The Brookhaven leader., 1888-09-27
YELLOW FEVER !.
THE sCOURGE STRIKES
JACKSON.
4 Wud Stampede Among the
People and Guarantees the
order of the Day.
Fourteen Cases aud Five Deaths
To- Date,
No New Cases and But One
Death Since Sunday.

Ga last Thursday afternoon. Goth
inst, it was announced by the physi-
clans of Jackson that there were
three suspicious cases of fever in the
city. Drs. Iglchardt and Purnell, of
Nicksburg, were telcgraphed for to
20 99er and examine the suspected
patients, and after a careful examina-
tioa and consultation, the visiting
physicians and the jackson doctors
unanimously agreed that the cases
were genuine yellow fever, aud ii was
SO officially announced TO the world
late Thursday evening 10y DIR. Writ
johnson. Secretary of the State Board
Of Health.
What followed this announcement
WAS described by the jackson cores
P"udeEt of the Memphis Appeal next
day rs follows:
From the time of the positive an
nounccmcnt of yellow fever in our
midst, language fails to describe or
imagination to depict the panic ard
excitement that prevailcd-not only
among our citizens, but with the sur
rounding and adjacent communities.
! Were an invading, victorious army,
marching under black flag, reported
on the confines Of the town, u greater
CONSERVATION could not have pre-
vailed. Men who have faced the can
mons mouth, aud hraved many dan
gers, moved on the streets with pale
faces and nervous tread, preparing to
flee from the insidious foe.
In two hours after the announce
ment of the fever up to this writing.
the streets and roads leading from the
city to the railroad depots and to the
country were filled with carriages,
buggies, wagons and every other We
hicle of transportation, and with pc.
destriaEs with bundles under their
arms or Oh their backs, fleeing as for
dear life.
The news spread quick and fast, as
If by magic, to all surrounding towns
and railroad stations, where the shot
| gun quarantine was rigidly enforced
against the hapless refugees. Many
left their homes without protection
and with scarcely weeks provisions,
and quite Il number without money to
buy supplies. Numbers left on foot
and camped out with their families.
All night long the streets were flied
with
THE FIXING POPULACE,
! going in every direction Of the COM
pass. The adjacent towns refuse to
let trains stop. During today Fri
day there has been nothing but bus
! tie and confusion and preparation to
/ leave. The streets have been filled
with wagons loaded with family sup
plies. Most of the stores, except the
/ produce stores, were closed last after
noon, and the latter have been filed
today by buyers SO much that they
/ had to close III order to ill orders
without personal hindrance. At this
writing four-ffths of the population
have left, and the city, yesterday
morning populous, lively and gay,
looks like 'sOme banquet hall de-
serted" All stores are now closed
except ding stores, and all business
is suspended.
There were five new eases reported
Friday. The Appeal correspondent,
reporting these cases on that day,
says:
There are five more pronounced
cases OF yellow fever here today in
addition to those reported yesterday,
tO-wit: Chas. Daley, d. p. Nipple,
Frank Kavanaugh, Mrs. Lee and Joe
Bourne. These are not to be cOnsid-
cred cases Of today, for all of them
/ have been sick several days, but were
not until today fully developed and
pronounced cases OF yellow fever.
This makes eight cases developed to
date. The colorded man, Sandy
Jones, who died yesterday. the at
tending and consulting physicians are
! not satisfied that he had yellow fever.
though the case was suspicious. Po-
/ liceman Torrance died today.
| Whether or not they are mere coin
cidences, or whether it is pointer to
the origin of the disease, neverthe-
less it is fact that of the eight pro-
noumced cases of yellow fever already
developed, four of them were working
at their several trades on the new, de-
/ pot building of the Illinois Central
railroad. One was the yardmastcr,
one clerk at said depot and one the
wife of the contractor of said build
/ ing. The other case, Torrance, is
1 policeman, whose beat is confined to
/ the neighborh00d and surroundings
Of said depot and new building, and
whose duties constantly called him
there.
AS TO THE ORIGIN
Of the disease, nothing definite can be
ascertained. None of the persons af.
flicted had been absent from Jackson
for months past. There had been no
exposure of any of them to known
infection. There are various theO-
ries advanced as to its origin.
! !. 1t is regarded as suspicious that
most of the cases are among the
workmen on the depot building, the
material for the construction of which
is said to have been brought from
New Orleans.
2. There stood contiguous and ad-
jacent to the building used for a great
number of years as an express office,
in which there was one or more cases
of yellow fever and one death there
from it in 1878. A short time since
this building was tern down, exposing