The cemetery wasn’t very big, and there certainly weren’t this many headstones, so they must have had mass burials. Really sad.
Here was one of the walls where headstones were set in memory of the yellow fever victims. Family members died within days of each other.
And another.
This shows the length of the wall where the yellow fever victims headstones were set, though certainly not enough to identify the masses that died in Savannah. A hurricane had hit before that and then the mosquitoes descended on the area, infected with the virus, and then the yellow fever struck.
I’ve written a historical western romance set in New Orleans that had something similar, a ship even had been quarantined at the docks once it was learned some of the sailors had it. It’s not contagious, but a deadly flu-like virus carried by the mosquitoes. And though we still have it today in South America and Africa, it’s not curable, but prevented by a yellow fever vaccine.
I remember reading about a place in Italy that had the most beautiful lilac trees blooming all around ancient castle ruins. But the people kept dying from mosquito-carried viruses like malaria, and those ancient people finally vacated the lands and their homes. Now the area is well drained to prevent that, but back then, they didn’t have a way to drain off the water that would breed the mosquitoes.
Even with the dryness we’ve been facing, we’ve still got mosquitoes, and have had cases of the Nile River virus in parts of Texas…
Vampires might be scary, but blood-sucking mosquitoes can be lots more dangerous.
In Savage Hunger, the heroine comes down with a fever–and in the Amazon jungle, there are a number of different ones she could have caught–
In the heat of the jungle, jaguars are clawed, dangerous, and hungry for love. With hopes of overcoming night terrors and thanking the man who saved her life, Kathleen McKnight returns to the Amazon. A jaguar at heart, Connor Anderson doesn’t just protect her, but wants to claim her for his own.
Have a lovely Saturday, and wear that bug spray! And if you’re going to the jungle–get vaccinations first!
Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality.”
www.terryspear.com
It was so sad seeing all the tombstones of families that died from that. Can you imagine being sick in 100 degree weather with no A/C?
I love your posts.
Ah, thanks so much, Bonnie! Yes, I can’t imagine how awful that must have been. From the way the sign read, I thought maybe you could catch yellow fever from someone else. But I looked it up again and it said it wasn’t contagious–not through touch or kissing. What must have happened was the mosquitoes were carrying the yellow fever and bit several family members in that same area.