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to their back. Other reports said that the flu germs were spread by the Germans. The price of moonshine skyrocketed, as liquor was reputed to be a cure for the disease. Other remedies were chewing tobacco, putting sulfur in shoes, removing teeth and tonsils, and patented remedies like Borden’s malted milk, Gude’s Pepto-Mangan and Phez-Pure Juice of the Loganberry.
Hardest hit were the cities. In Washington, D.C. - that city built on a swamp - Congress went home, the Supreme Court adjourned, and undertakers were stationed at the back door of hospitals to make room quickly for new admissions.
In New York, a furious Buffalo health commissioner took over the job of making coffins as reports came back of outrageous overcharges by coffin-makers.
In Atlanta, landlords evicted tenants as soon as they became ill; in Baltimore a horrified H.L. Mencken wrote about the crunch of the undertaker’s wagons past his home.
But for every story of illgotten profit from the misery of the flu, there are many stories of unselfishness and sacrifice. In Rappahannock, of course, memories of the flu include the untiring devotion of families, neighbors and country doctors.
When the long ordeal ended, over 21,000,000 souls world wide had perished from the disease -10,000,000 more than those claimed by World War I. One percent of the world’s population had been wiped out.
89.4%