The Waco daily examiner. [volume] (Waco, Tex.) 187?-1888, 1878-09-10

Extract from Correspondence 10 the New
York Timcs.l
There is one feature of the place
that is just now one of great interest.
This Is the town sewer, or drain. IL
is simple ditch, dug from the hill nt'
the west, and running from south
west TO northeast until 1t empties
into the Yalabusha river. No one
from Grenada claims that II was a
scientifically constructed sewer
With depth of but few feet, II
was protected from the waste of sud-
den or prolonged storms by planking.
Over II was thrown asrough cover
lug Of logs and boards, sometimes
covered with earth, but in places I'M
covered. Before reaching the Yala-
busha II collected in its narrow limits
the drainage from stables, cess-poOls,
and probably privies. IL is not per-
fectly straight, and itappears to have
not been an uncommon thing for the
hogs, whieh roam there, as elsewhere
in the South, at their own sweet will,
to occasionally wander in Its dark
twists and turns. and fret themselves
TO death in their efforts TO get out
again. Their carcasses would In
time tester, and the stencil would
eventually become so great ns to
compel q search for its cause. The
floor of the drain is Impaired and
Is not level and pools of stag
nant water and filth collected upon
| It. Some offensive odors, were COM
planned of early in July, and Mayor
Milton put men at work to clean out
the sewer, as ii was feared that its
condition was such as to endanger
the public health. The laborers I'M
covered the drain, made search, and,
IL is said, found several carcasses of
hogs. Gen. Waltlial says that Mayor
Milton denied this report, but anoth-
err informant declared that the car
casses were found, and were flung
out on the ground to rot in, the sun
before burial. Pools of filth were
found, and particularly under liv-
cry Stable near the public square.
1t was while this drain was under
repair that the yellow fever broke
out in New Orleans, and the tide Of
travel began to set north. Mrs.
Fields, living on Depot street, re-
ceived dress from New Orleans by
express about July l0tlEf Several
passengers from. New Orleans were
In the place aboutthe same time, and
some of them stopped at the Wathall
House, opposite Mrs. Fields resi-
dence. When Mrs. Filds complained,
few days later, of pains in, her
Eu,huf anHi a,aa c,rnnaltad n aas.d 'fnr
a physician, no one thought of being
alarmed. The sick woman was at
tended by DIR. Hughes, who treated
the case as one of malarial fever.
She died on July 25tl. Wherever
the germ OF the disease in her case
might have come from, II may
be important to state that she
lived very near the town drain
and to the spot where IL was I'M
covered by the workmcn who were
cleaning 1t. The funeral of Mrs.
Fields was a public one and was
largely attended. There was no sus-
picious that all who attended it were
In danger of infection. About six
days later q young man named Rob-
ert &. Young, clerk in the largest
grocery store in the place, and one
that supplied families in the country
for miles around, was taken with
symptoms very like those with
which Mrs. Fields had been prostra-
ted. He was robust, fine fellow,
about 2S years of age. The poison of
the fever was swifter to destroy him
than the first victim. He was dead
in three hours, and the course of the
disease had all the yellow fever char
acteristics. The doctors began to
There are, or were then,
five in the place-Drs. Ringgold,
Hughes, Hall, Gage and Ray. When
a mulatto woman was Frustrated and
her husband followed her TO the
grave day or two after, people be-
gan TO talk with alarm about the fe-
yer, and TO express fear that the
dreaded scourge, which they had al
ways escaped before, had broken out
among them. These cases multiple
cd, aud on Sunday, Aug. 18th, the
physicians found so many bad cases
on hand that they met together and
agreed to pronounce the disease yell
low fever, and TO warn the town.
They made proclamation accord
ingly."
The daily press reports have given
full details of the scourge's progress
from that date until now.
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