The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-02-16
DANGERIN THE CISTERNS
THE OLD FIRE "sEWERs" TO BE
GOT RID OF.

The Stagnant Water to Be Pumped
Out and the Cisterns to Be Bricked
Over and Sealed-A Relic of the Old
Hand Fire Engine Days.
A very unsanitary element was dscov-
cred this week in some Of the public squares
by Alderman Harmon, and has been
brought to the attention Of the proper com
mittee. 1t was that in many Of the squares
the old fire wells are full Of stagnated
water, and in one instance it is said that a
case of diphtheria was traced directly to
one OF these polluted wells
A MORNING News reporter hunted up
Alderman Harmon yesterday, and when
the chairman Of the street and lane COM
mittee was found ne was asked il there was
any truth in the rumor that the old fire
wells are full Of water.
Alderman Harmon admitted the fact that
they are, but how long they have been SO
be was unable to state He disc covered the
fact by the merest accident. A broken
hagglng over one Of these wells left a crack
wide enough for the small boy to drop a
pnhoOk and thread line in to angle for
Crawfish. Over this water small children
leaned over. inhaling the noxious vapors.
Alderman Harmon removed the tagging
ana found the well nearly full to the top,
the waste water from the near by surface
wells doubtless for years of dripping.
wv hat do you propose TO do about it?'
he was asked
The alderman replied that these old fire
volunteer fremen call them, "sewers,"
are most too large to fill up, eco
nomically, and the water will be pumped
out into the sewers and the old wells arched
over. This work will be begun next week
and will be vigorously prosecuted until the
water has been removed from all OF them
and the wells put in such a condition as to
exclude water thereafter
How many Of these wells are there, and
how large are they!n
II have not as yet been able to learn
There's Mr.. Thomas Henderson, he may be
able to tell you something about them"
Mr.. Henderson did not 90, but he
said, IF you will go down and see uncle
Alfred Kent, on West, Broad street, he will
tell you all about them. l think he built
the most Of them. They were used in the
days of the old hand pump fire apparatus.
Mr.. Kent, his son, and Isaac Butler, the
old colored foreman Of the Tomichichi Hand
Pump Company who did great deal of
the work on the fire wells for Mr. Kent,
and who is still in Mr. Kent's employ, knew
all about the wells and located them as fol-
lows
One each in the following squares: Frank
lin, Liberty. johnson, Reynolds, Warren,
Washington, Columbia, Green and Craw-
ford, one at Harris and Montgomery streets
and one at Orange and St. Gaul streets.
Butler thinks there is 3S-foot pump well in
Jackson square and Que on Bay street ex-
tended near Farm street. In all thirteen Of
these wells but one or two Of them may
have been filled up.
These wells are 20 feet deep and 20 feet
in diameter at the widest point, and are of
| brick, cemented inside and arched up to a
C own. Mr.. Kent says that the first one c.
these fire wells was built in Franklin square,
in the neighborhood Of the water tower aud
| reservoir, and the old volunteer firomen
used to take their water supply from this
we'll, and Butler, foreman of the Toni
chichi, used to be proud of his hand engine,
| claiming that it could throw water higher
than any other IN his service. Butler said
yesterday that he has private alley in the
rear of his premises which he has named
| Tomichichi, in honor of his old engine, and
| he wants to live to see it set down on the
| citV man a 'tIOfutPhichi allev -