Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1868-07-23
THE HEAT.
Terrible Effects I'm New KOrk-statis.
tics of the Mortality.

tics of the Mortality.
A New York letter of the 10th inst con-
Veys some idea of the intense heat that pre-
vailed in tnat city. The writer says;
The altitude of the thermometer Is as
great as ever, (90995,) bat the heat is mer-
cifnlly tempered by hreeze from the
northwest. II is a hot breeze, as hot as ii
il had swept over Sahara, but 1t is never
theless, an agreeable relief from the suffo-
eating atmosphere Of the past few days and
nights. ari liH Z..'f G1I' nl ~
The Coroners report the mortality result
ing directly aud indirectly from the heat as
frightful to-day as eyer--ninety-fye cases
and twenty-five deaths for the past twenty
four hours. The total deaths from heat in
FIVE days aggregate $50. The Morgue
(dead-house) is crowded to its utmost ca
pacity with the dead and dying. The cof-
fins this morning were placed in tiers six
or seven deep. The time allowed to friends
and relatives for Identification is necessari-
iy very brief, as putrefaction speedily sets
in. The place at present has the appear
ance of huge limekiln in full blast
1t is next to impossible for the pen to
describe the distressing scenes which are
constantly witnessed at this establishment.
Sometimes persons who come thither from
morbid curiosity are startled with the dis
covery of some friend or relative in the
embraces OF death. Others, who nave
missed sons, or brothers, or husbands, are
plunged into grief by the information that
bodies corresponding to their particular
description had to be sent off an hour or
A., D0kAorJa IGal1 fha
heat was too great to keep them longer.
The fatal cases to-day, it is estimated, will
be between thirty and forty, swelling the
aggregate for the week thus far to between
four and five hundred.
Many Of the laborers employed at the
Brooklyn navy yard, in the course Of the
forenoon, were overcome by exhaustion,
and the Superintendent towards noon issued
an order suspending all work until further
notice. He says he had either to do that
or convert his offices and out-houses into
hospitals.
Horses are dying by the score. The
Eighth Avenue Railroad Company this
morning lost four the Sixth Avenue Com
pany, four; Tenth Avenue, seven; Belt
line, eight, with other lines in proportion,
The omnibus horses appear to suffer most
In giving these animals water the greatest
care has to be observed. Not unfrequently
they drop down dead as soon as their lips
touch the liquid, and this, too, in cases
where no fatigue or Overhesting is is ex.
ternally apparent
The present month has thus far been the
hottest for many years. The mean lem.
perature Of the FIRST week in July, 1858
was SO, and Of the second week 81 degrees
The mean temperature Of July for The past
twenty-five years has been "a. Thus far, i
will be seen, the temperature is nine or ter
degrees higher than the average.
The New York Tribune of the 18th inst
has the following in regard 10 the mortality
produced by the heat; ... s...
During the ak days ending at noon, yes
teFday, the mortality alone in this city eK
ceeded 1000. OF this number, S32 died il
| dwelling houses and in the streets. TIT
maximum mortality was reached on Wed
nesdsy forenoon. II is safe nov 10 pre-
/ dict that there will not be a similar success
sion of hot days this season. This predic
ton is based upon the statistical tables tina
| have been compiled by the City Inspecto
and the Board of Health, covering perio6
Of twenty-five years. Since August, 1883
the people of this city have not expe
rienced such mortality from what is Popu
larry known as ''sunsfroze,P as during th'
past week. From the 18th to the 18th o
that month (IS53) inclusive the deaths from
coup de So1eii Numbered nearly three hun
dred. The most fatal day was the 18th, al
though the temperature was lower than OF
the preceding or the succeeding days, bu
there was more moisture in the stmes
phere. Then AZ now the occupants Of ten
ement houses were the principal sufferers
and deaths from exhaustion were reported b.
physicians as deaths from heat Coroner
juEies complicated the matter, and rendere'
il more difficult to preserve correct sta
tistics by returning verdicts of death from
snnstroke, from the effects Of heat or iron
congestion Of the brain.
IL Is noticeable fact that, exceptiDi
PeFsOns who suffer from disease Of the hear
or the nervous sysiem-snd the latter clas
includes the great numbers who indulge il