St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-07-07
ONLY ONE RETURNED ALIVE
Volunteer Telegraphers In a Yellow
Fever Epidemic.
BOLD BREAK FOR LIBERTY,
How One Of Them Ran Train Through
a Quarantine at the Risk Of Els
Own and Others Lives.

of a few years ago were full of thrilling
experiences, few of which have been
told in print excepting i'll their craft
publications, which the readers OF daily
newspapers never see. At the Teie-
graph club the other night a number OF
''old time" operators entertained each
other for hours with tales Of their early
adventures. One of them as told by the
operator himself is of peculiar interest.
The narrator was one of the best known
experts in the service of the Western
Union Telegraph company in 1878,
when he was employed in the Phlladei-
phia office. He is modest, and even at
this late date will not consent to the
publication of his name in connection
with the story. which, as he related 1t,
is as follows:
"You all remember how the yellow
fever ragged in the South in the summer
of1S7S, and how terribly fatal it was
among the operators. The mails to the
North were all quarantined, and the
only communication between the two
sections of the country was by wire.
When the operators began to die there
were grave fears that communication
would be shut off altogether. leaving the
South without means of indicating It's
needs to the generous North. Such an
event would have been like lowering a
black curtain between two sections,
leaving the South to struggle alone IN
darkness with the plague. The scourge
was at its height in September, when
the deaths in Memphis and New
Orleans ran up into the hundreds daily;
Every day an operator would die. and
every day the wires became more
crowded with urgent appeals for AID.
Early in September all Northern
operators were informed that the COM
pany would like few volunteers to go
South. No appeal was made. by the
company, but hints were thrown out
that volunteers were badly needed.
Sin response to these hints seven men
formally offered their services. Two
were operators in Pittsburg, two in
Cincinnati, two in Philadelphia and
one in Boston. The Pittsburg and
Cincinnati men were first called upon
and were sent to Memphis. All four
fell victims to the fever and died
within week after reaching
their destination. The rest of the
volunteers were badly scared. AT
least, know that 1 was, and | was glad
that I was the last OH the list. The
other Philadelphia man was ordered to
New Orleans, and went on his way as
far as st. Louis, where he was arrested
Oh trumped up charge by his mother,
and was sent to Jail to keep him from
carrying out his dangerous mission.
The sixth man was then ordered front
Boston. He came as far as New York,
and at French's hotel the night he ar
rived he met some Southern people who
told him some blood-eurdling tales of
the horrors of the plagne. A pistol
was accidentally discharged in his
room that night, and the flesh wound
made in his leg by the bullet
rendered it impossible for him to travel
further. Gen. Supt. John G. HInch-
man telegraphed to me in Philadelphia,
asking if was ready to proceed to
New Orleans. Nobody ever knew how
tempted | was to back out. The cold
sweat absolutely dropped from my head
as l considered my reply. Finally [
determined to go, let the result be as it
might, and replied to Mr.. Hinchman
that would start the following night.
| took train out into the country that
night, and bid my parents good-by.
The next morning when my father left
me at the train he; said he hoped, but
did not expect to see me again on earth.
Bidding His Friends Farewell.
Returning to Philadelphia, l found
awaiting me the passes made out in the
name of the Boston man, which, accord
ing to my instructions. would carry me
as far as Milan, Tenn, where other
passes in my own name would be
handed to me. A lot Of my friends went
to the station to see me off, but it was
an extremely melancholy party, and the
result was that did not start in the
best of spirits. Nothing unusual Oc
Cured until l reached Bowling Green,
KY, which was then the northern limit
of the fever line. We had passed any
number of refugees around Louis
vile. But there was no one travelling
toward the South. | was ,alone in the
train south of Louisville, and when it
reached Bowling GreenI was ordered
off the train, which was then put under
the car sheds-abandoned When |
learned what had been done l hunted
up the dispatcher, showed him my passes
and insisted that the trainI sched-
uIed to go South should proceed. 1t
was not until headquarters mad been
appealed to that he would send train
out, and only then when he got peremp-
tory orders to do so. The train
was soon made ready, and l
got OH board, the only passenger
bound into the fever country.
We had, besit1es all engine, combina-
ton baggage and smoking car and two
ordinary day coaches. was as hungry
as bear, but nothing could be bought
at Bowling Green, and, although l had
had nothing to eat since leaving Gin
cinnati the day before. there was little
prospect that l would be able to secure
anything for another day, because, as
the trainmen told me, no hotels or res
taurants on the way South were Open.
We started South, therefore, with my
mind In not a very pleasant condition,
and began earnestly to regret having
started at all,
1.-The day we left Bowling Green was
atroeiously hot, and suffered intensely.
At first | opened the windows. but
brakeman told me how the fever germs
would rush in .if the windows were
allowed to remain open. and on the inn
pulse Of the moment closed most of
them. This brakeman was delightful
companion. knowing that l was going
South, with big chances Of dying, he
co1soled the weary hours of the journey
by telling me how many cases of
fever had occurred among the refugees
in that very car III the last up
trip. When he told me that sick wo-
man had died in the seat in which we
were, opened the windows once more.
preferring to take chances of letting
germs out as at least equal to those of
letting others in. The trainmen all
took hand at telling me horrible stor-
les of the suffering from fever on the
last up-trip, and when they saw that I
would not be discouraged, they confessed
that they had tried to brighten me away
from the terrible country into which I
was plunging. s.
Nothing But Crackers to Eat.
'The first town we reached where
there was much suffering was Paris.
Tenn. AS the train pulled into the sta
ton, the only people there to meet it
were half dozen eadaverous negroes.
/ was almost famished and had to have
food OF some kind at once. The only
things that | could obtain which were
fit to eat were a few crackers. We
passed through town after town without
seeing more than dozen human beings
in all. and they were negroes. The
L.. Ill