The Telescope

From the Richmond Enquirer.
CONTAGIOUS DISTEMPER.

Extract of a letter from a gentleman in the county of Stafford, to his correspondent in this city, dated, Falmouth, Jan. 3.

I have seen James Waller today just from Aquia; he had been in pursuit of a Doctor to attend his brother William, who was taken yesterday with the complaint which has destroyed so many of our inhabitants.
Mr. Garnett died a few days ago at Aquia. The distemper is distressing beyond any thing that you can imagine. It takes off whole families. I am fearful to send any of my family to Aquia. John Cooke lays at the point of death; his father has been down to see him, and was fearful to go into the house.
If the disease does not abate.--I am apprehensive it will destroy the greater part of our inhabitants. In King George, there was a family of ten--the whole dead except a little boy who went to a neighbour's house, after starving a day or two, and asked for some bread. The neighbour asked him if he had not a plenty of bread at home; he said that his father, mother, and the rest of the family, were asleep, and that he could not wake them. He was asked how long they had been asleep? He said, a day or two. The neighbours went over, and found nine of them dead! They were so much alarmed; they concluded it would be the best way to set fire to the house and burn them up; which was done. Poor Andrew Leach, his wife, son and daughter, are dead. Old Mr. James Steward, has lost his son Stephen and his daughter Sally, his daughter Nancy is now very ill at Mr. Norman's place. Old Mr. Carpenter and his son are also dead. Mr. Ball, just below the Court house, has made 13 coffins in the course of 8 or 10 days.

The alarming disease noticed in the above letter, has existed for several weeks on some of the portions of the sea-board.--In the Northern Neck, especially, it has made the greatest ravages.
It frequently kills from 6 to 12 hours--it principally preys upon the heartiest and most robust patients. The physicians are at some loss to describe or to treat it. Some describe it as a Typhus fever--others as a violent inflammatory sore-throat, the most of them as a putrid sore-throat.
It affects the throat most violently, and obstructs the circulation of the air through the windpipe. In a few instances, as in the one above stated, the houses in which the dead have laid, have been burnt down to prevent the diffusion of the contagion.