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Is There a Yellow Fever Case Among Us?

About This Item

  • Title: Is There a Yellow Fever Case Among Us?
  • Date: 28 July 1857
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: per.00750
  • Source: Brooklyn Daily Times, 28 July 1857: 2. Our transcription is based on a digital image of a microfilm scan of the original issue. Microfilm of original issue held at Pennsylvania State University Libraries. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the journalism, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Editorial note: This piece is unsigned, as was the case for most of Whitman's journalism. However, this editorial is part of a series of texts that deal with a coherent theme that has been identified by the Whitman Archive journalism team as likely authored by Whitman. This decision is based on a combination of historical and (auto)biographical accounts, similarity to contemporary Whitman writings, a history of scholarly attribution, extant clippings retained by Whitman, computational stylometric analysis, and, in some cases, manuscript evidence in Whitman’s hand.
  • Contributors to digital file: Caitlin Matheis Kaylen Michaelis Stephanie Blalock Karie Cobb
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "Is There a Yellow Fever Case Among Us?." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 16 July 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: per.00750.xml (TEI)
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IS THERE A YELLOW FEVER CASE AMONG US?

There is said to have been a case of yellow fever in our Eastern District of Brooklyn. But again, on the other hand, it is said that it was not unquestionably yellow fever—or, at any rate, some other name may also be applied to the disease.

We mention thus much, not with particular reference to the case itself, but for the moral we intend to spread out from it. We do not believe yellow fever to be more terrible than many of the maladies that are always amongst us—consumption, dropsy, diseases of the throat, aggravated dysenteries, and the like.

For instance, Reader, perhaps your body, from your habits for years past, and at the present time, is a sort of inert store or manufactory of fire-works, or sleeping volcano,—waiting to have the fire touched to the train—and then off you go, phizz! bang!

We have a notion that if the body is in really good condition, and has been so for a lengthy time previous, there is no danger, or next to none, of any contagion. How is this, Messrs. Doctors?

In former articles on the subject of health, we dwelt strongly on the fact that a sound body is not produced in a hurry; that is, it dates back to its causes long previous to the actual period of its existence.

Nobody will be in a condition to ward off disease unless he realise this law. But whoever fully carries it out becomes capable of withstanding any form of sickness. To him the question we have placed at the head of our article, conveys no more terror than if we ask whether we have any liver-complaint or indigestion among us?

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