The sun. (Fayetteville, N.C.) 1883-188?, 1883-10-03
Memorable Epidemic.

Of all the gloomy times that Ne,
; Orleans has ever passed through, TIL
epidemic OF 1858 was probably tn
most gloomy and it may fairly b.
claimed that the Goth Of August O
that year III New Orleans would, i
falr y examined. rank with any da,
IN any country or age for epidemica
vlrlhence, If we take into considera
ton the fact that the death roll haC
been constantly increasing from the
middle OF June and from the middle
OF july at an alarming rate-so
much so that there had been reg
ular exodus from the middle of July
and by the 10Th of August it was
estimated that the whole population
OF New Orlans did not exceed 10000
souls, yet out of that number the
deaths on the 18th, 10Th. 2Gth, and
2lst exceeded tie average Of 400 per
| day. The heaviest death rate was
on Sunday, August Goth. when it
reached 42O.
On the morning Of the Goth the
writer started at about six O'Clock
down to the old French market to
get cup Of coffee, then a common
custom, as they kept coffee there,
and not slop. Not meeting any one
until arrived there, and then only
meeting few colored people, after
| had drank my coffee, and seeing
co ~ I
cluded to take walk and see how
many [ would meet; so crossing the
Place d Armes in front of the Ca-
thedral, [ passed out to Charter
street, at the interception Of Orleans,
and turning, walked to Canal. thence
to St. Charles, up that to Tivoh,
then east to Camp, then north to
Poydras, and east to the river. In
this route Of nearly two miles
through the most frequented and
populous portion Of the city, and at
an hour when the streets on Sunday
mornings are particularly Y aliye-that
is from 7 to s a. m.-the count of
all that was met OF passed only
reached sixty-three persons, and the
largest portion Of that number was
in the vicinity Of the Cathedral and
St. Patlick's church on Camp street.
and they appeared to be either going
to ar returnin4 from mass.
That evening [ concluded I would
visit the cemeteries and try to learn
the actual facts. [ did not, nor do |
yet believe that any person that has
had the real yellow fever will ever
have it second time, and having had
it in it's most virulent form, have
always considered myself exempt
from yellow fever. AS place where
most ccnld be learned, [ went out to
the bayou, to what was then c1llydT
the swamp, and the sight that Tas
met will not soon be obliterq2ted
from my memory. When | arrived
met old man Busby, formerly
sheriff of St. Louis. He was en-
gagged when 1 arrived in measm ing
off lines for a gang of ten men who
We're engaged in digging tre1ich
from the main walk to the side. IVne
trench was about seven feet wide :,
three feet deep. That was all the
depth the water would allow them
to go. The earth taken out was
thrown on both sides. On the other
side of the walk the chain-gang was
at work. As a wagon or dray. as
the case might be, came in with its
load (wiilst | stood looking on four
arrived) having from three to six
rough boxes, each box containing a
corpse, they were taken off the wag-
on by gang Of eight negroes and
placed in the trench as near each 9TH
er as possible, and another gang Of
twelve covered them with the earth
that had been thrown out by the
diggers, but first throwing quantity
Of fresh lime over the boxes.
It was a strangely horrible sight
to see the diggers at work. They
had demijohn Of whiskey and a
bucket of water on each side of the
trench, which they were free to use.
AS they were digging by the square
yard, they needed no overseer, ex-
cept to measure and lay out the
work and see that it was of the prop
er depth. Busby told me that the
diggers averaged s25 per day, and
that they earned it, for he claimed
that the ten white men did more
work than the twenty negroes would,
and required no driving. After the
epidemic was over, Busby told me
that not one Of his Irishmen died,
although fully exposed to the miasma
arising from the bodies, also to the
vertical rays of an almost tropical