The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1878-09-26
The Pestilence.

The Pestilence.
A dispatch from Gallipolis, Ohio, says
that two deaths occurred in the fever dis
trict Saturday night, the 14th. These were
Laing Walker and Clayton Coffman, both
young men. Sunday night Miss Alice
Walker died; also, William Buck, living
near the town of Porter, who must have
contracted the disease from his brother,
who was on board the steamer, but him
self had not yet taken the disease.
The city has had sixteen cases of yellow
fever, all directly traceable to the steamer
John Porter. Thirteen have died, and the
remaining three have every chance in favor
for recovery. There had been no new case
in the three days preceding the 10th. and
the crisis is supposed to be passed. Not
case in town, and neighboring towns raised
their quarantine against Gallipolis on the
18th.
W. J. L. Holland, Chairman of the Relief
Committee of Holly Springs, telegraphs to
the Associated Press as follows: "The
medical force has noble volunteer in DIR.
John Lewis, of Dennison, Iowa, who has
just arrived. DR.. Metcalf, of New Orleans,
will be here in the morning. We who are
left in health and in strength resolve to
con inue the struggle with braver and more
united hearts than ever. The writer of
this, and those who so heroically stood by
his side have endured every vicissitude
of war, but all acknowledge that
they have never seen any such
dangers as threaten us every mo-
ment. The orphans who crowd around us
every morning and tell us they are left
alone, or the faithful nurses who come bear
ing keys of houses entirely swept of every
soul that lived there, and ask us to take
charge of the dying messages brought to
our ears, are enough to remind us that we
are in he midst of the very garden of death.
One day we meet our friend and do all we
can In the good work, and the next we hear
that he has fallen, and appeals for our aid.
| To-day saw great strong man burst into
tears and say, 'Ah, God I had rather have
died than to have lived and witnessed
such scenes But, with all this gloom and
sadness around us, we feel that we must
do our duty let the consequences be what
| they may. | really believe were it not for
the messages of sympathy and offers of aid
we receive from our manifold friends far
away, we would die, all of us, from wretch
edness and dependency. The little band
who live here have associated with us the
noblest set of strangers that ever came to
the relief of their fellow man. There are a
number of these, some whose names have
/ already been given, but not one more de-
voted to our cause, or one more faithful to
| his post than D. Flanery, -Superin-
tendent of the Western Union Telegraph
! VINO has come mere anu
remained with US, doing immense work
and no one has everyet heard him complain
I He leaves US tomorrow to our deep sorrow
and regret, hut a faithful successor takes
his desk in the person of w. T.. Harrison
of New Orleans, who has heroically volun
teered to share our fate. Chicago is rep
resented by Captain J. P. Tucker who has
bravely and as faithfully stood by us as man
could. The death list to date reaches ninety
D five and mt three ES has passe6 sinpf
the plague began its work of death in oul
midst. Express again and again to thu
Christian-hearted people of the whole
country who have SO increasingly looked
1 after our welfare and given such generous
i aid, our prayerful thenks and undying re
mem brance. Surely this terrible plagn,
upon our whole Southern country has de
veloped the grand and gratifying fact tina
our nation has offered to the world the ex
ample of benevolence and charity. such a
one may vainIy search history to find. LIE
the gratitude of other stricken cities be a
deep and lasting as it may, none, no, no
one, will surpass that forever engraved upol
the hearts of the people of Holly Springs.
The Nashville An,erican's Chattanoog
special says the most intense excitemen
existed there on the 18th in consequence Q
the belief that yellow fever had broker
out The scare was caused by the death G
| several citizens with pernicious biliou
, fever. Quite a stampede was created, and
large number of people left town. Tn
Board of Health met in the afternoon an
agreed that there was no yellow fever i
F. town, with perhaps one exception, abou
which there was diversity of opinion. Th
town was much quieter at night.
The Captain of the steamer John Porte
4 set fire to his barge Mingo on the 18th,
t few miles above Cincinnati, and thus burne
f up $4,000 worth of the property of tE
Cumberland Coal Company, of which he
> half owner. The Mingo was large "mod
barge" with a cabin, and had been used
e a hospital at GaIlipolis. 1t was decided tn;
s her hold contained something that ge
+ Grated the yellow fever poison, and for tt
protection of the public Captain Port,
burned her at his own loss, when if he hs
: let her drift where her cutting loose
n others might send her, this might have bee
= at the expense of some city.
: The most remarkable feature of the eI
= demic raging at the South is the visitatie
i. of score of small towns, never heretofo
supposed to be i'll the slightest danger
8 such an affection. In large cities, whe
e portions at least of the population a
t crowded in small tenements, and the
j. composition of vast quantities of garba.
q and etfal create malaria, the outbreak
: the pestilence is expected as matter
course almost every year, and its coming e
cites little surprise. But places scarce
to be found on the map send out reports
the fever's ravages this season. Twen
cases have occurred, for Instance, at D.
Grove-a place about which nothing
# known save that it is five miles from Tsrr
- in the State of Mississippi; and it wou
. probably pnzzle most readers hereabou
II to guess within hundred miles of Terry
geographical situation. Stranger still tn,
re this is the fact, reported by a ply
"a clan in Canton, Mississippi, that in d
~ trict extending twenty fve-miles from tn
IL place, there are unmistakable eases
lie yellow fever in families having no col
munication with the town or with 9th
70 houses" This would seem to settle t
- TACT that the poison of the disease is co
. veyed in the air, or that it may be ge
y Grated as readily at detached farm-ho ou
is as in the flthiest street of crowded city
m Chattanooga reports yellow fever the
on the 18th, though in a mild form.
School at CIarksviile, Tenn, was dismiss
er ON the 10th, on account of three sudd
lie deaths out of sixty people forming t
IN town. There was diversity of opinion
k to whether it was yellow fever, but
a three died in convulsions, accompanied
~ black vomit.
At New Orleans, in the evening, Septe
lie Der 10, weather cooler, cloudy, aud thre
10 ening rain. Deaths reported from noon
"a six p. m, twenty-nine; new cases, eigh
= six, of which forty-one were prior to I
LA 10th. Among the new cases were Geor
n Rootes, with Brown q Jones, and Jan
Moloney, telegrapher. ass
70 Memphis report, September 49,, There
:, no doubt of the abatement of the disease
IL this city, but it ia for want of materi
re The official report of the Board of Hea