Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1853-09-03
FREMONT. sANDUsKY COUNTY,. September 8 l85a.
jokes in the horrid atmosphere where scarce.


jokes in the horrid atmosphere where scarce
10 they can draw breath for utterance
The stoical negroes, too, who are hired at
Eve dollars per hour to assist in the work of
interment, stagger under the sitting fumes,
and can only be kept at their work by deep
and continued notations of the "fre water "
They gulp deep draughts OF the stimulating
fluid, and reeliug to their task, hold their no.
ses with one hand, while with the other they
grasp the spade, heaye on the mould, and
rush back to the bottle to gulp again. Its a
jolly time with these ebon laberers, and with
their white co workers. as thoughtless and as
jolly, and full as much intoxicated as them.
selves.
! And thus, what the songs and obscene
tests Of the grave diggers, the buzzng of the
flies, the sing song cries Of the huxter. women
vending their confections the hoarse oaths Of
the men who drive the dead carts, the m cry
whis le Of the boys, and the ifing reel from
scores Of blackened corpses the day wears
space, the work of sepulture is done, and
night draws The curtain.
| (Fsom the N. o. Daily Delta of the 1lth
The PErELEENcE.-StiIl onward stalks
the dreadful pestilence through our afflicted,
city. 1t can no longer be taunted with un-
due virule1ce towards the "lower classes"
1t has established, by most gloomy proofs, its
title to the epthet of general levcller. The
rlch the lovely, the giftep, the virtuous, the
strong, as well as the votaries Of vice and
destltution the poor and the virtuous, the ig-
norant and imprudent-alI alike fall before
the remorseless sickle of this great destroyer,
Lon ,rn ;r,o 4
DEATH
There are few, fany parallels in history to
the present visitation. But week or SO ago
we were involved in unpleasant controversies
with medical gentlemen as to whether the
disease, which was taken off several hun
dred Of our citizens weekly, was an epidemic
1t was charged that we were exciting pan
ic in announcing and declaring the fact Two
weeks have scarcely passed and the epidemic
has become a pestence, one of the most des-
tructive, malignant and distressing which
evrr fell upon a people, Considering the
number OF persons liable TO the epidemic 1.-THE
unacclimated,) there is nothing in history to
equal the present mortality. Deducting our
native population and those who have had the
fever and become acclimated, we should re-
gard It rs a large figure to fix the unaccma-
ted at 10000 at the breaking out of the fe-
yer. Of that number at least three thousand
have already been buried, and every dav
adds two hundred more to the ghastly rec
ord.
Should l continue in the same rat TO- this
frghtcul number will be swelled to $3.50 by
the lst of September, which is usually tn G
date when the epidemic begins its ravages in
our city For the week ending on the 7th of
August its victims were one thousand. That
Tor the weeek now passing will be as large,
and thus, unless some sudden and unlocked
for change occurs, the month of August will
be held ever memorable in our annals for
the largest proportionate mortality which has
ever occurred in the history of pestilences.
It will equel the violence Of the Black Plague
OF the Fourteenth Century, and exceed that of
the Plague of London, in 1864, The latter
has been regarded the severest pestilcnce of
modern times: and yet out of population of
live hundred thousand, it only slew sixty
thousand in one year, whereas the present
epidemic is destroying at the rate four thou
sand per month out of total population of
not over eighty thousand, and population
liable to the disease. Of not over 3O,O0Ol 1t
is true that the previous years Of this city,
there have been days, which exhibited lar.
ger mortality 10 one day, but on no other oc-
cason has the aggregate weekly mortality
been as large, nor the progress of the disease
81 steady, regular and unbroken! What is
the worst aspect of these facts is, that the
season for the prevalence OF the epidemic has
barely commenced.
In lS47, the deaths in the beginning Of Au
gust did net average ten day, We have
therefore Mt least three months fer the pes
thence TO run. There is no hope that it will
terminate its career, unless with the eXhaus-
lion OF material At the present rate, this
event would appear not to be distant AT
least fifteen thousand of the unacclimated
have already had the disease, and are either
convalescents, or tenants of the tomb We
have heard of a great nur1ber who have re-
covered. Many Of the physicians declare
that they have lost none of their patients
Indeed, it would appear that the thousands
who have already died could not have had
the advantage Of medical attendance as the
physicians all declare that they have lost no
casesl 1t is wonderful how successful they
are. considering the vast amount of mortality
! II our estimate of the number who have been
attacked be correct, there wonld remain not
more than fifteen thousand of unaccmated
persons, which, at the present ratio would
barely afford material to last out the month
of fAugust
Bat these are all speculation and calcula.
tons. They may, fortunately prove 10 be
exaggerated. God grant that it may be, so,
Our city has been scourged enough already. Ii
may be, however, that from this awful vista.
ton, we may derive some useful lesson for
the future 1t may be that our citizens will
be driven to more vigorous measures to es-
Labllsh the health Of the city, to simplify and
strengthen its government improve its sani-
tary regulations, give greater heed to the
administration of the corporation, improve its
streets, the style of buildings. and all other
means of securing better police than we
have hitherto had. Should this be the eifsct
of the present visitation, and to promote il,
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