The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-07-17
YELLOW FEVER IN MEMPHIS.

YELLOW FEVER IN MEMPHIS.
The country was greatly alarmed by
the report of Ave cases of Yellow fever
which appeared in Memphis on last Fri
day. lTheearly appearance of the aissase,
especially after the extraordinary pre-
cautions taken to avoid its temperance,
and the unprecedented cleanly condition
Of the streets of the city, were certainly
enough to carry terror and dismay
throughout the towns and cities of the
entire Southwest. The terrible scourge
of last year did not commence near so
soon, and yet it had exhausted the imam
cial strength of the ttricken cities and
filled their cemeteries with fresh graves.
Another epidemic following so closely
upon the scenes of last year, from which
the pail of death and ruin had scarcely
been lifted, means wholesale ruin and
terrible mortality to the whole Valley of
the Mississippi. Life would not be safe
upon its course, and property, though
consisting of the most fertile lands and
spacious residences, would be worthless.
The skeleton of death would BE felt to be
lurking continually upon every spot
within the fair and prosperous Valley.
Since this report, however, only one
new case has been reported, though three
deaths have occurred, and two of the
survivors are very ill. Rigid quarantine
was Immediately established as soon as
the appearance of the fever was reported,
but this has now been relaxed. and it is
now believed the plague will not become
epidemic. The cases reported probably
retained the germ of the disease in the
system from last year, and were develop
ed by the recent hot and unreasonable
weather. Throughout this summer there
will be doubtless many isolated cases of
this fell disease in the wake Of last years
pestilence, but we trust no such dread
calamity as that of last summer is in
store for the already smitten cities of
the Mississippi. Upon this subject the
following synopsis of tho fever history Of
Memphis may be Of interest to our read
ens
Yellow fever has visited Memphis sew
eral times. In 1866 there we're some
sporadic cases. The next year there were
231 deaths by fever. In 1873 the fever
broke out on September IA, and ended
on November9. There we're 1900 deaths.
Last year the mortality was appalling.
There were 1880 cases and 5, $50 deaths,
the population of the city being reduced,
by fight and disease, to about l6,5O0.
There is no question that the rapid
spread of the fever in 1878 was due to
the foul condition of the city. 1t is ad-
mitted to have been "disgraceful in the
extreme" There was no organized scav-
enger system, no means by which the
ashes and garbage could he daily carted
away. The accumulation of forty years
| were decaying upon the surface; bay
GU dividing the city, and which was the
main drain, was sluggish and without
current, owing to the want of water and
the fact that there had been scarcely any
| rain for several weeks. The pools which
had formed at the abutment of the several
bridges were covered with scum of putri-
| dity, emitting deadly efauvia. "The streets
were filthy, and every afliction that
could aggravate disease so cruel seem
ed to have been purPosely prepared for
it by the criminal neglect of the city
government, who turned deaf ear to the
persistent appeals of the press. n
Every interest was
carefully guarded and provided for, cave
that of the health and lives of the peo-
ple." The first death by fever occurred
in the end of July. On August IA a
death by fever was announced. There
were thirty-three new cases on the 18th,
and the flight of the citizens began. In
less that ten days, by August "a, 25,0OO
persons had left the city, snd in camp,
leaving less than than 10000 to face the
consequence they could not escape. The
horror and suffering, the brightness ano
darkness, Of the months that followed
| will never be half told. There were
heroes and heroines, and glorious ar.
my of martyrs. The last recorded death
by fever in the city was on November
80.
Disagreeing upon nearly every other
point the doctors are almost q unit as to
necessity for thorough sanitation in order
to ward off or mitigate the attacks Of
yellow fever. They all declare that filth,
especially decaying animal matter and
excrement, is prime if not the potent
cause of the severity of the attacks OF
this curse in the Mississippi Valley.
The specific poison may be in the air, but
its propagation depends upon condi-
tions the destruction of which is within
the reach of all classes in the South
Memphis was dirty and foul beyond
measure in 1878, the seeds of the disease
have never been eradicated, nor was the
city able to make ready for new attack
this year.