Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1885-01-07

. From The New York Sun :

From the New York Sun
Pike. Leteher, Harlan and Bell ar
TIE four counties IN she extreme sostk
eastern part Of Kentueky which horde
90 the State Of Virginia. where il form
2 bug between them and the stats Q
Iennesee to the south The bord,
counties IN Virgins are Bochanau
Diekens0E, Wise and Lee. These eioh
COUNTIES form the district in which
most fatal pltg1e has ragged for nearl
two months. carrying off more ueoule i,
4 proportion 20 shs nuaaber OF inhabj
taots than the cholera in its vor.
stages IN France durinR the past year
Ine centre OF this district IL near "a,
1 junction Of Leteher and Harlan oeun
ties IN kentncky. With Wise county. Yir
Rlnla, point that is lj0 miles southeas
OF Cincinnati. IL 10 in this reQicn tina
/ the fruds between families heoao,.
known 20 the public through she sxter
nlnatIou OF one Of the families AnC
the Subsequent AcquIt,al Of the exser.
mlnators by iary OF their peers.
lac Cumberland range of mountain,
forms the dividing line between the twc
states, and II Is here that the numerous
creeks rise that form the CumberlSud
river, which flows to the west; the Ken.
tncky, which hOEs 70 the northwest,
and the Big Sandy, that hsvs avay "a
the north and emptIes into tbs Ohio Al
CatIettsburg. on the line between. Ken
tucky and West Virginia. P.rchsd on
lsdees on the mountain sides, or nest
ling In wooded hoilovs between the
mountain tops, Or standing close under
big recipioes, are the log cabins VI the
inhabitants. There is always a piece of
cleared Rrou"d enclosed BY a fence of
brush and brlars, bear each house. In
It are raised patch Of corn, anot her of
pstatoes, and sooe stalks of tobacco. A
small drove Of half wild hogs range for
mast IN the vo0ds around, and few
crltters' get their living IN the same
pfeoarious way. Wheat is unknown.
but corn, pork and mo pshiners' vhis
NY are she mainstays Of life, and chew
ing tobacco Is its solace. Game abonnds
10 the woods. Sach water as they need
10 obtained from the creeks and
springs, and occasionally, where faIni-
ly IL less favorably situated than its
neiRhbsrs, from q surface water well.
The Cumberland 10 only one Of m .ny
high ridges shat trend FROM s1uthws
to northeast In Kentucky and Virginia,
and IN Consequence some of the rain
storms that sweep up from the Mississ-
ippi valley are intercepted, aud
DBouGHTs ARE NOT uxcoMMos
In summar. Bot when. in last ssptem
Der, 10 was noticed that no rain had
fallen In six weeks, the people who 90
cAsionaily lounge in the few eaantrv
stores 70 be found In that region, began
to talk about the way the wells had gone
dry, aud to say that thew had never
seen the water 80 low in the Poor Fork.
or IN Greasy, Browns or Puckett's
Greeks. No relief came with October.
Aboxt the middle of the month Josaph
Day, a brother of County Judge Day
of Letcher County, while ga his way
from Whitesburg Court House to his
home on Poor Fork. Vas taken sudden
iy with severe gripping pains in the alb
domen. In lsss than an hou. his limbs
became paralyzed, and friends carried
him 30 his home. A high fever al once
set In. with burning thirst aud a
swelling Of the throat. Then he was
taken with bloody fax, followed by
vomiting of blood and mucous, and in
less than "A hours he was dead. lie
was the first victim of the plague. Be-
fore he had breathed his Last some OF
those who had helped him homs were
taken IN like manner. and from this
point she disease spread by Jumps
throughout the region. and in q modi.
tied form towards Cincinnati, AZ far as
Bath County.
The progress of the disease was not
rapid at hrst, and little attention was
paid 10 IL. The houses were scattered
along the streams, sometimes miles
apart, and to pass from one settlement
to another required tedious trip on
foot lover the divide" to the next
stream. Thers is not Q railroad or
telegraph line within eighty miles, as
the bird fiies. from the house of Joseph
Day. at Poor's Fork. aud the mail ser
vice has never been expedited. A whole
nsighhorhood might be wiped out and
the next neighborhood not bear Of 10
for week after. Bat the causes of the
disease were growing stronger daily
Springs which had never failed 20 pour
cat volumes Of hmpid water began 10
dry mp, and the water itself became
bitter. The water hardly q Iwed through
the north and the middle forks of the
Holstoa. Louisa Fork OF the Big
Sandy became q succession of foul pud-
dies, and the bed of Maiden Spring
creek became q dusty guich. The
leaves fell OF the trees until the forests
became as bare as midvinteF, and the
grass was burned mp by the sus. Peo-
pie who had depended on wells had 10
bring water from great distancs--in
some instances as much As ten miles
and even then COED water was bard 10
get. A fev persoas noticed that when
the water began 10 boil
A BRICK coLoRED sEDIxssr.
Would settle 10 the bottous OF the kat
tie. With the beginning Of November
the disease spread rapidly. One after
noon the inhabitants of Pineville, the
county seat of Bell couuty. we're As
founded by the appearance of runners
who came from settlements along Pack
e.t's. Houses, Straight and Greasy
creeks They elf came 10 fnd Dr..
Burchheld. the only physician 10 the
county. They told one story, Of the
sudden appearance Of q bloody hux
With new symptoms among their friends.
which usually proved fatal within forty
eight hours. This almost produced q
panic. Thereafter the reports Of the
spread of the disease seemed TO travel
faster. ard at length the outside world
heard Of the condition OF affairs up 10
the mountains of Eastern Kentucky.
The work Of the plague cannot vet be
fully ascertainsd. The disease has been
most fatal high up oa the mountains
that divide the two States. In Bell
county and the eastern townships OF
knax 2li deaths have been 50 far re-
ported. In Harlan county 800 people
have died. In Wise county, Va, the
mortality has been more friRhtful still.
The 0raysville Tnass has reported l5o
deaths, including The entire Clark fam
lily Of i've who lived al the foot of Gar
fison's Gap. In addition 10 this al
deaths have been reported along Colds
Camp Greek. including an entire family
of feur. Along Guests River Greek 3
more have died. Sin people were barred
In one graveyard there 10 one day.
Crsne's Nest is q four-corners settlement
In west county. pear the DickeBson
county line. A Rentieman who rode
overland from thai place 10 Elvinton, .
fRisaaDen .f n Fssitma naiA yAssa3rxiav that