December 1885~

Rebekah here.  Rebekah Goings.  I am afraid I am not doing well at all:  our youngest child, Patrick Eugene, has died, joining my beloved Ebeziah and my mother-in-law, Anna, in Heaven; they are now with the Lord Jesus.

Patrick died last week.  He suffered badly; it was terrifying hearing him gasping for air and seeing him alternate between shaking chills and burning fever that consumed his tiny, frail frame.  The doctor (Dr. Thomas) came more than once, trying to help him, but to no avail:  Patrick died anyway.  He was only six years old.

I only have one child left:  my eight-year-old son, Quillon Lachlan.  What's to say that this disease -- this epidemic typhus -- won't strike him next??  I've been doing everything I can to keep him indoors, to keep him safe from the illness that continues to rage in the countryside like a unseen deadly fog that seems to consume everything in its path!

Every day I hear of more sufferage, of more people dying.  Seems that nothing can be done to stop the typhus outbreak:  the doctors' patience is wearing thin, and it seems that there are many more patients than doctors.  People of all ages, walks of life, social classes, are dying at a rapid rate; it is terrifying to see the headlines in the paper:  "Typhus Epidemic Has Killed 30 More People!" Or: "Deadly Epidemic Rages Through The City!"

I am about to go mad with grief.  I don't know what to do to keep my remaining son safe; I've already lost a husband, a mother-in-law, and a child, my youngest!  He was just six years old; he hadn't even really begun to live!  I am terrified to send Quillon to school or outside to play; as long as this disease continues to strike (or kill) more people, nobody is safe!

My neighbors, the Neilsens, are all dead:  Ebenezer.  Anna Grace.  Grace.  Molly.  Michael-John.  Carrie.  Even Seth.  Typhus wiped this family out.  I am terrified to go into their yard for fear that there might be dead bodies or typhus germs around; I can't take any chances.  Other neighbors (the Wilsons, the Renfroes, the Freemans, the Oppllingers) have also suffered terrible losses due to the epidemic; seems that our community is getting smaller and smaller as the disease continues to wipe people off the face of the earth ...

Christmas is due in a few weeks; we are feeling anything but merry as we continue to come to grips with the typhus epidemic; there's no telling how many more people will sicken or die ... if there is anything I want for Christmas, it's for God to bring my family back; I miss them so much ...  I also want this epidemic to stop; I don't think I can stand too much more tragedy; I've already seen far too much as it is now ...

*to be continued.*