Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-07-19
NASHVILLE.
The Ravages Of Cholera as Described
by an Eye Witness.

The Ravsges Of Cholera as Described
by an Eye witness.
From the Harrisburg Patriot, July II.
The following letter is from Col. Samuel
p. Ament, one Of the Oldest and most re-
spected citizens of Nashville. In it our
readers will md graphic account of that
dread scourge cholera, doing its fatal work
in that unfortunate city:
NASHVILLE, July 10, 1873.-Hon. WI
Verbeke-My dear friend: Having a
leisure hour this morning thought of you
and fell that few lines from your old
friend would be welcome at this time Of
our sore visitation. After my kindest re-
cards to you and 10 your dear family, |
thought short description of the work of
the angel OF death, almost as terrible as
when he passed over the land of Egypt,
would be an appropriate theme at this
time. My friend, | have no language suf-
iciently strong properly to convey to your
nind the awful distress that has pervaded
our city. No portion has suffered es much
as that l live in. The 22d and 23d of last
month we're two of the darkest days my
eyes ever beheld. Think for q moment of
a city of fifty Tho usand inhabitants wrapped
in mourning and parslysed with fear. l
could stand at my door and look at dwell.
lings that had as many as four and five
dead in each. In those two days about one
hundred died in my neighborhood, and
over two hundred since the dread angel of
death first spread his dark wings over it.
Several whole families have persisted, and
their houses are now tenantless.. You are
We acquainted with the part of the city
we live in. A portion of it, as you know, is
al ii 81 oil, hxyh loo
pie. Out of the whole mum )er Of deaths it
white. I took stroll a few days ago
among the little negro novels, visiting the
occupants 10 learn something of their con-
dition. found in may of their shanties
from four 10 six adults and as many chill
dren. L saw boys and girls from eight to
twelve years Of age that looked as if they
had never been washed. If filth and stencil
can produce cholera then they were the
means that brought it on us, for they ex-
listed to perfection. We read of the deadly
upas tree that poisons the air with its fatal
influences. Well, such is good compari-
son of the effects of the filthy habits of
tWo-thirds OF the freedmen that iHhait our
city. 1t is considered by almost every per-
son that it is in the way these people gen.
orally live that has invited and nouriahed
that terrible scOurge cholera here.
Our daily papers have given faithful &C
count of the deaths of all those that had
collins procured for them from the under
takers. They put down the deaths since
the Sth Of June last at seven hundI ed and
fifty. But we all know that there were at
least one hundred and fifty that were buried
in Collins and boxes provided from other
sources. This will swell the number of
deaths to nine hundred. At least six hun
cred and fifty of these were colored people.
l don't think we have lost over fifteen or
twenty Of our prominent white citizens.
The majority of the white population that
have died lived in localities that would nat
urslly eDgeDder disease, or whose habits
were such as to predispOse their systems SO
as TO invite al attack.
l have low passed my three score years
and ten. | have lived in Nashville nearly
ffty-three years. Was here when the
cholera first made its appearance in 1888.
l have passed through every stage of it from
that time to the present, and | know there
has never been so much effort put forth
by the citizens to relieve the wants of the
suffer ing as has been manifested in this
time Of distress. The colored population
have had five of our most eminent physi-
clans to attend to their sick exclusively,
and arrangements made by which they
could 90 ain all the medicines needed with
out cost, and our various benevolent insti-
tutions have supplied them with food.
Thus these poor people were cared for. l
l bare been informed from good authority
that not one colored person living with
white family has died of CHOLERA.
Yours truly, SAMUEL p, AMEET