The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1909-06-23
WHY DEYEAUX COULDN'T BE BOUNCED
No Political Influence Strong Enough to Supplant the
Late Negro Collector of Customs at Savannah.
From the Savannah Press.

The sudden death of Colonel j..
H. Deveaux. collector of the port, at
eight o'clock last night at his home
recalls the fact that he had rendered
Savannah conspicuous service in the
past. A part of the unwritten his
tory of the yellow fever epidemic in
Brunswick in 1928 concerns this
man very distinctly and is substan-
tiated by DR.. w. F. Drummer, who
then, as now, was health officer at
Savannah.
What Happened Then.
The Savannah authorities had rea-
son to be suspicious of Brunswick at
that season, so they relied upon De-
veaux, who had been born and
reared in Savannah, for the prompt
and accurate information of condi-
lions at that port. Collector De-
veauX, however, was appraised of the
real state of affairs through his GUS
tom house intelligence. He kept
track of every ship from Cuba or in
fected ports and communicated them
to Savannah. The health authorities
here relied absolutely upon his state
mentS, and never forgot that when
called upon he served Savannah in
very faithful and practical way.
He stood as a sentinel in a way upon
the outpost, and through him the
quarantine authorities were kept i'm
mediately and reliably informed of
the movements of ships and of the
outbreak of cases of yellow fever.
Epidemic of 1898. t
The epidemic of that year is his I !
tory. How suspected vessel was !
traced to one of the neighboring is
lands where it was loaded with cross I
ties; how the captain was stricken .
and died, and how the government !
took charge of the suspected port !
and maintained the quarantine =
through the summer of 1898 The
first appearance was in 1892. The 1
Savannah authorities found it out i
through the Brunswick custom house, =
and this led them to look out for
he outbreak of 1898, which sure
enough came about.
1t is a fact that a good many Sa- u
people endorsed Colonel De-
1eaux for the Brunswick collector
hip, and this petition was used in i
lis behalf by him when efforts were
made to displace him in Savannah.
Why He Could Not Be Removed.
4 never endorsed anybody over
lin, said prominent citizen of Sa-
-annah this morning, because | o
new how we'll he had served Savan- n
lah in 1928, and knew how much n
Vp owed him in lyopDinC ont vallOu
ever from this city at that time. -
lie did this a great peril to his own W
POSITION, and yet he communicated II
lothing but the truth, and the facts q,
which he presented were abundantIy
,orne out by subsequent occurrences.
The epidemic famed up in Bruins o
wick; the precautions of the govern il
nent were justified by the event. and @
savannah, being fOrwarned, was :.
Orearmed. Everybody knows how
we'll the city was safeguarded during |
he summer of 1898. Few people u
know that Savannah had been watch a
ng this danger spot for whole year, c
and only two or three people knew /
now Savannah got the information.
Served the South in the War.
Another thing, Colonel Deveaux n
served in the war between the states e
On the southern side as the body c
guard of Captain Pelot. Some people I
say that he was with that gallant Z
officer when a party of brave con- a
federates boarded the Water Witch S
down on Warsaw sound and captured [
her. The northern warship was I