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   pmiranda2857 Teacher
   High School - 10th Grade

   eNotes Editor

   What do you mean by the obituary?  Are you referring to the overall death toll that took place in 1793 due to Yellow Fever? Or are you referring to the death of Mattie's grandfather?

   The death toll in 1793 from the epidemic that struck Philadelphia resulted in the death of approximately 10% of the population at the time, which was 40,000.  The death of 4,000 people from Yellow Fever decimated almost every family.  People in this time period did not understand how the disease was transmitted.  It was spread through the bite of the mosquito, therefore, once the summer heat rolled into Philadelphia, the mosquitoes would follow.  The fever epidemic would not end until the frost killed all the mosquitoes.

   Even though the people understand that the frost was the key to stopping the spread of the fever, they did not know what, exactly it did to kill the disease.

   The grandfather dies in the book, not from Yellow Fever, but from being beaten up by intruders who break into the Coffeehouse, believing that it is empty.  Grandfather struggles with the thieves, and shortly after that, he dies from both his injuries, weakness from lack of proper nutrition, heart problems and old age.

    

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   Posted by pmiranda2857 on Wednesday August 19, 2009 at 5:55 AM