The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-08-07
ABOUT THE CHOLERA
The ScOurge as Seen in the South
Many Years Ago.
Nashville and Memphis Under the Bayage5 o.
The Deva tating ard Awful
lp.dfmic


the Slavonic states and to France. Yes, i
IS even reported as close to US as Mexico
but the people on this side of tn
Rockies will never be visited by eithel
plague or postilence."
The speaker was an old-time printer
seated on the iron steps Of The HERALT
building, and he directed his address u
three other typos who had Just concluded
session on the crazy anarchist who at
tempted the assassination Of F'rick.
"Our altitude places US beyond all dan
ger, he continued. ''The bacillari2 o.
the disease called Asiatic cholera and
tie microbes Of yellow fever are OBJ
served, or rather infess those stretches Of
country not much above sea level. For in
stance, when the cholera struck Tennessee
in 1866 it ragged with more virulence IN the
cities and towns along the rivers than any
where else. But il could not even climb
the spurs or the CuEberlands
Terrible as the visitation may be in
Russia, aggravated no doubt by munger in
the famine districts, it could not be more
terrible Baan the scourge that desolRted the
city Of Nashville, Tenn., during the clos G
Of the summer and the beginning Of the
autumn Of '66. Il makes me shudder, Cal,
when / think Of it."
ibid Il take off any Of the printers. r" in
terrogRted the typo addressed rs Gal, =
bringing his crutch up TO his chin.
mot single printer was Frustrated ny
tho epidemic y replied the oid-timer. Not
many were left 10 be FRUSTRATED after
quarantine had been established and the
Yankee typos had fled north. Among the
formulas Of the medical profession ct that
time for the prevention Of the disease, none
took SO well as that Of an old French
doctor from New Orleans, who
gave it in ounce doses with the
advice, Eat less and drink more.n / be-
leve IL was nothing more than brandy and
ginger. At any rate 1t passed cur
rent among the printers, and
proved TO be very good
medicine to brace up on after reading the
dismal daily report from the city board OF
health. But let me describe the city as it
appeared during that memorable period Of
the black plague or the Asiatic cholera.
Nashville contained at that time less
than thirty thousand people, perhaps
about twelve thousand being emancipated
slaves. The slarge majority Of the blacks
lived in Bhanties in the bottoms, along the
pixies leading TO the Hermitage Hickory
Jackson's homel and in the eastern part
Of the city, which was honeycombed then
by Federal ramparts and Notifications.
Nashville had been the headquarters of
tAC army VI lAC huQ Int
points / have indicated as the budding
places Of the blacks had been the scene Of
carnage and slaughter which preceded
Hoods failure TO march TO the Ohio
through Nashville while Sherman was
marching TO the sea. The bleaching bones
of hundreds of mules and horses lay inside
and outside these deserted ramparts; the
hastily buried heroes of the blue and gray
put underground to a depth scarcely suf-
ticieut 10 make potato sprout, would some
times come TO the top after heavy rain
storm to remind us of the horrors Of that
terrible siege; while everywhere around
and in the city the filth and stencil which
succeed the presence aud departure of
host of 300 600 in q place which could ac-
commodate less than $4,000, was direct
invitation for the black spectre to come to
Nashville. And come he did, by way of
BuenaNista pike, introducing his gruesome
form to the negroes living In the neigh
borhood Of the Judges Spring.
Tennessee at this time was the worst
governed state in the Union, worse than
even those states misgoverned by the re-
construction laws Of Congress. That vim
dictive old scoundrel, PRrson Brownlow,
was governor, elected to Office by negroes
and what his followers designated as
'loyRl whites.n The real people Of Nash
vile and Tennessee were DISTINGUISHED.
You can readily imagine then that the
sanitary condition OF city entrusted to a
few Rdventurers from Indianapolis and
their friends, the bitterness of feeling be-
tween the races owing to such conditions,
ell tended in the direction Of carelessness
and apathy just at time when energy and
caution were necessary 10 prevent the
spread Of pestllence.
Thus it happened that the negroes were
dying of around judges Spring before we
knew anything about it. The ignorant
half In 4,1h,
under the spells of their fetiches, who for
babe them TO apply to the whites for med
ical aid The first case of cholera in the
city proper occurred in the leading hotel
on College street The victim was Fed
eral colonel, q man who lived high and
drank deep-such a man as would die in
five years from that time anyway from
spopleXy. Melons and fruit were coming
into market at the time, of which he ate
heartily at midnight with gobiets of wine
and ale and Robertson county whisky. AT
. a. N ne was corpse. The doctors threw
the blame on a can Of cove oysters.
Hardly had news of this event been
printed when the citizens were paralyzed
by the announcement Of i've moRe cases, all
within the radius OF two blocks from The
hotel / have mentioned, all being taken
down within a few hours Of each other, and
four out Of the i've succumbing after
three or four hours struggle.
II cannot describe the symptoms or sui
ferings Of q chOlera-strlcken man further
than mention the terrible agonies of purg-
ing and vomiting. Those VINO could, from
personal observation, did not live long
enough 10 write them out and have them
published. TO be with patient dying OF
cholera was TO hold your life in your hand.
Eighty per cent of those taken down died
III less than i've hours after the attack.
Eighty per cent Of those who tried to as
suage the agonies of the dying were them
selves carried away TO the cemetery.
Now, when it was too late, q so-called
board Of health began operations by advis-
ing the people TO make boniires Of tar bar
rels. Two weeks later. when it was shown
that the majority OF cases and deaths
occurred on Mondays, they very reason
ably argued that this rwas the
result OF the hearty Sunday dinner. and
the people were warned 20 be more tenn
perate ia this respect. Day by day the
NUMBER Of deaths increased until the aver
age reached seventy-six, not counting the
negroes dying in the bottoms. The board
tSen prohibited the sale Of vegetables Tex
cept potatoes). melons and fruit, and the
city was Quarantlhed.
Talk about the desolsticn Of the dead
cities Of Egypt. You could load up a park
Of artillery with grape and canister al the
head OF College street, the principal bust
ness thoroughfare fire il OF and not hit
soul You might run across q friend say
at 9 in the morning, apparently just IS wei
as yourself; next day you would hear OF
his death. Hear OF his death, did
] sayg Yes OF his bprial-not of his funeral
Funerals were not allowed; vanished
coffins could not be manufactured il time;
hearses could be obtained only by the
wealthy: but all-wealthy or poor. black
or white-ali took their places in the pro-
cession Of one horse drays and every other
vehicle that could carry them, and carry
them quickly ia the night 10 the cemetery.
There the collins or boxes were piled one
on top Of the other. 10 take their turn at
the hands OF the overworked grave dig
GERS -