Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1878-11-22

DaDks. II Is open I'd tue SiI, dHu tue
sun from its source to its mouth,
distance of about q mile, except that
about the middle of the course. IT Is
walled up and covered over with
wooden boards for a distance of some
thing like hundred and fifty yards.
the first fourth OF this covered pur
ton passes diagonally across one of
the streets. The next fourth passes
diagOnaliy under livery stable.
There Is then short open portion
through the back lot of the stable. Ii
then passes diagOnally under stone
house, aud thence diagOnaliy street
1t is impossible that any part
of this drain should bs-
come very filthy or nOxiOus ex-
cept that part of Ii which is covered
over, and 1 can not believe that even
this part Of it could become so loaded
with filth as to constitute an impOf-
tant factor in the generation of any
sort of sickness. 4 considerable part
of the wooden walls and over of this
portion of the drain had decayed aud
the cover was falling in, so that il was
obliged to be repaired. Ia making
the repairs the decaying timber was
removed, and the filth that bad accu-
mulated in the bottom was dug out
and thrown upon the street. Some
thing like fifty yards were perhaps
renovated in this way, and the exca-
waited material thus exposed To tester
in the sun and eXhale its impurities
into the atmosphere, TO be waited
about by the winds, is said TO be ex-
tremely offensive.
Whatever bad influence these
emaBatiOus may have exerted in other
ways, / am satisfied that they had
nj In hD IN a IL
generation of the yellow fever poison,
which spread dssUlation through the
community a month later, for this
work was done in June and the fever
did not make its appearance until the
last of July, and the health of the
place until few days before the out
break OF the epidemic had remained
good. The population of Grenada be-
fore the outbreak of the fever num-
bered about $500, of whom about l.
500 were whites and about / 200 blacks
and mulattoes. After the stampede
there remained about 325 whites aud
about l 900 blacks. OF the whites who
remained, and who were not protected
by previous attack, only five escaped
the fever.
" The total number of cases count
up ,040. The total of deaths is 326;
white deaths about 220; black deaths
about $50. The first acknowledged
case, although it was not at The time
acknowledged to be such, occurred
with the person of Mrs. Capt. Fields,
formerly of OkOlona, Miss, who lived
on the corner of First street, at the
depot. The history of the Field fans
lily will be given in detail presently.
i" The see nd case was Mr.. r. A.
Young, clerk for Bryant d Davis, who
kept variety store, dry goods, gro.
ceries, etc, on First street, in which
he spent most OF his time during the
day. He was also the proprietor OF a
liquor saloon, or bsr-Toom, " hich he
visited of evenings. He was taken on
the Sd of August, had black vOmit,
of urine, 10 short a malig-
nant case of yellow fever, and died on
the 7th of August. No exposure to
Infection cCull be traced in this case.
1t was pronounced by the attending
physician to be bilious fever and
jaundice, but was Subsequently admit
ted 10y them To have been elbow fe-
yer. From tuese 'wu eases the lever
spred like ca grafton over the
town.
The cases ia the Fields family con-
sisted of fourteen persons, as follows,
namely: Mrs. Field herself, who was
taken sick on the 20.h of July and
died on the 31st of the same month.
She had black vOmit, skin very yell
low, aud the body, af,er death, WAS
very much discOlOred, swellsd up rap
idly and became very offensive. Her
disease was named by the attending
pb ysicians malarIal cOngestive fever
She died on Monday night, was Dut in
a metallic case on Tuesday afteTnO N
and was buried from the Presbyterian
Church Wednesday. The funeral was
largely attended, and there being some |
leak in the ca7ket, the body smeIt so |
bad as to attract general remark and |
to cause great nausea to many who |
were near it in the church and several |
cases were ascrihed to this |
fact. she was treated by Drs Hughes |
and Hall, both of whom died during
the epidemic, who at the time pro.
nOunced the case TO be one of conges-
tive marital fever, but fter~aris they
" ere satisfied it was yellow fever.
THE report goes on to show that
put of u family of thirteen, of whom
several were bat slightly exposed,
here were ten cases-seven deaths,
hTee recOVeries and three ESCAPES
Dr.. Cochran continues:
80 So much Of-iuterest center about
his family aud it proved 90 prolific a
locus that it would have been crafty
Dg TO be aOle to account in a definite
md circumstanIisl way for the origin
IF the disease in the first case. But
his ] was unable to do. Mrs. Fields
lived about Two squares from the rail
Dad depot aud about the same dis
ance from the nearest part of the so.
,alled sewer. Her house was ia a good
sanitary condition. She had been
about a week before she was taken
lick to the depot morning before
break fast, TO put her daughter Matty
Oh the train to go to Oklahoma. 1t is
not known whether she went into the
ar or not, but as the train stopped
twenty minutes for break last it Is be.
ieved tina, she did. About this time
several cars loaded with various
freight for Memphis were stopped
here and disiDfec' ed for the Memphis
quarantine. | was not able to obtain
my other presumption of exposure
han this. Iu the immediate neigh
)orhOOd of Mr.. Fields residence and
amongst all the families who had
Visited her there occurred in rapid sue
,ession q large number of cases.
"Here follows a long list OF cases, and
he statement that the disease made
Is appe irance in several families who
,ad not visited auv case Of uaIlO On |