The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1897-10-22
HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF.
Editor Democra, star

fA4tnF utmpcrAt-rtAf'
In the year 1874 there was as much
contradiction and dispute as 10 what
the prevailing fever" was then Us IL
is now. "X-spurls" from New Orleans
and Mobile declared the feTer not yei
low fever. All our Oldest and best
doctors hooted at the idea Of its being
yellow fever, while l held In my arms
al least two men while they died with
yellow fever and black yOmit. Old
DR.. Dunlap, Of Ocean Springs, met
young DR.. McInnis, Of Moss Point.
on the train. and after a long talk told
DR.. McInnls 10 CALL it yellow fever.
As this was 10 line with his " cUn-
yictiOn, he did so.
At that time Or. c. W. Moore was
the leading physician OF the coast.
and was Us persistent as you are now,
in declaring there had been no yellow
fever here. After helping To bury a
number OF ny friends, | took my fam
Nv and fell back ~ the old G00de mill
place on FRANKLIN creek. After two
big trusts we came home. AT that
time | lived at Scranton, and in q few
days DR.. More. whO gas my wife's
uncle. was reported sick, aud | and
my family went and helped 10 nurse
him. ThreeOf our doctors were treat
ing him, and ali booted at the idea NJ
Ahis having yellow fever: and they
were all g1Ud doctors, and, | believe
honest in their opinions. About one
day before he died We telegraplled tn
Mobile for the great DR.. Gilmore. lie
could not cone, but sent the then
DR.. Rhett Guode. About the time Of
| DR.. Goodies arrival, while was rails
ing Or. Moore up, he threw up black
vunlit. just before be died. DIR. G00de
and | extracted his urine and Oh ex-
animation in Mobile the doctors de-
clared it yellow fever. After death
Or. Mnnrc's body. as were all the 9TH
| ers who died here, was rs yellow as
any body cnuld be. Even after all
this our oldest ana lest doctors and
! all the old moss backs hOUtcd at the
idea Of US having yellow fever, and
| called Or. Rhett GOOde all the names
you are npw calling the ~''X-spurts."
This state Of affairs made many OF
our people very careless. and there
can be no doubt but that prevailing
fever" wiutered, or lived over, here
during that winter and very early in
1875 II began the slaughter Of our pcn-
pie. and between 100 and 200 people
died at Moss Point, Scranton and
! p~ascagoull with what no one qucS-
toned vas yellow fever.
Now. Bro. MayerS. il these tx
spuFts" and good, honest doctors
should see fit to tell you how to run
the "old reliable. you would say tn
| them. SHOEMAKER. stick to your last"
and they would very soon become the
laughing sock OF the whole country.
You ought To remember that there
are thousands of persons who never
read any other but the Bible and the
odd reliable" and as the Bible is ST.
lent on the question Of yellow fever,
| your teachings may cause a repetition
| Of 1874 ard 1915. or course. it is not
reasonable 10 suppose that all the
cases rep Tted are yellow fever, nor
even half them, but IL certainly Is
very clear that there is and has been
| yellow fever in Scranton. Several
weeks since you unheSitatingly stated
that Mrs. Ferris had yellow fever in
pascagOuia. In this weeks paper
you state that the yellow fever is in
Edwards and other towns. and II you
had half a chance YOU would say vel
low fever was in Moss Point. You
remind me OF the good old Methodist
! christian. who declares Others may be
lost by falling from grace" hut can't
be led To believe that 1t is himself.
Since writing the above, DR.. Z. +.
Grimm informs me that in 1874 lie was
fever up here, taking 10 from a sick
sailor on a schooner, and that the
fever went through all the Griffin
and Dantzler families without any
one even suspecting it was yellow
fever, when later on Mr.. Moses Golf
took it from them, and got well, but
soon after that most OF Mr.. GHfs
family died with it. Now, these fam
lilies are among III most intelligent.
and while they are not "x'spurts'
they ought to have known a yellow
fever germ II they met It. but they
didn't. The same schooner from which
DR.. Griffin got his fever had previously
lain at Polls (now Frentz's) ship yard,
and at what is now Mead's mill, and
my brOther-in-law, Henry Fort, con-
tracted the fever from it and died in
| nv mothers house. and I held him nm