New-York tribune., 1880-10-26
ASTORY OF A FlENDlSH PLOT
THE REBEL sCHTME TO SPREAD YELLOW
FEVER.

FEVER.
COLLECTING TnR PolS,N Al BNRMrpA TO sFNp
To 1BE r>IrFp sTArFs-IVKE T. BLACkBURNs
PART IN rHE PL0T-HOw IT WAS pEuCrRD.
Of the 237 Com uls in the service VI the
United States, Charles Nj. Allen. of Bermuda
is one Of ire oldest. He was appointed
on August :. 1861. md in the whole list there are
only two whose appointments bear previous da'e
Mr. Allen has been visiting his relatives aud
friends in New-York and Brooklyn and re urucd
recently TO his post. tie spent one afternoon
with his daughter Mrs. c. p. Whitney. at the
Gilsey House. and i; was during tins visit that
TRIBUNE reporter met him. The conversation nat
urally turned on Bermuda.
Don't you have yellow fever there r inquired
the reporter.
"No. we have no yellow fever; have mao none ior
wears don't think nave hat anything oi tnat
sort worth mentioning since 1854, when an al
tempt WAS made TO ship the disease 10 America IN
order ~ devasta q the Union Army"
"W,ll vou not give an account OF the detection Of
that atroclous schemef
II was who first discovered the dsstardly plot
and called tho attention or the authorities to it," he
replied. with some animation " bat do not know
II can tell you much more than has already been
published.
"Onr principal fl ee at Bermuda at that time
at ST GEORGES and II ere that The yellow teVeT
brok" out with the greatesc violence. Luke /.
Black burn who Is now The Governor OF Kentucky,
came oy r from Half,x. with bus man servant aud
horse and buggy, and representing himself as ply
siclan, Oi red 70 attend tne yellow lever summons
IN hospital.
..Tnere were rrany points in his conduct that
were suspicious and rumors OF these from time
TO time reached me. In the hrst place, the
other members of the medical profession there did
not believe he physician because he was so
coarse and Illit rate: aud of the hospital nurses
SAID that whenever one OF his patients was SICK no
would stretch out handkerchief 60 catch the black
vomt, and aftorward wrap up the handkerchief and
carry it away with him. Ihis, together with MS
close connection with the resident Confederates,
led me 10 mention my suspicious to some OF the OIL
fclals. brt they laughed At me.
=" IL was neatly year after he brst came before
got to te bottom of the matter, and it happened IN
this way: There was some trouble IN Major Walk
ers off e. anu a swiss wAO employed there was
summariy discharged. Thinking that might posSi-
bly, obtain some ntormaGou from tins man IN regard
TO INV suspicious, which had been all the tlnIe en-
deavorng TO verify. sent or MIN. This was early
in 1863 With some persuasion got from him the
whole facts. rne CoDfederatcs were, as suspected
seuding Infected clothes TO the United States, and
thls was the way in winch II was done:
"Dr Back ourn first rolled up this black vomlt,
Ar the mannerI before described. Then when
patent d,ed he had his clothes stripped oh aud cast
through the hospital window. HIS man servant
was waiting below ani carried the things away.
With a hint IRON this Swiss learned
where they taken 10. and with some Diff
entity procured "a warrant TO search the place. At
frst the officials laughed at my application, but |
was very carncss, AMI IN day or two succeeded
In obtaining the warrant, with two policemen 10 as
sst me in che search. In the room indicated by the
Swiss W. found large table snding IN the centre.
covered with an oil-cloth cover tina; reached tho
floor on ths Sides | lifted this. and underneath We
found tour franks. On opeui tnem t1ey appeared
to be hilrd with new Ianuel nuderc!othlng such 8,
was thea supplied by the United states War De
partmeat. This clothing was laid ~ LAYERS with in
fected clothing. FIRST taere came these new han-
ncls. then layer of tiltIy rags aud the hAndker-
chiefs filed with the black vouit, then another
LAYER of now under .olhiug. AMI 50 on. The
trunks were taken TO tn, police station, where they
were all opened and they were afterward removed
10 one of the outer islands and buried. Aferwa.i
was af.4id that the Conieier might - md dg 2
them up 30 | gained perm on Of the Mayor of ST.
Georges ~ have holes drilled through the earth aud
the boxes end vtriOl poured in.
"The man in whose possession the trunks wers
fonpd was arrested for harbOr - a nuisance and
sent 10 Jail. lie had been regularly employed. 1t
eppeared TO deliver these goods IN New
Black second in coiGmaud to Major Walker,
VINO Is now connected Nith III ilifaX lBernddaJ
steamship company. hese trunks had been toe
late to forward he IA bCcase the cold weafh
would have rendered tnem use ess possibly, ana
they were tC have been shipped u Aew-}orl that
spring. THIS man whom We arrested d ID
taken i cargo Of the same sort IRON savannah the
year prcvluus, which was landed bY r uutAbOut
route New wDeru. y. C.. where 50 % hfteen hun
dred deaths principally OF nou-combatants occurred
in consequence. got On warrants ior the arrest OF
pr BiacEouru and those who had pad the money
Tor Ihis atIvc ouS work but before the warrants
could oe served the meu iJOl one of the b Ochaie-
runners aud cleared out. Ec mau wHo pLtnu'
this diahOhcal scheme has been rewarded By beng
made Governor of KeniuckV."
Do you mean 10 tnat he came to Bermuda
for tne particular purpose Ot collecting injected
elothlugf
"les; / have plenty of evidence on that po-t-"
"HOs- was thai he was not arrested wlsn 1c re-
turncu - tie United States 4.
"They dud .ItemDt 10 arrest him. and he fed 10
Cana .. lie as arr sted there ia lo65. but, upon
Aspiration 10 one OF -. hlsbsr Canadian Courts,
Was released. never hear. % MN again uutll
read hI> name AZ psp.T IS candidate ioT Governor
OF Kentucky. and 10 ,tr c6 me tnat Kentucky must
be hard up Tor ca1d da,e3 Wuen they had ~ select
such a man - tl4L'
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m fs.aF - rs