Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1873-09-15
YELLOW FEVER in NORTH MEN.
pins.
Esss..Iy 80; s =: "ss.. a. I aSs:
aln0elW.

To the Editor Of the Ledger;
Your correspondent confidently be-
lieves that he has reliable information
which, Il properly investigated, will
fully solve the question As TO the origiA
Of the terrible disease which is now
scsurging the western part Of the First
ward Of our city, and which is Familiarity
called Pinch"
All who were or are familiar with the
old Navy Yard will remember the very
large cialern which was made by the
United States Government short dis
lance north Of Market street and within
the premises now occupied by the I'm
derwriters Warehouse" This estern
was in square form, very large, per-
haps fifty feet square and about ten feet
deep. (0f its size | write only from
memory, as ! have not seen il for seye-
raj years, hence only give an approx
mate size as well as | can recollect.)
At any rate, It would hold an immense
quantity Of water Since the erection
Of the cotton presses in the warehouse
referred to the water has been used from
it in the boilers Of the presses. More
or less Of the water has been in it for
years, some Of it, perhaps, before the
war. when | remember having stood on
top Of it and observed the water in it.
From a friend who resides near by it,
and who at this present writing is just
recovering from an attack Of the
prevalent fever, | learn that about
FIVE weeks ago perhaps six), owing to
some changes or alterations required to
be made about the cotton press macbin-
cry, it became necessary to empty this
old government cistern. The emptying
Of the cistern occupied some two or three
days. Immediately south of thelPanola
Oil Works was formerly large pond Of
water from which the oil works then
drew its supply OF water for making
steam, etc., but sometime during the
summer the levee or dam at the west
end, which retained the water, was
washed away or cut, thereby emptying
the pond and leaving it entirely dry.
When this occurred the oil works ar
ranged to run their water pipe to the big
cistern referred to, and thus obtained
supply. Now when the cotton press
owners determined to empty the cistern,
the oil works owners decided to rebuild
the dam at the west end of the former
pond, and by doing so to allow the
water pumped from the cid ciStern to
accumulate there and form another
pond, and thereby give them con-
venient supply of water again. They
did so, as / am correctly informed, and
made another big pond of water as Of
yore. / venture the remark without
positive knowledge that this old cistern,
built by the United States Government
about twenty-five years ago, has never
been emptied or cleaned out since it was
first filed. presume there has never
been any occasion previously to have it
emptied. But the fact is it was emptied
about the time named, say about five
weeks ago, and the water caught in the
pond. Again, every one familiar with
the surroundings knows thattha delecta-
BILE locality so euphoniously denominatcd
Happy Hollow" is situated immedi-
ately south OF the reflled pond, Market
street lying between. During the week
succeeding the empty ing of the cistern,
man died in cabin Immediately by
the pond. Shortly after one of the men
that built the dam, died in his house.
across Market street; just south of the
pond; two more deaths occurred near
by. These were the first four deaths
in that locality, although others took
place every day succeeding. About the
middle of the week before last sd or 4th
of September) man died in Happy
Hollow, and persons who saw him in his
coffin observed that he had turned quite
yellow. One of them mentioned it to
my informant, who, having had yellow
fever in New Orleans more than twenty
years ago, and was familiar with it in
all its phases, thought to himself that t
was case of yellow fever, although
he did not mention it to his friend at
that time. Within the succeeding few
days other cases occurred, generally
fatal, and the disease spread from
Happy Hollow up on Promenade
street, north of Market street, and d.
rectly east of the old cistern and pond.
Among these cases was that of friend
Of mine, Mr.. NJ, who was first unwell,
and complained of chill and succeed
ing fever on Sunday afternoon, the 18th
of September. Although his fever was
greatly allayed by the next evening, yet
he was very much Frustrated, and no.
withstanding every effort was made by
his physician and family, he grew worse
from day to day, and died Saturday
morning. From Promenade street the
disease has spread to Front street, and
along nearly all the cross streets lead
ing from Front to Main streets, that
are between Exchange and 0verton.
The first case occurring in Happy Hol-
low, you will observe that the disease
has gradually progressed eastward to-
ward Promenade, Front, Main and Sec
ond streets. How soon it may cross