The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-03-23
TIE HEA11H OF cHARLEsToN-No.


THE HEALIR OF CHARLESTON-No.% y
TO THE EDITORS OF THE NEWS.
The answer to this question brings the COM
,,;t+ee AZ once to the objects of their investi.
cation, viz:
The filthy accumulations Of city COM
:,posed of all the refuse matters that COL
+, lsct after the vans OF q people have been
= satishedAthe remnants OF butchers meat, the
:: Ysasfings of vegetables. the pluckings OF pouI-
try, the washing of culinary and domestic
'.utensils, the decayed fruit, the spoiled ash'
: the bones, feathers, scales and other. refuse
= parts Of cooked and uncooked animals, birds
And fish, the ca,cases of domestic animals,
the sour remnants of the table and kitchen,
The greasy and feti6 water in which these
remnants have been fern,enting-ln short, all
that collects from the satiated vents OF man
, and >animals, the excremenltlous matters
from the stables and cowhouses, all these
and an endless list OF other impurities Whlch
mix with them and make up the foul burthen
of, the odious scavenger's cart, go forth daily
10 be cast into the low, moist and muddy places
of the city, to toment and putrify till they
saturate the air with filthy emanatlons, preg-
nant with disease and death. =
THE soil cfthe city 30 low and porous as to
be constantly saturated with water, either
from the rain which falls upon It or rom the
tiSs waters which ooze through it, furnishing
the requisite amount Of moisture tor aiding de-
=; !. com position, wants nothing necessary for the
most rapid disintegration OF this heterogeneous
-mass but the requisite degree OF neat. AND
vthis is at hand when the summer sun shoets
down in perpeadlcu!ar rays its tropical heat
If We would haze our city populous and
wealthy we must make it healthy. ] n vain will
we buiid railroads and remove the barriers OF
the ocean un ess we can invite strangers to
come among us with an assurance OF health:
Without this great blessing wealth ltseiI wln
lose its attraction. And it will, therefore, be
better for US first to spend money In getting
the former, unless we cap make up our !nlnds
to see all that loer which we have been lavish
ing to secure the latter.
beg now, after. what has been said 10 the
foregoing report On scavenger otal, to dlrect
attention 10 the following letters 70 the com
mittee OF the City Council. charged with the
= duty OF preparing, report on the origin and
diffusion of yellow fever in Charleston IN the
summer of 1855 And first, that OF DR.. w. L.
Wragg, member OF the previous admlnlstra-
.ittioE II 3 900, ..,o, roonmonoed NV profession
al career in Charleston, found the yellow fe-
yer localized, and bounded by lines Wnlcn, al
though they may have been overstepped IN
some points, at times were nevertheless tolera-
bly accurate limits to the int ted districts.
The southeastern part Of Old Charleston was
the doomed territory, and Water-stree. on the
south, King street on the west, hne some
! what below Calhoun street on ths north, WIN
ries. In those days, the house now occupy
: at the west end Of Broad-street'was considered
I. safe. AL that part Of the city known IN olden
: times as Harestou Green. lying west OF Rut-
ledge. and mort. of Beaufain Streets. was still
more exempt. CanuonsborU, Still further
north, was a safe resort for strangers, ptoNd
they did not 20 far enough up on the Neck to
:iinc,ir risk rom country fever. The same may
be said lo,. Ma5Yekboro', Wraggboro, and
: sHampstesdr on the east OF! tho city, andkatso OF
the intermediate central ridge from the Citadel
and St. Paals Church, upwards, until the re-
eion tf country fever was reached: AS late as
iSSS. IL was deemed perfectly sale for strangers
to remain in the city in yellow fever seasons,
provided they did not 60 below Calhoun, (then
Boundary street.) 80
What is the state OF things now? There is
not spot below Magnolia Cemetery, including
that beautiful field Of rest, that is Tree uom
danger in yellow fever seasons. Nay, more
The suburbs Of the city do. not limit the ag-'
Pisasai.. Sulliyan's Island, Potter's Mill, all
have shared in the rsyages OF the destroyer,
and IL NAV truly now be said that he walks
cononeror over the fallen ramparts OF every
one or these once guarded a5yiums. What
changes in tine local conditions OF these places
haye been brought about The disease, in
former times, entered the CITY, or sprang up IN
treats until 1888, when, for the first time, the
spell was broken and safety was no longer to
be counted en- IN one, at least, OF the favored
precincts: -,
ried Northern lady, and brought up MS
children, to tina. time, with estranged consti-
tutions, being desirous Of acclimatmg them,
was advised to commence by spending the first
SIMMER in house at the corner OF EhZaDeth
and Judith streets. The season proved to be q
velIow fever one, and he was i'll of the disease.
On the opposite corner, boarding DOL was
kept by the Misses Blamyer, and young lazy
from GEORGETOWN who had been allowed 10 re-
main. by advice of DR.. B. B. Simons, and who
had been kept strictly confined within the
house fer three months, was taken Ill and d!eo,
a most yirulent case of yellow fever. Other
cases occurred in this neighborhood Tvs year
for the first timo.
Let us look around and see if any local
changes in the region about the houses may
have had an influence in producing them.
wear or two before air. John Robinson had
commenced the Improvement of his lois 'front.'
ino ON Judlth-street, and on the square bolnd-
ed by Eiz,beth-street on the west, an6 Alex
ander street on the east, these lois were low,
and we're near tho mouth or outfan OF long
narrow marsh fiat, which, commencing here,
ran for an eighth of mile westward, as Tar as
KIup-sreet. The natural effect OF the H.aIe 8
up OF these lots was to iDjure the drainage Oh
ali that part Of the marsh fat lying wes''
For the Improvement of his lots Mr. Robinson
had used wood and other destructlble material
to q considerable extent, and had also trans
ferred, by m ans OF temporary railroad, the
whole Of the mound OF earth Il remnant OF
the old Llue) which formerly stood at the
corner of Meeting and Mary streets.
From this time the exemption previously en-
loved by this region or the Neck from epidemic
disease vanished. Sinco then, we have not
only seen yellow fever claiming its victims
thero, but typhu :, scarlet and other epidemic
fevers have, from time TO time, severely
scourgcd it.
About the tim of which am speaking, he
eastern eut OF Calhoun street was in the en-
ioyment of reputation for health not inferior
In ony other portion of the Neck. l we'll re-
member that 1886, when the cholera made its
visitation 10 Charleston, ouly saw single
case on that part of the street, where the tree
ebb and flow Of the tile over the low grounds
kept them clear Of decompo'abe deposit.
Within the last ten years tue street AS been
made no with wood and the lots hl!ed WIZ
cbaff sawdust and such destructible material
ond now the ncighborhood has lost its reputa
tion for health.
Within the 10 t twenty years, during whcn
time the work Of filing up low places Will
.rarh.oe sawdust, chat, &C., has been gong
On on Gadsden wharf, that place mas Deen
steadily Incoming more and more unhealthy,
tiIl last summer (1S58) the work oil deatn W was