The times., 1898-10-23

he entitled The MayoT's Yellow Book
" Whitney Emerson, was awarded the prize
taiity was fixed. Consterna ton was gen.
erai. All business ceased. Nearly all
available boats had gone down in the
storm. As no one could fly to distance.
I hundreds took refuge in the swamp where
they died like flies in a honey-pot, and
were buried as they fell.
The mayor organized a relief committee
whose business was to assume full charge
of the sick, wherever found without dis
tnction OF color or nationality, provide
remedies. solicit subscriptions and under
take the support of survivors left unpro-
vided for by the death of relatives.
fund soon augmented until there was
no fear of starvation being added to the
i general horror.
1t was impossible to continue to bury in
1 the city commons or in the streets.
, mile east of the city, on the south side
of the S. p. r. r. tracks. lay lovely bit
of woodland, half cleared. To this went
the mayor in his shirt sleeves. with AK
and shovel, and soon an engine and plat
form car could hourly be seen conveying
the newly-dead to the newly-born ceme-
terry. At all hours of the day and night
one might hear the rumble of the dead
cart
No pen could describe the scenes of the
next four months of anguish, when men
with tense white faces would meet on
the street. shake hands. look deeply into
each others eyes. and say:
My turn nexti
Il made my will todayr'
We'll, take care of my children! st.
Clair knows where to bury me,". These
in vast number of cases to meet no
more on earth.
st. Clair knows where to bury met
And St. Clair alone knew where they We're
buried. for after August 25 it was impossi-
bic TO secure enough men to do the bury
ing, and the mayor, having pre-empted
cemetery and laid 1t out roughly, was
forced to dig the graves himself, and with
the help of one faithful friend. stood day
by day lifting from the platform. shovel
ing, covering, strewing lime over the shall
low graves and night after night hollow
ing out more graves for the next days
victims
There came a time when graves could
not be dug fast enough, and negroes had
to be imported at fabulous prices to help
the mayor and his friend. Now was seen
a strange sight on Tiger Island The su-
perstitious negroes would not work an
hour at night without immense bonflres
to keep in abeyance the hungry ghosts of
the too-soon dead, nor would they remain
moment in the already populous city of
the dead unless ST. Clair was in the en-
closure and near at hand, so fantastic was
their confidence in one who could tend the
sick. handle the dead. spend day and night
in the service. almost without food or
sleep. with no sign of fear or faltering,
and with no least abatement of hope
courage. remaining from first to last i'm
mune."
Ii was said that the plague could not
touch St. Clair or his family. He had at
home a pretty. frail, blue-eyed Rebel
wife" and a fair-haired boy of five, dear
to his heart, who seemed to bear charmed
| lives. His dearest friends fell round him;
! the human blossoms of other family trees
i withered and fell unfruited, but the blonde
boy of the mayor waxed stronger and rud
| dier day by day. and his fathers soul was
| great with courage al the sight. What
4 time was not taken up with tending the
! sick. dispensing stores and comforting the
hapless minority, the little wife spent in
/ painting numbers on the wooden head
| boards prepared by st. Clair at odd mo-
ments to be used to Identify the graves
| of loved ones whose names and numbers
were scrupulously kept in the mayors
| book. AS soon as a body was buried the
headboard was placed, and the number on
| ii set opposite the name of the victim in
the book. Aud thus was made the may
or's book of the yellow fever of 1878, which
might well have been written with his
brave hearts blood Beginning with the
| first page. it ran thus:
No. Taken Sick
August IL: Neil C. Hansen (sailor).
Died
August q.
And soon the register contained the
name of every family except one in the
city. In the last half of the book was
kept the list of subscriptions to the re-
liefe fund, some of which ran thus:
From the peopleIof Titusville, Pa. $50 much)
I" the Peabody Association. Toledo.
=. the Ohio ..--.-..---...-.....
" the State Department, Washing
ton ID. G. Through my brother
Frank OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES.
"a the whtest man earth, T. II.
Levy
50 F. T. Latrobe, mayor OF Balti-
more -------.----..- .-s----..---
And SO on down long and glorious list.
Nor We're the disbursements neglected.
AS not a penny received was left unre-
corded by the mayor. SO not a potato
! or a handkerchief was given out which
| the dainty fingers of St. Clair's wife
failed TO register, and to whom given,
in the huge yellow book. Lucky for St.
| Clair. later that it was SO. and lucky
for the little wife at the time, for L
Y