The Portland daily press., 1878-08-23
THE PRESS.
from the Maine State Press of August 18th.
History Of Seven Days.
The News for the week ending Wed nes-
day Night, August d.
YELLOW FEVER.

YELLOW FEVER.
Most of the large cities and towns in the
Mississippi Valley are in state of panic be-
cause of the yellow fever. Ten thousand peo-
pie have left the city of Memphis, and all the
houses along the railroads, as well as on the
roads, are filled with refugees who have fed
with their families in wagons. The alarm is
spreading on the Texan coast generally, and
thousands will fee upon the first appearance
of the disease. One week ago the town of Gre
NADIA, Miss, contained 1900 white inhabitants,
and now the population is reduced by flight
and death to 2O0 with only from 30 to 40 we'll
ones. In many places the disease has made
greater inroads among the wealthy than the
poorer classes. 1t is believed that the plague
will not extend to Northern cities.
The postal communication between the South
and Southwest is greatly demoralized and in
some places entirely discontinued on account
of the yellow fever plague. The postal author
tiles have received notice of the stoppage of
trains on one railroad, and similar notice is
expected from Others The department will
probably destroy all the mail bags which are
in the infected district, through fear of conta-
gion. The loss on account of this destruction
will be considerable. DR.. Woodwork, of the
marine hospital service, has issued circular
to the medical officers of that service in rela-
ton to the yellow fever. From this circular it
appears that the quarantine act passed by the
lastCongress forbids national officers from inter-
fering in the quarantine regulations of States,
and restricts the field of their operations to
external quarantine. The service which the
marine hospital will be able to render to pre-
vent the spread of the disease on land. will be
entirely subordinate to the civil authorities.
There was no appropriation of money under
he act, SO the Treasury Department is power
ess to meet the emergency. DIR. Woodwork
also takes strong grounds that the disease is
not communicated by the sick to the well, but
is transmitted through clothing and personal
effects, and that quarantine against indlvidu-
lals whose effects have been burned or properly
disinfected is not necessary for more than six
days during the period of incubation of the
disease.
Surgeon General Barnes of the army .saysthat
he does not think that yellow fever will ex-
tend to Northern cities if proper quarantine
regulations are observed. Neither does he
think there is any danger of its reaching Wash
ington. He thinks that the yellow fever will
be confined to the Mississippi Valley. He has
seen no indications yet at Savannah, and
thinks, therefore that the Eastern seaboard
will escape. He has not heard of any cases
among the soldiers yet. He has given the
Postmaster 81 neral directions how the mails
can safely be disinfected He recommends
subjecting mail matter to heat test of 1876 de-
grees as the only safe means of disinfection.
General Barnes says that as the fever gets fur
ther North it will become less and less m alig-
ant
THE INVESTIGATION.
Two witnesses have been examined by the
Potter committe since Wednesday of last week,
John F. Leete, a reporter of the New Orleans
Times, and Major E Fl. Burke. L eete said he
had seen the Sherman letter and swore he was
engaged in conspiracy with Kellogg to cheat
the Louisiana Democrats and count in the
State for the Republicans. 1t turns out tina
Leete is insane and he has been sent to the
Bloomingdale asylum. Burke merely repeats
his former testimony relative to the Wor mley
Hotel Conference
CRIMES AND CASUALTIES.
Charles w. Angel of Chicago, Secret airy of
the Pullman Palace Car Company, has dis
appeared, and is a dafaulter to the amount of
about $4,000.
Patrick r. Watt of Boston beat his wife's
brains out Wednesday night, and then shot
himself.
Warren, son of Thaddeus Wilbur, and
George, son of Josiah Clark. eight and ten
years old, were drowned Saturday in Miller's
river, at Erving, Mass. They fell from boat
in which they were playing.
Capt. Murphy was 30 scalded by the explo-
sion of the tug Henderson's boiler in New
York harbor Thursday that his flesh came off
in patches. His great strength and vitality
kept him alive several hours He hand ed his
wallet to friend and the flesh from his fingers
stuck to It, The flesh came off his feet at every
step, and his bones could be seen in various
parts of his body. Engineer Gillian, who was
also killed, was equally as badly scalded.
A tramp made an attempt to outrage a seven
year old girl in Cambridge Sunday. She was
rescued and the tramp arrested.
A small son of John Mslvy of Gorham, N,
H., was drowned Tuesday, while fishing.
FOREIGN NEWS.
England's anxiety is hardly allayed about
Russia's acquisitions on the Black Sea before
Az 40 OASAsCu 0hOW Wy q hoW ieuooidu CohpdiSA
which threatens England's India interests and
her Persian trade. No sooner were the results
of the Berlin Congress clearly foreshadowed
than three expeditions were started from the
southern part OF the Russian empire toward
Afghanistan. The immediate object is con-
jectured to be the possession of Balkh. prov
ince of Central Asia, which has the Amoo or
Oxus, river on the north, and the Hindoo Kush
mountains on the south, and is on the north
west boundary of Afghanistan. 1t is composed
of namhsr of pretty khanates, and it is des-
perate question whether it belongs under the
control of the Ameer Of Afghanistan or that of
Bokhara. 1t stretches east and west about
$50 miles, and is about $50 miles broad. The
country is sterile and is valuable to Russia
solely because its occupation will place Russia's
advance on the Afghanistan frontier, and only
some 1926 miles distant from India and also on
the northern edge of Persia. The announce
ment that special Russian commission has
recently arrived at Cabool, the capital of
Afghanistan, taken in connection with the
movement of the expeditions, points quite
plainly to the object of the car, namely to ex-
tend the southern border of his empire from
the Oxus to the Hindoo Kush 1t is announced
that England proposes sending friendly COM
mission to Afghanistan. but the advantage
which Russia has gained in being the first in
the field is evident. and the object in view is
more likely to succeed from the fact that the
government of Afghanistan is not at present
friendly to England. The Moscow Gazette,
which speaks with semi-otficial authority, has
recently taken up the subject urging that the
present is the time for Russia to increase its
influence over the populations of Central Asia.
1t asserts that the extension of this influence
on the borders of India is the natural response
to the seizure of Cyprus and the greater part of