Huntsville gazette., 1894-11-17

distance the big black mountain, full
to overfiowing with coal and iron,
looks down upon it with its many
fOundries and factories.
Twenty-Five miles east of Decatur is
the mountain of Monte Sano, on the
summit of which is the Hotel Monte
Sano, one of the most delightful sum-
mer resorts of the south. You can sit
on the hotel piazza and look down a
distance Of three miles on the city of
Huntsville. AT a distance beyond
Huntsville can again be seen the Ten
nessee river twisting itself around and
around like silver snake.
In 1888 the natural advantages of
this section of the state became known
to some northern capitalists and in
three years the sleepy little village of
Decatur, with its six hundred inhab-
itants, had grown to be city of ten
thousand
In the month of July. 1885, l was
pecting to remain some time | took
my wife with me. The weather being
exceptionally warm, l sent her to the
hotel at Monte Sano. Toward the end
of September, the gay crowd began
saying good-by and leaving for their
homes. My wife, with party of
friends, decided to spend the winter in
New York. /, not being able to go
with them at the time, promised to
join them later. On the twelfth Of
September saw them board the train
at Huntsville, and returned the next
morning to Decatur. the doomed city.
Upon my arrival at the depot handed
my satchel to Andy, my co'tred driver,
and told him to drive me to my Office.
His reply to my greeting showed me
that something was dreadfully wrong,
for he said: ''Bless yor life, faint gud
mornin', boss, dis is dee wus mornin'
dis yer town eber did see. Der is Yel-
low Jack yere. De man dat brought
it from Florida died las night, and de
news is spreadin' like viii fire.
1t did not take me moment to see
that he was correct, for looking about
I saw fear and panic depicted upon
every face. Families were packing
what things they could carry and hur-
rying to every train. In many homes
the half-cooked breakfast was left on
the stove. Their only thought and
desire was to get away at once. BY
ten o'clock long lines of wagons, car
riages and imprcvised conveyances of
all sorts passed up and down the street,
loaded with families and household
goods. driving they knew not where,
Nd cta
every face, and even death upon some.
At the end of few days, out of the
population of ten thousand less than a
thousand remained, and nearly half
of these were down with the dreadful
disease.
The news spread to the surrounding
towns and the outside worl1. Those
of us who remained knew it would
only be a matter of a few hours when
the city would be quarantiped. Our
predictions came sooner than was ex-
pected. Orders were sent from head
quarters that ''all trains should pass
through Decatur at not less than thir-
ty miles an hour The surrounding
country established q shotgun quar-
Rntine. Each man volunteered to
help form a Gordon around the city,
and an oath was taken, that any man.
woman or child attempting to cross
given line must be shot.
was the only person in the city who
had passed through al epidem;c of vel
low fever, SO had no fear of it. The
one doctor who remained for az yet no
help had arrived from the outside
world) was taken with the fever while
talking to me.
All places of business were, of
course, closed and deserted The mail
bags were thrown each day from the
train, taken to the post Office. where
the few remaining people helped
themselves to their mail The banks
were closed. There was not a penny
OF currency in the town except that
asaa BY 'RalvsdHals