Mr. Perry to Mr. Seward
Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of despatch No. 31, of July 25th, 1867.
The cholera seems to have completed its ravages in this regency. It began in the middle of March, in so mild a form as to he scarcely recognized till the middle of May. Its first appearance was in a village on the sea-shore, where [Page 109] it was supposed to have been brought by Sicilian smugglers. The physicians Bent to visit the sick and report upon the nature of the disease did not give a distinctive name to the epidemic. Only surmises and fears were entertained. Soon a strange disease appeared in the city, making isolated attacks, many of which proved fatal, especially among children. It continued till the middle of June, without a fixed name, when it was declared to be the Asiatic cholera. It then assumed considerable force, and continued its ravages, varying from day to day, and from week to week, until the middle of August, when it suddenly ceased to be an epidemic, and has since appeared only in isolated cases. The number of deaths from the cholera are variously estimated. The following figures may be regarded as an approximation to the truth: Deaths in Tunis, 6,000 ; in the cities along the coast, 12,000 ; in the cities and among the tribes in the interior of the regency, 20,000 ; total deaths, 38,000, and probably twice this number were attacked by the cholera.
The present sanitary condition of the city and country is pronounced to be good, and already some consuls have begun to issue clean bills of health, though no steamers have yet taken away any passengers, and 15 days’ quarantine are imposed upon all who come from or go to Italy.
The rain fell copiously two days last week, cooling the air, enriching the ground, and encouraging the hope of a good crop of olives this season, and of grain the coming year. Several other causes combine to produce a cheerful public sentiment; the price of grain has greatly fallen within a few weeks; the restoration of good relations between the Bey and the Gebelli tribes gives great satisfaction, and the return of three steamboat loads of the wealthiest class of Tunisian residents, who fled to Europe at the breaking out of the cholera, affords pleasure to their friends and employment and succor to dependents.
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Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.