340 



FLORIDA. 



the beginning of 1887, to $411,300 at the close. 

 The assessed valuation of the State for 1887 

 was $86,265,662, against $76,611,409 for 1886. 

 Education. The following statistics exhibit 

 the condition of the public schools during the 

 school year 1886-'87: 



Whole number of schools, 2,103 ; increase over the 

 year 1835-'86, 184. Total enrollment, 82,453 ; aver- 

 age daily attendance, 51,059 ; increase in daily attend- 

 ance over 1885-'86, 6,246 ; number of white teachers 

 employed, 1,739 ; number of colored teachers em- 

 ployed, 579 ; total amount of funds expended from 

 all sources for school purposes and raised by the State 

 and counties, $449, 299.15; number of white schools 

 operated, 1 ,590 ; number of colored schools operated. 

 51 3 ; value of school property owned by the State ana 

 counties, and used in the school work, $521,500. 



The State normal colleges for each race, 

 established by the last Legislature, were organ- 

 ized and opened in October, 1887, at the be- 

 ginning of tlie school year. The one for white 

 students, at De Funiak Springs, had matricu- 

 lated fifty students during the first three 

 months ; the one for colored students, at Tal- 

 lahassee, received forty students daring the 

 same time. In both of these colleges tuition is 

 entirely free. The State also supports a flour- 

 ishing agricultural college and an institute for 

 blind and deaf mute children, in which there 

 were twenty at the beginning of the year. 



Immigration. The people of the State have 

 formed a State Immigration Association, to aid 

 the State Immigration Commissioner in his 

 work. This association holds annual meetings 

 and elects executive officers for the year. A 

 large meeting was held at Jacksonville in May. 



Yellow Fever. Isolated cases of yellow fever 

 in a mild form appear to have been found at 

 Tampa as early as the autumn of 1887. The 

 disease survived the winter and spring at that 

 place, and, early in the latter season, the cases 

 becoming known to Surgeon-General Hamilton 

 of the Marine Hospital corps, he notified Gov. 

 Perry of the fact, and also publicly announced 

 the existence of the disease in the State. But 

 no heed was paid to this warning, no quaran- 

 tine regulations adopted, and the statement was 

 generally discredited. Meanwhile, during the 

 early summer, one or more cases were always 

 to be found at Tampa, and before August 1 the 

 disease had appeared at Plant City, Manatee, 

 Palmetto, and other small places in the State. 

 There were, however, only a few patients at 

 each place, and the facts were kept from the 

 public prints. The first case came to Jackson- 

 ville from one of these infected localities in the 

 last week of July; but it was not until about 

 August 8 that public announcement of the ex- 

 istence of several cases in the city was made. 

 In a few days more the disease had become epi- 

 demic, twenty-six cases appearing before August 

 15. About thistime reports from Manatee show- 

 ing that there had been twenty-three cases at 

 that place, from Palmetto showing a number of 

 cases, and from other places, were published. 

 There was great excitement throughout the 

 State, and many people living at points not 



threatened, believing that the epidemic would 

 cover the whole State, fled to the North. Jack- 

 sonville in a few days lost nearly half of its 

 population of 30,000, and business was almost 

 entirely suspended. An executive committee of 

 the citizens was chosen to aid the city authori- 

 ties in suppressing or controlling the epidemic, 

 diseased persons were isolated at a hospital out- 

 side the city, infected buildings were burned, 

 cannon were fired, a refugee camp was estab- 

 lished, and other measures were adopted for 

 relief. Nearly all important centers in the 

 South quarantined against the city, and en- 

 forced their regulations strictly. Up to and 

 including Saturday, August 18, 33 cases were 

 reported in the city, and 5 deaths. From this 

 time, in spite of repressive measures, the epi- 

 demic obtained a firmer hold, the number of 

 cases reported each day rapidly increasing. 

 Up to and including August 25 there were 91 

 cases and 12 deaths reported, and to Septem- 

 ber 1, 234 cases and 32 deaths. On August 28 

 the General Government, through the Marine 

 Hospital service, took more open and direct 

 control of quarantine regulations than before, 

 by means of an order of Surgeon-General Ham- 

 ilton establishing a refugee camp, to be known 

 as Carnp Perry, at which all persons from the 

 city should be detained ten days before going 

 to a temporary camp at Waycross, Ga., from 

 which they might proceed northward. No 

 trains were allowed to run from the city, ex- 

 cept to Camp Perry, and a rigid inspection and 

 fumigation of the mails and "baggage was re- 

 quired. A second temporary camp at Live 

 Oaks was established, and those at Dupont 

 and on the Chattahoochee river discontinued. 

 These regulations called forth a protest from 

 the citizens, who at a public meeting on August 

 31 passed resolutions denouncing the action of 

 the Surgeon-General. The latter, in a public 

 letter, justified his course and refused to re- 

 cede. Hitherto offers of assistance from out- 

 side sources had been refused ; but as the in- 

 fected area and the number of cases increased, 

 the citizens found themselves no longer able to 

 meet the exigency, and on September 5 the 

 city authorities issueil a call for pecuniary or 

 other assistance. This was promptly and gen- 

 erously responded to, especially in the Northern 

 cities. Before October 1 more than $200,000 

 had been sent to the unfortunate city. The 

 progress of the epidemic after September 1 is 

 shown by the following figures: Cases up to 

 and including September 8, 555, deaths 66 ; 

 September 15, cases 921, deaths 117; Septem- 

 ber 22, cases 1,878, deaths 212; September 29, 

 cases 2,547, deaths 248 ; October 6, cases 

 3,118, deaths 282; October 13. cases 3,526, 

 deaths 311; October 20, cases 3,767, deaths 

 327; October 27, cases 4,043, deaths 345; No- 

 vember, 3, cases 4,266, deaths 361 ; Novem- 

 ber 10, cases 4,469, deaths 384; November 17, 

 cases 4,601, deaths 392; November 24, cases 

 4,674, deaths 407; December 1, cases 4,697, 

 deaths 410 ; December 8, cases 4,704, deaths 



