1 00:00:01,333 --> 00:00:05,366 ♪ ♪ 2 00:00:09,933 --> 00:00:12,376 (distant rumbling) 3 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:18,309 ♪ ♪ 4 00:00:18,333 --> 00:00:22,576 NARRATOR: January 20, 1900. 5 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:26,376 The skies above Oahu were black with smoke. 6 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:29,176 {\an8}(fire crackling) 7 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:31,342 {\an8}Bubonic plague had been discovered 8 00:00:31,366 --> 00:00:34,042 {\an7}in Honolulu's Chinatown 9 00:00:34,066 --> 00:00:37,776 {\an7}and panicked health officials were doing everything they could 10 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:41,842 {\an1}to try to stop the spread. 11 00:00:41,866 --> 00:00:45,709 DAVID MORENS: In those days, they didn't really understand 12 00:00:45,733 --> 00:00:50,342 {\an1}how plague was transmitted, so the public health approach 13 00:00:50,366 --> 00:00:51,742 was isolate people. 14 00:00:51,766 --> 00:00:55,276 {\an1}They would wall off a whole area with police and checkpoints 15 00:00:55,300 --> 00:00:57,709 {\an1}and wouldn't let anybody in or out. 16 00:00:57,733 --> 00:00:59,042 {\an1}But if they couldn't stop the problem, 17 00:00:59,066 --> 00:01:01,342 {\an1}they would often do targeted burnings of buildings. 18 00:01:01,366 --> 00:01:03,576 (hose spraying, people shouting in background) 19 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:04,842 {\an1}Their point of view is, 20 00:01:04,866 --> 00:01:06,342 {\an1}you know, "We don't care what you do. 21 00:01:06,366 --> 00:01:08,009 "If you have to burn the place down, 22 00:01:08,033 --> 00:01:10,476 {\an1}just make sure that you contain this epidemic." 23 00:01:10,500 --> 00:01:13,242 ♪ ♪ 24 00:01:13,266 --> 00:01:16,009 NARRATOR: Desperate residents fled their burning homes 25 00:01:16,033 --> 00:01:19,476 as the fire spiraled out of control. 26 00:01:19,500 --> 00:01:21,242 (people shouting) 27 00:01:21,266 --> 00:01:24,309 {\an1}And mobs of white residents stood by 28 00:01:24,333 --> 00:01:29,076 {\an1}with clubs and revolvers... Threatening to kill any Asian 29 00:01:29,100 --> 00:01:33,642 {\an1}who tried to skirt the exit lane out of the quarantine zone. 30 00:01:33,666 --> 00:01:37,209 ♪ ♪ 31 00:01:37,233 --> 00:01:38,809 {\an1}(fire crackling, water spraying) 32 00:01:38,833 --> 00:01:42,809 NAYAN SHAH: This is the Black Plague of the Middle Ages that wiped out 33 00:01:42,833 --> 00:01:44,509 {\an1}one-third of the population in Europe. 34 00:01:44,533 --> 00:01:46,509 {\an8}♪ ♪ 35 00:01:46,533 --> 00:01:49,976 {\an1}So, we have this sense if it wasn't stopped, 36 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:52,766 {\an1}the consequences would be unbearable. 37 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,242 NARRATOR: The fires burned for 17 days 38 00:01:59,266 --> 00:02:02,942 {\an1}and left nearly all of Chinatown in ashes. 39 00:02:02,966 --> 00:02:07,333 {\an7}4,500 of its residents were homeless. 40 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:13,042 {\an1}The most feared disease in history, 41 00:02:13,066 --> 00:02:17,176 bubonic plague, was an unsolved mystery. 42 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:20,742 {\an1}It had decimated the populations of Europe and North Africa 43 00:02:20,766 --> 00:02:25,309 {\an1}in two separate pandemics over hundreds of years, 44 00:02:25,333 --> 00:02:29,109 {\an1}and the third was now raging across Asia. 45 00:02:29,133 --> 00:02:31,842 ♪ ♪ 46 00:02:31,866 --> 00:02:33,709 {\an1}This was the start of the steamship era. 47 00:02:33,733 --> 00:02:35,576 {\an1}So now disease and people and goods 48 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:39,409 {\an1}can travel around the world incredibly quickly. 49 00:02:39,433 --> 00:02:44,042 {\an1}And the bubonic plague spreads along Hong Kong, 50 00:02:44,066 --> 00:02:46,409 spreads to Japan, it spreads to India, 51 00:02:46,433 --> 00:02:48,142 {\an7}and millions of people start dying. 52 00:02:48,166 --> 00:02:51,109 {\an8}♪ ♪ 53 00:02:51,133 --> 00:02:54,142 {\an1}At that time, there was still a medieval sense of what 54 00:02:54,166 --> 00:02:55,342 this disease was 55 00:02:55,366 --> 00:02:56,909 {\an1}and how it was spread. 56 00:02:56,933 --> 00:03:00,642 {\an1}Many people thought it was "miasma"... bad air... 57 00:03:00,666 --> 00:03:03,342 {\an1}or it was simply a disease of filth. 58 00:03:03,366 --> 00:03:06,076 ♪ ♪ 59 00:03:06,100 --> 00:03:08,642 {\an1}Other people thought that this is only a disease 60 00:03:08,666 --> 00:03:10,509 of rice eaters. 61 00:03:10,533 --> 00:03:13,366 ♪ ♪ 62 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:22,509 NARRATOR: Racism and ignorance were already in the air 63 00:03:22,533 --> 00:03:26,209 {\an1}as the bubonic plague made its silent way across the Pacific. 64 00:03:26,233 --> 00:03:28,676 ♪ ♪ 65 00:03:28,700 --> 00:03:33,542 {\an1}It would arrive in North America for the first time in history 66 00:03:33,566 --> 00:03:39,042 {\an1}where it would spark nationwide terror, denial, and blame. 67 00:03:39,066 --> 00:03:42,009 ♪ ♪ 68 00:03:42,033 --> 00:03:44,909 {\an1}Two men would try to stop it, 69 00:03:44,933 --> 00:03:48,209 {\an1}struggling with not only the scientific unknowns, 70 00:03:48,233 --> 00:03:54,633 {\an1}but unanticipated forces of politics, commerce, and race. 71 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:09,666 (seagulls squawking, waves lapping) 72 00:04:16,966 --> 00:04:22,100 {\an8}♪ ♪ 73 00:04:26,266 --> 00:04:31,400 {\an8}(seagull squawking) 74 00:04:35,900 --> 00:04:41,033 {\an8}♪ ♪ 75 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:46,276 NARRATOR: June 28, 1899: 76 00:04:46,300 --> 00:04:50,309 {\an1}in the cold morning fog, a lone Italian crab fisherman 77 00:04:50,333 --> 00:04:53,200 {\an1}made an unsettling discovery. 78 00:04:54,433 --> 00:04:58,742 {\an1}Two bodies were floating face down in San Francisco Bay. 79 00:04:58,766 --> 00:05:03,909 ♪ ♪ 80 00:05:03,933 --> 00:05:06,976 {\an1}The previous morning, the Japanese steamship, 81 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:11,576 {\an1}the Nippon Maru, had arrived in San Francisco from Hong Kong, 82 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:16,066 {\an1}stopping at Shanghai, Yokohama, and then Honolulu. 83 00:05:19,100 --> 00:05:23,342 Ominously, she flew a yellow flag: 84 00:05:23,366 --> 00:05:26,476 {\an1}the international signal indicating disease. 85 00:05:26,500 --> 00:05:31,442 ♪ ♪ 86 00:05:31,466 --> 00:05:37,109 {\an8}MARILYN CHASE: When the Nippon Maru entered San Francisco Bay, 87 00:05:37,133 --> 00:05:38,942 {\an8}two stowaways, 88 00:05:38,966 --> 00:05:42,109 who evidently were ill, jumped overboard 89 00:05:42,133 --> 00:05:43,642 {\an8}into the bay waters. 90 00:05:43,666 --> 00:05:45,742 {\an7}And when their bodies were recovered, 91 00:05:45,766 --> 00:05:50,133 {\an1}the local doctors found them to be suspicious. 92 00:05:51,633 --> 00:05:54,642 NARRATOR: Unnerved by both their autopsy findings 93 00:05:54,666 --> 00:05:58,109 and recent reports of plague in Asia, 94 00:05:58,133 --> 00:06:00,609 {\an7}the city doctors immediately sent their results 95 00:06:00,633 --> 00:06:04,742 {\an1}to Joseph Kinyoun, the nation's foremost plague authority, 96 00:06:04,766 --> 00:06:08,109 {\an1}and the newly appointed head of the Marine Hospital Service 97 00:06:08,133 --> 00:06:11,342 {\an1}on nearby Angel Island. 98 00:06:11,366 --> 00:06:14,776 CHASE: Angel Island in San Francisco Bay 99 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:17,942 {\an1}had a quarantine station where cargoes and passengers 100 00:06:17,966 --> 00:06:21,842 {\an1}were checked for all kinds of disease by the doctors 101 00:06:21,866 --> 00:06:24,642 {\an1}of the Marine Hospital Service. 102 00:06:24,666 --> 00:06:26,442 ♪ ♪ 103 00:06:26,466 --> 00:06:29,376 NARRATOR: The Marine Hospital Service had been established 104 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:32,609 30 years earlier to treat sick seamen. 105 00:06:32,633 --> 00:06:34,976 (indistinct chatter in background) 106 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,442 {\an1}But the idea of "public health" had since evolved into a matter 107 00:06:38,466 --> 00:06:40,633 of national concern. 108 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:47,842 {\an1}The MHS was now charged with fighting the spread of epidemics 109 00:06:47,866 --> 00:06:51,509 {\an1}using federal powers of quarantine and surveillance. 110 00:06:51,533 --> 00:06:54,842 ♪ ♪ 111 00:06:54,866 --> 00:06:57,909 RANDALL: Their main responsibility was protecting the people 112 00:06:57,933 --> 00:06:59,876 of the United States 113 00:06:59,900 --> 00:07:01,842 {\an7}from the spread of disease around the world. 114 00:07:01,866 --> 00:07:04,576 {\an7}So, there were Marine Hospital Service officers stationed 115 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:06,942 {\an7}in Rome, in London, in Asia. 116 00:07:06,966 --> 00:07:09,776 ♪ ♪ 117 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:11,842 NARRATOR: Just weeks into his posting, 118 00:07:11,866 --> 00:07:15,942 {\an1}Kinyoun knew better than anyone that hospitals around the world 119 00:07:15,966 --> 00:07:19,976 {\an1}were reporting 90% death rates from the plague. 120 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:23,042 {\an1}And that millions had already perished from a pandemic 121 00:07:23,066 --> 00:07:28,442 {\an1}that had been raging since the 1850s. 122 00:07:28,466 --> 00:07:30,376 {\an1}Although no one knew why, 123 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:35,542 {\an1}rats and filth had long been associated with plague. 124 00:07:35,566 --> 00:07:39,542 Kinyoun ordered the "Nippon Maru" to be disinfected 125 00:07:39,566 --> 00:07:42,609 {\an1}and checked for vermin before having all 55 passengers 126 00:07:42,633 --> 00:07:44,733 {\an1}quarantined on Angel Island. 127 00:07:46,533 --> 00:07:49,076 ♪ ♪ 128 00:07:49,100 --> 00:07:52,509 Then he faced the most critical step of all: 129 00:07:52,533 --> 00:07:56,166 {\an1}determining how the men had died. 130 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:03,076 JOSEPH HOUTS JR.: Kinyoun suspected plague. 131 00:08:03,100 --> 00:08:05,242 {\an1}And there was a little rattle in the papers. 132 00:08:05,266 --> 00:08:09,100 ♪ ♪ 133 00:08:11,333 --> 00:08:15,666 {\an1}Well, Kinyoun thought the bodies were too far gone. 134 00:08:17,633 --> 00:08:21,509 {\an1}There wasn't definitive proof. 135 00:08:21,533 --> 00:08:23,209 {\an8}So the press kind of backed away, 136 00:08:23,233 --> 00:08:25,609 {\an8}Kinyoun backed away, and everybody backed away. 137 00:08:25,633 --> 00:08:28,976 ♪ ♪ 138 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:33,042 NARRATOR: A positive diagnosis would be calamitous. 139 00:08:33,066 --> 00:08:36,376 {\an1}But the condition of the tissue samples and decomposed bodies 140 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:40,133 {\an1}made forensic confirmation impossible. 141 00:08:41,766 --> 00:08:45,309 {\an1}Without scientific proof, Kinyoun could not assert 142 00:08:45,333 --> 00:08:48,476 {\an1}that plague had arrived. 143 00:08:48,500 --> 00:08:51,476 Yet his years of rigorous training had taught him 144 00:08:51,500 --> 00:08:55,609 to remain alert. 145 00:08:55,633 --> 00:09:00,866 ♪ ♪ 146 00:09:06,166 --> 00:09:09,376 CHASE: Joseph Kinyoun was a star. 147 00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:12,966 {\an1}He was beautifully educated. 148 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:18,642 {\an1}He had studied with the best scientists in the world 149 00:09:18,666 --> 00:09:22,442 {\an1}to learn the state-of-the-art methods 150 00:09:22,466 --> 00:09:25,666 {\an1}of diagnosing infectious diseases. 151 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:30,276 {\an1}Then, at the age of 27, 152 00:09:30,300 --> 00:09:34,242 while he was at the Hygienic Laboratory in New York, 153 00:09:34,266 --> 00:09:37,209 {\an1}he diagnosed the first case 154 00:09:37,233 --> 00:09:41,542 {\an1}of cholera with the new bacteriologic tests 155 00:09:41,566 --> 00:09:43,676 {\an1}in the Western Hemisphere. 156 00:09:43,700 --> 00:09:48,833 {\an1}He was truly the elite of American scientists. 157 00:09:51,666 --> 00:09:56,609 NARRATOR: But Kinyoun's meteoric rise was interrupted by personal tragedy. 158 00:09:56,633 --> 00:10:00,642 ♪ ♪ 159 00:10:00,666 --> 00:10:04,609 TRISH REEVES: Joe and Elizabeth Kinyoun's daughter died of diphtheria 160 00:10:04,633 --> 00:10:08,542 at the age of three. 161 00:10:08,566 --> 00:10:11,442 {\an7}It's a terrible disease to die from, 162 00:10:11,466 --> 00:10:13,542 {\an7}and it must be devastating for a parent. 163 00:10:13,566 --> 00:10:18,876 ♪ ♪ 164 00:10:18,900 --> 00:10:21,409 RANDALL: Diphtheria at the time was one of the most devastating 165 00:10:21,433 --> 00:10:23,942 childhood diseases. 166 00:10:23,966 --> 00:10:28,142 {\an1}So, Kinyoun goes to Germany to work with Robert Koch, 167 00:10:28,166 --> 00:10:33,009 {\an1}who had discovered these cures for diphtheria. 168 00:10:33,033 --> 00:10:35,709 {\an8}And he can't believe his own eyes, 169 00:10:35,733 --> 00:10:38,776 {\an7}seeing these kids recover as if by magic. 170 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:39,876 {\an7}And he can't help but believe 171 00:10:39,900 --> 00:10:41,276 {\an1}that he's seeing his own daughter's face 172 00:10:41,300 --> 00:10:42,609 {\an1}on all of these children. 173 00:10:42,633 --> 00:10:45,009 {\an1}And that really gives him this idea that medicine 174 00:10:45,033 --> 00:10:46,209 {\an1}can conquer anything. 175 00:10:46,233 --> 00:10:50,542 ♪ ♪ 176 00:10:50,566 --> 00:10:53,742 NARRATOR: Kinyoun was fueled by not just a new sense of purpose 177 00:10:53,766 --> 00:10:56,809 but of possibility. 178 00:10:56,833 --> 00:11:01,342 ♪ ♪ 179 00:11:01,366 --> 00:11:03,942 DAVID MORENS: Joseph James Kinyoun, 180 00:11:03,966 --> 00:11:05,909 {\an7}he was a very unique guy from the day he set foot 181 00:11:05,933 --> 00:11:07,009 {\an7}in the Marine Hospital Service. 182 00:11:07,033 --> 00:11:10,242 {\an1}He was fascinated by technology. 183 00:11:10,266 --> 00:11:12,509 {\an1}He taught himself photography and radiology, 184 00:11:12,533 --> 00:11:16,442 {\an1}which was a new technique around the turn of the century. 185 00:11:16,466 --> 00:11:17,842 He was an inventor. 186 00:11:17,866 --> 00:11:21,642 {\an1}And he invented an enormous number of machines and devices 187 00:11:21,666 --> 00:11:25,242 {\an1}to steam sterilize, for example, or chemically sterilize. 188 00:11:25,266 --> 00:11:27,942 Any new technique, he was just in love with 189 00:11:27,966 --> 00:11:30,509 {\an1}and he wanted to master it. 190 00:11:30,533 --> 00:11:33,542 {\an1}He was an early adopter of ideas. 191 00:11:33,566 --> 00:11:36,009 ♪ ♪ 192 00:11:36,033 --> 00:11:40,309 NARRATOR: The 39-year old scientist had already proven himself a leader 193 00:11:40,333 --> 00:11:43,142 {\an1}in the fledgling fields of microbiology 194 00:11:43,166 --> 00:11:45,033 {\an1}and infectious diseases. 195 00:11:47,766 --> 00:11:51,376 {\an1}Once in D.C., Kinyoun developed the Hygienic Laboratory 196 00:11:51,400 --> 00:11:54,542 {\an1}into a national state-of-the-art research center, 197 00:11:54,566 --> 00:11:57,942 {\an1}which supported the MHS by identifying diseases 198 00:11:57,966 --> 00:12:02,133 and controlling epidemic outbreaks. 199 00:12:05,333 --> 00:12:10,309 CHASE: Dr. Joseph Kinyoun loved the National Hygienic Lab. 200 00:12:10,333 --> 00:12:14,142 {\an1}He and his young family loved the finer East Coast living 201 00:12:14,166 --> 00:12:18,433 {\an1}and the cream of scientific society in Washington D.C. 202 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:23,642 {\an1}However, Walter Wyman, 203 00:12:23,666 --> 00:12:27,009 {\an1}the surgeon general of the Marine Hospital Service, 204 00:12:27,033 --> 00:12:29,709 {\an1}his eye was on the West Coast, 205 00:12:29,733 --> 00:12:31,042 {\an1}where he feared plague would be entering 206 00:12:31,066 --> 00:12:34,409 and he transferred the young Joseph Kinyoun 207 00:12:34,433 --> 00:12:39,876 {\an1}to San Francisco to run the Angel Island quarantine station. 208 00:12:39,900 --> 00:12:41,409 (wind whipping) 209 00:12:41,433 --> 00:12:46,842 {\an1}And, of course, Kinyoun was not pleased about being dispatched 210 00:12:46,866 --> 00:12:50,909 {\an1}to what he thought was this frontier outpost. 211 00:12:50,933 --> 00:12:55,342 NARRATOR: The MHS quarantine station on Angel Island 212 00:12:55,366 --> 00:13:00,309 {\an1}in the middle of San Francisco Bay was a jumble of filthy 213 00:13:00,333 --> 00:13:01,942 {\an1}and neglected buildings. 214 00:13:01,966 --> 00:13:04,876 (birds chirping) 215 00:13:04,900 --> 00:13:07,642 {\an1}Kinyoun now had to contend with a workplace 216 00:13:07,666 --> 00:13:11,509 {\an1}that was completely unsuitable to the urgent task at hand... 217 00:13:11,533 --> 00:13:15,400 {\an1}protecting the nation from a deadly epidemic. 218 00:13:19,033 --> 00:13:21,242 MORENS: The Marine Hospital Service 219 00:13:21,266 --> 00:13:23,842 was a uniform branch of the United States government. 220 00:13:23,866 --> 00:13:28,376 And Kinyoun himself, he's a very military guy. 221 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:31,576 {\an1}He always followed orders, and he did what he was told, 222 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:32,909 {\an1}and didn't complain about it. 223 00:13:32,933 --> 00:13:34,942 {\an1}He was clearly the best man for the job. 224 00:13:34,966 --> 00:13:36,309 {\an1}He probably knew that. 225 00:13:36,333 --> 00:13:40,476 {\an1}So, as everything else, he threw himself into it 100%. 226 00:13:40,500 --> 00:13:43,609 ♪ ♪ (birds squawking) 227 00:13:43,633 --> 00:13:46,909 NARRATOR: From the moment Kinyoun assumed his post in California, 228 00:13:46,933 --> 00:13:51,576 {\an1}he had been on high alert for plague. 229 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:56,309 {\an1}San Francisco was not only the busiest port on the West Coast, 230 00:13:56,333 --> 00:14:00,242 {\an1}but connected by rail to the rest of the country. 231 00:14:00,266 --> 00:14:05,042 {\an1}It was terrifyingly well-placed to spread disease far and wide. 232 00:14:05,066 --> 00:14:08,142 ♪ ♪ 233 00:14:08,166 --> 00:14:11,976 {\an1}To miss even a single diagnosis could be cataclysmic. 234 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:16,609 ♪ ♪ 235 00:14:16,633 --> 00:14:19,676 SHAH: Joseph Kinyoun is really intent 236 00:14:19,700 --> 00:14:24,200 {\an1}on checking every ship from Asia. 237 00:14:26,333 --> 00:14:31,142 {\an1}Because after bubonic plague emerges in Honolulu, 238 00:14:31,166 --> 00:14:32,309 and is discovered 239 00:14:32,333 --> 00:14:34,276 {\an1}in the Chinese quarter, 240 00:14:34,300 --> 00:14:38,042 it becomes kind of a confirmation bias. 241 00:14:38,066 --> 00:14:41,076 {\an1}It was only going to affect Chinese people. 242 00:14:41,100 --> 00:14:44,509 {\an1}That one could contain it in some way. 243 00:14:44,533 --> 00:14:46,042 And that set up 244 00:14:46,066 --> 00:14:48,176 {\an8}a terrible dynamic. 245 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:51,842 {\an7}It only percolated more fear, more confusion, 246 00:14:51,866 --> 00:14:53,209 {\an1}more misunderstanding. 247 00:14:53,233 --> 00:14:58,866 {\an1}And all eyes were targeted on a Chinese source. 248 00:15:01,266 --> 00:15:03,842 {\an1}(traditional Chinese music playing) 249 00:15:03,866 --> 00:15:08,176 {\an7}(firecrackers popping) 250 00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:12,633 (music continues) 251 00:15:14,366 --> 00:15:18,909 ♪ ♪ 252 00:15:18,933 --> 00:15:20,842 NARRATOR: As the 20th century dawned, 253 00:15:20,866 --> 00:15:23,209 everyone celebrated. 254 00:15:23,233 --> 00:15:25,209 ♪ ♪ 255 00:15:25,233 --> 00:15:29,866 {\an1}And no place had more optimistic swagger than San Francisco. 256 00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:35,376 It was home to one out of every four people 257 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:37,376 {\an1}who lived west of the Rockies. 258 00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:39,076 ♪ ♪ 259 00:15:39,100 --> 00:15:41,676 {\an1}A third of the nation's money west of the Mississippi 260 00:15:41,700 --> 00:15:43,909 {\an1}flowed through her banks. 261 00:15:43,933 --> 00:15:48,842 {\an1}The city was a trading hub, the portal to the east, 262 00:15:48,866 --> 00:15:52,209 {\an7}and the diamond in the crown of a state already rich 263 00:15:52,233 --> 00:15:54,333 {\an7}with natural resources. 264 00:15:56,700 --> 00:16:00,366 {\an1}It truly was the city of the future. 265 00:16:02,500 --> 00:16:05,542 CHASE: As a Gold Rush boom town, 266 00:16:05,566 --> 00:16:08,609 {\an1}San Francisco had new money. 267 00:16:08,633 --> 00:16:11,076 {\an1}It had three opera houses, 268 00:16:11,100 --> 00:16:15,409 {\an1}railroad and mining tycoons living in palaces on Nob Hill, 269 00:16:15,433 --> 00:16:19,042 {\an7}and a new cable car system. 270 00:16:19,066 --> 00:16:20,676 {\an7}(cable car bells clanging) 271 00:16:20,700 --> 00:16:25,609 {\an1}San Francisco in 1900 aspired to be 272 00:16:25,633 --> 00:16:27,909 {\an1}the Paris of the Pacific coast. 273 00:16:27,933 --> 00:16:32,242 (people chattering) 274 00:16:32,266 --> 00:16:35,509 NARRATOR: Nearly six percent of the city's population lived in 275 00:16:35,533 --> 00:16:40,009 a 12-block district. 276 00:16:40,033 --> 00:16:44,142 HARRY CHUCK: Chinatown is home and it always will be. 277 00:16:44,166 --> 00:16:45,576 My mother was born in the year 1900 278 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:48,842 {\an1}in San Francisco's Chinatown. 279 00:16:48,866 --> 00:16:52,942 {\an1}And she lived in Chinatown throughout her entire life. 280 00:16:52,966 --> 00:16:55,609 {\an1}Because they didn't have any choices. 281 00:16:55,633 --> 00:17:01,576 {\an7}They were not permitted to move outside of the neighborhood. 282 00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:04,842 {\an1}Things were red lined, there was discrimination, 283 00:17:04,866 --> 00:17:07,300 and people were very stereotyped. 284 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:13,676 MAE NGAI: Chinatowns primarily exist because Chinese weren't allowed 285 00:17:13,700 --> 00:17:17,242 {\an1}to live in white neighborhoods or any other neighborhood. 286 00:17:17,266 --> 00:17:22,276 ♪ ♪ 287 00:17:22,300 --> 00:17:25,176 {\an7}They are what sociologists call ethnic enclaves, 288 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:28,476 {\an7}where people like to live with people who speak their language, 289 00:17:28,500 --> 00:17:33,009 {\an1}or eat similar foods, or practice the same religion. 290 00:17:33,033 --> 00:17:37,076 {\an1}But they're also confining. 291 00:17:37,100 --> 00:17:42,276 {\an1}So, Chinatowns are a combination of ethnic solidarity 292 00:17:42,300 --> 00:17:46,066 and discrimination and exclusion. 293 00:17:49,433 --> 00:17:53,942 ♪ ♪ 294 00:17:53,966 --> 00:17:59,209 NARRATOR: As the Year of the Rat dawned on January 31, 1900, 295 00:17:59,233 --> 00:18:04,309 {\an1}shop owners in Chinatown began noticing a disturbing sight: 296 00:18:04,333 --> 00:18:05,976 {\an1}rat carcasses littered 297 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:08,133 {\an1}the district's alleys and courtyards. 298 00:18:11,766 --> 00:18:15,409 {\an8}And for 41-year-old Wong Chut King, 299 00:18:15,433 --> 00:18:18,576 {\an7}something was definitely wrong. 300 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:20,476 {\an8}A worker in a nearby lumber yard, 301 00:18:20,500 --> 00:18:25,142 {\an1}Wong lived in the Globe Hotel on DuPont Avenue, 302 00:18:25,166 --> 00:18:27,609 {\an1}the main artery of Chinatown. 303 00:18:27,633 --> 00:18:30,800 ♪ ♪ 304 00:18:33,766 --> 00:18:36,409 RANDALL: He shared one bed with two other men. 305 00:18:36,433 --> 00:18:40,442 {\an1}They'd take turns sleeping. 306 00:18:40,466 --> 00:18:44,033 {\an1}It was really a meager existence of survival. 307 00:18:46,166 --> 00:18:49,209 He, like many people who came from China, 308 00:18:49,233 --> 00:18:50,342 expected their time 309 00:18:50,366 --> 00:18:52,676 {\an1}in San Francisco to be short-lived. 310 00:18:52,700 --> 00:18:54,542 They come, they make a lot of money, 311 00:18:54,566 --> 00:18:57,876 {\an1}then they go back home a wealthy man. 312 00:18:57,900 --> 00:19:01,066 That didn't play out for almost all of them. 313 00:19:02,833 --> 00:19:04,542 ♪ ♪ 314 00:19:04,566 --> 00:19:07,576 NARRATOR: For several weeks, Wong Chut King struggled with 315 00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:10,542 {\an1}mounting fever, exhaustion, 316 00:19:10,566 --> 00:19:13,800 {\an1}and painfully swollen lymph nodes, or "buboes." 317 00:19:15,933 --> 00:19:18,776 {\an1}Because city hospitals were closed to the Chinese, 318 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:22,442 {\an1}he sought traditional Chinese remedies, 319 00:19:22,466 --> 00:19:25,209 {\an1}but nothing seemed to help. 320 00:19:25,233 --> 00:19:29,776 {\an1}Eventually, he was too sick to move. 321 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:31,076 RANDALL: His roommates, 322 00:19:31,100 --> 00:19:32,376 {\an1}they see that he's dying. 323 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:34,609 {\an1}They take him to a local, you know, what was called 324 00:19:34,633 --> 00:19:35,842 {\an1}a Hall of Tranquility. 325 00:19:35,866 --> 00:19:39,033 ♪ ♪ 326 00:19:43,066 --> 00:19:47,209 GUENTER RISSE: The Chinese have a holistic view. 327 00:19:47,233 --> 00:19:51,642 {\an1}They believe that when they die, 328 00:19:51,666 --> 00:19:56,776 {\an1}their spirit needs to be tended to. 329 00:19:56,800 --> 00:19:59,776 And the remains 330 00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:02,876 {\an7}had to be brought back because of their view 331 00:20:02,900 --> 00:20:07,600 {\an7}that the ancestors played a great role in the afterlife. 332 00:20:10,900 --> 00:20:14,876 NGAI: One of the sources of mistrust between the community 333 00:20:14,900 --> 00:20:18,342 {\an1}and Western doctors was a very different view of 334 00:20:18,366 --> 00:20:21,042 life and death. 335 00:20:21,066 --> 00:20:26,842 {\an1}The body should not be cut, autopsies were anathema, 336 00:20:26,866 --> 00:20:30,776 {\an1}one's soul had to return to one's home village. 337 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:33,066 {\an1}So the Chinese were very careful. 338 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:38,209 CHASE: So, it was a quiet affair. 339 00:20:38,233 --> 00:20:41,276 {\an1}And Wong Chut King died alone, 340 00:20:41,300 --> 00:20:44,109 {\an8}on March 6, 1900. 341 00:20:44,133 --> 00:20:51,976 ♪ ♪ 342 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:55,309 (bell rings, horse hooves clomping) 343 00:20:55,333 --> 00:20:59,376 NARRATOR: State law required a physician to issue a death certificate 344 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:03,409 {\an1}so a health inspector was summoned to examine the body. 345 00:21:03,433 --> 00:21:05,576 (horse whinnying) 346 00:21:05,600 --> 00:21:09,042 {\an8}He notices a bubo in, in Wong Chut King's groin 347 00:21:09,066 --> 00:21:12,109 {\an7}and he jumps back because he does know what this is. 348 00:21:12,133 --> 00:21:15,642 {\an1}He knows it's a sign of bubonic plague. 349 00:21:15,666 --> 00:21:17,309 So, he figures that, 350 00:21:17,333 --> 00:21:19,442 {\an1}"I'm going to take a sample of this tissue 351 00:21:19,466 --> 00:21:21,309 {\an1}"from Wong Chut King's body. 352 00:21:21,333 --> 00:21:24,900 {\an1}"I'm going to run it over to Kinyoun at Angel Island. 353 00:21:26,566 --> 00:21:28,542 {\an1}"And I'm going to let him make the decision 354 00:21:28,566 --> 00:21:30,476 {\an1}of whether this is plague or not." 355 00:21:30,500 --> 00:21:33,009 ♪ ♪ 356 00:21:33,033 --> 00:21:36,442 NARRATOR: Kinyoun knew all about buboes, 357 00:21:36,466 --> 00:21:38,976 {\an1}where the word "bubonic" comes from. 358 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:43,742 {\an1}The swollen lymph nodes were an infamous sign of the plague. 359 00:21:43,766 --> 00:21:47,742 {\an1}Yet he also knew that they weren't enough for a diagnosis 360 00:21:47,766 --> 00:21:51,133 {\an1}and he had to be 100% certain. 361 00:21:53,333 --> 00:21:55,942 ♪ ♪ 362 00:21:55,966 --> 00:21:59,642 MORENS: To prove a plague death scientifically, 363 00:21:59,666 --> 00:22:02,776 {\an1}you couldn't just do it by examining 364 00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:04,276 {\an1}the live patient or the cadaver. 365 00:22:04,300 --> 00:22:06,976 {\an1}You had to isolate the organism from tissue. 366 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:08,976 ♪ ♪ 367 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:14,076 NARRATOR: In 1900, microbiology was still a fledgling field. 368 00:22:14,100 --> 00:22:16,142 {\an1}And the idea that germs could cause disease 369 00:22:16,166 --> 00:22:20,409 {\an1}was not fully accepted, even by many doctors. 370 00:22:20,433 --> 00:22:25,276 Kinyoun's superior, Surgeon General Walter Wyman, 371 00:22:25,300 --> 00:22:28,009 {\an1}had himself published a paper on the plague that was full 372 00:22:28,033 --> 00:22:32,176 of speculations and misinformation: 373 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:33,409 {\an1}that the disease was spread 374 00:22:33,433 --> 00:22:38,100 {\an1}by dust, tainted food, and contaminated objects. 375 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:42,809 Wyman also endorsed racial theories of the time 376 00:22:42,833 --> 00:22:45,509 {\an1}that the disease targeted Asians 377 00:22:45,533 --> 00:22:47,709 {\an1}while sparing whites. 378 00:22:47,733 --> 00:22:49,876 {\an8}RANDALL: Surgeon General Wyman, himself, 379 00:22:49,900 --> 00:22:52,042 {\an7}said it was only a disease of rice eaters. 380 00:22:52,066 --> 00:22:54,876 {\an8}If you ate a "muscular diet of meat," 381 00:22:54,900 --> 00:22:56,509 {\an1}you were somehow immune to it. 382 00:22:56,533 --> 00:23:02,276 NARRATOR: Such ignorance was widespread due in part to the fact 383 00:23:02,300 --> 00:23:05,033 {\an1}that scientific confirmation could take years. 384 00:23:08,500 --> 00:23:11,509 Nevertheless, European scientists had recently 385 00:23:11,533 --> 00:23:14,009 {\an1}identified the bubonic plague bacteria 386 00:23:14,033 --> 00:23:17,566 using a test called Gram's stain. 387 00:23:20,166 --> 00:23:25,509 MAY CHU: Bubonic plague is transmitted by a bacteria called 388 00:23:25,533 --> 00:23:28,142 Yersinia pestis. 389 00:23:28,166 --> 00:23:33,709 {\an1}And Gram stains are used under the microscope to enhance 390 00:23:33,733 --> 00:23:35,809 {\an7}the difference in colors. 391 00:23:35,833 --> 00:23:40,642 {\an7}So, you can see the bacteria in what we call a smear on a slide. 392 00:23:40,666 --> 00:23:43,109 ♪ ♪ 393 00:23:43,133 --> 00:23:46,233 {\an1}And Yersinia pestis stains pink. 394 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:52,342 ♪ ♪ 395 00:23:52,366 --> 00:23:55,842 NARRATOR: As the first American to have studied the bacilli, 396 00:23:55,866 --> 00:23:58,676 {\an1}Kinyoun was unquestionably the most qualified scientist 397 00:23:58,700 --> 00:24:01,233 {\an1}in the country to test for plague. 398 00:24:03,600 --> 00:24:05,776 {\an7}Hours after Wong's death, 399 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:08,676 {\an7}he undertook the exacting forensic work, 400 00:24:08,700 --> 00:24:11,409 {\an7}using the sample taken from the body. 401 00:24:11,433 --> 00:24:13,309 {\an8}(glass clinking) 402 00:24:13,333 --> 00:24:16,409 {\an8}CHASE: Isolate the germ in biopsy, 403 00:24:16,433 --> 00:24:19,866 {\an1}test it with the Gram stain. 404 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:26,709 {\an1}Put it under a microscope... 405 00:24:26,733 --> 00:24:30,576 ♪ ♪ 406 00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:35,242 {\an1}And look for the distinctive pink rod-shaped bacilli 407 00:24:35,266 --> 00:24:38,542 with rounded tips. 408 00:24:38,566 --> 00:24:40,776 {\an1}And that was the classic signature of plague. 409 00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:45,709 ♪ ♪ 410 00:24:45,733 --> 00:24:48,309 NARRATOR: Yet the presence of the telltale marker alone wasn't enough 411 00:24:48,333 --> 00:24:51,500 {\an1}to confirm a diagnosis. 412 00:24:53,500 --> 00:24:56,176 {\an1}Kinyoun would have to grow the culture in his lab, 413 00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:58,542 {\an1}which would take time, 414 00:24:58,566 --> 00:25:01,566 {\an1}and there was none to spare. 415 00:25:03,933 --> 00:25:06,042 {\an1}For he couldn't help but wonder: 416 00:25:06,066 --> 00:25:10,909 {\an1}how many others might be infected? 417 00:25:10,933 --> 00:25:15,600 ♪ ♪ 418 00:25:18,266 --> 00:25:20,242 {\an1}Across San Francisco Bay, 419 00:25:20,266 --> 00:25:23,909 {\an1}the city board of health was too spooked to wait. 420 00:25:23,933 --> 00:25:27,942 {\an1}To them, it was clearly a "Chinese problem," 421 00:25:27,966 --> 00:25:31,642 {\an1}confined to Chinatown. 422 00:25:31,666 --> 00:25:34,409 So they decided to control matters by quarantining 423 00:25:34,433 --> 00:25:37,876 the entire district. 424 00:25:37,900 --> 00:25:41,276 One day after Wong Chut King's death, 425 00:25:41,300 --> 00:25:44,242 {\an1}the Chinese community awoke to find ropes cordoning off 426 00:25:44,266 --> 00:25:46,200 {\an1}their 12-block district. 427 00:25:48,066 --> 00:25:50,809 {\an1}Overnight, 20,000 people... 428 00:25:50,833 --> 00:25:53,542 {\an1}nearly all of the city's Asians... 429 00:25:53,566 --> 00:25:58,242 Found themselves virtual prisoners. 430 00:25:58,266 --> 00:26:00,376 McCLAIN: What was unusual 431 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:02,676 {\an7}was that it didn't apply to this one particular house 432 00:26:02,700 --> 00:26:05,976 {\an7}where the man was found, but applied to 433 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:07,676 {\an7}the whole Chinese quarter, 434 00:26:07,700 --> 00:26:12,233 {\an1}sealing off a whole area of a city. 435 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:17,276 SHAH: There was this kind of idea that 436 00:26:17,300 --> 00:26:20,076 the Chinese carry a particular virulent form 437 00:26:20,100 --> 00:26:21,342 {\an1}of some kind of disease, 438 00:26:21,366 --> 00:26:26,976 {\an1}whether it was smallpox, or syphilis, or bubonic plague. 439 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:31,142 {\an1}And that the disease is endemic to their bodies, 440 00:26:31,166 --> 00:26:34,242 {\an1}that it would be possible to infect 441 00:26:34,266 --> 00:26:36,700 {\an1}innocent middle-class white people. 442 00:26:38,500 --> 00:26:41,176 McCLAIN: There was definitely this view that Asians were 443 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:46,509 {\an1}more susceptible to the disease as opposed to whites. 444 00:26:46,533 --> 00:26:49,976 {\an1}And this was a widely shared view at the time. 445 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:52,942 ♪ ♪ 446 00:26:52,966 --> 00:26:56,109 RANDALL: The residents of Chinatown were really stuck. 447 00:26:56,133 --> 00:26:58,109 They weren't allowed to be citizens. 448 00:26:58,133 --> 00:26:59,342 They weren't allowed to own property. 449 00:26:59,366 --> 00:27:02,200 They weren't allowed many fundamental rights. 450 00:27:04,433 --> 00:27:09,109 NARRATOR: In 1900, anti-Chinese sentiment wasn't isolated... 451 00:27:09,133 --> 00:27:12,409 {\an1}it was codified by federal law. 452 00:27:12,433 --> 00:27:17,276 {\an1}The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 prohibited all Chinese 453 00:27:17,300 --> 00:27:19,076 from citizenship, 454 00:27:19,100 --> 00:27:24,109 {\an1}essentially relegating them to the margins of society. 455 00:27:24,133 --> 00:27:26,209 ♪ ♪ 456 00:27:26,233 --> 00:27:29,342 POWELL: The Chinese were already not seen as human 457 00:27:29,366 --> 00:27:32,609 before the Chinese Exclusion Act, 458 00:27:32,633 --> 00:27:34,842 {\an7}which is why the act passed. 459 00:27:34,866 --> 00:27:36,509 ♪ ♪ 460 00:27:36,533 --> 00:27:38,676 {\an1}The only time in our history that we specifically named 461 00:27:38,700 --> 00:27:42,042 {\an1}an ethnicity to say they can't come to the United States; 462 00:27:42,066 --> 00:27:45,142 they don't belong, they're too different than us. 463 00:27:45,166 --> 00:27:49,342 ♪ ♪ 464 00:27:49,366 --> 00:27:54,076 {\an8}CHASE: The building of the transcontinental railroad 465 00:27:54,100 --> 00:27:56,009 {\an1}required tons of hard labor, 466 00:27:56,033 --> 00:27:59,733 {\an1}which Chinese workers had taken on. 467 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:04,542 {\an1}Once that final golden spike was driven, 468 00:28:04,566 --> 00:28:06,276 {\an1}the welcome mat was withdrawn. 469 00:28:06,300 --> 00:28:14,109 {\an1}And the once-essential Chinese workers were regarded as 470 00:28:14,133 --> 00:28:16,509 {\an1}a surplus that would cut into demand for white labor. 471 00:28:16,533 --> 00:28:19,576 {\an1}So, the white labor movement was very hostile. 472 00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:22,400 (crowd shouting) 473 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:26,976 NGAI: Almost 20 years have gone by since the Exclusion Act. 474 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:31,409 {\an1}And this has been a very tumultuous number of decades 475 00:28:31,433 --> 00:28:34,709 {\an1}where the government tries to take this right away, 476 00:28:34,733 --> 00:28:37,109 {\an1}impose that discriminatory law, 477 00:28:37,133 --> 00:28:40,033 {\an1}to try to drive people away. 478 00:28:42,100 --> 00:28:45,309 NARRATOR: The Chinese community saw the cordon for what it was: 479 00:28:45,333 --> 00:28:49,209 {\an1}the latest unjust action taken against them 480 00:28:49,233 --> 00:28:53,466 {\an1}based on flimsy evidence and a convenient excuse. 481 00:28:55,466 --> 00:28:58,442 CHASE: The populace was violently opposed to being sealed 482 00:28:58,466 --> 00:29:00,176 inside Chinatown. 483 00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:03,576 {\an1}Many people worked outside the district. 484 00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:05,909 {\an1}They had jobs to get to. 485 00:29:05,933 --> 00:29:07,942 And interestingly, 486 00:29:07,966 --> 00:29:10,742 the white community, 487 00:29:10,766 --> 00:29:13,042 {\an1}while not so sympathetic 488 00:29:13,066 --> 00:29:16,176 {\an1}to the viewpoint of the people in Chinatown, 489 00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:20,509 {\an1}wanted their cooks and gardeners and domestic back on the job. 490 00:29:20,533 --> 00:29:25,042 {\an1}And so all sides were at war. 491 00:29:25,066 --> 00:29:28,876 And by March 10, the ropes came down. 492 00:29:28,900 --> 00:29:33,242 McCLAIN: So, the first quarantine of Chinatown, 493 00:29:33,266 --> 00:29:34,942 {\an1}it didn't last very long... 494 00:29:34,966 --> 00:29:38,309 Only three days. 495 00:29:38,333 --> 00:29:41,309 RANDALL: Because the quarantine came down so quickly, 496 00:29:41,333 --> 00:29:45,509 {\an1}many people in San Francisco thought it was just all a sham. 497 00:29:45,533 --> 00:29:47,409 {\an1}It almost eroded public trust immediately. 498 00:29:47,433 --> 00:29:52,176 NARRATOR: In the face of such apparent incompetence, 499 00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:55,342 {\an1}the city's response was one of relief... 500 00:29:55,366 --> 00:29:59,542 And amused contempt. 501 00:29:59,566 --> 00:30:02,676 CHASE: One of the papers celebrated the end of the first quarantine 502 00:30:02,700 --> 00:30:05,776 {\an1}by writing a silly poem, 503 00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:09,542 {\an1}"" Sweet Fong is at his post once more 504 00:30:09,566 --> 00:30:12,909 {\an1}And cooking reigns supreme." 505 00:30:12,933 --> 00:30:17,000 {\an1}Because the people had gotten their domestic servants back. 506 00:30:18,700 --> 00:30:21,676 It was that kind of racial supremacy 507 00:30:21,700 --> 00:30:24,942 {\an1}emanating from every corner of the city. 508 00:30:24,966 --> 00:30:28,876 ♪ ♪ (birds chirping) 509 00:30:28,900 --> 00:30:31,542 NARRATOR: Alone in his lab on Angel Island, 510 00:30:31,566 --> 00:30:34,576 {\an8}Kinyoun had managed to successfully grow 511 00:30:34,600 --> 00:30:37,742 {\an8}the microorganism within 48 hours. 512 00:30:37,766 --> 00:30:42,609 {\an1}But the next step... injecting it into a healthy animal 513 00:30:42,633 --> 00:30:47,742 {\an1}to see what would happen... Would take days. 514 00:30:47,766 --> 00:30:51,642 Once again, Kinyoun took extra precautions, 515 00:30:51,666 --> 00:30:57,242 {\an1}choosing to inoculate not one but four lab animals: 516 00:30:57,266 --> 00:31:01,700 {\an1}two guinea pigs, a rat, and a monkey. 517 00:31:02,966 --> 00:31:04,342 (animals chittering, glass clinking) 518 00:31:04,366 --> 00:31:07,200 HOUTS JR.: Three of the animals died pretty quickly. 519 00:31:08,666 --> 00:31:13,709 {\an1}The last one, the monkey, was the one he was hoping on. 520 00:31:13,733 --> 00:31:20,009 {\an1}If it didn't die, then maybe it's not the plague. 521 00:31:20,033 --> 00:31:21,376 {\an8}Well, it died. 522 00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:23,676 ♪ ♪ 523 00:31:23,700 --> 00:31:29,742 NARRATOR: On March 13, seven days after Wong Chut King passed away, 524 00:31:29,766 --> 00:31:33,376 {\an1}Kinyoun was finally able to confirm the cause of death. 525 00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:36,376 ♪ ♪ 526 00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:39,676 {\an1}Wong became the first diagnosed case of bubonic plague 527 00:31:39,700 --> 00:31:41,733 {\an1}in the United States. 528 00:31:43,933 --> 00:31:47,766 But Kinyoun feared he would not be the last. 529 00:31:50,300 --> 00:31:53,409 ♪ ♪ 530 00:31:53,433 --> 00:31:57,409 (machine clicking) 531 00:31:57,433 --> 00:31:59,176 RANDALL: Kinyoun immediately sends 532 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:00,309 {\an1}a coded telegram to D.C. 533 00:32:00,333 --> 00:32:02,642 "Bumpkin confirmed." 534 00:32:02,666 --> 00:32:05,533 {\an1}And that was the code word that plague is here. 535 00:32:08,533 --> 00:32:12,409 MORENS: Kinyoun's boss Walter Wyman had every reason to believe 536 00:32:12,433 --> 00:32:14,976 {\an1}that if it got out of San Francisco, it would 537 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:18,876 {\an7}go over the whole country and countless deaths would occur. 538 00:32:18,900 --> 00:32:20,809 ♪ ♪ 539 00:32:20,833 --> 00:32:23,042 {\an1}So, the people in Washington were just alarmed, 540 00:32:23,066 --> 00:32:25,909 {\an1}and their point of view is, "We don't care what you do. 541 00:32:25,933 --> 00:32:27,376 "If you have to burn the place down, 542 00:32:27,400 --> 00:32:30,009 {\an7}"just make sure that you contain this epidemic. 543 00:32:30,033 --> 00:32:31,042 {\an7}It's a national emergency." 544 00:32:31,066 --> 00:32:36,376 {\an8}♪ ♪ 545 00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:41,342 {\an8}NARRATOR: As federal officials frantically tried to coordinate a response, 546 00:32:41,366 --> 00:32:43,676 {\an1}word of Kinyoun's diagnosis spread quickly 547 00:32:43,700 --> 00:32:47,142 {\an1}among San Francisco's leaders. 548 00:32:47,166 --> 00:32:49,676 {\an1}Yet powerful merchants and politicians 549 00:32:49,700 --> 00:32:55,376 {\an1}like Mayor James Phelan refused to accept his findings. 550 00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:58,542 (seagulls squawking) 551 00:32:58,566 --> 00:33:01,276 RISSE: Shipping exchanges around the world 552 00:33:01,300 --> 00:33:03,442 {\an1}was very, very important 553 00:33:03,466 --> 00:33:05,776 source of income. 554 00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:08,576 {\an1}So, if there was plague in San Francisco, 555 00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:11,109 it would be blocked, 556 00:33:11,133 --> 00:33:14,242 {\an1}it would no longer be open. 557 00:33:14,266 --> 00:33:18,733 {\an1}So industries were at stake. 558 00:33:20,066 --> 00:33:22,742 McCLAIN: Mayor Phelan was very concerned that if word got around 559 00:33:22,766 --> 00:33:24,642 that San Francisco 560 00:33:24,666 --> 00:33:28,076 {\an1}had cases of plague that the city's commerce would be dealt 561 00:33:28,100 --> 00:33:31,709 {\an1}a really serious blow. 562 00:33:31,733 --> 00:33:34,809 NARRATOR: City leaders were used to autonomy, 563 00:33:34,833 --> 00:33:37,976 {\an1}and didn't like being told what to do, 564 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:42,409 {\an1}especially by authorities at the federal level. 565 00:33:42,433 --> 00:33:43,976 ♪ ♪ (birds chirping) 566 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:49,342 SHAH: With the Marine Hospital Service, the federal government, 567 00:33:49,366 --> 00:33:52,642 {\an7}they were now centrally becoming involved in public health 568 00:33:52,666 --> 00:33:54,476 {\an7}across the United States. 569 00:33:54,500 --> 00:34:00,876 {\an1}And they felt they had supreme authority. 570 00:34:00,900 --> 00:34:05,876 {\an1}But the city government, the merchant elite 571 00:34:05,900 --> 00:34:10,909 {\an7}was saying to them, "We have jurisdiction in San Francisco." 572 00:34:10,933 --> 00:34:13,076 {\an8}And then there were state officials 573 00:34:13,100 --> 00:34:16,309 {\an1}and the governor who thought, 574 00:34:16,333 --> 00:34:18,709 {\an1}"Well, we have authority over all of California." 575 00:34:18,733 --> 00:34:21,676 And it becomes a question immediately 576 00:34:21,700 --> 00:34:23,076 {\an1}of who has authority. 577 00:34:23,100 --> 00:34:25,276 {\an1}If there is an outbreak, is this a federal responsibility? 578 00:34:25,300 --> 00:34:27,966 Or is this the city, or is it the state? 579 00:34:30,366 --> 00:34:33,442 NARRATOR: Most San Franciscans didn't care. 580 00:34:33,466 --> 00:34:35,209 {\an1}They couldn't be bothered with the death 581 00:34:35,233 --> 00:34:38,409 {\an1}of a faceless stranger in Chinatown, 582 00:34:38,433 --> 00:34:43,942 {\an1}especially given widespread beliefs that whites were immune. 583 00:34:43,966 --> 00:34:45,409 As for city leaders, 584 00:34:45,433 --> 00:34:48,709 {\an1}while they refused to accept Kinyoun's diagnosis, 585 00:34:48,733 --> 00:34:52,709 {\an1}they did agree that what they called the "Chinese problem" 586 00:34:52,733 --> 00:34:56,809 {\an1}needed to be contained. 587 00:34:56,833 --> 00:35:00,376 MORENS: They didn't really understand how the bubonic plague 588 00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:02,209 {\an1}was transmitted to people. 589 00:35:02,233 --> 00:35:04,176 {\an1}But they knew if it occurred in 590 00:35:04,200 --> 00:35:07,309 {\an1}a city it would be in one area. 591 00:35:07,333 --> 00:35:09,642 {\an1}And so, the public health approach was to find the focus 592 00:35:09,666 --> 00:35:12,576 and go in there and do whatever you could 593 00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:15,276 {\an1}to get rid of the disease. 594 00:35:15,300 --> 00:35:17,809 NARRATOR: The moment Mayor Phelan declared 595 00:35:17,833 --> 00:35:20,476 {\an1}"Asiatic infections are a constant menace 596 00:35:20,500 --> 00:35:23,809 to San Francisco's public health," 597 00:35:23,833 --> 00:35:28,642 75 health inspectors and dozens of policemen, 598 00:35:28,666 --> 00:35:32,209 {\an1}armed with sledgehammers and axes, 599 00:35:32,233 --> 00:35:36,876 {\an1}descended on an unsuspecting Chinatown. 600 00:35:36,900 --> 00:35:42,942 {\an1}They smashed down doors, ransacked homes, stole brazenly, 601 00:35:42,966 --> 00:35:47,000 {\an1}and beat anyone who stood up to them. 602 00:35:48,433 --> 00:35:52,576 CHASE: They were subjected to plague measures, which included 603 00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:55,442 {\an1}torching of belongings, they would bring in 604 00:35:55,466 --> 00:35:59,009 {\an1}smudge pots of sulfur, and fumigate a building. 605 00:35:59,033 --> 00:36:02,909 {\an1}If you were a merchant selling fine silks or ceramics, 606 00:36:02,933 --> 00:36:05,609 {\an1}it would spoil your goods. 607 00:36:05,633 --> 00:36:08,809 {\an1}So, these measures, which were crude and discriminatory 608 00:36:08,833 --> 00:36:10,709 {\an1}and not very effective, 609 00:36:10,733 --> 00:36:12,076 {\an7}frightened the populace. 610 00:36:12,100 --> 00:36:13,476 {\an7}People were not eager to report 611 00:36:13,500 --> 00:36:15,276 {\an8}a case of sickness in their home. 612 00:36:15,300 --> 00:36:18,942 ♪ ♪ 613 00:36:18,966 --> 00:36:23,276 BRUCE QUAN JR.: In 1900, at the time of the bubonic plague, 614 00:36:23,300 --> 00:36:26,342 my great-grandfather had a business called 615 00:36:26,366 --> 00:36:29,009 {\an1}the Pacific Fruit Packing Company. 616 00:36:29,033 --> 00:36:32,709 {\an1}And my family lived above the cannery 617 00:36:32,733 --> 00:36:36,076 {\an1}on Stockton Street in Chinatown. 618 00:36:36,100 --> 00:36:37,509 They went to church 619 00:36:37,533 --> 00:36:40,776 {\an8}where Ng Poon Chew was the assistant pastor. 620 00:36:40,800 --> 00:36:42,776 {\an7}And that's how when he started a newspaper, 621 00:36:42,800 --> 00:36:45,276 {\an7}my great-grandfather helped him fund 622 00:36:45,300 --> 00:36:46,933 {\an1}the "Chung Sai Yat Po." 623 00:36:48,633 --> 00:36:52,442 {\an1}And in Chinatown, they would post some of the newspapers 624 00:36:52,466 --> 00:36:54,409 on the walls. 625 00:36:54,433 --> 00:36:58,576 {\an1}So the Chinese knew exactly what was going on. 626 00:36:58,600 --> 00:37:01,609 ♪ ♪ 627 00:37:01,633 --> 00:37:08,376 SHAH: Ng Poon Chew and his newspaper documented what the deeply felt 628 00:37:08,400 --> 00:37:11,376 {\an1}fears and concerns were of Chinese laborers, 629 00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:14,842 how they distrusted Western medical authority, 630 00:37:14,866 --> 00:37:17,342 how they feared what was going to happen to them 631 00:37:17,366 --> 00:37:21,442 {\an1}from a Chinese perspective. 632 00:37:21,466 --> 00:37:25,976 MAN (reading): "Alas, why should Chinatown's good name depend on 633 00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:30,009 {\an1}"the life and death of a monkey? 634 00:37:30,033 --> 00:37:32,142 {\an1}"We don't know whether they are rooting for Chinatown 635 00:37:32,166 --> 00:37:35,076 or the monkey." 636 00:37:35,100 --> 00:37:37,266 {\an1}"Chung Sai Yat Po Daily." 637 00:37:39,533 --> 00:37:44,009 ♪ ♪ 638 00:37:44,033 --> 00:37:47,876 NARRATOR: Nine days after Wong Chut King's death, 639 00:37:47,900 --> 00:37:51,376 {\an1}Kinyoun confirmed three more cases... 640 00:37:51,400 --> 00:37:53,309 {\an1}all within Chinatown. 641 00:37:53,333 --> 00:37:56,442 ♪ ♪ 642 00:37:56,466 --> 00:37:59,576 Kinyoun had feared such an outbreak all along, 643 00:37:59,600 --> 00:38:02,809 knowing that even a handful of cases 644 00:38:02,833 --> 00:38:04,242 {\an1}could explode exponentially 645 00:38:04,266 --> 00:38:08,100 {\an1}into a national epidemic within weeks. 646 00:38:09,100 --> 00:38:11,476 {\an1}The urgency of the situation caught the eye 647 00:38:11,500 --> 00:38:15,109 of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. 648 00:38:15,133 --> 00:38:19,542 {\an1}On March 18, his paper, "The New York Journal," 649 00:38:19,566 --> 00:38:22,142 published a special national edition 650 00:38:22,166 --> 00:38:26,766 {\an1}trumpeting the sensational story from California. 651 00:38:27,866 --> 00:38:30,776 {\an1}Pressured by commercial stakeholders, 652 00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:34,042 {\an1}San Francisco's leaders quickly responded, 653 00:38:34,066 --> 00:38:37,076 {\an1}enlisting the editors of leading newspapers to dismiss 654 00:38:37,100 --> 00:38:42,109 {\an1}what they now called "rumors." 655 00:38:42,133 --> 00:38:44,142 RANDALL: City Hall and all of San Francisco's elite, 656 00:38:44,166 --> 00:38:46,142 {\an1}they had the same idea in mind, 657 00:38:46,166 --> 00:38:50,866 {\an1}"We're not going to report any news of the plague." 658 00:38:52,833 --> 00:38:55,042 {\an1}You have the "Chronicle" saying, 659 00:38:55,066 --> 00:38:56,542 {\an1}"We're gonna write an editorial 660 00:38:56,566 --> 00:38:58,409 "saying that Kinyoun or anybody else from 661 00:38:58,433 --> 00:39:00,209 {\an1}"Marine Hospital Service is just trying to pick 662 00:39:00,233 --> 00:39:03,242 {\an1}San Francisco's pocket." 663 00:39:03,266 --> 00:39:07,242 CHASE: Dr. Joseph Kinyoun was a proud man. 664 00:39:07,266 --> 00:39:09,876 {\an1}He regarded the tools of science, 665 00:39:09,900 --> 00:39:14,242 the enlightenment of his technology, as a gift. 666 00:39:14,266 --> 00:39:16,942 {\an1}And he expected, quite rightly, 667 00:39:16,966 --> 00:39:19,942 {\an1}some deference and respect for what he brought to the city. 668 00:39:19,966 --> 00:39:21,942 {\an1}And he got none of it. 669 00:39:21,966 --> 00:39:28,242 {\an1}Because from the moment that Joseph Kinyoun diagnosed plague 670 00:39:28,266 --> 00:39:31,542 {\an1}in the glands of Wong Chut King, science was on trial. 671 00:39:31,566 --> 00:39:35,609 ♪ ♪ 672 00:39:35,633 --> 00:39:38,542 {\an7}And Bubonic plague was called "Kinyoun's fake." 673 00:39:38,566 --> 00:39:43,733 ♪ ♪ 674 00:39:52,333 --> 00:39:53,742 (bird squawking) 675 00:39:53,766 --> 00:39:56,942 NARRATOR: As the media storm swirled around him, 676 00:39:56,966 --> 00:39:58,276 a frantic Kinyoun 677 00:39:58,300 --> 00:40:02,376 {\an1}tried to retrace the last days of each victim's life 678 00:40:02,400 --> 00:40:05,276 {\an1}in a desperate attempt to determine who or where 679 00:40:05,300 --> 00:40:07,333 the next might be. 680 00:40:10,500 --> 00:40:13,109 RANDALL: What made Kinyoun so terrified when he started 681 00:40:13,133 --> 00:40:14,709 {\an1}identifying the disease, 682 00:40:14,733 --> 00:40:17,709 {\an7}was he found one victim and he could not find any connections 683 00:40:17,733 --> 00:40:19,009 {\an8}to the next victim. 684 00:40:19,033 --> 00:40:22,509 ♪ ♪ 685 00:40:22,533 --> 00:40:24,009 It's almost like you're looking at the ocean, 686 00:40:24,033 --> 00:40:28,376 {\an1}and you can't see it, but you know something is down there. 687 00:40:28,400 --> 00:40:32,142 {\an1}And he had no idea what it was. 688 00:40:32,166 --> 00:40:33,876 CHASE: It was a mystery. 689 00:40:33,900 --> 00:40:36,409 There was a kind of creeping pace. 690 00:40:36,433 --> 00:40:40,142 {\an1}There would be a case or two, and then it would pause. 691 00:40:40,166 --> 00:40:44,876 {\an1}Kinyoun tried to puzzle it out. 692 00:40:44,900 --> 00:40:49,009 MORENS: He was looking for other cases of plague. 693 00:40:49,033 --> 00:40:53,709 {\an1}He also knew that because of the way Chinatown was being treated 694 00:40:53,733 --> 00:40:56,842 by local officials, they might hide cases. 695 00:40:56,866 --> 00:40:59,509 ♪ ♪ 696 00:40:59,533 --> 00:41:06,142 MAN (reading): "Suspicions everywhere and every shadow becomes an enemy." 697 00:41:06,166 --> 00:41:08,400 {\an1}"Chung Sai Yat Po Daily." 698 00:41:10,400 --> 00:41:15,742 CHASE: A plague death would require autopsy to confirm the case. 699 00:41:15,766 --> 00:41:18,776 It was an offense in the culture. 700 00:41:18,800 --> 00:41:22,966 {\an1}So no one was eager to call in the scientists. 701 00:41:24,733 --> 00:41:26,542 RANDALL: And it becomes a cat and mouse game. 702 00:41:26,566 --> 00:41:29,709 And people keep on questioning him. 703 00:41:29,733 --> 00:41:31,909 {\an1}If the plague is as scary as you're saying it is, 704 00:41:31,933 --> 00:41:34,076 {\an1}there should be bodies everywhere. 705 00:41:34,100 --> 00:41:36,209 We should also see living victims 706 00:41:36,233 --> 00:41:37,509 {\an1}who are struggling with this. 707 00:41:37,533 --> 00:41:41,509 ♪ ♪ 708 00:41:41,533 --> 00:41:42,776 {\an8}McCLAIN: People thought, 709 00:41:42,800 --> 00:41:43,876 {\an7}"Well, if the plague existed, 710 00:41:43,900 --> 00:41:46,042 {\an7}"it should be spreading like wildfire. 711 00:41:46,066 --> 00:41:51,709 {\an1}Why aren't hundreds of people infected with it?" 712 00:41:51,733 --> 00:41:56,842 {\an1}And it obviously made things difficult for Kinyoun, 713 00:41:56,866 --> 00:41:58,442 {\an7}because in the face of pretty clear evidence, 714 00:41:58,466 --> 00:42:01,076 {\an7}people denied that the plague existed at all. 715 00:42:01,100 --> 00:42:05,509 ♪ ♪ 716 00:42:05,533 --> 00:42:07,776 NARRATOR: When three more people died in mid-May, 717 00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:12,766 {\an1}Kinyoun telegrammed Wyman urging a bold and unprecedented plan. 718 00:42:16,333 --> 00:42:18,942 {\an1}He proposed vaccinating every Chinatown resident 719 00:42:18,966 --> 00:42:24,276 {\an1}with the recently developed Haffkine vaccine. 720 00:42:24,300 --> 00:42:29,676 {\an1}In 1900, vaccination was still a frightening concept to most. 721 00:42:29,700 --> 00:42:33,309 {\an1}But in Chinatown, the proposal was further complicated 722 00:42:33,333 --> 00:42:36,976 {\an1}by the dark racial dynamics of the time. 723 00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:39,476 ♪ ♪ 724 00:42:39,500 --> 00:42:42,209 MORENS: There'd been a long history of white people, 725 00:42:42,233 --> 00:42:43,376 {\an1}European-descended people, 726 00:42:43,400 --> 00:42:46,276 treating the Chinese in San Francisco badly. 727 00:42:46,300 --> 00:42:49,242 {\an1}So, the rational expectation was, you know, 728 00:42:49,266 --> 00:42:51,042 {\an1}if the white power structure wants this done, 729 00:42:51,066 --> 00:42:52,666 {\an1}there's gotta be something wrong with it. 730 00:42:54,533 --> 00:42:57,176 NGAI: The Chinese relationship with city health authorities, 731 00:42:57,200 --> 00:43:00,209 {\an1}there was nothing positive about it. 732 00:43:00,233 --> 00:43:03,442 {\an1}There was a history of malignant neglect. 733 00:43:03,466 --> 00:43:07,900 {\an7}Chinese were routinely refused treatment at city hospitals. 734 00:43:09,266 --> 00:43:13,809 {\an1}It was only that year that a Chinese clinic was allowed 735 00:43:13,833 --> 00:43:18,442 to open in Chinatown called the Tung Wah Dispensary. 736 00:43:18,466 --> 00:43:20,476 {\an1}So Chinese had absolutely no trust 737 00:43:20,500 --> 00:43:23,742 {\an1}in city health authorities. 738 00:43:23,766 --> 00:43:25,842 {\an1}Also, they weren't vaccinating white people. 739 00:43:25,866 --> 00:43:29,976 {\an1}So it seemed to be targeted at them. 740 00:43:30,000 --> 00:43:35,042 NARRATOR: The Haffkine was largely untested. 741 00:43:35,066 --> 00:43:38,600 {\an1}Existing data showed only a 50% protection rate. 742 00:43:41,066 --> 00:43:43,876 {\an1}Furthermore, the drug's purported side effects 743 00:43:43,900 --> 00:43:47,142 {\an1}were so notorious that a headline-hungry reporter 744 00:43:47,166 --> 00:43:48,509 {\an1}from a Hearst newspaper 745 00:43:48,533 --> 00:43:51,776 {\an1}volunteered to be injected himself. 746 00:43:51,800 --> 00:43:55,433 ♪ ♪ 747 00:43:57,866 --> 00:44:01,142 MAN (reading): "Within two hours, the serum had spread 748 00:44:01,166 --> 00:44:05,609 {\an1}"through my system and its effects began to be felt. 749 00:44:05,633 --> 00:44:10,509 {\an1}"Shooting pains extended through the chest, down the arm, 750 00:44:10,533 --> 00:44:14,109 {\an1}"and even into my neck and head. 751 00:44:14,133 --> 00:44:16,242 {\an1}"My left arm felt numb. 752 00:44:16,266 --> 00:44:22,476 {\an1}The pain in my shoulder, chest, neck, and arm was quite severe." 753 00:44:22,500 --> 00:44:26,309 ♪ ♪ 754 00:44:26,333 --> 00:44:29,642 NARRATOR: Out of thousands of Chinese living in San Francisco, 755 00:44:29,666 --> 00:44:34,800 {\an1}only 53 were willing to be vaccinated. 756 00:44:36,833 --> 00:44:40,666 Growing desperate, Kinyoun telegrammed Wyman. 757 00:44:42,566 --> 00:44:46,109 {\an1}JOSEPH KINYOUN (dramatized): Regard situation very serious. 758 00:44:46,133 --> 00:44:51,542 {\an1}Will require almost superhuman efforts to control now. 759 00:44:51,566 --> 00:44:54,766 {\an1}So much time has been lost. 760 00:44:57,166 --> 00:45:00,142 MORENS: And that's when Marine Hospital Service 761 00:45:00,166 --> 00:45:02,776 {\an1}had to make its first authoritative 762 00:45:02,800 --> 00:45:04,976 {\an1}stand against plague. 763 00:45:05,000 --> 00:45:07,642 (machine clicking) 764 00:45:07,666 --> 00:45:12,242 RANDALL: Surgeon General Wyman telegraphs Kinyoun immediately, saying, 765 00:45:12,266 --> 00:45:15,442 "You are our man in San Francisco. 766 00:45:15,466 --> 00:45:16,576 {\an1}"It all depends on you. 767 00:45:16,600 --> 00:45:19,542 You know, you have to protect us all." 768 00:45:19,566 --> 00:45:23,242 NARRATOR: Now charged with overseeing the entire West Coast, 769 00:45:23,266 --> 00:45:26,609 {\an1}Kinyoun quickly hired additional officers, 770 00:45:26,633 --> 00:45:29,776 {\an1}whom he dispatched across California and Oregon 771 00:45:29,800 --> 00:45:32,766 {\an1}to beef up inspection and patrols. 772 00:45:35,233 --> 00:45:38,542 {\an1}He also made vaccination mandatory, 773 00:45:38,566 --> 00:45:41,909 {\an1}and took exclusive aim at not just the Chinese, 774 00:45:41,933 --> 00:45:45,533 but Japanese with an unheard-of travel ban. 775 00:45:49,733 --> 00:45:53,476 McCLAIN: On May the 18th, the Board of Health of San Francisco 776 00:45:53,500 --> 00:45:56,776 {\an1}passes a resolution to order the transport companies 777 00:45:56,800 --> 00:45:59,842 {\an1}to refuse transportation to Chinese and Japanese 778 00:45:59,866 --> 00:46:02,242 {\an1}without the certificate that said that the person 779 00:46:02,266 --> 00:46:07,276 had been inoculated with this Haffkine's vaccine. 780 00:46:07,300 --> 00:46:09,409 And it's quite clear that they have endorsed 781 00:46:09,433 --> 00:46:12,509 the recommendations that have been passed onto them 782 00:46:12,533 --> 00:46:14,976 by Kinyoun. 783 00:46:15,000 --> 00:46:18,342 {\an1}So now the Chinese and Japanese are being told, 784 00:46:18,366 --> 00:46:20,309 {\an1}"Do it, or you're confined to San Francisco. 785 00:46:20,333 --> 00:46:23,342 {\an1}You won't be able to leave." 786 00:46:23,366 --> 00:46:25,709 {\an1}It was being pushed on them coercively. 787 00:46:25,733 --> 00:46:29,476 ♪ ♪ 788 00:46:29,500 --> 00:46:32,142 MAN (reading): "The doctors are about to compel our Chinese people 789 00:46:32,166 --> 00:46:34,542 "to be inoculated. 790 00:46:34,566 --> 00:46:41,109 {\an1}"Tomorrow, all business houses large or small must be closed 791 00:46:41,133 --> 00:46:46,176 {\an1}and wait until this unjust action is settled." 792 00:46:46,200 --> 00:46:49,376 {\an1}"Chung Sai Yat Po Daily." 793 00:46:49,400 --> 00:46:52,976 NARRATOR: Its back to the wall, a defiant Chinatown 794 00:46:53,000 --> 00:46:54,742 {\an1}turned to its own leaders: 795 00:46:54,766 --> 00:46:58,276 a consortium of district associations called 796 00:46:58,300 --> 00:47:02,476 {\an1}the Chinese Six Companies. 797 00:47:02,500 --> 00:47:05,642 NGAI: The leaders of the Six Companies were the biggest merchants 798 00:47:05,666 --> 00:47:07,842 in Chinatown, 799 00:47:07,866 --> 00:47:10,242 {\an1}the most influential members 800 00:47:10,266 --> 00:47:12,076 {\an1}of their associations. 801 00:47:12,100 --> 00:47:13,609 Any dispute with the city government 802 00:47:13,633 --> 00:47:17,042 {\an1}or the state government, Chinese would send their representatives 803 00:47:17,066 --> 00:47:21,309 {\an1}to negotiate or to protest. 804 00:47:21,333 --> 00:47:24,809 NARRATOR: The Chinese leaders met with Kinyoun at the consulate 805 00:47:24,833 --> 00:47:28,442 {\an1}and implored him to call off his plans. 806 00:47:28,466 --> 00:47:32,576 {\an1}When he refused, the Chinese felt they had no option left 807 00:47:32,600 --> 00:47:34,809 {\an1}but to take to the streets. 808 00:47:34,833 --> 00:47:38,776 {\an1}From the most powerful merchant to the lowliest worker, 809 00:47:38,800 --> 00:47:41,309 all of Chinatown took immediate action 810 00:47:41,333 --> 00:47:45,142 {\an1}to protest Kinyoun's orders. 811 00:47:45,166 --> 00:47:48,242 (crowd shouting) 812 00:47:48,266 --> 00:47:50,342 CHASE: There were riots. 813 00:47:50,366 --> 00:47:54,142 {\an1}A thousand Chinese protesters descended on Portsmouth Square 814 00:47:54,166 --> 00:47:57,442 {\an1}in Chinatown where federal doctors had set up tents 815 00:47:57,466 --> 00:47:58,809 to vaccinate people. 816 00:47:58,833 --> 00:48:01,576 (crowd shouting, whistle blaring) 817 00:48:01,600 --> 00:48:05,042 {\an1}And they pulled cobblestones out of the streets 818 00:48:05,066 --> 00:48:06,842 {\an1}and threw them in shop windows, 819 00:48:06,866 --> 00:48:09,176 pitching furniture into the street. 820 00:48:09,200 --> 00:48:11,600 {\an1}(shouting, whistles continue) 821 00:48:13,100 --> 00:48:14,576 {\an1}They stood up to him, and they said, 822 00:48:14,600 --> 00:48:16,909 {\an1}"We are not standing for these measures." 823 00:48:16,933 --> 00:48:19,442 ♪ ♪ 824 00:48:19,466 --> 00:48:21,809 MORENS: It was so terrible that 825 00:48:21,833 --> 00:48:23,576 {\an8}a hundred police had to protect Kinyoun 826 00:48:23,600 --> 00:48:27,542 {\an7}because the San Francisco mobs would have killed him. 827 00:48:27,566 --> 00:48:33,742 ♪ ♪ 828 00:48:33,766 --> 00:48:38,376 NGAI: The Chinese in San Francisco are beleaguered, 829 00:48:38,400 --> 00:48:41,776 {\an1}but they also have fought every inch of the way 830 00:48:41,800 --> 00:48:46,176 {\an1}with legal cases that are brought by 831 00:48:46,200 --> 00:48:47,342 {\an1}the leadership of the community, 832 00:48:47,366 --> 00:48:48,609 {\an1}the merchant leaders, 833 00:48:48,633 --> 00:48:53,242 sometimes together with the Chinese Consul. 834 00:48:53,266 --> 00:48:56,209 (chuckling): They sued the government over everything. 835 00:48:56,233 --> 00:48:59,109 ♪ ♪ 836 00:48:59,133 --> 00:49:03,442 NARRATOR: Chinatown rose up as one to fight the travel ban. 837 00:49:03,466 --> 00:49:07,476 {\an1}Within days of the mandate, a class action suit was filed, 838 00:49:07,500 --> 00:49:12,742 {\an7}naming Kinyoun and the San Francisco Board of Health. 839 00:49:12,766 --> 00:49:16,709 {\an8}CHASE: A businessman named Wong Wai sued, 840 00:49:16,733 --> 00:49:18,976 he went to court, 841 00:49:19,000 --> 00:49:21,742 {\an1}and he charged that Dr. Kinyoun 842 00:49:21,766 --> 00:49:23,942 {\an1}and everyone involved 843 00:49:23,966 --> 00:49:26,342 {\an1}had violated the rights of the Chinese. 844 00:49:26,366 --> 00:49:27,676 (gavel banging) 845 00:49:27,700 --> 00:49:29,776 McCLAIN: There was a petition for an injunction to stop 846 00:49:29,800 --> 00:49:31,409 {\an1}the health authorities from preventing people 847 00:49:31,433 --> 00:49:33,076 {\an1}from leaving the city. 848 00:49:33,100 --> 00:49:35,509 {\an1}It was racially discriminatory and that was forbidden 849 00:49:35,533 --> 00:49:37,576 {\an1}by the 14th amendment, 850 00:49:37,600 --> 00:49:39,776 {\an1}which says, "No state shall deprive any person of life, 851 00:49:39,800 --> 00:49:42,509 {\an1}"liberty, or property without due process of law, 852 00:49:42,533 --> 00:49:45,809 {\an1}"nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction 853 00:49:45,833 --> 00:49:48,142 the equal protection of the law." 854 00:49:48,166 --> 00:49:52,009 {\an1}The Chinese were not eligible to become citizens, 855 00:49:52,033 --> 00:49:54,476 but they had secured for themselves 856 00:49:54,500 --> 00:49:57,409 recognition as constitutional persons. 857 00:49:57,433 --> 00:50:00,309 And as such, they came under the protection 858 00:50:00,333 --> 00:50:03,776 {\an7}of the 14th amendment. 859 00:50:03,800 --> 00:50:08,976 {\an8}SHAH: What you end up having for the court case is a question. 860 00:50:09,000 --> 00:50:15,576 {\an7}Is this a kind of unfair use of the law that targets 861 00:50:15,600 --> 00:50:20,109 {\an1}one group racially unfairly? 862 00:50:20,133 --> 00:50:22,476 CHASE: The judge agreed with the Chinese. 863 00:50:22,500 --> 00:50:26,242 {\an1}And he said, "I see no proof that you've offered 864 00:50:26,266 --> 00:50:30,209 {\an1}"that this is a disease more likely to be contracted by 865 00:50:30,233 --> 00:50:33,609 or transmitted by Chinese people." 866 00:50:33,633 --> 00:50:37,142 {\an1}He said, "This travel ban had been illegally applied 867 00:50:37,166 --> 00:50:40,376 "with an evil eye and an uneven hand, 868 00:50:40,400 --> 00:50:44,876 {\an1}"focused on racial theories of disease transmission... 869 00:50:44,900 --> 00:50:47,209 {\an1}completely unscientific." 870 00:50:47,233 --> 00:50:50,642 ♪ ♪ 871 00:50:50,666 --> 00:50:53,709 NARRATOR: In addition, the judge issued a restraining order against 872 00:50:53,733 --> 00:50:57,109 {\an1}Kinyoun and advised him and the MHS 873 00:50:57,133 --> 00:51:02,109 {\an1}in no uncertain terms to back off. 874 00:51:02,133 --> 00:51:03,409 {\an1}Stung by the emphatic ruling, 875 00:51:03,433 --> 00:51:08,109 {\an1}Kinyoun wired his fears to Wyman. 876 00:51:08,133 --> 00:51:13,576 {\an1}KINYOUN (dramatized): Believe situation to United States very grave. 877 00:51:13,600 --> 00:51:16,376 {\an1}The decision practically nullifies all acts 878 00:51:16,400 --> 00:51:19,476 {\an1}of federal government. 879 00:51:19,500 --> 00:51:24,509 Most serious blow Service has received. 880 00:51:24,533 --> 00:51:27,309 ♪ ♪ 881 00:51:27,333 --> 00:51:29,876 NARRATOR: Unwavering in his convictions, 882 00:51:29,900 --> 00:51:32,576 {\an1}Kinyoun ignored the judge and continued to enforce 883 00:51:32,600 --> 00:51:37,842 {\an1}the known scientific measures of isolation and sanitation. 884 00:51:37,866 --> 00:51:40,576 He pushed for camps on Angel Island, 885 00:51:40,600 --> 00:51:43,109 {\an1}as well as remote Mission Rock, 886 00:51:43,133 --> 00:51:48,576 {\an1}to detain people even suspected of having the plague. 887 00:51:48,600 --> 00:51:52,609 CHASE: There were now threats to remove people forcibly from Chinatown. 888 00:51:52,633 --> 00:51:56,242 ♪ ♪ 889 00:51:56,266 --> 00:51:58,876 {\an7}And at the head of it all was Dr. Kinyoun, 890 00:51:58,900 --> 00:52:00,776 {\an8}so he was called the Wolf Doctor. 891 00:52:00,800 --> 00:52:04,276 {\an8}♪ ♪ 892 00:52:04,300 --> 00:52:08,742 {\an7}He acquired this nickname for what was perceived as 893 00:52:08,766 --> 00:52:11,842 this snappy and officious manner... 894 00:52:11,866 --> 00:52:15,509 Aggressive, an assault on people, 895 00:52:15,533 --> 00:52:17,633 {\an1}kind of adding insult to injury. 896 00:52:20,766 --> 00:52:24,576 ♪ ♪ 897 00:52:24,600 --> 00:52:28,776 MAN (reading): "The wolf doctor is baring his claws and teeth. 898 00:52:28,800 --> 00:52:32,842 "Enforced relocation to an icy remote island 899 00:52:32,866 --> 00:52:38,642 {\an1}renders us without wings to fly." 900 00:52:38,666 --> 00:52:43,576 {\an1}"Chung Sai Yat Po Daily." 901 00:52:43,600 --> 00:52:45,976 NGAI: The city and the health authorities were never really 902 00:52:46,000 --> 00:52:51,909 {\an1}interested in ameliorating the conditions in Chinatown. 903 00:52:51,933 --> 00:52:55,842 {\an1}What they wanted to do was isolate the Chinese community, 904 00:52:55,866 --> 00:52:59,476 {\an1}protect white people, and that was their goal. 905 00:52:59,500 --> 00:53:03,042 {\an1}So there's very little space to gain people's trust 906 00:53:03,066 --> 00:53:04,942 {\an1}because the whole thing is rotten. 907 00:53:04,966 --> 00:53:08,842 ♪ ♪ 908 00:53:08,866 --> 00:53:11,742 NARRATOR: And now, other states were starting to put 909 00:53:11,766 --> 00:53:15,009 commercial pressure on California as well. 910 00:53:15,033 --> 00:53:16,076 Everything erupted 911 00:53:16,100 --> 00:53:18,842 in an acrimonious three-day meeting... 912 00:53:18,866 --> 00:53:22,209 {\an1}with Kinyoun weighing in forcefully. 913 00:53:22,233 --> 00:53:24,409 (people chattering in background) 914 00:53:24,433 --> 00:53:26,409 McCLAIN: The state of Texas 915 00:53:26,433 --> 00:53:28,242 {\an1}was preventing people and products 916 00:53:28,266 --> 00:53:29,842 {\an8}from San Francisco, 917 00:53:29,866 --> 00:53:32,042 from entering Texas. 918 00:53:32,066 --> 00:53:35,342 {\an1}So, the state board of health was putting tremendous pressure 919 00:53:35,366 --> 00:53:38,609 {\an1}on the local board of health and says, "What you need to do 920 00:53:38,633 --> 00:53:40,476 {\an1}is quarantine Chinatown." 921 00:53:40,500 --> 00:53:44,476 ♪ ♪ 922 00:53:44,500 --> 00:53:48,276 NARRATOR: On May 28, Kinyoun privately exulted 923 00:53:48,300 --> 00:53:51,009 {\an1}when the state health board secured what he had long thought 924 00:53:51,033 --> 00:53:52,942 {\an1}was the best option... 925 00:53:52,966 --> 00:53:59,476 {\an1}a full lockdown of all of Chinatown, indefinitely. 926 00:53:59,500 --> 00:54:04,709 {\an1}Within hours, 159 policemen descended on the district, 927 00:54:04,733 --> 00:54:07,476 working in three around-the-clock shifts. 928 00:54:07,500 --> 00:54:09,242 {\an1}(whistling, people shouting) 929 00:54:09,266 --> 00:54:11,776 McCLAIN: They start putting barbed wire around the quarter, 930 00:54:11,800 --> 00:54:15,966 they start putting a wall up around Chinatown. 931 00:54:18,166 --> 00:54:21,142 {\an1}It becomes very clear to the Chinese that this is 932 00:54:21,166 --> 00:54:23,742 {\an1}not like the first quarantine. 933 00:54:23,766 --> 00:54:26,476 ♪ ♪ 934 00:54:26,500 --> 00:54:28,342 {\an1}The Chinese were very, very upset immediately, 935 00:54:28,366 --> 00:54:31,033 {\an1}as soon as the quarantine was declared. 936 00:54:32,733 --> 00:54:38,376 NARRATOR: Once again, nearly 20,000 people were locked down. 937 00:54:38,400 --> 00:54:41,276 {\an1}They had no idea when they would be allowed out 938 00:54:41,300 --> 00:54:44,076 {\an1}or whether the authorities might even attempt to burn down 939 00:54:44,100 --> 00:54:47,376 {\an1}the district like Honolulu only months before. 940 00:54:47,400 --> 00:54:49,542 ♪ ♪ 941 00:54:49,566 --> 00:54:52,276 {\an1}With no streetcar service, 942 00:54:52,300 --> 00:54:55,976 {\an1}or incoming shipments of food and other vital supplies, 943 00:54:56,000 --> 00:54:58,442 {\an1}panic quickly spread. 944 00:54:58,466 --> 00:55:01,109 ♪ ♪ 945 00:55:01,133 --> 00:55:05,242 POWELL: It was very draconian for the Chinese. 946 00:55:05,266 --> 00:55:07,042 {\an1}You had this complicated interaction between 947 00:55:07,066 --> 00:55:11,342 the city, state, and the federal government. 948 00:55:11,366 --> 00:55:14,342 {\an7}But there was almost a consensus that, among all of them, 949 00:55:14,366 --> 00:55:16,876 {\an7}that somehow the heart of the problem were the Chinese. 950 00:55:16,900 --> 00:55:19,076 {\an1}And if we could just control the Chinese, 951 00:55:19,100 --> 00:55:21,676 {\an1}we could control this plague. 952 00:55:21,700 --> 00:55:25,542 ♪ ♪ 953 00:55:25,566 --> 00:55:28,409 SHAH: People had that sense of doubt. 954 00:55:28,433 --> 00:55:32,909 {\an1}Is this the way in which the health officials 955 00:55:32,933 --> 00:55:36,276 {\an7}who never cared about our wellbeing want to eradicate us? 956 00:55:36,300 --> 00:55:39,242 ♪ ♪ 957 00:55:39,266 --> 00:55:44,742 NARRATOR: Once more, the Chinese turned to the most powerful tool they had. 958 00:55:44,766 --> 00:55:48,142 ♪ ♪ 959 00:55:48,166 --> 00:55:50,242 McCLAIN: They file suit again. 960 00:55:50,266 --> 00:55:51,709 And this leads to 961 00:55:51,733 --> 00:55:55,842 the second case, Jew Ho vs. Williamson. 962 00:55:55,866 --> 00:55:59,342 And, again, Kinyoun was a named defendant. 963 00:55:59,366 --> 00:56:01,842 CHASE: A grocer on Stockton Street, 964 00:56:01,866 --> 00:56:06,576 {\an1}Jew Ho noticed that the quarantine lines were not drawn 965 00:56:06,600 --> 00:56:10,509 {\an1}in a straight line around all businesses in the region, 966 00:56:10,533 --> 00:56:15,476 {\an7}that they zigged and zagged to exclude white merchants. 967 00:56:15,500 --> 00:56:21,276 {\an1}And was specifically designed not to protect the health 968 00:56:21,300 --> 00:56:25,176 {\an1}of an entire district, but to isolate the Chinese. 969 00:56:25,200 --> 00:56:27,409 ♪ ♪ 970 00:56:27,433 --> 00:56:29,942 BRUCE QUAN JR.: The quarantine line was along Stockton Street, 971 00:56:29,966 --> 00:56:32,776 {\an1}so the cannery was in quarantine. 972 00:56:32,800 --> 00:56:36,776 {\an1}And the white workers, women and girls, 973 00:56:36,800 --> 00:56:38,476 employed by Lew Hing 974 00:56:38,500 --> 00:56:42,309 {\an7}in the cannery, they were allowed to come and go, 975 00:56:42,333 --> 00:56:45,376 but not the Chinese. 976 00:56:45,400 --> 00:56:47,042 McCLAIN: The judge says, 977 00:56:47,066 --> 00:56:49,342 {\an1}it's very clear that the Caucasians on the perimeter 978 00:56:49,366 --> 00:56:50,976 {\an1}are being treated differently. 979 00:56:51,000 --> 00:56:52,142 {\an7}And it has to do with whether this is 980 00:56:52,166 --> 00:56:54,742 {\an7}a reasonable exercise of the police power. 981 00:56:54,766 --> 00:56:56,409 {\an1}And again, the court says no, it isn't 982 00:56:56,433 --> 00:56:59,409 {\an1}because the Chinese are not being protected at all. 983 00:56:59,433 --> 00:57:02,509 {\an1}They're not being prevented from intermingling with each other; 984 00:57:02,533 --> 00:57:05,276 {\an1}the individuals who had contact with these people 985 00:57:05,300 --> 00:57:07,476 {\an1}who died of the plague have not been quarantined. 986 00:57:07,500 --> 00:57:09,642 {\an1}So, if the idea is to prevent 987 00:57:09,666 --> 00:57:11,309 {\an1}the spread of a contagious disease, 988 00:57:11,333 --> 00:57:13,566 {\an1}isn't this an unreasonable way to do it? 989 00:57:14,500 --> 00:57:17,366 (gavel banging) 990 00:57:19,700 --> 00:57:24,933 ♪ ♪ 991 00:57:26,466 --> 00:57:27,909 NARRATOR: A day after the ruling, 992 00:57:27,933 --> 00:57:30,609 Kinyoun imposed a sweeping travel ban 993 00:57:30,633 --> 00:57:34,342 on all Californians, regardless of race. 994 00:57:34,366 --> 00:57:37,109 {\an1}This meant no one could leave the state 995 00:57:37,133 --> 00:57:39,900 {\an1}without a health certificate from him. 996 00:57:41,166 --> 00:57:45,576 {\an1}And, of course, that made him a menace to the entire city 997 00:57:45,600 --> 00:57:48,766 and the whole state of California. 998 00:57:50,466 --> 00:57:53,976 Dr. Kinyoun was a top-down officer. 999 00:57:54,000 --> 00:57:59,642 He led by issuing sound scientific diagnoses. 1000 00:57:59,666 --> 00:58:02,076 {\an1}That plays very well in the lab, 1001 00:58:02,100 --> 00:58:03,642 {\an1}and not so well on the street. 1002 00:58:03,666 --> 00:58:06,000 (trolley clattering) 1003 00:58:07,133 --> 00:58:11,576 NARRATOR: Three days later, on June 19, 1900, 1004 00:58:11,600 --> 00:58:13,842 Kinyoun was dealt a stunning rebuke. 1005 00:58:13,866 --> 00:58:18,042 {\an1}President William McKinley was forced to apologize 1006 00:58:18,066 --> 00:58:20,209 {\an1}to enraged state legislators 1007 00:58:20,233 --> 00:58:22,776 for the actions of his federal officer 1008 00:58:22,800 --> 00:58:25,200 {\an8}and swiftly revoked the travel ban. 1009 00:58:26,666 --> 00:58:28,576 {\an7}Desperate to do the right thing, 1010 00:58:28,600 --> 00:58:31,542 {\an1}Kinyoun had played his biggest card 1011 00:58:31,566 --> 00:58:32,642 and lost. 1012 00:58:32,666 --> 00:58:36,876 (bell ringing) 1013 00:58:36,900 --> 00:58:39,776 {\an1}But the situation only worsened. 1014 00:58:39,800 --> 00:58:44,042 {\an1}Until now, there had been 13 confirmed plague deaths, 1015 00:58:44,066 --> 00:58:46,009 all Chinese. 1016 00:58:46,033 --> 00:58:48,009 From the beginning, 1017 00:58:48,033 --> 00:58:49,976 racial pseudoscience had lulled many 1018 00:58:50,000 --> 00:58:52,742 into the complacency of ignorance. 1019 00:58:52,766 --> 00:58:55,409 What's more, the disease came and went 1020 00:58:55,433 --> 00:58:59,076 in mysterious and inexplicable waves. 1021 00:58:59,100 --> 00:59:03,309 {\an1}Kinyoun feared that the plague was spreading in darkness. 1022 00:59:03,333 --> 00:59:05,976 {\an1}This was confirmed in mid-August 1023 00:59:06,000 --> 00:59:09,209 {\an1}when the first known white victim, William Murphy, 1024 00:59:09,233 --> 00:59:13,042 fell ill and died. 1025 00:59:13,066 --> 00:59:16,742 {\an1}A worker who routinely made deliveries to Chinatown, 1026 00:59:16,766 --> 00:59:20,409 {\an1}he was succeeded that fall by another non-Chinese victim, 1027 00:59:20,433 --> 00:59:23,209 a nurse at the children's hospital, 1028 00:59:23,233 --> 00:59:25,800 {\an1}who had never been to the district. 1029 00:59:27,600 --> 00:59:29,942 ♪ ♪ 1030 00:59:29,966 --> 00:59:32,842 {\an1}Panicked that the disease had begun to spread 1031 00:59:32,866 --> 00:59:37,642 {\an1}beyond Chinatown, Kinyoun put all his men on high alert. 1032 00:59:37,666 --> 00:59:38,976 {\an1}(ship horn blares, birds squawk) 1033 00:59:39,000 --> 00:59:42,809 Late that September, a steamship called the Coptic 1034 00:59:42,833 --> 00:59:46,642 arrived from Hawaii and docked at Angel Island. 1035 00:59:46,666 --> 00:59:52,042 {\an1}An overzealous health official ordered that all passengers, 1036 00:59:52,066 --> 00:59:55,676 rich and poor, male and female alike, 1037 00:59:55,700 --> 00:59:57,676 {\an1}be strip-searched en masse 1038 00:59:57,700 --> 01:00:00,666 {\an1}and examined for buboes in the armpits and groin. 1039 01:00:02,633 --> 01:00:05,742 {\an1}First-class passengers were outraged, 1040 01:00:05,766 --> 01:00:09,009 {\an1}and vowed to never again sail into San Francisco 1041 01:00:09,033 --> 01:00:12,142 as long as Kinyoun was in charge. 1042 01:00:12,166 --> 01:00:14,009 CHASE: And now, 1043 01:00:14,033 --> 01:00:16,509 {\an1}everyone is out for blood. 1044 01:00:16,533 --> 01:00:18,776 {\an8}♪ ♪ 1045 01:00:18,800 --> 01:00:20,576 {\an8}RANDALL: The state senate in California, 1046 01:00:20,600 --> 01:00:22,966 {\an7}say that Kinyoun should be hung for what he's doing. 1047 01:00:24,933 --> 01:00:27,376 CHASE: He had been decried 1048 01:00:27,400 --> 01:00:30,509 by the politicians, by the press. 1049 01:00:30,533 --> 01:00:33,976 {\an1}The legislators want him to leave, 1050 01:00:34,000 --> 01:00:35,909 {\an1}lobbying the federal government 1051 01:00:35,933 --> 01:00:38,700 for his transfer out of the city. 1052 01:00:40,333 --> 01:00:43,800 {\an1}By now, Dr. Kinyoun had been smacked down in the courts. 1053 01:00:44,833 --> 01:00:48,776 {\an1}He was defending his hypothesis, his diagnosis, 1054 01:00:48,800 --> 01:00:53,176 his standing in the Marine Hospital Service. 1055 01:00:53,200 --> 01:00:56,342 So he's literally a man under fire, besieged. 1056 01:00:56,366 --> 01:00:59,176 ♪ ♪ 1057 01:00:59,200 --> 01:01:03,876 {\an1}KINYOUN (dramatized): It appears to me that commercial interests of San Francisco 1058 01:01:03,900 --> 01:01:07,309 {\an1}are more dear to the inhabitants 1059 01:01:07,333 --> 01:01:11,742 {\an1}than the preservation of human life. 1060 01:01:11,766 --> 01:01:16,109 I am at war with everybody out here. 1061 01:01:16,133 --> 01:01:18,500 Joseph Kinyoun. 1062 01:01:21,000 --> 01:01:26,676 {\an1}California's Governor Gage spun a fantastic conspiracy theory. 1063 01:01:26,700 --> 01:01:30,242 {\an1}He said that Dr. Kinyoun and the federal doctors 1064 01:01:30,266 --> 01:01:34,242 had actually created a fake plague 1065 01:01:34,266 --> 01:01:37,976 {\an8}by injecting corpses with plague bacteria 1066 01:01:38,000 --> 01:01:39,666 {\an7}that they had secretly imported. 1067 01:01:40,666 --> 01:01:43,700 {\an1}That it was all made up. 1068 01:01:45,100 --> 01:01:49,466 {\an1}And he planted the seed of doubt in people's mind. 1069 01:01:51,700 --> 01:01:54,042 {\an1}This was too much for Dr. Kinyoun. 1070 01:01:54,066 --> 01:01:57,676 {\an1}And in despair and anger, 1071 01:01:57,700 --> 01:01:59,342 he wired his boss, 1072 01:01:59,366 --> 01:02:01,876 {\an1}Surgeon General Walter Wyman, and said, 1073 01:02:01,900 --> 01:02:06,642 {\an1}"Please defend me from this slander against myself 1074 01:02:06,666 --> 01:02:08,133 {\an1}and the Marine Hospital Service." 1075 01:02:11,266 --> 01:02:15,242 NARRATOR: But Wyman chose to remain silent. 1076 01:02:15,266 --> 01:02:19,976 {\an1}Kinyoun was left defenseless, and utterly alone. 1077 01:02:20,000 --> 01:02:24,042 In despair, he wrote to a colleague. 1078 01:02:24,066 --> 01:02:26,042 {\an1}(typewriter keys clacking) 1079 01:02:26,066 --> 01:02:28,909 {\an1}KINYOUN (dramatized): My exoneration rests upon 1080 01:02:28,933 --> 01:02:32,942 {\an1}Dr. Wyman openly avowing his responsibility 1081 01:02:32,966 --> 01:02:36,142 {\an1}for my official actions. 1082 01:02:36,166 --> 01:02:41,809 {\an1}This he should, if he possesses the courage of a man. 1083 01:02:41,833 --> 01:02:47,309 {\an1}All these years I have stood loyally by his side... 1084 01:02:47,333 --> 01:02:51,766 {\an1}keeping his political head from rolling into the basket. 1085 01:02:55,233 --> 01:02:58,876 HOUTS JR.: It took a lot of stamina 1086 01:02:58,900 --> 01:03:02,842 {\an7}and guts to stay the course, that what he believed in. 1087 01:03:02,866 --> 01:03:05,542 {\an7}'Cause he knew it, where everybody else doubted him. 1088 01:03:05,566 --> 01:03:08,476 ♪ ♪ 1089 01:03:08,500 --> 01:03:12,276 {\an8}NARRATOR: Barely nine months since his first forensic diagnosis, 1090 01:03:12,300 --> 01:03:17,142 {\an1}Kinyoun confirmed the 22nd known plague casualty. 1091 01:03:17,166 --> 01:03:21,142 Seeking vindication, he now demanded a thorough, 1092 01:03:21,166 --> 01:03:24,542 {\an1}outside investigation into the truth of the matter. 1093 01:03:24,566 --> 01:03:26,609 Meanwhile, 1094 01:03:26,633 --> 01:03:29,376 {\an1}word of San Francisco's troubles 1095 01:03:29,400 --> 01:03:32,476 {\an1}continued to spread across the country. 1096 01:03:32,500 --> 01:03:35,709 MORENS: It became obvious to everybody in the country 1097 01:03:35,733 --> 01:03:37,342 that San Francisco had an epidemic 1098 01:03:37,366 --> 01:03:38,409 {\an1}and they weren't admitting to it. 1099 01:03:38,433 --> 01:03:40,209 ♪ ♪ 1100 01:03:40,233 --> 01:03:42,409 {\an1}The federal government and the state government 1101 01:03:42,433 --> 01:03:46,176 {\an1}of California were at a standoff. 1102 01:03:46,200 --> 01:03:48,342 {\an8}So, a deal was cut that there would be 1103 01:03:48,366 --> 01:03:50,376 {\an7}a neutral federal commission. 1104 01:03:50,400 --> 01:03:53,409 {\an1}Three of the most prominent bacteriologists 1105 01:03:53,433 --> 01:03:56,776 {\an1}in the United States would go west to investigate 1106 01:03:56,800 --> 01:04:00,742 {\an1}and find out whether there really was a plague epidemic, 1107 01:04:00,766 --> 01:04:02,576 {\an1}and whether Kinyoun was doing the right things 1108 01:04:02,600 --> 01:04:04,976 or the wrong things. 1109 01:04:05,000 --> 01:04:07,509 (train horn blares, steam hisses) 1110 01:04:07,533 --> 01:04:11,742 RANDALL: Kinyoun, was looking for that sense of validation. 1111 01:04:11,766 --> 01:04:15,609 He felt like he was 2,000 miles away 1112 01:04:15,633 --> 01:04:19,109 {\an1}from anybody he'd consider his peer who he trusted. 1113 01:04:19,133 --> 01:04:21,976 {\an1}You know, "Finally, here are people who care about science, 1114 01:04:22,000 --> 01:04:25,409 {\an1}"who care about medicine. 1115 01:04:25,433 --> 01:04:26,842 {\an1}"And now I'm going to be validated, 1116 01:04:26,866 --> 01:04:28,442 {\an1}"and we're going to save, you know, thousands, 1117 01:04:28,466 --> 01:04:29,900 {\an1}if not millions, of lives." 1118 01:04:31,300 --> 01:04:34,342 NARRATOR: When the three-man commission arrived in San Francisco 1119 01:04:34,366 --> 01:04:37,042 {\an1}in late January 1901, 1120 01:04:37,066 --> 01:04:41,042 {\an1}they felt the full urgency of their mission. 1121 01:04:41,066 --> 01:04:43,309 {\an1}Sensing they had to penetrate Chinatown, 1122 01:04:43,333 --> 01:04:47,042 {\an1}they immediately hired a local translator and go-between, 1123 01:04:47,066 --> 01:04:51,609 {\an1}a former Six Companies secretary named Wong Chung. 1124 01:04:51,633 --> 01:04:56,242 RANDALL: He was the link between medical establishment, 1125 01:04:56,266 --> 01:04:58,942 {\an1}San Francisco establishment, 1126 01:04:58,966 --> 01:05:03,209 {\an1}the Chinese Six Companies, and Chinatown itself. 1127 01:05:03,233 --> 01:05:05,242 ♪ ♪ 1128 01:05:05,266 --> 01:05:07,376 NARRATOR: The move paid off. 1129 01:05:07,400 --> 01:05:10,076 {\an1}With the help of Wong Chung, 1130 01:05:10,100 --> 01:05:12,776 {\an1}and with Kinyoun safely on Angel Island, 1131 01:05:12,800 --> 01:05:14,842 {\an1}the commission was quickly able to gain 1132 01:05:14,866 --> 01:05:17,176 {\an1}what had been missing for months: 1133 01:05:17,200 --> 01:05:20,042 {\an1}not just trust, but access. 1134 01:05:20,066 --> 01:05:22,342 ♪ ♪ 1135 01:05:22,366 --> 01:05:27,333 {\an8}Within weeks, they confirmed six new cases. 1136 01:05:29,066 --> 01:05:30,842 {\an1}When Governor Henry Gage 1137 01:05:30,866 --> 01:05:35,509 {\an1}learned of the commission's upcoming report, he panicked. 1138 01:05:35,533 --> 01:05:39,942 {\an1}He hastily made a trip to Washington D.C., 1139 01:05:39,966 --> 01:05:41,542 accompanied by a hand-picked army 1140 01:05:41,566 --> 01:05:43,376 {\an1}of the most powerful men in California: 1141 01:05:43,400 --> 01:05:45,076 senators, 1142 01:05:45,100 --> 01:05:46,676 newspaper editors, 1143 01:05:46,700 --> 01:05:48,709 {\an1}and business leaders. 1144 01:05:48,733 --> 01:05:50,242 ♪ ♪ 1145 01:05:50,266 --> 01:05:55,542 CHASE: When he arrived in Washington, he visited 1146 01:05:55,566 --> 01:06:00,876 {\an7}Surgeon General Walter Wyman, and he proposed a quid pro quo. 1147 01:06:00,900 --> 01:06:04,276 {\an1}He said, "We will clean up the city of San Francisco 1148 01:06:04,300 --> 01:06:08,009 {\an1}"if you keep the existence of plague 1149 01:06:08,033 --> 01:06:10,442 {\an1}secret from the nation." 1150 01:06:10,466 --> 01:06:12,476 (engine puttering, trolley clanging) 1151 01:06:12,500 --> 01:06:14,542 NARRATOR: Both sides had much to gain. 1152 01:06:14,566 --> 01:06:17,076 {\an1}California needed the White House 1153 01:06:17,100 --> 01:06:18,842 {\an1}to put an end to the matter 1154 01:06:18,866 --> 01:06:22,966 {\an1}that was threatening to take down its economy and reputation. 1155 01:06:25,466 --> 01:06:27,842 {\an1}And McKinley needed the vote-rich state 1156 01:06:27,866 --> 01:06:31,342 {\an1}to ensure his upcoming bid for re-election. 1157 01:06:31,366 --> 01:06:37,176 {\an1}All of the men now agreed: one hand would wash the other. 1158 01:06:37,200 --> 01:06:38,876 (footsteps echoing) 1159 01:06:38,900 --> 01:06:40,976 MORENS: And this unholy deal 1160 01:06:41,000 --> 01:06:43,776 {\an1}was undertaken in the office 1161 01:06:43,800 --> 01:06:45,242 of the President of the United States... 1162 01:06:45,266 --> 01:06:51,109 {\an1}President McKinley, in concert with senior Republican leaders, 1163 01:06:51,133 --> 01:06:53,942 {\an1}including those from California. 1164 01:06:53,966 --> 01:06:58,242 CHASE: And they struck a deal with the surgeon general to maintain 1165 01:06:58,266 --> 01:07:00,942 {\an1}what Dr. Walter Wyman, surgeon general, 1166 01:07:00,966 --> 01:07:02,809 {\an1}called a perfect seal of silence. 1167 01:07:02,833 --> 01:07:06,133 {\an1}They would hush it up. 1168 01:07:11,333 --> 01:07:14,109 {\an8}NARRATOR: On March 6, 1901, 1169 01:07:14,133 --> 01:07:18,609 {\an7}exactly one year since Wong Chut King's death, 1170 01:07:18,633 --> 01:07:20,109 {\an1}a local headline blared 1171 01:07:20,133 --> 01:07:23,500 an unexpected and scandalous scoop. 1172 01:07:24,233 --> 01:07:27,142 CHASE: Reporters broke news 1173 01:07:27,166 --> 01:07:31,209 {\an1}of this infamous pact signed by the surgeon general 1174 01:07:31,233 --> 01:07:32,342 {\an1}and the governor of California. 1175 01:07:32,366 --> 01:07:34,109 ♪ ♪ 1176 01:07:34,133 --> 01:07:39,709 {\an1}And word got out about this cover-up. 1177 01:07:39,733 --> 01:07:45,642 ♪ ♪ 1178 01:07:45,666 --> 01:07:50,009 NARRATOR: Wyman found himself in an uncomfortable position. 1179 01:07:50,033 --> 01:07:54,642 {\an1}Yet he also knew that much of the vitriol aimed at the MHS 1180 01:07:54,666 --> 01:07:58,776 {\an1}had been greatly exacerbated by Kinyoun's actions. 1181 01:07:58,800 --> 01:08:03,766 {\an1}His perceived lack of diplomacy was all anyone could talk about. 1182 01:08:05,500 --> 01:08:07,776 Kinyoun had to be thrown under the bus. 1183 01:08:07,800 --> 01:08:09,776 {\an1}And so he was removed from his job 1184 01:08:09,800 --> 01:08:13,300 {\an1}without any real explanation for why. 1185 01:08:16,400 --> 01:08:21,909 NARRATOR: In May 1901, Kinyoun was ordered without thanks, fanfare, 1186 01:08:21,933 --> 01:08:26,509 {\an1}or even notice, to pack up his family and relocate to Detroit. 1187 01:08:26,533 --> 01:08:29,142 ♪ ♪ 1188 01:08:29,166 --> 01:08:33,242 {\an1}He had spent two long years trying to protect the country, 1189 01:08:33,266 --> 01:08:36,233 {\an1}and seemingly all in vain. 1190 01:08:38,166 --> 01:08:40,442 REEVES: It was such a devastating blow 1191 01:08:40,466 --> 01:08:45,342 {\an1}because it basically ended his scientific career in many ways. 1192 01:08:45,366 --> 01:08:48,442 {\an7}He did not get to go back to his beloved lab. 1193 01:08:48,466 --> 01:08:50,033 {\an8}And I think that was devastating. 1194 01:08:52,033 --> 01:08:55,009 MORENS: And I think he believed he had spent his life 1195 01:08:55,033 --> 01:08:58,042 {\an1}doing really good things, and he was very proud of that. 1196 01:08:58,066 --> 01:09:00,442 {\an1}And I think to be thrown under the bus 1197 01:09:00,466 --> 01:09:03,309 {\an1}was probably devastating to him. 1198 01:09:03,333 --> 01:09:05,809 {\an1}Because it called into question 1199 01:09:05,833 --> 01:09:08,433 {\an1}the goodness of all those things he'd been doing for so long. 1200 01:09:10,633 --> 01:09:12,642 CHASE: Dr. Kinyoun did the hard work 1201 01:09:12,666 --> 01:09:16,709 of nailing the scientific diagnosis. 1202 01:09:16,733 --> 01:09:20,433 {\an1}He just couldn't make it stick in the minds of the populace. 1203 01:09:22,066 --> 01:09:25,742 And he was hurt, he was indignant. 1204 01:09:25,766 --> 01:09:29,742 {\an1}And being somewhat hot-tempered, he didn't go quietly. 1205 01:09:29,766 --> 01:09:31,376 ♪ ♪ 1206 01:09:31,400 --> 01:09:33,609 He blasted the city, 1207 01:09:33,633 --> 01:09:37,966 blasted Chinatown, blasted all the authorities. 1208 01:09:40,100 --> 01:09:42,842 NARRATOR: Kinyoun had come to San Francisco 1209 01:09:42,866 --> 01:09:46,709 {\an1}expecting to champion science and save the country. 1210 01:09:46,733 --> 01:09:50,342 {\an1}Instead, he had been sent away in ignominy, 1211 01:09:50,366 --> 01:09:53,166 {\an1}while the danger still remained. 1212 01:09:56,133 --> 01:10:01,042 {\an1}("Hail to the Chief" playing) 1213 01:10:01,066 --> 01:10:05,309 NARRATOR: With Kinyoun gone, California turned to happier business. 1214 01:10:05,333 --> 01:10:09,809 {\an1}As their part of the secret deal brokered months before, 1215 01:10:09,833 --> 01:10:12,476 {\an1}state politicians welcomed President McKinley 1216 01:10:12,500 --> 01:10:15,876 to a lavish, all-expenses-paid junket. 1217 01:10:15,900 --> 01:10:17,576 (crowd cheering) 1218 01:10:17,600 --> 01:10:22,409 {\an1}Meanwhile, Wyman was on the hunt for a new quarantine officer. 1219 01:10:22,433 --> 01:10:25,876 {\an1}But after Kinyoun's humiliating ouster, 1220 01:10:25,900 --> 01:10:28,642 {\an1}no one in the MHS community wanted 1221 01:10:28,666 --> 01:10:32,876 what they saw as an impossible job. 1222 01:10:32,900 --> 01:10:34,276 {\an1}("Hail to the Chief" ends) 1223 01:10:34,300 --> 01:10:36,609 ♪ ♪ 1224 01:10:36,633 --> 01:10:40,809 {\an1}He finally settled on a candidate: Rupert Lee Blue, 1225 01:10:40,833 --> 01:10:45,342 {\an1}a 32-year old physician from the MHS. 1226 01:10:45,366 --> 01:10:50,342 {\an1}Unlike Kinyoun, Blue wasn't a research scientist. 1227 01:10:50,366 --> 01:10:54,209 {\an1}He lacked Kinyoun's medical pedigree and rigorous training. 1228 01:10:54,233 --> 01:10:59,733 {\an1}In fact, he wasn't Wyman's first or even second choice. 1229 01:11:01,433 --> 01:11:03,676 CHASE: Rupert Lee Blue, 1230 01:11:03,700 --> 01:11:06,576 {\an1}or Pert as he was known by his nickname, 1231 01:11:06,600 --> 01:11:08,176 {\an1}was round-faced and shy. 1232 01:11:08,200 --> 01:11:09,143 He was diffident. 1233 01:11:09,167 --> 01:11:13,509 {\an1}And he really loved boxing matches. 1234 01:11:13,533 --> 01:11:14,942 (crowd shouting) 1235 01:11:14,966 --> 01:11:16,876 {\an1}Not just as a spectator but also 1236 01:11:16,900 --> 01:11:19,400 {\an1}as an amateur participant. 1237 01:11:20,933 --> 01:11:23,909 ♪ ♪ 1238 01:11:23,933 --> 01:11:26,876 {\an1}He was preceded by rumors that he was lazy, 1239 01:11:26,900 --> 01:11:29,409 {\an1}as one of his colleagues called him "inert." 1240 01:11:29,433 --> 01:11:31,776 "Inert Pert." 1241 01:11:31,800 --> 01:11:35,176 RANDALL: He was known as kind of affable guy, 1242 01:11:35,200 --> 01:11:37,676 {\an1}not necessarily the most accomplished. 1243 01:11:37,700 --> 01:11:40,076 {\an1}Other people thought of him as, you know, 1244 01:11:40,100 --> 01:11:42,176 {\an1}somebody who is barely getting by, 1245 01:11:42,200 --> 01:11:44,709 {\an1}but it's hard to be that critical of somebody you like, 1246 01:11:44,733 --> 01:11:46,542 you know, or somebody who's friendly. 1247 01:11:46,566 --> 01:11:51,209 (birds chirping) 1248 01:11:51,233 --> 01:11:53,609 NARRATOR: The sixth of eight children, 1249 01:11:53,633 --> 01:11:57,176 {\an1}Blue was born three years after the end of the Civil War 1250 01:11:57,200 --> 01:11:59,576 to a struggling but respected family 1251 01:11:59,600 --> 01:12:02,109 {\an7}in Marion, South Carolina. 1252 01:12:02,133 --> 01:12:04,842 {\an8}(horse whinnying) 1253 01:12:04,866 --> 01:12:07,776 {\an8}RANDALL: Blue came from nothing, essentially, 1254 01:12:07,800 --> 01:12:10,842 {\an1}and grew up in the fields. 1255 01:12:10,866 --> 01:12:13,376 {\an1}He'd walk with his siblings, 1256 01:12:13,400 --> 01:12:15,042 {\an1}bursting open watermelons with his fist 1257 01:12:15,066 --> 01:12:17,076 {\an1}and eating right there in the fields. 1258 01:12:17,100 --> 01:12:19,709 {\an7}(child shouting in distance) 1259 01:12:19,733 --> 01:12:22,942 {\an8}He knew he was not the most favored son. 1260 01:12:22,966 --> 01:12:25,642 {\an8}His older brother, Victor, was a war hero. 1261 01:12:25,666 --> 01:12:29,609 {\an1}And the parents idolized Victor. 1262 01:12:29,633 --> 01:12:33,209 {\an1}Rupert Blue kind of felt that 1263 01:12:33,233 --> 01:12:35,276 {\an1}"If Victor's purpose in life is to harm, 1264 01:12:35,300 --> 01:12:37,576 {\an1}perhaps my purpose in life is to heal." 1265 01:12:37,600 --> 01:12:38,842 {\an1}So he went into medicine. 1266 01:12:38,866 --> 01:12:42,276 {\an1}And went to one of the first public medical schools 1267 01:12:42,300 --> 01:12:43,876 in the U.S. 1268 01:12:43,900 --> 01:12:46,742 ♪ ♪ 1269 01:12:46,766 --> 01:12:49,109 {\an1}He wrote letters to his mom saying, 1270 01:12:49,133 --> 01:12:50,709 {\an1}"I don't think I can hack it. 1271 01:12:50,733 --> 01:12:52,609 {\an1}I can barely survive." 1272 01:12:52,633 --> 01:12:55,109 {\an1}And he barely graduated medical school. 1273 01:12:55,133 --> 01:12:57,642 ♪ ♪ 1274 01:12:57,666 --> 01:12:59,809 NARRATOR: Blue joined the Commissioned Corps 1275 01:12:59,833 --> 01:13:01,766 {\an1}of the Marine Hospital Service. 1276 01:13:02,933 --> 01:13:06,142 {\an1}The MHS represented adventure with a purpose, 1277 01:13:06,166 --> 01:13:09,409 the chance to see a world bigger than that 1278 01:13:09,433 --> 01:13:13,009 {\an1}of his small-town boyhood, and to confront diseases 1279 01:13:13,033 --> 01:13:16,509 {\an1}he had only read about in school. 1280 01:13:16,533 --> 01:13:18,342 {\an1}As a quarantine officer, 1281 01:13:18,366 --> 01:13:21,176 {\an1}he tracked yellow fever in Galveston, 1282 01:13:21,200 --> 01:13:24,276 {\an1}monitored infectious diseases in Milwaukee, 1283 01:13:24,300 --> 01:13:29,342 and investigated possible plague cases in Rome. 1284 01:13:29,366 --> 01:13:31,476 CHASE: He had to work hard. 1285 01:13:31,500 --> 01:13:34,742 {\an1}Having lost his father to illness, 1286 01:13:34,766 --> 01:13:37,342 he had to send money to his widowed mother 1287 01:13:37,366 --> 01:13:41,042 {\an1}and to his teenage sisters at home. 1288 01:13:41,066 --> 01:13:43,076 RANDALL: So he was working in the Marine Hospital Service, 1289 01:13:43,100 --> 01:13:45,642 {\an1}and also taking all these other side jobs 1290 01:13:45,666 --> 01:13:48,709 {\an1}as editor of a medical bulletin or a newsletter 1291 01:13:48,733 --> 01:13:50,776 {\an1}just to try to bring in more money. 1292 01:13:50,800 --> 01:13:54,209 (trolley clanging, people chattering) 1293 01:13:54,233 --> 01:13:56,976 {\an8}NARRATOR: The new posting in San Francisco, 1294 01:13:57,000 --> 01:14:01,476 {\an7}commercial hub for the nation and Asia, was a huge step up 1295 01:14:01,500 --> 01:14:04,376 {\an7}from monitoring shipping fleets on Lake Michigan. 1296 01:14:04,400 --> 01:14:09,176 {\an1}It was a high-profile chance for Blue to prove himself, 1297 01:14:09,200 --> 01:14:14,576 {\an1}although it came with seemingly insurmountable obstacles. 1298 01:14:14,600 --> 01:14:20,209 {\an1}Chinatown feared and distrusted the MHS and its agents. 1299 01:14:20,233 --> 01:14:25,342 {\an1}City leaders were openly vying for their own interests. 1300 01:14:25,366 --> 01:14:28,509 {\an1}State officials still refused to acknowledge 1301 01:14:28,533 --> 01:14:30,976 {\an1}that the disease even existed. 1302 01:14:31,000 --> 01:14:32,509 ♪ ♪ 1303 01:14:32,533 --> 01:14:34,809 By June 1901, 1304 01:14:34,833 --> 01:14:39,042 {\an1}there had been a total of 34 official plague deaths, 1305 01:14:39,066 --> 01:14:42,909 {\an1}so Blue knew he had no time to lose. 1306 01:14:42,933 --> 01:14:44,909 (child chattering) 1307 01:14:44,933 --> 01:14:46,476 CHASE: The first thing he did, 1308 01:14:46,500 --> 01:14:49,276 {\an1}he moved into the city and he set up a lab 1309 01:14:49,300 --> 01:14:52,809 {\an1}right on Merchant Street, which is Chinatown, 1310 01:14:52,833 --> 01:14:55,476 {\an1}and he was comfortable there. 1311 01:14:55,500 --> 01:14:57,842 {\an1}(horse hooves clomping) 1312 01:14:57,866 --> 01:14:59,409 RANDALL: He would literally just walk into shops 1313 01:14:59,433 --> 01:15:00,942 {\an1}and start talking to people 1314 01:15:00,966 --> 01:15:02,976 {\an1}and trying to make those kinds of friendships 1315 01:15:03,000 --> 01:15:04,909 {\an1}and forge those social bonds. 1316 01:15:04,933 --> 01:15:07,142 {\an1}And Kinyoun, when he went into Chinatown, 1317 01:15:07,166 --> 01:15:10,476 {\an1}he had to have a protection of armed officers. 1318 01:15:10,500 --> 01:15:14,209 {\an1}Blue, he would walk down the streets by himself. 1319 01:15:14,233 --> 01:15:17,466 ♪ ♪ 1320 01:15:19,533 --> 01:15:22,642 {\an8}NARRATOR: Blue also kept on Wong Chung, 1321 01:15:22,666 --> 01:15:26,476 {\an7}the interpreter who had assisted the federal commission. 1322 01:15:26,500 --> 01:15:29,109 {\an7}And since he knew that Chinatown's dead 1323 01:15:29,133 --> 01:15:31,542 {\an1}seemed to mysteriously vanish, 1324 01:15:31,566 --> 01:15:35,900 {\an1}he talked Surgeon General Wyman into an unusual expense. 1325 01:15:37,533 --> 01:15:40,776 RANDALL: He arranged for a horse and buggy to have his own, 1326 01:15:40,800 --> 01:15:42,742 {\an1}essentially, morgue service, 1327 01:15:42,766 --> 01:15:44,042 {\an7}so he could find bodies 1328 01:15:44,066 --> 01:15:46,466 {\an7}and he could inspect them as quickly as he could. 1329 01:15:47,500 --> 01:15:49,876 Blue also paid the Chinese translators 1330 01:15:49,900 --> 01:15:52,576 {\an1}the same as he did as his white members of the staff, 1331 01:15:52,600 --> 01:15:55,242 {\an1}which was radical at the time. 1332 01:15:55,266 --> 01:15:58,209 {\an1}He found himself relying more and more 1333 01:15:58,233 --> 01:16:00,542 {\an1}on his translator, Wong Chung. 1334 01:16:00,566 --> 01:16:05,376 {\an1}Not just as a translator and interpreter, 1335 01:16:05,400 --> 01:16:08,476 {\an1}but also as a sort of cultural liaison. 1336 01:16:08,500 --> 01:16:12,242 {\an1}So, Wong Chung helped Dr. Blue understand 1337 01:16:12,266 --> 01:16:17,066 {\an1}the community's resistance to Western medical interventions. 1338 01:16:18,700 --> 01:16:21,476 ♪ ♪ 1339 01:16:21,500 --> 01:16:24,376 (people chattering) 1340 01:16:24,400 --> 01:16:27,476 NARRATOR: With Wong as his trusted go-between, 1341 01:16:27,500 --> 01:16:31,742 {\an1}Blue revised the harsh protocol of his predecessor. 1342 01:16:31,766 --> 01:16:36,842 {\an1}He disinfected only targeted houses, not whole streets. 1343 01:16:36,866 --> 01:16:40,442 He quarantined immediate family alone, 1344 01:16:40,466 --> 01:16:44,333 {\an1}and limited lockdown to the shortest time possible. 1345 01:16:47,266 --> 01:16:50,442 RANDALL: He was somebody who was willing to listen, 1346 01:16:50,466 --> 01:16:52,109 {\an1}which was a real skill. 1347 01:16:52,133 --> 01:16:54,509 {\an1}He knew he wasn't the smartest. 1348 01:16:54,533 --> 01:16:57,242 {\an1}He knew he didn't necessarily have insights 1349 01:16:57,266 --> 01:16:59,942 {\an1}that other people did, but he was willing to, 1350 01:16:59,966 --> 01:17:01,276 to try everything. 1351 01:17:01,300 --> 01:17:04,609 ♪ ♪ 1352 01:17:04,633 --> 01:17:08,776 NARRATOR: But what Blue discovered was unnerving. 1353 01:17:08,800 --> 01:17:12,109 {\an1}In the month of July, three Japanese prostitutes 1354 01:17:12,133 --> 01:17:15,600 working on the edge of Chinatown died. 1355 01:17:17,000 --> 01:17:19,609 {\an1}Blue reeled at the thought that the women had had contact 1356 01:17:19,633 --> 01:17:22,333 {\an1}with literally dozens of nameless customers. 1357 01:17:24,233 --> 01:17:26,609 How many were there? 1358 01:17:26,633 --> 01:17:29,142 Where did they go? 1359 01:17:29,166 --> 01:17:31,542 Blue was terrified that the disease 1360 01:17:31,566 --> 01:17:34,642 {\an1}was poised to explode exponentially, 1361 01:17:34,666 --> 01:17:37,076 {\an1}as he admitted to Wyman. 1362 01:17:37,100 --> 01:17:39,776 {\an1}RUPERT BLUE (dramatized): It would not be an easy matter 1363 01:17:39,800 --> 01:17:43,109 {\an1}to trace the source of this infection. 1364 01:17:43,133 --> 01:17:47,042 {\an1}The Chinese seem to know a suspicious case 1365 01:17:47,066 --> 01:17:50,109 {\an1}and depart, like the fleas. 1366 01:17:50,133 --> 01:17:51,276 Rupert Blue. 1367 01:17:51,300 --> 01:17:56,509 RANDALL: On the big map right behind his desk, 1368 01:17:56,533 --> 01:17:58,009 {\an1}he starts putting red marks 1369 01:17:58,033 --> 01:17:59,309 everywhere there's a known plague victim. 1370 01:17:59,333 --> 01:18:02,776 {\an1}And that becomes this obsession to try to prevent 1371 01:18:02,800 --> 01:18:05,842 {\an1}more red marks from showing up on his map, 1372 01:18:05,866 --> 01:18:09,676 {\an1}but also to try to find some kind of connection 1373 01:18:09,700 --> 01:18:11,566 {\an1}between these victims. 1374 01:18:13,866 --> 01:18:16,276 ♪ ♪ 1375 01:18:16,300 --> 01:18:18,376 NARRATOR: For the rest of the summer, 1376 01:18:18,400 --> 01:18:22,209 {\an1}Blue patiently continued to explore Chinatown, 1377 01:18:22,233 --> 01:18:26,200 {\an1}always on the lookout for more cases. 1378 01:18:27,066 --> 01:18:30,976 ♪ ♪ 1379 01:18:31,000 --> 01:18:36,876 {\an1}On September 11, 1901, following a tip from Wong Chung, 1380 01:18:36,900 --> 01:18:39,600 Blue and his men had a rare opportunity. 1381 01:18:40,900 --> 01:18:43,942 In the basement of a grocery store, 1382 01:18:43,966 --> 01:18:47,542 {\an1}they found a 28-year-old man with signs of the plague, 1383 01:18:47,566 --> 01:18:51,609 {\an1}and took him to the Tung Wah Dispensary for observation. 1384 01:18:51,633 --> 01:18:54,542 CHASE: Well, friends of the patient 1385 01:18:54,566 --> 01:19:00,909 {\an1}were about to get him out of Chinatown to avoid the red tape, 1386 01:19:00,933 --> 01:19:03,442 the inspections, the interventions. 1387 01:19:03,466 --> 01:19:06,909 {\an1}But Wong Chung's tip enabled the federal doctors 1388 01:19:06,933 --> 01:19:09,133 {\an7}to prevent this evasion. 1389 01:19:11,266 --> 01:19:14,576 {\an8}NARRATOR: It was the first time Blue had had the opportunity 1390 01:19:14,600 --> 01:19:18,142 {\an7}to examine a living patient. 1391 01:19:18,166 --> 01:19:20,876 {\an8}Until now, the Chinese had never trusted 1392 01:19:20,900 --> 01:19:22,776 {\an7}the MHS enough to cooperate. 1393 01:19:22,800 --> 01:19:27,409 {\an1}Blue was able to isolate the man and question him 1394 01:19:27,433 --> 01:19:30,209 about his contacts to hopefully learn 1395 01:19:30,233 --> 01:19:33,000 {\an1}how the disease was being spread. 1396 01:19:34,766 --> 01:19:37,876 {\an1}Thanks to Wong Chung's quiet diligence, 1397 01:19:37,900 --> 01:19:40,909 {\an1}Chinatown was starting to open up. 1398 01:19:40,933 --> 01:19:45,442 {\an1}Cases that had formerly been hidden or misdiagnosed 1399 01:19:45,466 --> 01:19:47,776 {\an1}were coming to light, 1400 01:19:47,800 --> 01:19:51,666 {\an1}leading to a wave of ten more confirmed diagnoses. 1401 01:19:56,766 --> 01:19:59,576 BLUE (dramatized): I am working like a Trojan. 1402 01:19:59,600 --> 01:20:03,242 {\an1}and I trust that my labors will be rewarded. 1403 01:20:03,266 --> 01:20:06,776 {\an1}We are still working quietly, 1404 01:20:06,800 --> 01:20:11,876 {\an1}avoiding friction with the state or the Chinese. 1405 01:20:11,900 --> 01:20:13,700 Rupert Blue. 1406 01:20:15,966 --> 01:20:17,709 RANDALL: He soon finds more and more victims. 1407 01:20:17,733 --> 01:20:19,076 {\an1}He sees living victims. 1408 01:20:19,100 --> 01:20:25,109 {\an1}He sees more victims quickly before they can be hidden away. 1409 01:20:25,133 --> 01:20:29,142 {\an1}So he starts realizing the scope of the problem. 1410 01:20:29,166 --> 01:20:31,309 CHASE: So, Wong Chung 1411 01:20:31,333 --> 01:20:34,909 {\an7}played a pivotal role, and for this he took many risks. 1412 01:20:34,933 --> 01:20:38,109 ♪ ♪ 1413 01:20:38,133 --> 01:20:41,909 {\an1}The state doctors who denied the plague existence 1414 01:20:41,933 --> 01:20:45,276 may have tipped Chinatown gangsters 1415 01:20:45,300 --> 01:20:47,476 that Wong Chung was a collaborator, 1416 01:20:47,500 --> 01:20:49,666 {\an1}a traitor to his community. 1417 01:20:50,866 --> 01:20:53,409 Not that long after, someone tried to kill him. 1418 01:20:53,433 --> 01:20:54,942 ♪ ♪ 1419 01:20:54,966 --> 01:20:56,476 {\an1}And he had to run for his life, essentially. 1420 01:20:56,500 --> 01:20:57,742 (loud clattering) 1421 01:20:57,766 --> 01:21:03,176 CHASE: It took the intervention of Washington, 1422 01:21:03,200 --> 01:21:06,442 and only then was Wong Chung secure 1423 01:21:06,466 --> 01:21:08,676 {\an1}to go about his medical rounds with the doctors. 1424 01:21:08,700 --> 01:21:12,309 (bell tolling) 1425 01:21:12,333 --> 01:21:15,876 NARRATOR: For 18 months, Blue, like Kinyoun before him, 1426 01:21:15,900 --> 01:21:19,076 {\an1}had been confounded by the low number of fatalities, 1427 01:21:19,100 --> 01:21:22,409 but neither man had had the full picture. 1428 01:21:22,433 --> 01:21:24,242 ♪ ♪ 1429 01:21:24,266 --> 01:21:25,676 {\an1}Blue began to realize 1430 01:21:25,700 --> 01:21:28,509 {\an1}that white doctors throughout San Francisco, 1431 01:21:28,533 --> 01:21:29,909 {\an1}bowing to political pressure, 1432 01:21:29,933 --> 01:21:32,876 were deliberately misdiagnosing cases 1433 01:21:32,900 --> 01:21:36,633 in order to minimize actual numbers. 1434 01:21:38,300 --> 01:21:42,442 BLUE (dramatized): Scant courtesy, singular apathy, 1435 01:21:42,466 --> 01:21:45,476 {\an1}and, in the end, interference, 1436 01:21:45,500 --> 01:21:47,776 have characterized the state health board 1437 01:21:47,800 --> 01:21:52,076 {\an1}at a time of grave public peril. 1438 01:21:52,100 --> 01:21:53,442 {\an1}Eradication of the disease 1439 01:21:53,466 --> 01:21:57,109 {\an1}would be entirely out of the question, 1440 01:21:57,133 --> 01:22:01,209 and the danger of an indefinite stay is enhanced. 1441 01:22:01,233 --> 01:22:03,809 Rupert Blue. 1442 01:22:03,833 --> 01:22:06,009 ♪ ♪ 1443 01:22:06,033 --> 01:22:08,476 NARRATOR: By the fall of 1902, 1444 01:22:08,500 --> 01:22:12,576 {\an1}the number of officially diagnosed cases had tripled. 1445 01:22:12,600 --> 01:22:15,809 ♪ ♪ 1446 01:22:15,833 --> 01:22:18,676 {\an1}At the annual meeting of state and local health boards 1447 01:22:18,700 --> 01:22:20,576 {\an1}in New Haven, Connecticut, 1448 01:22:20,600 --> 01:22:25,109 {\an1}San Francisco was all everyone talked about. 1449 01:22:25,133 --> 01:22:30,776 {\an1}California officials continued to deny that the plague existed, 1450 01:22:30,800 --> 01:22:34,966 {\an1}in direct contradiction to the MHS and national papers. 1451 01:22:37,533 --> 01:22:43,742 CHASE: Other state boards of health started issuing censure votes 1452 01:22:43,766 --> 01:22:48,476 {\an1}and statements of condemnation against the state of California, 1453 01:22:48,500 --> 01:22:53,376 {\an1}against Governor Gage, against the denial of plague. 1454 01:22:53,400 --> 01:22:57,842 {\an1}And some radicals even demanded 1455 01:22:57,866 --> 01:23:02,776 {\an1}that the Navy transfer centers be moved north to Seattle. 1456 01:23:02,800 --> 01:23:04,309 (cannon fire) 1457 01:23:04,333 --> 01:23:05,909 {\an1}Well, this was serious. 1458 01:23:05,933 --> 01:23:10,600 {\an1}San Francisco did not want to risk such a loss of power. 1459 01:23:12,033 --> 01:23:13,776 At this point, 1460 01:23:13,800 --> 01:23:16,533 the denial of plague became costly. 1461 01:23:18,733 --> 01:23:21,409 {\an7}California had run out of options. 1462 01:23:21,433 --> 01:23:25,309 {\an7}It was time to face it, and clean it out, and stamp it out. 1463 01:23:25,333 --> 01:23:27,709 (distant shouting) 1464 01:23:27,733 --> 01:23:30,376 NARRATOR: The responsibility of controlling the plague 1465 01:23:30,400 --> 01:23:32,566 rested squarely on Blue's shoulders. 1466 01:23:34,733 --> 01:23:36,142 CHASE: Blue's boxing 1467 01:23:36,166 --> 01:23:38,809 taught him how to bob and weave, 1468 01:23:38,833 --> 01:23:40,209 {\an1}size up his opponents, 1469 01:23:40,233 --> 01:23:43,042 {\an1}anticipating their next move, 1470 01:23:43,066 --> 01:23:45,533 {\an1}put an edge on his strategic approach. 1471 01:23:47,300 --> 01:23:51,309 NARRATOR: Now, he stared at his map for the hundredth time. 1472 01:23:51,333 --> 01:23:55,776 {\an1}Every single block in Chinatown had had a confirmed case. 1473 01:23:55,800 --> 01:23:58,642 ♪ ♪ 1474 01:23:58,666 --> 01:24:01,076 {\an1}But in the previous September, 1475 01:24:01,100 --> 01:24:03,876 {\an1}a white washerwoman with no connection to the district 1476 01:24:03,900 --> 01:24:08,300 had died of plague, and she lived a block away. 1477 01:24:10,500 --> 01:24:13,442 NARRATOR: It dawned on Blue he'd been ignoring something 1478 01:24:13,466 --> 01:24:16,733 {\an1}that had been right in front of him the entire time. 1479 01:24:19,133 --> 01:24:21,342 {\an1}The mystery of why the plague 1480 01:24:21,366 --> 01:24:23,976 had decimated Europe and Asia for centuries 1481 01:24:24,000 --> 01:24:27,476 {\an1}was finally beginning to unravel. 1482 01:24:27,500 --> 01:24:32,009 (indistinct chatter) 1483 01:24:32,033 --> 01:24:34,642 CHUCK: For us kids, 1484 01:24:34,666 --> 01:24:37,709 {\an7}one of the great pastimes was just fishing off 1485 01:24:37,733 --> 01:24:42,866 {\an1}the piers, which ran almost right up against Chinatown. 1486 01:24:43,833 --> 01:24:46,809 {\an1}And ships that were moored to the docks, 1487 01:24:46,833 --> 01:24:48,800 {\an1}they had these huge ropes. 1488 01:24:50,466 --> 01:24:52,342 You would see rats. 1489 01:24:52,366 --> 01:24:54,009 {\an1}Rats just coming from the ships 1490 01:24:54,033 --> 01:24:55,866 {\an7}and coming down those ropes. 1491 01:24:57,366 --> 01:24:59,376 {\an7}And some of them would just fall in the water. 1492 01:24:59,400 --> 01:25:02,700 {\an1}Others were able to find their way onto the docks. 1493 01:25:04,133 --> 01:25:07,576 {\an1}They scurried, they were fast, and they were quick. 1494 01:25:07,600 --> 01:25:11,476 (rat squeaking) 1495 01:25:11,500 --> 01:25:15,342 ♪ ♪ 1496 01:25:15,366 --> 01:25:17,642 {\an8}RANDALL: Rats are biological marvels in many ways 1497 01:25:17,666 --> 01:25:19,909 {\an1}because they can survive almost anything. 1498 01:25:19,933 --> 01:25:22,576 {\an1}And they can breed incredibly quickly. 1499 01:25:22,600 --> 01:25:24,176 {\an7}(music playing on newsreel) 1500 01:25:24,200 --> 01:25:26,976 {\an8}NEWSREEL NARRATOR: And a single pair of rats, 1501 01:25:27,000 --> 01:25:29,542 {\an7}left to reproduce unhampered, 1502 01:25:29,566 --> 01:25:33,809 {\an7}would become 1,500 in a year. 1503 01:25:33,833 --> 01:25:36,909 (rats squeaking) 1504 01:25:36,933 --> 01:25:41,542 NARRATOR: In his lab, Blue and his men had discovered plague germs 1505 01:25:41,566 --> 01:25:45,409 in dead rats that they had dissected. 1506 01:25:45,433 --> 01:25:48,209 He was now struck by the possibility 1507 01:25:48,233 --> 01:25:51,709 that rats themselves might somehow spread the disease 1508 01:25:51,733 --> 01:25:54,642 {\an1}as they roamed the city, 1509 01:25:54,666 --> 01:25:57,466 {\an1}though he still had no idea how. 1510 01:25:59,333 --> 01:26:01,142 RANDALL: And he realizes 1511 01:26:01,166 --> 01:26:03,076 {\an1}the only way we're going to save San Francisco 1512 01:26:03,100 --> 01:26:05,076 {\an1}is if we kill as many rats as possible. 1513 01:26:05,100 --> 01:26:08,276 So, they focus on rat eradication. 1514 01:26:08,300 --> 01:26:11,242 ♪ ♪ 1515 01:26:11,266 --> 01:26:14,309 NARRATOR: Thanks to Wong Chung's prior outreach, 1516 01:26:14,333 --> 01:26:16,809 {\an1}the Chinese Six Companies now agreed 1517 01:26:16,833 --> 01:26:18,676 {\an1}that all Chinatown businesses 1518 01:26:18,700 --> 01:26:21,009 would work with health authorities. 1519 01:26:21,033 --> 01:26:24,776 MAN (reading): "People should not be frightened. 1520 01:26:24,800 --> 01:26:27,376 {\an1}"These physicians are very kind and gentle. 1521 01:26:27,400 --> 01:26:32,766 {\an1}Their main emphasis is to go after the rats." 1522 01:26:34,400 --> 01:26:36,800 {\an1}"Chung Sai Yat Po Daily." 1523 01:26:40,200 --> 01:26:44,342 CHASE: The state was assigned to hire inspectors. 1524 01:26:44,366 --> 01:26:46,109 {\an1}The city would lay traps 1525 01:26:46,133 --> 01:26:49,676 {\an1}and poisoned bait for rats. 1526 01:26:49,700 --> 01:26:51,276 {\an1}And they tried to get 1527 01:26:51,300 --> 01:26:54,376 {\an1}all the citizens involved in rat collection. 1528 01:26:54,400 --> 01:26:58,276 {\an1}So they offered 10 cents a rat, 1529 01:26:58,300 --> 01:27:00,376 even 50 cents for a breeding female. 1530 01:27:00,400 --> 01:27:01,942 {\an1}So, you can imagine this is quite a sum. 1531 01:27:01,966 --> 01:27:07,209 {\an1}And people got involved in bringing in rats. 1532 01:27:07,233 --> 01:27:09,509 (rat squeaking) 1533 01:27:09,533 --> 01:27:10,709 RANDALL: Blue starts to look 1534 01:27:10,733 --> 01:27:14,909 {\an7}for where are rats living. 1535 01:27:14,933 --> 01:27:17,576 {\an1}Let's create as few nesting spots for a rat as possible. 1536 01:27:17,600 --> 01:27:22,176 {\an1}Wooden sidewalks provide so many places for rats to nest. 1537 01:27:22,200 --> 01:27:26,909 {\an1}So he rips those out and let's have concrete sidewalks. 1538 01:27:26,933 --> 01:27:30,876 {\an8}♪ ♪ 1539 01:27:30,900 --> 01:27:35,709 {\an1}At the same time, let's tear down these remnants of the past, 1540 01:27:35,733 --> 01:27:38,533 {\an1}buildings that were still up from the gold rush era. 1541 01:27:40,533 --> 01:27:44,600 {\an1}And let's have more modern buildings in their place. 1542 01:27:45,666 --> 01:27:49,309 ♪ ♪ 1543 01:27:49,333 --> 01:27:52,009 NARRATOR: By the spring of 1905, 1544 01:27:52,033 --> 01:27:54,566 Chinatown was almost completely renovated. 1545 01:27:56,300 --> 01:28:01,276 {\an1}Blue's team was dismantled, its job done, 1546 01:28:01,300 --> 01:28:04,966 {\an1}and he was sent to his new posting in Virginia. 1547 01:28:06,933 --> 01:28:11,109 With no new cases being reported in over a year, 1548 01:28:11,133 --> 01:28:13,742 {\an1}as far as everyone was concerned, 1549 01:28:13,766 --> 01:28:16,076 {\an1}the plague was finally under control. 1550 01:28:16,100 --> 01:28:18,342 ♪ ♪ 1551 01:28:18,366 --> 01:28:22,942 {\an1}Out of the official tally of 119 confirmed cases, 1552 01:28:22,966 --> 01:28:25,409 {\an1}104 victims were Asian, 1553 01:28:25,433 --> 01:28:28,433 {\an1}and 15 were non-Asian. 1554 01:28:30,566 --> 01:28:33,509 RANDALL: I think it's fair to say that the true death toll 1555 01:28:33,533 --> 01:28:36,633 {\an1}is probably ten times as much, if not more. 1556 01:28:38,366 --> 01:28:42,709 CHASE: It was more than likely the accurate number of plague cases 1557 01:28:42,733 --> 01:28:44,409 were under-reported 1558 01:28:44,433 --> 01:28:46,409 {\an1}because they were entirely 1559 01:28:46,433 --> 01:28:48,676 racially focused on Asian people. 1560 01:28:48,700 --> 01:28:52,542 (horse whinnying) 1561 01:28:52,566 --> 01:28:55,233 ♪ ♪ 1562 01:28:57,900 --> 01:29:01,266 (rumbling, crashing) 1563 01:29:13,300 --> 01:29:18,600 {\an1}Just after 5:00 a.m., April 18, 1906... 1564 01:29:20,366 --> 01:29:24,633 {\an1}The city was wracked by a massive earthquake. 1565 01:29:26,500 --> 01:29:30,276 It would have been 7.9 on the Richter scale, 1566 01:29:30,300 --> 01:29:33,542 {\an1}an extremely dangerous earthquake, 1567 01:29:33,566 --> 01:29:36,076 {\an1}particularly in a city of unreinforced 1568 01:29:36,100 --> 01:29:38,142 {\an1}brick and mortar buildings that simply crumbled. 1569 01:29:38,166 --> 01:29:43,309 (horse whinnies) 1570 01:29:43,333 --> 01:29:47,466 {\an1}Buildings were pancaked, floors collapsed. 1571 01:29:48,966 --> 01:29:50,476 The city was ablaze, 1572 01:29:50,500 --> 01:29:54,142 {\an1}water mains were broken. 1573 01:29:54,166 --> 01:29:58,376 {\an1}So, the water reservoirs were not available to fight fires. 1574 01:29:58,400 --> 01:30:02,276 {\an1}In a desperate attempt to stop the advancing flames, 1575 01:30:02,300 --> 01:30:06,376 {\an1}the city resorted to setting strategic charges 1576 01:30:06,400 --> 01:30:09,109 {\an1}to keep the fire from jumping. 1577 01:30:09,133 --> 01:30:10,676 (loud booms) 1578 01:30:10,700 --> 01:30:12,076 {\an1}That helped a little bit, 1579 01:30:12,100 --> 01:30:17,142 {\an1}but some ne'er-do-wells started dynamiting Chinatown 1580 01:30:17,166 --> 01:30:18,576 indiscriminately, 1581 01:30:18,600 --> 01:30:20,509 destroying buildings even further. 1582 01:30:20,533 --> 01:30:23,942 ♪ ♪ 1583 01:30:23,966 --> 01:30:28,242 NARRATOR: More than 80% of San Francisco was destroyed, 1584 01:30:28,266 --> 01:30:32,133 {\an1}including virtually all of Chinatown. 1585 01:30:35,300 --> 01:30:39,342 CHASE: There were 3,000 people killed outright. 1586 01:30:39,366 --> 01:30:42,476 {\an1}Nearly a quarter million injured, 1587 01:30:42,500 --> 01:30:45,100 {\an1}hundreds of thousands homeless. 1588 01:30:48,066 --> 01:30:50,742 RANDALL: And you had refugees who suddenly 1589 01:30:50,766 --> 01:30:53,442 {\an1}have to live in places like Golden Gate Park 1590 01:30:53,466 --> 01:30:56,166 {\an1}or other makeshift camps. 1591 01:30:58,566 --> 01:31:00,909 CHASE: People were living out of tents. 1592 01:31:00,933 --> 01:31:03,776 {\an1}People were living in a village of earthquake cottages 1593 01:31:03,800 --> 01:31:06,309 {\an1}built by the Red Cross. 1594 01:31:06,333 --> 01:31:09,509 (thunder rumbling) 1595 01:31:09,533 --> 01:31:13,909 NARRATOR: The Army and Red Cross handed out crackers and canned milk. 1596 01:31:13,933 --> 01:31:17,076 {\an1}But when word spread that no such aid 1597 01:31:17,100 --> 01:31:19,309 {\an1}would be given to the Chinese, 1598 01:31:19,333 --> 01:31:22,976 {\an1}the community once again turned to its own devices. 1599 01:31:23,000 --> 01:31:27,376 ♪ ♪ 1600 01:31:27,400 --> 01:31:29,409 Four years earlier, 1601 01:31:29,433 --> 01:31:33,709 {\an1}merchant Lew Hing had moved away from San Francisco. 1602 01:31:33,733 --> 01:31:39,276 QUAN JR.: Lew Hing decided to open a cannery in Oakland, 1603 01:31:39,300 --> 01:31:41,400 {\an1}away from San Francisco. 1604 01:31:43,833 --> 01:31:48,509 {\an1}Having been tired of being harassed by the white media, 1605 01:31:48,533 --> 01:31:52,809 {\an1}having had to compete against the white canneries 1606 01:31:52,833 --> 01:31:54,842 {\an1}that had formed a cartel 1607 01:31:54,866 --> 01:31:57,276 {\an1}to try and drive all the independent canneries 1608 01:31:57,300 --> 01:32:00,476 out of business, 1609 01:32:00,500 --> 01:32:02,176 {\an1}and particularly targeted Lew Hing 1610 01:32:02,200 --> 01:32:05,276 {\an1}because he had become such a force in the cannery business. 1611 01:32:05,300 --> 01:32:09,409 ♪ ♪ 1612 01:32:09,433 --> 01:32:12,842 {\an1}When the earthquake hit on April 18, 1613 01:32:12,866 --> 01:32:15,276 {\an1}the Chinese in San Francisco, they were refused 1614 01:32:15,300 --> 01:32:22,876 {\an1}by the white relief agencies and had no place to go. 1615 01:32:22,900 --> 01:32:25,642 {\an7}And so many of the Chinese came to a very small 1616 01:32:25,666 --> 01:32:28,542 {\an1}Chinese settlement in Oakland 1617 01:32:28,566 --> 01:32:32,642 {\an1}where my great-grandfather, who had some vacant areas 1618 01:32:32,666 --> 01:32:34,242 around his cannery, 1619 01:32:34,266 --> 01:32:39,376 {\an1}he then hired people to cook, 1620 01:32:39,400 --> 01:32:44,266 {\an1}and was able to feed thousands of the Chinese who came over. 1621 01:32:47,766 --> 01:32:51,409 ♪ ♪ 1622 01:32:51,433 --> 01:32:55,176 NARRATOR: San Francisco was staggering to regain its footing 1623 01:32:55,200 --> 01:32:57,509 {\an1}amidst the devastation. 1624 01:32:57,533 --> 01:32:58,842 (horse whinnying) 1625 01:32:58,866 --> 01:33:00,966 {\an1}And the fallout continued to escalate. 1626 01:33:03,500 --> 01:33:06,842 RANDALL: You had instant problems with sanitation. 1627 01:33:06,866 --> 01:33:08,509 {\an7}If you didn't die from the earthquake, 1628 01:33:08,533 --> 01:33:10,142 {\an1}or die from the fire, 1629 01:33:10,166 --> 01:33:12,142 {\an1}you might die from diphtheria or smallpox 1630 01:33:12,166 --> 01:33:13,409 {\an1}or all these other diseases 1631 01:33:13,433 --> 01:33:16,342 {\an1}that could rear their head very quickly. 1632 01:33:16,366 --> 01:33:18,342 CHASE: With the sewer pipes ruptured, 1633 01:33:18,366 --> 01:33:21,042 rats, including plague-infected ones, 1634 01:33:21,066 --> 01:33:23,509 {\an1}were released into the city to feast 1635 01:33:23,533 --> 01:33:26,676 {\an1}on the uncollected refuse, and breed in the ruins. 1636 01:33:26,700 --> 01:33:27,809 (rat squeaking) 1637 01:33:27,833 --> 01:33:29,176 So once again, 1638 01:33:29,200 --> 01:33:32,342 {\an1}there was a resurgence of rats and rat-born plague. 1639 01:33:32,366 --> 01:33:34,342 ♪ ♪ 1640 01:33:34,366 --> 01:33:37,309 NARRATOR: Thirteen months after the earthquake, 1641 01:33:37,333 --> 01:33:41,333 {\an1}San Francisco had its first plague death in three years. 1642 01:33:42,566 --> 01:33:45,076 {\an1}By summer, there were six more. 1643 01:33:45,100 --> 01:33:47,642 {\an1}Wyman immediately wired Blue, 1644 01:33:47,666 --> 01:33:51,233 {\an1}and ordered him to return to San Francisco. 1645 01:33:53,600 --> 01:33:56,642 CHASE: On this otherwise unassuming residential street 1646 01:33:56,666 --> 01:34:00,976 {\an1}in a Victorian house, Dr. Blue set up his new headquarters, 1647 01:34:01,000 --> 01:34:04,409 and from there, he ran his command center. 1648 01:34:04,433 --> 01:34:06,842 (car horn blares) 1649 01:34:06,866 --> 01:34:08,576 RANDALL: The problem they find very quickly 1650 01:34:08,600 --> 01:34:11,976 {\an1}is that plague is no longer a Chinatown problem, 1651 01:34:12,000 --> 01:34:13,976 {\an1}it's a San Francisco problem. 1652 01:34:14,000 --> 01:34:15,476 ♪ ♪ 1653 01:34:15,500 --> 01:34:17,842 NARRATOR: In stark contrast to the early days, 1654 01:34:17,866 --> 01:34:21,876 {\an1}there was now only one Chinese casualty: 1655 01:34:21,900 --> 01:34:24,942 the president of the Chinese Six Companies. 1656 01:34:24,966 --> 01:34:27,809 RANDALL: And that's when Blue starts hearing 1657 01:34:27,833 --> 01:34:29,976 {\an1}from white physicians who say, 1658 01:34:30,000 --> 01:34:33,342 "Perhaps I have seen plague cases before, 1659 01:34:33,366 --> 01:34:35,742 {\an1}"and I just thought it was pneumonia. 1660 01:34:35,766 --> 01:34:37,176 "Or actually, maybe I knew it was plague 1661 01:34:37,200 --> 01:34:38,809 {\an1}and I didn't want to admit it." 1662 01:34:38,833 --> 01:34:41,542 {\an1}And this kind of solidifies for Blue 1663 01:34:41,566 --> 01:34:45,209 this was a disease of the environment. 1664 01:34:45,233 --> 01:34:49,409 SHAH: Now bubonic plague began to emerge 1665 01:34:49,433 --> 01:34:53,876 {\an1}in all sorts of different communities across the Bay Area. 1666 01:34:53,900 --> 01:34:57,442 {\an7}And people began to realize that anyone could get bubonic plague. 1667 01:34:57,466 --> 01:35:00,209 {\an8}♪ ♪ 1668 01:35:00,233 --> 01:35:02,942 {\an8}NARRATOR: Blue set up a special workplace 1669 01:35:02,966 --> 01:35:05,666 {\an7}dedicated to the grisly task at hand. 1670 01:35:06,866 --> 01:35:08,309 {\an8}CHASE: In back of 1671 01:35:08,333 --> 01:35:11,142 {\an7}the federal headquarters was an annex to the building 1672 01:35:11,166 --> 01:35:12,309 {\an7}that became known as the Rattery. 1673 01:35:12,333 --> 01:35:14,042 ♪ ♪ 1674 01:35:14,066 --> 01:35:16,876 {\an1}And the Rattery was essentially a coroner's lab, 1675 01:35:16,900 --> 01:35:19,409 {\an1}a forensic lab, just for rats. 1676 01:35:19,433 --> 01:35:21,776 ♪ ♪ 1677 01:35:21,800 --> 01:35:25,509 RANDALL: That's where all the rat carcasses were brought. 1678 01:35:25,533 --> 01:35:29,576 {\an1}And it's just rat after rat that's dissected and opened up 1679 01:35:29,600 --> 01:35:32,542 {\an1}and examined for signs of the plague. 1680 01:35:32,566 --> 01:35:33,942 {\an1}And they would chart, you know, 1681 01:35:33,966 --> 01:35:35,709 {\an1}what percentage of rats are infected. 1682 01:35:35,733 --> 01:35:37,776 (flies buzzing) 1683 01:35:37,800 --> 01:35:42,209 NARRATOR: By the fall, there were 30 new plague deaths. 1684 01:35:42,233 --> 01:35:45,076 {\an1}Blue and his men stepped up their campaign, 1685 01:35:45,100 --> 01:35:47,409 killing more than 13,000 rats a week. 1686 01:35:47,433 --> 01:35:48,542 (bell ringing) 1687 01:35:48,566 --> 01:35:51,509 {\an1}Throughout, he kept trying out new ways 1688 01:35:51,533 --> 01:35:54,609 {\an7}to determine how the disease was spreading through the city. 1689 01:35:54,633 --> 01:35:58,009 ♪ ♪ 1690 01:35:58,033 --> 01:36:00,209 CHASE: They even took it a step further 1691 01:36:00,233 --> 01:36:04,009 and tried to analyze migratory patterns. 1692 01:36:04,033 --> 01:36:07,109 {\an1}They wanted to find out where the rats originated 1693 01:36:07,133 --> 01:36:10,176 {\an1}and where they traveled. 1694 01:36:10,200 --> 01:36:11,842 {\an1}So, they devised a program 1695 01:36:11,866 --> 01:36:15,242 {\an1}that came to be nicknamed the rainbow rats, 1696 01:36:15,266 --> 01:36:18,309 {\an1}and they got a group of healthy, active rats 1697 01:36:18,333 --> 01:36:20,709 {\an1}and dyed them red, green, or blue, 1698 01:36:20,733 --> 01:36:22,576 {\an1}depending upon what district they were from, 1699 01:36:22,600 --> 01:36:23,842 {\an1}and turned them loose. 1700 01:36:23,866 --> 01:36:26,842 {\an1}Then they would try to catch them at the other end 1701 01:36:26,866 --> 01:36:31,242 {\an1}and find out how they were spreading. 1702 01:36:31,266 --> 01:36:32,809 And, of course, 1703 01:36:32,833 --> 01:36:35,009 {\an1}when the raucous local press found out, 1704 01:36:35,033 --> 01:36:36,842 {\an1}they just had a field day. 1705 01:36:36,866 --> 01:36:39,109 ♪ ♪ 1706 01:36:39,133 --> 01:36:42,076 RANDALL: The newspapers mock them for this immediately. 1707 01:36:42,100 --> 01:36:46,309 {\an1}It almost sounds like something out of Dr. Seuss. 1708 01:36:46,333 --> 01:36:50,509 {\an1}And Blue shrinks very quickly from this public mockery. 1709 01:36:50,533 --> 01:36:51,700 {\an1}He's not used to that. 1710 01:36:54,800 --> 01:36:57,033 {\an1}But he continues to try. 1711 01:36:59,266 --> 01:37:03,242 NARRATOR: Then a local case caught Blue's eye. 1712 01:37:03,266 --> 01:37:06,509 CHASE: There was a physician who had perceived 1713 01:37:06,533 --> 01:37:09,709 {\an1}a bad smell in his house. 1714 01:37:09,733 --> 01:37:13,076 {\an1}The doctor decided he would chop out a hole in the wall 1715 01:37:13,100 --> 01:37:16,542 {\an1}and get to the source of this unpleasant odor. 1716 01:37:16,566 --> 01:37:19,842 And there he found two dead rats. 1717 01:37:19,866 --> 01:37:23,909 {\an1}And immediately, two members of the family got the plague. 1718 01:37:23,933 --> 01:37:26,876 ♪ ♪ 1719 01:37:26,900 --> 01:37:30,576 NARRATOR: As Blue pondered the details of this case, 1720 01:37:30,600 --> 01:37:32,342 he recalled reading a recent report 1721 01:37:32,366 --> 01:37:34,442 {\an7}from the British Plague Commission 1722 01:37:34,466 --> 01:37:36,909 {\an7}that confirmed the results of a study 1723 01:37:36,933 --> 01:37:39,100 {\an7}completed ten years earlier. 1724 01:37:41,700 --> 01:37:44,376 CHASE: Pasteur Institute scientist 1725 01:37:44,400 --> 01:37:46,176 Paul Louis Simond did this experiment. 1726 01:37:46,200 --> 01:37:50,842 {\an1}He put two rats in cages side by side, separated by a grate. 1727 01:37:50,866 --> 01:37:52,442 {\an1}They couldn't touch one another. 1728 01:37:52,466 --> 01:37:55,409 {\an1}One rat was healthy, one rat was sick with the plague. 1729 01:37:55,433 --> 01:37:58,676 And Simond made the breakthrough observation 1730 01:37:58,700 --> 01:38:00,909 {\an1}that when the plague rat died, 1731 01:38:00,933 --> 01:38:03,976 {\an1}the fleas jumped to the side of the healthy rat 1732 01:38:04,000 --> 01:38:06,033 {\an1}for their next blood meal. 1733 01:38:07,433 --> 01:38:11,409 MAY C. CHU: Bubonic plague is transmitted by Yersinia pestis. 1734 01:38:11,433 --> 01:38:16,776 {\an1}The flea itself is really the host of Yersinia pestis. 1735 01:38:16,800 --> 01:38:20,976 {\an1}And when it seeks a blood meal on its natural host, 1736 01:38:21,000 --> 01:38:23,242 {\an1}it regurgitates its bacteria 1737 01:38:23,266 --> 01:38:26,100 {\an7}and transmits plague. 1738 01:38:28,366 --> 01:38:31,642 And it's only when its own host dies, 1739 01:38:31,666 --> 01:38:32,976 {\an1}the flea seeks another warm body, 1740 01:38:33,000 --> 01:38:39,742 {\an1}a rat, or if a human comes by, they'll jump on. 1741 01:38:39,766 --> 01:38:42,609 {\an7}It senses that there's something warm here. 1742 01:38:42,633 --> 01:38:43,800 {\an7}"I don't care what it is." 1743 01:38:45,633 --> 01:38:46,876 {\an1}And then they'll bite. 1744 01:38:46,900 --> 01:38:50,509 They'll try to feed, because it's hungry. 1745 01:38:50,533 --> 01:38:52,242 So, the cause of the transmission 1746 01:38:52,266 --> 01:38:55,042 {\an1}between rats and human was the flea. 1747 01:38:55,066 --> 01:38:57,376 ♪ ♪ 1748 01:38:57,400 --> 01:38:59,176 {\an8}NARRATOR: Blue was thunderstruck 1749 01:38:59,200 --> 01:39:00,609 {\an8}by the realization 1750 01:39:00,633 --> 01:39:02,776 {\an8}that fleas played the primary role 1751 01:39:02,800 --> 01:39:04,400 {\an7}in transmitting the disease. 1752 01:39:06,500 --> 01:39:11,076 {\an7}Rats, he now understood, were only agents of the epidemic 1753 01:39:11,100 --> 01:39:14,842 {\an7}because of the insects in their fur. 1754 01:39:14,866 --> 01:39:17,576 {\an1}And pieces fell into place: 1755 01:39:17,600 --> 01:39:19,876 the peaks of the outbreak lined up 1756 01:39:19,900 --> 01:39:22,409 {\an1}with the flea's active season. 1757 01:39:22,433 --> 01:39:28,409 {\an1}The baffling on-again, off-again pattern became crystal clear. 1758 01:39:28,433 --> 01:39:31,942 SHAH: So, the bubonic plague bacilla 1759 01:39:31,966 --> 01:39:35,500 {\an7}was best conveyed by fleas on rats biting humans. 1760 01:39:36,533 --> 01:39:40,642 {\an1}That transmission was the most important thing. 1761 01:39:40,666 --> 01:39:44,442 {\an1}So, the eradication of rats would be pretty significant. 1762 01:39:44,466 --> 01:39:46,909 (bells ring) 1763 01:39:46,933 --> 01:39:50,009 NARRATOR: As the city continued to rebuild, 1764 01:39:50,033 --> 01:39:54,700 {\an1}Blue knew that public support for rat extermination was solid. 1765 01:39:55,866 --> 01:40:00,676 {\an1}Still, without full buy-in from the entire community, 1766 01:40:00,700 --> 01:40:04,442 the stream of rats would continue unchecked. 1767 01:40:04,466 --> 01:40:07,976 It was time for extreme measures. 1768 01:40:08,000 --> 01:40:10,109 {\an1}Rupert Blue the strategist 1769 01:40:10,133 --> 01:40:12,242 {\an1}understood he needed both a carrot and a stick. 1770 01:40:12,266 --> 01:40:15,876 {\an1}So fleet week was approaching. 1771 01:40:15,900 --> 01:40:21,676 {\an1}But Blue told the city, if the city isn't a healthful place, 1772 01:40:21,700 --> 01:40:26,942 {\an1}I will tell the admiral that it's not safe to land his ships. 1773 01:40:26,966 --> 01:40:30,609 {\an1}This was terrible news. 1774 01:40:30,633 --> 01:40:33,009 {\an1}It would be like canceling Christmas, 1775 01:40:33,033 --> 01:40:36,042 {\an1}to have the Great White Fleet barred 1776 01:40:36,066 --> 01:40:38,576 {\an1}from entering San Francisco, and worse yet 1777 01:40:38,600 --> 01:40:41,409 diverted to Seattle, the rival city, 1778 01:40:41,433 --> 01:40:43,276 {\an1}would have been terrible. 1779 01:40:43,300 --> 01:40:47,942 So, all the city had to take part. 1780 01:40:47,966 --> 01:40:49,642 ♪ ♪ 1781 01:40:49,666 --> 01:40:53,776 In 1908, the first truly grassroots, 1782 01:40:53,800 --> 01:40:59,376 {\an1}fully public, multi-sector health campaign was born. 1783 01:40:59,400 --> 01:41:02,276 {\an1}Educating the populace on simple things 1784 01:41:02,300 --> 01:41:05,766 like the right way to dispose of garbage. 1785 01:41:07,300 --> 01:41:11,209 {\an7}You have to seal your household and security against rats. 1786 01:41:11,233 --> 01:41:13,709 {\an1}They also educated greengrocers on the right way 1787 01:41:13,733 --> 01:41:15,709 to store their wares 1788 01:41:15,733 --> 01:41:17,442 {\an1}to keep the city streets clean. 1789 01:41:17,466 --> 01:41:22,342 {\an1}And they informed essential nature of sanitary precautions. 1790 01:41:22,366 --> 01:41:23,942 ♪ ♪ 1791 01:41:23,966 --> 01:41:26,642 RANDALL: They start putting notices in everybody's mailboxes. 1792 01:41:26,666 --> 01:41:31,609 {\an1}Like, this is what you can do to save yourself and save the city. 1793 01:41:31,633 --> 01:41:34,276 CHASE: And little by little, 1794 01:41:34,300 --> 01:41:36,409 {\an1}hundreds and hundreds of citizens 1795 01:41:36,433 --> 01:41:38,442 {\an1}from all walks of life, 1796 01:41:38,466 --> 01:41:39,676 churches, 1797 01:41:39,700 --> 01:41:42,176 temples, lodges, 1798 01:41:42,200 --> 01:41:45,276 {\an1}women's clubs, business groups, 1799 01:41:45,300 --> 01:41:47,609 {\an1}everyone got on board and did their part. 1800 01:41:47,633 --> 01:41:50,776 ♪ ♪ 1801 01:41:50,800 --> 01:41:52,942 NARRATOR: San Francisco got to work. 1802 01:41:52,966 --> 01:41:57,742 {\an1}Long-neglected sanitary infrastructure was rebuilt. 1803 01:41:57,766 --> 01:42:03,342 {\an1}A $4 million bond was issued to renovate the sewer system, 1804 01:42:03,366 --> 01:42:07,900 {\an1}and municipal garbage collection and disposal were put in place. 1805 01:42:10,000 --> 01:42:12,809 {\an1}By now, even the local newspapers 1806 01:42:12,833 --> 01:42:14,642 {\an1}supported the sanitation drive 1807 01:42:14,666 --> 01:42:16,642 {\an1}by publishing the names and addresses 1808 01:42:16,666 --> 01:42:18,966 {\an1}of anyone who failed to comply. 1809 01:42:20,400 --> 01:42:22,109 In the end, 1810 01:42:22,133 --> 01:42:27,209 {\an1}Blue managed to have more than 20,000 houses inspected. 1811 01:42:27,233 --> 01:42:31,476 {\an1}Untold numbers of rats were either trapped or found dead. 1812 01:42:31,500 --> 01:42:33,642 {\an1}But of the ones tested, 1813 01:42:33,666 --> 01:42:36,809 only 16 were found to be infected. 1814 01:42:36,833 --> 01:42:40,000 {\an1}The outbreak was in retreat. 1815 01:42:41,766 --> 01:42:45,942 {\an1}With backbreaking work, and focused messaging, 1816 01:42:45,966 --> 01:42:49,333 {\an1}Blue had finally rounded the corner on the disease. 1817 01:42:51,966 --> 01:42:55,842 {\an1}(water lapping, birds squawking) 1818 01:42:55,866 --> 01:42:59,542 ♪ ♪ 1819 01:42:59,566 --> 01:43:02,942 {\an1}The question that had so long tormented Kinyoun and Blue... 1820 01:43:02,966 --> 01:43:06,409 {\an1}why hadn't the plague taken off exponentially? 1821 01:43:06,433 --> 01:43:08,900 {\an1}was at last answered. 1822 01:43:10,100 --> 01:43:12,742 ♪ ♪ 1823 01:43:12,766 --> 01:43:17,342 CHASE: It's so interesting that we had the germ 1824 01:43:17,366 --> 01:43:20,909 {\an1}that was just as lethal as during the Black Death. 1825 01:43:20,933 --> 01:43:25,476 {\an1}The same germ that had ravaged populations in China, 1826 01:43:25,500 --> 01:43:30,609 {\an1}and India, what may have saved the city in the end 1827 01:43:30,633 --> 01:43:32,776 {\an1}from a much worse disaster 1828 01:43:32,800 --> 01:43:36,966 {\an1}was a tiny part of an organ inside of the little flea. 1829 01:43:38,766 --> 01:43:41,476 RANDALL: In places where you had this explosion of plague, 1830 01:43:41,500 --> 01:43:44,276 {\an1}there was a different species of rat flea. 1831 01:43:44,300 --> 01:43:46,842 {\an7}Its anatomy was slightly different. 1832 01:43:46,866 --> 01:43:48,476 {\an7}It would inject more of the plague bacilli 1833 01:43:48,500 --> 01:43:52,076 {\an7}into whatever victim it bit. 1834 01:43:52,100 --> 01:43:57,109 {\an7}In San Francisco, the flea bite would inject a lower dose, 1835 01:43:57,133 --> 01:44:01,000 {\an7}harder for it to become a full-blown disease. 1836 01:44:02,266 --> 01:44:07,276 {\an7}So, it was only this quirk of flea anatomy 1837 01:44:07,300 --> 01:44:09,376 {\an1}that really prevented millions of deaths in the U.S. 1838 01:44:09,400 --> 01:44:12,642 ♪ ♪ 1839 01:44:12,666 --> 01:44:16,942 NARRATOR: February 1908 saw the last diagnosed case 1840 01:44:16,966 --> 01:44:19,309 of bubonic plague. 1841 01:44:19,333 --> 01:44:21,876 For the first time in nearly eight years, 1842 01:44:21,900 --> 01:44:24,909 {\an1}San Francisco could afford to celebrate. 1843 01:44:24,933 --> 01:44:26,942 And on May 6, 1908, 1844 01:44:26,966 --> 01:44:30,842 {\an1}the Great White Fleet sailed into San Francisco Bay. 1845 01:44:30,866 --> 01:44:36,800 {\an1}("Anchors Aweigh" playing, crowd cheering) 1846 01:44:41,466 --> 01:44:44,042 CHASE: People stood atop every hill and promontory 1847 01:44:44,066 --> 01:44:45,376 {\an1}to get a look at these 1848 01:44:45,400 --> 01:44:47,942 {\an1}magnificent golden and white ships 1849 01:44:47,966 --> 01:44:49,866 that were sent by Theodore Roosevelt. 1850 01:44:51,133 --> 01:44:56,842 {\an1}People were waving flags and partying all week. 1851 01:44:56,866 --> 01:44:58,342 {\an1}It celebrated not only 1852 01:44:58,366 --> 01:45:01,109 {\an1}the Great White Fleet and naval power, but also 1853 01:45:01,133 --> 01:45:04,076 {\an1}the rebirth of San Francisco as a healthful city. 1854 01:45:04,100 --> 01:45:08,076 {\an1}And it was an effort in which everyone had taken part. 1855 01:45:08,100 --> 01:45:12,076 ♪ ♪ 1856 01:45:12,100 --> 01:45:17,633 NARRATOR: Chinatown was celebrating its own victory. 1857 01:45:19,300 --> 01:45:22,142 {\an1}Its near-total destruction during the earthquake 1858 01:45:22,166 --> 01:45:23,842 {\an1}had lured white speculators 1859 01:45:23,866 --> 01:45:27,709 eager to snap up the valuable land. 1860 01:45:27,733 --> 01:45:29,876 {\an7}(carriages clattering) 1861 01:45:29,900 --> 01:45:32,676 {\an7}But they hadn't counted on the fierce opposition 1862 01:45:32,700 --> 01:45:35,476 {\an8}of Chinese merchants and associations, 1863 01:45:35,500 --> 01:45:38,676 {\an7}who fought them tooth and nail 1864 01:45:38,700 --> 01:45:42,166 {\an1}to control how they wanted the district to be used. 1865 01:45:45,666 --> 01:45:47,209 SHAH: We later learn, of course, 1866 01:45:47,233 --> 01:45:51,309 {\an1}they were quite successful in turning 1867 01:45:51,333 --> 01:45:54,042 {\an1}the fear of Chinatown 1868 01:45:54,066 --> 01:45:57,676 {\an1}as a labyrinth of disease and immorality 1869 01:45:57,700 --> 01:46:02,533 {\an1}into a kind of middle-class, consumer tourist paradise. 1870 01:46:03,633 --> 01:46:08,776 ♪ ♪ 1871 01:46:08,800 --> 01:46:12,476 NARRATOR: On March 31, 1909, 1872 01:46:12,500 --> 01:46:15,609 {\an1}Rupert Blue was honored with a lavish ceremony 1873 01:46:15,633 --> 01:46:19,109 {\an1}at the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill. 1874 01:46:19,133 --> 01:46:22,209 ♪ ♪ 1875 01:46:22,233 --> 01:46:24,609 CHASE: The dinner was rat-themed. 1876 01:46:24,633 --> 01:46:27,909 {\an1}They had ice cream molds in the shape of rat traps. 1877 01:46:27,933 --> 01:46:31,576 {\an1}They drank wine punch from beakers 1878 01:46:31,600 --> 01:46:34,076 {\an1}that were shaped like little trash cans. 1879 01:46:34,100 --> 01:46:36,433 {\an1}It was kind of visual puns everywhere. 1880 01:46:38,233 --> 01:46:41,609 NARRATOR: It was a darkly humorous nod to the rats killed, 1881 01:46:41,633 --> 01:46:45,209 two million in all, roughly five times the size 1882 01:46:45,233 --> 01:46:47,200 of San Francisco's human population. 1883 01:46:49,500 --> 01:46:52,809 CHASE: And when he was called to the dais to accept his gift 1884 01:46:52,833 --> 01:46:54,209 {\an1}and the city's thanks, 1885 01:46:54,233 --> 01:46:57,042 {\an1}some of Blue's old shyness came flooding back and he said, 1886 01:46:57,066 --> 01:47:01,542 {\an1}"It's difficult to speak when one's heart is full." 1887 01:47:01,566 --> 01:47:05,609 {\an1}After all his achievements, he got rather tongue-tied. 1888 01:47:05,633 --> 01:47:07,909 ♪ ♪ 1889 01:47:07,933 --> 01:47:12,309 NARRATOR: It was likely Blue's reticence arose from not just humility, 1890 01:47:12,333 --> 01:47:16,342 {\an1}but a clear-eyed view of the debt he owed his predecessor. 1891 01:47:16,366 --> 01:47:19,942 {\an1}True, he had been able to clean up San Francisco 1892 01:47:19,966 --> 01:47:23,809 {\an1}and rid the city of its rats. 1893 01:47:23,833 --> 01:47:25,876 {\an1}But Kinyoun was the one who insisted 1894 01:47:25,900 --> 01:47:30,900 {\an1}that the problem even existed, and at enormous personal cost. 1895 01:47:33,033 --> 01:47:35,576 RANDALL: Blue was seen as a hero, 1896 01:47:35,600 --> 01:47:38,109 and he continued on 'an upward trajectory. 1897 01:47:38,133 --> 01:47:39,442 You know, he became 1898 01:47:39,466 --> 01:47:42,876 {\an1}the fourth Surgeon General of the United States. 1899 01:47:42,900 --> 01:47:45,709 {\an1}He was a very forward thinker. 1900 01:47:45,733 --> 01:47:47,942 {\an1}He was somebody who advocated 1901 01:47:47,966 --> 01:47:51,742 for better treatment of the mentally ill. 1902 01:47:51,766 --> 01:47:54,476 {\an1}He advocated for a national health insurance at a time 1903 01:47:54,500 --> 01:47:58,009 {\an1}when that was never heard of whatsoever. 1904 01:47:58,033 --> 01:48:01,200 {\an1}He saw where the world was going. 1905 01:48:04,566 --> 01:48:09,276 CHASE: Dr. Joseph Kinyoun's ouster from San Francisco represented 1906 01:48:09,300 --> 01:48:12,176 a kind of failure of institutional 1907 01:48:12,200 --> 01:48:14,809 {\an1}resistance and rivalries. 1908 01:48:14,833 --> 01:48:18,876 But he is remembered for bringing 1909 01:48:18,900 --> 01:48:21,809 {\an1}state of the art methods 1910 01:48:21,833 --> 01:48:26,742 {\an1}of diagnosing infectious diseases to America. 1911 01:48:26,766 --> 01:48:29,609 He is remembered for helping found 1912 01:48:29,633 --> 01:48:32,176 {\an1}the National Hygienic Laboratory, 1913 01:48:32,200 --> 01:48:35,776 {\an1}the forerunner of our modern National Institutes of Health, 1914 01:48:35,800 --> 01:48:39,442 for which he is posthumously recognized 1915 01:48:39,466 --> 01:48:42,300 {\an1}as the first director of NIH. 1916 01:48:43,266 --> 01:48:45,809 ♪ ♪ 1917 01:48:45,833 --> 01:48:49,642 NARRATOR: The two men brought an end to the epidemic 1918 01:48:49,666 --> 01:48:53,476 {\an1}using vastly different approaches. 1919 01:48:53,500 --> 01:48:57,376 {\an1}Yet, it was the efforts of not just Kinyoun and Blue, 1920 01:48:57,400 --> 01:48:59,676 {\an1}but the marginalized community 1921 01:48:59,700 --> 01:49:02,776 {\an1}that still managed to stand up for its rights, 1922 01:49:02,800 --> 01:49:04,809 {\an1}that led to a paradigm shift 1923 01:49:04,833 --> 01:49:08,076 {\an1}in the way America viewed public health. 1924 01:49:08,100 --> 01:49:13,609 (fireworks explode, crowd cheers) 1925 01:49:13,633 --> 01:49:18,109 SHAH: One of the things we learned in San Francisco 1926 01:49:18,133 --> 01:49:21,142 {\an1}is that intervention into a disease pandemic 1927 01:49:21,166 --> 01:49:23,076 {\an1}is a profoundly political act. 1928 01:49:23,100 --> 01:49:25,176 {\an8}(plane engine roars) 1929 01:49:25,200 --> 01:49:29,242 {\an7}Science is one dimension 1930 01:49:29,266 --> 01:49:34,376 {\an1}to provide answers and to provide solutions, 1931 01:49:34,400 --> 01:49:36,342 {\an1}but it was still subject to human interpretation, 1932 01:49:36,366 --> 01:49:38,000 {\an1}human implementation. 1933 01:49:41,500 --> 01:49:44,076 McCLAIN: The question that came up in 1900 1934 01:49:44,100 --> 01:49:47,742 {\an1}is what is the balance between public necessity, 1935 01:49:47,766 --> 01:49:49,966 {\an1}public health, and individual rights and liberties? 1936 01:49:51,700 --> 01:49:53,966 {\an1}And it was balanced in a terrible way. 1937 01:49:57,333 --> 01:50:01,609 CHASE: Power-seeking politicians, 1938 01:50:01,633 --> 01:50:05,042 {\an1}and misguided commercial greed that takes precedence 1939 01:50:05,066 --> 01:50:08,709 over public health, all of that 1940 01:50:08,733 --> 01:50:13,242 {\an1}delayed a solution in San Francisco. 1941 01:50:13,266 --> 01:50:16,642 {\an1}In the end, we needed collaboration and cooperation 1942 01:50:16,666 --> 01:50:20,242 by the federal, state, and local governments, 1943 01:50:20,266 --> 01:50:22,842 {\an1}participation by the citizenry, 1944 01:50:22,866 --> 01:50:27,676 {\an1}understanding and acceptance of science. 1945 01:50:27,700 --> 01:50:30,842 ♪ ♪ 1946 01:50:30,866 --> 01:50:35,409 POWELL: Science is implicated with the larger society. 1947 01:50:35,433 --> 01:50:39,176 {\an1}In San Francisco, we actually pressed science to do work 1948 01:50:39,200 --> 01:50:41,609 {\an1}that it has no business doing. 1949 01:50:41,633 --> 01:50:43,409 {\an1}You don't need science to tell us 1950 01:50:43,433 --> 01:50:46,609 {\an1}that we should treat people with dignity and love. 1951 01:50:46,633 --> 01:50:49,242 Science is a method of inquiry. 1952 01:50:49,266 --> 01:50:53,676 It knows a lot, but there's always unknowns. 1953 01:50:53,700 --> 01:50:58,276 SHAH: We had some worldviews that were coming into big conflict 1954 01:50:58,300 --> 01:51:01,309 about how to think about science, 1955 01:51:01,333 --> 01:51:05,709 {\an1}about how to deal with a public health crisis, 1956 01:51:05,733 --> 01:51:10,309 how to not ascribe a racial cause for the disease, 1957 01:51:10,333 --> 01:51:12,742 {\an1}and diverting accountability. 1958 01:51:12,766 --> 01:51:15,276 {\an1}But also to think about, 1959 01:51:15,300 --> 01:51:19,376 {\an1}is it possible to protect myself from disease? 1960 01:51:19,400 --> 01:51:22,109 Is it possible to eradicate disease? 1961 01:51:22,133 --> 01:51:25,609 {\an1}And those are open questions. 1962 01:51:25,633 --> 01:51:30,933 ♪ ♪ 1963 01:51:40,000 --> 01:51:44,200 ♪ ♪ 1964 01:51:56,100 --> 01:51:59,800 ♪ ♪ 1965 01:52:02,100 --> 01:52:05,242 {\an8}ANNOUNCER: "American Experience: Plague at the Golden Gate" 1966 01:52:05,266 --> 01:52:07,309 {\an8}is available on DVD. 1967 01:52:07,333 --> 01:52:12,209 {\an7}To order, visit ShopPBS or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS. 1968 01:52:12,233 --> 01:52:14,542 {\an7}"American Experience" is also available 1969 01:52:14,566 --> 01:52:18,442 {\an8}with PBS Passport and on Amazon Prime Video. 1970 01:52:18,466 --> 01:52:23,400 ♪ ♪ 1971 01:52:29,733 --> 01:52:30,733 ♪ ♪