Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1879-07-24
LETTER FROM CHARLESTON.
CHARLESTON, s. G., July IA, 1879.

been felt. Commenting OH "Wednesday of
last week it culminatcd on Saturday, on
which day fifteen persons are reported to
| have died from its effects. With tho ther-
momctcr at I06 to ITO in the shade, you
may imagine what ono suffered in tho
street, with the suns direct rays pouring upon
him from above aud reflected from tho
pavement below and from walls on either
side. You secm to be walking in sitting,
trembling steam. In the houses objects
arc hot to the touch. The water 10 my
room poured from tho pitcher as if pre-
pared for warm foot bath. My towel had
that burning feeling as if just ironed. On
Saturday there was no relief. The very
breeze blew hot like srocco. In such
weather ones clothes become drcuohcd with
peropiration, even when ho sat perfectly
still, and no on can keep himself neat In
this respect, the weather must be described
as indecent. heard some people say it
was the hottest spell they had ever known;
but I supposed these were of that class
who alway ys find tho present pleasure or pain
tho greutest, and I did not believe them,
although / do not sec how men live in
hotter weather. But yesterday an old citi-
zen told me the thermometer was higher at
euo ShulAootou lLtuialJ Ou patuIuuy GIau
he had ever known it, aud that the records
of hundred years show no such SPELL
We havo had days just Us hot, but it seems
there has been no such continuous heat
recorded. It camo to an end yesterday.
The afternoon was much more moderate,
and about o'clock VIC had q tremendous
storm, which cooled off things charmingly.
| never remember to have seen such light
ming; it was almost inccssant for an hour.
The ruin fall was very heavy. Tho
change Of the weather was great
blessing We had had no rain
before for such long time, that
drinking water was becoming scarce, and
and many poor people were suffering. 1
hope your section has been visited with
like relief, as sec, by the interesting report
10 your last paper, crops were in great need
of rain. But in spite of these spells of
heat, such as have described, Charleston
is much more endurabIc summer climate
than may bo supposed. The heat is gene
rally mitigated by the sea breeze, und with
it one can endure good many more degrees
of heat with tho same discomfort. The
hot brccses, of which | spoke above, como
l.-om tho land and arc rare. In an inland
llace, as Columbia, for instance, where
thcv had the thermometer on Thursday
nearly as high rs we did, venture to say
thcy suffered moro by several degrees,
having 10 soa breeze to cool them. I speak
now only of comfort. 1t must be said that
this climate is eneivating in the extreme.
This is the great difference between this
and tho up country There, although you
suffer intensely from heat, you find some
t;poul,t;nn IN Tho olimoto ubich nnnS1os
you to resist it's effect; but hero your body
often seems to have yielded up its vitality,
and you feel as if your enemy could knock
you down with feather. And then you
generally have cool nights up there and no
mosquitoes. On tho water fronts of this
city the nights arc almost always fine and
pleasant, also, on account of the breeze; but
in the interior of the city, where tho air is
motionless, and tho voice of fivc hundred
male mosquitoes singing love ditties to
thoir mates around your pavilion, sounds
like the rushing of mighty waters, aud
augurs that some will contriye to get in
your net and feed upon you before morning,
in spite of all your efforts, many nights
bring no rest. Some soy that the way
mosquitoes got into net (Which is mado
of thin gauze, and hung around the bed to
protect you from thom is, that two of them
get hold of the sides Of mesh and hold it
open, while q third slips IN. Clever mos
qutoesl Another fine thing in tho up
country is the water Ono never knows
what grand thing is that cold fresh water
up there, till he has felt this hot wntor
down here, 10 which he must batho his face
without rofreshment when ho gets up some
hot morning, out of hot sleep, from hot
bed, with perhaps skipper or two in the
basin.
Our authorities arc using every effort to
J put the city in thorough sanitary condi-
ton. Werecognizo that wo are liable to yell
. low fever, but wo believe, that with proper
precautions, suggested by medical science
and by experience, it can be made on in
frequent disease. wish tho up country
know the truth about yellow fever; then
perhaps less trade would be scared off from
Charleston by exaggerated reports. Yellow
: fever is not nearly 80 certain to como here
nor nearly so deadly when it has come, as
is thought in your section. If taken ia
hand in time, the chances of recovery arc
good. ! know number of persons who
have had it. Although myself an Oooneo
man, expect to stay hero this summer,
whether wo have fever or not, and havo
never spent summer horo before. We
do not tell anybody to como here when
thero is fever. We advise them to keen
away; but wo do ask that people will not
believe tho wild rumors about it, which I
have observed to be circulated every sum.
mer regularly throughout tho State, to tho
great damage of trado here. Tho fact Of
| sIuz ~