The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1873-08-14
Cholera in a Mountain Town.

a correspondent writes from Birming.
ham, Ala, to the Louisville Courier
Journal, Of the recent ravages of disease
there, as follows :-"Cholera broke out
with fatal virulence As usual, the ne
groes suffered most, and. although they
died by the dozens, the wiseacres declar.
ed there was no cholera in the place a
! few were so consistent in their idiocy as
to refuse to change their diet, although
DR.. Bell had not published his plea for
cucumbers the fool killer in their case
! is spared much trouble Then a strag.
gling force of men was Put to work at
sotne of the pastiest bitches, but it was
too late ; the disease broke cut eyeIyw here
and would yield 10 no treatment The
Board of Health attempted some meas
ures: but all organized movements failed
The people were too new to each other
for concerted movements. The poorer
classes were scattered aud unknown, and
they were frequently at the point OF death
before they sought medical relief; so they
died by scores, aud the people fed from
the place by hundreds. The Physicians
were earnest, energetic and faithful they
were ready at ali hours to 20 wherever
they wcie called, although by far the
greater number of their eases were char
ity patients. This continued for two
weeks or more, the mortality sometimes
increasing, sometimes falling now two
or three deaths day, now seven or eight,
with steadily decreasing population
The most hopeful began to despond.-
Men who had before chaffcd each other
about the cholera scare, began themselves
to be infected. Then, too. the disease
assumed new phase. Instead OF being
preceded by diarrhea for day or long
er, it developed almost in an hour the
worst features of genuine cholera. Peo
pie dined in apparent health, and rested
that night 10 Il coifin. Business was sus-
pended, and the streets deserted. 1t be
came difficult to find men to dig the
graves or take the bodies to them Near
ly the whole population became affected
OF course they dJn all have the cholera,
but the malaria seemed to enter into
everybody'S system with greater or less
activity. Whether it was that the best
and truest men remained, or whether there
is that residuum Of unSelfshuess and
true heros III in each human heart here.
| don't know bat certainly the noble
work doue here in the last ten days would
dispel from any mind the belief that the
Samaritans were an extinct people
Where month ago all was jealousy and
discussion, now is generous rivalry in
the work Of aiding the sick No one
however poor, but has nurses and medi
cal attention, and that, too, when the
physicians can scarcely stagger to their
work, so worn out are they from their
long and unrested labors. They are the
true knights Grant of our time. Col.
Powell stands his ground nobly. His
friends beg him to leave, and, though
wealthy aud without kinsmau in the
place, he refuses to desert it. God knows
when We shall see the end. Three days
ago the plague seemed almost passed away;
for the twenty four hours ending last
night, July II, there were reported thir-
teen deaths iu population pow number
ing more than geo souls The cbastise-
ment is terrible, but unless the people
have lost all intelligence it will not be re
reated The altitude is high and here
tofore the air invigOrating aud the water
pure, but there has beeu a large class Of
adventures and negroes out of work
these have never considered the welfare
of tie city, and the city was too young
aud too poor to enforce rigid sanitary
laws. Our awful scourge was not pro
duced by any atmospheric condition or
local cause beyond the existence OF chok
ed up streams and filthy cpen bitches,
and these eau be kept clean and pure al
most without expense.