Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1833-01-04
ALEXANDRIA GAZETTE.
CHOLERA IN NEW ORLEANS.

whose opportunities Of observation were ample,
has transmitted to the editor Of the Baltimore
American the annexed account OF the devas'a.
ting mortality with which that city was recently
| visited:
New ORLEANS, Dec. 10th, 1882.
GENrLEMEN.-The accounts OF Cholera which
may have reached YOU from our poor clty,-so
often the field of death and the portal to eternity,
were probably written in the moment OF ex'
citement and under the influence OF alarm; but
now that the "Destroying Angel" has left US.
and gone, we know not where, aud the mind Is
again in possession of its calmness. VIII endea'
vor to furnish you with statement OF the DESC
latiou which has been around Us.
The Cholera, with US, has been but fiash!-
II came, and its awful havoc was completed In
an instant. 1t did not last over two weeks.
The first cases noticed. occurred upon the LIE.
wee in the persons Of two Spaniards who had Inv
ed for months in the most AFFECT wretchedness.
1t is probable that the premonitories had been
uDon them for some time, but UNDECIDED till they
dropped upon the LeSee in the agony OF spasm,
land died ere efftctual relief could be gwen
Their bodies were Immediately visited by our
oh sicians, and upon inquiry OF the manner IN
which they died, no DOUBT existed Of the pres
ence of the Cholera.
But when the tocsin sounded and the alarm
was given. you cannut imagine, nor can DIES.
cribe, the conservation, the terror, the agony
which the pale stricken cOufitehance Of our pop.
ulation betrayed. Such Of our citizens as could
afford it, left the city; some took passage up the
river. some down; others fed across lake Pom.
chartrain to seek consolation among the pine.
groves. What with the victims with which
.;Death blessed his nav"
and the number Of deserters, our streets were
tbinncd. our houses abandoned, and the active bu
siness.like appearance Of our Levee glded from
before US, rs VISION.
rbe next cases which occurred were still upon
the Levee among the steamboats, and hat ooa's.
But soon the disease was announced IN every
nook of the city; and possible, the fright. with
those who vet remained with Us, became greater
still. Our nearest and our dearest friends we're
taken from US and placed in the cold tomb. ere
we had intelligence OF their illness. M one
felt safe; the s,outest heartgrew faint; We shook
hand, at night, and scarcely expected to meet
again in the morning.
! There was an attempt made to organize
Board of Health; but owing to petty Jealonsies,
that attempt failed and there has been no OFFICIAL
account kept of the extent or character ofzfne
disease. Indeed the axiety of every one seem.
ed to be to attend ia the ito bury the dead,
and not keep them above ground Hut notwih-
standing the exerlions Of the Mayor and his VA.
teh,es. there remained every night greater or
| less number unburied: for it was Impossible to
obtain the necessary assistance either for love or
money; and under these affecting circumstanc.
IS, that respect to the dead which decency re.
auired. could not he paid. The sound OF the
coffin makers hammer eternally Tell upon The
ear, night and day; but the supply was 'nsuff'
Gent to provide for all, and many were thrown
{. unkempt and uncovered pr"miscuousIy
among the collins deposited in the broad trenches,
dug by the .extons. at the grave yards; Zone OF
these trenches contained 300.) The Catholic
churches were opened all the while: and the ser.
vice for the dead never ceased The p0mp and
parade Of the sIowmOving hears- was unattend-
ed To-; The hearse would stop for an instant at the
church door; then trot with its load, oh to the
grave.
Tn the absence of an efficient board OF health
it is entirely impossible to furnish correct est.
mate Of the extent Of the Epidemic. The city
papers have published about 1000 burals at the
grave yards; but as they acknow ledge their state
ments to be deficient, and as there we're vast
numbers buried on the outskirts Of town. the
whole mortality may possibly have reached $500.
The CITY was decimated.
When the Cholera arrived, the Yellow Fever
had been prevalent for two months: but notwith'
standing the violence Of the former, the latter it
was said, continued to exist; and as II is prin'
[ciple in medicine, that no two epdemIcs can ex-
,st at the same time, at the same place-the state
ment is somewhat curious and worthy of inquiry
| have eonversed with several Physicians on the
subject, and with difficulty account Tor 1t.
th,nk it however. probable that the malaria Of
our vicinity. which is thought 10 BIZ the exciting
cause of yellow Fever, became The acti'e anxI'
lisrv of Cholera. and IN many CASE, caused tht
latter 10 wear the feature. OF the tifme aenc'
il was difficult to distinguish the one from fh'
other. 1t this construction be correct (which II
highly feasible from the fact that, on the hrst aP
pearance Of frost. the epidemic or both eplde
mics ceased) the principle Ia medicine must b.
as good as ever.
Twill not detain you with detailed deserip
ton Of the symptoms Of Cholefa, Is it vas ex
f hibited here. An account o5 its general chArac
ter, however. will inform you that it did not oil
fer in any great degree. fro" is exhibition In IN
Northern cities