On May 28, 1899, Paul Laurence Dunbar was recovering from a severe case of pneumonia at a friend's apartment in New York City. Paul's wife Alice helped take care of him, while his mother Matilda, full of worry, remained at their home in Washington, D. C. Amelia Douglass wrote to Matilda to share her concern about Paul's health. Amelia was a neighbor of the Dunbars in Washington and a daughter-in-law of Frederick Douglass.
I know just how full of sorrow and anxiety your heart must be and I wish it were in my power to say some words of comfort, but I am powerless. You are constantly in my mind, and although the way seems dark I keep hoping, hoping. I have thought from the very first that Paul should be in a hospital, because a hospital is the only place where everything is just as it should be for a very ill person. I have not a doubt that everything possible has been done for him that could be done in a private house but in a case like his that is not sufficient.
Amelia Douglass to Matilda Dunbar, May 28, 1899. Paul Laurence Dunbar Papers, Ohio History Connection (Microfilm edition, Roll 2).
A few days later, Matilda received another concerned letter from her younger sister Rebbecca Voss in Dayton.
I received your letter and was indeed glad to hear from you, and to know that Paul is some better. It is too bad that Paul cannot live in Washington anymore for it is not very pleasant to stay in the mountains for two years. But it will improve his health. I think he should go.
Rebbecca Voss to Matilda Dunbar, May 31, 1899. Paul Laurence Dunbar Papers, Ohio History Connection (Microfilm edition, Roll 2).
Rebbecca's letter referred to the Catskill Mountains of New York. A few weeks later, Paul and Alice went to a town called Brodhead's Bridge in the Catskills, following a doctor's advice that mountain air would be better for his health.
Paul Laurence Dunbar is greatly improved in health, thanks to a robust constitution, the medical skill of Dr. P. Augustus Johnson and the faithful care of a devoted wife. Mr. and Mrs. Dunbar go to the Catskills for the summer. The poet will not attempt to resume his work for some time yet.
"About Literature and Literary People." The Colored American (Washington, D. C.). August 12, 1899. Page 7.