New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-09-03
HEALTH AND CLIMATE.

IL was at one time TO tQ6 interest OF q
certain class to spread damaging reports
about the health and climate of New Or
leans. Stories were sent abroad and fully
| believed, that none but negroes could
stand the rays of the summer sun, none
but natives survive the attacks of yellow
fever In our experience, we have seen
many strong, useful man talked to
death about yellow fever9 He was daily
told that several dozen people had died
during the night; that Yellow Jack always
finished his victims in from three to five
days, and that he had no possible chance
to escape. Physicians testify to the po-
tent effects of fear Oh the human frame
Until 1858 it was a sort Of pastime with
some Of the people to torment new corners
with terrible stories Of yellow fever. Dur
ing that year, however, a large number OF
natives Of the State and residents for
twenty to twenty-five years, succumbed to
tine fell destroyer, which terrible atfiiction
silenced those who had hitherto deemed
themselves invulnerable, and gave the poor
immigrant short respite.
But we are not yet entirely relieved
from the evils of these damaging mis-
representations. Though We only have
yellow fever once in from five to eie ut
years, panic engendering reports are
flying all over the country to the effect
that it is almost certain death for any
body not q native or a negro to attempt
to live here during the summer. The
people of Memphis, Vicksburg, Mobile
and Galveston are terribly afraid of this
city, when at the same time leaving out
years Of acknowledged epidemic like
1858, 1867, 1870, there are more deaths
by assassination in either of the villages
named in the course Of twelvemonth
than there are by yellow fever in New
Orleans for the same period. We know
how futile it is to attempt to convince a
thoroughly frightened man that there is
!, no danger. We do not expect to reclaim
the demoralized old inhabitants of the
I little surrounding towns; but We have
some hopes of the rising generation, who
have not heard Of late the frightful stories
that appalled, their grandams in the
good old days" We are still wrestling
with this subject, and about once year
are compelled to prove our innocence to
the satisfaction of our Galveston mer-
chants, who are really the hardest set
to convince that We ever heard Of 1t
rarely happens that we can even get a
hearing until certain stocks of old goods
are sold out and safely shipped to the
interior.
Another bugbear, invented years ago,
when no rivalry with slave labor was de-
sired, still haunts the surrounding tribes
and operates prejudicially to US. That is,
that 10 Caucasian can stand the rays of
the midday sur. That any who attempted
it would surely fall a victim to coup de
soleI. This humbug was most effectually
exploded years ago, and ought to lave
received finishing stroke in 1862, when
Colonel T. 3. Thorpe, then City Surveyor,
employed four OF five hundred men in
hauling out river sand to make batture,
and when our Union volunteers, fresh
from snowy New England, mounted
guard and marched and courtermarched
with perfect IMMUNITY under the fercest
midday sun.
We are aware that blazing summer
sun is not luxury to either man or beast,
but we assure the inhabitants Of more n.y.
perborean regions that it rarely kills
either, and that at least one-third Of our
white male population is constantly ex-
posed. The vital statistics inform US that
there are more sunstrokes in New York or
Boston il one day than we have here in
year. And as for the yellow fever, stran-