The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-08-30
Tells Of South Alabama Tx,
perience.



back to 1888. Whether the nullifca-
ton excitement In South Carolina
against the high protective tartn OF
Congress caused the coincidence. 1
have nothing to say But they both
exercised the people OF South Alabama
at the same time A citizen OF Clai-
borne Simon Peter Gray--tnow old
Ciaiborne) had returned from Mobile,
where the cholera prevailed, had taken
sick and died of cnoiera-so reported
Others Of less prominence may have
died. II was then called Asiatic chol-
era. q dreaded disease, and said to
travel IN a cycle or have regular times
OF visitation. Now. 1t Is simply
cholera" / heard nothing more of
cholera for perhaps ten years. when
another citizen OF Claiborne visited
Mobile while the cholera was said to
prevail. He came back sick. thought
he had It and the news spread that
Ben benson had the cholera. People
were alarmed and all the doctors In
town called--nearly q panic. II turned
out to be case OF collie, or cholera
morbus. He may have eaten too
many Bon Secour oysters and fresh
Goldfish from the Northeast. packed In
ice on the schooner. and drowned them
In Indian IRE water. Possibly he may
have had appendicitis, but the doctors
WOtO di0H tBhoIaAtt atu htI hh0 "
we mortals had such an appendix as
an appendix. Those doctors are all
dead now and am not afraid to say
this.
The next experience or acquaint-
ance / had with cholera was In the
fall of 1s4s was going to Camden.
Ark, accompanied by young lady.
an orphan. whose uncle at Camden
had invited her to share his home.
L. - T. - 4x.~w
On arrival In Mobile we heard that
cholera was prevalent to an alarming
degree In New Orleans. The young
lady feared to risk passing through
that city. returned to Claiborne and
was soon after married to q prosperous
grocery merchant of that town, who
afterward moved to Selma and en-
gagged In business shortly before the
war.
The Cholera scare.
The cholera scare changed the whole
current OF her life. There Is a tide in
the affairs OF men" land women, tool
But my little Ethiopian stuck to me.
and stuck to- him. He was not the
same boy that my father sent to Q
friend in Mobile a year or two before
His friend wrote TO him TO buy him a
negro boy IA or Is years old. He
needed one in his business for a run.
ner.' My father wrote his friend that
he would I'LL his order with the first
runner" he could capture. By chance
my father soon found q man who own.
ed negro boy OF the right age, and
who wished to sell him because he was
a runner" Owner said the boy had
habit. q propensity to runaway from
was tired OF It. and must get rid of
him. The boy was incorrigible. A
trade was soon made and my father
sent him by boat with this letter to his
friend:
Dear Mr.. G.--T send you by boat
today q boy that think will suit you
for runner. He is well recon-
mended in that respect. In fact. he is
warranted as regular Santa Anna to
run without stopping"
Soon after the battle Of Buena Vista.
of. the Mexican War. our people and
newspapers had Joke about General
Santa Anna's' running away from the
fie1tls ssaSd Vas he had but one leg he
started 7eafdys@ Cloclkst were advertised
as regular Santa Annals. warranted to
run without stopping. But I digress
We (the little mig and u took pass
age on the magnificent mail low pres
sure steamers for the Crescent City.
He was not afraid Of cholera, but all
the same took Il crossing the lake. He
was sick at stomach and vomiting. AS
soon as landed / hurried him to hos
pital in New Orleans. The next day
inquired for him and he was all
right. He had an attack OF sea Cor
lake, sickness. So much for fright
and Imagination. I remained In New
Orleans for q day or two, but saw no
case Of cholera and heard but little
talk OF It.
In the summer and fall Of 1853 the
yellow fever prevailed to an alarm
ing degree in Mobile and New Orleans,
and lasted until wilmer. almost deci-
mated those cities. and for the first
time in it's history invaded the country
towns Grove Hill. the county seat OF
Clarke County, was nearly depopulated,
and Claiborne lost several of its best
citizens; DR.. Murphy was the first vic
tim. then Wiley Cater and the two
McCalls. They, VIM. c. Sowel, after.
wards Probate Judge of Monroe Coun-
ty. and myself were keeping bachelors
hall In Claiborne. but I the only house
holder" I was a member of the Leg
islature that year, which convened on
the fourth day of November In Mont
gomery. I knew but little Of the ter
rible scourge in my town. My friends,
william and John Mccall, had con-
tracted fever and died. sowell with
the others OF the town had escaped to
the country. So ! had no letter, nor
much information OF the PLACE until
returned at Christmas. / found my
house deserted, my household goods
lost or destroyed, my books, papers and
manuscripts scattered. never to be re-
covered. SO much for panic and the
panic.
Another Epidemic.
In the month of October, 1867, got
message from my sister. Mrs. w.
p. Leslie, at Pascagoula, stating that
her husband, w P. Leslie, had died on
the 7th of that month of yellow fever
contracted in Mobile. I made imme-
diate preparations to go to the relief
OF the stricken family. Mr.. Leslie had
lately moved from Monroe County. Ala,
and put UP a large lumber mill and.
planning mills at Pascagoula. The
weather was warm and was impru-
dent enough in my haste not to, pro-
vide thick clothing for a Journey. But
I thought 1t prudent to take my horse
on the steamer. Captain Frank john
sons, and disembark above and not
pass through Mobile. On Thursday /
boarded the steamer, on Friday my
horse and were put of at Twenty-one
Mile Blur, where I spent the night with
Mr.. Ladd. q afterwards heard that
the neighborhood had been noted for
many robberies and murders soon after
the close of the wary
On Saturday my horse and Il al
ways put the horse f1rst) circled around
Mobile and landed at Spring Hill by
IL m. fed and rested my horse for
two hours. got directions to Pasca-
eoula. or rather TO Goodies Mills, about
thirty miles. l think on Dog River,