888	1889	1890	1891	1892	1893	1894	1895	1896	1897	1898	1899	1900	1901
Months
January	11	16	7	9	14	26	4	4	5	8	17	10	10	15	15	7	15	10	69	7	1	8	7
February	13	9	3	11	9	16	3	0	6	8	5	4	3	10	6	4	4	7	24	1	0	9	5
March	6	20	3	14	21	8	1	0	8	14	5	4	4	1	4	2	2	3	30	2	1	4	1
April	13	44	6	18	34	32	2	1	22	24	8	13	5	8	8	4	6	14	71	1	2	0	0
May	40	40	6	84	75	55	3	1	84	26	17	23	7	7	23	16	10	27	83	4	0	2	0
June	237	50	37	176	162	66	4	14	128	36	37	38	41	13	69	31	16	46	174	3	1	8	0
July	475	179	90	195	177	131	13	33	102	74	48	67	66	27	118	77	88	116	168	16	2	30	1
August	417	48	127	73	148	97	34	39	73	113	73	60	66	67	100	73	120	262	102	16	13	49	2
September	148	75	94	56	50	41	32	37	36	63	37	33	65	70	68	76	135	166	56	34	18	52	2
October	44	32	39	33	72	24	41	16	33	48	21	32	48	54	46	40	102	240	42	26	25	74	0
November	31	21	38	36	45	8	22	13	20	33	21	15	24	52	28	23	35	244	26	13	18	54	0
December	9	11	35	24	42	7	6	9	15	21	14	9	17	33	11	29	20	147	8	13	22	20	0
Total	1444	645	485	729	849	511	165	167	532	468	303	308	356	357	496	382	553	1282	858	136	103	310	18