The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-07-18

everything in its power to restore nor
| NAL conditions, and if possible prevent
a terrible plague of sickness. The COM
| pany sent out twenty barrels of lime
! early Monday afternoon. Negroes and
| carts were busy handling the disin-
fectant down the banks for the first
! two miles, and shoveling it on top of
| the unsightly masses of fish.
Superintendent A. T. Lodge and
! Phil Raiche were out by daybreak, and
at O'Clock Monday seventy-five men
were marshaled for the fray. They
were armed with long handler pitch
forks, and upon being loaded into carts
were quickly driven to the scene.
| Then the work of the day began.
| Several mule teams were used to boom
and raft the fish down to the dumping
station, where the negroes with forks,
spiked UP and kept in trim by plenty
of the hottest whisky on the market.
pitched the fish out. Then the lime was
! placed on the piles.
BY evening the canal was pretty well
cleared for two miles. But the super
| intendents said there were two more
miles just as bad, and that the sit
uation was serious.
! The Louisiana Cypress Lumber Com
pany directed the work of clearing the
canal, paying the negroes $3.50 per day
stencil and filth. The men were paid
! off every night at the company's office
| window.
| The people of the section feel under
| the greatest obligation to the company
for this work which it prosecuted with
out personal interest or gain at stake.
save that it has towing privileges. 1t
does not own the canal. The threaten
! ed catastrophe caused the mill man
1 a IN ST. re nj a
all else until some relief could be had,
and if possible save the community
from sickness.
Interrupting Navigation.
When it was announced Monday
night that the canal company's boat,
the city of Hartford, would go out
| Tuesday morning on her regular trip
to the lower coast there was consid-
cradle gossip aroused among the resi-
dents of the place. They said that the
waters with the dead fish should be
allowed to remain perfectly quit for
several days, and that a boat should
not be run through the water, as it
would churn up the mixture and in
crease the risk and stencil. Sheriff
Marrero was said to have been tele-
phoned and asked to stop the sailing.
The big saw mill plant of the Louis
| lana Cypress Lumber Company was
| idle Monday, with the exception of the
planer, and it will be unable to run
for several days.
1--WE have orders to put all the avail
able men at clearing out the canal"
said Supts. Raiche and Lodge to a
| Picayune reporter. land if possible
save the place from disease. Running
the mill is a secondary matter when
the health of the community is at
stake"
T4O0 a Day.
1t was roughly estimated that the
mill company was expending $500 day
| to get the fish out of the way, not
| to mention the heavy expenditures at
| having the immense lumber plant ly-
ing idle.
Every comfort possible was provided
the negroes who braved the mass Of
| decaying fish and worked in it from
morning till night They were pro-
vided with ice water, whisky, and a
| good lunch at noon.
Capt H. A. Harvey, master of the
steamer City of Hartford, explained
Sunday evening that the canal COM
| pany had offered half a cent per fish
for every one taken from the canal
and burned, and that no one would
| tackle the job. He said they had en-
deavored to do something, but had been
unable to get hands to work.
There was no change in the poison
| Gus condition of the water in the ca
nal. On last Monday it was the inky.
| murky, sickening black that turns the
stomach at sight. Nothing could live
4 in it. The soft-shell crabs were crawl
| ing out and could be seen clinging to
| the dead fish, which, as already stat
| ed, were fast breaking to pieces and
| floating out in soft, Shapeless masses
| of white.
1t was generally believed that the
water lilies, their death and subse-
| quent decaying stems. had given out
a deadly acid poison. which the buffalo
| fish could not survive. 1t was noted
| that there were few dead catfish and
| carp in the canal.
| The pumps of the Louisiana Cypress
Lumber Company, throwing a four
| inch stream of river water. were turn
ed into the canal at the head. Super
intendents Raiche and Lodge announc-
ed last Monday evening that the work
of clearing the canal would be kept up
and that as fast as the soft fish could
be gotten out of the water the piles
would be covered with lime.
The Health Board.
DIR. Edmond Souchon, president OF
the Louisiana State Board of Health
stated that the investigation he had
| requested of DR.. c. NJ Brady, jefferson
| L
and a report from him received:
DIR. Bradys report" said Dr.. Sou
chon, Showed exactly the condition OF
affairs. The matter is one for the To-
cal authorities to remedy, under the
supervision OF the State Board OK
II Health. We have no funds that can
be used for such purposes and Il Is
not intended that such work should be
done by us, except in an advisory and
directing way
Il do not anticipate any sickness or
other trouble as a result of the condi-
ton there. The canal is in the open
| air, and hence the affair is not as Sc
rious as it would be were the same
condition TO exist in the crowded part
of a city
Sheriff Marrero and DR.. c. NJ. Brady.
the Jefferson health officer. visited the
canal early Monday forenoon to make
an inspection of the situation.
| These officials had been there
the day previous, and with the ca
nal owners and the managers of the
lumber plant had inaugurated the work
of cleaning the canal
Sheriff Marrero suggested to the lum-
Der people that they discontinue all
attempts to haul their RATS up the
! cleared. The suggestion will be acted
| upon. The canal owners, who also have
| vital interests at stake. are anxious for
the opening of the canal with all pos
| sible expedition.
DR.. Brady submitted a report to DR..
Souchon, president Of the State Board