Smallpox

y fuéronse á sus casas y no supo mas, y vino luego una pestilencia de viruelas é cámaras de sangre por toda la provincia, y murieron todos los obispos de los ques, y todos los señores, y el cazonci viejo Zuangua murió de las viruelas, y quedaron sus hijos Tangaxoan, por otro nombre Zinzicha que era el mayor, Tirimarasco, Hazinchu, Cuyne.

Then they went to their houses, and nothing more came of it. Soon afterward a pestilence of smallpox and bloody flux swept through the whole province. All the high priests of the temples died, and all the lords. The old cazonci Zuangua died of the smallpox. He left his sons: Tangaxoan, also called Zinzicha, who was the eldest; Tirimarasco; Hazinchu; and Cuyne.

Antes que los Españoles que estaban en Tlaxcala viniesen á conquistar á México, dio una grande pestilencia de viruelas á todos los Indios en el mes que llamaban Tepeilhvitl que es al fin de setiembre.

Before the Spaniards who were in Tlaxcala came to conquer Mexico, a great pestilence of smallpox struck all the Indians, in the month they called Tepeilhuitl, which is at the end of September.

De esta pestilencia murieron muy muchos Indios: tenian todo el cuerpo y toda la cara, y todos los miembros tan llenos y lastimados de viruelas que no se podian bullir y menear de un lugar, ni volverse de un lado á otro, y si alguno los meneaba daban voces.

Very many Indians died of this pestilence. Their whole bodies, their faces, and all their limbs were so full of pox and so sore that they could not stir or move from where they lay, or turn from one side to the other. If anyone moved them, they cried out.

A propós of distempers, I am going to tell you a thing, that will make you wish yourself here. The small-pox, so fatal, and so general amongst us, is here entirely harmless, by the invention of engrafting, which is the term they give it. There is a set of old women, who make it their business to perform the operation, every autumn, in the month of September, when the great heat is abated. People send to one another to know if any of their family has a mind to have the small pox; they make parties for this purpose, and when they are met (commonly fifteen or sixteen together) the old woman comes with a nut-shell full of the matter of the best sort of small-pox, and asks what veins you please to have open'd. She immediately rips open that, you offer to her, with a large needle (which gives you no more pain than a common scratch) and puts into the vein, as much matter as can lie upon the head of her needle, and after that, binds up the little wound with a hollow bit of shell, and in this manner opens four or five veins. The Grecians have commonly the superstition of opening one in the middle of the forehead, one in each arm, and one on the breast, to mark the sign of the cross; but this has a very ill effect, all these wounds leaving little scars, and is not done by those that are not superstitious, who chuse to have them in the legs, or that part of the arm that is concealed. The children or young patients play together all the rest of the day, and are in perfect health to the eighth. Then the fever begins to seize them, and they keep their beds two days, very seldom three. They have very rarely above twenty or thirty in their faces, which never mark, and in eight days time they are as well as before their illness. Where they are wounded, there remains running sores during the distemper, which I don't doubt is a great relief to it.

Apropos of distempers, I am going to tell you a thing that will make you wish yourself here. The smallpox, so fatal and so general amongst us, is here entirely harmless, by the invention of engrafting, which is the term they give it. There is a set of old women who make it their business to perform the operation every autumn, in the month of September, when the great heat is abated. People send to one another to know if any of their family has a mind to have the smallpox. They make parties for this purpose, and when they are met (commonly fifteen or sixteen together) the old woman comes with a nutshell full of the matter of the best sort of smallpox, and asks what veins you please to have opened. She immediately rips open that you offer to her with a large needle (which gives you no more pain than a common scratch), and puts into the vein as much matter as can lie upon the head of her needle, and after that binds up the little wound with a hollow bit of shell; and in this manner opens four or five veins. The Grecians have commonly the superstition of opening one in the middle of the forehead, one in each arm, and one on the breast, to mark the sign of the cross. But this has a very ill effect, all these wounds leaving little scars, and is not done by those that are not superstitious, who choose to have them in the legs, or that part of the arm that is concealed. The children or young patients play together all the rest of the day, and are in perfect health to the eighth. Then the fever begins to seize them, and they keep their beds two days, very seldom three. They have very rarely above twenty or thirty in their faces, which never mark, and in eight days’ time they are as well as before their illness. Where they are wounded, there remain running sores during the distemper, which I don’t doubt is a great relief to it.

THE Publick having been lately entertained with a very dark and partial Account of this New Method of receiving the Small Pox; and this Account being given as is pretended, from the very Letters of Dr. Timonius and Pylarinus; it is thought reasonable and fitting to lay before the Publick this following Abstract of what those Learned Gentlemen have said of this Practice. But because the Gentleman who only hath these Letters by him, refuses now to lend them; the Account here following is chiefly taken from a known Letter written by a Learned Gentleman of Boston to the Worthy Physicians of the Town.

The public having been lately entertained with a very dark and partial account of this new method of receiving the smallpox; and this account being given as is pretended from the very letters of Dr. Timonius and Pylarinus; it is thought reasonable and fitting to lay before the public this following abstract of what those learned gentlemen have said of this practice. But because the gentleman who only hath these letters by him refuses now to lend them; the account here following is chiefly taken from a known letter written by a learned gentleman of Boston to the worthy physicians of the town.

II. There is at this Time a considerable Number of Africans in this Town, who can have no Conspiracy or Combination to cheat us. No body has instructed them to tell their Story. The more plainly, brokenly, and blunderingly, and like Ideots, they tell their Story, it will be with reasonable Men, but the much more credible. For that these all agree in one Story; "That abundance of poor Negro's die of the Small Pox, till they learn this Way; that People take the Juice of the Small Pox, and Cut the Skin, and put in a drop; then by'nd by a little Sick, then few Small Pox; and no body dye of it: no body have Small Pox any more."

II. There is at this time a considerable number of Africans in this town who can have no conspiracy or combination to cheat us. Nobody has instructed them to tell their story. The more plainly, brokenly, and blunderingly, and like idiots, they tell their story, it will be with reasonable men, but the much more credible. For that these all agree in one story: “That abundance of poor Negroes die of the smallpox, till they learn this way; that people take the juice of the smallpox, and cut the skin, and put in a drop; then by’nd by a little sick, then few smallpox; and nobody die of it: nobody have smallpox any more.”

夫痘胎毒也伏於有形之始因感而𤼵為生人所不能免然其𤼵也或染時氣或感風寒或因飲食或由驚恐以病引病為患多端變更莫測且其間順吉者少險逆者多有千方百計而不能冀其愈於萬一者此其所以為難也

Smallpox is a fetal poison. It lies hidden in the body from the moment the body takes shape, and it breaks out when something sets it off. No one born can escape it. It may break out when a child catches a seasonal qi, or is chilled by wind and cold, or from food and drink, or from a fright. One illness leads to another, the harm takes many forms, and its changes cannot be foreseen. Besides, few cases go smoothly and many are dangerous. In some, a thousand remedies and a hundred plans cannot give one chance in ten thousand of recovery. That is why it is so hard [to treat].

A single pustule is sufficient to secure the constitution from the small-pox; but as we are not always certain the puncture may take effect, it will be prudent to inoculate in both arms, or to make two punctures in the same arm, about an inch and a half asunder, except in very early infancy, when there is a great susceptibility of local irritation.

A single pustule is sufficient to secure the constitution from the smallpox. But as we are not always certain the puncture may take effect, it will be prudent to inoculate in both arms, or to make two punctures in the same arm about an inch and a half asunder, except in very early infancy, when there is a great susceptibility of local irritation.

It is well known that an attack of measles or scarlet fever or smallpox usually protects a person against another attack of the same disease. This appears not to be true of “Spanish influenza.” According to newspaper reports the King of Spain suffered an attack of influenza during the epidemic thirty years ago, and was again stricken during the recent outbreak in Spain.

It is well known that an attack of measles or scarlet fever or smallpox usually protects a person against another attack of the same disease. This appears not to be true of “Spanish influenza.” According to newspaper reports the King of Spain suffered an attack of influenza during the epidemic thirty years ago, and was again stricken during the recent outbreak in Spain.