The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-08-06
FLEEING FROM
YELLOW FEVER
Capt. Thomas Tells How He
Got Away.
CAUGHT AT OLD POINT
CAUGHT AT OLD POINT
ABOUT 500 GUESTS COOPED UP
IN A HOTEL.
A MOST STRINGENT QUARAN TINE
Mr.. Caldwell Hardy, a Well Known Norfolk
Banker, Finally Secured for Capt. Thom-
as and His Party Permit to
Leave His CAPTIVITY,

Last Tuesday Capt. j. j. Thomas,
pesident of the Commercial and Farm
ers' Bank returned from Old Point,
where he went, accompanied by his wife,
to spend the summer. He came back
on account of the yellow fever outbreak.
He encountered all sorts of difficulties
in getting away, so strict was the quar-
antine Immediately established.
Yesterday / asked the Captain to tell
me something of his experiences IN get
ting away from the hotel and running
the gauntlet of the patrol tugs that
guard the harbor day and night.
"Well,'' he said, refectively, we
were at Old Point-my wife and /
when the disease broke out at the Sol
diers' Home. The Home, you know,
is only about two and half miles from
Old Point
.'Were there many at the hotels when
it was discovered that the yellow fever
was SO near you?'
From the best information l could
get, some 600 to 800 guests were at the
Chamberlain, Hygeia and Sherwood
House"
Il suppose the primary object of you
all was to get away from Old Point at
once"
Yes: but when and how to get away
was the question. Sunday and Monday
was like death paN hanging over the
supposed doomed point Norfolk, Rlch-
lnond and Baltimore quarantined at
once against Old Point; we found IT i'm
qossfble to get the Baltimore, Washing
tom ON Cape Charles boats to touch at
Old Point; Chesapeake and Ohio railroad
Ia a lnG
of the place. even Newport News qua
rantined against the Soldiers Home.
Hampton. Phoebus and Old Point So you
see we were as effectualy bottled UP
as General Butler was on the peninsula
during the war, and to tell you the
truth, it was to all appearances more
dangerous place than to have been before
Buffers gums: at least, as General
Wheeler says, it looked so to a man, u
not up tree. 70 one who was trying to
.recreate' at Old Point"
"What steps, if any, did YOU people
take to extricate yourselvesg
well: quite a number of gentlemen
who were guests at the hotels, conceived
the idea of holding mass meeting, so af-
ter we canvassed the matter, a meeting
was held in one of the drawing rooms
of the Chamberlain"
"aDid many attend and what did you
all doY'
II SUPPOSE some hundred or more at
tended. consisting of men, women and
children. Some one proposed to organ
ize, by calling Mr.. I'll. Rainforth, of Gin.
cinnati, to the chair and your humble
servant as secretary. MIR. Rainforth
explained the object of the meeting IN
some we'll chosen and pertinent remarks.
quite a number of talks We're made, and
various suggestions made, the meeting
closed by appointing committee of five:
I'll. M. Allen and G.. r. Wolf, of Cincin-
matt; Lee S. Barrett, of Indianapolis:
the chairman and secretary, to devise
ways and means as to how we should
get away from Old Point"
'.WeIl: did your committee act, and
what did they accomplish
"The committee met almost immediate
~ and concluded to first call
upon the commandant of the Fort and
DIR. Pettus, chief health office. These
gentlemen accorded us an interview. We
found them affaIble, willing to give us