Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1879-03-29
LEADVILLE.
A Letter fro m a Jefferson City man,

The following is al extract from g
letter written by Mr.. j. L. Conley,
a prominent young gentleman OF
Jefferson City:
People are still focking to Lead.
Vile by the hundreds. Yet, the daily
mortality ofthat city is incompatible
to anything save that of infected vel
low fever districts last summer. The
deaths by pneumonia, in Leadville,
average a half dozen per day ; and
many a mortal, whose return Is
patiently awaited by fond parents,
aud perhaps some lonely wOman-a
sweet-heart-is rotting in cold damp
graves at the dead hour ofnight, thus
shutting out from the world the last
traces of their earthly existence. Not
once in a great while does this occur,
but 1t occurs every night. Paupers
and strangers when they die are ali
buried at night, for fear that the
unusual daily mortality will be inju-
rious to h commercial interest of
the city. Thus the pauper and the
stranger alike, whether rich or poor,
are denied the privileges and rights
Of a christian burial, aud are tumbled
into deep, damp graves like SO man
dogs, with no friends to mourn their
untlmely~ departure, with no funeral
eleg1es pronounced over their inani-
mate forms, aud no kind friends or
relations to smooth down the sod or
erect tombstones to mark the spot of
their last resting place. Nor are their
obituaries ever written. They sicken,
die, and r buried, and further than
this, outside of the vicinity around.
aud in the city of Leadville. the out
side world knows nothing or will
ever know more. If man dies sur
rounded by friends or relatives he
will be decentiy buried aud his
death announced otherwise the citi-
zens of Leadville will remain silent
as to the nature and cause of his
death. The reason L use the mascu-|
line gender exclusively is, there are
very few women in Leadville. And
as another evidence of the enormous
mortality. of Leadville 1t is only
necessary to state that four men are
constantly employed in digging
graves, to have them ready for those
who die. Thus it is nothing unusual
to visit the Leadville cemetery and
see twenty-five or thirty newly made
graves, standing open ready to re-
celve the corpscs of the dead. These
facts, while seeming incredible, can
not be refuied. They are only too
And is it any wonder that the
mortality of Leadville should be I'M
usually great, when people are daily
arriving from every part of the uni
verse, even from localities only a few
hundred feet above the level of the
They forget that in changing2
from q. higher to a-lower, or from q
|ower to a higher latitude, a great
climatic change takes place, and they |
become acclimated. IT'S true
many lose their lives while becom.
ng acclimated, but it is partly their
'wn fault. A party arrived at Lead.
1llle.a few days ago. just from GAL
'estoD, Texas. Galveston cart be
more than one hundred feet above
lea Level, while the altitude of Leaf.
lille above the level of the sea, is TO-
affect. Now one is situated in a lati-
Il where they have tropical fruits
he year round, and the other on a
with the line of perpetual
now. 1t it any wonder that thew
Mould suffer severely by suchla sud-
EN- Change! Frequently i'll a day
fter "a tender foot" Ga new comer) ;
i'll Leadville, he complains Of
sore throat, dizziness and general .
sets in, and in nine cases out
+ ten, a week later the victim is a y
orpse. The air around Leadville is :
old and damp, and the water of of
vast beds of mineral, in addition 4
D the many impurities caused by the \
meters, makes Leadville a very un- =
ealthy locality. Beside, there are SO "a
ANY amusement in Leadville, both
y day and night, that late hours
many deaths. :