The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-08-10
YELLOW FEVER.
Reoonectiong Of Great Plague Year, 1873
st. Louis Republic
When people who hayelived through

When people who have lived through
some Of the yellow fever epidemics
that have scourged Southern cities
during the past 20 years read in the
newspapers that only i've out Of every
100 of our soldiers who have been
attacked with the disease die, they
are incredulous. They say: SsThat's S
not the genuine article; it's too mild.
1t must be something else.
Physicians and nurses, now alive,
who actively participated in the treat
ment and care Of people during the
most destructive and widely spread
epidemic that ever visited the United
States-that of 1s78-are apt to be
particularly skeptical about the char
a:ter Of the disease. which made its
appearance among our troops in Cuba
in the beginning Of July. You may
tell these doubling Thomases that
medical science has made great strides
in the prevention and treatment Of
yellow fever, as it has done in coping
with other malignant diseases, and
that our soldiers were surrounded with
all the resources of sanitation, hygiene
and prophylactics that enlightened
medical skill could provide. But
they are apt TO shake their heads and
put their experiences against the
achievements and deductions Of
science.
That was dreadful epidemic that
Of '78. I witnessed some Of the havoc
it wrought in Southern homes, and
must confess that in very small per-
centage only Of the cases that came
under my notice was mildness one Of
it's characteristics.
Between the latter part Of July,
whe9ahe fever first made its appear
.ance at Port Eads, and the early part
Of November, when frost put stop
to it's ravages, there were approx
mately $4,000 cases in the city Of
New Orleans and over $500 deaths.
In Memphis, with population about
one-fourth that of New Orleans, the
death list for August and September
contained 2,7OO names. Vicksburg' S
contribution to the harvest Of NOR
tally that year was over 1,lOO.
Grenada, Holly Springs, Port Gibson,
Greenville and many smaller towns in
Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee
were almost depopulated.
The tugboat Porter carried the dis
ease along the Mississippi and Ohio
Rivers from New Orleans to CALI
polls. Refugees from the stricken
cities scattered che germs from the
Gulf of Cairo, and from the Missis-
sippi to the base Of Lookout Noun
tain. Plantations and farms became
the feeding places Of the scourge, and
hundreds who had sought safety in
the country places were followed
thither by the saffron foe and returned
to the cities TO take their chances with
death.
Shotgun quarantine fourished every
where in the exposed area with brutal
and conspicuous inefectiveness. Lo-
calities without quarantine protection,
which gave fre. ingress and egress to
refugees, enjoyed immunity from the
disease, while others a few miles
away, which were protected by cor
don of armed men, would inside a
weeks time develop the fever in epi-
demic form. Nashville, Atlanta, Sa-
vannah, Montgomery and many other
towns were conspicuous examples OF
immunity. The situation was full Of
distress and crowded with anomalous
conditions.
Men who have witnessed the car
mage Of battlefield and the scenes
attending a yellow fever epidemic
prefer the latter In choice of unwel-
come alternatives.
The symptoms Of yellow fever differ
but little from those which presage
an attack Of ordinary malarial fever.
1t usually makes its presence known
by chilly sensation, generally felt
along the spinal column. tits accom-
panied by feeling of lethargy and
WEAKNESS and an inclination to stretch
the limbs and to yawn.
These were my premonitory symp-
toms when yellow Jack took me in
hand at Vicksburg. The day before |
had attended the funeral of Lieutsn-
ant Benner, who commanded the
relief boat Chambers which went from
St. Louis loaded with clothing, medi-
cine and food for the sick and desti-
tute in the towns and plantations
..alon1 tho Miss;soipni