Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1871-05-26
Yellow Fever.

A Nashville correspondent to the
Louisville Commercial, under date of
May 10th, writes to that paper as follows:
But the momentous question is, will
there be yellow fever in this latitude the
coming fallp 4 Why not2 1t prevailed in
Memphis in 1861, and in Philadelphia in
1892. In, connection with the terrible
scourge at present depopulating Buenos
Ayres, in South America, it is a singular
fact that when the black vomit makes a
virulent appearance at Rio Janeiro in
February, the autumn south of the line,
similar epidemic occurs at New Or
leans in September following-our au-
tumn--some six months apart in time,
but the same really in season. Another
remarkable fact may be related, that
these two littoral cities are near the
nodes Of the north and south tropical
calms, as indicated by Professor Maury
in the atmospherical circulation; and
vet another singular coincidence exists,
that Rio Janeiro and New Orleans are
respectively about equally distant from
the equatorial calm, and near eastern
points of a great equi-lateral triangle,
two sides of which are bounded by the
north and south trade winds, while the
other side of the triangle cuts the equa-
tor at right angles The rain, which is
eyaporated about the third angle of this
great triangle in the Pacific Ocean, comes
directly to these cities, and may we not
say the seeds of disease with it also.
This particular evaporating surface west
of the Andes mountains, on the broad
expanse Of a usually pacific or stagnant
sea, is known TO mariners as so remarka-
BILE that the sea birds cease following
ships when passing over it, which is not
the case anywhere else on the globe.
Furthermore, this region OF the ocean is
noted for submerged volcanic action and
electrical phenomena that shifts at irreg-
ular intervals north and south; and it
may be stated that here is found, amid
the islands and in the ocean, the most
recent genera of the fauna and fora in
dicated by geological epochs; these cir
cumstances, combined or singly, occur
ing on the region of the evaporating
surface that furnishes water to those two
great cities, rain that may easily be a
solvent or medium Of transportation Of
not only animalcule or creptograns, but
other miasmata.
Finally, the epidemic yellow fever of
Philadelphia, as we'll as that in the north
ofSpain, in the fall of 1892, was preceded,
as the history informs us, by a similar
plague at Buenos Ayres in February of
the same year. Since that time, period
of eighty years, both localities have been
quite exempt from the malignant NAL
adv. while subsequently the oonverging
lines of the triangle probably limited the
distance to the southern coast Of the
United States and Rio Janeiro in south
latitude. However this may be, we come
TO the inquiry, viii the present epidemic
In Bueuos Ayres, which has swept away
within the past two months over four
hundred daily, amounting to thirty thou
sand inhabitants in a population Of not
more than two hundred and fifty thou
sand. be followed by a similar scourge
next August and September in some
of the seaside cities and towns of
our country in the north temperate
zone. as Philadelphia, New York
or Baltimore, nearly equi-distant with
the infected locality from the equatorial
calm. Even may not towns, as Mem
mis- and Cairo, on the Mississippi, be
subiect 10 the same mutable laws stu
ated as tney are on sites once Of recent
geological period, the beds Of estuaries,
gulfs or bays Of the ocean, still giving