Volume 17 , Issue 11

1915 - Witch In N.Y. (Typhoid Mary Mallon)

In The Tacoma Times, dated Tuesday, 6 April 1915, there was an interesting article on the front page that reported: "Witch In N.Y." K. W. Payne wrote the article about a Witch. In the Twentieth century, in the metropolis of America, in New York, they had captured a witch. Are you one of those that finds this weird? Read on.

New York, April 6 (1915) -- More weird that the wildest fairy tale, more strange than the annuals of Salem witchcraft, was the story of her career. The history of the mysterious woman who had just been exiled for life to a lonely hut on a dreary little island far uptake East river.

That early twentieth century witch, "Typhoid Mary" Mallon, was up to date with a vengeance. Legendary witches of old used to build red fires under ugly to build red fires under cauldrons and brew deadly potions.

But poor "Typhoid Mary" Mallon, all unwillingly however, used far more scientific and more fateful magic. She required no cauldron. She manufactured within herself the evil potions which she spread about the community. She was connately producing alimonies of virulent typhoid fever germs.

Five years before (1910) she was isolated by the New York health authors. She was released on a promise to remain constantly under surveillance, but she broke away, and caused several new outbreaks of typhoid before she was again captured.

In 1915, April the health department had decided to take drastic measures. "Typhoid Mary" had been secretly conveyed to a brick hut on North Brother Island, a bleak piece of land way up the East River far above Hell Gate.

They reported that the Commissioner Goldwater, head of the health department, stated, "It probably means exile for life." In the fall of 1906 a mysterious outbreak of typhoid had occurred in the summer cottage rented by a New York banker on Long Island. Six persons in his family were taken with the disease.

After a dozen experts had failed to account for the epidemic they called Dr. George A. Soper, famous sanitary engineer, who had had charge of cleaning up Galveston after the flood, when, in his own words, "8,000 bodies lay festering int he sun. It took four months of hard detective work before Dr. Soper discovered the source of the epidemic, which was "Typhoid Mary" Mallon.

She had been the cook in the family that summer. Dr. Soper, tracing her career back through previous employments, found that she had caused seven big epidemics in the space of 10 years. Though perfectly well herself, "Typhoid Mary" had produced up to that time at least 26 serious cases of typhoid fever, several of which were fatal.

One of her most serious epidemics was at Dark Harbor, Maine, in the summer household of the well known society leader, Mrs. Coleman Drayton. Here nine severe cases developed.

Mary Mallon was isolated on North Brother Island. Later she was proved but disappeared. That was in 1910.

About a month ago, March, 1915, an epidemic of typhoid spread like wildfire through the Sloane Maternity hospital, in New York. Twenty-six persons were stricken. Two of them died. The health department discovered that Mary Mallon had been working there under an alias.

Inspectors were put upon her trail, and she was located April, 1915 in a house at Corons, Long Island.
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