Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1884-09-02
Aslatic Z hO1eFas

Ia 1882. Asiatic cholera ma 10 ITS an.
pearanCe in the United STATES for the
first time, coming by way of Canada,
and follow ing the course Of the large
rivers 1t soon reached Buffalo II ap-
peared in the city OF New York June
9th, aud continued two months, dur
ing which time there were three thou
sand four hundred deaths 1t made It's
appearapceiD Albany about the same
time that it did in New York, and
when 1t commenced to abate in the lat.
ter place, broke out in Philadelphia,
where in a few weeks thousands fell
victims.
The writer was in Philadelphia the
last Saturday In Aug 1885,, ana it was a
sad sight, as there had been three hun
dr. and sixty eight deaths In one dav
l was but boy l6 years of age, and
my father, who h All been there To mar
ket the previous week, near y died with
the disease, and consequently would
not venture back for the best farJn in
the country. IL seemed 20 sal to me
that the people in Philadelphia were
starving, that concluded to 20 with
my uncle and take them some provi-
sions.
He had o two-horse wagon, and
had one horse load, consisting OF but
t.'r, eggs and lamb. 1 know Of no other
place where the manifestations and ef-
fects of the deadly epidemic were more
apparent than in Philadelphia, rs the
dread OF contaEion drove parents from
their children, and even wives from
ton we're rent asunder, and humanity
was left " mourn over its own selfish
ness.
The disease seemed TO have the
greatest effect upon evil doors, es.
pecia'ly those who were victims of in
temperance, and in some paris of Ship
pen street, there were a. many AZ eight
laying dead in a house at once. One
mile from Pole stAtion, on the Philadel-
phia and Columbia Railroad. as it war
then called. forty-two Irishmen died
out OF three hunured and sixty that
we're working for a contractor by the
nam OF Dufey.
Doctor Koch, chief of the German
Cholera Commission, thinks that
cholera Is not inhaled but swallowed
in water or fruit. But in my opinion
this theory is false, as in the case Of the
forty-two Irishmen who died in the
country, 1t was show that the water
used by them was pure, and that they
did not eat fruit Of any kind.
In 1888, the dreaded disease made its
appearance in tue Southern States, and
was fatal beyond all precedent, especi-
ally In New Orleans and st Louis,
while the Middle States had never
before known of such a visitation. 1t
again appeared In l8i9, and carried
deat' and desolation to many homes.
In -. Orleans IL broke out about the
II ,t- Of Deeen, Der, ard continued
'.n..n.;n the winter, breaking out in
: York In the ensuing May, and so
raj ri did IL spread, that during the
'eek ending July Dist over seven hun
| ned deaths occurred. The mortality
| that week WAS the largest ever known
| in the Middle States, tie dea this from
| all causes baing over fourteen hundred.
In Boston the total number of deaths
from cholera during June, July, Au-
gust and Saptembe were only xix hun
dred, but it was far more terrible in
Cincinnati and St. Louis, the victiius
| in each of these cities being upwards of
six Thousand. Iu Philadelphia those
| who died with the disease were all
| bnried in Potter's Field, rich and poor
alike, in which place forty men where
engaged in digging a trench like a
| canal to receive the bodies, and l have
seen as many AZ Blk ccffins on top Of
each other, while twelve or thirteen
carts were busy hauling the bodies to
the place Of iDtermenJ.
g. +. HARTMAN.