Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-06-13
CHOLERA VISITATION
The Valley OF Death-SOme Facts
Plainly Told by an Old Citizen.

Plainly Told by an Old Citizen.
Nashville, TENN June II, 1871
have been led by the various newspaper re-
ports respecting the rise and progress of the
present disease, which bids fair to make our
city one of mourning, to give such facts as
have come under my own eye. A res
ident of ward six, oyer tree sc re and ten
of sge, have travelled here aud there over
the s'poison district" nearly with as little
fear of the consequences as ! have of
one of the grasshoppers that dash
against my knee az crawl along.
Bucks Spring and Wilson's are charged
as being mostly the cause Of our present
distress, etc, together with the 'inpru-
dence of the people in their udn;ty." They,
the springs, have been freely used withon.
last reprOach ever since the days of the
Robertsons and Macklins. know it. Will
simply speak of the Buck. This lies about
two hundred feet from the corner on high
street and AsS; tH enty-fve feet from the
lat er, which is here an embsnkment about
fifteen feet above the spring; along this en-
bankment aud directly opposite and ovef
the spring has been lately ''dumped" over
two hundred ads of filth of every kind,
from all parts of the city, some Of it is
within ten feet of the spring. Who did IL?
The Corporation. Who ruined the spring?
The Corporation. In Gods name you
who live in in the more IA
vored psrts of Our city, "!coRle and see"
and don't talk about rotten vegetables and
all such stuff until you have smelt the
breath Of this beauty and her sister, to be
introduced in time. When the owners of
the lots named bought and built here, it
II nd told fhor1as ffahio " At
err was good pure water" the spring spoke
for itself. Mrs. Buck and others well
known to us raised their families here and
used it and could they come up would
laugh to hear you talk about its poison ex-
cept such as you have miXed with 1t. NOW
for the sister OF this C rporGtion deposit
Southeast of this pile of filth Is the lsrge
brewery offs & P; every body has seen il.
Every body smell it, If they have not,
better come and take c Whit.
From this brewery on the west side comes
a covered or partly covered trench, running
northwaId under High street, down the
damned valley along Ewings Avenue on
the east side TO about the centre OF Trinity
Church, where it crosses obliquely over to
west side, and continues on northWsrI
along this and High street, until it empties
into Wilson's Spring Branch. All along
th track may be found holes or creyices,
belching forth a stencil as poisonous as the
Upas breath This offal min ling with the
waters of Wilson's Spring is here turned
loose to bask in the burning sun, and creep
along over one hundred yards, feeling its
way among rocks, cid boots, hats, crino
line and broken gnnameables, scattering
its fragrance on the midnight air. Amt u
LoueLR Ii at last (betwsen High and Sum-
mer street near the African church, which
comes in for a share of its incense TO in
gle with their prayer enters a hne brick
arch or tunnel, creeps on until east OF
Summer street, near the lanyard" here
IL takes air and light again and goes
dreaming along, beautifully meandering
among the homes of indulgence to the river.
Along this covered or p,rtly covered way,
from its beginning TO its junction with VIII |
son spring branch, this pestilence made
its first appearance. The wind from n. N.
east, carrying the miasma towards st. |
Cloud, its first victims, even i'll the old red |
house on the rise of that hill, and one |
on east side of EHing's avenue |
Wind veering west ward, it |
stepped over eastward and fould a victim |
in a small frame east Of the railroad. Wind |
still backing southwark, it came down the |
valley and took Mrs Cabler and others on or |
about Ash street, crossing md rccrossing |
the covered death path apd corporation de- |
post before named, and then took Mr..
Royce, of the Trinity Church, and bore him |
to other lands On its upas breath. And now |
while write this, at noon OF the 18th, one |
hundred yards from me, it has taken Mrs. |
Ford and Mr.. Brown, of South Union |
street, to their graves, adding two more to
the list of victims of the sewer |
and filth ABOVE named l make no
comment; won't attempt to describe |
the sewer or its poison breath as it gushed
into my face while STOPPING here and there |
owe some breach or crevice in it, with its
here and there and every where hole for
death, to gasp out Of. 1t has done this
work, as the tear ofthe widow and orphan
testify to-day. All this was known to our
Council Board, and at the City Hall.
Was reported months past and an ordi-
nance passed to cover this nuisance. How
was it done? Ask any one who has seen it
better have turned the poison elements
loose and uncovered to waste in open air,
than trust such cover, as is now sadly
proven. Who is to blame for all this?
When will it end? Our city is
empty. Our business gone. Fear ard
trembling is everywhere. Who did all this
and permitted Hydra to creep into our
midst and feed on this food provided by |
neglect until nov, fully developed mon
ster, he defes us. The cholera has been
called "Child of the Jungle" Its food is
the fruit of human misery and neglect.
Travelling the world DER, it pounces down
Like thunderbolt ON such food as has here
been provided TOR it; and then, like the
smoke from burning brush heap. its fatal
breath is borne before the breeze, carrying
death and teas to every freside. Who
ever head Of it in the mountain top or
white sandy plain? Who ever heard OF its
seizing the wealthy in his home of ease,
until his neglect to care for the wants
and misery of others had permitted
it to become a wild ruin. In Gods name,
gentlemen, Mayor, Aldermen and Common
Council, and you who never knew want and
sorrow, go out among your p, or-see their
misery, and try to heal it By cleaning the
outskirts of your city, even If it should
cost one dime or lose a cote.
WILLIAM DRIVER.
Since writing the foregoing the hre-plugs
have been turned loose in this sewer, and
a barrel of copperas has also been put into
it, which will for the present prevent any
evil consequences arising from it; and find
the valley much purer to-day than it was
YESTERDAY.