Baton Rouge tri-weekly gazette & comet. [volume] (Baton Rouge, La.) 1865-18??, 1866-03-20
[Communicated.

| 4 p . =
Editors Gazette and Comd-By reference to late
| New Orleans papers, it will be seen that we ere
immnently threatened with IN invasion of Asidtio
| Cholera, and In order to ward off that dreaded
pestileDce, the Governor Of the State, aided and
| sustained by the military authorities, has pro-
J claimed rigid qusran tine and ordered the abate-
ment Of all nuisances and causes calculated to
endanger or to aygrayate it, should it unfortu-
natey find Judgment on our shores.
In view, then, OF its proximity and our constant
and almost daily intercourse with the infected
ports and districts, rendering its appearance
! among US either by propagation, or by its own
| unknown epidemical laws, very strong proba-
biity, if not an absolute certainty, are we not
called upon by the strongest claims of humanity
as we'll OF self-preservation to 'put cur house
in order,' and promptly to take such steps as are
calculated to mitigate its career and lessen the
number of its victims among usl
That our town is in sad plight, for the vista
ton of any malignant epidemic or contagious
disease, l suppose no one can doubt Not that we
have filth accumulated in our streets or cutters:
or stagnant marshes within our limits, to send
forth their
"Jades that drag the tragic melancholy night;
Who with their dTowsy, slow, and tagging wings
Clip dead mems graves, and from their misty Jaws
Breathe foul contagious darkness In the air;
for Of these, happily, we are freed by the vigil
ance of our city authorities, and the favorable
topography of our locality. But, aside and indie
pendent of these, we have here, existing among
us, a state of things which, if not removed, must
Ia es,ha
should any malignant form OF disease make it's
appearance here during our summer solstics.
Ineed not refer to the altered condition of many
of our white population, growing out of the wastes
and havocs of thepast war rendering tn cir houses
uncomfortable and crowded, and their means of
subsistence scanty, unhealthy and precarious,
though in itself sufficient to awaken, concern and
alarm.
But, would call attention to the huddled,
hampered, ill-ventat ed little huts and novels of
freedmen, in every part of the town; crammed
full Of men, women and children, old and young;
many of them sickIy and feeble. and what Is more
idle and dirty. As a matter Of course, their hab
its must necessitate mode of living, that will
invite the worst forms of disease and their habi.
tations must become so many toci, of morbifc ema-
nations, whence to radiate and spread through.
out the town.. . stns}
1t is well known that nothing is more Injurious
to health and more undermining to the constitu-
tion than crowded and ill.ventilated houses and
when you add to this, unwholesome food and
improper cooking of that food, you have a combi-
nation Of causes the most potent to originate the
worst forms of endemic diseases, and to impart
malgnancy and te rror to any epidemic or conta-
gious disease that may be introduced among us
Now we have precisely this state of affairs here.
with little 10x12 cabins, with one door, and q |
hole in the side or end to admit few rays of the
sun, when not cold enough to exclude the air, and
all deDsely crowded with freedmen from every |
part Of the country. Owing to this circumstance,
We have had Smallpox lingering among us for |
the past twelve months; sometimes abating and |
again increasing, but disappearing as it is |
impossible to cleanse and disinfect their huts,
bedding and clothing. Nothing short of an entire |
removal Of their inmates can ever reach and abate |
this evil. fr
Here, then, We have a perpetual nuisance, an |
abiding and prolific source of sickness in our very
midst, and that makes the heart sicken, when |
We contemplate the sufferings, the putrefactions,
horrors and the deaths that will revel in our |
streets and houses, should the Cholera or the |
yellow Fever visit us this summer. d.