Designed by John Bard, Ph : !a 
 
 Ambrolvped by Bankina & Clark. Norfolk 
 
 MONUMENT TO BE ERECTED BY THE O'TIZESS OP HOTOLK, IN MEMORY OF THE MAYOR, THE 
 PRESIDENT OP THE HOWARD ASSOCIATION, THE CLERGY , PHYSICIA NS, AND OTBER9 WHO DIED AT TB 
 POST OP DUTY DURING THE GREAT PESTILENCE IN 1855. — See page 310. 
 
THE 
 
 GREAT PESTILENCE IN VIRGINIA; 
 
 BEING 
 
 §n pstoucal gttomit 
 
 OK THE 
 
 ORIGIN, GENERAL CHARACTER, AND RAVAGES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 YELLOW FEVER 
 
 IN 
 
 NORFOLK AND PORTSMOUTH IN 1855 ; 
 
 TOGETHER 
 
 WITH SKETCHES OF SOME OF THE VICTIMS, INCIDENTS OF 
 
 THE SCOEPvGE, ETC. 
 
 BY jf 
 
 WILLIAM S. FORREST, 
 
 AUTHOR OF THE- "HISTORY OF NORFOLK AND ITS VICINITY. 
 
 "Death, repulsive king, tiuneiron rule is terrible. 
 
 NEW YORK : <<cy 
 
 DERBY & JACKSO 
 PHILADELPHIA: J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. 
 CINCINNATI :■ H. W. DERBY & CO. 
 
 1856. 
 

 
 ** 
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year of our Lord 1856, by 
 
 WILLIAM S. FOREEST; 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the 
 Eastern District of Virginia. 
 
 MILLER & HOLMAN, 
 
 Printers and Stereotypers, N. Y. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 When the pestilence, which recently desolated 
 the two adjacent sister sea-port cities of Virginia, 
 had ceased its ravages ; when the fearful death- 
 storm, that raged so furiously, had swept by, a 
 general and very reasonable desire was expressed 
 to have an authentic account of the great calamity 
 — a reliable record of Death's relentless sway — 
 especially during those memorable months — Au- 
 gust, September, and October, 1855. 
 
 Among others, the writer, who witnessed the 
 almost unequaled fury of the disease, was kindly 
 urged to undertake the task. But, imperative 
 engagements occupying nearly every moment of 
 his time during the day, he found that it would 
 be almost impossible to accomplish so important 
 
l v PREFACE. 
 
 a work without relinquishing other necessary 
 efforts, or -delaying its completion beyond the 
 limits of a reasonable period. He determined, 
 however, notwithstanding the difficulties pre- 
 sented, to prepare a work on the subject, em- 
 bracing an account of the origin, frightful pro- 
 gress, and terrible effects of the dreadful malady; 
 together with various incidents, facts, opinions, 
 and suggestions relative to the scourge, written 
 during, and subsequent to, that memorable time 
 of terror, sudden death, and woe. 
 
 It was deemed judicious to append, also, suit- 
 able tributary sketches of some of the victims of 
 the destroyer, w T hose virtues and exalted character 
 justly entitle them to the permanent remembrance 
 of the living — while they sleep quietly in the 
 grave to which their sallow remains were hurried 
 during the rage of the mysterious disease. 
 
 It will be found that extracts from ably-written 
 accounts of the pestilence, by other pens, have 
 been given a place. These sketches, it is believed, 
 will add interest and value to the work, inasmuch 
 as they assist in forming a true description of the 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 calamity, as viewed by different observers, and 
 from various points of observation. 
 
 If, in recording the noble, heroic, and generous 
 deeds of those who braved the terrors of the 
 scourge, and who labored so faithfully in assisting 
 and relieving their fellow-men, in nursing and 
 watching the sick, in shrouding and burying the 
 pestilent dead, some among the meritorious are 
 not mentioned, the omission must be considered 
 as unavoidable. Time and space were insufficient 
 for all, or half that could be written. 
 
 The result of his labor is before a discriminating 
 public, and the writer confidently trusts that his 
 work will be found to possess at least a melan- 
 choly interest, and. that it will impart useful in- 
 formation to the living, both at home and abroad, 
 relative to the appalling tornado of disease and 
 death that raged throughout the length and 
 breadth of two cities of the Old Dominion, crush- 
 ing down, in its reckless course, people of all 
 ages, all classes, and every condition — the rich and 
 the poor, the learned and the ignorant, the fair 
 and the lovely — leaving in its blood-stained track 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 the lifeless and corruptive remains of the strong 
 and the weak, the young, the vigorous, and the 
 beautiful, as well as of the old and decrepit ; or 
 hastily and promiscuously crowding them, as it 
 were, in one common vortex of death and silence. 
 
 W. S. F. 
 
 Norfolk, July, 1856. 
 
CONTENTS, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 The Pestilence — Its Severity and Fearful Ravages — The 
 Frightful work of Death-r-Burial of the Dead — Aid from 
 abroad — Sympathy for the Afflicted Cities .... 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Origin of the Fever — Different Theories — The Ben Frank- 
 lin — Healthfulness of Norfolk and Portsmouth — The first 
 Cases — False Assertions and Slanders — Condition of the 
 Infected Steamer — The Commencement and Progress of 
 the Disease 6 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Statements relative to the Steamer Ben Franklin — A great 
 Error and its Calamitous Results 12 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Additional facts with regard to the Infected Steamer' — The 
 Spread of the Fever — Some of the earliest Yictims — For- 
 mer Healthfulness of Norfolk and Portsmouth ... 22 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 Symptoms of the Yellow Fever — Remedies and Treatment 
 —Effects of the Malady— The Plague Fly ... . 29 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Norfolk before the Fever — General Appearance of the City 
 and its Vicinity — The Climate — Norfolk and Portsmouth 
 Harbor 34 
 
Vlll CONTEXTS. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 CHAPTER Til. 
 Commencement and Progress of the Fever in the City — 
 Barry's Row in Ruins — The flight of the Citizens — 
 Effects of the Scourge — Examples of true Benevolence and 
 Heroism 39 
 
 CHAPTER Till. 
 
 The Fever increasing — The Howard Association Organized 
 — The Scourge in Portsmouth — The Stampede — The 
 Town Deserted — The Panic — Intercourse with other 
 Places Prohibited — Inhosoitalitv towards the Afflicted 
 Cities — Noble conduct of the Citizens of Northampton — 
 Matthews and Princess Anne Counties — Fredericksburg 
 — Governor Wise invites the People to come over to his 
 Home in Accomac 46 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Miss Andrews arrives,, and offers her Services as Nurse for 
 the Sick — Arrival of Physicians and Nurses — The Dis- 
 ease rages awfully, and becomes Epidemic throughout 
 the City — Nature and Symptoms of the Disease — The 
 Howard Association of Norfolk, and the Relief Commit- 
 tee of Portsmouth— Frightful Mortality — Hasty Burial 
 of the Dead . . . 53 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Donations from Abroad— Officers of the Howard Associa- 
 tion—The Fury of the Scourge — The Hospital at Lam- 
 bert's Point — Dr. Wilson — True Heroism — Provisions 
 getting scarce— The Market— Description of the City at 
 Night — Incidents of the Pestilence — The Dying and the 
 
 t Dead . . . - 56 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 The Fever in Portsmouth— The Town before the Fever— 
 The Infected Tessel— The Weather— Help from Abroad 
 
CONTENTS. IX 
 
 PAGE 
 
 — Noble Conduct — The Transcript Office closes — Promi- 
 nent Laborers among; the Sick aud Dead — True Heroism 
 —The Navy Yard 63 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Address in behalf of the Orphans — The Physicians — The 
 Clergy — Commodore McKeever — Meeting of Physicians 
 — Resolutions — Letter from the acting Mayor — The U. S. 
 Naval Hospital — Death and Coffins — The Council of 
 Portsmouth — The Mayor of the Town ill of the 
 Fever 72 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The first Week in September — Fearful Mortality — Accumu- 
 lation of Corpses — Incidents of the Pestilence — Lamenta- 
 tion and Mourning — The Christian's Death-bed and Grave 
 — The rapid Work of Death and Burial — Promiscuous 
 Interment — Awful state of Affairs — The Putrefying 
 Corpses lie Unburied — Death doing his Work fearfully at 
 Night— The Roll of Death 80 
 
 CHAPTER XIY. 
 
 The lamentable Condition of the City — The Previous Hap- 
 py and Prosperous state of Affairs in N< rfolk and Ports- 
 mouth — Eloquent and Thrilling Descriptions of the 
 Scourge 91 
 
 CHAPTER XY. 
 
 Correspondence — The Fever still rages fearfully — Sad Evi- 
 dences of the Reign of the Pestilence — The Colored 
 People — Howard Association — Nature still Beautiful — 
 The Work of the Undertakers goes on rapidly — The Grave- 
 yards filling up — A Splendid Morning — The Harbor 
 Deserted — The Silence of the Church-bells — The Clergy 
 — The Sabbaths of the Pestilence — Burying in Pits — 
 Mistakes in Burying the Dead — Hasty Interments , . 101 
 
• CONTENTS. 
 
 * PAGS 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 A Day and Night of Beauty— The Death-Silence Disturbed 
 by the Roar of Cannon and the Toll of a Bell— Deserted 
 Mansions— Fury of the Fever— Lasting Eftects of the 
 Pestilence— Respected and Valuable Residents Falling- 
 Malignity of the Fever— Death of the President of the 
 Howard Association, the Postmaster, and others— Heart- 
 rending Scene— Reflections— The Disease rages still — Its 
 Deceptive and Mysterious Character— The Weather — 
 Returning Refugees— Danger of Breaking out again— 
 Death of a Minister — The Grave-digger 108 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 The Weather — Physicians and Nurses leaving — Regret — 
 The Victims — Alarm — The Disease Impartial — A Family 
 Swept off — The Orphans — The Fever Disappearing — 
 The Absent Citizens — Reflections — Weather — The Flight 
 — Some of the Victims — Progress of the Fever — A 
 Change — The City before the Scourge, etc 118 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Correspondence — The business of the Undertakers and 
 Grave-diggers — Nature beautiful — Mourning — Number 
 of Deaths diminishing — The Fever subsiding — The 
 change — Desolation — Symptoms of the Disease — Death 
 and Burial — Weather — Physicians and Nurses — A Night 
 in the Pestilence — Norfolk during the Scourge — The 
 Sick and the Dead — Incidents of the Pestilence — The 
 Victims — A Memorable Week — The Epidemic — Death's 
 fearful Work — The Weather and the Fever — Return of 
 Refugees — The Career of the Pestilence and its Victims 13-^ 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Correspondence — Decrease in the Number of Patients — The 
 Convalescents — The Weather — An aged Victim — Death 
 holding his Sway— The Refugees— The Destroying An- 
 gel—The Calamity— Death of a Minister— The Patients 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 PACK 
 
 Recovering — Stores Opening — The Vacuum — The Se- 
 verity of the Disease — The Grave-yards — Death of a 
 Printer — A Week of Suspense — The Physicians — The 
 Disease Disappearing — Reflections — The Scourge . . 14^ 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Miscellaneous Correspondence — Letter from T. G. Brough- 
 ton, Esq. — Removal of the Citizens — Generosity of Rich- 
 mond — Letter from Rev. T. Hume — The Rush for Food — 
 Increase of Deaths — Drs. Capri, Craycrou, Upshur, and 
 Crow — The supply of Coffins exhausted — Desolation and 
 Death — Josiah Wills — John Tunis — No Abatement of the 
 Disease — The Grave-digger — A beautiful Sabbath Morn- 
 ing — The Clergy suffering — The familiar "Work of Death 
 and Burial — The return of the Absent — Correspondence — 
 Acting Mayor of Norfolk, and F.H. Clack, Esq., of Mobile 157 
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 Sisters of Charity — Woman at the Bedside of the Sick, Dy- 
 ing, and Dead — The Period of Terror — A Procession 
 with forty Coffins — The Female Nurses — Capt. Boyd — 
 The Mayor and ex-Mayor — Reminiscence — A fearful re- 
 ality — Help from abroad — Baltimore, Richmond, etc. — 
 The Bay Line Company — Philadelphia and New York — 
 National Munificence— Liberality of New York — The 
 Epidemic — Alleviating circumstances — Acknowledgments 
 — Gratitude — Liberality of Philadelphia — F. Webster, jr. 
 — The Orphans — Statement of the Howard Association 
 —The Orphans— Richmond— Rev. D. P. Wills— The 
 little Ones Bereaved 169 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Incidents of the Pestilence — Strange Predictions and their 
 fulfillment — Happy Death of a pious young Man — Death 
 disarmed of his Sting — A thrilling scene during a Thun- 
 der-storm — Woman's Love and Devotion — Death pre- 
 vents a Matrimonial Alliance 187 
 
XU CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 • CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 An Afflicted Family — A Daughter's Devotion — Sudden 
 Death — An Infant Sufferer — A Minister's Son wrecked 
 by the Scourge — A frightful and pitiable object — Some 
 of the Victims— The Birds and the Pestilence — Bill, the 
 Cake-boy — The Fire-bells — The Gaslights and the Lamp- 
 lighter — The City at Night — Music in the Pestilence — A 
 fair Sufferer 192 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 The Southern Argus— A. F. Leonard, Esq.— Eloquent Sketch 
 of the Pestilence— The Grave-yards— The Buried— The 
 Bereaved — The remembered Horrors of the Scourge — 
 The quietly-sleeping Dead— Condition of the City— Day 
 and Night— Life and Activity returning— Words of En- 
 couragement—Prospects of Norfolk and Portsmouth 203 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 Mayor Woodis— William B. Ferguson 212 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Resident Clergy— Rev. William M. Jackson— Rev. An- 
 thony Dibrell 219 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 Rev. James Chisholm— Rev. Francis Devlin— Rev. Wm. 
 C. Bagnall — Rev. Vernon Eskridge — Rev. William 
 Jones 225 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 The Resident Physicians— Drs. Silvester— Higgins— Up- 
 shur— Constable— Selden .231 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 Drs. Halson, Nash, Briggs, Tunstall, Silvester, jr.. and the 
 resident Physicians of Portsmouth 243 
 
CONTENTS. X1U 
 
 PAGE 
 
 OHAPTEB XXX. 
 Visiting Physicians and Others — The Roll of Honor — Drs. 
 
 250 
 
 ; AFTER XXXI. 
 Mrs. "Baylor — Miss Herroii 259 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 Editors of the Beacon, Messrs. Cunning-ham, Gatewood, 
 Robertson, etc. — Wm. D. Roberts — His Will— Wm. D. 
 
 nv — True Heroism — Jas. H. Finch, and others . 264 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 Death of a true Hero — Spare them, God ! — The Cry 
 from Virginia — The Norfolk and Portsmouth Dead — 
 •h and the Church Bell — The Scourge and its Yictims 274 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIY. 
 
 Contagiousness and Portability of the Yellow Fever — Its 
 Origin — Type — Prevention — Cause — Epidemics at Night 
 — The Fever supposed by some to be Migratory . . 283 
 
 CHAPTER XXXY. 
 
 General Character of the Disease — Treatment — Different 
 Symptoms — Remedies — Lightning and Epidemics . 293 
 
 CHAPTER XXXYI. 
 
 The Yellow Fever in New York — The Fever in Philadel- 
 phia 306 
 
 CHAPTER XXXYII. 
 The Monument— Able Report 312 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE rESTILEXCE — ITS SEVERITY AND FEARFUL RAVAGES THE 
 
 RIGHTFUL WORE OF DEATH — BURIAL OF THE DEAD — AID FROM 
 ABROAD— SYMPATHY FOR THE AFFLICTED CITIES. 
 
 The mysterious, pestilential visitation with 
 which Norfolk and Portsmouth were afflicted in 
 1855, is justly classed among the severest and 
 terrible calamities that ever desolated any 
 community. It will be recorded upon the historic 
 page as the Great Pestilexce in Virginia. 
 They who witnessed and survived the fearful rava- 
 ges of the yellow fever during that awful season 
 of general consternation, sudden death, and hasty 
 burial, will ever look back to the period with 
 feelings of horror ; and they who fled precipitately 
 away from their loved, peaceful, and previously 
 happy and healthful homes, to avoid the hot and 
 envenomed pestilential breath that was breathed 
 into every room of every house, from the mer- 
 chant palace down to the humblest abode of the 
 sons and daughters of want and poverty, will 
 think of those days and nights of powerful excite- 
 
2 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 ment, inexpressible anxiety, deep grief, and ago- 
 nizing suspense, with the most painful emotions. 
 
 Insidiously coming upon the healthful, prosper- 
 ous, unsuspecting, and busy populace, like the 
 silent and stealthy march of an unwelcome and 
 blood-thirsty foe at the dead of night, the scourge 
 went forth, sternly, steadily, ruthlessly— gradually 
 increasing in violence, and cruelly working its 
 death-havoc, hour after hour, day after day, night 
 after night, week after week, and during the lapse 
 of more than three long and dreary months ! 
 
 Some idea of the destructiveness of this pesti- 
 lence may be formed by comparing it with the 
 great plague in London. In that plague, one in 
 seventeen died; here, one in three. 
 
 It is estimated that if the city of New York 
 should be visited by a plague as fatal, the deaths 
 would be twenty-five thousand a week, or a hun- 
 dred thousand a month, during the period of its 
 continuance!* 
 
 Thousands hurried away from the infected towns 
 
 ^Prom the frightful scenes of disease, wretchedness, 
 
 and woe — amazed and horror-struck at the ravages 
 
 of the unsparing agent of destruction. And many 
 
 * The great plague in London, in 1665, carried off 100,000 
 persons, 
 
HI8TOBY OF THE PESTILENCE. 3 
 
 escaped, though not a few of the unhappy reft? 
 dckened, and some of the strongest and best 
 were blasted by the tainting breath of the pesti- 
 lence they had inhaled at their own happy fire- 
 sides, and which poisoned their life-blood while in 
 their own quiet chambers ; and they found a grave, 
 among kind and sympathizing strangers, away 
 from their silent and deserted homes. 
 
 Families that left in one unbroken, fond, and 
 cherished circle, earnestly hoping to elude the 
 vigilance of the pursuer, were soon overtaken and 
 deprived of one or more of the most loved and 
 endeared members. The strongest link in the 
 golden chain of affection, that bound them in close 
 union and held inviolate the sacred family com- 
 pact, was suddenly severed, and fell, shivered to 
 the ground, and deep and festering wounds were 
 inflicted in many a true and trusting heart that 
 time cannot heal. 
 
 As the dreadful " scourge of the tropics" passed 
 along in its might and fury, in some instances 
 whole families were taken, and old and venerated 
 mansions were left, for months, as vacant and 
 silent as a mausoleum ; and strangers have filled 
 -ad vacuum. The stores were all closed, with 
 scarcely an exception ; business was entirely sus- 
 
4 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 pended, excepting the rapid traffic by the under- 
 takers and their assistants, in coffins, and the 
 hasty dealing out of medicines ; and weeds grew 
 in the deserted streets ; the piercing cries of dis- 
 tress and the groans of the dying were heard, 
 while the stern and solemn death-angel executed 
 his dread commission to crush down the people. 
 
 Many persons sought to avoid an attack of the 
 fever, by carrying about their persons camphor, 
 asafcetida, thieves' vinegar, etc. Numbers tried 
 tobacco, often chewing, and smoking almost con- 
 stantly. But nothing seemed to render the people 
 proof against its ravages. 
 
 The chill, the acute pain in the head and limbs, 
 the strange, sleepy, and drowsy feeling, the con- 
 tinuous burning fever, and sometimes the rapid 
 beat of the heart — these symptoms, or some of 
 them, came on, and, unless soon arrested and 
 checked, were, in a great number of cases, quickly 
 followed by delirium, the urinary suppression, and 
 the fatal black vomit; and then came the last 
 conflict of nature, the death-struggle itself, and 
 the final closing up of the life-scene. Then the 
 coffining, and, alas, at one period, the mere pro- 
 miscuous boxing up of the dead, the wagoning to 
 the grave-yards, the interment of the putrid and 
 
HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 5 
 
 offensive bodies — all, all went on dolefully and 
 rapidly. Indeed, at one time, there were not 
 enough of the living and well to take away the 
 dead.* 
 
 Those who were not ill, were, most of them, 
 busy at the bedside of their friends and relatives. 
 Of such, however, there were not enough; but, 
 fortunately, the necessary aid came from abroad — 
 from north, south, east, and west — for the great 
 heart of a mighty nation beat in powerful sympa- 
 thy for the two desolated cities of Virginia. 
 
 * •• The reader need scarcely be informed, that the yellow fever, 
 wherever it has assumed the epidemic form, has fully established 
 its claims to be classed among the most formidable diseases 
 to which the human body is liable. This is true, whether we 
 view it in reference to the changes it very generally occasions 
 in the domestic arrangements of a large portion of the exposed 
 population ; to the great sacrifices of interest and comfort it 
 entails on these — the necessary effects of the interruption or 
 cessation of commercial and other pursuits ; of the abandonment 
 of home, and of the sundering of ordinary ties and occupation — 
 to the perversion of the better feelings of our nature, to which 
 it too often gives rise : or to the immense loss of life it occasions, 
 as well, proportionately, to the amount of the population at 
 large as to the number of the sick. In this latter respect, no 
 disease, the black plague of the fifteenth century, and the Asiatic 
 cholera in our own days excepted, can compare with it." — Djr. 
 La Roche. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 OBIGIN OF THE FEYER DIFFERENT THEORIES THE BEN FRANK- 
 LIN— HEALTHFULNESS OF NORFOLK AND PORTSMOUTH THE FIRST 
 
 CASES FALSE ASSERTIONS AND SLANDERS CONDITION OF THE 
 
 INFECTED STEAMER THE COMMENCEMENT AND PROGRESS OF THE 
 
 DISEASE. 
 
 With regard to the cause or origin of the yel- 
 low fever in Norfolk and Portsmouth, there are, 
 of course, different opinions. Some contend that 
 the disease was of local origin ; some, that it was 
 imported and introduced by the ill-fated steamer 
 Ben Franklin ; while others regard it as a scourge, 
 or a pestilential visitation, specially sent by the 
 all wise and just Ruler, and which has been slowly 
 passing along the Atlantic coast, stopping at Pen- 
 sacola in 1853, and traveling thence northwardly, 
 sweeping off multitudes in Charleston and Savan* 
 nah in 1854, and traveling on, to desolate other 
 cities of the sea-board. 
 
 We think, to a careful observer, and especially 
 to one acquainted with the facts connected with 
 the question, that there can seem but little mystery 
 
HISTORY OP THE PK-TlI.r.NCE. 7 
 
 about the principal cause of the fever here as an 
 
 epidemic ; indeed, it plainly appears that the in- 
 fected ship was immediately instrumental in caus- 
 8 calamity so terrible and wide-spread, and a 
 destruction of human life so awful to contemplate. 
 Norfolk and Portsmouth had been remarkably 
 healthful for many years, and so continued until 
 the fever broke out in Gosport — properly the 
 southern portion of Portsmouth — and in the im- 
 mediate vicinity of the wharf at which the steamer 
 lay. The first case announced was that of one of 
 the workmen, a boiler-maker, employed on the 
 ship ; the first death announced, was that of the 
 same individual,* and the first twenty or thirty 
 cases occurred within a stone's throw of the vessel. 
 A great and persevering effort has been made to 
 prove that the disease had its origin here. But we 
 think this cannot be done ; we think it never will 
 be done. We are far beyond the latitude in which 
 
 * A distinguished physician, connected with the U. S. Navy, 
 equested to call and see the body of the first victim in Gos- 
 port, as the attending physician was in some doubt with regard 
 to the true nature of the case. He immediately pronounced the 
 disease of which the man died the genuine yellow fever. Closing 
 the nostrils and pressing the breast, as the corpse lay upon the 
 bed, the black vomit gushed copiously from the mouth, greatly 
 alarming some who were standing near. 
 
8 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 this tropical fever is produced to any great extent, 
 and where it rages so fearfully. It is a slander 
 upon the place to assert, that this disease, in all 
 its malignity, if in any form, originated in Nor- 
 folk, that the place is unhealthy, and its con- 
 dition such as to produce this awful disorder, 
 especially when the facts are such as to convince 
 every person whose prejudice can be overcome by 
 argument, and plain and truthful statements, that 
 the position taken is untenable, and almost entirely 
 without foundation. An able and judicious writer, 
 in reply to the misstatements of a resident of anoth- 
 er city, relative to the unheal thfumess of Norfolk, 
 uses the following proper and forcible language : 
 
 " When pigmy, fantastic man seeks to mingle his finite sulphur 
 with the roar of heaven's artillery — when an illy-disposed (or, we 
 would prefer the term, if we could conscientiously use • it, illy- 
 informed) writer seeks, as it were, to make God's work even 
 more destructive than it has been, in the scourged cities of Nor- 
 folk and Portsmouth, by throwing out false assertions and sur- 
 mises as to the general sanitary condition of these places, we 
 own no obligation to restrain the contempt and disgust which we 
 feel at such a course of infinitesimal enmity — and if our language, 
 in speaking of the circulated slanders, is measured by the bounds 
 of propriety, it is purely from respect to our readers and ourself. 
 
 " It is the testimony of men who know — observant physicians, 
 and others of experience — that Norfolk city (by which term we 
 do not design to exclude Portsmouth from the association) is 
 ordinarily one of the healthiest places in the world. 
 
 " Our city is frequently the chosen summer resort of persons 
 
history 01 the FSSTXLEHGB. 9 
 
 who live in unhealthy regions, who bring their families hither to 
 or maintain health.*' 
 
 The atmosphere, we admit, may have been in 
 such a condition as to act as a medium for the 
 dissemination of the concentrated poison dis- 
 charged from the sweltering hold of the filthy 
 ship, and the same, no doubt, might be said of the 
 air of almost any location in warm weather; but 
 it lacked this additional ingredient to render it so 
 destructive to health and life. As a magazine of 
 gunpowder is harmless and powerless without the 
 application of fire, so the air we breathed here 
 would, in all probability, have remained harmless, 
 if not generally healthful, had not the poisonous 
 bilge water been pumped out ; had not vent been 
 given to the life-destroying gases ; had not the 
 intolerable stench come forth from the capacious 
 hold of the ill-fated bark that brought disease be- 
 low her decks, and, no doubt, left the putrefying 
 dead in her wake, to sink down to a grave among 
 the seaweeds and ocean rocks, or, perchance, to 
 float upon the surging billows of the deep. Had 
 some sudden shift in the changing winds, ere she 
 entered our noble roadstead, or before she reached 
 the capes of Virginia, driven her into another port, 
 and had the same fatal error been committed, or a 
 
10 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 like inattention or leniency been allowed, in regard 
 to quarantine regulations, similar scenes of disease 
 and desolation would, doubtless, have taken place 
 elsewhere — a similar drama of death and • woe 
 would, probably, have been witnessed in some 
 other seaport city. But, for a reason known only 
 to Him who " discovereth deep things out of dark- 
 ness, and bringeth to light the shadow of death," 
 who "increaseth the nations to destroy them," 
 the ship was permitted, alas, to enter our waters, 
 approach our own peaceful and happy shores, and 
 the fearful scourge was allowed to desolate these 
 two hitherto highly-blessed and favored cities of 
 the Old Dominion.* 
 
 The malignant malady, as before intimated, 
 broke out in the immediate vicinity of the dock 
 at which the infected steamer lay, and thence it 
 spread through Gosport, soon reaching Portsmouth, 
 thence finding its way to Norfolk, and extending to 
 the furthest limits of the two towns. We may 
 
 * "While the ship was yet far out to sea, a consultation was 
 beld by the passengers, with regard to entering a port — the 
 choice being between Norfolk and Baltimore. The decision was 
 shown by the subsequent course of the vessel. The ship was 
 bound to ]S T ew York, and the captain preferred to keep her on 
 her course for that port, but yielded to the decision of a majority 
 of the passengers. 
 
HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 11 
 
 appropriately add here, that T. G. Broughton, 
 . the senior editor of the Herald, and Secretary 
 of the Board of Health, -stated in his paper, after 
 the fever broke out in Gosport, that the cases were 
 all " traceable to the steamer Ben Franklin." 
 
 "About fifteen cases," wrote Mr. B., " remain un- 
 der treatment. 
 
 " As yet the epidemic has been confined to the 
 vicinity of Page and Allen's ship-yard, which has 
 been boarded up and all communication with it 
 interdicted. We have not heard of any case, be- 
 yond this small infected district, which was not 
 contracted within it." 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 STATEMENTS EELATIVE TO THE STEAMER BEX FRANKLIN — A GREAT 
 ERROR AND ITS CALAMITOUS RESULTS. 
 
 We proceed to give some facts, and to adduce 
 some of the mass of testimony we could present 
 with special reference to the steamer Ben Frank- 
 lin, which we think will be read with some inter- 
 est by those who entertain doubts on the subject 
 of the origin and spread of the fatal epidemic. 
 
 We have been informed by an estimable and per- 
 fectly reliable gentleman, that the first engineer of 
 the Ben. Franklin stated that the yellow fever 
 was raging awfully at St. Thomas, when she left ; 
 that soon after she sailed therefrom, some of the 
 hands were taken sick of the disease, and that the 
 first and second engineers were compelled to act as 
 firemen as well as to work the engines of the steam- 
 er, owing to sickness among the crew. But we 
 are prepared to give more definite information on 
 the subject. 
 
 When the steam-ship arrived in our port (June 
 7th), while she lay at quarantine, and before she 
 
H1ST0&Y OF THE PESTILENGB. 13 
 
 was allowed to enter the inner harbor, and go up 
 to the wharf in G-osport, some work was being 
 done for the United States Government, at Fort 
 Norfolk, which is only a short distance from the 
 anchorage at which the ship lay. This we consider 
 a fortunate circumstance, in view of the import- 
 ant facts which it has enabled us to obtain with 
 regard to the true sanitary condition of the vessel. 
 The facts to which we allude, we have obtained 
 from individuals whose business required their pre- 
 sence at Fort Norfolk, and who had an oppor- 
 tunity of seeing enough of what was going on to 
 satisfy them and others that there were cases of 
 malignant fever on board. Our information was 
 obtained from Messrs. William Harper and Henry 
 Neavill, long and favorably known in Portsmouth, 
 as gentlemen of undoubted veracity ; also from 
 Mr. Henry Foreman, of Norfolk county ; and we 
 could, if necessary, add the concurrent testimony 
 of twenty more. 
 
 Mr. Harper and others went out to the ship for 
 the purpose of getting West India fruit, observing 
 quantities in a decayed state floating in the river, 
 and they were informed by some of the crew that 
 there were cases of the yellow fever on board , of 
 the most fatal type. On asking for the mate, they 
 
14 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 were told that lie was ill of the disease. A few 
 days after this, they noticed a coffin on the upper 
 deck, and distinctly saw some of the men remove 
 a corpse from a mattress, and put it in the coffin. 
 The mattress was immediately thrown overboard, 
 and it floated ashore at the old fort, while the 
 coffin and its contents were taken to the opposite 
 shore and buried. We learned from another respect- 
 ble source, that another corpse was taken from the 
 ship at night to the same location, and buried. At 
 about the same period the body of a man also float- 
 ed ashore, where it was secured with a cord and 
 covered with canvas, by some of the workmen, at 
 the fort. The face was greatly disfigured and mu- 
 tilated ; the handswere as yellow as an orange, and 
 the dress, as they supposed, that of a coal-heaver 
 or fireman. The inference at the time was, that 
 the corpse was that of one of the hands of the ship, 
 and that it had been thrown overboard (which is 
 doubtful, however); or that one of the men was 
 drowned in the effort to get to the shore. No 
 inquest was held, and the body was placed in a 
 rough coffin and buried at Fort Norfolk, by the 
 direction of Mr. Matthews, a Constable from Ports- 
 mouth. 
 
 Mr. Harper, who superintended some of the work 
 
ms'ivuY Of Tin: PESTlLENGfi. 15 
 
 at the fort, and a numbet of others employed 
 there, saw two men descend the side of the steamer, 
 jump into the water, and swim ashore. One of 
 them narrowly escaped drowning. On being 
 questioned as to the cause of their leaving the 
 ship thus hastily and periling their lives to get to 
 the shore, they replied that they preferred to take 
 the risk of losing their lives by drowning, to that 
 of dying of the fever which was prevailing on 
 board. 
 
 It is superfluous to state that Mr. Harper and 
 his companions were greatly surprised when they 
 saw the infected vessel making her way up to the 
 ship-yard, after the indisputable evidence which 
 they had, that her sanitary state was so dangerous. 
 Nor is it at all surprising that they should have 
 emphatically declared their belief as they did, 
 that a raging pestilence would be the fearful con- 
 sequence of the sad error that was committed. 
 
 That ill-omened ocean steamer, with the foul 
 stench of loathsome disease, floated slowly and 
 gloomy-looking, dark and ominous, up our deep 
 and quiet harbor, and, rounding the beautiful point 
 occupied by a portion of the opposite town, she 
 was secured at a wharf on the west side of the 
 southern branch of our river, at Gosport. Who 
 
16 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 but the omniscient Creator knew of the terrible 
 calamity that was soon to come upon the people? 
 How few, comparatively, supposed that she con- 
 tained the seeds of disease and death, to be scat- 
 tered in every street and lane and dwelling in the 
 two devoted towns; that the harmless air the 
 people breathed was about to act as a medium for 
 the dissemination of a poison as deadly as the 
 roaring and stifling simoom in the hot and gloomy 
 depths of benighted Africa, or that drifts the sands 
 of the sterile deserts of Arabia ! 
 
 The very name of that ocean steamer, though 
 sacred in the annals of our mighty republic, falls 
 sadly upon many an ear, and sends a thrill of 
 agony to many a heart ; and it will linger in the 
 minds of thousands in painful association with 
 the fever-scourge that rendered so desolate the two 
 adjacent cities of the Elizabeth. 
 
 After arriving at quarantine, the ship was visited 
 by Dr. R. H. Gordon, the City Health Officer, who 
 was informed by the captain that there was no case 
 of yellow fever on board. The steamer, however, 
 remained at quarantine twelve days, and on the 19th 
 of June, Dr. Gr., with the consent of the Board of 
 Health of Norfolk, and of some members of the Com- 
 mon Council of Portsmouth, yielded to the captain's 
 
niSTOKv or Tin: pestilenu:. 1*7 
 
 earnest solicitation, and granted him a permit to 
 bring his leaky ship up into the harbor, upon the 
 express condition, however, that "her hold was 
 not to be broken out." She was, accordingly, 
 taken up to Messrs. Page and Allen's ship- 
 yard, in Gosport, to be repaired ; and, sad to 
 say, the captain violated his promise in regard 
 to "breaking out the hold." As to his pre- 
 vious assertion that there was no case of fever 
 on board, the public will judge of its probable 
 truth or falsity, by his reckless disregard for his 
 promise, as well as by facts which we have already 
 given. 
 
 We will admit the possibility that we should 
 have escaped the frightful scenes that followed 
 this violation, had it never been committed ; for 
 the poison might have remained harmless, so long 
 as confined within the limits of the vessel's hold. 
 But it was, indeed, a great error in judgment, to 
 allow a ship to come to our wharves, with the 
 possibility that the seeds of a fearfully malignant 
 disease were generating beneath her planks, that 
 an air charged with death was confined in her 
 ample hold, and which, it was believed, it would 
 be hazardous in the extreme to permit to escape, 
 and infect the healthful air w T ith which this location 
 
18 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 was surrounded at the period mentioned. The 
 health of the two adjacent towns was remarkably- 
 good, up to the week in which the fever com- 
 menced its ravages in the immediate vicinity of 
 Page and Allen's dock-yard, where, by the way, 
 the business of ship-building was extensively con- 
 ducted, and with a suitable regard to the sanitary 
 condition of the location. But soon the extensive 
 ship-yard was vacant. The busy and stalwart 
 workmen fled hastily away before the poisoned 
 breath of the pestilence. One of the largest class 
 merchant ships remained unfinished upon the 
 stocks, deserted and still, and the massive timbers 
 lay untouched by the adze or the axe. The water 
 rippled playfully along the quiet shore; the 
 sudden flutter of the silvery perch, or the ominous 
 scream of the sea-gull, occasionally disturbed the 
 silence — the deep and painful silence that reigned 
 where the voice of busy laborers had been heard, 
 and where the noise of the saw and the hammer, 
 that now lay rusting and useless, had echoed during 
 all the long and tedious working hours of the 
 summer day. 
 
 The fearful consequences that followed, so dis- 
 astrous to the health, lives, happiness, and pros- 
 perity of the people, and so injurious to the business 
 
IIISTOKY OF Till: rKSTITT.NCE. 19 
 
 ami good name o\' the two towns, were plainly the 
 
 result oi' error, on the part of the authorities, in 
 allowing the ship, under all the circumstances, to 
 come up ; as well as of deception, and a gross viola- 
 tion of the engagement by the captain of the 
 steamer. We present not these facts for the pur- 
 of eliciting blame upon the course of those 
 immediately concerned. We are aiming at facts. 
 The truth should be known. All are liable to 
 mistake and deception, and many have innocently 
 erred in matters involving the highest interests of 
 individuals and communities, for time and eternity, 
 producing the most unexpected and startling re- 
 sults, and causing the deep heart-thrilling wail of 
 woe and despair to go forth from the profoundest 
 depths of maternal, widowed, and orphaned hearts, 
 wrung with unutterable anguish, bleeding from 
 wounds too deep to be healed, crushed and break- 
 ing beneath a weight of sorrow too intolerable, too 
 ponderous to be borne. 
 
 We will not speak, therefore, in unbecoming 
 terms of censure, with regard to the conduct of any 
 citizen. This would neither benefit the living, nor 
 the profoundly sleeping dead. Nay, verily, 
 this would not restore to the lone and disconsolate 
 widow the dear and cherished object of her heart's 
 
20 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 unfailing affection; nor call up from the dark, 
 damp, silent grave, and restore to weeping and 
 bereaved orphans, him or her who was their best 
 friend, the light and joy of the happy fireside, the 
 life and the soul of the united household ; to the 
 doating parent the son or the daughter of promise ; 
 to the busy mart its departed merchants of enter- 
 prise and skill ; to the white harvest-field its faith- 
 ful and devoted laborers; nor to science and art 
 the men of mind and learning that have passed 
 away. They are all resting now beneath the green 
 sod ; their eternal destiny is unalterably fixed ; 
 their work is done ; their earthly conflict has 
 ended ; the struggle with the " last enemy" is over, 
 .and we leave them in the hands of a merciful and 
 just Creator. 
 
 The force of the calamity has passed. The re- 
 sults and effects, it is true, are still seen and felt 
 on every hand, and the great and afflictive dispen- 
 sation will tell upon the destinies of many for time 
 and eternity. But it was allowed in unerring wis- 
 dom, by an all-wise Providence, and it, therefore, 
 becomes every person to bow in humble submission 
 to the decrees of the great I AM ; to learn a wise les- 
 son from the past, and to throw the mantle of charity 
 upon the acts, the blunders, the faults and failures 
 
n IS TORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 21 
 
 of those who will be judged impartially and finally 
 before the great throne of Eternal Justice, at the 
 Doming grand and supreme assize, from which there 
 will be no appeal. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ADDITIONAL FACTS WITH REGARD TO THE INFECTED STEAMER — 
 
 THE SPREAD OF THE FEVER SOME OF THE EARLIEST 
 
 VICTIMS FORMER HEALTHFULNESS OF NORFOLK AND PORTS- 
 MOUTH. 
 
 Shortly after the arrival of the steamer, the 
 Captain and the man acting as chief engineer 
 called on Mr. Davids of the Atlantic Iron Works, 
 of this city — a gentleman of most undoubted vera- 
 city and good character, from whom we obtain 
 the following facts — -.to repair the engine of the 
 steamer, and he promised to go on board the next 
 day. Accordingly, Mr. Pettit, the foreman of the 
 works, went down to Town Point to engage a boat 
 in which to visit the ship. Here he learned facts 
 that led to further and very definite and import- 
 ant information about the sanitary condition of 
 the vessel, which information we would give, if we 
 thought it necessary to strengthen the position we 
 have taken. 
 
 On the following day, Mr. Davids informed the 
 captain and engineer that he would not undertake 
 to repair the ship, unless he would have her 
 thoroughly cleansed and fumigated. Kotwith- 
 
lllM.u:v 09 nir. PE8TILEN0B. 23 
 
 standing all this, and although it was generally 
 understood that there was yellow lover on board, 
 
 and after the Tact had been emphatically stated by 
 those who had every necessary means of knowing 
 the true state of the vessel, two days after the 
 period above alluded to, as before shown, she was 
 most unfortunately allowed to go up to the ship- 
 vard at Gosport — a sad mistake indeed ! Mr. 
 Davids, with his foreman, however, ventured on 
 board, at the wharf, and immediately thereafter 
 informed some of the citizens of Portsmouth, 
 among whom were Mr. Samuel Brewer and Mr. 
 Wm. H. Morris, and also a number of persons in 
 this city, that there was yellow- fever on board the 
 vessel, and that, if allowed to remain, in a few 
 weeks the inhabitants would be driven away by a 
 pestilence. Alas ! she did remain, her hold was 
 broken open, her hatches removed, her intensely 
 offensive bilge water was pumped out, and the 
 wholesale work of death commenced. And such 
 would probably have been the result in 1854, had 
 the infected French steamer Chimere* been allow- 
 
 * The French steamer Chimere arrived at quarantine in July, 
 with fever on board, and fifty-four cases were sent to the 
 Naval Hospital. Fourteen died — eleven with the black vomit, 
 and three from the effects of the disease. 
 
24 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 ed to come up into our harbor, when the authori- 
 ties were urged to give their consent. Some of the 
 citizens manifested the deepest concern upon the 
 subject, before the vessel went up to the ship- 
 yard. Among these was a gentleman of high 
 standing, who emphatically declared his belief 
 that, if the vessel were not rigidly kept at quaran- 
 tine, and prevented from coming to our wharves, 
 the consequences would be awful in the ex- 
 treme — as, indeed, they proved to be. But what 
 need have we to multiply testimony, or further 
 facts, tending, to throw light upon the true merits 
 of the case ? The terribly malignant visitation is 
 regarded as a scourge of the all-wise Creator, and 
 so it may be ; but who can doubt, that as in Phila- 
 delphia, in 1793, as shown by Mr. Carey, who 
 carefully observed and faithfully described the 
 origin and progress of the fever there, the disease 
 was brought and introduced by a foreign vessel, 
 and that this was at least the chief instrumentality 
 that caused so fearful and crushing a calamity ? 
 Soon after the fever made its appearance 
 
 The United States Frigate Columbia arrived at quarantine 
 March 19th, 1855, with yellow fever on board. Sixty-three cases 
 were sent to the United States Naval Hospital, and only five died. 
 
 A ship may be infected sufficiently to spread the fever, and 
 the crew, from acclimation, etc., may be free from disease. 
 
H8T0BY OF THE PES tilkxCE. 25 
 
 in the immediate aeighborhood of the dock at 
 which the vessel lay, it extended, as before men- 
 tioned, to the heart of Portsmouth, lying north of 
 the locution where it first appeared; and thence 
 it found its way to Norfolk. It is well enough 
 known, that a number of persons in Gosport 
 sought refuge in Barry's Row, in Norfolk, com- 
 ing over, especially in the night, both sick and 
 well, with their furniture, including, of course, 
 beds, mattresses, carpets, clothing, etc. The dis- 
 . in Norfolk, seemed to be confined almost 
 entirely to the occupants of the above-named row, 
 situated on the east side of Church street, between 
 Union and Wide Water, until about the close of 
 the first week in August ; then it gradually made 
 its way along Wide Water, Union, Main, and other 
 streets, with a mortality seldom if ever known 
 during the fiercest raging of epidemics in other 
 cities and in other countries. The weather here 
 was very warm in the latter part of June, con- 
 tinued so in July, and in August the air was 
 damp, close, hot, and disagreeable. In Septem- 
 ber it was more cool, but damp. 
 
 Mr. A. J. McFadden, a clerk at the Gosport 
 Iron Works, situated very, near Page & Allen's 
 2 
 
26 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 ship-yard, was among the first who took the 
 fever, after the ship went up, and he soon died. 
 
 Mr. Eobert W. Warren, who was clerk for 
 Page & Allen, though residing in Norf^k, was 
 attacked on Wednesday, 25th July, and died Sat- 
 urday night following, having been among the 
 earliest victims, and very probably the first who 
 died in Norfolk, excepting some of the hapless 
 occupants of Barry's Row. The writer was in- 
 formed by the attending physician, that the symp- 
 toms were precisely like those in other severe 
 cases that occurred subsequently. 
 
 It is sufficiently evident that there was no 
 known case of yellow fever in Norfolk or Ports- 
 mouth in 1855, before the infected ship passed up 
 between the two towns on her way to the ship- 
 yard at Gosport. 
 
 Now, it is true that no one can tell certainly 
 and positively, whether or not . the fever would 
 have made its appearance without the addition to 
 the atmosphere of the noxious effluvia dispensed 
 from the steamer. This, as before intimated, may 
 have been only requisite to increase the malignity 
 of the epidemic, and the extent of the fearful 
 calamity to its almost unequaled severity. But 
 we think we have shown that the circumstances, 
 
HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 27 
 
 the well authenticated facts bearing upon the sub- 
 ject, plainly, unequivocally, undeniably, all tend 
 to lead reasonable, unprejudiced, and unbiased 
 minds to a different, conclusion. 
 
 It seems needless to attempt further to strength- 
 en or defend our position. But we will add yet 
 other links to the chain of evidence. The Health 
 Officer's monthly bill of mortality for July showed 
 the number of deaths, from various diseases, to 
 have been fifty-three in all, thirty of whom were 
 children, mostly of tender age. In July of the 
 preceding year, the number was seventy, exhibit- 
 ing a decrease in 1855 of over twenty per cent. ; 
 thus confirming our statement that Norfolk was 
 healthful until the spread of the disease from the 
 vessel. 
 
 Thomas Gr. Broughton, Esq., editor of the Nor- 
 folk and Portsmouth Herald, made the following 
 statement in his paper, late in July : 
 
 " "We can say truly that, at no period within our memory, has 
 Norfolk been, more healthy than it is at this time. Our own 
 experience, and the numerous assurances of our friends and fel- 
 low-citizens whom we daily meet " about town," justify us in 
 pronouncing that opinion ; and what is still more conclusive, 
 such is the opinion of all the practicing physicians in the city." 
 
 Nor was the good opinion of the health of the 
 place changed until after the removals from Gos- 
 
28 HISTOKY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 port and Portsmouth to Barry's Row, where the 
 disease commenced, and whence it gradually spread 
 in every direction ; no case, however, having been 
 reported out of this row, or its immediate vicinity, 
 or that was not traceable to Gosport, until the 7 th 
 of August. 
 
 Let it be remembered that with the same sani- 
 tary laws and regulations, with similar weather, 
 and, indeed, with far greater apparent local cause 
 of sickness, Norfolk and Portsmouth had long been 
 uniformly healthful; the bills of mortality com- 
 paring very favorably with those of other places, 
 known and acknowledged to be exceedingly free 
 from epidemic maladies, and fully entitled to their 
 claim to salubrity of climate. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 SYMPTOMS OF THE YELLOW FKVER — REMEDIES AND TREATMENT- 
 EFFECTS OF THE MALADY — THE PLAGUE FLY. 
 
 The symptoms of the disease were, generally, as 
 follow, and persons were affected in various ways: 
 
 Very frequently the premonitory symptom was 
 an unpleasant feeling in the fore part of the head, 
 which, in severe cases, often increased to a violent 
 headache. The eyes assumed a strange and unna- 
 tural expression, sometimes presenting a reddish 
 color, but, in many instances, deeply tinged with 
 yellow. A dull, heavy, and sleepy feeling fre- 
 quently came over the patient, and was often 
 manifested, to some extent, for several days before 
 more alarming symptoms were exhibited. Many 
 were attacked with a chill, which was followed by 
 loss of appetite, debility, and very severe pain in 
 the limbs, back, and bowels, although in some 
 cases the pains were comparatively slight. When 
 the malady did not yield to treatment, there was 
 often a great oppression about the breast. The 
 tongue was generally furred white or brown, with a 
 watery, red appearance around it. Suppression of 
 urine and urethral haemorrhage were much dreaded, 
 and were generally fatal symptoms ; for delirium 
 
30 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 soon followed, and death was the almost unevita- 
 ble result. The black vomit, as is well known, 
 was also a common and, generally, though not in all 
 cases, a fatal symptom.* Many of the victims suf- 
 fered from copious haemorrhage from the mouth 
 and nose, the blood generally possessing its natural 
 color, or showing but little variation therefrom. 
 The bleeding of the gums often occurred also. A 
 number of those attacked were dreadfully afflicted 
 with boils and carbuncles, from which blood was 
 freely discharged. They appeared upon the face, 
 the hands, arms, and on various parts of the body. 
 As to the remedies, calomel and quinine were 
 freely administered to many of the patients, and 
 poultices were freely applied, before the nature 
 of the disease was understood. The use of strong 
 remedies was almost entirely discontinued, after 
 a greater knowledge of the epidemic had been 
 acquired. Castor oil, and other mild purgatives, lem- 
 onade, ice-water, sponging the surface with water 
 and vinegar, warm applications to the chest, bath- 
 ing the feet in warm water, with mustard plenti- 
 
 * The black vomit is a rapid exudation from the smaller blood- 
 vessels, indicating the presence of an active poison in the sys- 
 tem — the color not entirely black, but, more properly, a very 
 dark brown. 
 
history of Tin: pestilence. 31 
 
 fully thrown in, nibbing with mustard, keeping the 
 patient moderately warm, and good nursing as ad- 
 vised especially by physicians from the South, had 
 a much more salutary effect than all or any of the 
 remedies and means used in the treatment of those 
 who were attacked before the nature of the disease 
 was understood by the resident physicians.* 
 
 The fever often tended to prostrate the patient 
 at once, depriving him of strength and vigor ; and 
 the strong doses of medicine that were given, hav- 
 ing a similar effect upon the system, the sufferer 
 was soon so exceedingly debilitated, that it was im- 
 possible to rally, and death quickly ensued, although 
 the sufferer might retain strength enough to walk 
 almost till" the moment of his death. Besides, in 
 many cases, fear exerted its power, and then the 
 patient sank rapidly, notwithstanding the most 
 skillful course of treatment, and the most careful 
 nursing. When the fever-patient became alarmed, 
 the chance of recovery was greatly lessened. They 
 
 * Mr. E. Summers-, recently Mayor of Norfolk, rendered him- 
 self useful during the epidemic, and was very successful, by means 
 of simple remedies and good nursing, in his efforts to arrest the 
 progress of the disease in a number of cases. But in thousands 
 of instances no treatment succeeded, and, generally, in five or six 
 days the earthly career of the patient closed, although many 
 terminated fatally in forty-eight hours, and a number in a 
 still shorter space of time. 
 
32 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 who were most calm and fearless, whose remedies 
 were mild, and who were judiciously nursed, were 
 far more likely to survive an attack of the disease. 
 A number of those who were ill, and measurably 
 recovered, owing to exposure, or imprudence of 
 some kind, were attacked a second, and some even 
 a third time. These subsequent attacks were gene- 
 rally called relapses, and, in many cases, the pa- 
 tients died soon after a return of the symptoms. 
 This disease was, no doubt, the endemic fever of 
 southern latitudes, and prevalent, though more or 
 less violent, especially in the West Indies, along 
 the coast of South America, etc. It can be readily 
 transported in vessels, and thus it may become 
 epidemic in places generally Jiealthful. 
 
 The tendency to putridity and mortification, in 
 severe cases, was also observed, and was, of course, 
 deemed a fatal symptom, and the rapid decom- 
 position of the body after death was regarded as 
 a singular effect of this fearful tropical fever. In 
 most instances, as is well known, the body assumed 
 a yellow color, and many who survived an attack 
 were yellow for weeks after the dreaded crisis of 
 the fever had passed, and they were considered 
 nearly out of danger. 
 
 With regard to the appearance of an insect 
 
HIBTOm OP THE PESTILENCE. 33 
 
 called the plague-fly, not observable here prior to 
 the breaking out of the fever, much has been said 
 ami written. The writer noticed large numbers 
 of the singular species of fly alluded to. In size, 
 they were smaller than the common house-fly. The 
 wings were longer, but narrower, and the color of 
 the body yellowish, often approaching a light red. 
 They appeared in great quantities on the fig-trees, 
 though swarming in damp and filthy places. 
 Whether or not they were ever seen here before, 
 or were in any way connected with the pestilence, 
 we are not prepared to say. 
 2* 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 NORFOLK BEFORE THE FEVER— GENERAL APPEARANCE OF THE CITY 
 
 AND ITS VICINITY THE CLIMATE NORFOLK AND PORTSMOUTH 
 
 HARBOR. 
 
 Before attempting a more full and particular 
 account of the progress of the yellow fever, we 
 present a description of the city of Norfolk, and of 
 its general appearance prior to the commencement 
 of the terrible visitation to which we have already 
 alluded. 
 
 Imagine yourself, reader, standing at the pleas- 
 ing elevation of 120 feet, looking out from the 
 massive cupola of the City Hall upon a charming and 
 exciting panorama, tastefully spread around in every 
 direction by the hand of nature and art. You learn, 
 by the shifting vane glistening on yon towering 
 spire, that the changing wind has veered to north- 
 west. It is a gentle, exhilarating breeze. And 
 now the old church clock is slowly tolling off the 
 busy hour of ten. Beneath are the massive propor- 
 tions of the principal public building, standing 
 firmly and proudly on its solid base, while all 
 around, the deep green sward relieves the eye. 
 
histoky ov THE PESTILENCE. 35 
 
 There is much interesl and beauty in the view 
 Stretching our Hence through the city, and extend- 
 ing for miles in the distance. The brilliant rays 
 of the summer's sun gleam down upon the land 
 with its houses, its green-clad trees, its blooming 
 flowers, while the spacious river reflects his 
 beams like a great mammoth mirror ; and light, 
 fleecy clouds stand leisurely above the western 
 horizon. 
 
 The beholder is struck with the apparent near- 
 of objects, as he looks out from this altitude, 
 and casts his eye down upon them with surprise, 
 at the singular distinctness with which they stand 
 out to view. There is in every direction an ap- 
 pearance of neatness, convenience, and comfort. 
 In a word, Norfolk thus beheld, imparts an idea of 
 pleasantness and salubrity, at once cheering and 
 satisfactory. Perhaps the most exciting scene is 
 in the direction of about south by west ; the busy 
 populace, the towering edifices closely huddled 
 together ; the sister town of Portsmouth, with its 
 neat buildings, just across the water, and stretch- 
 ing along the banks of the southern branch of the 
 river — a deep and handsome stream, which floats 
 in her majesty the great ship Pennsylvania, and 
 other great war vessels — and then winds along by 
 
36 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 the United States Navy Yard, and conceals itself 
 among the dense foliage on either side. 
 
 Not the least interesting object is the Seaboard 
 Road, which, strange as it may seem, is distinctly 
 marked out upon the landscape, standing to view 
 for miles in a straight line to Bower's Hill. It is 
 remarkable, too, that with no such intention, but 
 by mere accident entirely, the City Hall should be 
 so situated as that its ample cupola can be plainly 
 seen down upon this perfectly straight stretch 
 of eight miles. Looking at the road from this 
 height, it appears to rise gradually, until at the 
 furthest visible point, it seems to attain an eleva- 
 tion of several degrees. But yonder looms nobly 
 up the Naval Hospital — massive, chaste, and beau- 
 tiful ; further on westward the Western Branch 
 commences, but soon recedes from the sight. We 
 take in view now the spacious surface of the deep 
 and placid Elizabeth, floating upon its ample bosom 
 numerous merchant vessels and fishing-boats, mov- 
 ing gently along before the breeze. How clearly 
 does old Craney Island appear to rise up, as it 
 were, from its watery bed in the distance, justly 
 celebrated for its well-fought and victorious battle 
 in 1813. And now we lessen the sweep of vision, 
 taking in old Fort Norfolk, and several neat farms. 
 
DBTORI OF THE rrs rn.r.NCE. 37 
 
 We take now a still loss extended glance, and 
 indulge in a general view of the city, of which 
 there are four prominent points that seem to ex- 
 tend out from the centre in different directions — 
 Town Point, Smith's, Briggs', and the space reach- 
 in v: from the eastern portion of Wide Water to 
 Bermuda street, while thousands of buildings ex- 
 tend out from the river, northwards, presenting an 
 aspect both beautiful and attractive. Trees and 
 flowers are closely intermingled, while carefully 
 cultivated gardens stand profusely out upon the 
 picture, and please the eye. Some twenty pub- 
 lic buildings lift up their ample dimensions, and 
 give an air of importance to the scene. A dozen 
 churches — some of them very beautiful — occupy 
 the most prominent position, and many handsome 
 and commodious family residences strike the eye 
 and please the taste. In a northwesterly direction, 
 a dense growth of forest trees forms the back ground 
 of the scenery, but at one point the outline gently 
 depressing, the smooth, shining surface of the 
 river again appears, as it meanders on towards the 
 roads. 
 
 We have said nothing of the Eastern Branch of 
 the river, which winds on its serpentine course in 
 the distance, with the smiling corn-fields, dense 
 
38 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 green foliage, and neat farm-houses, on its beauti- 
 ful and gently sloping banks. 
 
 Of the climate and harbor of Norfolk, Lieut. 
 Maury, U. S. N., than whom there is scarcely a 
 better judge, gives the following graphic and 
 truthful description : 
 
 "Its climate is delightful. Its harbor is commodious, and 
 as safe as safe can be. It is never blocked up with ice, and 
 as to the egress and ingress between it and the sea, it possesses 
 all the facilities that the mariner himself could desire. It has 
 the double advantage of an outer and inner harbor. The inner 
 harbor is almost as smooth as a mill-pond ; in it, vessels lie with 
 the most perfect security, where every natural facility imaginable 
 is afforded for lading and unlading. Being ready for sea, the 
 outward-bound trader, dropping down from this snug mooring, 
 and approaching the sea, finds a storm raging from outside. 
 The outer harbor then affords shelter, until the fury of the gale 
 is spent, when the white winged messenger trips her anchor, 
 trims to the breeze, and goes forth rejoicing on her way to the 
 haven where she would be." 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 commencement and progress of the fever in the city — 
 Barry's row in ruins — the flight of the citizens — 
 effects of the scourge — examples of true benevolence 
 and heroism. 
 
 Before the close of July, the disease had 
 spread from Gosport to Portsmouth, and on the 
 of that month it was officially announced 
 that there had been several cases in Barry's Row, 
 and four deaths. On the 2nd of August there had 
 been but seven deaths in the city, from the fever ; 
 and on the 3rd no new cases were reported, and 
 the epidemic seemed to be rapidly disappearing. 
 
 On the 7th of August, one case was reported 
 out of the infected district, and the citizens began 
 to be greatly concerned upon the subject.' 
 
 On the evening of the 9th, Barry's Row was 
 set on fire and destroyed, and this encouraged the 
 people to hope that the fatal disease would sub- 
 side entirely with the flames that fed upon the 
 wood- work, and cleared away the filth of those 
 tottering old buildings. 
 
 But they were sadly mistaken. The epidemic 
 
40 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 now spread rapidly, and the citizens began to 
 hasten away. Soon it appeared on Main Street. 
 Several estimable citizens were attacked, and in 
 three or four days were dead and buried ; and 
 about the 10th, the great flight commenced. 
 
 So general and precipitate a flight as that which 
 took place then, we never expected to witness. 
 The thought of disease and sudden death, the 
 knowledge of an existing pestilence, we know are 
 appalling to sinful man, and an instinctive love of 
 health and life naturally hurries him away beyond 
 the limits of the destroying agent, to a purer 
 atmosphere and a healthier clime. The strong 
 man in his prime dreads the presence of an air 
 that poisons the life-blood and kills in a day ; and 
 even the sincere Christian feels solemn when 
 he reflects upon so sad a visitation from the 
 great Being in whom he trusts and whom he 
 loves. 
 
 We censure no one individually ; we merely 
 mention the occurrence as an historical fact. But 
 the question was very naturally asked : Should 
 Christians fly, too, from the danger, at the very 
 time when their presence is most required ? — 
 when their words of advice, instruction, and com- 
 fort are so necessary ? — when nursing and watch- 
 
IUSTOKY OF THE PESTILENCE. 41 
 
 log are so much needed ? " I was sick, and ye 
 ed me not.'' 
 Surely, if there over was a time when the true 
 disciples of Christ should be active and in the line 
 of their duty in Norfolk, that was the time ; for, 
 verily, " the pestilence walked in darkness and 
 destruction wasted at noonday." Friends, neigh- 
 bors, and acquaintances were prostrated by dis- 
 ease — burning with fever, and tortured with 
 pains, and Death was fearfully at work ; and how 
 important the soothing words of the Christian at 
 such a time ! There seemed a deep meaning in 
 the course pursued by some, especially to the 
 irreligious who remained and manfully battled 
 with the fury of the death-dealing messenger ; 
 and to those who felt it to be a sacred duty to 
 remain and assist in the humane work of nursing 
 the sick ; contributing to the wants of the needy 
 and the suffering ; consoling the dying ; shroud- 
 ing and burying the dead, and guarding the 
 property and lives of the people. Nearly all, 
 indeed, who remained, personally felt the crush- 
 ing power of the fierce destroyer; and, alas, many 
 found a hasty and premature grave — dying like 
 true men at their posts, as brave soldiers upon the 
 contested field. Honored be their graves ! 
 
42 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 " A stampede has taken place among us," wrote 
 one who remained at the post of duty. "Our city- 
 looks deserted. Thousands of people have fled. 
 Panic has prevailed over the better judgment of 
 our citizens ; and business is almost entirely sus- 
 pended. 
 
 " The circumstance of persons who can afford 
 to travel, leaving their homes during the later 
 months of summer, is of itself nothing ; but when 
 the sick are neglected, and death is induced by 
 such neglect, the privilege of self-preservation is 
 carried beyond all necessary rule." 
 
 God's -chastening hand was upon the people. 
 The cries of distress were heard ; widows and 
 orphans were multiplied ; the wail of woe came 
 out dolefully from the abodes of disease, poverty, 
 and wretchedness, and died away upon the pes- 
 tilent night-wind ; and of suffering, want, and 
 misery, there was more than we can tell. It was 
 indeed a sad and gloomy period ; and how much 
 the calamity was increased in its intensity by the 
 absence of religious friends, and the deprivation 
 of their attention, consolatory instruction, coun- 
 sel, and prayers, in the rooms where death claimed 
 and seized his victims, many of whom died from 
 neglect, we leave to the imagination of those who 
 
history or Tin: it.stilexce. »• 43 
 
 BOUght and enjoyed a more salubrious climate and 
 l Less dangerous Location. If conscience acquits 
 them, perhaps no person should blame them. Let 
 all, therefore, who are disposed to censure, cease 
 from henceforth. 
 
 The indomitable and great-hearted Luther, 
 when the plague broke out in Wittemburg, in 
 1516, 1-527, and 1535, inspired by the true courage 
 which faith in Christ alone can give, fearlessly- 
 looked death in the face, in its most terrible guise. 
 Three times he remained in the midst of the dan- 
 ger, though earnestly urged to fly. " I hope," said 
 he, u the w r orld may stand, though Martin Luther 
 fall. Here I must remain ; I do not say this be- 
 cause I do not fear death — for I am not the Apostle 
 Paul, but only his commentator — but I trust God 
 will protect me from all my fears." When the 
 greater number of the inhabitants had left, he 
 said : " We are not alone; Christ and your prayers 
 arc with us ; also the holy angels, invisible, but power- 
 ful ! Let every one dispose his mind this way, if 
 he be bound to remain and assist his fellow-men in 
 their death-struggles, let him resign himself to God 
 and say, ' Lord, I am in thy hands; thou hast fixed 
 me here ; thy will be done.' " "He administers the 
 last consolations of religion to dying women in the 
 
44 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 infected room ; and the different degrees of the fear 
 of death stalk along as a never-ending funeral 
 train." 
 
 But take another example, one in which, perhaps, 
 the power of Christian faith and love was not the 
 moving cause. In 1793, when the yellow fever 
 raged awfully in Philadelphia, Stephen Girard, the 
 merchant with more than princely wealth, offered 
 himself as a manager to superintend a hospital ; 
 and there he encouraged the sick, handed them 
 medicine, wiped the sweat from their sallow brows, 
 and performed even many disgusting offices of kind- 
 ness for them, " which nothing could render toler- 
 able but the exalted motive that impelled him to 
 this heroic conduct." 
 
 We heard a minister, who did not prove re- 
 creant to the high and holy duties of his office, 
 and who went willingly to the abodes of woe 
 and death, say, that he found a woman soon after 
 the commencement of the scourge, whose husband 
 had just died of the fever. She, too, was attacked, 
 and no one was there to nurse and comfort her. 
 He looked out, and the neighbors had all gone — 
 their doors and windows were closed. " Here," 
 said she, " I must lie, and die alone." And there 
 was a boy with the black vomit, and no one but his 
 
history OF THE PESTILENCE. US 
 
 little sister to attend him, during the slow and 
 sad hours of along night of pain and sorrow. 
 
 But many noble souls and great hearts remained, 
 and their recompense will be great. They shrank 
 not from their duty. They breathed the deadly 
 breath of the pestilence ; they visited the sick 
 and the dying, and whispered sweet words of faith 
 and consolation in the ears of the sufferers, whose 
 thanks, and prayers, and blessings, will be remem- 
 bered in time and eternity ; and the faithful sol- 
 diers of the Cross who fell while doing their duty 
 when most needed, fell gloriously, and their reward 
 is unspeakable and eternal. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE FEVER INCREASING — THE HOWARD ASSOCIATION ORGAN- 
 IZED — THE SCOURGE IN PORTSMOUTH — THE STAMPEDE — 
 THE TOWN DESERTED — THE PANIC — INTERCOURSE WITH 
 OTHER PLACES PROHIBITED — INHOSPITALITY TOWARDS 
 THE AFFLICTED CITIES — NOBLE CONDUCT OF THE CITIZENS 
 OF NORTHAMPTON — MATTHEWS AND PRINCESS ANNE COUN- 
 TIES— FREDERICKSBURG — GOVERNOR WISE INVITES THE 
 PEOPLE TO COME OVER TO HIS HOME IN ACCOMAC 
 
 On the 10th, the report of the Board of Health 
 showed an increase of new cases, but all were 
 traced to Barry's Row, and the deaths, with one ex- 
 ception, were of persons removed therefrom. This 
 is confirmed by the statement of the Secretary of 
 the Board of Health, made at that time. 
 
 At this date, a meeting of some of the citizens 
 was held, and a society was formed and called the 
 Howard Association. Its chief objects were to 
 procure and furnish a hospital, to provide for and 
 relieve the sick, and bury the dead. William B. 
 Ferguson was elected President ; J. I. Bloodgood, 
 Vice-President ; James A. Saunders, Secretary ; and 
 R. W. Bowden, Treasurer. Several thousand dol- 
 
IIISTOKY OF Tin: PESTILENCE* 47 
 
 lars were immediately subscribed by the citizens; 
 but the Association was not fully organized for 
 several weeks. 
 " The disease,' 1 wrote a gentleman in Portsmouth, 
 •onfined to no locality, but, in my opinion, ex- 
 tends to every part of the town. When taken into 
 connection with the morality, the in frequency of 
 the disease, our bad state of preparation to meet it, 
 the alarm it has created, and the immense numbers 
 who have fled, I question if any community has 
 been more badly scourged and afflicted. The whole 
 surrounding country is overrun — private houses, 
 barns, kitchens, schoolhouses, churches, tents,cabins 
 and other kinds of shelter, are all crammed. 
 
 " I greatly apprehend that when the mortality 
 of those who have fled and those remaining, shall 
 be correctly summed up, it will be found far greater 
 among the former than the latter. The emigration 
 has left us a deserted town — entire streets have only 
 one or two families remaining, districts are depo- 
 pulated, hotels and stores closed, business suspend- 
 ed, and society disrupted. Poor Portsmouth ! She 
 presents a sad and desolate appearance, and some 
 time must elapse before she can recover from the 
 severe shock that has prostrated her." 
 
 The panic at home and abroad had now amounted 
 
48 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 almost to a mania. The fever of 1821 and 182G, 
 and the cholera of 1S32 caused an alarming mor- 
 tality; but on neither occasion was the panic com- 
 parable to what it was in August, 1855. 
 
 " On neither of those occasions," wrote the edit- 
 or of the Herald, "was our intercourse w T ith other 
 towns interdicted. The James river and Bay boats 
 ran without restrictions, and even the New York 
 packets w r ere subjected to nothing more than a 
 brief examination. Contrast this with the stop- 
 page of all intercourse with Old Point, Hampton, 
 the James river towns, Suffolk, Weldon, Elizabeth 
 City, Edenton, etc., and then say whether the re- 
 sult shows a march, or a retrograde of intellect." 
 
 "We have been treated," said the editor of the 
 Argus, "with an inhospitality heretofore unknown 
 in Virginia, in having almost every outlet from the 
 place barricaded against us. Our citizens, who have 
 gone to other retreats for safety (though free from 
 disease themselves), have been, in many instances, 
 inhumanly thrust back upon our borders. Our 
 soldiers have been ordered to arm against the dis- 
 eased and the afflicted. Our legitimate trade has 
 been rudely interdicted. Our supplies of things, 
 even needful for our daily uses, have been reck- 
 lessly stopped. The mandates of Christianity have 
 
HISTORY or THE PESTILENCE, 1> 
 
 been suspended by a sort of general outside con- 
 sent, and we have been penned up, for aught that 
 our neighbors (with a few Bplendid exceptions), 
 have manifested, to die and rot! 
 
 "But in these days of depression, loneliness, and 
 sorrow, occasioned by prevailing disease, mortality 
 and desertion, the following resolutions from 'the 
 sea-girt isle 1 come across our spirit like a breath 
 from Paradise — redeeming, vivifying! We could 
 luccj) for very gratitude :" 
 
 " At a meeting of a large portion of the citizens 
 of Northampton County, held at the Court-house 
 on Monday, the 13th inst., Dr. Thomas F. Spady 
 was called to the Chair, and J. R. Harmanson was 
 appointed Secretary. 
 
 "William T. Fitchett, Esq., stated the object of 
 the meeting, and concluded by moving that the 
 Chair appoint a committee of six to report suit- 
 able resolutions to the meeting. 
 
 " The following gentlemen were thereupon ap- 
 pointed by the Chair: Win. T. Fitchett, Dr. Tho- 
 mas J. L. L. Nottingham, Col. Benjamin S. Dal by, 
 Nathaniel H. Fisher, Edward W. Nottingham, and 
 
 Thomas R. Jarvis, who reported, through their 
 3 
 
50 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 Chairman, the following resolutions, which were 
 unanimously adopted : 
 
 " Eesolved, That we have heard, with deep regret, the accounts 
 of suffering from disease and panic that exists in the cities of Nor- 
 folk and Portsmouth. We hereby tender to those people the 
 assurance of our sincere and heart-felt sympathy. 
 
 " Eesolved, That, ' let others do as they may,' we cannot con- 
 sent to practice upon a code of humanity that would weigh a 
 remote and contingent danger to ourselves against positive suf- 
 fering, and probable destruction, to our neighbors. The stranger, 
 flying from pestilence, will find our little county still open to him 
 as a place of refuge, and our citizens disposed to render all the 
 courtesy and kindness that their limited means will allow. 
 
 " Eesolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be published 
 in the Norfolk and Portsmouth papers. 
 
 "THOMAS F. SPADY, Chairman. 
 "J. E. Harmanson, Secretary." 
 
 The following letter was received, at this period, 
 from our able and talented" townsman, Dr. Sim- 
 kins, whose ill health and sick relatives compelled 
 him, reluctantly, to be absent from the city : 
 
 Eastville, August 13th. 
 A. F. Leonard, Esq., Editor of the Argus : 
 
 Dear Sir : — I write hurriedly from the little Court village of 
 Northampton, to say, thank God, for the honor of my native 
 county ! A large and enthusiastic gathering of her citizens has 
 just been held, and they have declared, emphatically, against non- 
 intercourse with your unfortunate city. Her portals and the 
 hearts of her people are thrown wide open to you all. 
 
 Here, the panic-stricken stranger may find a temporary home, 
 and a refuge from the noxious airs that hang around his own de- 
 voted domicile. Women and children, flying from the pestilence 
 " that wasteth at noon day," are not to be turned from the doors 
 
H1STOKV OV THE PESTILENCE. 51 
 
 of this gallant and hospitable people. Their Anglo-Saxon blood 
 — almost untainted through a living lapse of two hundred years — 
 rose up in rebellion at the thought. 
 
 i he taverns here are already full ; but many private 
 houses are being thrown open to receive and welcome the fugitive 
 population of your town, and still they are willing to encourage 
 the migration hither. Yet there is room ou the little ' ; sea-girt 
 isle '* — still ampler room in the hearts ami at the hearthstones of 
 her people ! It gives me unfeigned pleasure to record these facts, 
 so creditable to poor, frail, selfish humanity. They constitute 
 the bright and balmy spots of human character — dew and sun- 
 shine on the desert of time, over which avarice and evil passion 
 have so long breathed their wilting breath. 
 
 But enough of this moralizing. I may write again from my 
 fisherman's hut upon the Atlantic shore, the humble accommo- 
 dations of which you, or any moderate number of our friends, 
 are welcomed to share. There, aldermanic sheep's-heads and 
 grass-fed hog fish are " plenty as blackberries." There the sea 
 breeze and the surf-bathing may be enjoyed "without money and 
 without price." Yours, truly, 
 
 J. J. Simkins. 
 
 Similar humane measures were also taken in Fre- 
 dericksburg, Matthews county, etc.; and there were 
 some instances of whole-souled generosity in good 
 old Princess Anne. We take pleasure in mention- 
 ing the handsome and truly noble and Christian 
 conduct of John J. Burroughs, Esq., of the latter 
 county. 
 
 " In the same gallant spirit which prompted the 
 noble resolutions of the Northampton people, Vir- 
 ginia's son, Henry A. Wise, fitted up his dwelling- 
 house, barns, and every other place of shelter, and 
 
52 HISTQRY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 cordially invited the afflicted communities to come 
 there, assuring them that they should be welcome. 
 Other gentlemen of that neighborhood followed 
 his example, and their kind offers have, doubt- 
 less, been accepted by many. 
 
 " When it became known on the eastern shore of 
 Virginia that the residents of Norfolk and Ports- 
 mouth were flying from their homes, and that other 
 sections of country were driving them away, the 
 1 sea-girt peninsula ' greeted those who came to 
 her shores with a hearty welcome. Carriages, wa- 
 gons, carts, and vehicles of all kinds, were ready at 
 the landing whenever the steamer arrived from Nor- 
 folk, to convey the refugees to hospitable homes." 
 " Tell them," said Wise, " to come on, that we 
 have open hearts and houses to receive them." 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 LNDBKWB ARRIYKS, AND OFFERS HER SERVICES AS NURSE FOV(I0 
 THE SICE. — ARRIVAL OF PHYSICIANS AND NURSES — THE DISEASE 
 - AWllI.I.V, AND BECOMES EPIDEMIC THROUGHOUT THE 
 
 flTV — NATURE AND SYMPTOMS OF THE DISEASE THE HOWARD 
 
 IATION OF NORFOLK, AND THE RELIEF COMMITTEE OF 
 
 PORTSMOUTH FRIGHTFUL MORTALITY HASTY BURIAL OF THE 
 
 DEAD. 
 
 Ox the lGth of August, Miss Annie M. Andrews, 
 a young lady from Syracuse, N. Y., and formerly 
 of Louisiana, arrived in our city, and offered herself 
 to Mayor Woodis, to nurse the sick. She imme- 
 diately entered upon- her martyr-like labors at the 
 hospital, in the true spirit of self-sacrificing, gener- 
 ous, and heroic devotion to the cause of human 
 suffering ; and hither she was soon followed by 
 others, whose kind attention to the sick and suf- 
 fering will ever be gratefully remembered. 
 
 During the month of September, a large number 
 of physicians and nurses arrived from New Orleans, 
 Charleston, Mobile, Savannah, Richmond, New 
 York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, etc., and com- 
 menced their noble efforts to relieve the distressed, 
 and assist in the arduous duties of alleviating the 
 suffering of the diseased. 
 
54 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 The fever continued to rage with increasing 
 violence in the two towns. " It is now conceded," 
 said an observant writer, " by all our physicians, 
 ^that the fever has become epidemic throughout 
 the entire city, and that no part, even to some 
 distance beyond the suburbs, is exempt from the 
 infection. As a proof of this, independent of the 
 new cases that are occurring in every quarter, 
 every one, almost without exception, complains of 
 occasional nausea and wandering pains in the 
 head, back, and limbs. Some constitutions may 
 go through the season of acclimation with this 
 slight affection, while others, whose systems are 
 weaker or more predisposed to the disease, will 
 have to succumb and pass through the crisis of 
 the fever. Another characteristic of the epidemic 
 is, that almost every countenance is tinged with a 
 sickly, sallow hue, plainly showing the deleterious 
 effects of the poisonous malaria constantly inhaled. 
 Yellow fever is certainly one of the strangest 
 diseases that mortal flesh is heir to ; its attacks 
 are more varied, and it assumes more protean 
 forms and sudden changes, during the progress of 
 the disease, than any other. Generally, it comes 
 on with a chill and severe pain in the head, just 
 over the eyes, and back. Then, again, very little 
 
HlsioKv OF THE PESTILENCE. 56 
 
 pain will bo felt, and the patient will go about 
 until his body gives way from feelings of exhaus- 
 tion, and he goes to bed to fall into a comatose 
 state, and so die. His pulse, singular to say, in 
 the meanwhile, until within a short time of his 
 death, will be as strong and regular as that of a 
 well man ; and he will lay quietly, like one in 
 a drowsy state from the effects of morphine." On 
 the 24th of August there were at least 500 cases 
 in Norfolk, and six apothecary establishments were 
 driving a large business, working day and night, 
 with all the force the proprietors could command ; 
 and on the 25th there were about forty burials. 
 
 The Howard Association, of Norfolk, and the 
 Relief Committee, of Portsmouth, had been fully 
 organized, and had commenced their career of 
 immense usefulness. The great utility of these 
 timely organizations, was strikingly apparent. 
 The citizens of Norfolk were soon falling at the 
 fearful rate of 60, 70, and even 80 per day, and of 
 from 20 to 30 in Portsmouth. It was then that 
 some were appalled and chilled with fright, while 
 others were apparently callous, careless, and reck- 
 less, and went about the work of boxing up and 
 removing the dead, with but little appearance of 
 fear or agitation. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 DONATIONS FROM ABROAD OFFICERS OF THE HOWARD ASSOCIA- 
 TION THE FURY OF THE SCOURGE THE HOSPITAL AT LAM- 
 BERT'S POINT DR. WILSON TRUE HEROISM PROVISIONS GET- 
 TING SCARCE — THE MARKET DESCRIPTION OF THE CITY AT 
 
 NIGHT-^INCIDENTS OF THE PESTILENCE THE DYING AND THE 
 
 DEAD. 
 
 At this time the donations from abroad were 
 very liberal. Too much can scarcely be said in 
 commendation of those cities and individuals that 
 so generously afforded aid in this time of death, 
 disease, and desolation, and of the faithful and 
 judicious manner in which the active and indefati- 
 gable members of the Howard Association accom- 
 plished the benevolent objects intended to be 
 effected by the contributions received. 
 
 The following list of the officers of the Howard 
 
 Association was published in the latter part of 
 
 August : 
 
 Waiiam B. Ferguson, President. 
 James I. Bloodgood, Vice-President. 
 Kobert TV. Bowdeu, Treasurer. 
 James A. Saunders, Secretary. 
 Dulton Wheeler, Assist. Secretary. 
 
HlSTOKY ov Tin: PESTILENCE. 57 
 
 William M. Wilson. Resident Physician. 
 
 W. II. Freeman, Thomas Penniston, and De Castro, Assistant 
 Physicians, 
 
 Robert W. Rose, Francis L. Higgins, George L. Upshur, 
 Visiting Ph ysicians. 
 
 William II. Garnett. Augustus B. Cooke, the former engaged 
 by the Association, and the latter by the Board of Health, as- 
 BBtanta to the -Mayor, in removing the sick to the Hospital. 
 
 Thomas M. Martin, Thomas H. Beveridge, Conductors. 
 
 J-. A. Kirkpatrick, W. A. Graves, A. Dorney, Richard Gate- 
 wood. Jr., Marshall Ott, receivers, etc., of orders for provisions, 
 etc. 
 
 Nurses. — Captain Boyd, H. Dodds, Caroline Hinson, Julia 
 Partington, P. Handy, A. Baum, E. Tremayne, C. Weaver, 
 Margaret A. Stewart, Caroline Henderson, David Swindle, R. 
 Brumley. Miss Annie M. Andrews, and six Sisters of Charity. 
 
 William Hinchman, driver of provision wagon. 
 
 John Cavanaugh, Captain of sick lighter. 
 
 Trainer, waterman at the Hospital. 
 
 W. D. Seymour, E. and John Delany, R. Woodward, J. K. 
 Hodges, John T. Elliot, William F. Tyler, and several others, 
 keepers of provision-store. 
 
 Of cpurse there were many additions and 
 changes, owing to sickness and death. Many 
 others were subsequently connected with the 
 Association. After the death of Mr. Ferguson, 
 President, A. B. Cooke was elected to fill the va- 
 cancy, and Isaiah Cherry was chosen Secretary. 
 
 The fury of the scourge was now exerted and 
 felt in all its scathing power, and fortunate it was 
 that measures had been adopted to provide for the 
 sick. 
 
58 HISTORY OP THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 " We had assisted," said the editor of the Argus, 
 in an article on the Hospital at Lambert's Point, 
 and the Howard Association, " in putting a newly- 
 arrived patient to bed ; and, as we left him, with 
 three Sisters of Charity around him, smoothing his 
 pillow, and administering to his comfort, and judi- 
 cious medical attendance at hand, he remarked to 
 us, with a gratified smile, * I would rather be here 
 than anywhere else.' 
 
 "Dr. William M. Wilson, the resident physician, 
 is a gentleman of talent, and enlarged experience. 
 We have known him from boyhood, and his self- 
 devotion to the cause of philanthropy in the day 
 of pestilence is of a piece with all his antecedents. 
 
 " The Howard Association (under whose super- 
 vision the Hospital is conducted) are doing all that 
 men can do at this crisis. Indeed, the only busy 
 place in our paralyzed city is the office of the As- 
 sociation. From early morning till late at night are 
 these heroic citizens closely occupied in dispensing 
 charity, furnishing medicines, sustenance, and nurs- 
 ing and moving the sick. Our fear is that these 
 martyrs in the cause will break themselves down; 
 for they are toiling without the prospect of any re- 
 lief, of any Samaritans to take their places, when 
 they may sink down exhausted. We have lived out 
 
HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 59 
 
 half the space allotted to man for the period of his 
 pilgrimage, and have traversed many a league of 
 the surface of the habitable globe, but we have 
 never before been eye-witness to such universal 
 calamity as is now around us !" 
 
 Provisions of every kind were now exceedingly 
 scarce, or rather they were not to be had from any 
 other source than the store-house of the Howard 
 Association in Norfolk, and from the Relief Com- 
 mittee of Portsmouth, for the stores were closed, 
 and the owners absent. " Our market," wrote 
 one who remained at the post of duty, " must be 
 numbered among the signs of the forlorn and deso- 
 late condition which our city is realizing. The 
 country people have deserted us entirely. A few 
 servants from the vicinity, with their scanty sup- 
 plies of cabbage, tomatoes, corn-field peas, okra, 
 and herbs, are its only purveyors. We have none 
 with poultry (save an occasional huckster or two), 
 and no other sign of the produce of the farm-yard 
 — no melons, no peaches worthy of the name — nor 
 any other kind of fruit, save a few of the very com- 
 monest sort of apples, which grow without culture. 
 We had no idea before, that at this season, when 
 the whole country is teeming with horticultural 
 abundance, that it was possible for our market to 
 
60 HISTOEY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 exhibit such evidences of poverty. In a word, to 
 pass through it as it was on Friday morning, we 
 know of nothing better calculated to dampen the 
 physical energies, and create a nervous sensation, 
 than a view of such destitution as it exhibited. 
 Thanks to the butchers, they continue to appear 
 at their posts, and if their supplies . are scanty, 
 they suffice for the small demand in their line ; and 
 thanks, also, to the few fishermen who regularly 
 attend to our wants in their line" 
 
 The city presented a universal scene of destitu- 
 tion and desertion ; but its appearance at night 
 was, perhaps, more gloomy and distressing than in 
 the day-time. The dwellings, as well as the 
 stores, were all closed and dark. The dogs banded 
 themselves together, howled dolefully, and prowled 
 about silently, as if aware that something sad and 
 unusual was going on, and in search of their mas- 
 ters and of food. At an hour when, in other days, 
 the piazzas and streets would present life, health, 
 and gayety, the sound of a human footstep was 
 not heard, and a familiar voice was something 
 cheering to the heart. 
 
 One night, as the writer walked through Main 
 and other principal streets, a dark and lower- 
 ing cloud had just passed over, and the moon 
 
EBTOKY 01 THE iT.sni.rxCE. Gl 
 
 shone with unusual brightness, lighting up fully 
 the deserted avenues and fashionable promenades, 
 mocking, as it were, the scene of desolation below. 
 Our spacious harbor, smooth as glass, and cleared 
 of vessels, steamers, and sail-boats, reflected the 
 moon's mild rays, and seemed more beautiful than 
 ever. But, as we passed along, we heard the 
 distinct words of inconsolable grief, uttered by the 
 bereaved. Death had been in and dealt his blow, 
 the victims had fallen, the remains had been 
 hastily conveyed away, and sorrowing relatives 
 and friends were weeping, and telling of their loss, 
 in words that were full of affection, and deep 
 meaning. We passed on, sad and gloomy enough. 
 But soon there were other sounds that " held us 
 delaying." We mention only one affecting case. 
 On one of the principal streets, the windows of 
 the second story of a house were all up ; lights 
 were burning, and nurses were busy around a bed 
 that stood in sight, and the groans of the dying 
 that fell upon our ear, will, perhaps, never be for- 
 gotten. We knew from the struggle that nature 
 seemed to be making, that life was fast ebbing out. 
 The sound was too heart-rending and unpleasant 
 to bear, and we passed on again. The following 
 morning, as we passed by, we were informed that 
 
62 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 the struggle was over. Death had accomplished 
 his purpose. The conflict had ended. The vic- 
 tims were still, breathless, dead. A fond mother 
 and her son lay in the stirless slumber of death, 
 side by side, on the same death-bed. Soon the 
 busy undertaker was there, and then the mother 
 and her child were hurried out to the graveyard, 
 where they rest together, in deep, sepulchral 
 stillness. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE FEVER IX PORTSMOUTH — THE TOWN BEFORE THE FEVER — 
 THE INFECTED VESSEL THE WEATHER HELP FROM ABROAD- 
 NOBLE CONDUCT THE TRANSCRIPT OFFICE CLOSES — PROMI- 
 NENT LABORERS AMONG THE SICK AND DEAD — TRUE HE- 
 ROISM THE NAVY YARD. 
 
 Ix Portsmouth similar scenes of woe, desolation, 
 and death were witnessed. 
 
 " It could answer no beneficial purpose," wrote 
 the editor of the Transcript, August 23rd, " to at- 
 tempt to conceal or cover up from the public gaze 
 the state of things now existing, and the present 
 melancholy condition of our town. But a brief 
 period has elapsed, since it was the favored resort 
 of many, as a chosen spot, for its salubrious and 
 enviable position, and as affording inducements 
 sufficient to allure a brief sojourn among us. Then, 
 we anticipated a prosperous future, and were, 
 indeed, highly blessed by an All-wise Providence 
 in the enjoyment of all those temporal privileges 
 and advantages which man is accustomed to regard 
 as such. How changed are our circumstances! 
 
64 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 An infected vessel is allowed, by the authorities to 
 whom such power was delegated by the people, to 
 come up into the harbor and at one of our wharves, 
 and devastation and ruin are spread with a broad- 
 cast hand, throughout a community which might 
 have previously challenged comparison with any 
 of its neighbors as to-health and cleanliness. But 
 we cannot delay here to discuss this grave matter, 
 but must leave it for the future, and when the 
 desolating scourge by which we are afflicted shall 
 be removed by the fiat of God, speaking through 
 and by the objective laws which he has impressed 
 upon the outward world. 
 
 " The disease does not seem to abate either in the 
 number of its victims or in the virulence of its' 
 attacks. On Saturday last, and for a day or two 
 following; the temperature was most unseasonable, 
 and there set in from the northward and east- 
 ward a cool, disagreeable wind, which rendered 
 winter clothing comfortable. The thermometer 
 within doors ranged some degrees below 70. It 
 was this sudden and continued change in our tern- 
 perature here, that resulted in a largely increased 
 number of cases. Our medical attendance is be- 
 coming precarious. Already two of our most 
 prominent physicians have been taken to the 
 
niSTOKY OF Tin: PESTILENCE. G5 
 
 United Naval Hospital — while another 
 
 practitioner has been stricken down by the pesti- 
 lence. But one out of the three drug establish- 
 ments in our midst is kept open — two having been 
 closed for want of some one, we presume, to 
 attend in them, their proprietors having left town. 
 But in the midst of all the discouragements by 
 which we are surrounded, we are not without the 
 sympathies of our friends — both adjacent to us and 
 those who may be regarded as abroad. Help, sub- 
 stantial help, is pouring in from every quarter, in 
 the shape of provisions and money — so that the 
 laps of the poor and suffering of our remaining 
 population are daily filled with the necessaries of 
 life, by which their present existence is at least 
 rendered comparatively comfortable. Our sister 
 towns and cities, as well as New York, Philadel- 
 phia, and Baltimore, are nobly responding to the 
 appeals of humanity, and call forth, in throbs of 
 feeling, our cordial gratitude. We have, too, a 
 few active men among us who remain at their 
 posts, both of public duty and to minister to the 
 wants of the needy and dying. One of these, 
 we are pained to record, was stricken down on 
 Monday afternoon, after a brief illness. This man 
 among us was Captain George Chambers. Active, 
 
66 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 energetic, benevolent, he had been engaged for 
 days previously in superintending the removal of 
 the sick to the Naval Hospital. He now lies in 
 the cold and silent grave! Peace be to him ! He 
 was a most useful public man, whose place cannot 
 easily be supplied. We cannot neglect here to 
 name two of those who now remain among us, and 
 who are actively engaged in ministering to the pre- 
 sent necessities of our people. Colonel Winches- 
 ter Watts, President of the Common Council, con- 
 tinues actively employed in responding to various 
 letters from abroad, and in ministering to the 
 wants of the needy. James Gr. Holladay, Esq., 
 has been a most useful citizen, thoroughly fear- 
 less and indefatigable in his humane exertions. 
 Others of our citizens might also be named, 
 who have manfully stood to their posts in this 
 hour of trial ; but we pass them by for the pre- 
 sent, reserving to ourself the privilege for a future 
 and more appropriate opportunity — with one ex- 
 ception. 
 
 " We do not know what our community would 
 have done without Hezekiah Stoakes, former mayor 
 of the town. He has been engaged incessantly in 
 meeting the exigencies of these trying times. 
 James W. Matthews, the Town Sergeant, has also 
 
BBTOBY OF THE PESTILBN01. G7 
 
 been, in season ami out of season, actively and 
 energetically engaged in the performance of his ac- 
 cumulated and responsible duties. 
 
 " Meantime the fever rages, and is on the in- 
 crease. With these remarks, descriptive of our 
 town and its present condition, we are forced to 
 cdose — limited as we are for aid in our office, and 
 having been compelled to work at the press our- 
 self, in throwing off the last issue. We have but 
 one compositor remaining with us, and his name is 
 R. B. McDonnald." 
 
 During the fearful reign of the pestilence in 
 Portsmouth, there were many instances of self- 
 sacrificing devotion in relieving the sick and the 
 suffering, and burying the dead, that well deserve 
 to be publicly noticed, and remembered with the 
 most grateful feelings. But there was a period of 
 about three weeks, when the pitiless death-storm 
 raged so dreadfully, that the stoutest of the great 
 hearts trembled with fear. The disease seemed to 
 spare none. The death-dealing breath of the pes- 
 tilence swept through the thickest part of the 
 town, and the people fell before it, like soldiers 
 fiercely charged upon by overpowering combatants 
 in the hottest rage of battle. The dead lay un- 
 buried upon the soiled beds, and sometimes the 
 
68 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 black blood of the parent mingled with that of the 
 child. The most active and diligent members of 
 the Sanitary Committee. were either sick or dead. 
 But there were a faithful, undaunted, unflinching 
 few, that were not touched by the shafts that flew 
 every way, from the bow held, as it were, in the 
 " fleshless hand" of the grim and relentless rider 
 upon the " pale horse." 
 
 The conduct of Mr. Wm. Brown, a quarter-man 
 in the yard, familiarly called " Sweet William," 
 was most praiseworthy, and, indeed,- remarkable. 
 By night and day, he was seen hurrying in every 
 direction ; administering to the wants of the sick ; 
 going in the infected rooms; shrouding the dead, 
 and assisting the undertakers in burying the putre- 
 fying corpses. When many of his companions in 
 the humane and hazardous work had fallen, he was 
 still faithful to his mission, and worked manfully 
 through the whole period of terror, unharmed, 
 except by fatigue, as if protected by some charm 
 withheld from the rest. 
 
 It should be noted, too, that Holt Wilson, Esq., 
 cashier of the Virginia Bank, remained at his post, 
 managing the monetary affairs of the Eelief Com- 
 mittee, in a prompt and most faithful manner — 
 rendering service of incalculable value to his 
 
HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE, GO 
 
 suffering fellow-citizens, and for which they are 
 justly grateful. 
 
 It was a subject, too, of just commendation, 
 that Miss L. Bourk, an estimable lady of Ports- 
 mouth, was exceedingly efficient and immensely 
 useful in her efforts to alleviate the suffering — 
 working diligently among the sick, not only in 
 her own town, but also rendering most important 
 aid to her diseased and dying relations in Norfolk, 
 during the worst of the pestilential scourge. But 
 there were others in both towns, who were dis- 
 tinguished for conduct that has made their names 
 dear to the people. 
 
 " Mr. Hartt, the able Naval Constructor in the 
 Navy Yard," wrote an eye-witness, " passed 
 through the thickest of the fight, unscathed, leading 
 where any dared follow — being both night and day 
 engaged in attending to the wants of the living, 
 and burying the dead. Appropriate name is his ; 
 for a bigger or more benevolent heart does not 
 animate the form of man. When we see a man 
 who could leave, with little or no pecuniary sacri- 
 fice, battling with such an insidious enemy, and 
 seeking only to do good, we cannot refrain from 
 speaking of it, though conscious of our inability to 
 do him justice. 
 
70 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 "The other officers of the yard are worthy of the 
 trusts committed to them, and manifested a devo- 
 tion to duty and regard for the suffering not to 
 be surpassed. 
 
 " Such a corps of naval officers as we have, are an 
 ornament to their profession, and have the respect 
 and gratitude of the survivors of a dread calamity. 
 
 " Of the eleven civil officers who remained stead- 
 fast to their duty, seven have fallen : — N. N. 
 Tatam, Timber Inspector, recently appointed; 
 Patrick Williams, Master House-joiner ; John 
 Vermilion, Master Boat-builder; John B. Davis, 
 Master Spar-maker ; Richard Williams, Master 
 Mason; Charles Myers, Master Plumber; Charles 
 Cassels, Master Sailmaker. The families of some 
 of these gentlemen are almost broken up ; only a 
 son in Mr. P. Williams's family is left. Four 
 grown and interesting daughters soon followed 
 their father. 
 
 " But I cannot particularize in speaking of these ; 
 they were all good citizens, husbands, and fathers, 
 reflecting honor upon their profession, and faithful 
 to the duties devolved upon them. 
 
 " All the departments in the yard suffered severe- 
 ly. The spar-makers lost seven out of twelve who 
 remained. The smithery, out of some thirty-four 
 
HISTORY or THE PESTILENCE, 71 
 
 who remained, lost nineteen. I do not know how* 
 to account for this great mortality among this 
 s of mechanics. 
 
 " When Mr. Allen, the head of the department, 
 taken sick, Mr. Green was acting foreman. 
 And he, too, the next day, was stricken down. 
 Then, Mr. Totterdill, Mr. Ballcntine, and Mr. 
 Snead, and each, in rapid succession, fell at his 
 post, and all, except Mr. Allen and Mr. Snead, 
 quickly followed one another to the grave ! Fearful, 
 indeed, were the inroads of this fatal malady ; and 
 long will the memory of these men be cherished 
 by their shop-mates ! They w^ere all men of 
 generous impulses and unsullied character." 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 ADDRESS IN BEHALF OF THE ORPHANS THE PHYSICIANS THE 
 
 CLERGY COMMODORE MC KEEVER MEETING OF PHYSICIANS 
 
 RESOLUTIONS LETTER FROM THE ACTING MAYOR THE U. S. 
 
 NATAL HOSPITAL DEATH AND COFFINS THE COUNCIL OF 
 
 PORTSMOUTH THE MAYOR OF THE TOWN ILL OF THE FEVER. 
 
 The Rev. W. H. Milburn, formerly Chaplain to 
 
 Congress, made an eloquent address to a meeting 
 
 held in New York, to adopt measures to relieve 
 
 the orphans at Norfolk and Portsmouth. He thus 
 
 spoke of the medical profession and the clergy : 
 
 " Need I allude, upon an occasion like this, to the self-devo- 
 tion, to the heroic self-forgetfulness of that profession which 
 claims at our hands, and at the hands of the world, such unmixed 
 praise and homage ? I mean the medical profession. They may 
 tell us of their heroes with their laurels dipped in blood from 
 all the battle-fields of the earth ; but I tell you, sir, there have 
 been scenes transpiring — there have been characters developed — 
 there has been conduct displayed yonder at Norfolk and Ports- 
 mouth, and in all the cities of the smitten South, that, when 
 justly and rightly viewed, should overwhelm, and distance, and 
 darken all your heroes of battle-fields, and- all your conquerors 
 in the triumphs. Let it be remembered, that in those two smitten 
 cities twenty-six members of that profession have fallen martyrs 
 to humaDity. But let me allude to another class.. It is very 
 much in vogue just at this time to speak with a sort of patron- 
 izing contempt of the clergy — to allude to them as a set of 
 
BISTOBY OF THE ri.Mli.K.v 73 
 
 haracteristie is. as Sydney Smith expressed it, 
 ability.' They are to bo looked upon as a very v.vll- 
 • set of men, who. if they are tiol doing 
 much good, are certainly not doing muoh harm. Let those 
 
 if they want to know what the clergy of his country are, go to 
 of the pestilence, and see them in the hovels of starv- 
 ation and squalor — in the graveyards from sunrise till midnight 
 - the obsequies of religion to the dead, and com- 
 mon to the mourners — Catholic and Protestant, 
 in that awful hour of extremity, and tell me whether 
 disability' is their characteristic?" 
 
 The Rev. Samuel Osgood also addressed the 
 meeting, and alluded to a class of persons very 
 efficient in this pestilence — the public officers of 
 the government. "The United States service," he 
 said, •• has been nobly represented in Norfolk. The 
 Navy Yard in Portsmouth is in the charge of one 
 who unites all the virtues of man with all the 
 heroism of a sailor. The chief of that Navy Yard 
 has been distinguished by many eminent services 
 in his life. He had once gone on a hostile island 
 unarmed, with nothing but the flag of his country 
 to protect him ; but he had attained a greater vic- 
 tory by governing his men by love, not the lash. 
 And now he had signalized his manhood in the time 
 of pestilence."* 
 
 * Commodore McKecvcr. lie has since died, greatly lamented 
 by ti: ho knew his great worth of character and noble- 
 
 BOUI. 
 
 1 
 
74 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 September 25th a meeting of medical men was 
 held, the proceedings of which we give below. 
 
 Dr. Willimau, from Charleston, S. C, was called 
 to the chair ; and Dr. West, from New York, ap- 
 pointed Secretary. 
 
 The object of the meeting was stated, by the 
 Chairman, to be for the purpose of fixing upon a 
 day when the delegations of stranger medical men 
 might with propriety be enabled to leave Norfolk, 
 and return to their respective homes. 
 
 "During a few days past, a cool and delightful 
 change has come over the pestilential atmosphere 
 of the city, and a current report prevailed that 
 many physicians and nurses were becoming idle. 
 The experience of the Chairman, added to that of 
 other Southern medical gentlemen, gives reason to 
 believe in a rapid and approaching decline in the 
 epidemic disease which has now desolated this 
 population. 
 
 "It has always been remarked, that towards the 
 first of October, in Southern cities, a manifest 
 abatement in the number of sick is observable. 
 Already the prevalence of this epidemic is of long 
 continuance. This circumstance, together with 
 the fact of an atmosphere now much purified, and 
 the more important consideration that most of the 
 
HlsTOKY OF THE rr.Mii r.vi:. 75 
 
 inhabitants have Buffered illness, favors fche suppo- 
 sition of early restoration to health. 
 M UpOD Buch views, it might be predicted that 
 foreign medical aid would not long be a necessity, 
 and that such members of the profession as desired 
 to Leave the scene of their recent labors, could 
 now quit them with satisfaction." 
 
 On. motion of Dr. Read, from Savannah, it was 
 
 dvea. Thai a Committee be appointed to wait upon the 
 1 inform him that October 1st be the day when 
 stranger medical gentlemen, who have been on duty in Xorfolk, 
 propose to leave this city. 
 
 On motion of Dr. Freeman, from Philadelphia, 
 it was 
 
 Resolved, That all absentees be notified through the Howard 
 Association, to remain away from Xcrfolk until physicians resi- 
 dent here shall give them information that it is safe to return. 
 I aat the city authorities of Norfolk be entreated to give a 
 thorough and systematic ventilation to all residences and shops 
 which have been closed during a month or two past ; and that 
 such ventilation be not commenced sooner than the 10th day of 
 October next. 
 
 Upon inquiry by the Chairman, it was ascer- 
 tained that only sixteen new cases of fever had 
 been developed during the past day, in the practice 
 of nine physicians, who were present. 
 
 On motion of Dr. Read, it was 
 
 >lved, That the Secretary be requested to write out the 
 minutes of the meeting in due form; and that the Chairman 
 
76 HISTORY OP THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 embody the same in a letter, and forward the same to the Mayor 
 of Norfolk. 
 
 On motion of Dr. Read, it was 
 
 Eesolved, That such States or cities as had sent delegates to 
 Norfolk, at any time during the. course of the epidemic, should 
 receive honorable mention. 
 
 Norfolk, Sept. 27th, 1855. 
 Dr. A. B. "Willimax, Chairman, etc. 
 
 Dear Sir : — I have received from you the minutes of a meeting, 
 on Tuesday evening, of the physicians from abroad i who have 
 ministered to the sufferings of our afflicted people during this 
 season of pestilence, notifying me, as the acting Mayor of the city, 
 of their belief in a rapid and approaching decline in the epidemic 
 disease which has devastated our population, and of their appoint- 
 ment of the first of October next as the day when they might, 
 with propriety, leave Norfolk for their respective homes. 
 
 The proposed departure of yourself and your gallant associates 
 from the field, where you have battled so bravely against the 
 monster death in its most hideous forms, is indeed, " confirmation 
 strong," that the unwonted energies of the dreadful enemy are fast 
 failing. The spirit that prompted you to your work of martyr- 
 dom would retain you at your posts so long as there might be 
 aught to be accomplished. 
 
 It is, indeed, a matter for rejoicing, that the plague is at length 
 in a degree stayed. Though disease has entered every abode in 
 our afflicted city ; though " the pestilence" has walked " in dark, 
 ness," and "the sickness" destroyed " in the daytime;" though 
 tfre arrows of death have chosen the proudest and the dearest 
 among us for victims ; though many have felt, for the time, in 
 their bereavements, that all of earth's blessings were lost to them 
 — yet, for the sake of the remaining few of our scanty popula- 
 tion — for the sake of the infant, the orphan, the needy, and those 
 who have a new weight of duty imposed upon them — for the sake 
 of thousands who are exiled from their still clear and o»ce happy 
 homes, and, I may add, for the sake of you, who have been con- 
 
LiisioKY or Tin: it.stii.f.xce. 77 
 
 tending, with daily diminishing numbers, against the death-thrusts 
 
 of the i\k\ away from your families and firesides, your pleasures 
 
 or interests cheered on solely by the consciousness of doing 
 
 on behalf of the helpless and the stranger, it is a matter of 
 
 :i ulation to each other, and of thankfulness to Almighty 
 ; hut the rage of the epidemic has almost ceased within our 
 limits. 
 
 The annals of our civilization furnish no authentic record of a 
 visitation of disease as awfully severe as that which we have just 
 encountered. Out of an average population of some six thou- 
 sand souls (much the larger portion of whom were negroes — a 
 ekes lesa liable than the whites to the fever in its more fatal 
 . about two thousand have fallen — a proportion of nearly 
 one to three — and but few have escaped an attack of the disease. 
 We are now a community of convalescents. 
 
 Had we not received material aid from abroad — had not the 
 different portions of our country sent their heroic delegations of 
 ians, nurses, and stalwart co-laborers — had not noble 
 spirits volunteered to the rescue (to die, if need be, like Curtius, 
 forEome),our people must have sunk beneath the burden of 
 their agony. There was a period, about the 1st of September, 
 when the evil seemed greater than we could bear. Corpses lay 
 unburied- the sick un visited — the dying unaneled. Our surviv- 
 ing physicians were either sickening or becoming exhausted ; our 
 remaining population was panic-struck at the sight of accumu- 
 lating horrors and duties. You, who visited us for our relief, 
 were astounded at the unrealized state of things which you found 
 here — at evils the like of which you had never before witnessed. 
 But nerving yourselves to the task, and telegraphing for reserves, 
 you went resolutely forward with your science and its accompa- 
 niments, carrying aid where it was most needed, and infusing 
 vigor into many hearts that would otherwise soon have ceased 
 their painful throbbings. 
 
 Your noble bands, too, have experienced a worse than deci- 
 mation, though many of you were acclimated to the disease in 
 eCber latitudes before coming hither. A list, which has been 
 carefully prepared from the original entries, and handed to me 
 
78 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 by Franklin H. Clack, Esq., of New Orleans (our efficient tem- 
 porary Chief of Police), shows that, out of eighty-seven physi- 
 cians and assistants who visited us during the space of thirty- 
 three days preceding the 19th inst., twenty physicians are 
 numbered with the dead ! This is exclusive of the mortality 
 among our resident physicians, more than half of those abiding 
 here having died ! No better evidence of the pure self-devotion, 
 of the martyr-like spirit, which has actuated your Samaritan 
 associations in hastening to our relief, can be furnished. 
 
 The recommendations of your meeting, concerning a thorough 
 and seasonable ventilation of the dwellings and stores which 
 have been so long closed among us, and other matters requisite 
 to prevent the continuance or recurrence of the dreadful pesti- 
 lence, will be scrupulously and thankfully carried out by the 
 authorities ; and, should you see fit hereafter to recommend any 
 special system of quarantine, your suggestions would be most 
 gladly received. 
 
 In conclusion, allow me to express my regret that the assidu- 
 ous devotion of yourself and co-laborers to the solemn duties 
 which you assumed, the early day which you have fixed upon for 
 departing, and the forlorn condition to which our remaining 
 families are reduced, prevent the majority of our citizens from 
 making more than slight individual manifestations of the pro- 
 found gratitude which they cannot fail always to cherish ; and 
 from giving such united expressions to their feelings as would 
 be agreeable to them, and, I trust, not unacceptable to your- 
 selves. 
 
 Be pleased to accept, sir, for yourself and the bands of heroes 
 whom you represent, the assurance of my warmest gratitude and 
 high personal esteem. 
 
 Yours, very respectfully, 
 
 N. C. Whitehead, J. P., 
 Acting Mayor of Norfolk. 
 
 On motion of the Chairman, it was 
 Eesolved, That the thanks of this meeting be returned to the 
 Howard Association of Norfolk for the facilities which have 
 
1USIV.KY OP Till: 1T.STILENCE. 79 
 
 extended by them to us in the conduct of our medical prac- 
 tice. 
 
 On motion of Dr. pead, the meeting then ad- 
 journed. 
 
 A. B. WILLIMAN, Chairman. 
 Dr. West, Secretary. 
 •.folk, Sept. 25th, 1855. 
 
 On the 29th August, the Portsmouth Trans- 
 cript contained the following statement : 
 
 14 We do not know what would have becu the extent of the 
 mortality and misery, had not the Council succeeded in obtaining 
 the use of the United States Xaval Hospital in the present emer- 
 gency. To the President of the United States, as well as "to the 
 able and humane report of Surgeon Whelan, Chief of the Medi- 
 cal Bureau, we are mainly indebted. The Commodore of the 
 Yard here, too, has afforded every facility in supplying the 
 demand for coffins, which Mr. Stoakes could not wholly meet. 
 
 " Death — death — and red coffins are the sole subjects of con- 
 templation and objects of sight at present in our community. 
 
 u Our Council is without a quorum, and those of them who 
 remain, cooperated with by a few citizens, have undertaken 
 the management of affairs. The wants of the needy are supplied, 
 and the sick and dying attended to, as well as our distressing 
 position and circumstances allow. 
 
 ,; Our Mayor is now confined to his bed with the prevailing 
 epidemic." 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE FIRST WEEK IN SEPTEMBER FEARFUL MORTALITY ACCUMU- 
 LATION OF CORPSES INCIDENTS OF THE PESTILENCE — LAMENT- 
 ATION AND MOURNING THE CHRISTIAN'S DEATH-BED AND 
 
 GRAVE THE RAPID WORK OF DEATH AND BURIAL PROMIS- 
 CUOUS INTERMENT AWFUL STATE OF AFFAIRS THE PUTREFYING 
 
 CORPSES LIE UNBURIED DEATH DOING HIS WORK FEARFULLY 
 
 AT NIGHT THE ROLL OF DEATH. 
 
 About the 1st of September, the scourge at- 
 tained its most appalling fury in Norfolk. Long 
 will that period of terror and death, the first 
 week in September, be remembered by those who 
 had not fled from the pestilence. The fever had 
 assumed its most fatal type, and had reached the 
 centre and most populous part of the city. Ber- 
 muda Street was like one great hospital ; every 
 house had its sick, or dead. On Briggs' Point, the 
 most eastern portion of the city, the people were 
 dying by the dozen per day, and in a space of con- 
 siderable width, and extending thence across to 
 the western limits, people of every class were -fall- 
 ing like withered leaves shaken by the winds 
 in autumn time. It was a time of intense excite- 
 
HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE, 81 
 
 Bent and consternation. It was too late to fly ; 
 lor those who fled as certainly fell as the bird 
 fatally wounded by the fowler's shot. They ar- 
 rived in Richmond, Petersburg, Hampton, and 
 elsewhere : but the venom had entered the blood, 
 and they lav down but to die. Here there were 
 live hundred cases, and the number of deaths at 
 one time reached eighty in twenty-four hours, in 
 our small remaining population ! The corpses 
 accumulated so rapidly that coffins could not be 
 supplied for them. The hearses w T ere driven 
 rapidly out to the grave-yards with two, three, and 
 four at a load, and the coffined dead were piled up 
 on the ground awaiting the opening of the graves 
 and pits, by the insufficient force at work with the 
 spade, the hoe, and the shovel. In that memora- 
 ble week-, four hundred of the citizens of Norfolk 
 were buried! There was no time for ceremony; 
 the work of shrouding, coffining or boxing up, and 
 hurrying the putrefying corpses to the places of 
 burial, and of covering up the dead, went on hasti- 
 ly and fearfully by day and night. But the heart 
 shudders at the thought of the appalling scenes 
 that were witnessed during the entire months of 
 August, September, and October. 
 
 There were incidents occurring daily and night- 
 
82 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 ly, possessing the most thrilling interest. Excit- 
 ing dramas were enacted in the chambers over 
 which the death-angel hovered and flapped his 
 raven wings, and in which were breathed the fatal 
 mildew vapors that poisoned the heart-blood of 
 the occupants. In those infected rooms where 
 Death entered, and so hastily and imperatively 
 claimed his victims, there were most impressive 
 lessons of wisdom imparted to the living. There 
 were uttered words of fearful, and, also, of most 
 pleasing import, confirmatory of the solemn truths 
 of the Bible — of the eternal misery of the impeni- 
 tent dead,- and of the unending joys of the de- 
 parted Christian. Deep groans fell upon the ear 
 like the last lingering, dying wail of the lost, when 
 the attendant angel of hope has plumed and lifted 
 her swift wings for her final and reluctant flight, 
 and the scowling demon of dark despair broods 
 over the soul. The shrill cries of orphanage, and 
 the heart-rending complainings of premature 
 widowhood, were heard at the deep midnight hour ; 
 and affection's copious, gushing, burning tears were 
 shed. There were mothers who, like Rachel, wept 
 for their children, and refused to be comforted, 
 because they were not. Lamentations came well- 
 ing up from the great deep of maternal hearts that 
 
HXBTORY OF ["HE PESTILENCE. oii 
 
 throbbed and quivered with emotion, and wrung 
 with inexpressible anguish, while the work of 
 death, and coffining, and wagoning, went on so 
 fearfully, and the business ol' sepulture progressed 
 so rapidly, by sun-light, moon-light, and torch- 
 light. 
 
 But there were incidents, too, of pleasing in- 
 st, on which the mind of the Christian may 
 dwell with pleasurable emotion. For some, the 
 dread pestilence, that went forth in darkness and 
 ed at noon day, possessed no power to affright, 
 death no sting, the cold, damp grave no victory, 
 boundless eternity — untried by the living, and still 
 unknown to the dying — no fears, producing no 
 alarm in the calm, quiet, peaceful minds of the 
 pious victims of the scourge,, redeemed and saved 
 by faith alone, in the precious blood of the "Lamb 
 that was slain." Safely and confidently trusting 
 in the merits of a crucified Saviour, they passed 
 joyfully and triumphantly through the " dark 
 valley," or launched out fearlessly upon Jordan's cold 
 waters, glorying in the blissful prospect of entering 
 safely the bright haven of eternal joys. 
 
 These sleep w T ell now. — The beautiful wintry 
 snow lias fallen above them as noiselessly as the 
 rustling of the wings of the angels that came and 
 
84 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 conducted their happy spirits upward to the bright 
 
 and heavenly land ; but it is not a wakeless, eternal 
 
 sleep. " The winter is past, and the flowers appear 
 
 on the earth," and they bloom upon their graves. 
 
 " The time of the singing of birds is come," and 
 
 they carol merrily above their " lowly beds." The 
 
 bright summer time has returned, and the balmy 
 
 breezes play among the green foliage that bends 
 
 over the quiet resting-place of the peaceful 
 
 sleepers ; and when the great day of the Lord shall 
 
 dawn in its grandeur upon this sin-stricken earth, 
 
 and the " awful Judge " shall descend, they will 
 
 come up from the charnel-house where they lie, 
 
 and stand forth in unfading youth, beauty, and 
 
 glory, before the " great white throne." 
 
 "And I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me, Write, 
 Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth." 
 
 How priceless did true religion seem, how 
 inestimably valuable, true faith in Christ in that 
 period of terror, of loathsome disease, of nature's 
 sudden dissolution, when fond friends and relations 
 were parting, or quickly following each other 
 through the sombre "shadow of death;" or, indeed, 
 pressing on together to the solemn portals of the 
 tomb ! 
 
 The following graphic sketch of that period of 
 
iiistoky OF THE risiii r.NCE. 85 
 
 or and woe is from the pen of the venerable 
 senior editor of the Herald, who remained during 
 tin* entire progress of the scourge: 
 
 ••Xo pen can adequately portray the horrors 
 of that dark period, which, brief as it was, has 
 Bufficed to produce an age of misery and woe, 
 unprecedented in the records of similar visita- 
 tions. 
 
 11 Yes, those who were safe from the pestilence, 
 have, in numerous instances, been made to feel, not 
 less keenly than those who were exposed to its 
 terrors, the effects of its desolating ravages ; but 
 they who were not present can form but a faint 
 idea, if any, of its startling, its unearthly horrors, 
 during the worst period of its career. The sick, 
 with few exceptions, were far too numerous to be 
 reported, and, ere it could be known beyond their 
 immediate neighborhood that they were sick, the 
 tidings of their death were spread abroad. Con 
 sternation, hurry, and confusion were visible 
 everywhere. The great anxiety at one period — 
 from August 29th to September 4th, — was to pro- 
 cure coffins for the dead, though the mortality had 
 not then reached its maximum of sixty to seventy 
 a day ! The undertakers, though constantly at 
 work, night and day, could not half supply the 
 
86 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 demand, and rough boards were made into boxes, 
 and boxes, that had been used for other purposes, 
 were substituted for coffins. Into these, the dead, 
 whatever their character or condition in life, were 
 huddled, sometimes two together, and hurried off 
 in a common cart or wagon, for interment in a 
 trench, for want of time to prepare separate graves. 
 Delicate and interesting women, aged matrons, 
 and venerable sires in the respectable walks of life, 
 were among the number subjected to this summary 
 and revolting mode of interment — giving cruel 
 poignancy to the grief of their surviving connec- 
 tions. But it was unavoidable. Yet, in spite of 
 all this indecent haste, many corpses were left 
 unburied for twenty-four, and in some instances 
 thirty-six, and even forty-eight hours — thus adding 
 fuel to the fire, and augmenting the virulence of 
 the disease. A supply of coffins (fifty in number) 
 was received from the Relief Committee in Balti- 
 more, on the 3rd of September, and eighty more 
 from the authorities of Richmond on the 4th ; and 
 coffins were continued to be sent by both, in 
 numbers sufficient for the demand — so that this 
 painful exhibition in the drama of woe was not 
 repeated. There was enough without it, however, 
 to have overwhelmed the sensibilities of the 
 
BBTORY OF THE PES ru r.NCE. 87 
 
 stoutest heart in ordinary times; but to those who 
 remained involuntary spectators of what was 
 repetition had almost blunted the sense of 
 W06 ; and events, the recollection of which is now, 
 doubtless, wringing many a heart, made but little 
 impression at the time of their occurrence — such 
 is the force of habit. The city was wrapped in 
 gloom. All the stores, and the dwellings of 
 absentees, were closed; few were seen passing in 
 the streets on foot, and these on some errand of 
 mercy or necessity, or led abroad by curiosity to 
 see and hear what was passing. Most of the 
 inhabitants present were either confined at home 
 by sickness, or in attendance on the sick, or, 
 deeming it safer, preferred remaining within-doors. 
 There was, however, no one place more safe than 
 others. The disease was epidemic throughout 
 the length and breadth of the city. And though 
 there was the perpetual din of carriages, continu- 
 ally passing, from early dawn till a late hour of 
 the night — the physicians' carriages, and hacks 
 conveying nurses and members of the Howard 
 Association, and the hearses, and the ever-moving 
 " sick wagon " — rattling and rumbling to and fro 
 in every direction, and with unwonted velocity — 
 there was no sign of wholesome animation — no- 
 
88 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 thing betokening vitality in any of the occupations 
 of life but those of the physician and the under- 
 taker. Every day brought with it fresh griefs and 
 regrets for the heavy losses which the city was 
 continuing to suffer, in the removal of its most 
 valuable citizens — men who had directed its affairs, 
 and lent a helping hand in various ways to sustain 
 its credit, promote its prosperity, and embellish 
 its society. There was no need of the daily press 
 to spread the melancholy tidings. The night's 
 disasters ran through the city each morning with 
 lightning speed. 
 
 " The sketch here given, represents with little 
 variation, the woes of our sister city, Portsmouth, 
 which preceded us in the dreadful race of suffering, 
 and has drank her full proportion of the cup of 
 affliction with us." 
 
 On one day there were announced as among 
 the dead, John G. H. Hatton, president of the 
 Select Council, and teller of the Farmers' 
 Bank, Alexander Feret, first accountant of the 
 Exchange Bank, and Ignatius Higgins, the teller 
 of the Virginia Bank. On another, William E. 
 Cunningham, senior editor of the American Bea- 
 con ; William D. Roberts, the delegate elect 
 from the city to the Legislature ; Thomas C. 
 
 
uisroKY OF THE rr.sm.r.NCE. 89 
 
 Dixon and Jolm Shuster, two old and highly 
 respected citizens. On another, Richard Grate- 
 
 ►d, jr., one of the proprietors of the Beacon; 
 Wilson B. Sorey, U. S. Deputy Marshal for the 
 em District of Virginia; Bray B. Walters, 
 proprietor of the National Hotel; K. S. Bernard, 
 a well-known and skillful druggist; and Archibald 
 Briggs, an extensive merchant. On another, John 
 Tunis, member of the Board of Health, and capi- 
 talist ; Dr. George L. Upshur, a distinguished phy- 
 sician ; Josiah Wills, an extensive and enterprising 
 merchant, and president of the Virginia Bank ; 
 ex-Mayor William D. Delany ; and William P. 
 Burnham, an extensive builder and skillful brick- 
 mason. On another, Alexander Gait, post-master ; 
 William B. Ferguson, an extensive merchant, and 
 president of the Howard Association ; William 
 Reid, ship-broker, and recent candidate for the 
 mayoralty ; and on another, Charles H. Beale, 
 inspector-general of lumber, formerly editor of the 
 Daily yews, and an able writer; Caleb Bonsai, 
 one of the proprietors of extensive flour-mills ; 
 . John D. Gordan, a well-known banker, and Joseph 
 Murden, an accountant in the Exchange Bank. 
 But hundreds of other estimable citizens, of both 
 towns, including many very estimable* ladies, 
 
90 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 young, middle-aged, and aged, useful and re- 
 spected, were, hurried to the grave, and causing, 
 when they fell beneath the crushing force of the 
 scourge, a sad vacuum in the two afflicted com- 
 munities. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THK LAMENTABLE CONDITION OF THE CITY — THE PREVIOUS HAPPY 
 AND PROSPEROUS STATE OF AFFAIRS IN NORFOLK AND PORTS- 
 ril — ELOQUENT AND THRILLING DESCRIPTIONS OF THE 
 RGE. 
 
 " Our city," wrote an observant and respected 
 resident, " may be aptly compared to a ship at 
 sea without rudder, or compass, or officers to 
 direct, and with only a few hands at the pumps to 
 keep her from sinking, and these nearly exhausted 
 with fatigue. Such, in sad and sober earnest, is a 
 similitude of its forlorn condition. Without a 
 government to direct and provide for the public 
 safety — a majority of the Court and Councils being 
 absent; an onerous duty devolving on the chief 
 executive officer, the Mayor, which is overtasking 
 his physical powers ; the collection of the revenue 
 suspended ; the city treasury locked up ! The 
 Corporation is thus virtually dissolved, and nothing, 
 it seems, can save the city from a state of down- 
 right anarchy and perdition, but a committee of 
 safety, assuming the powers necessary to meet the 
 extraordinary exigencies of the time being. That 
 
92 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 committee seems to be already recognized in the 
 Board of Health, the members of the Council Com- 
 mittees who remain in town, and the Howard 
 Association — whose exercise of the requisite re- 
 sponsibilities, we feel assured, will be fully sanc- 
 tioned and commended by the legitimate authorities. 
 Let them do their duty to the city and to humanity, 
 then, without hesitation and without fear of con- 
 sequences. 
 
 " We make these remarks in no spirit of com- 
 plaint or reproof. The condition to which our 
 city is reduced, as we have before taken occasion 
 to remark, has been willed by an all-wise and 
 inscrutable Providence, and is beyond all human 
 control." 
 
 " The whole country," said Eev. Dr. Doggett, 
 in a masterly description of the visitation, " is ap- 
 palled with the awful and almost unparalleled 
 scourge which has visited, and is still desolating,, 
 two of the cities of Virginia — Norfolk and Ports- 
 mouth. Not only has the understanding been inex- 
 tricably perplexed, but the imagination itself has 
 been confounded, at the daily recital of those hor- 
 rors which have filled their dwellings and their 
 streets with mourning, lamentation, and woe. 
 Three months ago, no communities reposed or re- 
 
ORORY OF nn: n>ni.i.\ 03 
 
 joiced in scones of greater health or hilarity than 
 they. For years, none have been more exempt 
 from the ravages of disease. Beautiful gems on 
 our Atlantic coast, twin sisters on opposite sides 
 of the finest harbor in the world, they were shining 
 in the pride of their beauty, and rivaling each 
 other in the display of their charms, and in the 
 resources of their merchandise. The spirit of en- 
 terprise had awakened their emulation, and inter- 
 nal improvements are directing the channels of 
 wealth towards their marts of trade. Shipping 
 of every class, and almost of every flag, from the 
 line-of-battle ship to the pleasure smack, rode 
 proudly at anchor, crowded their docks, or merrily 
 ploughed their noble river. Churches thronged 
 with devout worshipers, and musical with the 
 chimes of bells, made their Sabbaths a blessing and 
 a praise ; while refinement and luxury offered their 
 soft allurements to the devotees of pleasure. 
 
 " What are they now ? The angel of death has 
 claimed them for his abode ; spread over them the 
 mortuary pall ; shed through their atmosphere his 
 pestilential breath ; hurled his fatal darts into every 
 family, and rioted in a carnage more frightful and 
 astounding than that of an invading army. Wrap- 
 m the mysterious folds of his dismal mantle, 
 
94 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 from an invisible citadel, lie has issued his orders, 
 and hecatombs have obeyed the summons, even 
 before the unsuspecting victims had time to ask, 
 When, where, how ? Beauty has had no fascina- 
 tion, youth no innocence, health no strength, in- 
 telligence no skill, business no plans, and piety no 
 power to repel his shafts, or to retard their flight. 
 From the cradle of infancy, from the hearth-stone 
 of affection, from the bench of the mechanic, from 
 the counter of the merchant, from the office of the 
 physician, and from the altar of religion, his exac- 
 tions have met with a success which has stunned, 
 if not paralyzed, the most intrepid minds. The 
 highest medical ability has been baffled at every 
 turn, exhausted in every effort, and has been com- 
 pelled to acknowledge itself as weak as the bald- 
 est empiricism. Prosperous congregations have 
 been despoiled of their membership, and pastors 
 have been severed from their flocks. Happy 
 households have been agonized with the spectacle 
 of their loved ones dead and dying, at the same 
 moment. Survivors have been doomed to the 
 melancholy task of nursing, closing the eyes, 
 shrouding and burying their own relatives. In- 
 sufficient help has left others to suffer in solitude, 
 and to expire unattended. Orphans have clamored 
 
His TORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 95 
 
 feo parental hearts motionless in death, and have 
 eased in numbers that will tax, for years, the 
 charities of the good. Markets have deen deserted ; 
 food has become scarce ; friends powerless ; and 
 collins have been in such demand, that undertakers, 
 at home, have been unequal to the supply; bodies 
 have putrefied in the open air, been put into rough 
 and unsightly boxes, or buried, by heaps, in pits; 
 and the impurity of the infected air has emitted a 
 corpse-like stench. Entire families have been dis- 
 membered or extinguished. No one has been left 
 to call or answer to the hereditary roll, and houses, 
 once filled with cheerfulness and mirth, are as 
 tenantless as the desert, and as voiceless as the 
 tomb. Thoroughfares, once gay with business or 
 with fashion, are horribly vacant. The hum of 
 human concourse has yielded to the rattle of the 
 physician's carriage, or the hollow rumble of the 
 sluggish death-cart. The ominous plague-fly has 
 made its disgusting appearance, and the howl of 
 the watch-dog, separated from his master, has 
 added its doleful note to the solemnities of a 
 decimated population. Multitudes, seized with 
 apprehension, have fled from their homes in af- 
 fright, are now scattered over the adjacent country, 
 awaiting, with mingled solicitude and hope, the 
 
96 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 consummation of this startling havoc of their 
 friends and fellow-citizens. Still the tragedy goes 
 on, and who is able to calculate its catastrophe 
 or its termination! During this period, in our 
 judgment, few, if any, less than three thousand 
 human beings have left the walks of the living, to 
 inherit the abodes of the dead, and with magic, 
 but revolting rapidity and numbers, have created 
 a populous city of graves conterminous with that 
 so recently occupied and animated with their 
 presence. 
 
 " The ill-omened Ben Franklin, it is supposed, 
 discharged the fatal poison from a foreign port on 
 a Portsmouth wharf. Infested, no doubt, with 
 local malaria, it instantly communicated its 
 virulence, and from this terrible centre rolled its 
 destructive tide, in utter defiance of all human pre- 
 caution. Alas! that from this inconsiderable 
 source, so calamitous a flood should have over- 
 flowed two entire cities, and overwhelmed in its 
 waves the very flower of their population ! Who 
 can divine, who can explain the cause or the 
 course of this portentous phenomenon? Philo- 
 sophy owns its incapacity ; speculation surrenders 
 its haughty pretensions ; and theology submits, 
 without the temerity of inquiring, " What doest 
 
iiisroKY OF THE PKsTll.i.N !»7 
 
 >u ?" Undoubtedly it is of God, who, in his 
 
 rial character, atul for reasons infinitely wise 
 
 ami good, has chosen thus to assert his preroga- 
 
 : nor to avenge, on these cities, his wrath, but 
 through them to display to the whole nation his 
 august majesty, which they have ceased to rever- 
 ence, and to exact that homage which is described 
 in the words of the Apocalypse : ' Great and mar- 
 velous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just 
 and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.' " 
 
 "On the northern bank of the Elizabeth river," 
 said the Rev. R. S. Storrs, of Brooklyn, "in that 
 ancient Commonwealth, the first settled of our 
 Confederacy, within a town fronting a harbor com- 
 modious and safe beyond most others — a town 
 whose families have been refined, their hospitali- 
 ties liberal, and their society charming almost to 
 a proverb, the pestilence had commenced its deso- 
 lating work. Matron and maiden, the husband 
 and the son, the physician to the body and the 
 physician to the soul, those of all ranks in life, of 
 either sex, and of every age, the child and the 
 grandparent, the slave and his master, alike were 
 falling beneath its power. In private houses and 
 in hospitals, in all places of usual public resort, 
 in the streets and in the court-house, in the forest 
 
98 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 and in the fields, in the very sanctuaries of God, 
 men met the descent of the invisible destroyer. 
 No physical habit, no mental equipment, and no 
 moral state, brought rescue or release. The love- 
 liest form turned loathsome and expired. The 
 manliest frame shook down, like a tree decayed at 
 the heart, under the whirlwind, before that strange, 
 appalling onset. Childhood forgot its smile and 
 bloom. Old age was not spared for the calm steps 
 of decline. The chief officers of the city, the 
 nurses and attendants, the distributors of charity 
 and the ministers of Christ, all sank together, with 
 those whom they assisted, into one death, to be 
 buried together in one grave. 
 
 "Death was on every hand, in his austerest and 
 gloomiest aspect, his sternest panoply of assault 
 and destruction. And yet, as each one died in 
 turn, as families disappeared, absorbed into the 
 grave, as streets became silent* and cemeteries grew 
 crowded, there were no other than sad relations 
 attending the event. No forces ran out from it. 
 moulding, exalting, or regenerating history. No 
 pressure was lent by it to the progress of society. 
 No blow was struck by it on barbarism, idolatry, 
 and old decay. No light was shot on national an- 
 nals. It was all an inevitable and promiscuous 
 
HMTOBY OF THE PBSTILENCB. 90 
 
 dest ruction, unrelieved by any such moral rela- 
 tions; the trampling of so much life from earth, 
 with fearful certainty and more fearful celerity, 
 amid terrific and appalling phenomena, without 
 recall. * * * There burst no red artillery upon 
 Norfolk, when the pestilence commenced there. 
 No tremor shook the firm ribs of the earth, and no 
 canopies of overhanging and thunderous gloom 
 rushed up the heavens. The air was smiling and 
 calm as ever ; the fields as green, the scenery as 
 sweet as when each day came freighted with new 
 pleasures, and business and friendship walked hand 
 in hand along the streets. * * Men raised the 
 window and death came in. They walked the 
 streets, and he joined them at the corners. He 
 met them in their business, put up the shutters, 
 padlocked the door, and drove home with them, 
 before a single plan for him was made. They fled 
 abroad, but no rail-car outran him. They hid 
 themselves at home, and their very rest was their 
 ruin. * * We live every moment in the midst 
 of an atmosphere, whose every drop, by some slight 
 change, might, on the instant, be loaded with 
 poisons, its motion become a desolating march, its 
 pause a conquest of families and cities. The train 
 is laid on every hand. One pestilential spark 
 
100 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 might kindle it to-morrow, and fill our eager and 
 populous scene with clouds more dread than tljose 
 which wrapped Pompeii in their shroud, or which 
 now weave their glowing and swift desert-dance 
 around the terrified caravan. How good to remem- 
 ber, amid such exposures, that God holds all these 
 powers in his hand ; yet how wise to be prepared 
 to meet and greet death, whenever he shall 
 come! ,? 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 iDENCE — THE FEVER STILL RAGES FEARFULLY — SAD 
 
 EVIDENCES OF THE REIGN OF THE PESTILENCE THE COLORED 
 
 PEOPLE — HOWARD ASSOCIATION — NATURE STILL BEAUTIFUL 
 
 THE WORK OF THE UNDERTAKERS GOES ON RAPIDLY THE 
 
 GRAVE-YARDS FILLING UP A SPLENDID MORNING THE HARBOR 
 
 DESERTED THE SILENCE OF THE CHURCH-BELLS THE CLERGY 
 
 THE SABBATHS OF THE PESTILENCE BURYING IN PITS 
 
 MISTAKES IN BUBYING THE DEAD HASTY INTERMENTS. 
 
 Early in September the writer commenced a 
 regular correspondence with a daily newspaper 
 in Baltimore, one in Richmond, and another in 
 Petersburg. Letters were written, almost every 
 day, during the greater part of that and the two 
 succeeding months, describing, from actual obser- 
 vation, the scenes of death and woe that were here 
 enacted, showing the progress of the scourge, and 
 giving the current and most interesting incidents 
 of that time of desolation, dismay, and wretched- 
 ness. These contain, perhaps, as true a history of 
 the plague, and of Death's doings, as we could 
 present in any other form. 
 
 We proceed, therefore, to present extracts from 
 
102 
 
 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 
 some of these letters. Although before published, 
 they contain, it is believed, much that will 
 prove interesting to the reader. The letters, 
 generally, concluded with a long list of the sick 
 and dead. 
 
 Extracts from the special correspondence of the 
 Eichmond Dispatch : — 
 
 " Norfolk, Sept. 11, 1855. — There appears to 
 be some abatement of the violence of the scourge ; 
 but it still rages fearfully. The work of death 
 goes on, and there are many new cases. With a 
 large population the number of deaths would be 
 correspondingly large. Norfolk, but two months 
 ago, so busy, bustling, healthful and prosperous, 
 now bears, on every deserted street, avenue, and 
 square, sad evidences of the desolating reign of the 
 pestilence. Widows and orphans have been made 
 by the hundred. A thousand homes, but recently 
 happy, are now desolate, sad, and comfortless ; and 
 in some cases, the unsparing arm of the angel of 
 death has claimed all, and they are quiet and stir- 
 less tenants of the grave-yard. How terrible and 
 extraordinary has been this visitation of Providence ! 
 But I give you some particulars : The number of 
 burials on the 1st inst. was about 76 ; on the 2nd, 
 45; 3rd, 52; 4th, 58 ; 5th, 48; 6th, 66; 7th, 48; 
 
iust.oUY OF THE PESTILENCE. 103 
 
 52; 9th, 66; 10th, 65. This is an awful 
 mortality for so small a remaining population. 
 
 # # # # # 
 
 " It is certainly dangerous for persons to come 
 to the city from abroad. Those who venture, 
 almost invariably get the fever, and generally die. 
 Very many colored people are down with the fever 
 — several hundred — many have recently died, and a 
 number are in a suffering or dying condition. The 
 Howard Association is doing all in its power to 
 alleviate distress, and lessen the force and power 
 of the terrible disease/' 
 
 11 Wednesday, 12th. — Many of our citizens are 
 still falling victims to the scourge. There are 
 lamentation and mourning in many parts of the 
 town and in Portsmouth. We are yet in the midst 
 of one of the most terrific calamities that ever 
 visited any place. The people are still falling 
 beneath the leveling arm of the destroying angel, 
 at the rate of fifty a day or more! Men, unac- 
 customed to weeping, are shedding tears now, and 
 hearts are made to feel deeply and almost to break 
 with grief. All nature looks beautiful and charm- 
 ing; but here, in our ill-fated city, the silence of 
 death and the look of desolation chill the heart, 
 and depress the spirits. 
 
104 HISTGKY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 " We hear scarce a sound but that of the ham- 
 mers, and saws, and wagons of the undertaker, and 
 the rattle of the physicians' vehicles. Business has 
 ceased, and the voice of mirth and revelry is not 
 heard. 
 
 " More than five hundred have been buried in 
 the two principal cemeteries in eleven days. Many 
 have been buried in the Catholic burial ground and 
 elsewhere. There have been about 1,500 deaths 
 in the city." 
 
 " Monday, Sept. 17. — TJiis was one of the most 
 delightful autumnal days that ever dawned in 
 loveliness upon our beautiful world. Just with- 
 out the limits of the city, the air seemed as balmy 
 and invigorating as that of the mountain regions. 
 I stood off this morning half a mile distant to 
 southeastward, and looked over the splendid and 
 capacious sun-lit river that rolls along in its 
 strength and beauty, upon poor Norfolk — one of 
 the two intensely afflicted towns — and no human 
 being appeared upon its wharves, but recently the 
 place of life, business, and activity. Near a hun- 
 dred vessels, and a number of steamers, only a 
 short time ago, were moored at the piers and in 
 the docks ; now, a single, solitary ship, and the 
 ferry steamers only, are to be seen upon the 
 
HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 105 
 
 waters of our wide and deep harbor. The spa- 
 cious warehouses are closed, the streets are silent; 
 for the busy people that were there are either 
 dead or absent ! The cupolas, turrets, and spires 
 are Been distinctly towering above the numerous 
 surrounding buildings; but the cheerful sound of 
 the • belfry bell' is not heard. True, a few loud 
 notes of the sonorous old bell of one of the 
 churches broke in upon the stillness yesterday; 
 but soon silence resumed its solemn reign. No 
 sermon was preached ; no prayer was offered ; no 
 exercises were held in any house of worship here, 
 excepting, perhaps, St. Patrick's. 
 
 " The excellent minister pro tan. of Christ's 
 Church lies sick of the fever ; the familiar voices 
 of the pastors of two of the Methodist churches are 
 hushed in death — their remains sleep, profoundly, 
 beside those of beloved children, in the cold, silent 
 tomb. ' There is rest for the weary in the grave.' 
 They spoke words of peace and comfort, and con- 
 solation to the dying members of their flocks, and 
 to others who preceded them in the dark valley, 
 and their spirits, too, are now in vast eternity — 
 gone to their reward — away from these scenes of 
 death, and woe, and tears. Another minister, 
 
 after battling with the fierce fury of the destroyer, 
 5* 
 
106 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 and yielding to its power, has gone, disabled, from 
 the scene, like a brave, but wounded warrior from 
 the battle's rage ; while other faithful divines, 
 valiant soldiers of the Cross, are in the chambers 
 at the bedsides of those who have been struck 
 down by the terrible destroyer. 
 
 "A Sabbath without preaching and religious ser- 
 vice ; but every day is like a Sabbath. No, alas, 
 for the silence of the bells, these vacant, grass- 
 grown streets, these untrodden sidewalks, with 
 no happy Sunday-school children, present not the 
 appearance of the blessed, hallowed Sabbath. And 
 how many of those who went to the sanctuary, 
 and, sad to say, those who went not, to hear the 
 word of life, will no more be seen on earth ! The 
 voices of many a pious one in prayer and praise, 
 will no more be heard below the skies. Verily it 
 is a time of mourning, and sadness, and tears here ; 
 but, perchance, of glory, and gladness, and joyful 
 greetings in the spirit land. 
 
 " But enough of these gloomy reflections for the 
 present ; and I proceed to give the death-list." 
 
 Here followed the long death-roll. 
 
 " Sept. 19. — The plan of burying in pits still 
 continues. Eight coffins are put down side by 
 side, then dirt is thrown in and leveled off ; then 
 
history of Tin: PESTILENCE. 107 
 
 another tier, and so on. There have been as many 
 as tour tiers. 
 
 11 Mistakes in burying are common, and persons 
 sometimes find it impossible to learn anything 
 definite with regard to the place where their dead 
 relatives have been deposited. Mr. Hawkins, the 
 attentive superintendent, finds it very difficult to 
 prevent incorrect and improper interments ; and 
 when the fierce and furious destroyer shall cease 
 its destruction of human life, and our people 
 return to their homes, and to health and business, 
 the authorities will, no doubt, attend to this im- 
 portant matter — directing that more dirt, where 
 necessary, be thrown upon the graves and pits, 
 and thus prevent a result which might be at- 
 tended w T ith the most serious consequences here- 
 after. Unless the putrid bodies are placed suffi- 
 ciently deep in the ground, and properly covered, 
 a poisonous and offensive gas may escape, and 
 produce another fearful pestilence. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 A DAY AND NIGHT OF BEAUTY THE DEATH-SILENCE DISTURBED 
 
 BY THE ROAR OF CANNON AND THE TOLL OF A BELL — DE- 
 SERTED MANSIONS — FURY OF THE FEVER LASTING EFFECTS OF 
 
 THE PESTILENCE RESPECTED AND VALUABLE RESIDENTS FALL- 
 ING MALIGNITY OF THE FEVER DEATH OF THE PRESIDENT OF 
 
 THE HOWARD ASSOCIATION, THE POSTMASTER AND OTHERS 
 
 HEART-RENDING "SCENE REFLECTIONS THE DISEASE RAGES 
 
 STILL ITS DECEPTIVE AND MYSTERIOUS CHARACTER THE 
 
 WEATHER RETURNING REFUGEES DANGER OF BREAKING OUT 
 
 AGAIN DEATH OF A MINISTER THE GRAVE-DIGGER. 
 
 " September 21. — This was a day of pleasant- 
 ness and brightness. The sun went down in cloud- 
 less glory, and now the moon shines forth clearly 
 and mildly. It is a night of beauty ; one of the 
 great guns of that leviathan of the waters, the 
 Pennsylvania, has just roared out loudly, and its 
 echoes have died away down the distant recesses 
 of the forest, but rolling on, till heard distinctly 
 even on the Atlantic shore ; and the loud tones of 
 the ponderous city bell have just been flung out 
 upon the still, ambient, and pestilential air. The 
 sound was so like the slow and measured tolling 
 of a funeral knell, that it aroused the mind up to 
 
HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 109 
 
 a full sense of the doings of death in this ill-fated 
 city. 
 
 M Thousands of houses, many of which are 
 furnished in costly and elegant style, are closed, 
 tenantless, and dark, and as silent as the tomb. 
 But, alas, in how many others is the fatal malady 
 exerting its power on the occupants — a number of 
 whom will be still in the deep sleep of death before 
 the rising of to-morrow's sun ! 
 
 " There is a large number of new cases in the 
 suburbs, and in the northern section of the city. 
 
 " The fever this week has been exceedingly malig- 
 nant. The physicians say it is worse than any- 
 thing they ever witnessed in the South. Many 
 die in two or three days — baffling all skill and 
 treatment. 
 
 " We hope, however, for returning health and rest 
 from the melancholy labors requisite in the midst 
 of so appalling a visitation ; and surely two or three 
 more weeks will terminate the course of the death- 
 dealing agent. But the thick, dark cloud of sor- 
 row that has hung over this city so long, may 
 measurably pass away ; the atmosphere may re- 
 sume its wonted salubrity, and the citizens may go 
 forth without the fear of inhaling the dreadful 
 poison of the life-blood ; but long years will not 
 
110 HISTOEY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 suffice to obliterate from the mind the heart-rend- 
 ing scenes that have been witnessed here since the 
 commencement of this awful scourge." 
 
 " September 22. — Our remaining citizens are 
 constantly shocked to hear of the sudden departure 
 from our midst of our most useful and highly re- 
 spected residents. We feel that the chastening 
 hand of a just God is upon us. Alas, how many 
 of those who were here but a few days ago, actively 
 engaged in their duties, and in visiting and com- 
 forting the sick and suffering, are gone to their ac- 
 count ! We fancy we still hear the familiar sound 
 of their voices in social converse. Verily, we are 
 in the midst of death. The fever is jcontinuing 
 fearfully and rapidly in its course, doing its deadly 
 work upon the strongest men in from two to five 
 or six days, and baffling the superior skill and long 
 experience of professional men, and the most vigi- 
 lant and careful nursing. But God's will must be 
 done. His decree has gone forth, and the dreadful 
 commission must be executed by the mighty angel 
 of death, though hearts break, and the most power- 
 ful men and the most amiable and lovely women 
 be struck down by this terrible and calamitous 
 visitation. 
 
 " A thrill of pungent sorrow has been felt to-day 
 
HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. Ill 
 
 by hundreds of hearts, from the intelligence of the 
 death of the worthy and indefatigable President of 
 the Howard Association. William B. Ferguson is 
 no more ! He, too, has fallen a victim. Myste- 
 rious, indeed, are the ways of Providence. Mr. Fer- 
 guson had endeared himself to this afflicted people 
 tw ties that even relentless Death cannot sever. His 
 name will be remembered by old and young, rich 
 and poor. The little ones, bereaved by the 
 monster, will talk of his deeds of generosity, and 
 love, and mercy for long years to come. Time will 
 not obliterate the recollection of his efforts, of his 
 energy and perseverance during the reign of the 
 conqueror, in the full rage of the destroyer — at 
 night and in the day. Alas ! he sleeps quietly now, 
 from his labors and toils among the sick, the dying, 
 the suffering, and the dead. Honor to his memo- 
 ry! 
 
 " Dr. Alexander Gait, too, our excellent, gentle- 
 manly, and attentive Postmaster, has fallen. Only 
 four or five days ago, he was faithfully engaged in 
 the discharge of his official duties. Now, his well- 
 known and active form is shrouded, coffined, en- 
 tombed — cold, still, and wakeless in death, and 
 silent in the grave. 
 
 " Win. Reid, an enterprising merchant, recently 
 
112 
 
 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 candidate for the Mayoralty, and an active officer 
 of the Howard Association, has gone at the same 
 time. He was, physically, a strong and exceed- 
 ingly healthy man; but this is no shield from the 
 malady. He leaves a large and interesting family. 
 
 " Mrs. Delk, the lady of E. H. Delk, of the firm of 
 Hardy & Delk, extensive merchants, died last night, 
 quickly following her infant through the valley of 
 the shadow of death. 
 
 " Miss C. A. Crosbie, whose mother and sister re- 
 cently died, was buried to-day. They formed a 
 happy and very pleasant little family, and the de- 
 voted trio, united on earth, have followed each 
 other in quick succession; and thus does the un- 
 sparing conqueror triumph, striking down whole 
 families. ' Insatiate archer !' " 
 
 " Samuel Lightfoot, son of the late Dr. Light- 
 foot, aged sixteen, is also among the dead — an 
 estimable, intelligent, gentle youth, comely in 
 person and amiable in character, the prop of his 
 affectionate mother, widowed but a few weeks 
 ago. She and his fond sisters, whose pride and 
 joy he was, gathered around his youthful form, as 
 it lay still and pale in the cold arms of death, and 
 a scene of the most intensely painful and heart- 
 rending interest was witnessed ; and this is but 
 
HTSTOBY OF THE PESTXLEW E. 113 
 
 one of many of the kind. How hearts are bleed- 
 ing, and tears are flowing, and cries are ringing 
 
 our here, and breaking upon the stillness of the 
 evening hour ! The fairest, the best, trie most 
 endeared and loved ones, are torn away from the 
 hearts' that loved them, perhaps too well. 'The 
 cold earth falls heavily and quickly upon them; the 
 snows of winter-time will come down lightly and 
 quietly, and rest upon their graves ; the wintry 
 winds will moan there ; the spring flowers will 
 bloom there ; affection's tears will fall there ; the 
 breezes will bend the tall green grass that will 
 grow there, and the gay birds will sing over them, 
 and home-hearts will cherish them ; and there will 
 be days, and months, and years of fond remem- 
 brance. I must proceed now with the death-roll, 
 having given you, in my last, the list up to a late 
 hour of yesterday. 
 
 •• Sept. 24. — The hope expressed in my former 
 letters, that the fever would materially abate in 
 its violence before this time, was vain. I am 
 pained to state that some of our best men are 
 still dying. The cool weather seems to increase 
 the violence of the disease, and it runs its fearful 
 course in a few days, in spite of the most skillful 
 medical attendance and careful treatment. The 
 
114 
 
 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 physicians are discouraged, and say they have 
 never witnessed so unmanageable a malady. The 
 patient often, after a lapse of four or five days 
 from the commencement of the attack, seems to 
 be in a fair way to recover, and the physicians 
 pronounce him convalescent and out of danger. 
 But suddenly the black vomit or another unfa- 
 vorable symptom is developed ; in a few hours 
 the sufferer breathes his last, and is ready for his 
 shroud and his coffin. 
 
 " The disease is lurking about the suburbs, 
 entering the habitations of the poor and the des- 
 titute, and striking down the strong as well as the 
 weak. Indiscriminate in its attacks, however, 
 the rich, as well as the poor and the lowly, are 
 attacked — are speedily crushed by its irresistible 
 power, and are as soon the tenants of the grave- 
 yard as the least regarded mendicant. It is a mys- 
 terious, terrible agent of destruction — a scourge, a 
 fearful plague, that appalls the people, and causes 
 the hardest hearts to feel — the most powerful to 
 tremble. 
 
 " Sept. 25. — I am highly gratified to inform you 
 that the cool weather seems to have caused a rapid 
 abatement of the fever. Our remaining citizens 
 are at last cheered by the prospect of returning 
 
HISTORY OP THE PESTILENCE. 115 
 
 health. There were forty deaths on Saturday, 
 tty-five or thirty on Sunday, and only about 
 fifteen to-day ! 
 
 I October 2nd. — The weather is damp and 
 warm, and the fever still lingers in our city, attack- 
 ing the few who have thus far escaped, and who 
 vainly hoped to be among the favored ones who 
 will be allowed to pass uninjured by this fierce 
 destroyer of health and life. 
 
 " Some families, learning that there had been 
 frost here, have ventured to return, and I hear that 
 several have already died, and that some others 
 are ill. It will be hazardous to come to the city 
 before one or two good frosts — some. say, a good 
 freeze and ICE. 
 
 " The buildings, stores, dwellings and ware- 
 houses, from cellar to attic, should be opened and 
 well aired. Clothing, bedding, carpets, etc., should 
 be exposed to the rays of the sun, and the cool, dry 
 winds from the north and west ; and suitable efforts 
 should be made to get rid entirely of the cause of 
 the hateful disease, before the return of our people 
 to their homes. 
 
 " This fever is a most mysterious and invidious, 
 as well as rapid and fatal malady ; and after the 
 return of the thirteen thousand of our people from 
 
116 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 the healthful mountain regions, and the salubrious 
 cities of the north and east, a few warm days in 
 November might cause it to break out afresh, and 
 fearful havoc might be made again. It will be 
 wise, therefore, for those who are absent, to' be 
 patient, and wait until physicians say that it is 
 prudent to return. 
 
 " October 4th. — I am pained to state that Rev. 
 Wm. M. Jackson, the esteemed and faithful in- 
 cumbent of St. Paul's Church (Protestant Episco- 
 pal), died last night. At the still hour of midnight 
 this good man closed his eyes in death, and his 
 freed spirit took its flight to the land of eternal 
 rest ; and to-day, at noon, his remains were con- 
 veyed to the cold grave. From the commencement 
 of the fatal epidemic, to the hour of his attack, he 
 went diligently forth in the discharge of his pas- 
 toral duties, speaking words of consolation to the 
 suffering and dying, comforting the bereaved 
 widows and the weeping orphans ; entering, at 
 night as well as in the day, the ample mansions of 
 the rich, and as readily the humble cottage-home 
 of the poor, and doing his duty as a faithful minis- 
 ter of Christ. 
 
 " The death of this excellent divine has caused a 
 deeper gloom to rest upon our citizens. At this 
 
hisi\m:y OF THE n>ni.i.\ 117 
 
 time of distress and affliction, this sad bereavement 
 
 is most sensibly and painfully felt by our communi- 
 [e and his kind offices will be remembered long 
 
 and fondly by a large number of our people ; and 
 the scattered members of his flock will be deeply 
 pained to hear of the death of their beloved pastor. 
 
 11 Mr. J. is at least the fifth minister who has 
 fallen at his post, during the reign of this dreadful 
 disease. The names of Rev. Messrs. Chisholm, 
 Dibrell, Eskridge, and Jones, have been added to 
 the list of the dead. 
 
 "Mr. Dubbs, the master grave-digger for the 
 cemeteries, is also dead. During the long and 
 tedious days and nights of the pestilence, he had 
 superintended the opening of the numerous graves 
 and pits that have closed over the loathsome dead 
 that were crowded into the burial-places ; and 
 now he, too, and his wife are both resting within 
 the narrow limits of the tomb. 
 
 "The weather continues cool, dry, and clear; 
 but I occasionally hear of new cases : the disease 
 is still very malignant in its attacks, and in many 
 instances soon terminates in death. 
 
 " A good frost, it is hoped, will put a final 
 end to its existence in our city, and enable us to 
 feel once more that the work of death has ceased. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE WEATHER — PHYSICIANS AND NURSES LEAVING — -REGRET — THE 
 
 VICTIMS ALARM — THE DISEASE IMPARTIAL A FAMILY SWEPT 
 
 OFF THE ORPHANS THE FEVER DISAPPEARING THE ABSENT 
 
 CITIZENS REFLECTIONS WEATHER THE FLIGHT SOME OF 
 
 THE VICTIMS PROGRESS OF THE FEVER A CHANGE THE CITY 
 
 BEFORE THE SCOURGE, ETC. 
 
 " Oct. 5. — There have been only three or four 
 deaths to-day, and the disease seems again to have 
 ceased its ravages. The weather has been cool, 
 as before stated, for several days ; some thought 
 it was cold enough for frost ; but, as yet, I have 
 no satisfactory evidence of frost either in town or 
 country. To-day the wind has changed to south 
 again, and the temperature is much warmer. 
 This, it is feared, will cause the fever to manifest 
 itself again, and some, who have not been attacked, 
 may not, after all, entirely escape the disease. 
 
 " Many of the physicians and nurses, from the 
 Southern cities, have gone home — their labors, 
 among the sick and dying, have ceased, and they 
 will have the pleasing recollection of having ac- 
 complished great good, and of relieving many a 
 
uisroia' OF THE PESTILENCE. 119 
 
 ■offering man and woman here in our still deserted 
 eirv, during the prevalence of the fever, that lias 
 been so furious, in its attacks, and so fatal in its 
 effects. Many of them have acted nobly, and 
 rve to be remembered by our citizens with 
 feelings of the profoundest gratitude. 
 
 •• Some of our people who refused at the earnest 
 solicitation of their friends to leave the city before 
 the fever raged so fearfully, and who have lost 
 members of their household, reproach themselves 
 severely, and bitterly regret that they did not fly, 
 and thus save the valuable lives that are lost. 
 And others deeply deplore the fact that necessity 
 compelled them to remain, to submit to the" fury 
 of the pestilence, and see their fondest relatives 
 die SHI conveyed to the grave. 
 
 11 Oct. 11. — After a cloudy and stormy night, 
 which succeeded one of the most balmy and de- 
 lightful autumnal days that ever smiled on the 
 world, we had again to-day a clear sky and bright 
 sunshine, and the temperature is lower than on 
 any other day of the season thus far. This in- 
 duced our citizens to hope that we should have 
 no more cases of the fever — and surely healthful- 
 ness and freedom from disease will very soon take 
 the place of sickness and death. 
 
120 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 " I was requested, a few days ago, by a person 
 in the country, to inquire about a highly respecta- 
 ble family on one of our principal streets. I called 
 at the ample mansion this morning, and found it 
 closed, locked, and vacant ! All was silent and 
 gloomy. On inquiry, I learned that all the 
 family had died of the fever. The household 
 consisted of four persons — the mother, a sister, 
 and two interesting daughters. They are all in 
 the grave. How unsparing has been the furious 
 disease that has spread over the entire limits of 
 our city. 
 
 " The orphans that occupied the Lecture Room 
 of Christ Church, have been removed to the 
 spacious building on Freemason Street, formerly 
 used as a boarding-school by the lamenteV^lrs. 
 Baylor. Last Sunday, they were in attendance 
 at Christ Church during service, and excited the 
 interest and sympathy of all who saw them. 
 They were neatly dressed, and generally looked 
 well. There were bright eyes, blooming cheeks, 
 and active, graceful forms. The parents who had 
 loved and nursed them had been taken from them 
 by a mysterious Providence ; but kind friends care 
 for and watch over them. They will not feel again 
 the mild and endearing influence of a mother's 
 
iii>i\>i;y OF THE ri.> i ii.i v i:, 121 
 
 and affection, ov a father's devotion and pro* 
 lecting care; bu1 true hearts feel lor them, willing 
 
 hands will save them from want, and care will 
 be taken to render them comfortable and hap- 
 
 py." 
 
 let. L2. — I have no deaths by the fever to 
 report, and I think there have been no new cases 
 for nearly a week. There are, of course, quite a 
 number of persons still sick, but they are nearly 
 all eonvalescent. I believe there will be no more 
 of the disease here, except among those who have 
 returned too early. After several days of delight- 
 ful weather, we have this morning a cold, damp, 
 and almost wintry atmosphere, with rain and a 
 piercing wind from the north. There will soon 
 be a great rush of our citizens back to their homes. 
 It is time now to prepare for cold weather, to lay 
 in winter supplies of coal, wood, etc. The anxiety 
 of hundreds who are away, and their desire to be 
 at home and settled once more, are only ecpialed 
 by the privations which many already feel, and 
 the want and necessity to which they will be 
 compelled to submit when they return. The in- 
 stinctive love of life, and the fear of death, caused 
 many to hurry off, whose means w T ere quite inade- 
 quate to the undertaking. Their funds have been 
 
 G 
 
122 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 exhausted, and some will find it exceedingly dim- 
 cult to return, unless they depend entirely upon 
 assistance from others, and receive it. They will, 
 perhaps, think their fate a hard one, and deplore 
 the distress and trouble which have been brought 
 upon them by reason of the destroying agent that 
 has been so long at work here. But those who 
 return in health, who have probably saved their 
 lives, and those of their wives and children, by the 
 hasty removal, should feel thankful, and patiently 
 submit to want and difficulty for a while. They 
 have escaped the attacks of the dreadful disease ; 
 they have not been compelled to witness the 
 awful scenes of death, suffering, and affliction that 
 have occurred here ; they have not been depressed 
 by the silence and desolation that have reigned 
 here ; and the groans of the dying and the 
 cries of the bereaved have not fallen upon their 
 ears. 
 
 " Let all whose lives are spared be determined 
 to make the best of life hereafter ; to go diligently ■ 
 to work again, and strive in eveiy way to lessen 
 the remaining force and effects of the great storm 
 of distress that has swept by and borne off the 
 people by its resistless power. 
 
 " But our city will recover rapidly from the 
 
HIstoky OF THE PESTILENCE. 123 
 
 v she has received. Men of enterprise, char- 
 
 t. and capital are left, and others are coming. 
 
 I schemes of local advancement will be put 
 forth, and carried out to completion ; enterprises 
 
 general commercial good and advancement 
 will soon go on with renewed activity; the wide 
 vannnn created by death will be soon filled up, 
 and the bright sun of prosperity will beam down 
 upon our city alter the dark night of gloom and 
 
 >w that has now passed to its shortest hours." 
 let. 14. — It has been sufficiently cold to-day 
 for fires and thick winter clothing; and, unless 
 there is a change, there seems but little reason to 
 tear an attack of the yellow fever. I still hear 
 occasionally, however, of new cases. 
 
 " I will venture some facts in connection with the 
 progress of the mysterious and fatal epidemic that 
 
 remained here so long, and made so many 
 houses vacant, and so many hearts sad. 
 
 11 It is quite certain that the rapid and precipitate 
 flight of nearly two-thirds of the people was a for- 
 tunate and wise movement ; for, in the small popu- 
 lation that remained, how extraordinary and fear- 
 ful the mortality ! The few remaining white 
 citizens would, no doubt, have gone from the city, 
 or the greater part of them, had they expected a 
 
124 
 
 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 visitation so indiscriminate and fatal in its attacks 
 upon health and life. 
 
 " Among those who have fallen, the Mayor, Hun- 
 ter Woodis, has naturally excited the deepest in- 
 terest and sympathy of this and other communities. 
 Actuated by the noble impulses of his nature, he 
 labored in behalf of the sick and suffering, till com- 
 pelled himself to yield to the power of the de- 
 stroyer. But before the disease had spent its 
 power upon the people, how many good and use- 
 ful residents were taken? How many of our most 
 estimable citizens, both male and female, were 
 victims of the desolating scourge? Ten of our 
 own physicians — men of great skill and experience 
 in their profession, and some of them of extensive 
 literary acquirements — have fallen. No one ima- 
 gined, when the fever first broke out, that so many 
 able physicians would fall. 
 
 "In the two cities, seven ministers were taken: 
 three Methodist; two Protestant Episcopal; one 
 Catholic ; one Baptist. The three other members 
 of the resident clergy who remained in the city 
 were ill; two lost their wives, and one, an only 
 son. Some of those who died were soon followed 
 by other near relatives, including a daughter and a 
 son. 
 
HISTORY OF THE PE8TILENOE. L25 
 
 "Among the large number of ladies who died, 
 there were some who were noted for their piety, 
 ulness, and good works. 
 
 M The churches have sustained an incalculable 
 
 rear bereavement, in the death of female 
 
 members, who were immensely useful, and whose 
 
 - of love and benevolence will be remembered 
 
 long and fondly by those who are left to mourn. 
 
 11 The representative elect of the city is dead ; a 
 number of offices are left vacant ; the president 
 and teller of one of the banks are dead ; the first 
 and second accountants of another ; the teller and 
 discount clerk of another; the proprietor, chief 
 clerk, and book-keeper of another ; and the cashier 
 of still another, are in the grave, and the wives of 
 at least three of these are also dead. 
 
 " The president of the Seaboard and Roanoke 
 Railroad, and the treasurer of the Norfolk and* 
 Petersburg Road and his wife are gone ; the pre- 
 sidents and other members of the Select and Com- 
 mon Councils, and several of the Board of Health, 
 are dead ; the Postmaster and one of his clerks, the 
 senior editor of the Beacon, the associate proprie- 
 tor, the estimable foreman of the Argus, and others 
 connected with the city papers, were taken. 
 
 " Three of the Custom-house officers are dead ; 
 
126 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 the Deputy U. S. Marshal of the District and the 
 physician to the Marine Hospital are gone; the 
 Superintendent and Instructress of the City Or- 
 phan Asylum is dead; the Inspector-General 
 of Lumber, the gentleman who held the offices 
 of the Treasurer of Christ Church, of the Norfolk 
 Military Academy, and Secretary of the Norfolk 
 Provident Society, is dead. The jailor, who was 
 also one of the Sergeant's deputies, and several of 
 the city constables, together with others, whom 
 I have not mentioned, are among the deceased 
 office-holders. All the hotel proprietors died. In 
 Portsmouth, too, many offices have been rendered 
 vacant by death. 
 
 " Among thejew who have not had the disease, 
 are some of the oldest citizens. There is one 
 eighty-seven years of age, and another seventy- 
 six — the former a native of Scotland, but for 
 nearly fifty years a resident of this city, and still 
 active — who have not had the fever. The younger 
 of the two is a native of England. 
 
 " There were, doubtless, many whose sickness 
 was aggravated, and whose death was hastened by 
 alarm. The disease, aiming its deadliest blows at 
 the nervous system, and aided by fright and the 
 fear of death, prostrated completely, in a day, 
 
msroKY OF THE PESTILENCE. 127 
 
 e of the strongest, as well as many of the frail 
 ami infirm. Those who were addicted to intem- 
 perance and other habits of dissipation and irregu- 
 larity, generally fell an easy prey to the destroyer. 
 But, as I have before stated, no particular class 
 favored ; persons of every description, of all 
 habits, and every shade of moral character, and 
 
 grades of physical constitution, swelled the 
 list of the dead. The greatest personal pre- 
 caution, the most able medical skill, the most vigi- 
 lant watching, the most tender and careful nurs- 
 ing ; the prayers and tears of devoted relatives 
 and friends ; the most heart-rending shrieks and 
 lamentations of women ; the loud, shrill cries of 
 sons and daughters of tender years, suddenly 
 aroused to a full, dread sense of the loss to be 
 sustained — all, all were unavailing. Beating 
 hearts grew still ; eyes closed on all earthly 
 things, and death would have the victory." 
 
 " Oct. 1-5. — The return of warm weather, and 
 also of some of the refugees, has caused the yellow 
 fever to develop itself again in some new cases. Mr. 
 Beane, painter, and several others, among those who 
 have come back, are down. Another son of the 
 late Col. John G. Colley died to-day, and also Miss 
 Jane Lee. These have been ill for several days, 
 
128 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 and have not been from home. The wind having 
 changed to the south again, the temperature is 
 warm, and it is probable there will be several days 
 of mild, spring-like weather. 
 
 "Let those who are absent beware how they re- 
 turn to this poisoned atmosphere, which, though 
 apparently not injurious to those w T ho are here, 
 and who have gone through the ordeal, would, no 
 doubt, be fatal and deadly to those who might come 
 from abroad. 
 
 " The progress of the yellow fever here has been 
 very singular, and those who have been careful 
 and thoughtful observers of its progress, have not 
 only been impressed with the malignity and rapid- 
 ity of its attacks, but with its steady, gradual pro- 
 gress in a northerly direction, from its commence- 
 ment. Manifesting itself in Gosport, a few rods 
 from the massive gate of the United States Navy 
 Yard, it soon spread desolation and dismay among 
 the people, who fled panic-stricken in every direc- 
 tion. In a week or two it reached Portsmouth — 
 treading on slowly, silently, invisibly, and fearful- 
 ly. Soon Portsmouth was in alarm — the monster 
 was there striking down some of the best of the 
 citizens. Five,, six, seven, etc., died in a day. 
 Then the citizens hurried aw T ay by the thousand, 
 
BB9T0BY OF THE ri> ill. i:\CE. 120 
 
 leaving but few to contend with the enemy and 
 
 submit to its at lacks. Twenty, and as many as 
 thirty, died daily, and there were four hundred 
 - in the town. Disease, suffering, and death 
 combined to render Portsmouth one of the most 
 intensely atllicted communities in the world. 
 
 " But the epidemic slowly strode on to Norfolk, 
 and in a week or two the alarm was given that the 
 yellow fever had broken out in Barry's How. The 
 number of cases increased, the people hurried 
 away, in consternation ; but enough were left to 
 feed the voracious cravings of the destroyer. Soon 
 it appeared on Main Street, then marching quietly 
 on, in six weeks it had spread in almost every part 
 of the city. Xow, after the lapse of ten weeks, it 
 still lingers about the suburbs. Satisfied at first 
 with three or four victims per day, no less than 
 eighty would appease the violence of the monster 
 when its power was exercised to its full force. 
 
 " Then the mortality gradually subsided to fifty 
 per day ; which continued for a week. After which 
 there were reported forty, thirty-five, thirty, etc., 
 every twenty-four hours, until nearly every re- 
 maining citizen had either died or recovered from 
 the disease." 
 
 " Oct. 16.— -A press of business to-day prevented 
 
 6* 
 
130 HISTOEY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 me from ascertaining definitely the facts with regard 
 to the fever in the city. But I can state on authority 
 that seems reliable, that there are several new cases, 
 and that there have been four or five burials to- 
 day. The new cases are, with one or two excep- 
 tions, among those who have returned. I shall be 
 prepared to give the names in my next. 
 
 " Matters are assuming a much more encouraging 
 aspect. I will mention several things that are 
 calculated to excite hope, and relieve the hearts of 
 the people of a portion of the burden of sorrow 
 that has oppressed them so long : The appearance 
 on the streets of many who are rapidly recovering 
 from sickness ; the opening of some of the stores ; 
 the increase of the number of carts and wagons at 
 market ; the arrival of a schooner in port, loaded 
 with coal ; the re-issue of three of the daily pa- 
 pers ; a full supply of wood in the dock ; the ap- 
 pearance of ladies down town on some of the 
 
 principal business streets, and a much greater 
 noise made by drays and carts passing from place 
 to place loaded with goods. But Norfolk is still a 
 dull, gloomy city — a mere wreck compared with 
 its former activity, bustle, and advancement. 
 
 " Signs of life and returning vigor appear, how- 
 ever, and the effects of the powerful blow that 
 
HlsroKY OF THE PESTILENi 131 
 
 inflicted are gradually passing oil". Like a 
 strong man, who had been overpowered and de- 
 prived for a while of his ability to act and more 
 with his accustomed strength and force, our city 
 ill sadly deficient in the usual characteristics 
 pf active business, advancement, and prosperity. 
 Hundreds of the stores are closed, and hundreds of 
 our most enterprising and extensive merchants are 
 absent, and they dare not return to the city. And, 
 alas, a number of the best of those who remained are 
 silent in the grave. It is believed, however, by 
 men of intelligence and sound judgment, that, 
 after the return of the citizens, and after the lapse 
 of a few weeks, required to bring the various de- 
 partments of business into their wonted channels, 
 a new impulse will be given to commerce and 
 local enterprises of every description, and that the 
 progress of the city will be retarded but little, if 
 any, in business and general prosperity. Some, 
 however, are not of this opinion, and are dis- 
 couraged, improperly asserting that many years 
 will be required to place Norfolk and Portsmouth 
 in the position in which they were found by the 
 raging pestilence that has blasted so many bright 
 hopes, and arrested the progress of so many enter- 
 prises of importance. 
 
132 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 "Almost every interest of the city was in a 
 prospering condition. A heavy business was 
 transacted by many of our merchants and trades- 
 men ; manufactories were busy and nourishing; a 
 large number of vessels rode at our wharves ; pub- 
 lic and private buildings were being erected in 
 different parts of the city; men of enterprise, 
 character, and capital, were hastening hither, and 
 settling among us ; and the least visionary of our 
 citizens thought their hopes of rapid advancement 
 to increased wealth and greatness were based upon 
 a sure foundation. But suddenly all were ap- 
 palled ; commercial transactions were soon at an 
 end, the ponderous wheels of machinery ceased 
 to revolve, and were soon neglected, silent, 
 and rusty ; vessels of every class — the ocean 
 ships, the noisy steamboats, and the slow-moving 
 canal boats — left our waters ; buildings, large 
 and small, were left half finished on every 
 street. 
 
 . " But the pestilence has passed, and it is hoped 
 will return no more, for many long years, if ever. 
 Let those, therefore, who are here be hopeful and 
 active — those who are absent be patient till pru- 
 dent to return, and then engage in the work of 
 restoring our lost energies, and establishing our 
 
msTOKY OF THE risiii.rv 133 
 
 former character of commercial importance and 
 rapid local advancement. 
 
 •• Tlu' physicians have decided that the absentees 
 should nor return until freezing weather. There 
 od reason for this decision. Let it be heeded 
 by our absent people ; anxious as they may be to 
 return, and delighted as their friends here would 
 be to see them." 
 
• 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE THE BUSINESS OF THE UNDERTAKERS |AND 
 
 GRAYE-DIGGERS NATURE BEAUTIFUL MOURNING NUMBER 
 
 OF DEATHS DIMINISHING— THE FEVER SUBSIDING THE CHANGE 
 
 DESOLATION SYMPTOMS OF THE DISEASE DEATH AND BURIAL 
 
 WEATHER PHYSICIANS AND NURSES A NIGHT IN THE PESTI- 
 LENCE NORFOLK DURING THE SCOURGE— THE SICK AND THE 
 
 DEAD INCIDENTS OF THE PESTILENCE THE VICTIMS A MEMO- 
 RABLE WEEK THE EPIDEMIC DEATH'S FEARFUL WORK — THE 
 
 WEATHER AND THE FEVER RETURN OF REFUGEES THE CAREER 
 
 OF THE PESTILENCE AND ITS VICTIMS. 
 
 Extracts from the special correspondence of 
 the Southside Democrat, Petersburg : 
 
 " Sept. 12. — The business of the undertakers and 
 grave-diggers still goes on flourishingly here and 
 in Portsmouth. Verily, it is terrible to contem- 
 plate the gloom and desolation that reign here. 
 
 " The sun shines on as brightly, the breezes are 
 as gentle, the gay birds sing as sweetly, the in- 
 sects hum as merrily as ever. But yonder go the 
 death-wagons with the corpses, hurrying on to the 
 silent repository. 
 
 " I have seen strong and stout-hearted men 
 weeping in our streets to-day. It is a time of sor- 
 
■H nil-. rr.M'ii.KNri:. 135 
 
 and woe, and death, and sad. sad bereave* 
 
 ment. Widows are weeping and refusing consola- 
 tion ; helpless orphans are uttering their heart- 
 pending and piteous cries; and there are talei, 
 of woe that reach down deep in the heart, and 
 cause the whole frame to shudder and tremble." 
 
 " Sept. 14. — The number of new cases and 
 deaths, I am happy to state, is still diminishing, 
 and a ray from the star of hope has gleamed down 
 at last upon our forlorn city. This is, indeed, some 
 relief from the constant panic and dread that were 
 so observable but a day or two ago. There are 
 still many cases, however, and death claims his 
 victims by the dozen." 
 
 u Sept. 15. — I am glad to say, the rage of the 
 fever begins at last to subside — a brighter day has 
 dawned upon us, and we feel some relief from the 
 ponderous weight of woe that has crushed us down 
 so long. Our citizens that are well, breathe easier, 
 and there are even some cheerful, smiling counte- 
 nances. The feeling caused by the change, may 
 be akin to that produced by the probable escape 
 from shipwreck, when hope had plumed her wings 
 and flown, when the sea yawned to receive its 
 helpless, hapless victims ; after the battle with the 
 wild fury of the howling storm-spirit had ceased, 
 
136 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 and the frail bark had careened hopelessly to the 
 play of the winds upon the surging billows. The 
 fearful dread of disease, the vomito, delirium, gan- 
 grene, death, and the cold, damp grave, has mea- 
 surably passed away from the minds of some. 
 The people, some of them, again think of health 
 and returning friends ; of fond caresses, joyful 
 greetings, and happy, peaceful firesides. But alas! 
 how many are desolate, inconsolable, gloomy, 
 heart-broken ? And as they attempt to tell of the 
 great loss they have sustained, tears bedim their 
 eyes, and their utterance is choked — they turn 
 away in deep, heart-felt, inconsolable sorrow and 
 distress. 
 
 "I have gone in the infected room, and witnessed 
 the fearful disease in all its various stages — the 
 chill, the pains — pains in the head, the back, the 
 limbs, the breast, the bowels, and sometimes all 
 over and through the entire system. One told me 
 that the flesh seemed to be torn from his limbs. 
 But in some cases the pains are not very severe. 
 And then, the fiery, yellowish or reddish, and mel- 
 ancholy eye ; the saffron tinge of the cheek ; the 
 parched, dry skin, and the dozy, drowsy, sleepy 
 feeling that comes over the sufferers, and precedes 
 dissolution, and the black vomit, and often the 
 
m>Toi;Y of the pestilence. 137 
 
 ■ I vomit, when the patienl throws up quarts 
 of pure blood, and ii comes from his nose and his 
 
 mouth in a stream. Then death lias marked his 
 victim, and youth, loveliness, goodness, nothing is 
 ►ected; the man, the woman, the child, the 
 friend, the parent, the dearest companion, must 
 die. and be buried, and buried quickly, or else fill 
 the air with the hateful pestilential stench, as has 
 been, sad to say, but to^o often the case during the 
 fearful time of woe, almost unequaled, and death 
 and desolation without a parallel, in this recently 
 prosperous and happy city. 
 
 " The weather is damp and sultry ; wind east, 
 but only a very light breeze during the day. Heavy 
 showers this morning, deluging the streets, and 
 filling up all the low places from which the water 
 cannot run off. 
 
 " There are a number of valuable nurses here 
 from New Orleans, Mobile, Charleston, and a dozen 
 able physicians, etc., and they are invaluable and 
 indispensable. It would be difficult to tell what 
 the people w r ould do without them. Many per- 
 sons have died for the want of proper and efficient 
 nursing. 
 
 "It is now half-past nine o'clock, p.m. (Saturday). 
 The young pale moon has just gone peacefully 
 
138 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 down behind the tall mountains and dense verdure 
 of the west. The tramp of the horses of the phy- 
 sicians, and the rumbling of the hearses, with the 
 dead, over the dull stones, and the wagons with the 
 sick for the Hospital, have nearly ceased for the 
 night. The lowering clouds have passed away, 
 the twinkling stars look down smilingly upon 
 us ; the bright gas-lights are sending forth their 
 rays, and, in hundreds of # houses, dim lights are 
 seen from the windows, while the fever scorches, and 
 burns, and kills its victims in the infected chambers. 
 
 " To see Norfolk as it is now, causes the most 
 strangely sad and doleful feelings. Few, if any, 
 at a distance, can realize the desolation that now 
 reigns, the mournful aspect of all things visible, 
 notwithstanding the seeming abatement of the 
 pestilence. 
 
 " Let us step in that house, where the fever 
 rages ; almost every window is dimly illuminated. 
 Here are father, mother, children, servants, all 
 suffering from the treacherous, fatal, mysterious, 
 malignant distemper, that parches the skin, crazes 
 the brain, crushes the spirits, feeds upon the heart- 
 blood, and paralyzes all the vitals. Can the scenes 
 that are witnessed here ever be obliterated from 
 the mind ? 
 
history ov Tin: PESTTLEN< r.. 130 
 
 '• This hurried letter is now Long enough, and I 
 throw down my pen, and try to rest. But 
 • the sorrow, the alarm, the disappointed hopes, the 
 dt-solate homes, the loss of dear friends, the deatli 
 of so many noble men, elegant women, and lovely 
 children — the thought of these will drive the neces- 
 sary Bleep from my couch, or dreams of death and 
 coffins, and ghastly corpses, and death-struggles, 
 may cause a night of trouble and restlessness." 
 
 " Sept. 21. — After four or five days of damp, 
 cloudy and rainy weather, this morning, at nine 
 o'clock, the lowering vapors passed away, and the 
 sun shone out brightly- and cheeringly, affording 
 some relief from the long days of darkness and 
 gloom. 
 
 " The physicians are still actively engaged in 
 various parts of the city, and especially in the 
 northern and northwestern sections, where the 
 disease is still at work, finding its way in almost 
 every house, large and small, and leaving few fami- 
 lies, if any, without sufficient cause of mourning 
 and grief. 
 
 "A faithful history of this fearful pestilence 
 would be one of the most heart-rending pro- 
 ductions ever written. There have been events 
 during the continuance of the scourge, and con- 
 
140 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 nected with the doings of Death, that would 
 answer well the foundation of the most thrilling 
 romance. 
 
 " A few short weeks ago, there were many fami- 
 lies here — father, mother, and children — all in the 
 enjoyment of health, happiness, and plenty, and 
 looking forward to long and peaceful years to 
 come ; but who are now, all, or nearly all, dead and 
 slumbering in the silence of the grave, while their 
 spirits have entered upon their eternal destiny. 
 
 " In very many happy homes, the fairest, the 
 loveliest have fallen, the roseate blush of health 
 upon the full cheek of youthful beauty has sud- 
 denly changed to the sallow hue of the fatal 
 disease, the cheerful countenance has assumed the 
 ghastly look of death ; and then the cherished ob- 
 ject of fond affection has been borne away quickly 
 to the charnel house. 
 
 " How many houses of mourning there are here, 
 and how quickly made ! — the symptoms follow each 
 other quickly — and then the stillness and ghast- 
 liness of death, the coffin, the hearse, the damp 
 grave. The physician's skill, nursing, watching, 
 prayers, and tears have all proved unavailing. 
 
 " How many pleasant and familiar countenances 
 have gone ! How many voices hushed ! What 
 
UiSTOKY OF THE it iii.ini i:. 1 11 
 
 numbers o( graceful, active (onus have been pal- 
 sied by the touch of Death's cold finger, since the 
 commencement of this frightful scourge ! 
 
 11 1 will allude to one family, well and favorably 
 known. There were nine members. All had the 
 r, and one only recovered. The father, mother, 
 daughter, sons, and other members of the house- 
 hold have been cut down in two short weeks. 
 The spacious house is left unoccupied : the single 
 one spared has gone sorrowing from the scene of 
 death — the chambers where his dear relatives met 
 their fate." 
 
 " Sept. 2:2. — Another week of sickness, suffering, 
 aud painful death-scenes in this infected city, 
 has passed, and, during its progress, upward of 
 two hundred more of our citizens have gone to 
 the grave. 
 
 " This is a week to be remembered with sorrow 
 for many a long year to come ; for numbers of our 
 most esteemed, worthy, and useful citizens have 
 died of the terrible fever that has so long been at 
 its cruel work in our midst. The loss of them 
 cannot be estimated to their families, their relatives, 
 and friends, and to this intensely afflicted city. 
 An epidemic of a more fatal type was scarcely 
 ever known in any part of the world — on any con- 
 
142 
 
 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 tinent in either hemisphere. It has baffled the 
 skill of the physician, and rapidly run its course 
 till it has terminated in death, in spite of medicine, 
 watching, or the most careful nursing. 
 
 " How many of the loved and loving ones have 
 been snatched away by the fell destroyer ! Alas ! 
 they are dying — dying in the spring-time of life, 
 as well as in the ripe maturity of manhood and 
 womanhood, and in the winter-time of age and de- 
 crepitude ; and homes are left so cheerless and 
 comfortless, that long, monotonous years will not 
 suffice to give back the wonted comfort and hap- 
 piness, or to relieve the sorrow that cruel Death 
 has caused." 
 
 " Sept. 24. — The weather is getting cool. Sep- 
 tember will soon be gone, and we are beginning 
 to think of frosty mornings, healthful air, and the 
 return of our scattered people to their homes and 
 firesides. The wind, for a day or two, has been 
 blowing from the northeast, and this morning the 
 tide is quite high. What effect the change in the 
 weather may have upon the plague, remains to be 
 seen. Up to one o'clock to-day, the fever continues 
 its fearful havoc, and deaths are occurring every 
 hour. I have to report, since my last, the death 
 of other prominent and useful citizens." 
 
HOBBB1 OF rin: pj -iii.i.m i:. I 13 
 
 Sept. 25. — At last the mighty angel of de- 
 itruction seems to be less rapid and terrible in the 
 appalling work of death. The change in the weather 
 
 do doubt, had a favorable tendency with regard 
 to the fever. The number buried to-day was only 
 ibout fifteen. On Saturday there were about forty 
 interred, and on Sunday, twenty-five or thirty." 
 
 Sept. 26. — With feelings of the highest gratifi- 
 cation, I have to inform you of the material abate- 
 ment of the yellow fever in Norfolk. 
 
 " The cool, dry weather seems to have stayed 
 the onward march of the destroyer of life and 
 happiness, and we may confidently hope now that 
 health and prosperity will soon return. I hear 
 of but few new cases, and the number of burials 
 yesterday did not exceed a dozen in all the ceme- 
 teries." 
 
 " Oct. 3. — During the damp, cloudy, and rainy 
 weather, which has prevailed for several days 
 past, many persons were severely attacked, and 
 deaths have regularly occurred every night and 
 day, although the number, on account of a lack of 
 subjects, has been comparatively small. 
 
 " I heard an eminent physician say to-day, that 
 our scattered population should not return until 
 the weather is cold enough at night to cause the 
 
144 
 
 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 formation of ice. A few have already returned, 
 and several have quickly sickened and died since 
 they came." 
 
 "Oct. 7. — There were only three or four burials 
 yesterday ; none, as before stated, on Sunday ; 
 and, as I have heard of no new cases, and learn 
 that those who are ill, are, for the most part, 
 recovering, I hope to be able to inform you in my 
 next, that deaths here by the yellow fever have 
 entirely ceased to occur. The anxiety to return, 
 however, has induced some, who were absent, to 
 hazard their lives, and run the risk of coming in 
 contact with a disease that proves fatal in a ma- 
 jority of cases; and on this account, I have no 
 doubt • that here, as in Portsmouth, more will 
 die of this disease, before the weather is sufficiently 
 cold to put a stop entirely to its attacks upon the 
 lives of the people. 
 
 " The career of this pestilence in our city has 
 been as mysterious, eccentric, and singular, as it 
 has been fearfully rapid and fatal. While many 
 families have been deprived of several of their most 
 loved and valued members, and others have been 
 entirely swept into the grave, every member in a 
 few — all or nearly all have survived an attack of 
 the disease, and are now almost recovered. In a 
 
HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 145 
 
 ■ family on Bute Street, all died. In one on 
 Church Street, ten in eleven ; while in another on 
 same street, consisting of twenty-one persons, 
 though all were down with the fever except one, 
 only one died. The individual who escaped in this 
 family, attributes his exemption to an attack in 
 1 821. But some who were ill of the fever in '21, 
 have been dangerously ill here during its present 
 visit to our city. 
 
 " In some families, the strongest have been 
 taken, and the most frail left to deplore their sad 
 loss. In others the weak only have fallen, and the 
 robust and active spared. Only children have died 
 in many families, and in some they have escaped, 
 while both parents have died and left them deso- 
 late orphans, to be cared for by sympathizing 
 strangers, who came on the mission of love and 
 mercy to the scenes of woe, that were going on 
 here, when Death held his sway, and transformed 
 our beautiful city almost into a mammoth charnel 
 
 house." 
 
 7 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE DECREASE IN THE NUMBER OF PATIENTS THE 
 
 CONVALESCENTS THE "STEAMER — AN AGED VICTIM DEATH 
 
 HOLDING HIS SWAY THE REFUGEES THE DESTROYING ANGEL 
 
 THE CALAMITY — DEATH OF A MINISTER — THE PATIENTS RECOVER- 
 ING — STORES OPENING THE VACUUM THE SEVERITY OF THE 
 
 DISEASE THE GRAVE-YARDS DEATH OF A PRINTER A WEEK 
 
 OF SUSPENSE THE PHYSICIANS THE DISEASE DISAPPEARING 
 
 REFLECTIONS THE SCOURGE. 
 
 Extracts from the special correspondence of 
 the Baltimore Sun : 
 
 " Sept. 17th. — There is a manifest decrease in 
 the number of deaths, but many valuable citizens 
 are still dying of the fatal and alarming epidemic 
 that has spread desolation, consternation, and terror 
 throughout our city and our neighboring town 
 across the water. There are many pale and sallow 
 faces, and emaciated forms in our streets, of those 
 who have nearly recovered. They show the sad 
 effects of the ravages of the scourge ; but there are 
 often happy, joyful greetings between many who 
 meet after the terrible ordeal has been passed, and 
 the sufferers have escaped death and the grave. 
 There are thankful as well as sad hearts ; for, some 
 
HISTOBT ov nir. PESTILEN( r.. 147 
 
 haw been restored nearly to health, that did not 
 expect to withstand the fierce attack of the death- 
 iealing agent of destruction that has stalked abroad 
 through every street of our city, in the bright face 
 of day, and in all the dark and gloomy hours of 
 the night. 
 
 »f the small number of whites that are still 
 here, a lew have thus far escaped an attack of the 
 disease ; but there is scarcely a family that has not 
 •offered, and, as before stated, in some instances 
 all are gone, every member has been taken to the 
 grave, and within a few short days, heads of 
 families, children, and all, have been laid, side by 
 side, in the burial-place. 
 
 " We have had very heavy rains recently ; and to- 
 day (Monday) the air is cool and pleasant, wind 
 northwest. Some excellent citizens died yesterday 
 and to-day, and since my last letter was written. 
 
 " Mrs. , a lady of some property, died to-day, 
 
 and, all of her relatives having died, numbering 
 some half a dozen, others had to attend to her 
 burial. She stood like a forlorn stranger amid the 
 death and desolation around her — the last of the 
 family — trembling with the weight of seventy-two 
 I ; but soon she will sleep quietly with her 
 children, and grandchildren, who went just before. 
 
148 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 There were tears shed at her grave, but by the 
 faithful servants who had watched at her bedside, 
 while the disease preyed upon her frail and aged 
 form. The family are all buried, and as in other 
 cases, it may be difficult to find the legal heirs to 
 the property that has been left." 
 
 " Sept. 22. — Death is still fearfully at work 
 here, and there is a considerable increase in the 
 number of cases. Those who have been attacked 
 this week have nearly all died ; scarcely one in ten 
 survives. The fatality is absolutely awful to con- 
 template, and our remaining population are still in 
 great distress, and oppressed with feelings of the 
 deepest grief and sorrow." 
 
 " Sept. 26. — The weather here is now delight- 
 ful ; the wind has changed to the South, and it is 
 feared we may have it warm and sultry again, and 
 a consequent increase in the fever cases. But it is 
 most earnestly to be desired that there will con- 
 tinue to be a rapid diminution of the new cases, 
 and of the victims of the pestilence ; that we soon 
 shall be free from the wasting and devastating 
 scourge, and be healthful and prosjDerous again. 
 
 " The thousands of our citizens who are scattered 
 about in various parts of this and other States, are 
 very anxious to return to their homes. This, how- 
 
HISTORY OF i ill- IM BTTLENl 1 I!) 
 
 fvor, it will be hazardous to do until the appear- 
 ance of frost, which, we trust, may not be delayed 
 more than a week or two longer; although We 
 may nor have it in three or lour. A strange as 
 well as a sad state of things they will find when 
 they return to this plague-stricken city, and long 
 years will be required to restore it to its wonted 
 prosperity and happiness. Wives who are absent 
 have lost their husbands, who remained at home; 
 mothers, their children ; sisters, their brothers; and 
 hundreds of relatives and friends, who separated 
 a few weeks ago, will meet no more in this world. 
 The friends and acquaintances of some families 
 will look in vain for a single member of the house- 
 hold. 
 
 "The destroying angel, in the execution of his 
 awful commission, and in the exercise of his stu- 
 pendous power, has gone in among many a happy 
 family circle, and in a few brief days made it de- 
 solate by the removal of the fairest and the best, 
 striking down, and removing one, two, three, and, 
 in some cases, all of the inmates of the once joyous 
 and peaceful home. 
 
 "It is painful, indeed, too, to reflect upon the 
 many men of mind, genius, enterprise, and character 
 that have been swept away. How great a vacuum 
 
150 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 has this calamitous visitation caused in a few 
 weeks? Certainly a large number of our most 
 valuable citizens are gone from our midst. We 
 should bow submissively to the decree of the 
 Great Ruler and Creator, but sadly and awfully, 
 indeed, is our city afflicted. 
 
 " I regret to add to the list of recent deaths the 
 name of Benjamin Charles, the printer in the Ar- 
 gus office, who stood firmly and fearlessly at his 
 post by the side of Mr. Finch, the lamented and 
 intelligent foreman, and toiled with him night and 
 day, when the fierce destroyer had attacked the 
 rest, or caused them to fly. The writer noticed 
 this young man at his work, striving faithfully to 
 give the desired information of the progress of the 
 disease to our scattered people. He seemed as 
 calm, amid the storm of excitement that prevailed, 
 as he ever was. He deserves to be kindly remem- 
 bered, as one who was faithful and fearless when 
 thousands were hurrying away in alarm. 
 
 "In looking back, as it were, upon the wide- 
 spread desolation which the fell destroyer has left 
 in its track, the heart is pained at the sad vacuum 
 which has been made in many an excellent family." 
 
 " Sept. 29. — Another week of painful excitement 
 and activity has come to a close, and with it seems 
 
HIM'OKV OF THE PESTILENCE. 151 
 
 to have nearly ended the cruel and merciless career 
 of the destroying agent that has held its sway in 
 blk for so many long and tedious weeks. 
 
 11 There have been but very few new cases to- 
 day. The disease may now be said to have almost 
 entirely ceased its furious attacks. But some are 
 still contending painfully and severely with the 
 enemy. 
 
 " Physicians have fallen rapidly and numerously. 
 Ministers, merchants, editors, mechanics, bank offi- 
 cers, clerks, and so on, have gone one after another 
 to the silence of the grave. Old men and tender 
 infants, men of cultivated minds and unlettered 
 laborers, masters and servants, prisoners and their 
 keepers, friends and enemies, the strong, the weak, 
 the halt, and the maimed, have died off with amaz- 
 ing rapidity. Before the familiar sound of their 
 voices had been forgotten, or it was known by 
 many that they were ill, they were sleeping in their 
 * narrow beds/ 
 
 " We may hope now, however, that the fearful 
 commission of the angel of death has well nigh 
 been executed in this ill-fated and unfortunate At- 
 lantic city ; that the wails of the bereaved, and the 
 heart-rending cries of the orphan, may soon be un- 
 heard, and our wonted healthfulness and happiness 
 

 
 152 HISTOEY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 return, and take the place of this silence and deso- 
 lation." 
 
 " Oct. 6. — The great conflict with the monster 
 malady is almost over, and those who retreated 
 may soon return, as they are anxious to do, to the 
 battle-field ; but the dead are removed, and buried, 
 and the wounded are recovering. The proud and 
 powerful monarch, Death, that has held sway here 
 so long, has nearly finished his fearful work upon 
 friends and foes, good and bad, great and small, 
 treading down all alike, regardless of station 'or 
 influence. The dim lights that burned in five 
 hundred infected chambers no longer give forth, 
 through the half-closed windows, their sickly, mel- 
 ancholy glare upon the few that ventured out upon 
 the deserted streets by night. 
 
 " The people now seem relieved ; their counte- 
 nances give evidence that a great burden has been 
 measurably removed — that the good angel of hope 
 has taken the place of the dread angel of death, 
 and gives joy to hearts that have known only sad- 
 ness and sorrow for dreary months that have 
 passed. 
 
 " The flight of souls immortal, at the rate of five 
 hundred per week, from the afflicted cities of Nor- 
 folk and Portsmouth, has nearly ceased, and the 
 
IIIMoKV OF ill 1 : PE8TH r.NCE. 15JJ 
 
 -.ores, dwellings, and public build- 
 will, ere long, present scenes of life and ani- 
 mation, social greetings, and active business. The 
 proud and noble ocean ships that have left our deep 
 waters, will come into our capacious harbor again ; 
 the gay steamers that are gone will return and 
 appear with their human freight, all anxious and 
 active with life and hope ; and merchant vessels 
 will crowd our docks and wharves, now rendered 
 silent and vacant by the fearful work of death that 
 has oppressed and afflicted us. But the recollec- 
 tion of the scenes of suffering and woe that have 
 been witnessed here, will remain for months and 
 years, and deep grief will sadden and weigh down 
 many a heart ; for numbers of the loved and the 
 loving, the noble-minded, the beautiful that were 
 here, are gone, to return no more. A long night 
 of sorrow will be the portion of many a true soul. 
 But Father Time will work a mighty change and 
 a cure in many a bleeding heart. 
 
 " There have been but three or four burials to- 
 day. Xo prominent citizen has died since Wed- 
 nesday, and I hope to be able to inform you in a few 
 days that the fearful scourge has passed by, and 
 gone entirely from among us — and may it never 
 
 return hither again — never ! 
 
 7* 
 
154 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 "A child died at the hospital yesterday, and 
 another at the Orphan House to-day ; and five or 
 six colored persons have died during the last forty- 
 eight hours, and others, who are sick, are recover- 
 ing rapidly." 
 
 " I hear of but few deaths now in either Norfolk 
 or Portsmouth. I regret to state that Rev. Mr. 
 Devlin, the Catholic priest in the latter place, 
 died yesterday. He had the fever a few weeks 
 ago, and, after having nearly recovered, exposure 
 to inclement weather caused a relapse that soon 
 closed his earthly career. From the commence- 
 ment of the fatal epidemic at Gosport, almost to 
 the termination of its fearful ravages, Mr. Devlin 
 was unceasing in his pastoral visitations and kind 
 attentions to the sick, the suffering, the needy and 
 the dying. He is the seventh minister who has 
 fallen during the frightful reign of the merciless 
 destroyer that has devastated the two adjacent 
 towns. 
 
 " We have had two frosts, which will, no doubt, 
 soon stop the progress of the scourge entirely. 
 The weather is perfectly charming — the tempera- 
 ture just such as to make the healthy feel more 
 vigorous, and the invalid better and stronger. 
 
 " Most of the cases now under treatment are 
 
HISTORY OF rm: PESTILENT B. 155 
 
 rapidly recovering, and many who were sick ap- 
 pear on the streets, and will soon be able to attend 
 to their accustomed duties again. 
 
 " More than a dozen stores are open, during the 
 greater part o( the day, on Market Square and Main 
 Street; and business matters will soon get into 
 their accustomed course again. The wide vacuum 
 that has been made by Death will be gradually 
 tilled ; the deep wounds that have been inflicted 
 will be healed by time, and many long and happy 
 years of prosperity are before us. Some will 
 probably never recover from the effects of the fear- 
 ful calamity that has crushed so many to death, 
 and sunk them into the grave ; but rising suns and 
 bright and healthful days, and the excitement of 
 business and news, will dissipate the dark clouds of 
 gloom and despair that Death has caused to gather 
 over and around us, and many who are now sad 
 will be happy and joyous again, in spite of the sad 
 remembrances of the sting of Death and the vic- 
 tory of the grave. 
 
 " I heard one of our citizens regretting his great 
 loss during this pestilential visitation. Eleven of 
 his relatives, including his wife and five children, 
 were taken. Another spoke in terms of the most 
 inconsolable grief and despair. He had but re- 
 
156 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 cently removed to the city with a lovely wife and 
 a young child. They are in the grave, like the 
 rest, and he looks as if a weight of sorrow will 
 soon press him down, and close his joyless earthly 
 career, too. 
 
 " The grave-yards present a strange sight. In 
 Cedar Grove, Elmwood, the Catholic and Potter's 
 Field, the graves are interspersed in every direc- 
 tion over the grounds. I never expected to see so 
 large a number of new-made graves — a sad sight, 
 indeed, a melancholy evidence of the fearful and 
 rapid work of death that has been going on. The 
 pits, which contain from fifteen to more than thirty 
 bodies, are upon the banks of a stream that glides 
 peacefully and" quietly by, while the winds moan 
 and sigh deeply among the thick branches of some 
 noble trees that throw their shade upon the sleep- 
 ing dead below. Their bones will mingle pro- 
 miscuously, and crumble together in close union, 
 till roused to life by the archangel's trumpet, with 
 the countless millions who sleep the death-sleep, 
 and who must hereafter submit to the common fate 
 of man." 
 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CORRESPONDENCE LETTER FROM T. G. BROUGH- 
 
 TON. ESQ. REMOVAL OF THE CITIZENS GENEROSITY OF 
 
 RICHMOND LETTER FROM REV. T. HUME THE RUSH FOR, 
 
 FOOD INCREASE OF DEATHS DRS. CAPRI, CRAYCROFT, 
 
 UPSHUR. AND CROW THE SUPPLY OF COFFINS EXHAUSTED 
 
 DESOLATION AND DEATH JOSIAH WILLS JOHN TUNIS NO 
 
 ABATEMENT OF THE DISEASE — THE GRAVE-DIGGER A BEAUTI- 
 FUL SABBATH MORNING THE CLERGY SUFFERING THE FAMI- 
 LIAR WORK OF DEATH AND BURIAL THE RETURN OF THE 
 
 ABSENT CORRESPONDENCE ACTING MAYOR OF NORFOLK AND 
 
 F. H. CLACK, ESQ., OF MOBILE. 
 
 "Norfolk, Sept. 11. — My dear sir: I have re- 
 ceived your letter, earnestly pressing our few 
 remaining citizens to flee to Richmond, where, 
 you say, I well know they would be received with 
 open arms — everything being provided to make 
 them comfortable. But to me it seems impossible. 
 There is no means by which the appeal you sug- 
 gest could be made to reach them. Few, indeed, 
 are at leisure to bring about what you propose. 
 Indeed, I may say, all who could be useful in pro- 
 moting that object have their minds entirely 
 
158 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 engrossed by their duties to their sick families, 
 connections, and friends ; and I could not name 
 the individual who is not thus engaged, far beyond 
 his desire to do good in any other way. Those 
 who are not thus circumstanced, of course, con- 
 tinue to obey the instinct of self-preservation, by 
 fleeing to a purer atmosphere. 
 
 " Being, in my position of Secretary to the 
 Board of Health, about the only one of our city 
 authorities present and fit for duty, I take the 
 liberty to tender you the thanks of the city for 
 your benevolent proposition. Nobly has Rich- 
 mond used the liberal means with which a kind 
 Providence has endowed her, in ministering to the 
 relief of her poor, afflicted, heart-broken sister ; 
 and may the same Providence continue to increase 
 those means, since she has so well proved that she 
 knows how to use them. Heaven bless you and 
 her, is the sincere prayer of your friend, 
 
 " Thos. G. Broughton." 
 
 " To the Editor of the Richmond Disyatcli. 
 
 " Portsmouth, Sept. 17. — I have confided the 
 receipt of the articles mentioned by you to my 
 friend Holt Wilson, who will make you a due ac- 
 knowledgment. I must tender to you and your 
 
UI.-lOKY OF Mil: PESTILENCE, L69 
 
 kind-hearted fellow-citizens my unfeigned and fer- 
 vent thanks for this renewed token of your bene- 
 volenee towards us. The sufferings of our people 
 greatly relieved by the gifts thus generously 
 iwed upon us, while the tender interest in our 
 behalf which they revive cheers us amid the gloom 
 whieh gathers around us. 
 
 M What an affecting sight is presented during 
 the whole day at the office of the Relief Com- 
 mittee '? There a crowd is almost constantly 
 gathered, seeking supplies for their destitute fami- 
 lies. The press has been so great to-day, that we 
 have been compelled to close the office door, and 
 recpiire them to wait without at the window. If 
 we could raise the requisite force, we would open 
 another office, and another store, but we are un- 
 able to do so. 
 
 " Last night and to-day, the proportion of 
 deaths and new cases (compared with the three 
 or four previous days) among us has been sadly 
 increased. This is, I learn, the fact also in Nor- 
 folk. Yours truly, 
 
 "T. Hume." 
 — Richmond Dispatch. 
 
 From Dr. W. H. Freeman, of Philadelphia. 
 
 "Norfolk, Sept. 21. — My last visit, less than 
 
160 
 
 HISTOEY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 
 half an hour ago, was to Dr. Julius Caesar Capri, 
 of the Sixth Avenue, New York. He now lies 
 dangerously ill at the " Howard Infirmary," whi- 
 ther he was carried from the hotel on the morning 
 of the 10th. He has black vomit, and lies in a 
 comatose condition. 
 
 " This gentleman, and three nurses who accom- 
 panied him, arrived in this city only this day one 
 week ago ; now he and Mrs. Wallace, a female 
 nurse, lie dangerously ill of the disease. I saw 
 them on the afternoon of their arrival — was intro- 
 duced to them by Mr. Cooke, of the Howard 
 Association ; and most earnestly did I implore them 
 to return home, stating that they would add to the 
 number to nurse, and perhaps to bury. His reply 
 was a noble one : ' I came here to attend the sick, 
 and I would rather die than return.' He brought 
 with him high recommendations from Dr. Mott, of 
 New York, and is a man of very superior attain- 
 ments. He has been under my charge, in the 
 private wards of the hospital, where he has been 
 nursed most faithfully by Vincent Torras, sent by 
 you from Philadelphia. Yesterday and to-day, I 
 have had the valuable assistance, in consultation, 
 of Professor J. B. Head, of Savannah, Georgia. 
 Both of us have seen him some half a dozen times 
 
HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 161 
 
 I dav, and the greatest interest is manifested in 
 4 poor Capri/ by all here. 
 
 ••This recalls to mind one who hails from our 
 goodly city — I mean Craycroft. I knew him well 
 while here, and twice had I obtained his consent 
 to go home, and for which he had made prepara- 
 tion ; but each time he was induced to forego the 
 promise, because, being exceedingly useful and 
 active, he was urged to remain by a gentleman of 
 the Howard Association, who knew his value. He 
 became thereby a martyr ; and while his friends 
 and family may mourn his loss thus early in life, 
 they are at least consoled by the reflection that he 
 fell in a holy cause, and that nothing was wanting 
 that could in any way contribute to his comfort, 
 during his brief illness. Dr. Wm. J. Moore (one 
 of only three of the resident physicians left on duty 
 here) had him at his residence, and not only was 
 with him constantly, but he availed himself of the 
 skill and attention of Dr. Huger, of Charleston, 
 S. C. 
 
 " Dr. Upshur died the night before last, and Dr. 
 Crow to-day. Over one-half of the resident phy- 
 sicians now sleep beneath the sod. Is not this a 
 fearful mortality, and does it not speak volumes 
 for the moral courage of the remnant?" 
 
162 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 " Norfolk, Sept. 22. — The malignity of the 
 disease has not abated, but, owing probably to the 
 moist, oppressive condition of the atmosphere this 
 Week, has rather increased. It is said that scarcely 
 a case taken since Monday has recovered. Thirty 
 orders for coffins were in waiting this morning at 
 ten o'clock ; and although the supply is large, not 
 enough can be obtained. One hearse passed by, 
 containing three bodies sewed up in canvas. Last 
 Sabbath, not a church was open in the place ; and 
 for a long time all houses of business have been 
 closed. Not a person is to be seen in the streets,, 
 save here and there a servant, or the physicians 
 hurrying to and fro. 
 
 " Sept. 24. — Dr. Upshur, whose death was men- 
 tioned yesterday, was a most excellent citizen and 
 physician. Foremost in the fight, he has fallen a 
 prey to the fell disease that in nowise abated his 
 zeal in the contest, until exhausted nature com- 
 pelled him to retire, and await that summons 
 which no human skill can avert, and which all 
 must, sooner or later, obey. He filled the office 
 of surgeon of the Marine Hospital, at this port, had 
 an extensive practice, was a pious and a good man, 
 and had a heart ever open to the claims of "melting 
 charity." Josiah Wills, one of our most eminent 
 
HBTORY OF nil". PESTILENCE. 163 
 
 Merchants, also died this morning, after a brief 
 illness. His loss will also be deeply deplored by 
 all the various business men of the place, to whom 
 i xrensive concerns gave much employment. 
 Able and liberal, he was foremost in good works, 
 and was always engaged in every scheme that 
 promised to advance and improve the trade and 
 commerce of the place. John Tunis, also, is no 
 more. One of our wealthiest, most intelligent and 
 liberal citizens, full of enterprise, and possessing a 
 large share of sound practical wisdom, he leaves a 
 vacuum in society which will be difficult to fill. 
 Cases of all classes are occurring, without any fa- 
 vorable signs of modification or abatement. 
 
 " Portsmouth, Sept. 26. — Uncle Bob Butt, the 
 noted grave-digger, was up to the city yesterday. 
 The sight of that personage in town is considered 
 a good omen, as he has been seldom seen since 
 the epidemic commenced. He alone has had nine 
 or ten men employed, night and day, burying the 
 dead, outside of the city. He is a slave, and 
 deserves great credit for his attention to this 
 important part of the debt due the dead." 
 
 " This is a beautiful Sabbath morning. The at- 
 mosphere is clear, cool, and invigorating. Several 
 
164 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 
 of the Norfolk churches are open for worship, but 
 few of the congregation are in attendance ; others 
 are closed. In some instances the faithful pastor, 
 who, like the lamented Dibrell and Jackson, pre- 
 ferred death to desertion, has been summoned from 
 the scene of his labors, to receive his reward. In 
 other cases, the surviving pastor discovers most of 
 his congregation either exiles from home, or occu- 
 pying the silent sepulchre. 
 
 " Much suffering and distress have existed in Nor- 
 folk and Portsmouth during this epidemic, but the 
 end is not yet. The excitement and absolute ne- 
 cessity for constant activity have afforded but little 
 time for reflection. 
 
 " I have seen husbands consigning their wives 
 to the tomb, wives their husbands, parents their 
 children, and children their parents, with an ap- 
 parent callousness, that to me was truly painful. 
 In fact, they appeared, in many instances, entirely 
 incapable of appreciating their loss, and even now 
 they do not realize it. To this, it is true, there 
 have been exceptions. I have witnessed some out- 
 bursts of emotion which irresistibly excited the 
 sympathy of the spectators. 
 
 " But when those who are absent return, attired 
 in the habiliments of mourning — when the social 
 
HBTOBT OF THE PES ni.r.NCE. 1G5 
 
 circle is formed, and the surviving members of* the 
 
 ►ctivc families surround the domestic hearth — 
 
 then will the truth, with all its horrors, become 
 
 apparent. Then will the eye in vain search for 
 
 at wife or husband, lather or mother, son 
 
 or daughter, brother or sister. The scenes of in- 
 
 i mental suffering which will then transpire, 
 
 no pen can depict, nor pencil portray. 
 
 " Norfolk, 10 a. m. — I learned this morning, from 
 a reliable source, that several families who have 
 been residing in the adjacent country for some 
 "Ireeks past, have recently returned to Norfolk. 
 The result has been (as one would naturally ex- 
 pect), every family has one or more of its members 
 down with the fever." 
 
 Extract from a correspondence between N. C. 
 "Whitehead, Esq., Acting Mayor, and F. H. Clack, 
 of Mobile, who acted as Chief of Police during the 
 continuance of the fever. 
 
 "Norfolk, Va., Sept. 27. 
 " To X. C. Whitehead, Esq. 
 
 " Acting Mayor of the City of Norfolk : 
 "Sir: — By your appointment of the 4th inst., 
 I was placed at the head of the police of this city, 
 with full authority to direct and govern all police 
 
166 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 matters within the corporation limits. In enter- 
 ing upon the discharge of these important duties, 
 I felt all the responsibility entailed upon me by 
 such a position, and I trust I have properly fulfilled 
 its duties. 
 
 " The exigency which required, in your opinion, 
 such an appointment, has now passed ; and I beg 
 leave to resign into your hands the authority and 
 office received from you. I am induced to take 
 this step by the belief that there is no longer occa- 
 sion for the exercise of any such extraordinary 
 authority, as the violence of the epidemic has 
 abated, and affairs here are beginning to take their 
 usual regular course. 
 
 # # # # 
 
 " I have realized, sir, from the beginning, the 
 delicacy of my position, and determined, as soon 
 as I could do so with prudence and safety, to resign 
 my office. 
 
 " And yet, sir, I did not feel as a stranger would, 
 in acting in the capacity I have filled. In visit- 
 ing those scenes where I had passed my days of 
 childhood, I felt that Norfolk had a right to claim 
 from all her children every aid they were able to 
 give. In this spirit I have acted, and striven to do 
 my best. 
 
HISTORY OP THE PESTILENCE. 107 
 
 To F. II. Clack, Esq. 
 
 # # # # 
 
 ••That you, though young in years, have more 
 than fulfilled the expectations of myself, and a 
 community to which you are in a great degree 
 affiliated, is proved by the universal testimony of 
 those who have experienced protection from your 
 vigilance ; by the efficacy, peace and good order 
 which have prevailed under your management ; 
 and by the regret which we personally feel, that 
 your resignation is prefatory to your departure from 
 among us in common with other gallant associates 
 who have also officially notified me of their purpose 
 to leave. 
 
 " The early day which you have fixed upon for 
 departing, and the forlorn condition to which our 
 remaining families are reduced, prevent the majori- 
 ty of our citizens from making more than slight 
 individual manifestations of the profound gratitude 
 which they cannot fail always to cherish ; and from 
 giving su(!h united expression to their feelings as 
 would be agreeable to them, and, I trust, not un- 
 acceptable to yourself. 
 
 " Be pleased to accept, sir, for yourself and the 
 
168 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 bands of heroes whom you represent, the assur- 
 ance of my warmest gratitude and high personal 
 esteem. 
 
 " Yours, very respectfully. 
 
 "N. C. Whitehead, J. P., 
 
 " Acting Mayor of Norfolk.'* 
 
CHAPTEB XXI. 
 
 CHARITY — WOMAN* AT THE BEDSIDE OP THE SICK, 
 DYING, AM> DEAD — THE PERIOD OF TERROR — A PROCESSION 
 WITH rORTY COFFINS — THE FEMALE NURSES — CAPT. BOYD — 
 THE MAYOR AND EX-MAYOR REMINISCENCE A FEARFUL RE- 
 ALITY — HELP FROM ABROAD — BALTIMORE, RICHMOND, ETC. 
 
 THE RAY LINE COMPANY — PHILADELPHIA AND NEW YORK — 
 NATIONAL MUNIFICENCE — LIBERALITY OF NEW YORK — THE EPI- 
 DEMIC — ALLEVIATING CIRCUMSTANCES ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
 
 GRATITUDE — LIBERALITY OF PHILADELPHIA — F. WEBSTER", JR. — 
 
 THE ORPHANS STATEMENT OF THE HOWARD ASSOCIATION 
 
 THE ORPHANS RICHMOND REY. D. P. WILLS THE LITTLE 
 
 ONES BEREAYED. 
 
 Soox after the fever was first announced, the 
 Sisters of Charity, connected with St. Patrick's 
 Church of this city, received a note from a phy- 
 sician infor min g them that their services had been 
 offered by a friend to attend the sick, if desired. 
 They replied with commendable promptness, and 
 in terms expressive of a self-sacrificing devotion to 
 the cause of suffering humanity, and stated their 
 readiness to enter at once upon the work of love 
 and mercy. They added, that their force would 
 probably be divided between Portsmouth and 
 
 Norfolk, and if so, aid would immediately be pro- 
 8 
 
170 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 cured at Emnietsburg ; so that, in case the fevei 
 should unfortunately spread in our city, the public 
 might not want for careful and experienced nurses 
 to attend at the bedsides of the sick, the suffering, 
 and the dying. 
 
 Woman, in almost every land, and of every 
 religious persuasion, has cheerfully and nobly 
 engaged in the merciful and angel-like work of 
 alienating human suffering — has stood firmly and 
 heroically by the bedside, amid the pestilential 
 breath of fever, and cholera, and plague ; nor 
 retired until the patient gave unmistakable signs 
 of returning health, or the hapless victim was 
 held fast in the unyielding embrace of the "king 
 of terrors," when, with big tears of heart-felt 
 grief, she has left to repeat her efforts beside other 
 couches of suffering and death. But here was an 
 association of ladies, holding themselves ready, at 
 the first startling cry of alarm — the first call for 
 aid to the suffering, the first announcement of a 
 fatal and dreaded pestilence — to go to the rooms 
 of the diseased and do the kindly offices so greatly 
 needed there — to whisper words of encourage- 
 ment, administer the remedies, and wipe the 
 death-damp from the sallow brow of the dead. 
 Surely, the harsh and discordant voice of bigotry 
 
HISTOKY OF THE 171 
 
 and sectarianism should be hushed now, and the 
 taeed of praise freely awarded to those who justly 
 merit it, without regard to party or creed. And 
 there were many others, whose generous deeds 
 
 and works of love are known, remembered, and 
 acknowledged. 
 
 We will not attempt to express now the high 
 appreciation and the deep sense of gratitude of 
 our citizens for so noble and whole-souled benevo- 
 lence. Here, and in our sister city, we wanted 
 aid — we needed nurses and helpers on every hand. 
 We speak not in terms of censure, but fifteen 
 thousand of the people had fled. They were 
 scattered among the beautiful hills and luxuriant 
 valleys of our State ; were safe in the healthful 
 cities of the North, where the breezes were balmy 
 and fresh, or elsewhere far aw T ay from the sick- 
 ening and tainted air ; and their relatives, their 
 friends, their neighbors, their faithful servants, 
 their sick and dying townsmen w r anted help ; they 
 wanted familiar and friendly hands to smooth out 
 the pillow for the aching head, to wipe off the 
 cold death-drops that collected upon the pale 
 brow and the sunken cheek. But strangers came 
 to their assistance ; and let this be proclaimed to 
 the honor of humanity, and to the lasting fame of 
 
172 
 
 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 the great souls that sacrificed the comforts of home 
 and the society of loved ones in the endeared family- 
 circle — let it be inscribed in indelible letters of 
 gold. But it is deeply graven in the hearts of our 
 people ; and whether these moral heroes and hero- 
 ines fell beneath the stroke of Death, or came out 
 of the ordeal unhurt and pure, their benevolence 
 and kindness will be remembered, and their deeds 
 of love will descend far down in the track of Time, 
 and be known and acknowledged in vast Eternity. 
 " However natural it may be," says the Argus, 
 "to seek to relieve our memory from the burden of 
 that day, in the midst of which we were, and 
 especially of that dark Sabbath morning when we 
 saw forty men, each bearing a coffin on his shoul- 
 der, sent in saddest mercy from abroad, and seized 
 as soon as sent, that the corrupting remains of 
 those dearest to them might be removed from their 
 sight forever; however natural it may be to 
 seek forgetfulness of such scenes, still we should 
 not forget the silent, and almost unobserved, and 
 wholly unrewarded services of the strangers who 
 came among us, to do for us, or to die with us. It 
 is true that the names and deeds of some of those 
 have been borne upon the trembling wires, and 
 filled the gazettes of all parts of our country, and 
 
HISTORY OF THE PESTTLENCH, 173 
 
 will be known for long years as angels of mercy ; 
 but there were scores of patient, tender, self-de- 
 voting nurses, who served without notice, and, 
 thoughtless of observance, to whom our highest 
 gratitude is due. 
 
 "We are led to these remarks by our recol- 
 lection of the services of the many excellent fe- 
 male nurses who chose to be humane, even at the 
 peril of their lives. They have left us, and their 
 names are as unknown to our citizens as if they 
 had never made any sacrifice. 
 
 " There were men among them, too — men indeed 
 — whose advent cheered many death-beds, and 
 saved survivors from despair. Among those was 
 the modest, unobtrusive, and intelligent Captain 
 Boyd. At the gloomiest period of the epidemic, 
 Hunter Woodis led him to the bedside of the Ex- 
 Mayor of the city ; the fever had prostrated the 
 whole family. His services were at first declined, 
 because one of less respectable deportment, who 
 could wait upon females, was most to be desired. 
 But he would not be refused ; and, as a menial, 
 doing the duties of the humblest servant, and most 
 faithful nurse, to master and slave, for weeks, 
 without disrobing himself, without necessary food, 
 without rest, and without the desire of reward, 
 
174 
 
 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 
 save what conscience brings, did this stranger 
 work in his Samaritan office." 
 
 " When we look back upon our city" — wrote 
 the senior of the Herald, after passing unhurt 
 through the storm of death — "as it was a little 
 more than two months ago — in the enjoyment of 
 more than its wonted share of health ; smiling in 
 the midst of peace and plenty ; prosperous in all 
 its various departments of business, commerce, and 
 mechanical industry ; looking into the future with 
 high hopes and bright anticipations from its works 
 of internal improvement ; its inhabitants, happy in 
 themselves and their families, and mutually happy 
 in one another, as a community in which were 
 combined the elements of reciprocal good-will, 
 social harmony, and a common interest — when we 
 recall to mind this painful portraiture of the con- 
 dition which our city so recently presented — and 
 contemplate the scenes of horror and dismay which 
 so suddenly followed it, as with the rush of a 
 whirlwind, appalling, bewildering, stupefying, and 
 stunning all the faculties of mind and sense, and 
 steeping them in a vortex of woe unutterable — we 
 find it difficult to assure ourselves of the reality of 
 what we have passed through in that brief space 
 of time ; and we feel as if it were all a frightful 
 
HH IT.") 
 
 dream — a vision of woe which si ill haunts and tor- 
 ri ties ns, while we would fain persuade ourselves 
 
 iliat ir is an unreal mockery. Oh, that it wer 
 indeed ! Bui no. We wake to a dread reality of 
 all the horrors of a sweeping calamity which has 
 spared neither sex, nor age, nor condition; which 
 has widowed and orphaned hundreds; swept 
 whole families entire into the grave ; torn asunder 
 the strongest ties of kindred, love and affection ; 
 stricken down the strongest and most ornamental 
 pillars of our social fabric, and caused a general 
 disruption in the frame-work which held us to- 
 gether as a business community. 
 
 " Sad and gloomy as the picture is, Oh ! how 
 infinitely more so w r ould it have been but for the 
 prompt, the generous, the almost super-human 
 benevolence interposed in behalf of our stricken 
 communities by all portions of our beloved country, 
 in every city, and in almost every county and 
 village in our owd State, and in her sister States, 
 from the s^a-board to the interior, by their populous 
 commercial marts and smaller communities, not 
 only in pouring in upon us the means for mitiga- 
 ting our sufferings, but in sending us their Good 
 Samaritans, their noble corps of medical volunteers 
 and nurses — an immortalized host of moral chival- 
 
176 
 
 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 ry, to battle with the destroyer at the bedside of 
 the sick, and rescue its victims from its remorseless 
 grasp. Would that it were in our power to re- 
 hearse the almost countless instances of these noble 
 benefactions, and to command adequate language 
 to express the sense of gratitude which they have 
 indelibly impressed upon the hearts and minds of 
 the people of both communities. To name even 
 the most prominent agents in the merciful work 
 of their preservation, might seem ungracious. 
 
 "But Baltimore and Richmond — our nearest 
 neighbors — what would the condition of the 
 plague- smitten cities have been without their ever 
 ready aid, and their lines of steamboats bringing 
 daily supplies for the wants and sufferings of these 
 afflicted communities ? When the panic from the 
 pestilence had scattered abroad more than the 
 half of our population, and suspended all the ope- 
 rations of commerce, industry, and labor — leaving 
 hundreds of families, dependent thereon for their 
 dail} r support, in utter destitution; when not even 
 the munificent donations in money from abroad, 
 added to the contributions at home, could procure 
 subsistence for the needy while in health, nor the 
 necessary provision for the accommodation of the 
 sick who were to be a public charge ; and when 
 
BISTORT OF Tin: PBBTZLBNOX. 177 
 
 all intercourse with our Bister-cities, North and 
 South, and with rln 1 neighboring country, was cut 
 off by a general and rigid quarantine — and famine 
 
 was thus threatened to be added to the pestilence 
 
 that was raging in our devoted cities; then Balti- 
 more, with a heart ever throbbing responsively to 
 the calls of humanity, and with that generosity in 
 which she cannot be excelled, through her whole- 
 souled Relief Committee, promptly sent forward 
 all that was required to supply the wants of the 
 famishing poor, and ameliorate the condition of the 
 sick — food of every description, medical stores, 
 mattresses, bedding, clothing, and even coffins — 
 which, as we have before shown, were, for some 
 time, among the most pressing of our wants. And 
 Richmond gloriously followed the example of 
 Baltimore, and entered into a friendly competition 
 w r ith her in the race of benevolence, anxious for 
 opportunities to render assistance. 
 
 " And here let us, in the name of our twin sisters 
 in affliction, acknowledge the incalculable obliga- 
 tions they are under to ' the Baltimore Bay Line 
 Company' — of which the Monumental City may 
 well be proud, for it has on this occasion proved 
 itself one of the brightest gems in her ' crown of 
 rejoicing.' For weeks the Company continued to 
 
178 
 
 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 run their boats-daily, after the travel by their route 
 had so fallen off as to make it a losing business to 
 do so, in order that the sick and indigent might re- 
 ceive the supplies which their wants daily called 
 for. Nor did they change the daily to a tri-weekly 
 run, until assured by the Howard Association that 
 the former was no longer necessary. This great 
 accommodation was rendered still more effectual 
 by the considerate courtesy of the Baltimore Board 
 of Health, in sending a medical agent by each 
 boat, under whose supervision the communication 
 was kept up, and those of our citizens who were 
 permitted to do so, could take passage for Balti- 
 more free of quarantine. It was through this 
 channel that the ever-active Kelief Committees- of 
 Philadelphia and New York were also enabled to 
 forward supplies of various articles. The boats 
 were permitted to approach as near the city as 
 was deemed by the agents of the Board consistent 
 with safety, and were there met. by the Norfolk 
 ferry-steamer Princess Anne, which received the 
 welcome offerings of our kind Baltimore friends, 
 and conveyed them to the Howard depot for 
 distribution. But even this caution was not ob- 
 served till an advanced period of the epidemic ; for 
 as late as the 1st of September one of the line boats 
 
BBTQRY OF im. PESTILEN) 179 
 
 (the Georgia) continued to pass through our harbor 
 to the upper wharf, and land the supplies sent by 
 
 s. The value, of the sei 
 thus rendered by the Bay Line Company, under 
 circumstances of so much danger, cannot be ade- 
 quately estimated or appreciated. May they re- 
 ceive the reward of their noble and disinterested 
 benevolence in a never-failing stream of prosperity 
 llowing from the well-earned approbation of an ap- 
 preciative public." 
 
 44 We know of no more gratifying theme of con- 
 templation for the lover of humanity," wrote an 
 observant citizen, " than the success which has 
 recently attended charitable appeals of various 
 kinds. 
 
 " No sooner does distress break out anywhere — 
 be it an epidemic in a southern city, or a famine in 
 so distant a region as Madeira — than donations of 
 ten, twenty, and fifty dollars pour into the hands 
 of relief associations, and in a marvelously short 
 period of time a fund is collected, which effects 
 what money can avail to heal the suffering. New 
 York has always been preeminent among the 
 donors on such occasions. 
 
 " The Norfolk epidemic is one of the severest 
 calamities with which any portion of our country 
 
180 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 has been afflicted for many years ; but among the 
 alleviating circumstances attending it, the heart 
 softens at the spontaneous manifestations of aid 
 and sympathy from every quarter of the land. It 
 is under such powerful appeals that the nobleness 
 of human nature spontaneously bursts forth." 
 
 11 When the pestilence commenced its ravages 
 in Portsmouth and subsequently in this city," 
 wrote another gentleman, "the spirit of benevo- 
 lence and heaven-born charity (before an appeal 
 could go forth from the afflicted cities), in antici- 
 pation of their sufferings, awakened in every bosom 
 throughout the length and breadth of our country 
 those sympathies and benevolent impulses which 
 were calculated to relieve them — and they were 
 relieved, as far as ample provision for the wants 
 and necessities of the sick and the destitute could 
 relieve them. Norfolk and Portsmouth will ever 
 recur to this ' tempering of the wind to the shorn 
 lamb' with feelings to which language fails to 
 give utterance. But while they cherish one com- 
 mon sentiment of gratitude to all who aided in 
 alleviating the horrors of their dread visitation, it 
 behooves them to render special reverence to the 
 city of Philadelphia for an act that deserves an im- 
 perishable record. Philadelphia was among the 
 
BUJTOBY OF THE i'i>nu:v , 181 
 
 foremost in signalizing her benevolent action in 
 behalf of the sufferers. The contributions of her 
 citizens in money, in provisions, in medical stores, 
 ami in the ready aid she rendered by sending them 
 physicians and nurses, were unsurpassed. Nor 
 should we overlook the deep interest which her 
 generous, self-sacrificing son, Thomas Webster, 
 jr., took in their sufferings, and his noble efforts to 
 relieve them ; but let his memory be perpetuated 
 in the grateful remembrance of the citizens of both 
 towns. As soon as it was ascertained that the 
 disease must become epidemic, he, with other be- 
 nevolent spirits, caused a public meeting to be 
 called in Philadelphia, by which a Committee was 
 appointed to solicit contributions for the relief of 
 the victims of the pestilence in Norfolk and Ports- 
 mouth ; and a very large amount was soon col- 
 lected, and from time to time remitted or disbursed 
 by the Committee, for the benefit of the sufferers. 
 When the pestilence ceased its work of death, 
 there remained of the fund contributed for the 
 relief of its victims, in the hands of the Committee, 
 the sum of three thousand dollars. The Committee 
 submitted to Mr. Webster to decide what should 
 be done with this surplus ; and he promptly pro- 
 posed that it should constitute a fund, to be called 
 
182 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 the ' Philadelphia Fund,' invested in Philadelphia 
 city scrip, the interest accruing from which to be 
 divided between the towns of Norfolk and Ports- 
 mouth — the former receiving interest on $1,600, 
 and the latter on $1,400, of the fund, for the bene- 
 fit of the orphans of persons who died of the 
 fever. The proposition was unanimously concurred 
 in by the Committee, and a deed in trust, appoint- 
 ing Thomas Webster, jr., trustee of the fund for 
 the Norfolk orphans, was transmitted to Messrs. 
 Aug. B. Cooke, President, and Solomon Cherry, 
 Secretary of the Norfolk Howard Association, 
 with the power of attorney from the trustee to 
 them, to receive the semi-annual dividends on the 
 fund thus set apart for the benefit of the orphans 
 in charge of the Howard Association. The scrip 
 for $1,600 (a beautifully engraved document) also 
 accompanied the deed in trust. 
 
 " The deed in trust provides, that in case of the 
 redemption of the scrip by the city, the $1,600 
 shall be re-invested in some other stock paying 
 the lawful interest ; and the three thousand dollars, 
 thus dividing its product between the two towns, 
 will continue to be held in trust, under the desig- 
 nation of the 'Philadelphia Fund' — the portion 
 awarded to Norfolk being drawn semi-annually by 
 
HivroKY ov THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 sident and Secretary of the Eloward Asso- 
 
 on — Augustus B. Cooke, and Solomon Cherry, 
 
 <., and their successors in ollice. 
 •• This disposition of the surplus of their contri- 
 ions, is honorable alike to the citizens of 
 Philadelphia, to the Committee who had the 
 
 ►sal of the fund, and to Mr. Webster, their 
 
 lable agent in the transaction; and, as gener- 
 ous and disinterested friends of the orphan and of 
 humanity, we render them the homage due to noble 
 deeds, and invoke the protection of .an over-ruling 
 Providence to shield them from the dread pesti- 
 lence, and shower its choicest blessings on them 
 and their beautiful city." 
 
 "While the heart of the country is throbbing 
 with sympathy for the unfortunate sufferers of our 
 sister cities," wrote the able editor of the Peters- 
 burg Southsidc Democrat, "the sad condition of 
 their hundreds of orphans should not be overlooked. 
 The shaft of death has not been hurled with half 
 so distressing effect, as when, in the very ruthless- 
 ness of its nature, it has sundered the sweet ties 
 which bind the parent to the child. The husband 
 who has lost his wife, though afflicted to his 
 heart's inmost core, can stem the rude current of 
 life, and breast the fierce waves of the world's 
 
184 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 contentions. The wife who has been bereft of her 
 husband, though realizing the acutest anguish of 
 soul, can find peace and enjoyment in the days to 
 come, with the darling objects of affection be- j 
 queathed to her by a fond and devoted father. 
 But who will care for the orphan? Who will 
 generously assist it up the rugged mount of life? 
 No one is left to love it now. Father and mother 
 are swept away by the awful storm of death, which 
 is brooding darkly over the cities of the sea-board. 
 Who will be a friend to the fatherless — a mother 
 to the motherless ? The cold world may dole out j 
 its sympathies and its comforts to this noble little 1 
 army ; but no tenderness, no affection, can be like 
 that of a parent — no attention, however unremit- 
 ting, can compensate for the loss of a mother. 
 That heart is not to be envied, which does not 
 mingle its sympathies with the orphans made by 
 the fell scourge at Norfolk and Portsmouth." 
 
 A statement showing the amount of receipts 
 of, and disbursements by, the Howard Associa- 
 tion : 
 
 Total amount of receipts, $179,2S8 30 
 
 Kemitted to Portsmouth, $20,619 98 
 Disbursed in Baltimore, for 
 
 provisions, etc 26,000 00 
 
 Paid to doctors and nurses, 3.500 00 
 
HISTORY OF Tin: PESTTLENCB, 185 
 
 id in Norfolk 02,481 95 
 
 ace on hand in bank, and 
 forested for the support of 
 tlu> Howard Asylum, . . 66,686 37 
 
 sl7!).'2-3 30 
 
 11 Early in September, the orphans were first 
 collected together in Christ Church Lecture-room, 
 under the sanction of the lamented Ferguson, then 
 President of the Howard Association, by our fel- 
 low-townsman, Capt. (at that time Lieut.) James 
 L. Henderson, U. S. N. (who, we are glad to see, 
 has since obtained his well-merited promotion). 
 They were visited and ministered to at the instance 
 of Capt. H., by the martyr Jackson, and all the 
 resident clergymen, without discrimination, and 
 without any intention of exclusive control; and 
 by Nicholas W. Parker, Esq., and other citizens of 
 different denominations. 
 
 " We regard this asylum, which we trust to see 
 properly founded sooner or later, as the best monu- 
 ment of those noble charities which the people of 
 our various counties and towns contributed in the 
 holy cause of relieving abject suffering, and pro- 
 viding remedies against its inevitable consequences. 
 Those one hundred and twenty hapless children 
 will, through its fostering care, ever have cause to 
 feel that their lot has been cast in a day of love 
 
186 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 and tenderness, as well as in a region swept by 
 pestilence and death. 
 
 " About sixty children, of both sexes, were con- 
 veyed from Portsmouth to Richmond. Some of 
 these children were so young as to be unable to 
 give any intelligible account of themselves, and 
 nothing whatever is known of their parentage or 
 history. They were accompanied by the Rev. D. 
 P. Wills, the Methodist clergyman who suffered 
 so keenly from the fever, and whose death was 
 announced more than once in the public prints. 
 Ample preparations were jnade in Richmond for 
 the reception of the orphans, and the generous 
 heart of the city was moved with compassion for 
 their sad condition." 
 
 " There are eight among the number," wrote a 
 Richmond editor, ''that are mere infants, and one or 
 two of them are teething and feeble. The rest are 
 cheerful, and one week only has been sufficient to 
 increase the red of their cheeks. The ' captain' is 
 fine, and the oak grove resounds daily with the 
 merry laughter of the joyful children, who reck 
 not of their afflictions, and the departed ones 
 whose last moments were embittered by the re- 
 flection, that their little ones were to be left to the 
 care of strangers and the charity of the world." 
 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 ILENCE — STRANGE PREDICTIONS AND THEIR 
 FULFILLMENT — E1APPY DEATH OF A PIOU3 YOUNG MAN — DEATH 
 DISARMED OF HIS STING — A THRILLING SCENE DURING A TIIl'N- 
 
 E AND DEVOTION DEATH PRE. 
 
 A MATRIMONIAL ALT.' 
 
 A few months before the j^ellow fever broke 
 
 a minister who was not a resident of the city, 
 
 while preaching in one of our churches, and urging 
 
 bearers to repent, remarked, that he was im- 
 
 >ed with the idea that Norfolk would soon be 
 
 visited with some great calamity, and declared, that 
 
 he would not be in the condition of many of the 
 
 citizens for the whole world. Gentlemen present 
 
 on the occasion noticed particularly the strange 
 
 prediction, and when the fearful disease commenced 
 
 its ravages upon the people, the remarks of the 
 
 preacher were recalled to mind with singular force 
 
 and appropriateness. 
 
 After the fever had made its appearance on 
 Wide Water Street and seemed to be subsiding, 
 and while the citizens were vainly hoping that 
 the mysterious and subtle agent of destruction 
 would spend its force in a week or two, the resi- 
 
188 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 dent minister of the church alluded to signified 
 his belief, with strange and startling earnestness, 
 that the disease would rage with extraordinary 
 severity. He said the apparent decrease in the 
 number of deaths was deceptive, and would prob- 
 ably prove to be like the calm upon the ocean, 
 which induces the unskilled seaman to hope that 
 the storm would not rise and rage, and sweep over 
 the bosom of the deep in the wild fury of its resist- 
 less power. But the experienced mariner could 
 see the foretokening of the cruel and defying 
 reign of the howling storm-king. "I shall not be 
 surprised," he continued, " if thousands of our 
 citizens are carried off by the pestilence that has 
 already commenced its work of death." It is a fact 
 that the pictures of death that he drew seemed so 
 uncalled for, and were so unexpected by some of 
 his hearers, that remarks were made in regard to 
 their alarming and exciting nature. Alas ! the tor- 
 nado of destruction, as it were, that soon swept 
 away two thousand of our people, was a sad and 
 awful reality of what existed in the imagination of 
 the clergyman alluded to. 
 
 . 
 Anions: the lanye number of the sick and the 
 dying, a pious, intelligent, and gentle young man 
 
 
BHTOSY OF THE lTM'lUV 
 
 was suddenly prostrated by the overwhelming 
 power of the deceitful and treacherous malady. 
 He was unassuming in his manner, quiet, unpre- 
 tending and retiring in his deportment, and pos- 
 • sessed a well-cultivated mind of a thoughtful and 
 ledly poetie turn. Though not generally 
 known as a poet, he wielded a ready pen, and his 
 productions are chaste, beautiful, and descriptive. 
 For correctness of sentiment, and appropriateness 
 of expression, they are creditable alike to his mind 
 and his heart, and would bear a favorable compari- 
 son with the writings of some far better known in 
 the literary world. The writer had known him, 
 and observed him for years ; had never seen him do 
 an unchristian act. But " how now," in the hour 
 when the king of terrors demands admittance to 
 his chamber, and he languishes on the pestilent 
 bed, soiled with blood pressed from his vitals by 
 the unyielding grasp of the relentless yellow fever 
 monster — when the dreadful disease is rapidly 
 changing to putridity, death, and corruption ? 
 
 A friend whispered in his ear — soon to be 
 dull, deaf, and cold — that nothing more could be 
 done for him, and that he was dying. " What ! is 
 this death ?" said the meek and quiet sufferer ; " Is 
 this death ?" His countenance was lighted up with 
 
190 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 a joyful smile, that implied more than he could 
 tell. His mild, blue eye assumed a look of sur- 
 prise, mingled with love and delight ; and he con- 
 tinued : " If this be all — if this be death, then it is a 
 very pleasant thing to die." Thus he spoke, and 
 thus he felt, just before the skeleton finger of " the 
 last enemy" was placed upon his frail and youth- 
 ful form. His heart suddenly ceased its feeble 
 beat ; his eye grew dim ; his small and almost 
 transparent hand lay motionless upon the pillow ; 
 he was stirless in death's chilly embrace, and his 
 pure spirit passed upward to the unspeakable re- 
 gions of glory — eternal glory — saved by simple 
 faith in the Crucified — and his sallow corpse was 
 soon on its way, with the rest, to the sad and 
 crowded " city of the dead," whither he was fol- 
 lowed on the succeeding day by a fond mother 
 whom he loved and revered. 
 
 "Hardened as I thought I was," wrote a 
 gentleman to his friend, "by two weeks' residence 
 among the dying and the dead, I could not resist 
 a thrill of horror that overwhelmed me on one 
 occasion, when attending a (Tying man, who was a 
 raving maniac, who threatened my life, because I 
 would not let him get up ; and, to raise an alarm, 
 
 
HOT 191 
 
 ild every now and then cry (ire, with a moat 
 
 unearthly yell. Ami, to add to all this, jus! as he 
 
 3 breathing his last, a tremendous thunder-cloud 
 
 scompanied by the loudest clapofthun- 
 
 ler 1 (nor heard. I assure you my feelings \. 
 thing but pleasant at that time, during which, 
 ■ his poormotln r, i i .':.;..'. e ; ears of age, was wring- 
 ing her hands and walking the floor in the greatest 
 y. It would have required a man with a heart 
 of stone to resist shedding a few tears of sympathy 
 with this poor woman, whose heart seemed to be 
 breaking." 
 
 One of those attacked in the noted Kow had 
 obtained his license to be married; but the fever 
 rfered, put a stop to the proceedings, and the 
 nuptials were not celebrated. The man was taken 
 exceedingly ill, and the intended bride nursed him 
 day and night, with woman's unflinching devo- 
 tion, till the fearful struggle with the monster was 
 over. Then, after being forced away from the 
 bedside, she, too, was taken with the fever, but 
 recovered from the attack. ' 
 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 AN AFFLICTED FAMILY A DAUGHTER'S DEVOTION SUDDEN 
 
 DEATH AN INFANT SUFFERER A MINISTER'S SON WRECKED 
 
 BY THE SCOURGE A FRIGHTFUL AND PITIABLE OBJECT SOME 
 
 OF THE VICTIMS THE BIRDS AND THE PESTILENCE BILL, THE 
 
 CAKE BOY THE FIRE BELLS THE GAS-LIGHTS AND THE LAMP- 
 LIGHTER — THE CITY AT NIGHT — MUSIC IN THE PESTILENCE — 
 A FAIR SUFFERER. 
 
 " After the death of Dr. R. W. Silvester and his 
 son William H. Silvester, Mrs. Silvester, weighed 
 down by the accumulated afflictions with which an 
 all-wise Providence had seen fit to visit her fami 
 ly, was seized with the fever a few days after the 
 attack of her son, R. J., and only survived him one 
 day. Thus, in a fearfully brief period, were four 
 members of this interesting household swept from 
 time to eternity. 
 
 " The unwavering devotion and earnest solici- 
 tude," wrote a friend, " with which the four were 
 watched and nursed by a young lady of fifteen 
 years of age, the only surviving member of the 
 family who was in town, was one of the most in- 
 tensely interesting spectacles to which the epidemic 
 
HISTORY Of Ilir. lMNlll.r.NCE. 199 
 
 rise. Such devotion and attention displayed a 
 strength and beauty of character rarely witm 
 in maturer life, and give evidence of an affection 
 
 worthy of the warmest admiration and emulation." 
 
 About 2 o'clock, August 14, a stranger, en riv- 
 ing an oil-cloth bag in his hand, was seen stagger- 
 ing in .Main Street, opposite Bank, it was supposed 
 from the effects of liquor ; but on turning into the 
 entry to go up a flight of stairs to a physician's 
 office, he fell, and in less than fifteen minutes ex- 
 pired. Upon inquiry, it appeared that he was one 
 of several boarders at a house which had been 
 closed, and he was left in it sick with the fever, 
 without attendance or necessaries of any kind ; 
 that in the last stage of the disease, when the victim 
 is mocked with the deceptive consciousness of re- 
 turning health, he went out in order to procure a 
 permit to go to the hospital ; but had just strength 
 to reach the spot mentioned when he became ex- 
 hausted, and death closed the scene. 
 
 Passing through the hospital one day, w r e saw 
 an infant, about two months old. The little fel- 
 low was sitting alone upon one of the mattresses 
 in the infected room, where there were men and 
 
194 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 women in all the different stages of the dreadful 
 disease. The child, too, had the fever. His soft, 
 tiny hand was hot, and his fever high. It was a 
 beautiful baby, and a patient, quiet little sufferer. 
 The mother had been taken from him, and from the 
 room, along with others, to the grave, and no one 
 could tell of the father or any near relative. It 
 was alone in the world, and among strangers, but 
 kind strangers, from far-distant cities ; and they 
 admired the child, spoke gently to the little one, 
 and took pleasure in watching and nursing it faith- 
 fully and fondly. The melancholy expression of 
 this lovely infant's blue eye, its light, silken hair, 
 the beauty of its full, round face, and its bereaved, 
 its fatherless and motherless condition, excited the 
 most painful interest, and tears were shed — tears 
 of deep and heart-felt sympathy. 
 
 We noticed, also, in one of the rooms, a young 
 man, whose face we thought it barely possible we 
 had seen before. He was certainly one of the most 
 sad, emaciated, and forlorn-looking beings we ever 
 looked upon. He called our name, and we recog- 
 nized him. He was the son of a minister of the Gos- 
 pel, of good standing and character. Having been 
 attacked with the fever here, he was taken to the 
 
HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE^ 195 
 
 hospital and attended to. We knew him well : but 
 really, the fearful disease had so changed and dis- 
 figured him, thai he did not seem the same indivi- 
 dual. He was a complete wreck. His sunken 
 and yellow cheeks and melancholy countenance 
 excited the sympathy of those who saw him. But 
 his eyes gave him the most singular and unnatural 
 appearance — one being perfectly yellow, and the 
 other as red as blood could make it. He was a 
 frightful as well as a pitiable object to behold ; and 
 yet we saw still worse effects of this awful scourge 
 among the sick and the dying ; and fortunate and 
 blessed, indeed, are they who escaped with their 
 lives, while so many died and went to their long 
 homes. 
 
 When the fever broke out, and the people were 
 scattering in every direction, four young men went 
 down to the Bay Shore, some eight or ten miles 
 from the city. Having exhausted the small amount 
 of funds which they had jointly raised to supply 
 their wants for a few weeks, and fearing to return 
 to Norfolk, they pawned their watches and other 
 valuables. But the fever continuing to rage week 
 after week, they held a consultation, and three 
 of them determined to return to town and hazard 
 
196 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 their lives with the rest amid the pestilential air 
 of the plague-stricken city. The other resolved 
 to try his luck in Baltimore, and they all acted 
 according to the decision to which they came in 
 the hour of want and distress. The three who 
 came to the city were soon attacked with the 
 fever, and are all in the grave ; the other, who 
 sought refuge in Baltimore, had the fever, but is 
 still among the living. 
 
 It was gravely announced by some person, and 
 readily believed by many, no doubt, that the swal- 
 lows and other birds suddenly took their departure 
 from Norfolk and Portsmouth, as soon as the pesti- 
 lence made its appearance. We are not quite pre- 
 pared to deny that the swallows did follow the 
 example of the panic-struck citizens; but very 
 certain are we that numbers of the noisy and inno- 
 cent species of the sparrow kind, known as the 
 wren, remained fearlessly at their posts, or rather 
 upon the pendulous branches of the shade and fruit 
 trees. Right merrily and busily did they go on, 
 too, attending to their accustomed duties, gathering 
 worms and insects for their newly-fledged young, 
 and pouring forth from their tiny throats their joy- 
 ous matin songs, as perfectly unconcerned about 
 
HISTORY OF TUP, PESTILENCE. 197 
 
 the sad havoc the yellow fever was making around 
 them, as the public in general was about the terri- 
 ble slaughter among the Russians and Allies at 
 Sebastopol. There was one little fellow, about 
 half a mouthful for the hungry old grimalkin that 
 watched and longed for a taste of him, that seemed 
 to think it his special business to sing pro bono pub- 
 lico. While the first red rays of the sun, returning 
 from his nightly march, 'tinted with golden hues 
 the eastern horizon, he would come forth from his 
 •retirement as self-confident as Lola Montez, take 
 his position near the window at which we sketched 
 the doings of Death, and almost split his throat in 
 the effort to deliver himself of his pleasing though 
 monotonous morning carol. 
 
 Some of those attacked with the disease, when 
 under the influence of the fever, which often 
 greatly affected the brain, became frantic and 
 raved like madmen. Some were almost unman- 
 ageable, and it became necessary, as before men- 
 tioned, to confine them upon the bed with strong 
 cords. The case of Bill, the well-known cake 
 boy (colored), presented a remarkable instance of 
 this kind. Soon after he was taken to the How- 
 ard Hospital and put to bed, he insisted on getting 
 
198 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 up, and succeeded in the night, notwithstanding 
 the vigilance of the nurses and other attendants, 
 in finding his way out in the street, where he 
 wandered wildly 'about in his madness, uttering 
 loud and unintelligible words, and greatly dis- 
 turbing some of the citizens. After being well 
 drenched with a bucket of water from the upper 
 window of a house, by some person who took him 
 to be a noisy inebriate, he was found, and several 
 men succeeded, with much difficulty, in getting 
 him again in the appropriate ward of the Hospital, 
 where he was confined with cords. He became 
 so restless, however, that he was allowed to get 
 from his bed upon the floor, where the writer 
 noticed him in the agonies of death. 
 
 Shortly after the fever commenced its havoc in 
 the city, the deaths among the members of the 
 fire companies were very frequent ; and as the 
 lifeless remains passed out to the grave-yard, one 
 of the large fire-bells, which has a melancholy 
 sound, was tolled dolefully. Every day, during 
 the lapse of nearly a week, this bell sent forth its 
 sad notes, announcing the departure of some un- 
 fortunate fireman, and causing a deeper shade of 
 sorrow and gloom to come over the citizens. Its 
 
history OP THE risrn i.nce. L99 
 
 iron tongue Beemed to cry ou1 incessantly and 
 mournfully, death, death, death! The Board of 
 Health very properly caused the unpleasant and 
 injurious sound to be discontinued. 
 
 During the continuance of the pestilence, the 
 ts were generally Lighted up as usual. Night 
 alter night, the lamp-lighter wended his solitary 
 way up and down the deserted thoroughfares, 
 with his ladder, quickly ascending to the lamp, 
 applying his match to the snake-like gas-burners, 
 dispelling the surrounding darkness — though caus- 
 ing many a gloomy shadow — and then hurrying on 
 apace, as if well aware that he was breathing an 
 active poison. It was fortunate that the lighting 
 of the streets went on, for the death-like silence 
 was sufficiently oppressive without the unpleasant 
 addition of midnight darkness. 
 
 One night, we found some of the principal, and 
 hitherto crowded thoroughfares, not only as silent, 
 dreary, and deserted as a village church-yard — 
 save the dashing to and fro of the physicians 
 and nurses — but enshrouded in darkness, thick, 
 gloomy, and dismal. The deep stillness was 
 occasionally disturbed by the winds, which were 
 "playing at their pastimes" with the loose sash 
 
200 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 and unfastened shutters, and an occasional dim 
 light shone from the windows of the infected 
 rooms where loathsome disease was rioting, and 
 death was thinning out the suffering inmates. 
 But soon the belated lamp-lighter came along, 
 the burners sent forth their rays, and a brilliant 
 light drove away the sombre darkness and gloom, 
 to the great relief of those who were out on 
 errands of duty to the abodes of sickness and 
 distress. 
 
 The regular lighting of the streets also tended 
 greatly to the security of the vacant dwellings 
 and the protection of property. There were but 
 few robberies of consequence committed during 
 the progress of the epidemic, and not even a sin- 
 gle alarm of fire, excepting on the occasion of the 
 burning of Barry's Row. 
 
 We were surprised, and almost startled, on a 
 bright pleasant morning, during the rage of the fe- 
 ver, by the soft and distinct sound of a piano-forte, 
 in a dwelling on one of the most fashionable ave- 
 nues. Although these instruments are, of course, 
 very numerous in the city, and are played upon by 
 hundreds of its fair daughters, with great skill, 
 correctness, and gracefulness, for weeks the fa- 
 
HISTORY OP THE PESTILENCE, 201 
 
 miliar sound of one had not been heard, nor was it 
 cted. The soothing strains of instrumental 
 
 music, or musical voices, in melodious tones, were 
 not heard. Alas, many a sweet voice, familiar and 
 attractive in sentimental song and social converse, 
 had been suddenly silenced by the stifling, crushing 
 aure of Death's bony hand; and the wondrous 
 human instrument lay worthless, shattered, and 
 broken ; not to be retuned till the coming day of 
 glory, to join in the universal and triumphant song 
 of " Moses and the Lamb ;" and the soft, tender, 
 and practiced fingers had been rudely spoiled by 
 the fatal palsying touch of the " last enemy," and 
 were motionless, and stiff, and cold, beneath a 
 heavy covering of damp clay — thus to remain till 
 the golden harps are ready for incorruptible hands, 
 that shall cause soul-thrilling music to flow out in 
 heavenly strains. 
 
 What could have prompted any one to press 
 the keys of a piano, so softly, slowly, skillfully, and 
 charmingly, at a time of so much sadness, silence, 
 gloom, and death ? Who wanted music then ? We 
 had heard that a fair one lay sick of the fever, 
 in hearing of those full, rich tones, that were so 
 ingeniously and stealthily flung out upon the pes- 
 tilent morning air. There she lay, uttering low 
 
202 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 moans, with the fevered brain, weak, powerless, 
 and languishing, upon her couch, feebly contend- 
 ing with the frightful monster-malady ; and we 
 imagined that some dear friend of hers, with a full 
 heart beating with sympathy, was performing the 
 favorite air of the sufferer, fondly hoping thus to 
 soothe her sorrow, calm her shattered nerves, or 
 charm away her fears. But, verily, the familiar 
 notes fell strangely on the ear, and broke in upon 
 the silence of that solemn hour in sad keeping 
 with the distinct rustle of the foliage in the breeze, 
 and like the sweet, soft whisperings of Faith and 
 Hope in the still room, when the last hours and 
 minutes are breathing away, when disease is pre- 
 paring the victim for death, or death for the grave. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 lUTHERN ARGUS — A. F. LEONARD, ESQ. — ELOQUENT SKETCH OF 
 THE PESTILENCE — THE GRAVE-YARDS THE BURIED THE BE- 
 REAVED — THE REMEMBERED HORRORS OF THE SCOURGE — THE 
 QUIETLY-SLEEPING DEAD — CONDITION OF THE CITY — DAY AND 
 NIGHT — LIFE AND ACTIVITY RETURNING AVORDS OF ENCOURAGE- 
 MENT — PROSPECTS OF NORFOLK AND PORTSMOUTH. 
 
 The publication of the Daily Southern Argus 
 was resumed after a suspension of thirty-nine days. 
 We present some eloquent extracts from the pen of 
 the editor, A. F. Leonard, Esq., whose labors among 
 the sick, the dying, and the dead, are well-known. 
 " Once more upon the waters!" 
 
 11 The storm is over, and again our good ship lays 
 her course. Her sails are swelled to fullness in the 
 crisp October w T ind, and, anon, her flag is given to 
 the breeze. But that flag floats sadly at half-mast ; 
 and the call to quarters reveals that wide havoc 
 has been made in our crew. Our deck has been 
 swept by the pestilential billow. All have been 
 disabled, from the quarter-deck to the forecastle ; 
 and one-half of our white complement will never 
 more greet us with the once-familiar smile. 
 
204 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 "For nine and thirty days have our editorial 
 labors been suspended. To us, it has been no 
 interval of holiday, but of participation in the 
 miseries of as dire a visitation as was ever made 
 by the plague-spirit, in fulfillment of the Almighty 
 behest, to a region of doom and devastation. 
 
 " We have looked Death full in the face, in its 
 most hideous form. We have seen the proud, the 
 humble, the young, the aged, the lovely, the un- 
 seemly, the timid, the brave, the weak, the strong, 
 the foe, the friend, alike fall by the swoop of the 
 destroyer. We have seen a population melt away 
 like snow before the noon-tide sun. We have seen 
 science at fault, and triumphant pestilence claim- 
 ing relentlessly its chosen spoil. We have seen — 
 but why bring to light the sire deserting the in- 
 fectious bedside of the son of whom he once 
 boasted ; why speak of the daughter leaving thp 
 imploring mother, who gave her being, to yield up 
 her forlorn spirit amid the revolting filth of the 
 plague ; why awaken the memory of the unutter- 
 able horrors of a calamity that cannot be realized 
 in description ? There is a brighter side to this 
 dark picture, to which we can, and will often recur ; 
 there is a ray of mercy tempering the night of 
 agony, which makes us feel that man (and angelic 
 
UllOKY ov rin: PB8TILERCB. 205 
 
 woman) lias that in his nature, which, when called 
 forth, assimilates to the mighty heaven from which 
 he derived existence. 
 
 M We have seen our lately flourishing mart re- 
 duced to the scanty number of 4,000 surviving 
 souls. In the short space of less than ninety days, 
 out of an average population of about G,000, every 
 man, woman, and child (almost without exception) 
 has been stricken with the fell fever, and about 
 2,000 have been buried — being not less than two out 
 of three of the whites, and one out of three of the 
 whole abiding community of Norfolk, white and 
 black. One-half of our physicians who continued 
 here are in the grave, and not less than thirty-six 
 physicians, resident and visitant, have fallen in 
 Norfolk and Portsmouth. 
 
 " Long will the day of visitation be remembered 
 in the afflicted cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth. 
 They are now sisters in sorrow, as they have 
 always been in interest and prosperity. The pre- 
 sent generation will ever retain sad reminiscences 
 of the plague among us ; and the page of history 
 that will contain the record of our sufferings must 
 be melancholy, for the unmitigated rage of pesti- 
 lence which it will recount. 
 
 " Is there a special chastisement in this dispen- 
 
206 HISTOEY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 sation ? If there be, we cannot fathom it. We 
 do not regard it as a direct rebuke of abolitionism, 
 know-nothingism, or fanaticism of any sort. It is 
 one of those mysteries that we cannot solve, and 
 which we do not think it is intended for man to 
 solve. If we must wield the weapon of inscrutabi- 
 lity, we should not point the inculcation towards 
 any but ourselves. And it should prove to us a full 
 lesson of humility and benevolence ; for God knows, 
 in this poor era, we have great need of both. ' Those 
 eighteen upon ichom the tower of Siloam fell — tlihik \jou 
 that they were more wicked than these ? l -" 
 
 " In yonder suburb lie near two thousand fester- 
 ing corpses of those who, but a few days since, 
 were moving in our midst in hope, and engaging 
 intently in their various avocations. The green 
 of the quick-springing grass is wanting upon 
 their new-made graves, and the vacancy of desola- 
 tion which they have left among us has not begun 
 to be filled. 
 
 "No; turn where we may, we find heart-break- 
 ing indications of the dispensation which we 
 deplore. The neighboring fireside lacks its proper 
 element, and the bright lineaments that once re- 
 flected happiness in its glow are no longer there — 
 the round of daily duty has ceased for ever — the 
 
HISTORY OF 1 1 1 1 : r:>iu.rv J« >T 
 
 household key is rusted on the stained floor where 
 it has dropped — the dark mould lias collected in 
 the vacant boudoir, and the soft flowers, formerly 
 
 so carefully tended, have withered 10 the frosty 
 night. The sun rises, ay, smiles through the live- 
 long day upon comparatively empty streets ; and 
 the silent counting-room, in many cases, can be 
 entered only by authority of law. 
 
 H The solitary foot-fall that approaches, is 
 awaited as betokening the bearer of a greeting 
 smile ; but. no, the band of crape and the grave 
 mien tell of thoughts that hover around the pre- 
 cincts of a buried household. The orphaned child 
 meets you at each turn of your daily path — the 
 dying wail still rings with distinctness in the 
 dreams of the night, and the picture of motley 
 bodies packed unwitting of color, sex or condition, is 
 ever present to the mind without effort of memory 
 or imagination. 
 
 " For deliverance ' from plague, pestilence and 
 famine, and from sudden death,' are prayers to be 
 found in all well-ordered litanies. If we have 
 never before felt the need of such petitions, we 
 have spontaneously offered them under our recent 
 affliction. The helpless dead, in their promiscuous 
 groups, have proved monitors of awe and condem- 
 
208 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 nation to hearts that were callous to other teach- 
 ings. And there, in their quiet graves, they will 
 continue, as time rolls on, to inculcate those same 
 solemn lessons, which all can appreciate, and none 
 can disregard, and which should prompt the offer- 
 ing up in due season of fit prayer for deliverance." 
 
 The condition of our city might have been 
 appropriately compared to a busy day, after a night 
 of darkness and stillness. A long night of death 
 and sorrow we had. Day after day, and night 
 after night, the still work of disease and death 
 went on. Weeks and months passed, and yet 
 silence reigned. The sun rose, and shone, and set 
 in beauty and glory, as usual, but the stores and 
 work-shops remained unopened, dark, and damp. 
 The moon looked down brightly and clearly, and 
 revealed a city, in the pleasant quiet eve of sum- 
 mer time, with vacant streets and unoccupied 
 houses. Family mansions, that had been noted for 
 social gatherings, gayety, and happiness, were as 
 silent and cheerless as a deserted and haunted 
 castle in the depths of a wilderness. 
 
 In the first week in November, there was a 
 vast difference. Indeed, how striking the con- 
 trast ! To one who had lived through the long 
 and dreary night of stillness and death, it seemed 
 
lUsroUY OF THE it> iii.in. B. 209 
 
 Kike a resurrection of the dead. Hundreds .and 
 thousands of familiar tares appeared in the streets. 
 
 The people were again hurrying in crowds, as 
 formerly, up and down Main, Church, Bank, and 
 other streets. They swarmed in the market-places, 
 and at the ferry landings. The returned refugees 
 were rather careful about going out at night; but 
 there were many to be seen after the shades of 
 evening fell around. And then, the ding-dong of 
 the steamboat bells, the lumbering of the express 
 wagons, the rattle of the heavy dray wheels, the 
 loud and careless laugh of the laborer, the voices 
 of buyers and salesmen, the musical jingle of gold 
 and silver, the ring of the hammer on the smooth- 
 faced anvil, the puff and hiss of steam — in short, 
 the noises usual in a city, sounded strangely here, 
 and formed a striking contrast to the stillness that 
 pervaded the city during the long night of death 
 that bad just passed by. 
 
 "We rejoice sincerely," said an able w T riter, 
 " that the bitter cup has at last passed from the 
 lips of those afflicted cities, and we trust that, 
 with returning health, there may be a restored 
 energy amongst the people. We have testified an 
 interest and sympathy during the prevalence of 
 the pestilence ; we will now add some words of 
 
210 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 encouragement. The recurrence of the yellow 
 fever as a periodical disease, is not at all appre- 
 hended, and we may suppose the cities of Norfolk 
 and Portsmouth — which are in fact one — again 
 offering their attractions to the enterprise and ca- 
 pital of the Union. Those who will look at the 
 importance of their port in a commercial point of 
 view, as the terminus of a great system of works 
 which is fast turning the trade of the middle of the 
 Mississippi valley to the Atlantic sea-board, will 
 see that their progress and prosperity are inevi- 
 table. Whilst Virginia, therefore, mourns because 
 of the afflictions of the land, let her take courage 
 in the prosperous career which opens upon this 
 future mart of commerce. Already, the enterprise 
 of the Union must have marked the vacancies 
 caused by the lamented loss of merchants, profes- 
 sional men, and practical mechanics ; and just as 
 New Orleans is annually filled with thousands who 
 wish to fill the vacuum occasioned by the ravages 
 of the annual epidemic, so will population and 
 capital seek Norfolk and Portsmouth, because, 
 whilst the attraction and inducement to immigra- 
 tion are very great, the danger of a regular visitation 
 of the pestilence is not to be apprehended." 
 
 "We say unhesitatingly," says an observant 
 
iiisrouY OP THE PB8TILBN4 B. 2] 1 
 
 • that if Norfolk were razed to its founda- 
 
 s, and all her people laid low in the dust, there 
 
 , outside influence at work along Southside 
 
 rinia. that would still build up a marl here of 
 
 which the entire southern country might be proud. 
 
 us not discourse ruin, when we can grasp 
 
 fortune if wo will ; but let every man, as far as in 
 
 him lies, push on the advance in his particular 
 
 path of duty, and we may live to rival the palmiest 
 
 days of proud emporiums." 
 
 Portsmouth, as well as Norfolk, is admirably 
 located for trade. The water-front is spacious, 
 bold, and deep, and but little outlay, comparatively, 
 would be necessary to improve the wharf property 
 to the greatest advantage to the owners thereof. 
 The town is admirably planned, the streets wide, 
 level, and at right angles. 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 MAYOR WOODIS — WILLIAM B. FERGUSON. 
 
 MAYOR OF NORFOLK. 
 
 The earthly career of His Honor, Mayor Woodis, 
 closed on Sunday morning, August £5th, at half- 
 past eleven o'clock, and a deeper gloom than ever 
 settled over the remaining portion of our popula- 
 tion. A darker shade was added to the great som- 
 bre pall of sorrow that seemed to enshroud our 
 city, as it were, in its darkening folds. Elswhere, as 
 well as at home, many a heart was made sad, and 
 many a cheek felt a tear at this melancholy intelli- 
 gence. Our city lost a friend indeed. He would 
 not spare himself; repose, rest, comfort, health, 
 and even life itself, he sacrificed to the good of his 
 suffering fellow-citizens. Night and day, he was out 
 in almost every part of the city, striving, with the 
 most determined and unyielding perseverance, to 
 alleviate the sorrow and woe of the people ; to have 
 the sick attended to, or removed to the hospital, 
 and the wants of the poor supplied. He sought 
 
IHSTOKV OF Tin: PESTILENCE. 218 
 
 out the sick, the dying, and the dead. Be visited 
 the most infected districts, entered the most filthy 
 hovels; stood at the bedside of the diseased; went 
 into the desolate habitations of poverty and dis- 
 : relieved the disconsolate inmates, and did 
 all that man could do to lessen the force and 
 er of the desolating scourge that was sweeping 
 off the citizens. But he, too, fell a victim, and 
 the shaft of Death ne'er struck a nobler mark. 
 Deep were the pangs of sorrow that thrilled the 
 hearts of our people. 
 
 Hunter Woodis was a gentleman of fine talent 
 and education, a faithful friend, an agreeable com- 
 panion, an attractive and impassioned speaker, and 
 an able lawyer. In the midst of a career of use- 
 fulness, and in the prime of life, he was suddenly 
 cut down. Our people will revere his memory, 
 and mourn for him as one loved and honored — as 
 an officer tried and found faithful ; and the best 
 monument to his worth will be the enduring sen- 
 timents of love and deep respect enshrined in the 
 hearts of his friends and fellow-citizens. 
 
 "One of the shafts," wrote Mr. Lee, of the Daily 
 News, " which the King of Terrors has been sending 
 thick and fast among the good, the gifted, and the 
 beautiful of our ill-fated city, has at length pierced 
 
214 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 the heart of one whose loss is a public as well as a 
 private calamity; and will be deeply felt, deeply 
 mourned by every heart capable of a throb of sym- 
 pathy for philanthropy and heroism. Our noble 
 and beneficent Mayor is dead — Hunter Woodis, 
 around whose memory will cluster the admiration 
 and regret of his fellow-citizens, and whose endur- 
 ing monument — loftier and firmer than sculptured 
 column or painted dome — will be the tribute of 
 esteem and reverence which living witnesses de- 
 light to pay to deceased worth and virtue. 
 
 " From the commencement of the dread disease, 
 which is fast filling the grave-yards with tenants, 
 up to this last and splendid trophy of its triumphant 
 ravages, Hunter Woodis was indefatigable in his 
 exertions to afford succor and hope to the poor, the 
 sick and the dying. Not content with performing 
 the mere duties of his office, he was every where 
 where the least chance existed of doing good, and 
 ever prompt at the faintest call for relief. Once 
 before, overcome with fatigue and anxiety, he was 
 forced to cease awhile from his labors of love, and 
 the whole community then stood aghast, fearful he 
 had been stricken. But hardly two days elapsed, 
 before he assumed the arduous and self-sacrificing 
 duties in the discharge of which he has fallen a 
 
B15T0BY OF ill i: lT.MU.r.V 1. 21fl 
 
 victim, alas*! but a victim crowned with flowers 
 
 perennial bloom and fragrance." 
 
 He was confessedly hold, energetic, intelligent, 
 and affable. During his service as Mayor, the con- 
 dition of the city, in all its departments, would 
 favorably compare with that" of any preceding ad- 
 ministration. The Police Department was con- 
 trolled with vigor and vigilance; the sanitary 
 regulations of the town effectively enforced; a 
 wholesome supervision was exercised over all the 
 various branches of our municipal matters ; and, 
 in addition tliereto, the business of the Hustings 
 Court, in which so many of our citizens are imme- 
 diately interested, was presided over with a degree 
 of intelligence, decision and dignity, that elicited 
 the applause of all concerned in the transactions 
 of that tribunal. 
 
 WILLIAM B. FERGUSON, PRESIDENT OF THE 
 HOWARD ASSOCIATION. 
 
 Soon did he follow his daily companion in bene- 
 volence, the self-denying TVoodis, to the tomb ; 
 and not only do our people weep for him, but his 
 native city, Baltimore, divides with us the -privilege 
 of grief, and will honor his name with a commemo- 
 rative monument. 
 
216 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 The Patriot said : " The announcement of the 
 death of Mr. Ferguson, the President of the How- 
 ard Association at Norfolk, fell upon our citizens 
 yesterday with all the weight of a public calamity, 
 and excited a keenness of regret which spoke at- 
 once of the high merit of the individual, and the 
 heavy loss which the suffering city of Norfolk has 
 sustained in his decease. A true estimation of those 
 who act worthily, places Mr. Ferguson among the 
 heroes of the highest stamp. From the breaking out 
 of the pestilence at Norfolk he was assiduous, un- 
 tiring, and unceasing in his endeavors to mitigate 
 the evils of disease and death by which he was 
 surrounded. He seemed to have fallen naturally 
 into the position of President of the Howard As- 
 sociation, from the general recognition of that in- 
 domitable courage and unvarying perseverance of 
 purpose, which fitted him to assume responsibilities 
 and undergo labors that would have appalled and 
 discouraged others. . 
 
 " In that position, he was the animating spirit 
 of the noble efforts of those who battled the pes- 
 tilence with an ardor and courage that almost 
 seemed to bid it defiance, and challenge its ap- 
 proach. Exposed hourly to the contagion in its 
 worst forms, living amidst the miasma which sur- 
 
BBBTOBT OF THE PESTD i:\CE. 217 
 
 rounded the sick and the dying, Mi, Ferguson 
 labored on from day to day, until hope grew strong 
 that he would escape the contagion, and live to 
 
 enjoy the rich return which the estimation of his 
 fellow-citizens would award to such self-devotion. 
 This expectation was sadly disappointed, and to 
 the names of those who so nobly proved their de- 
 votion by the sacrifice of their lives in the cause of 
 humanity, we have to add that of William B. 
 Ferguson." 
 
 Says the American : 
 
 - Mr. Ferguson was a native of Baltimore, and, 
 until about four years since, resided in our midst. 
 In the year 1851, he served in our City Councils, 
 for a considerable period, an efficient member 
 of the First Baltimore Fire Company, and, in all 
 the relations of life, won the affectionate regard of 
 those who were best qualified to judge of his 
 merits. After his removal to Norfolk, he was ap- 
 pointed Agent of the Baltimore and NorfolK 
 Steamboat Company, and in the performance of 
 the duties which were thus devolved upon him, 
 his estimable qualities were not less appreciated 
 by his new friends than they continued to be by 
 earlier associates. He was taken from us at 
 
 the early age of thirty-one years ; but, though the 
 10 
 
218 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 term of his existence was brief, indeed, when com- 
 pared with the usual period allotted to man upon 
 earth, it was so crowded, within the past few' 
 months, with acts of beneficence and charity, with 
 heroic self-sacrifices and unwearied devotion to 
 others, that the measure of his life should be cal- 
 culated rather from the good deeds he has done, 
 than from the calendar of his years." 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 RESIDENT CLERGY — REV. WILLIAM M. JACKSON — REV. ANTHONY 
 DIBRELL. 
 
 Of the four ministers of the Gospel, who re- 
 mained in Portsmouth during the pestilence, three 
 died — Christian heroes — in the performance of 
 their Master's duty — the Rev. F. Devlin, Catho- 
 lic ; Rev. Mr. Chisholm, Episcopalian ; and Rev. 
 V..Eskridge, Methodist, and Chaplain in the U. S. 
 Navy. Mr. Handy, of the Presbyterian Church, 
 remained until he was stricken down by the fever, 
 and attempted to resume duty after a protracted 
 illness, but was urged by his medical attendant 
 to leave. 
 
 In Norfolk, Rev. Wm. M. Jackson, Protestant 
 Episcopal ; Rev. Anthony Dibrell and Wm. Jones, 
 Methodist Episcopal ; and Rev. Wm. C. Bagnal, 
 Baptist, all died of the fever. Rev. D. P. Wills, 
 Methodist Episcopal ; Rev. Mr. O'Keefe, Catholic ; 
 Rev. Dr. Armstrong, Presbyterian; and Rev. Louis 
 
220 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 
 Walke, Protestant Episcopal, were dangerously ill 
 of the fever and recovered. They were busily and 
 usefully engaged in their efforts to give consolation 
 to the sufferers. Some of them were in regular 
 attendance at the hospital ; and none of those 
 mentioned manifested a desire to fly from the 
 scourge — preferring to die in the faithful discharge 
 of their known duty, rather than to leave the 
 suffering and • afflicted members of their flocks 
 in the midst of disease and death, without those 
 words of comfort and consolation which it be- 
 comes the Christian minister, especially, to im- 
 part in the hour of extraordinary calamity and 
 trial. 
 
 " Among many others, the estimable, the tal- 
 ented, the noble, the heroic of our city, in the 
 all -wise and inscrutable providence of Almighty 
 God, the Rev. William M. Jackson, Rector of St. 
 Paul's Church, was numbered a victim of the 
 dread fever. 'Mid the blossom of his holy labors, 
 he died, conquering a deathless name upon the 
 field of pestilence ; and over his tomb the tears 
 of the church and of the community have been 
 shed. It is the dear privilege of the writer to 
 offer a feeble tribute to his memory ; to the 
 memory of him, the beloved pastor, who, as a 
 
Bisn 221 
 
 minister of the Gospel of Christ — a title which do 
 v ennobles, no treasure enriches — stood forth 
 bv anything of this world's decora- 
 ing all temporal, all eternal hope, on his 
 • 1 labors, his talents, his attainments, and his 
 piety — the highest honor, as well as the most im- 
 perishable treasures of the man of God. Rich the 
 Inheritance of Ids spotless reputation ! Pious the 
 example it tost iiics ; pure, precious, and imper- 
 ishable the hope which it inspires. 
 
 " By the death of this distinguished servant of 
 -:, the Diocese of Virginia — the Church in 
 Norfolk city especially — sustained a sad, severe, 
 and, to human view, an irreparable loss ; and 
 although, over his very sepulchre, where corrup- 
 tion sits enthroned upon the merit it has mur- 
 I, a voice is heard vindicating the ways of 
 idence, and proving that even in its worst 
 adversity there is a might and immortality in 
 virtue, yet it is a privilege to mourn over our sad 
 bereavement ; and to record on the innermost 
 shrine of our hearts, the memory and worth of 
 the departi d." 
 
 •1 ! thy conflict's o'er, thy I voice 
 
 obt 
 Aud now, the conqueror's crown for thee, 'mid augel bands 
 digpla 
 
222 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 The victor's palm within thy hand, the wreath upon thy 
 
 brow — 
 The suffering one of earth, we feel, is Heaven's blest one now !"' 
 
 Mr. Jackson was the pastor of honored " Old 
 St. Paul's ;" but, when the demon of pestilence 
 had stalked into our city, he did not confine his 
 active labors to those specially under his charge. 
 When the sustaining hand of the holy father in 
 God was wanted, he did not ask " to whose 
 church" the lorn sufferer might belong. It was 
 enough for him that he was needed, whether by 
 saint or sinner. 
 
 What adds melancholy interest to his fate, is 
 the poignant fact, that, like the Rev. Mr. Devlin, 
 of Portsmouth, he survived till the ravages of the 
 epidemic had nearly ceased, and his friends, both 
 at home and abroad, had begun to encourage the 
 hope that, as the day was breaking, and he yet 
 spared, God intended him to survive the night, 
 and speak his solemn messages in the ears of men. 
 But the day dawned, and the faithful pastor was 
 no more. 
 
 " The Rev. Anthony Dibrell commenced his 
 ministry in 1830. He was then of mature years, 
 had spent some time at the University of North 
 Carolina, and had studied the law, to which it had 
 
UlsTOKY OF IBB iT.sTH.r.Nu:. 229 
 
 li is purpose to devote his life. Under the 
 ministry of the Rev. Dr. William A. Smith, then 
 
 stationed in Lynchburg, he embraced religion, 
 and, soon afterwards, offered himself as a candidate 
 to the Conference. He entered upon his work 
 with flaming zeal, resembling a blazing torch, 
 ready to be cast into dry stubble. 
 
 " lie stood deservedly high in the estimation of 
 the Conference, and by their suffrage was succes- 
 sively a member of the Louisville Convention, and 
 of the General Conferences at Petersburg, St. Louis, 
 and Columbus, Georgia. His last appointment was 
 to the Granby Street station, in Norfolk, which he 
 received under peculiar circumstances, and where 
 he terminated his useful life. He labored there 
 with his usual fidelity, until the approach of the 
 yellow fever. While others debated the question 
 of flight, he solemnly resolved, in the strength of 
 God, to stand by his charge, let the issue be what 
 it might. He remarked in an official meeting, that 
 this was his purpose, and that he felt prepared for 
 the trying ordeal. He did remain, and consecrated 
 his time to the offices of his holy vocation, visiting 
 the sick and burying the dead. 
 
 " His preaching, while it evinced a masculine 
 grasp of thought, had two peculiarities : first, its 
 
224 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 propositional, rather than its discursive character ; 
 secondly, its perpetual tinge of terror. More than 
 any preacher we ever knew, he dealt to his hearers 
 the dreadful thunderbolts of Sinai, and it seemed 
 to be the principal part of his commission to do 
 it." 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 VMES CHISHOLM — REV. FRANCIS DEVLIN — REV. WILLIAM C. 
 vLL — REV. VERNON ESKRIDGE — REV. WILLIAM JONES. 
 
 " Who, that knew the Rev. James Chisholm by- 
 sight, would have dreamed that that frail body of 
 his held such a lofty spirit ! Weak and delicate, 
 with a degree of modesty that almost amounted to 
 bashfulness, as shrinking and retiring as a young 
 girl, thousands would have passed him in the crowd 
 unconscious that they were in the presence of a 
 ripe scholar and an able divine. His look a per- 
 sonification of meekness ; and, to the superficial 
 thinker, he would seem to have been one of those 
 who would quietly have retreated to his solitude, 
 far away from the noise and bustle of an excited 
 community. But the disease came — Chisholm's 
 flock nearly all left — and he, too, was preparing to 
 spend a portion of his summer in the mountains — 
 but stern duty said ' Stop.' And then it was that 
 this pale, delicate, frail, retiring man came forth to 
 the struggle, and the great and noble soul, which 
 
 was, after all, the stature of the man, rose in its 
 10* 
 
226 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 God-given strength, and he was here at the bed- 
 side of suffering, and there by the fresh-made 
 grave ; here pointing the sinner to the cross of 
 Christ, and there carrying food and drink to the 
 needy ; now in the pulpit, seizing upon the cir- 
 cumstances of the visitation, to warn men to pre- 
 pare for death, and then in the hospital whispering 
 peace to tlie penitent and departing soul. Death 
 came to him, and he met him as one who, 
 
 ' Sustained and soothed 
 
 By an unfaltering trust, approached the grave ; 
 Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch 
 About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.' " 
 
 On the 15th September he wrote as follows, to 
 the Christian Witness: 
 
 " It probably occurs to you, that in the present 
 appalling condition of our plague-smitten com- 
 munity, but one alternative presents itself to the 
 consideration of every one. Shall I regard per- 
 sonal safety alone, and flee with all speed from this 
 atmosphere of poison and death, or shall I look 
 the question of my relations to society, to humani- 
 ty and to God, full in the face, and decide accord- 
 ingly? The question of duty, as a minister of 
 Christ, has determined me to stand at the post to 
 which, I believe, all along the providence of God 
 
 
HISTORY OF Tin: ri.-riLENCE. 227 
 
 called me. Up to this moment, for the period of 
 seven weeks that the desolating scourge has been 
 doing its remorseless work amongst us, I have been 
 perfectly well ; not one uneasy or uncomfortable 
 feeling — and never in my life have I had a finer ap- 
 petite. For five weeks of this time I have been a 
 daily and sometimes a nightly attendant, as occa- 
 sion may call me, at the sick and dying beds of the 
 sufferers and victims by this malignant fever. My 
 present condition surprises myself; and I trust 
 that I more than ever realize the ' Eternal God is 
 my refuge, and underneath are the Everlasting 
 Arms.' I am in his hands to do with me what 
 seemeth Him good. 
 
 " The wards of the United States Hospital, 
 temporarily granted for the use of our Portsmouth 
 people, are crowded to the number of one hundred 
 and fifty or two hundred with yellow fever patients, 
 and I pay these wards a daily visit, endeavoring to 
 administer, as far as desired or needed, the blessed 
 resources of our holy religion. It is some com- 
 fort, amid these dreary w T alks of duty, to reflect that 
 I have aided some poor creatures to seek and find 
 that peace which the world can neither give nor 
 take away. 
 
 " I also visit wherever in town I am called for. 
 
228 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 As to the details of woe presented by our present 
 condition, I do believe that it is utterly incom- 
 petent to any descriptive power to convey a 
 picture of them. Never since the continent of 
 America was settled (I speak calmly, and with 
 reference to what I have read or heard of), never 
 has so terrible a calamity overwhelmed the same 
 amount of population. You will find it extremely 
 difficult to lend credence to some statements which 
 I could make to you from knowledge and observa- 
 tion. 
 
 " Yesterday a communication was received from 
 that city of human beings with human sensibilities 
 and sympathies in their souls, Baltimore, offering 
 to convey the entire remaining and surviving popu- 
 lation of Norfolk and Portsmouth to any salubri- 
 ous point that might be selected, or could be ob- 
 tained by them, and likewise guaranteeing to 
 them, so long as they might be thus detained, all 
 things in the way of provisions, furniture, bed- 
 ding, etc., which they should stand in need of. 
 The very fact suggests to you some idea of the 
 horrors of our position." 
 
 Rev. Francis Devlin, pastor of St. Paul's (Catho- 
 lic) Church, also fell a victim to the fever. The 
 Transcript in recording his death, said : — • 
 
B08T0B1 OF i HE I i - in i !N< 
 
 "He had partially recovered from an attack of 
 the fever some weeks ago, bu1 Buffered a relapse 
 from which he never entirely recovered. We saw 
 
 him out and spoke to him on Friday afternoon, 
 and though he Looked very much reduced, we had 
 
 cherished the fond hope that he would be spared. 
 From the commencement of the sad times from 
 which we are emerging, up to the period of his 
 attack, he had been actively and faithfully en- 
 gaged in ministering to the sick and dying; since 
 which time he has been mostly confined to his 
 bed. He was an exemplary, mild, humble, and 
 godly man, and has, no doubt, gone to reap the re- 
 ward of his firm adherence to duty under the most 
 appalling circumstances. His course formed an 
 example worthy of all imitation, and it affords us 
 sincere gratification, as it enables us to exercise a 
 sweet privilege, thus to do homage to a character 
 which we have always esteemed. Such, we esti- 
 mate, was the compeer of Chisholm and of Esk- 
 ridge." 
 
 "Rev. Wm, C. Bagnall was a young gentleman 
 of fine promise. He became a member of the 
 Cumberland Street Baptist Church, in 1854, when 
 he commenced studying for the ministry, under 
 the Rev. Mr. Winston. He was, after a short time, 
 
230 
 
 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 licensed to preach, and he displayed talent which 
 showed that if his life had been spared he would 
 have made an eminent minister of the Gospel. His 
 sermons would have done credit to an older head 
 than his. He was untiring in his visits to the sick 
 and dying, during the whole time that the fever 
 made its appearance amongst us, reading and pray- 
 ing with them, and giving them all the consolation 
 in his power — thus showing an example for older 
 ministers to follow. But he is gone to his reward, 
 having fallen in the spring-time of his life." 
 
 Rev. Vernon Eskridge (Methodist Episcopal), 
 Chaplain United States Navy, and Wm. Jones, of 
 the African Methodist Episcopal Church, were 
 both men of great worth of character; devoted, 
 faithful, and zealous. They were highly esteemed 
 as ministers of deep-toned piety, sound judgment, 
 and extensive usefulness, and their loss is sadly 
 felt. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 THE RESIDENT PHYSICIANS — DRS. SILVESTER — IIIGGINS — UPSHUR 
 — ( ONSTABLE — SELDEN. 
 
 The brave band of physicians belonging to our 
 city, suffered fearfully from the onslaught of the 
 enemy. Not one of those, who were at home 
 during the epidemic, escaped a fierce attack, and 
 ten were laid in the dust — martyrs in one of the 
 holiest of causes. 
 
 Drs. Win. Seidell, Wm. J. Moore, Robert B. 
 Tunstall, E. D. Granier, Herbert M. Nash, G. W. 
 Cowdery, F. S. Campos, Thos. I. Hardy, Robert 
 H. Gordon, D. M. Wright, V. Friedeman, and D. 
 W. Todd, were all severely ill of the fever, and re- 
 covered. Dr. J. J. Simkins was compelled to leave 
 during the fever, on account of his own ill health ; 
 and he was also detained to attend a sister who was 
 dangerously ill of the disease at Hampton, after 
 leaving this city. He was one of the first to offer 
 his services to the Board of Health, when the i'exi'V 
 broke out. Dr. Wm. M. Wilson escaped an attack, 
 having had the disease in the South in 1S52. He 
 
232 HISTORY OF TUE PESTILENCE. 
 
 was appointed physician-in-chief, at the Julapi 
 Hospital, at Lambert's Point, where his superior 
 skill, and judicious official conduct were manifest; 
 and his efforts there were spoken of in terms of the 
 highest praise. Though he had retired from the 
 profession of medicine for a not less lucrative call- 
 ing, our valued fellow-citizen, Dr. Robt. W. Rose, is 
 deserving of prominent mention among the gallant 
 surviving ones. Disregarding all selfish considera- 
 tions, and actuated by the pure desire to bring aid 
 in the day of trial, he went into the arena where 
 his former companions were engaged in the death 
 struggle, and continued his zealous work till the 
 latest moment when it could avail. He was ill of 
 the disease ; but the attack was not a severe one. 
 We give a list of the resident physicians, who 
 died, in the order in which they fell : 1. Richard 
 W. Silvester ; 2nd. Thos. F. Constable ; 3rd. George 
 I. Halson ; 4th. Rich. J. Silvester ; 5th. Francis 
 L. Higgins ; 6th. Junius A. Briggs ; 7th. Thomas 
 Nash ; 8th. George L. Upshur ; 9th. Richd. B. 
 Tunstall ; and 10th. Henry Selden. 
 
 " Dr. R. W. Silvester was born in Princess Anne 
 County, in the year 1801, and received his aca- 
 demic education in Norfolk, in which city he 
 
HISTORY OF 
 
 studied medicine under Drs. Fernandez and An- 
 drews, with ureal zeal and success; and after at- 
 tending the lectures al the University of Penn- 
 sylvania, entered upon the practice of his profession 
 in Norfolk County, admirably prepared to dis- 
 oharge its high and varied responsibilities. Here 
 be rapidly acquired a high professional reputation, 
 and won, in an extraordinary degree, the affection 
 and confidence of the entire community for a 
 circle of many miles. After a practice of eighteen 
 years of great labor and success in the country, 
 he was induced to abandon his large and lucrative 
 business, in consequence of declining health, which 
 had suffered severely from constant exposure in a 
 miasmatic district. He removed to Norfolk to 
 regain his health, and to educate his children in 
 the best schools which the city afforded, and 
 resumed his professional duties in the year 1843. 
 
 " His was a character pure and unselfish, gentle 
 and amiable — constant in his attachments, and in- 
 flexible in the discharge of duties. As might have 
 been expected from one of his exalted worth, when 
 the recent epidemic made its appearance in our 
 midst, he did not abandon his post, but w 7 ent 
 where duty called — and nobly fell." 
 
234 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 " It is to be supposed that, among medical men, 
 those who went into the dens of the enemy for the 
 purpose of grappling with him in his strength, 
 there must have been proud victims. Among the 
 foremost of those who thus fell, was the late Dr. 
 F. L. Higgins. 
 
 " It was announced in August, that this gentle- 
 man was convalescent from his sharp attack of 
 fever, and that he had gone to Philadelphia to 
 recover strength for renewed labors in the cause 
 in which he was disabled. His friends expected 
 to see him return to duty in a short time, with 
 renovated strength and skill — but alas, the treacher- 
 ous disease fully maintained its character in his 
 case. He experienced, in his retreat, the well- 
 known, and almost surely fatal ' relapse' — and 
 Death ' flapped its funeral wing' over the frame 
 of the skillful physician and heroic devotee. 
 
 "Dr. Higgins was about forty-five years of age. 
 He was born and reared in Norfolk, and laid the 
 foundation of his medical attainments under the 
 training of his relative, the celebrated Thomas F. 
 Andrews, who retired from the profession a few 
 years since, to enjoy the affluence and fame which 
 he had acquired in his practice in Norfolk. Dr. 
 Higgins was 'the nephew of his uncle,' in the 
 
BISTOBY OF PHE PES lii.r.NCE. 23^ 
 
 proudest sense of the term. The mantle of ability 
 ami success seemed to have fallen upon his 
 ihoulders — and many will bear testimony that he 
 ut off in the midst of a noble career. 
 " As a surgeon, he was eminently successful. 
 Many very delicate and skillful operations were 
 performed by him. with the happiest results. Pie 
 had won a reputation to be envied. In his death, 
 our medical constellation lost one of its fixed 
 stars." 
 
 "Dr. George L. Upshur, although he had not 
 been in practice more than twelve years, had 
 gained, by his untiring energy and earnest thirst 
 after knowledge, a well-deserved and honorable 
 position with his professional brethren. He was 
 endowed with remarkable physical and intellectual 
 activity. He was called to see the first cases in 
 Norfolk, and was, for some days, the only physician 
 in the city who witnessed the disease. His labors, 
 during the prevalence of the plague, were im- 
 mense ; yet, during them all, he continued to take 
 a series of careful notes for future publication, and 
 was to have prepared for the pages of the Medical 
 Journal a history of the fatal epidemic. He fought 
 with the pestilence, unscathed, almost up to the 
 
236 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 hour of its retiring from the field, and then, struck 
 by a Parthian arrow, the hero fell. He was calm 
 and firm in death, as in life ; prophesied the time 
 of his dissolution, and appointed the hour for his 
 funeral, which he selected to suit the convenience 
 of his brethren, whom he desired all to surround 
 his last resting-place. He died in the thirty-sixth 
 year of his age." 
 
 " Dr. Upshur's loss will not soon be made up," 
 wrote Dr. Freeman, of Philadelphia. "I saw him 
 three hours before his death: he had just called 
 his wife to his side, and essayed to speak to her, 
 but could not. He died ' the death of the righte- 
 ous.' Only two days before his decease, his wife 
 remarked to some friends standing at his bedside, 
 ' We are both prepared.' Never can I forget the 
 instructive lesson I learned at that death-bed. 
 1 May my latter end be like his.' " 
 
 " We had all seen him day by day, in his usual 
 round," said another, "ministering to the unceas- 
 ing call of suffering humanity, and bestowing his 
 professional aid upon the poor and the humble, as 
 readily as upon the proud and exalted. There was 
 a peculiar cheerfulness and sympathy in his tone, 
 that struck the chord of hope in many an anxious 
 sick one's breast; and we were almost disposed to 
 
Hi- 
 think that his enviable temperament rendered him 
 in vulnerable." 
 
 A; the time of his melancholy demise, the fol- 
 lowing appropriate tribute appeared in the Peten- 
 
 "Dr. Upshur was as true a moral hero as the 
 
 world over saw. and his course, during the present 
 
 epidemic, lias fully established the truth of our 
 
 ;ion. Like the gallant Woodis, he commenced 
 
 with the fever when it was in Barry's Row ; and, 
 without even the hope of reward — except that 
 which an approving conscience bestows — lie bat- 
 tled manfully with the disease, and tendered his 
 services alike to all the suffering. So untiring was 
 lie in his exertions, and so wholly regardless of 
 self in all that he did, that an eminent physician 
 remarked that he believed it was scarcely pos- 
 sible for Dr. Upshur to take the fever ; for while 
 others had been seized with it and died, he, not- 
 withstanding the risk incurred, was still alive and 
 well, and grappling with it more manfully than 
 ever. He was truly one of nature's noblemen, and 
 lived for the good of others. 
 
 He had a tear for pity, and a hand 
 Open as day tor melting charity.' " 
 
238 HISTORY OP THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 Dr. Thomas F. Constable was anotner of the 
 resident physicians who fell at his post, after 
 battling faithfully and skillfully with the mon- 
 ster-malady that swept through our city and de- 
 prived it of so many men of usefulness and sterling 
 character. His age was about thirty-nine. He, 
 too, was a favorite student of Dr. Thomas F. An- 
 drews, deservedly celebrated as a man of extraor- 
 dinary skill and success in his profession. Dr. C. 
 subsequently repaired to Philadelphia, where he 
 was noted for his correct deportment and studious 
 habits ; and he was soon graduated. 
 
 He was a careful and thoughtful observer of 
 whatever tended to increase his knowledge in the 
 different -branches of his useful profession. By a 
 judicious and systematic course of reading, he hac 
 stored his mind with valuable scientific informa- 
 tion, was consequently successful in his practice, 
 and had gained the confidence of the community as 
 a wise and judicious practitioner. Unpretending 
 and unostentatious in his general deportment, anc 
 in his intercourse with men ; deliberate and cau- 
 tious in the performance of his official duties ; con- 
 scientious and honorable in his dealings with 
 others, he possessed a weight and force of charac- 
 ter, and an influence in the circle of his acquaint- 
 
HBTOXtY ov Tin 
 
 luce, that wore known, acknowledged, and appre- 
 ciated. 
 
 A few weeks before he was attacked, he ac- 
 companied hia estimable and devoted wife and 
 two Lovely children to the Balu brio us mountain re- 
 lions of our State, where he could have remained, 
 breathing the pure and healthful atmosphere, far 
 away from the pestilence that reigned here, and 
 surrounded by friends and relatives who esteemed 
 and loved him. But his idea of duty called him 
 home to the scenes of death and wretchedness 
 that were witnessed in this afflicted city. As a 
 member of the Board of Health, he was punctual 
 and faithful in the discharge of his duties, and until 
 seized by the unmistakable premonitory chill, he 
 was constant in his, professional visitations to 
 the abodes of disease, death, and woe. 
 
 Soon after his attack, it was too evident that 
 his name would swell the long list of the dead. 
 Calmly watching the fearful inroads of the fatal 
 malady, and after patiently submitting to the 
 remedial efforts that were deemed requisite in his 
 case, he told his friend and attending physician, in 
 Latin, that his remedies would prove unavailing, 
 and came to the conclusion that the progress of the 
 disease could not be arrested by human power, and 
 

 240 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 that he must soon be in his grave. Then he quiet- 
 ly awaited nature's dissolution, and the eventful 
 moment when he would exchange this for another 
 and an unending state of existence. 
 
 On being told by one who watched at his 
 bedside, that he must soon enter upon the 
 untried realities of another world, and on being 
 asked if he felt ready for the awful change, he 
 simply and pleasantly remarked, " I prepared for 
 this long ago." He had been faithfully instructed 
 in his childhood and youth, by pious parents, in 
 the saving principles and doctrines of the Bible, < 
 and had learned and embraced the all-important 
 lesson : That faith in Christ alone was the only 
 hope of salvation. As peaceful and calm as the 
 setting of the summer's sun, he closed his eyes in 
 death. His active form sleeps quietly now, like 
 the rest of the great company that were hurried 
 out to the silent burial place ; and his redeemed 
 and happy spirit has returned to the great and 
 merciful Creator, doubtless to be glorified, peace- 
 ful, and joyful, during the ceaseless and ample 
 sweep of eternal ages. 
 
 " The professional education of Dr. Henry Selden 
 was a fair model for aspirants to skill and fame in 
 
history OP THE PE8TTLEM B. 2 I 1 
 
 the useful and honorable vocation of the practice 
 of medicine. In his studies he neglected nothing 
 
 which could add to the stock of his already well- 
 stored mind. His private preceptor, Dr. \Y. W. 
 Gerhard, was one of his firmest friends and warm- 
 dmirers. 
 
 | "After taking- his diploma at the University of 
 Pennsylvania, he was elected resident physician to 
 Blockley, the largest and best conducted hospital 
 in the city of Philadelphia. Here he showed the 
 most untiring industry, and his attainments were 
 constantly brought into view, and became the 
 theme of daily admiration on the part of his 
 associates. 
 
 " After a residence of eighteen months in the hos- 
 pital, he went to Paris to complete a professional 
 education which seemed already finished. His as- 
 sociates there awarded him the credit of being 
 one of the most industrious and intelligent of the 
 American students then in that great medical em- 
 porium. He remained in Paris three years, re- 
 turned to his native 'city, and commenced his 
 career, which promised to be so brilliant. 
 
 " Clear and decided in diagnosis, firm and self- 
 relying in practice, his success was such as might 
 
 have been expected from one who, with talents of 
 11 
 
242 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 a superior order, had cultivated and trained his 
 mind in a most judicious manner. His success 
 commanded the admiration of his patients and 
 friends — and his generous, kind, and charitable 
 conduct won the love of all who were brought 
 within the sphere of its bearing. Though young, 
 having a little more than completed his thirty* 
 seventh year, his reputation was already great; 
 and yet, in his death, and in the midst of his use- 
 fulness, was he taken from us. Truly, the ways 
 of Providence are inscrutable, and past finding 
 out." 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 DRS. HALSON, NASH, BRIGGS, TUNSTALL, SILVESTER, JR., AND 
 THE RESIDENT l'UVSK lAXS OF PORTSMOUTH. 
 
 " Dr Geo. I. Halson was one of those who, 
 knowing his duty, had the courage to stand at his 
 post, and with the heroism of gallant soldiery in 
 his profession, did he labor day and night to relieve 
 the suffering of his fellow-citizens. His physical 
 strength was inadequate to the task necessarily 
 imposed upon him in the condition of things in our 
 devoted city. He was among the first in the pro- 
 fession to take the disease : the worst fears of his 
 friends and relatives soon became a reality. He 
 .fell a speedy victim, after bearing the sufferings of 
 his malady with the resignation and submission of 
 a true Christian. He was about thirty-seven years 
 of age. 
 
 " From his early boyhood to the time of his 
 death he displayed such qualities of heart and 
 mind as to endear to him a large circle of friends. 
 His moral and scholastic education was conducted 
 by his father with the utmost care. The progress 
 
244 HISTORY OP THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 and promise of an only boy made glad the heart of 
 his aged parent, who felt justly proud of such a 
 son. 
 
 " He read medicine in the office of Dr. W. B. 
 Selden, where his fidelity as a student won the 
 warm regard of his preceptor. His professional 
 education was completed in Philadelphia. After 
 taking his diploma, he remained as a resident phy- 
 sician in the Blockley Hospital for eighteen 
 months, thereby securing all the advantages which 
 that great school could give. 
 
 " He practiced medicine in this city fifteen 
 years, during which time his attention and skill 
 won the confidence and regard of his patients, and 
 none enjoyed the respect and esteem of his brother 
 physicians more than he. His high tone and sense 
 of professional courtesy were acknowledged by all 
 who knew him. He was incapable of any. viola-, 
 tion of professional etiquette. His conduct was a 
 code of medical ethics. His morality was prover- 
 bial, yet he had a claim still higher in being a con- 
 sistent Christian — having united himself to the 
 Protestant Episcopal church in the spring of 1851. 
 
 " His death is a great affliction to his aged 
 mother who loved him with all the devotion and 
 pride due a good, affectionate and noble son." 
 
BBS 
 
 Dr. Thomas Nash was a gentleman of much 
 Intelligence ami experience. He was highly re- 
 spected for his urbanity ami consisted piety. A 
 circle of relatives and friends mourn his loss. 
 
 His la.sr hours exhibited a triumph over Death. 
 
 Dr. Junius A. I iso fell a victim to the 
 
 scourge, lie was quite a young man, of pleasing 
 manners, line personal appearance, ami a liberal 
 education, having enjoyed superior facilities, in 
 Europe as well as in this country, for acquiring an 
 extensive acquaintance with the different branches 
 of his profession. His father, A. Briggs, merchant, 
 and a sister, were also cut down by the unsparing 
 hand of the destroyer. 
 
 " Dr. Richard B. Tunstall, the subject of this 
 notice, was one of the many who fell victims of 
 the yellow fever while diligently and constantly 
 engaged at his post during the epidemic. 
 
 "He was a young man when thus suddenly and 
 unexpectedly cut off in the midst of usefulness ; 
 but it needs not gray hairs to give proper weight 
 to character. Even upon the young will moral 
 worth and devotion to the nobler duties of life be- 
 stow a capacity to influence, and a power to charm, 
 
246 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 which demonstrate that virtue's ways are those in 
 which we should delight to move — onwards and 
 upwards. . 
 
 "DivTunstall, after having received a good pre- 
 paratory education, attended the lectures at the 
 University of Pennsylvania ; and so faithfully had 
 he availed himself of the opportunities there offered, 
 that, before taking his diploma at that school, he 
 appeared before the Naval Board for the examina- 
 tion of candidates for admission to the medical corps 
 of the United States Navy, and passed the exami- 
 nation with credit to himself. He afterwards con- 
 tinued his studies, and graduated at the University 
 of Pennsylvania, in the spring of 1S49. 
 
 " His first and only cruise was made in the United 
 States ship St. Mary's, with Captain Geo. Magru- 
 der, during which he became the special favorite 
 of all the officers and ship's company. The ser- 
 vice, however, did not suit his taste, and he, there- 
 fore, resigned his commission. During the fever, 
 he faithfully 'kept his post, to which duty, humani- 
 ty, and heroic inclination called him. It was here 
 he fell. On the 19th of September, he was seized 
 with the disease, and died on the 24th, after five 
 days of patient suffering. 
 
 " As an officer, he was loved and respected for the 
 
MMtOVt of Tnr. 247 
 
 sterling qualities of his character, and his faithful 
 and energetic performance of every duty. As i 
 civilian, he bad the warmest personal regard of the 
 citizens of the place where he was born and reared. 
 In his deportment, there was no air of pretension ; 
 but there was a simple and dignified candor in his 
 address, which, like ' the window in the breast,' 
 gave insight to the promptings of a pure nature." 
 
 Dr. Richard J. Silvester, the oldest son of Dr. R. 
 TV. Silvester, by nature delicate and frail, and worn 
 down by fatigue and distress in the death of his 
 father, and the approaching dissolution of his bro- 
 ther, Wm. H., could hold out no longer against 
 accumulating afflictions — and, after a feeble resist- 
 ance, yielded to the disease. 
 
 He was born in Norfolk County, in 1S2S ; his 
 education was conducted, with great care, in Nor- 
 folk, at F. W. Coleman's, and at the University of 
 Virginia, where he attained great distinction for 
 his acquirements, not only in the classics, but also 
 in the sciences, especially in pure mathematics, in 
 which, we have been assured by his associates, he 
 had very few equals. He graduated at the Uni- 
 versity of Pennsylvania, in the spring of 1SJ4, and 
 immediately entered upon the practice of his pro- 
 
248 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 fession, in which he gave abundant promise of dis- 
 tinction. He, too, like his father, fell a victim to 
 that high sense of professional duty and honor that 
 would not suffer him to desert his post in time of 
 danger. 
 
 RESIDENT PHYSICIANS* OF PORTSMOUTH. 
 
 Drs. J. N. Schoolfield, C. Spratley, G. W. 0. 
 Maupin, James L. Hatton, and Wm. J. Cocke, had 
 the fever, and recovered. 
 
 Drs. J. W. H. Trugien, R. H. Parker, M. P. 
 Lovett, and L. P. Nicholson, died of the disease. 
 
 Drs. Bilisoly and Hodges escaped, or were not 
 attacked. 
 
 We regret that we cannot present some brief 
 biographical sketches of the worthy martyrs who 
 fell, the noble victims among the physicians of 
 Portsmouth. The omission is, however, unavoid- 
 able ; suffice it, therefore, to say, that they behaved 
 heroically, generously, and ably in that fearful 
 battle with the unseen and insidious foe to life 
 and health. Day and night they were seen in the 
 performance of their labors of benevolence in the 
 cause of suffering humanity ; doing more than ordi- 
 nary men could bear, till, worn down by fatigue, 
 the disease found them easy and ready victims. 
 
EOST0B.Y Or THE PESTILENCB. 249 
 
 They who survived, and the fortunate two who 
 escaped, are not less entitled to the gratitude and 
 honor of their fellow-citizens. Those who witness- 
 ed that period of death and suffering, can alone 
 appreciate the services of the heroes who strove 
 to stay the destructive progress of the fearful 
 disorder. 
 11* 
 
CHAPTER XXX. . 
 
 VISITING PHYSICIANS AND OTHERS — THE EOLL OF HONOR DRS. 
 
 GOOCH, CAPRI, ETC. 
 
 The following is the list of physicians and 
 others who came to the relief of our suffering 
 people, with their places of residence, and the date 
 of their arrival. It will be observed that twenty- 
 Jive of those who came met the fate which they 
 sought to avert from others. Honored ht their 
 memories and green be their graves ! 
 
 Dr. TV. Stone, New Orleans, August 16, 1855. 
 
 Dr. Thos. Penniston, New Orleans, August 17. 
 
 Dr. TVm. H. Freeman, Philadelphia, August. 
 
 Eev. T. G. Keen, Petersburg, August 20. 
 
 Dr. De Castro, Cuba, August 21. 
 
 Dr. John F. Carter, Eichmond, August 23. 
 
 Dr. John Morris, Baltimore, August 24. 
 
 Capt. Nathan Thompson, Philadelphia, August 24. 
 
 Dr. A. A. Zeiglefuss, Philadelphia, August 25. 
 
 Dr. Jas. McFadden, Philadelphia, August 26. 
 
 Dr. J. T. Hargrove, Richmond, August 25. 
 
 Dr. E. D. Fenner, New Orleans, August 25. 
 
 Dr. C. Beard, New Orleans, August 25. 
 
 Dr. E. T. TVorl, Philadelphia, August 25. 
 
 Dr. St. J. Ravenel, S. C, August 27. 
 
 Dr. N. J. Crow, Richmond, August 28. 
 
HISTOKY OF THE PESTILENCE. 251 
 
 Dr. A. B. Wifflman, S. 0., August 28 
 Dr. J. Ilitt. Georgia, August 20. 
 Dr. W. II. i 0., August 29. 
 
 Dr. T. ('. Skrine, S. 0., Augusl 2D. 
 Dr. F. M. Garret, N". 0., August 29. 
 A. ML Loryear, S. 0., August 29. 
 A. R. Tuber. S. ('.. August 29. 
 Dr. Bignon, Georgia, August 29. 
 Dr. Donalson, Georgia, August 29. 
 A. J. Gibbs, Philadelphia, August 30. 
 Dr. Marsh. .Philadelphia. August 30. 
 Dr. E. C. Steele, S. C, August 30. 
 W. Porcher Miles, S. 0., August 30. 
 Dr. Campbell, Xew Orleaus, August 30. 
 
 D. I. Ricardo, Xew Orleans, August 30. 
 Dr. J. B. Read. Georgia, August 30. 
 Dr. Godfrey, Georgia, August 30. 
 
 Dr. Skinner, Georgia. August 30. 
 
 Dr. Charlton, Georgia, August 30. 
 
 Dr. McFarland, Georgia, August 30 
 
 Dr. Xunn, Georgia, August 30. 
 
 Capt. Thomas J. Ivy, Xew Orleans, August 30. 
 
 E. E. Jackson, S. C, August 30. 
 Dr. Williams, D. C, August 31. 
 Dr. G. S. West, X". Y., August 31. 
 Dr. J. B. Holmes, S. C, August 31. 
 Judge Olin, Georgia, Sept. 1. 
 John Taliaferro, Georgia, Sept. 1. 
 Dr. Freer, X. Y., Sept. 1. 
 
 Franklin H. Clack, Xew Orleans, Sept. 5. 
 
 Dr. Robinson, X". Y., Sept. 3. 
 
 Dr. R. M. Miller, Mobile, Sept. 3. 
 
 Wm. Ballantine, Mobile, Sept. 3. 
 
 Dr. W. B. Thompson, Georgia, Sept. 6. 
 
 Dr. Baker, Key West, Sept. 7. 
 
 Wm. T. Walthall, Mobile, Sept. 7. 
 
252 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 Dr. R. E. McKay, Georgia, Sept. 9. 
 
 Dr. A. B. Campbell, Philadelphia, Sept. 9. 
 
 Dr. Wilson, Cuba, Sept. 11. 
 
 Wm. C. Miller, Mobile, Sept, 12, 
 
 Wm. N". Ghiselin, New Orleans, Sept. 12. 
 
 Mr. Rucker, Montgomery, Ala., Sept. 13. 
 
 Mr. Clowes, Montgomery, Ala., Sept. 13. 
 
 Dr. Fredericks, N. T., Sept. 14. 
 
 Dr. John Yaughau, London, Sept. 17. 
 
 Dr. McFarlane, New Orleans, Sept. 18. 
 
 A. H. Jennett, Mobile, Sept. 18. 
 
 The labors of the following physicians were 
 confined principally to Portsmouth. 
 
 Drs. Riser, Briggs, Mierson, Kennedy, Bryant, Azpell, Molle, 
 Hammill, McClosky, and Randall, of Philadelphia. 
 Drs. Webster and Hungerford, of Baltimore. 
 Dr. Thomas, of Cincinnati. 
 Dr. Flournoy, of Tennessee. 
 Dr. Baker, of Key West. 
 Drs. Rich and Covert, of Charleston. 
 Dr. McDowell, of Richmond. 
 Dr. Thomson, of Virginia. 
 
 All of the above had the fever and recovered, 
 excepting Drs. Randall, McClosky, Baker, and 
 McDowell, who escaped. 
 
 "THE DEAD." 
 Dr. Leon Gilbardt, of Richmond. 
 Dr. P. C. Gooch, of Richmond. 
 Dr. Walter, of Baltimore. 
 Dr. Robert Thomson, of Baltimore. 
 Dr. T. H. Craycroft, of Philadelphia. 
 Dr. Fliess, of Baltimore. 
 Dr. T. Booth, of Baltimore. 
 
BESTOW OF nir. P] - in.i.Nrr. 2.">3 
 
 Dr» Howe, of Baltimore. 
 
 Dr. Bowie, of Richmond. 
 
 Dp. T. Mierson, of Philadelphia. 
 
 Dr. Richard Blow, of Sussex, Va. 
 
 Dr. Thomas W. Handy, of Philadelphia. 
 
 Dr. A. G. Smith, of Pa. 
 
 Dr. Jackson, D. C. 
 
 Dr. Dabershe, D. C. 
 
 Dr. Schell, of New York. 
 
 Dr. Obermuller, of Georgia. 
 
 Dr. R. B. Berry, of Tennessee. 
 
 Dr. Dillard, of Montgomery, Ala. ^ 
 
 Dr. Capri, of New York. 
 
 Dr. Hunter, of New York. 
 
 Dr. Cole, of Philadelphia. 
 
 Dr. Walter, of Baltimore. 
 
 Dr. Marshall, of Baltimore. 
 
 Dr. Crowe, of Richmond. 
 
 The services of the five last named were ren- 
 dered principally in Portsmouth. 
 
 The following tribute to the memory of the la- 
 mented Dr. Gooch, of Richmond, is from the pages 
 of the Stethoscope, Richmond, the journal which he 
 founded, and which was the child of his fondest 
 love : 
 
 " It is but seldom that we have been called to 
 a more melancholy duty than this record of the 
 death of Dr. Philip Claiborne Gooch, of this city. 
 When cries of distress were borne on every breeze 
 from our sister cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth, 
 
254 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 he repaired to the scene of woe ; and, having been 
 an eye-witness to the dreadful havoc of the pesti- 
 lence, he hastily returned to his home, and, after 
 completing some business arrangements, with 
 characteristic heroism and self-devotion, he re- 
 paired again to the scene of suffering, determined 
 to peril all in the cause of humanity. But, alas ! 
 he had scarcely entered on his humane mission, 
 when he became the victim of the invisible foe. 
 
 "Dr. Gooch was just entering upon the career 
 of matured manhood. Possessed of decided talents 
 and unusual energy of character, he had before 
 him the prospects of fame and fortune. As a phy- 
 sician, he had a high appreciation of the dignity 
 and duties of his calling, and was a zealous co- 
 worker for the maintenance of its respectability 
 and progress. 
 
 " Having spent several years abroad, in the 
 prosecution of his professional education, his views 
 were liberal and enlarged. He was a punctual 
 attendant on all conventions of medical men, and 
 labored efficiently for their thorough organization. 
 He was the founder of this journal, and bravely 
 and successfully encountered all the discourage- 
 ments of a pioneer in that sphere of labor. 
 
 "Perhaps his characteristic trait, was a bold, 
 
HVT0BY 01 nil: n Bl n.r.N 
 
 independent outspeaking of hia honest convictions, 
 lie sought no advancement or preferment by the 
 
 arts of the sycophant. Brave, generous, just, pos- 
 
 d of a genial disposition — few men have lefl 
 behind them fewer enemies, or more attached 
 friends. 
 
 "During his illness, which lasted some time, he 
 had the very best attention that could have been 
 given him under any circumstances. Two young 
 physicians, who had been companions of his while 
 in France, were with him almost every moment of 
 his sickness ; besides whom, he had, among other 
 nurses, a colored female from Charleston, who is 
 regarded as one of the best of the troop who 
 came. Everything was done for him that kind- 
 ness and skill could suggest. His attack was a 
 severe one, and, though possessed of a powerful 
 constitution, he sank under it. He retained the 
 possession of his senses to the last, and died quietly 
 and calmly. Mr. Henry Myers, of Richmond, a 
 most active and efficient nurse at the hospital, was 
 sent for a few moments before his death ; and Dr. 
 Gooch, upon being aware of his presence in the 
 room, attempted to say something to him, but could 
 
 only pronounce the words, ' Tell my mother ." 
 
 He was too far gone to say more, and expired im- 
 
256 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 mediately afterward. Thus died one of nature's 
 noblemen, who gave up his life for the good of 
 his fellow-men, and whose memory will long be 
 cherished by all who delight to dwell on the 
 blooming spots in this desert world, through which 
 we are traveling onward to eternity." 
 
 "Amongst the many noble hearts and gallant 
 spirits who fell victims to the terrible pestilence 
 which desolated Norfolk and Portsmouth, was 
 Dr. Richard Blow, of Sussex. To those that 
 knew him well, this occasioned more regret 
 than surprise. It was only a short time before, 
 when, deaf to the remonstrance of friends, and 
 to the calls of even duty and affection, but 
 true to the impulses of his nature, he left 
 his native county (where his practice was ex- 
 tensive, and where his reputation was well es- 
 tablished), on that voluntary mission of mercy 
 from which he never returned. But this was in 
 character with the man, and with the whole tenor 
 of his life. For him, danger had always a sort of 
 charm, and death had no terror. A kinder heart, 
 a warmer friend, a manlier foe, a braver and more 
 generous spirit, never lived, than Richard Blow. 
 He died as he lived, without fear or reproach — 
 
■ROSY Off nn: Pi -m r.v 
 
 without one particle of selfishness— an enthu 
 in reeling and in principle — an ultraist in the cause 
 of humanity." 
 
 11 Dr. Capri was a Hungarian, and physically one 
 of the handsomest specimens of the genus homo 
 that was ever seen. He came over to this country 
 
 in the suite of Gen. Kossuth, and followed him in 
 his tour -of the United States. When he reported 
 himself to Judge Olin, at the Howard Office, that 
 
 gentleman strongly advised him to leave the place 
 immediately, assuring him that he would most cer- 
 tainly fall a victim to the disease ; that there were 
 already physicians enough here who were acclima- 
 ted, or came from a southern climate, to attend to 
 the sick, and that it was needless for him to peril 
 his life hopelessly. Indeed, so far from doing any 
 good himself, he would only be in the way of 
 others, as, by getting sick, he must require attend- 
 ance and nursing. But to this his response was : 
 1 1 shall not leave ; I am resolved to stay.' He 
 then appealed to some of the prominent physicians, 
 who all gave him the same advice, and to whom 
 he made the same responses as to Judge Olin. He 
 had only been here four days when he took the 
 fever, and, although he received every aid from 
 
258 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 the best pnysicians and nurses, in four days more 
 he was under the sod." 
 
 Where so many acted bravely and efficiently, 
 and died gloriously, of course it is impossible to 
 present sketches of all, or even the greater por- 
 tion. We have added these brief tributes with no 
 intention of giving undue credit to a few, to the 
 neglect of the rest. Many noble men fell. These 
 tributary remarks suffice as a fair exhibit of the 
 character of those who sank beneath the power of 
 the pestilence. To write out even a short account 
 of each, would require a volume of, perhaps, a 
 thousand pages. 
 
CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 MRS. BAYLOR — MI; 
 
 The terrific, pestilential storm that swept so fu- 
 riously by, deprived our city of many of its bright- 
 est and most valued ornaments. Manly forms, 
 brave hearts, beating with nature's noblest im- 
 pulses — men and women of intellectual strength 
 and culture, were hurried with the rest, from our 
 midst, in the "overwhelming ruin. 
 
 Our city suffers a sad and incalculable loss in the 
 death of a uumber of ladies of superior mind, rare 
 accomplishments, and most estimable character. 
 Among those who were thus suddenly called away 
 from a sphere of usefulness, was Mrs. Catherine 
 B. Baylor. 
 
 Possessing, naturally, uncommon mental endow- 
 ments, .and having enjoyed the advantages of care- 
 ful and skillful intellectual training, with an innate 
 fondness for study, for the acquisition of knowledge, 
 and, indeed, for the pursuit of the beauties of lite- 
 rature and science, she was deservedly distinguished 
 
260 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 as a lady of high mental cultivation, and refined 
 literary taste. She was noted as a linguist, and 
 especially as a Latin and French scholar. 
 
 Mrs. Baylor was remarkable, too, for firmness 
 and decision of character, which, with her varied 
 attainments, a naturally judicious mind, and, 
 withal, a mild and amiable disposition, admirably 
 fitted her for the discharge of her responsible 
 duties, as principal of the Female Seminary, to 
 which she devoted many years of her life, and 
 whose success and popularity were the surest 
 evidences of her faithfulness and ability in the 
 highly honorable calling she had chosen. 
 
 The great calamity that desolated our city, and 
 spread over its entire limits, as it were, a pall of 
 deep and deepening sorrow, found few, if any, 
 more interesting families than that of which the 
 lamented subject of this notice was the respected 
 head ; and with few, alas, was the destroying agent 
 more unsparing and relentless. She had watched, 
 with all the anxiety and tender solicitude of a 
 devoted mother, at the 'death bedside of three 
 interesting daughters. The deceitful and treacher- 
 ous malady had appeared in its most virulent type, 
 and attacked, one after another, the members of 
 her Uappy and united household. The roseate 
 
history OF PHB PE8TILENCB, 881 
 
 blush of health and 'beauty gave place fco the 
 sallow hue, deeply imprinted upon the cheek by 
 tht» dreadful African fever, and Conns of gracefulness 
 lay powerless, cold, and still. Death hushed the 
 soft, familiar voices of the most loved, and, with his 
 eleton finger," closed the eyes that had beamed 
 with the native light of love, and joy, and intelli- 
 gence. The young hearts that had boat in unison 
 with hers — pulsating with the fondest emotions of 
 reeiproeal and filial affection — had ceased to move 
 with the gentle throbbings of life ; and her strong- 
 est ties to this •■ vale of tears" were rudely severed. 
 Oppressed with a weight of affliction too heavy, 
 even for her disciplined mind, to sustain, and ex- 
 hausted by overtaxing her physical energies, the 
 mysterious foreigu malady found her a ready, 
 though bereaved, and chastened victim. Her 
 spiritual eye gazed far beyond the limited bounds 
 of time and earth. Faith plumed and lifted its 
 wings for the upward flight, as if weary of the un- 
 ecpial earthly strife, and anxious to soar heaven- 
 ward — to rise triumphant to the blissful land of 
 unclouded brightness, and re-unite with those 
 whom Death's palsying touch had spoiled — and 
 God had taken — to part no more. Thus exulting 
 with hope, and cheered on in the " dark valley," 
 
262 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 by the priceless faith of the Gospel, she uttered, 
 in feeble, but distinct accents, while yet lingering 
 upon the verge of time : " Rejoicing and praising 
 the Lord forever and ever !" And thus she sank 
 into the chill arms of Death. She was a member 
 of Christ Church — Protestant Episcopal. 
 
 "MISS ANN P. B. HEBRON 
 
 was one among the brightest and purest of those 
 
 who were wrecked in the common ruin of hopes 
 
 in our late afflictive visitation. Her works live 
 
 after her ; and the memory of her exalted character 
 
 and her self-sacrificing spirit, her Christianity and 
 
 charity, constitutes a monument endeared to the 
 
 hearts of thousands who felt and prized her worth. 
 
 " No one could have left the miasmatic hold with 
 • 
 more convenience than Miss Herron. Possessed 
 
 of a noble fortune, and of a refined nature, she had 
 
 every incentive to participate in the attractions 
 
 which are presented to the taste and fancy, in 
 
 more populous portions of our country ; but with 
 
 the united firmness and benevolence which were 
 
 her characteristics, she decided to remain amidst 
 
 desolation and disease, though the sky was laden 
 
 with portents of her fate. Miss H. was a Roman 
 
 Catholic." 
 
history of THE n.sm.rNCE. 868 
 
 The following extract is from a touching letter, 
 
 written by one who well know her rare virtues. 
 We will not mar its beauty by any other remarks 
 than to call for its careful perusal by the reader : 
 
 " It seems as if God demanded the purest vic- 
 tims, the noblest of his creatures, in these dismal 
 days of sacrifice. Alas! I had so confided in his 
 considerate mercies, so fondly clung to the merits 
 of that excellent heart, which, through long years, 
 had served him well, that I could not persuade 
 myself that he would recall from earth, which she 
 sanctified and adorned, our dear Ann Herron. And 
 now, when the reality of her death stares me in 
 the face, I am stunned by the unexpected blow, 
 and seem bereft of power to think and feel as I 
 ought. Oh ! it is a very sad visitation ! I know 
 that she has merited and received a very great 
 reward in Heaven. Therefore, it is not for her I 
 mourn. But for the friendless, the poor, the 
 fatherless, the timid, the pusillanimous whom she 
 protected, succored, edified, and strengthened ; 
 ah ! these are the objects of my compassion ; 
 these are the true sufferers whose lot is to be de- 
 plored." 
 
CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 THE EDITORS OF THE BEACON, MESSRS. CUNNINGHAM, GATEWOOD, 
 
 ROBERTSON, ETC. WM. D. ROBERTS HIS "WILL WM. D. DELANY 
 
 TRUE HEROISM JAS. H. EINCH, AND OTHERS. 
 
 "The cases of Mr. Cunningham and Mr. Gate- 
 wood, of the Norfolk Beacon, were particularly har- 
 rowing. They were well-connected in Norfolk, 
 both single men, and both could have left ; but 
 their connections began to be seized, and they 
 would not fly and desert them. Mr. Cunningham 
 attended upon and buried a dear friend and rela- 
 tive, Mrs. Commander Barron, in her day one of 
 the most brilliant of the Southern belles at the 
 Balls ton Spa. Almost alone, and in the dead of 
 night, he buried her in the Barron family grave- 
 yard ; and subsequently her daughter ; Captain 
 Starke, of the United States marine corps — a rela- 
 tive by marriage — and then his wife and her 
 daughter ; and then a near and dear cousin, Mr. 
 Starke's sister — all of whom he nursed and cared 
 for with the tenderest interest, and with whom he 
 would remain, in spite of the most earnest solici- 
 
; 
 
 tations from relatives abroad, to abandon the pes- 
 tiferous place. J >u t while DUraing the lasl ol them 
 
 — the favorite couaiD — the disease seized him and 
 harried him to the grave. Another cousin — R. 
 Qatewood, his partner — doubtless, waited upon 
 and nursed him; hut Mr. Gatewood died, and 
 
 only the old and worthy father and mother remain 
 of a once large circle of relatives. The branches are 
 
 withered, but the trunk remains in Norfolk. Death 
 so interlaced the destinies of one with another, that 
 no one could leave without deserting some other, 
 on the bed of disease and death." 
 
 But there were many victims who merit more 
 than a passing notice. Joseph H. Robertson, 
 .. a talented lawyer, and attractive orator, 
 and the efficient Register of the city, having 
 been deprived by the scourge of his accom- 
 plished lady, retired to the beautiful country- 
 seat of Hon. F. Mallory, in Elizabeth City County, 
 where he, too, was prostrated by the disease, and 
 soon sank, a ready and easy victim, beneath its 
 wilting power. On a calm and beautiful evening, 
 when the moon looked serenely down, and lighted 
 up the charming landscape) and Nature seemed in 
 silent contemplation, his remains were conveyed 
 
 to the quiet grave-yard, in a beautiful rural spot, 
 12 
 
266 HISTORY OP THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 where the closing ceremonies attending a burial 
 by moonlight are represented as having been sol- 
 emn and impressive to an extraordinary degree. 
 
 " Among the many valuable citizens who had 
 contributed by their industry, their enterprise, and 
 their means, to the prosperity of Norfolk, and who. 
 were swept away in the whirlwind of the pesti- 
 lence, "Wm. D. Roberts, jr., was one of the most 
 prominent. Bred to a mechanical occupation, he 
 began the world with no other resources than those 
 which sprung from his own native energy and per- 
 severance, directed by a strong mind, a sagacious 
 judgment, and strict moral principle. Upon these, 
 however, he soon laid the foundation of success, and, 
 ere he passed the meridian of life, had completed 
 the superstructure of an ample fortune. Yet he 
 never practiced a niggard economy in his acquisition 
 of wealth, but showed, by his many acts of private 
 generosity and public spirit, that he had a noble 
 and a generous heart, that was a stranger to all 
 narrow and sordid impulses. His fellow-citizens saw 
 his merits, and honored him with their confidence 
 in various public trusts in the affairs of the city, in 
 which he took an active and a useful part." At 
 the time of his death he was the member elect, for 
 this city, of the Virginia House of Delegates. 
 
HISTORY OP run PE8TXLBKOB. J67 
 
 His age was forty-seven. He was a man of strong 
 and active frame, and of line constitution. On his 
 death-bed he bequeathed to his aged mother all his 
 Stocks, amounting to a handsome interest, besides 
 8300 per annum during her Life-time, and two new 
 buildings. To an only-surviving brother,* he 
 81000 per annum; to the Norfolk Female Orphan 
 Asylum, lour three-story brick buildings, and an 
 interest (in remainder) in another valuable dwell- 
 ing on one of the principal streets. To his surviv- 
 ing partner, Mr. D. S. Cherry, he gave a large and 
 handsome warehouse and lot on Roanoke Square, 
 all his interest in a valuable stock of goods, and all 
 debts due the firm. To Mr. Sol. S. Cherry, who 
 ministered to him in his illness, he gave a valuable 
 warehouse and lot, and to the journeymen in the 
 employment of the firm, a valuable house and lot. 
 
 On the 17th September, Wm. D. Delany, Esq., 
 formerly mayor of the city, fell a victim to the 
 fever, at the age of forty-five. He was first elected 
 to the office of Mayor on the 24th June, 1843, and 
 was annually honored with a large majority of the 
 %tes of his fellow-citizens for eight years. He dis- 
 charged the duties pertaining to the office faithfully 
 
 * Another brother, Thomas- who was a partner in business, 
 having died of the fever. 
 
268 HISTOEY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 and firmly, and, as a citizen, was respected for his 
 amiable qualities and obliging disposition. He pos- 
 sessed a fine physical constitution ; was active, 
 strong, and vigorous, with a well-developed frame. 
 Only a day before his attack, he told the writer 
 that his health was never better ; but he was a fair 
 specimen of the many healthful, strong, and pow- 
 erful who fell before the terrific tread of the dreaded, 
 fever-monster. After a conflict of only two or 
 three days, he was laid in the grave. At the time 
 of his death he held the office of cashier of the 
 Merchants and Mechanics' Savings Bank. 
 " Chas. H. Beale, Esq., also fell a victim. For many 
 years of his brief career- he was editor of the Daily 
 News, which ably-conducted journal was found- 
 ed by himself, and which sufficiently attested his 
 merits as a man of enterprise and talent ; but while 
 his literary reputation rests chiefly upon his abili- 
 ty as a journalist, there are yet other productions 
 of his pen which justice to his memory, justice to 
 surviving relations, and justice to the lovers and 
 appreciators of true genius, should bring to light — 
 that a discriminating public may receive those te#- 
 timonials of worth and talent which those who 
 knew him best needed not — to which he, alas ! in 
 the land whither he is gone, is all indifferent." 
 
 
BISTORT OP THE it>tii.i:n 
 
 The death of Mr. James II. Finch, the Intelligent 
 and gentlemanly foreman of the ArgUi offioe 1 was 
 
 greatly lamented by all who knew his sterling 
 worth of character. He well deserves all of the 
 many tributes that were offered to his memory by 
 the press. 
 
 The writer might be induced to consider much 
 of what has been said and written, of the brave 
 though unassuming and unpretending Finch, mere 
 superfluous praise, if he had not known him — if he 
 had not been an eye-witness of his noble and self- 
 sacrificing acts — his true heroism and genuine 
 benevolence, especially in the alarming and memo- 
 rable time of the pestilence. In addition to his 
 extraordinary labors in publishing the Argus, with 
 insufficient help, he was active in visiting the sick, 
 and assisting in burying the dead — going fearlessly 
 in the hottest of the battle, and acting his part 
 bravely. After feeling the symptoms of the fever, 
 he accompanied his wife and child to Petersburg, 
 and his attack being a violent one, he soon, calmly 
 and resignedly, breathed his last. 
 
 Good deeds, equivalent to those of an ordinary 
 life-time, are sometimes crowded into the short 
 space of a few weeks or days — when mind, heart, 
 soul, and body are all exerted to their utmost 
 

 270 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 capacity, in the holy cause of benefiting and 
 relieving suffering, perishing, dying men, women, 
 and children ; and the reward is in propor- 
 tion to the good effected, the sorrow relieved, 
 the blessings conferred, without regard to days 
 or years. " I was an hungered, and ye gave me 
 meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink : * * * 
 I was sick, and ye visit-ed me." 
 
 " These are trying times," wrote a talented lady 
 of Petersburg. " Many are heroes who were not 
 heroes before, and many are no longer heroes who 
 were apotheosized before. It is during such soul- 
 trying periods that men spring up, as if by magic, 
 to meet emergencies, which the vain-glorious hero 
 of prosperity's glittering days flies appalled. True 
 heroism shrinks from display, and scorns to cringe 
 unto the powers that be — bares its noble breast 
 before the pestilence, and lo, a hero falls ! Many 
 are the noble, self-sacrificing spirits which have 
 fallen before the pestilence ; but there were none 
 more noble — none more self-sacrificing — none 
 more deserving of a tribute from lip and pen — 
 than he, whose name adorns the head of this arti- 
 cle. And we esteem it a privilege — and we glory 
 in the privilege, which enables us this day to pay 
 a tribute to such a hero. We have no compli- 
 
HISTORY OF 1 ill. PES! I v r. L>7 | 
 
 monts'for the leaden of the allied armies, who. 
 
 with columns of dauntless men, fighi for a des- 
 
 3 crown. We have no pean for the conqueror 
 
 whose path is. strewn with the slain, and no flour- 
 ish of our pen shall exalt the bloody hero of a 
 battle-field ; but for James II. Finch we would 
 •weave a garland of immortelles, and with our 
 hand place it upon the pallid brow of the man 
 who, through all the terrors of the awful scourge, 
 1 tried to do his duty.' Such, dear readers, are 
 the men whom our columns shall honor — such the 
 actions that, with all the powers we can invoke 
 from Heaven, we shall endeavor to exalt. 
 
 * * * 
 
 : ' No sectarian feeling — no tinge of bigotry is 
 wanting here. Closer are the ties uniting us, now 
 that disease stalks unchecked, and the great and 
 the small are falling at each terrible stroke. 
 When brother calleth unto brother for help, and 
 all petty creeds, and prejudices, and modes of 
 worship, shrink into insignificance in the terrible 
 hour of His wrath. Now is the time to visit the 
 widow and the orphan, and to keep ourselves un- 
 spotted from the world. Now is the time for heart 
 to encourage heart, and for the living to smooth 
 the path of death. Now the religion of the Most 
 
272 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 High — that religion which is of the heart, and not 
 of this church or that, or this tenet or that, or 
 this jealousy or that unchristian pride — shines 
 forth like a beacon in a very dark hour. And 
 while we do not unite with those who. deride the 
 weak-hearted, who deserted their post, we say all 
 honor to those who, through pestilence and famine,' 
 sickness and death, and infection and the horrors 
 of the unburied dead, and all the awful scenes and 
 soul-harrowing incidents of this unprecedented 
 visitation, 'tried to do their duty !' # We have no 
 sneer for those who fled ; but for those who, like 
 Mr. Finch, walked unterrifled through the awful 
 ranks of death, we have honor, and praise, and 
 plaudits from the heart." 
 
 And we might, if time would allow, allude in 
 merited terms to the benevolent and kind-hearted 
 Walter H. Taylor ; the skillful and facetious Ber- 
 nard ; the well-known and gentlemanly B. B. 
 Walters ; the indomitable Dalrymple ; and a num- 
 ber of others; but, as before stated, too much 
 space would be required by a suitable notice of 
 all the meritorious who fell. 
 
 Messrs. O'Brien and Quick, undertakers, both 
 
 * Among the last words uttered by the deceased were : " I 
 tried to do ray duty." 
 
iiistoky QF THE PBfl ill. I'M IB. 273 
 
 died of the fever. They worked heroically to the 
 
 last. 
 
 Wm. IT. Murphy and I. R. Robertson, at Salus- 
 berry's cabinet and furniture establishment, both 
 survived. R.'s duty was in the extreme unpleas- 
 ant and dangerous, but he stood at his post from 
 the beginning to the end, always courteous and 
 obliging, laboring night and day among the dead 
 and the dying, and, as he says, "working off the 
 symptoms of the fever." 
 
 Among those who rendered themselves conspicu- 
 ous for faithful services in the trying times of the 
 pestilence, John Jones, a mulatto slave, employed 
 by Messrs. O'Brien and Quick, in his humble, but 
 highly important capacity of hearse-driver, by the 
 diligent and faithful performance of his laborious 
 duties, won for himself the esteem and regard of 
 the entire community. From the commencement 
 of the disease, he was actively employed, night and 
 day, in driving the hearse with the ill-fated fever 
 victims to the cemetery; in many instances hav- 
 ing to shoulder the coffins in which were the 
 bodies of the dead, place them in his hearse, and 
 unload, without any assistance whatever. He had 
 a severe attack and survived. 
 12* 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 POETICAL. 
 
 DEATH OF A TRTJE HERO SPARE THEM, O GOD ! — THE CRY FROM YA. 
 
 NORFOLK AND PORTSMOUTH DEAD — DEATH AND THE CHURCH 
 BELL — THE SCOURGE AND ITS VICTIMS. 
 
 (From the Alexandria Gazette.) 
 THE DEATH OF A TRUE HEEO. 
 
 A TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF HUNTER WOODIS, LATE MAYOR 
 OF NORFOLK. 
 
 Oh ! why this mournful wailing, 
 
 Amid the city's gloom ? 
 Te men with footsteps failing, 
 
 Whom bear ye to the tomb ? 
 For manly eyes are weeping, 
 
 That never wept before. 
 O'er him, who softly sleeping, 
 
 Shall wake to earth no more. 
 
 Fell he on field of glory, 
 
 Insensible to fear ? 
 And shall he live in story — 
 
 A name to freemen dear ? 
 Did thousands fall before him, 
 
 When flashed his sword on high, 
 That thus ye now deplore him, 
 
 With wild, funereal crv? 
 
HISTORY OF THE 876 
 
 is no: mill sabres flea! 
 Or cannon thundering load ; 
 hostile Bqaadrons dashing 
 On ranks oi' foemen proud ; 
 Twaa nol 'neath banners waving, 
 
 O'er gallant hearts, though few — 
 The battle's fury braving — 
 That fell our hero true : 
 
 But iu the silent dwelling, 
 
 Where pestilence and woe, 
 With tenfold fury telling, 
 
 Laid many a victim low ; 
 'Mid weariness and watching, 
 
 'Mid desolation deep, 
 The last sad accents catching, 
 
 Where none were by to weep. 
 
 Xo crown of laurel moved him, 
 
 Xo music cheered him on ; 
 But deep affliction proved him, 
 
 When every hope was gone. 
 Amid the dead and dying, 
 
 Unmoved, he knew no fear, 
 But checked the orphan's sighing, 
 
 And dried the widow's tear. 
 
 Then pause, and o'er him, weeping, 
 
 Tour last fond tribute pay, 
 While to the cold earth's keeping, 
 
 We give his lifeless clay. 
 We lose him not forever, 
 
 For his spirit lives above, 
 Where death can enter never, 
 
 In the home of light and love. 
 
276 HISTOKY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 SPAEE THEM, GOD ! 
 
 BY FANNY FALES. 
 
 "WRITTEN AT PLYMOUTH, MASS., DURING THE PREVALENCE OF THE 
 
 YELLOW FEYER IN NORFOLK AND PORTSMOUTH. 
 
 Thy children, with clasped hands, O God, look up, 
 
 Pleading with tears, thy smiting hand to stay ; 
 Take wholly from their lips the fearful cup. 
 Hear us, God, we pray ! 
 
 Coffins lie piled at corners of the streets; 
 
 The dead-cart rumbles on its gloomy way ; 
 The bravest heart with pallid terror beats ; 
 Spare them, God, we pray ! 
 
 Touched by the yellow demon, maid and sire, 
 
 Mother and babe, with white lips closed for aye, 
 Sleep side by side — the pestilence is dire — 
 Spare them, God, we pray ! 
 
 Angels of pity, o'er the suffering bend, 
 
 And yet, alone, some gasp their lives away 
 Dreaming of cooling waters none extend — 
 Spare them, God, we pray ! 
 
 Pale orphans shudder by the hearth-stone dark ; 
 
 Gather in tearful groups, from day to day, 
 Where all is strange, on this wild storm the Ark, 
 Spare them, God, we pray ! 
 
 In Death's black shadow the doomed cities lie ; 
 
 Night with no star — night with no silver ray ; 
 Thou who art enwrapped in awful mystery, 
 
 Spare, for Christ's sake, we pray ! 
 
 Sprinkle tne lintels of each door, Most High, 
 That Death may turn his muffled feet away ,* 
 
 Seeing thy token — mightily we cry — 
 Hear, for Christ's sake, we pray J 
 
B0TOR1 OF PHE PES! U i.v B, 277 
 
 (From the Boston Conrier.) 
 
 Till! UiY PROM VIRGINIA. 
 
 V i Km ma's ocean shore Benda forth 
 
 A cry of wailing sorrow ; 
 To-day btri gluts the greedy earth, 
 
 To crave the more to-morrow. 
 When lmth siu-h woo unheeded been? 
 
 Joy not our full hearts ever, 
 To pour the wealth of oil ami wine 
 
 O'er wounds that Weed and quiver? 
 
 Let trait'rous miscreants stand aloof, 
 
 The sister States who'd sever ;* 
 Our outstretched hands to them are proof 
 
 "We'll heed their vile arts never ! 
 In party strife we sometimes rave, 
 
 And choose our words but blindly ; 
 The touchstone of our faith we have, 
 
 In deeds that speak more kindly. 
 
 Our noblest son no party knew ; 
 
 Pure patriot and statesman ! 
 " No North — no South," the words were few — 
 
 Kesistless as the ocean. 
 There are, who breathe his spirit yet, 
 
 Whose watchword is the " Union ;" 
 Who feel that words of love beget 
 
 Kind acts in rich profusion. 
 
 Virginia ! once a gallant band, 
 
 We braved the foe together ; 
 Close now as then we clasp thy hand, 
 
 The storm of grief to weather. 
 Pulse beats to pulse, as with one heart, 
 
 Our great Exemplar heeding, 
 We pant to act a God-like part, 
 
 All common love exceeding. 
 
278 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 (From the New York Sun. ) 
 
 THE NORFOLK AND PORTSMOUTH DEAD. 
 
 Peace in our palaces has been, 
 And health within our gates been seen ; 
 But waitings on the southern winds 
 Have touched our hearts, and led our minds 
 To sympathize with those who knew 
 The " pestilence" and the " arrow" too. 
 
 Norfolk and Portsmouth ! cities doom'd ! 
 Your streets were still'd, your people tomb'd ! 
 For the death angel rode the blast, 
 And broke his vials as he pass'd. 
 
 Scourge of the tropics! backward turn 
 To where fierce Cancer's summers burn. 
 Can'st thou not in thy proper place 
 Find victims for thy dread embrace, 
 To satisfy thy hunger fell, 
 But northward roam to wake the knell ? 
 
 How blest the sons of mercy ! they 
 Who sought thine awful course to stay, 
 And periled life and its delights, 
 Through lonely days and fearful nights, 
 To nurse thy victims, smitten low ; — 
 And fair and gentle woman, too, 
 E'en braved thy foul, polluting breath, 
 To dress and smooth the bed of death. 
 
 Thou'rt gone, thank God ! but yet we see 
 A tablet to thy memory, 
 In many hearts by anguish torn, 
 And orphans unto sorrow born. 
 
history OP THE M BTILEN< 879 
 
 DEATH AND THE CHURCH BELL. 
 
 by u . a. i . 
 
 THI b] 3 Of the old bell of Christ Church were 
 
 distinctly heard in every part <>t' the town, and tor miles around. 
 The measured notes sounded Btrangely and Badly, and fell upon the 
 ear like the melancholy toll of a funeral knell — another evidence "I' 
 the w i that was going on. The son^ of the Btevedore was 
 
 hushed ; the tools of the artisan lay unused ami rusting upon the work- 
 bench ; the roar and clank vi' machinery were not heard; hut the 
 familiar found of the old clock waked the Bleeping echoes in every 
 Street and lane, in every deserted hall, in every vacant house, while 
 Death ruthlessly swept his scythe into tho ranks of tho remaining 
 citizens. 
 
 Death held his cruel, frightful sway, 
 
 In that dread time of woe, 
 And fearfully, by night and day, 
 
 He laid his victims low. 
 
 The doors were closed, the merchants gone, 
 
 Or sick, or lying dead, 
 "While nurse and doctor hurried on 
 
 To the stiff' rer's dying bed. 
 
 And on the streets and river side 
 
 Had ceased the city's din ; 
 The grave-yard gates were open wide, 
 
 And the dead were crowded in. 
 
 And still thy voice, " old belfry bell," 
 
 Bang out both sad and drear, 
 Like the tolling of a funeral knell, 
 
 To the lonely mourner's ear. 
 
 But soon the church was vacant, too ; 
 For the pastor lingering lay, 
 q And the sexton ceased his work to do — 
 
 The sexton old and gray. 
 
280 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 Thy tongue, at last, was still, old bell, 
 But the pond'rous chain was wound, 
 
 And the hammer of the old clock fell, 
 And still kept up the sound. 
 
 In every Vacant thoroughfare — 
 
 The river's surface o'er, 
 The echoes floated in the air 
 
 And reached the southern shore. 
 
 And dolefully and solemnly, 
 In measured notes and slow, 
 
 Thy voice still wakes the memory 
 To the fearful time of woe. 
 
 THE SCOURGE AND ITS VICTIMS. 
 
 BY W. S. F. 
 
 The tropic scourge walked forth in pow'r, 
 
 To quench the vital flame ; 
 In the darkness of the midnight hour, 
 
 In the light of day it came. 
 
 The summer breeze was charged with death, 
 
 And saint and sinner fell 
 Alike before its venom'd breath — 
 
 Their doom the Book can tell. 
 
 Affection's tears, the doctor's skill, 
 The scourge disdained to heed ; 
 
 The cup of sorrow Death would fill, 
 Tho' a thousand hearts must bleed. 
 
 Youth's blushing cheek soon lost its hue, 
 
 The brightest eye grew dim ; 
 The strength of manhood yielded, too, 
 
 To the monster stem and grim. 
 
UlsroKV OP THE PE8TTLENI r. 281 
 
 He erush'd the old, the young, the gay, 
 
 The beautiful, the fair ; 
 The tender babe a victim lay, 
 
 All sallow, dark, and sear. 
 
 A grave-like gloom around 
 
 A silence t<> be feared! 
 Unless the pale physician passed, 
 
 Or the wail of woe was heard. 
 
 The orphan's cry, the widow's BCream, 
 Bang out by night and day — 
 
 That time of terror seemed a dream. 
 When the plague had ceased ii- .-way. 
 
 Twas then the Christian's faith was tried, 
 
 Its pow'r to save and shield; 
 True faith in Christ, the Crucified, 
 
 The death-test then revealed. 
 
 "I'll ne'er desert my post, and fly !" 
 
 A faithful " watchman" cried ; 
 Nor feared the hero thus to die, 
 
 And thus, brave Dibrell died. 
 
 And so did Jones and Eskridge fall, 
 
 In the hottest of the fight ; 
 And Jackson, Chisholm, Bagnall, all — 
 
 They scorned the thought of flight ! 
 
 " Rejoicing, yes, and praising there," 
 
 A dying mother said, 
 Whose three fond daughters, young aud fair, 
 
 AVere sleeping with the dead. 
 
 " We're both prepared," a meek one cried, 
 
 AVhose dear companion lay, 
 All faint and gasping, at her side, 
 
 And soon to pass a way. 
 
282 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 " For this I long ago prepared," 
 
 A man of God replied ; 
 That day his blood-bought spirit shared 
 
 The joy of the glorified. 
 
 " 'Tis blissful thus to pass away," 
 
 A pious son averred ; 
 And soon, both son and mother lay 
 
 Among the dead interred. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 C«>XT\ 3 AND PORTABILITY OP THE FELLOW rr.YF.R — 
 
 ITS ORIGIN — TYPE — PREVENTION — CAUSE— EPIDEMICS A r NIGHT 
 — THE FEVER SUPPOSED BY SOME n> BE MIGRATORY. 
 
 " Contagiousness and portability of yellow 
 fever. — This is a knotty point, and I can here do 
 no more than express my conclusions. Under the 
 term contagion are compounded two distinct ques- 
 tions, viz. : Contagiousness proper, or the com- 
 munication directly of yellow fever from one 
 human subject to another ; and, secondly, the 
 portability of the cause or germ by vessels from 
 one port to another. Although my mind leans at 
 present towards a belief in the contagiousness of 
 this disease in certain instances, I still doubt, and my 
 judgment is in suspense ; but with regard to its 
 portability by vessels from place to place and by 
 rail-roads, I do not see how any human being fami- 
 liar with its history can doubt, and I should advise 
 our Northern friends to quarantine rigidly against 
 it. The disease has gone to every point 
 
 WITHIN A CERTAIN DISTANCE OF THE GULF WHICH 
 
284 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 WAS FREQUENTED BY STEAMBOATS AND RAIL-ROAD 
 
 cars, and I believe would have entered New York 
 in 1853 had it not been stopped at the quaran 
 tine. 
 
 " Its origin. — Whether this epidemic was 
 really imported from Africa or not, is a point 
 which cannot be settled from any data yet made 
 public, and I shall not offer you any speculation 
 on it. One fact, however, is certain : that this 
 disease has traveled steadily on, since its first ap- 
 pearance in Rio Janeiro five years ago, along the 
 Caribbean Gulf and Atlantic coasts, until it has at 
 last reached Norfolk. No mortal of our day is 
 endowed with the spirit of prophecy ; but still we 
 can often, from the lights of history and observa- 
 tion, predict, with tolerable certainty, coming 
 events ; and it was on such data that I ventured 
 to foretell that yellow fever would go as far. as 
 Norfolk, which is about the boundary of the yel- 
 low fever latitude, and also suggested the strong 
 probability that it would visit our Northern cities, 
 where it does occur at long intervals. Now, the 
 grounds upon which I made these predictions were 
 as follows : — Yellow fever has at long intervals, 
 not only in the Mediterranean, along the Spanish 
 and French coasts, but in the United States (about 
 
fifty years ago), taken on this traveling character. 
 
 it the time alluded to, yellow fever extended 
 
 from Southern pons to Norfolk, and thence to 
 
 Winchester, in the interior; to Philadelphia, to 
 
 New York, and thence to Catskill, on the North 
 river, and to Hartford and Middleton. The 
 epidemic in question had steadily progressed, for 
 
 three years, from Rio to Mobile, and on to Key 
 West ; and with all these facts before me I did not 
 
 hazard much in predicting that its progress was 
 onward in the direction it had been traveling. 
 
 " Type of the disease. — Few men in the 
 United States have seen more of yellow fever than 
 I have, and I have no hesitation in saying that 
 this is substantially the same disease as the yellow 
 fever which occurred in' Philadelphia in 1793, and 
 which has appeared from time to time since. It 
 is the fact with typhoid fever, cholera, plague, scar- 
 let fever, smallpox, and all epidemic diseases, that 
 they appear in different grades of violence at differ- 
 ent times, and occasionally have a greater tendency 
 to travel over a large extent of country. This has 
 been the case with the yellow fever in question ; 
 but its mode of attack, its course of symptoms, in- 
 cluding yellow skin and black vomit, its average 
 duration, etc., are the same as other yellow fevers, 
 
286 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 and, though it may have been somewhat more 
 virulent, it is still the same." — Dr. Nott, of Mobile. 
 
 Prevention of Fever. Dr. Wood, an 
 
 eminent physician of Philadelphia, says that the 
 prevention of the disease is more important than 
 its treatment. He states that persons who fre- 
 quent places where the disease prevails, " should 
 sleep preferably in the highest part of the house ; 
 should avoid the night air ; should abstain from 
 fatiguing exercises, exposure to alterations of tem- 
 perature, and excesses of all kinds ; should endea- 
 vor to maintain a cheerful and confident temper ; 
 should use a nutritious and wholesome but not 
 stimulating diet ; and if compelled to enter any 
 spot in which the atmosphere is known to be. in- 
 fected, should take care not to do so when the 
 stomach is empty, or the body exhausted by per- 
 spiration or fatigue. Attempts to guard against 
 the disease by low diet, bleeding, and purging, or 
 the use of mercury, are futile, and even worse than 
 futile. The feebler the system, the less it is able 
 to resist the entrance of the poison, or its influence 
 when absorbed." 
 
 " In the great plague of London," says another 
 writer, "four thousand perished in one night. At 
 Hamburg, during the cholera, stoves and open fires 
 
BX8T0RY OF PHB 
 
 were kepi burning through the night, and %i s 
 Leone the Datives have a practice, in the sickly 
 season, of keeping fires constantly burning in 
 
 their huts at night; not that they have been 
 prompted to do so by the aid of chemistry; but 
 they assert that the fires keep away the evil spir- 
 its ro which they attribu and ague. It is 
 said that, latterly, Europeans have" begun to adopt 
 the same practice, and those who have tried it 
 assert that they have entire immunity from the 
 tropical fevers to which they were formerly sub- 
 ject." 
 
 " As there is much speculation with regard to 
 yellow fever, and as much has been said, and 
 much more will be said, we may venture to state 
 the cause and its remedies. The cause of yellow, 
 broken bone, bilious, intermittent, and the con- 
 gestive fevers, are nearly akin, only of different 
 types, and brought about by the same general 
 cause. Fevers in general are caused by conges- 
 tion, or stoppage of the various secretions of the 
 human system. When the vessels, absorbents, 
 capillary, or lymphatic, become filled with foreign 
 matter, the healthy organization cannot be carried 
 on in the human physical system. A congestion 
 of the liver will derange the whole economy of the 
 
288 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 system^ and produce a similar effect upon the other 
 organs, which will be shown in a natural chemical 
 action, termed fever. The different types depend 
 upon the amount of the absorbent of foreign mat- 
 ter the system has taken up. It may be that all 
 vegetable life is connected with animal life, as 
 when vegetables are decomposed in water it will 
 yield a large amount of animalcula. It may be that 
 the yellow fever originates from the reception of 
 animalcules into the human system, and the vari- 
 ous secretions are stopped, or rather clogged, by 
 this foreign matter ; after which an action takes 
 place of a chemical character — an action upon the 
 part of the system to throw off the foreign matter ; 
 and this is styled the fever, from the heat and 
 frequent beating of the pulse. When vegetable 
 matter is put into water, such as roses in bloom, 
 or lilies, or any other flowers, it produces, in 
 twelve to twenty-four hours, in the summer sea- 
 son, animalcules, as will be seen by a microscope 
 of 2500 to 5000 diameter. These animalcules can 
 be taken into the system in three ways : by chang- 
 ing the venous into arterial blood, by the absorb- 
 ent vessels of the skin, and with the food we take 
 into the system. 
 
 "A person dying with yellow fever or bilious 
 
B08TOB1 
 
 fever, and having died in June to November, her- 
 metically sealed, in tin or other metal, after 
 remaining in the coffin fourteen days, when open 
 it will be found to contain millions of larvae 5 but 
 if the patient should die in our climate, in Novem- 
 ber to March, by examining in fourteen da] 
 will he found only to be returning to iis native 
 elements; The genu of the existence of 'he ani- 
 mal, in the first case, must have been there, and 
 brought about by deposition of ova by an animal- 
 cule : hence, in the future decomposition of the 
 body, the existence of the larvae." — Correspondence 
 Baltimore American. 
 
 The J Vest minster Review gives the following sim- 
 ple explanation : 
 
 "It is at night that the stream of air nearest 
 the ground must always be the most charged with 
 the particles of annualized matter given out from 
 the skin, and deleterious gases, such as carbonic 
 acid gas, the product of respiration, and sul- 
 phuretted hydrogen, the product of the sewers. 
 In the day, gases and vaporous substances of all 
 kinds rise in the air by the rarefaction of heat ; 
 at night, when the rarefaction releases them, they 
 fall by an increase of gravity, being imperfectly 
 
 mixed with the atmosphere — while the gases 
 13 
 
290 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 evolved during the night, instead of ascending, 
 remain at nearly the same level. It is known 
 that carbonic acid gas, at a low temperature, par- 
 takes so nearly of the nature of a fluid, that it 
 may be poured out of one vessel into another; 
 it rises at the temperature at which it is exhaled 
 from the lungs, but its tendency is towards the 
 floor, or the bed of the sleeper, in cold and unven- 
 tilated rooms. 
 
 " In the epidemics of the middle ages, fires were 
 lighted in the streets for the purification of the 
 air ; and more recently, trains of gunpowder have 
 been fired and cannon discharged for the same 
 object ; but these agents, operating against an 
 illimitable extent of atmospheric air, have been 
 on too small a scale to produce any sensible effect. 
 It is, however, pronounced by the best authority 
 quite possible to heat a room to produce a rare- 
 faction and consequent dilution of any malignant 
 gases it may contain ; and it is, of course, the air 
 of the room, and that alone, at night, which comes 
 into immediate contact with the lungs of a person 
 sleeping." 
 
 The Mystery Deepens. — In the fall of 1853, 
 a physician, well known in the city, arrived here 
 on a visit to his relations, after having passed 
 
HISTORY OF THE PI 31 L'"| 
 
 safely through the fever that raged bo fearfully in 
 Pensacola, in the summer and fall of thai year. 
 He had noticed the symptoms of the fatal disi 
 assisted in relieving the sick, and had previo 
 
 witnessed its progress, and sludied carefully its 
 nature, which he thought identical with that 
 which had appeared along the coast of South 
 America. 
 
 He remarked, with prophetic certainty, while 
 here, that it would make its appearance in Charles- 
 ton and Savannah in 1S54, and, as in Pensacola, 
 sweep off the people almost by the thousand ; arM 
 that it would visit Norfolk and Portsmouth in 
 1S-55, and rage with extraordinary malignity and 
 severity. He, therefore, advised his friends to re- 
 move, and remain absent from the city during the 
 summer and fall months. 
 
 His predictions proved, alas, too true in every 
 particular; and although his remarks were little 
 regarded when uttered, they were of course consid- 
 ered as possessing singular interest and force, when 
 our citizens were realizing the truth of the strange 
 prediction. 
 
 This circumstance favors the theory that the 
 disease is migratory, and is slowly moving north- 
 ward ; while some are arraying facts to prove it o; 
 
292 
 
 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 local origin, and others that it was brought by the 
 Ben Franklin. 
 
 We may appropriately remind the reader here, 
 that Wilmington and other towns in North Caro- 
 lina were not visited by the fever. If the disease 
 is migratory, the question may be reasonably 
 asked : Why it should pass over a space of hun- 
 dreds of miles without stopping, and without mani- 
 festing itself in any of the towns or villages be- 
 tween Norfolk and Savannah ? 
 
CHAPTEB XXXV. 
 
 GHENSRAL CHARACTER OP THE DISEASE — TREATMENT- 
 
 SYMPTOMS — REMEDIES— LIGHTNING AN J) I 
 
 r 
 
 "Although there were a great Dumber of mild 
 
 attacks that yielded readily to treatment, I think 
 the epidemic may be said to be one of the severest 
 and most fatal ever witnessed. Black vomit was 
 commonly observed in fatal cases, though there 
 were numerous recoveries, especially in young per- 
 sons, after the appearance of this usually fatal 
 symptom. Uterine haemorrhage was exceedingly 
 common ; but other haemorrhages were more rare 
 than we usually see in New Orleans. 
 
 "Suppression of urine was exceedingly common in 
 the latter >tages, and almost invariably a fatal 
 symptom. 
 
 "The febrile excitement was generally of a low 
 grade for yellow fever, and sanguineous depletion 
 was but seldom strongly indicated ; yet I have no 
 doubt that many cases would have been benefited 
 by the more free use of cups and leeches than was 
 practiced. 
 
294 
 
 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 "The pains of the head, back, and limbs were less 
 severe, I think, than we commonly observe in New 
 Orleans. 
 
 "There was a general tendency in the old, or 
 those who had passed the meridian of life, to sink 
 after reacting the critical stage, although the symp- 
 toms had been mild from the beginning. There 
 appeared to be a want of recuperative energy in 
 the system, which could not always be acted on by 
 stimulants and nourishment in the hour of need. 
 Delirium was often observed, and, generally, a bad 
 symptom. Yellowness of the eyes and skin com- 
 monly appeared at the critical stage, and was most 
 intense in severe and fatal cases. 
 
 " I may mention one marked discrepancy between 
 the physicians of New Orleans and Charleston. 
 The former recommended the treatment to be 
 commenced with a hot mustard foot-bath, and a 
 dose of castor oil, or some other mild purgative, 
 merely to evacuate the intestinal canal, and the 
 patient to be covered with a blanket, so as to keep 
 up a continued, though not excessive perspiration, 
 from the beginning of the attack to the end of the 
 critical period, cold applications to the head, and 
 local depletion, if indicated by the severity of the 
 pain ; whereas the latter pursued a cooling plan 
 
HZ8IORY ov THE 
 
 of treatment from the beginning: — the bowels bo 
 be gently evacuated, but febrile exciter 
 to be kept down by the free application of cold 
 water over the head and body, and the use of 
 light covering; the object being not to keep up a 
 sweat", but only a gentle perspiration, or merely a 
 soft skin. For severe headache, they recommended 
 the free and frequent use of the cold douche. They 
 also advised the use of cold drinks throughout. 
 Such is the general plan pursued by the physicians 
 of Charleston, as far as I learned from my friends, 
 Drs. Ravenel and linger, two highly intelligent and 
 accomplished physicians; and I must say, it was 
 approved by Dr. Wilson, of Havana, a physician of 
 extensive experience in this disease. We all, how- 
 ever, concurred more fully in recommending mild 
 remedies in the second and third stages of the dis- 
 ease. 
 
 "I have only mentioned one discrepancy as worthy 
 of special notice, because it relates to a general 
 plan of managing yellow fever patients. I stated 
 to my professional brethren that, whilst almost 
 every possible variety of practice was pursued by 
 some one or more persons in New Orleans, yet, if 
 there was a single point "in which there was a 
 greater concurrence amongst the regular and ex- 
 
296 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 perienced physicians than any other, it was the 
 propriety of keeping the patient covered with at 
 least one blanket, and sweating freely, though not 
 immoderately, throughout the attack. 
 
 "In this epidemic, the physicians of Philadelphia 
 and Baltimore, as far as I learned from conversing 
 with Drs. Freeman and Morris, pursued a mild 
 course of treatment. The same may be said of Dr. 
 Reid, of Savannah, and Dr. Miller, of Mobile. Of one 
 thing I am pretty sure, which is, that whatever 
 practice was pursued, no one, so far as I learned, 
 had reason to boast of any extraordinary amount 
 of success." — Dr. Fcimer, N. O. ' 
 
 An eminent physician, who has had very exten- 
 sive experience in regard to this fatal disease, 
 remarked to the writer, that the patient should^be 
 very carefully examined, before prescribing for the 
 case — his general constitution, the severity, and 
 peculiarities of the attack. 
 
 The disease attacks persons differently. Some 
 are prostrated at once ; others but slightly affect- 
 ed ; while some, who imagine themselves not very 
 ill, walk about — and sometimes they are dying 
 upon their feet, and they suddenly sink down, and 
 die, as if struck by some deadly blow aimed at their 
 vitals by an unseen hand. In all cases, prompt 
 
Ill- ;i i \« B. 
 
 ami judicious action and careful nursing arc very 
 requisite, and highly important. 
 
 Captain Jonas P. Lew, late of the Q. 8, trans- 
 port ship American, who has had hundreds of c 
 of yellow fever under treatment, Bays he never 
 know of a case terminating fatally, after observing 
 the following directions: — Dissolve in a wineglass 
 of water a table-spoonful of common sail, and 
 pour the same into a tumbler, adding the juice of 
 a whole lemon, and two wine glasses of castor oil. 
 The whole to be taken at one doso (by an adult). 
 Then, a hot mustard foot-bath, with a handful of 
 salt in the water — the patient to be well wrapped 
 in the blankets until perspiration takes place live- 
 ly. On removal to bed, the feet of the patient to 
 be wrapped in a blanket. Afterwards, apply 
 mustard plasters to the abdomen, legs, and soles 
 of the feet. If the headache is very acute, apply 
 mustard plasters to the head and temples. After 
 the fever has been broken, take forty grains of qui- 
 nine, and forty drops of elixir of vitriol, to a quart 
 of water. Dose — wine-glassful three times a day. 
 Barley water, lemonade, and ice water, may be 
 used in moderation. 
 
 We subjoin a letter from a Savannah physician 
 
 to the Washington Globe, on the treatment of yellow 
 13* 
 
298 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 fever. The course of treatment advised can as- 
 suredly do no harm, even if it should not possess 
 all the merits claimed for it : 
 
 Savannah, June 14, 1S56. 
 
 Messrs. Editors : — I perceive, by the papers, 
 that much apprehension of the yellow fever and 
 black vomit is now felt by the citizens of Wash- 
 ington, and of the surrounding neighborhoods. As 
 it is generally supposed here that you will be visit- 
 ed this summer by the fell destroyer, allow me to 
 make a few remarks, which may, perhaps, prove 
 of some benefit to the people. 
 
 During the fatal visit of the fever to this city in 
 the year 1854, on account of the scarcity of medi- 
 cal aid, I attended a great number of sick, com- 
 posed of men, women, and children ; and I believe 
 that I gained much correct information of its first 
 approaches, its symptoms, and the treatment best 
 calculated to lessen its hold upon the human frame, 
 and at the same time afford to the sufferer a chance 
 of life. To accomplish this, it is of the utmost 
 importance that the mind of the patient should be 
 kept quiet, and not frightened. 
 
 I will not describe the vast amount of suffering 
 I witnessed, nor the many scenes of horror which 
 came under my observation. My motive is simply 
 
BDTOEY OF 1 HI Pi : n BN< 
 
 to relieve human suffering ; and aa I, with the help 
 of God, j 7n/\yN.v ■ in the treatment of thii 
 
 frightful (lis, -isc, 1 think it my duty to impart my 
 
 miteofaoquired knowledge for the benefit of others 
 
 Who may shortly have to encounter this terrible 
 visitor. 
 I will first describe the symptoms which foretell 
 
 the insidious approaches of the disease. 
 First. Symptomatic feelings. 
 
 1. A pain, either in the head, back, or all the 
 limbs, similar to a broken bone fever. ' 
 
 2. A general weakness of the system ; the eyes 
 and skin of a greenish yellow, eyes sunk, witli 
 fever. This is a very bad symptom. 
 
 3. A sick stomach, with light fever, pain in the 
 back, head, and limbs. 
 
 4. Chilly sensations, very much like chills and 
 fever ; a bad symptom. 
 
 5. A constant pain in the lower part of the bowels. 
 This indicates inflammation, and is a very fatal sign. 
 
 These are the prominent symptomatic feelings. 
 'Secondly. The appearances of the tongue. 
 1. A nearly natural tongue, clean-looking, with 
 a slight tinge of a watery blood red, binding the 
 tongue all around. I look upon this stage of the 
 disease ,'is its mildest form. 
 
300 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 2. The tongue heavily furred with white, with 
 an increase of the " watery blood-red" appearance' 
 around it ; patient very restless. 
 
 3. The tongue thickly coated with brown, and 
 hard to the touch ; the " watery blood-red" ring 
 which encircles it very much inflamed and largely 
 increased in size, attended with hot fever, drowsi- 
 ness, and great pains in all parts of the bod}^. 
 
 The last I consider the worst stage, and the most 
 dangerous period of the yellow fever. Much de- 
 pends on the rapid use of proper medicines, assist- 
 ed by injections freely given. The sick crave for 
 drinks, which, given too often, generally bring on 
 the vomito. The patient's life depends, in a great 
 measure, oh the close attention of the nurse — a 
 good nurse being equal to the best medical aid. 
 You will generally find the " symptomatic feel- 
 ings" and the "appearance of the tongue" more or 
 less blended together. I never mistook the disease 
 when I saw the tongue, which I found my best 
 guide. 
 
 I have furnished you with the most prominent 
 symptoms of the yellow fever which came under 
 my observation ; and, with very slight variations, 
 every case was treated alike by me. My treatment 
 was very simple. My medicines everybody knew, 
 
Ill - i Ih PES • .".ill 
 
 and were taken with great confidence. The 
 
 of nay efforts arose from quick action on the 
 bowels, and the bringing aboul a \ tpiratien 
 
 within sixteen hours: for within thai time the fate 
 of the patient was decided. Turn 1 is precious in 
 this epidemic, and should not be wasted. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Take two ounces oi' Epsom salts, half ounce 
 of snake root, and a quarter ounce of senna, boil 
 
 them in a pint of water; strain the mixture, and, 
 when cold, give to the patient, every fifteen or 
 thirty minutes, according to the urgency of the 
 case, a large-sized wine-glassful, until tin 1 bowels 
 are well operated upon, and the operations entirely 
 lose their dark, tarry, greenish appearance, and re- 
 gain a healthy, bilious look. To do this is to 
 accomplish much for the patient. Also, place the 
 feet in nhot mustard foot-bath. Put mustard plas- 
 ters on the chest, bowels, arms, and legs. 
 
 During the first and second days, I allowed 
 only iced gum-arabic water, and small lumpr of 
 ice. The fever generally left my patients in four- 
 teen to eighteen hours, very much prostrated in 
 bodily strength. Then careful nursing becomes 
 valuable. The moment the fever leaves, give, <•• 
 
302 HISTOTtY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 -r 
 two hours, for eight hours, five grains of quinine ; 
 the patient to be' kept quiet, in bed, and to be al- 
 lowed only gum drinks. 
 
 Second day. — Should there be no fever, give gum 
 drinks. 
 
 Third day. — A half tea-cup of salted corn-meal 
 gruel every half-hour, and gum drinks, iced. 
 
 Fourth day. — Small quantities of chicken broth. 
 
 Fifth day. — Weak black tea, pilot bread, soft 
 fresh eggs, and well-cooked hominy, 
 
 Be extremely careful with the patient for the 
 next two weeks. 
 
 I invariably kept my sick five days in bed to 
 keep them out of danger, or of doing imprudent 
 things. 
 
 I attended upwards of one hundred sick persons 
 during the epidemic, and lost but three, who were 
 strong, hearty, bilious Irishmen — their very health 
 having proved their worst enemy. 
 
 I send you the foregoing statement, in the 
 belief that it may prove of some benefit, should 
 yoi»r part of the country have the misfortune to be 
 visited by Yellow Jack. 
 
 Yours, respectfully, L. N. F. 
 
 N. B. — Rubbing the body, from head to foot, 
 with whisky and strong red pepper, I found of 
 
 
B3BT0R> OF .in i'i ST1LENCB, 
 
 great effect. 1 used for children, mustard and 
 water baths, imnn rsing the 1' 
 
 Mr. Merriam, oi' Brooklyn, wrote to I 
 York Herald: "The records of the yellow fever 
 at Norfolk and Portsmouth, last year, comp 
 with the records of temperature and Lightning, 
 show that the mosl appalling mortality by the pest- 
 ilence was when the thunder-storms were the i 
 active. When Dr. Barton, president of the S 
 tary Board of New Orleans, called upon me to ex- 
 amine my meteorological record of 1853, for that 
 portion of the year in which the yellow fever pre- 
 vailed so fearfully in that city, I said to him, 'if 
 you will refer to your record for the day in which 
 the fever was most fatal, I will refer to my record 
 and see what was the state of the atmosphere on 
 that day.' He said: 'the 20th of August — on that 
 day more than three hundred were numbered with 
 the dead.' Our record says, '20th August — great 
 thunder-storm at Xew T Orleans, reaching to Mol 
 Here the two records met and united in their tes- 
 timony. • 
 
 "It is admitted by all who have experience, and 
 the opportunity of observation, that the yellow 
 fever will not remain for a single day in a frosty 
 atmosphere : then, why not. in the commencement 
 
304 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 of the pestilence, refrigerate the district? I can, 
 with pounded ice, and salt mixed, cut down a field 
 of vegetation in a single night, by strewing its 
 surface with refrigerating mixture. That which 
 will destroy vegetation will destroy yellow fever 
 poison. 
 
 In reply to this statement, an intelligent gentle- 
 man, of Portsmouth, wrote as follows : 
 
 "I was in this place until the 30th of August, 
 and am confident that there was not a flash of 
 lightning seen, or peal of thunder heard, during 
 that month, and very little during July, June, and 
 May. The most fatal day in August was the 25th, 
 when the wind changed from S. W. to E. X. E., 
 and continued in that quarter about five days, the 
 barometer being unusually low. On the 2Sth, 
 there was a cool, drizzling rain, but no thunder. 
 It is well known that where the cholera has ap- 
 peared, the electrical tension of the atmosphere 
 has been lower than usual, and from good authori- 
 ty I assert that the disease has disappeared where 
 the electricity of the air has been restored to its 
 ordinary condition." 
 
 Without entering into the controversy, we will 
 just state, for the information of those interested 
 in the matter, that the latter statement is some- 
 
ma 800 
 
 what incorrect, and the writer is mistaken with 
 rd to lightning in August and other months. 
 This location was visited on Priday, L7th August, 
 L865, with a very severe and exciting electric 
 play. There were some brilliant Bashes of light- 
 r, and the peala oi' thunder were very loud and 
 ing. A large and handsome building at the 
 unds, not half a mile from the city, was 
 struck by the fluid, and with it another structure 
 took fire and was consumed. On the 31st of July, 
 there was one of the most terrific thunder-storms 
 at Hampton and Old Point over witnessed, and 
 extending thence a considerable distance south, in 
 the direction of this city, though spending its vio- 
 lence and fury before reaching our immediate lo- 
 cality. Vessels in the Roads were struck by the 
 lightning, and one or two persons killed. There 
 were, also, thunder-storms in Norfolk and vicinity 
 on the 10th and 12th of September. 
 
 There was no remarkable increase in the fl 
 cases, or deaths, when the storms occurred. The 
 number of deaths, however, gradually increased in 
 Norfolk from about the middle of August till the 
 first of September; from which time there was, 
 as before shown, a diminution till the disease left 
 the place. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 THE YELLOW FEVER IN XEW YORK THE-FEYER IN PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 Since its foundation, the yellow fever has ap- 
 peared in New York no less than ten times. Its 
 first visitation was in the summer of 1702. The 
 mortality was dreadful ; and almost every one who 
 was seized with the fever died. The period was 
 distinguished as the " time of the great sickness." 
 It appeared a second and third time in the sum- 
 mer and autumn of 1741 and 1742. An interest- 
 ing account of the disease was drawn up at the 
 time by Dr. Colden, an eminent physician, who 
 pointed out the local circumstances which existed 
 in different parts of the city, as evident causes of 
 adding to the violence of the distemper, and recom- 
 mended means for their removal, and measures for 
 the general health, which were adopted, and fol- 
 lowed by the most salutary effects. 
 
 In 1791, the fever again broke out in the vicini- 
 ty of Burling Slip, where it was probably intro- 
 duced by vessels from the West Indies. In 1793, 
 
, OP THE 
 
 Philadelphia Buffered terribly frCm the yellovi 
 ver — 1,041 persona having died in that city from 
 the commencement fco the termination of the 
 
 The Now Yorkers being greatly alarmed, ;i 
 proclamation was issued prohibiting the fugi 
 from Philadelphia to land in New York till , 
 an absence from Philadelphia of a certain number 
 
 of days. The prohibition could not be enforced. 
 Many of the Philadelphians entered New York. 
 
 some of them sickened and died there; bu; 
 city remained fully as healthy as usual during the 
 whole season. 
 
 In 1798, the fever again appeared in New York, 
 carrying off 2.0S6, out of a population of 5-5,000, 
 more than one-third of'whom had left the city. It 
 appeared again, though not in so malignant a 
 form, in 1799, 1S00, 1S03, 1S05, and 1S22, which 
 was its last visitation. In 1S01, the disease ap- 
 peared in Brooklyn, between which and New Y'ork 
 there is only the East River, about three-quai 
 of a mile in width. Several of the inhabitants of 
 Brooklyn fled to New York, and died in the houses 
 of their friends ; but the New York Board of 
 Health knew of no instance in which it proved 
 contagious. The city remained exempt from pesti- 
 lence during that season. 
 
308 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 In the disease of 1805, one-third of the whole 
 population fled ; and in the first four wards, two- 
 thirds of the inhabitants fled. In the eighth and 
 ninth wards the citizens remained, pursuing their 
 usual avocations, well knowing, from the purity 
 of the air, that they were as safe from danger of 
 the pestilence, which prevailed in the other wards, 
 by following their business at home, as if they had 
 resided in the Western wilderness. 
 
 An account of the prevalence of the yellow 
 fever in Philadelphia, in 1793, was written and 
 published by M. Cary. We make a brief extract. 
 
 After describing the symptoms of the disease, 
 viz. : the chill, fever, prostration, yellow tinge, 
 black vomit, haemorrhages, etc., precisely as mani- 
 fested in the disease in Norfolk (by which descrip- 
 tion our idea as to the identity of the disease is 
 confirmed), the writer goes on to say : 
 
 " The first death that was a subject of general 
 conversation, was that of Peter Aston, on the 19th 
 of August, after a few days' illness. Mrs. Lemai- 
 gre's, on the day following, and Thomas Miller's, 
 on the 25th, with those of some others, after a short 
 sickness, spread an universal terror. 
 
 " The removals from Philadelphia began about 
 the 25th, or 26th of this month : and so great was 
 
HE 
 
 the general terror, that, for Borne weel 
 
 ■us, coa< ml chaises, were al 
 
 constantly transporting families and furniture i<> 
 the country, in every direction. .Many people Bhut 
 up their houses wholly ; others (eft servants to take 
 care o( them. Business became extremely dull. 
 Mechanics and artists were unemployed; and the 
 streets wore the appearance of gloom and melan- 
 choly. 
 
 "The consternation -of the people of Philadel- 
 phia, at this period, was carried beyond ail bounds. 
 Dismay and affright were visible in almost every 
 person's countenance. Most of those who could, 
 by any means, make it convenient, fled from the 
 city. Of those who remained, many shut them- 
 selves up in their houses, being afraid to w T alk the 
 streets. The smoke of tobacco being regarded as 
 a preventive, many persons, even women and small 
 boys, had cigars almost constantly in their mouths. 
 Others, placing full confidence in garlic, chewed 
 it almost the w 7 hole day ; some kept it in their 
 pockets and shoes. Many were afraid to allow the 
 barbers or hair-dressers to come near them, as 
 instances had occurred of some of them having 
 shaved the dead, and many having engaged as 
 bleeders. Some, who carried their caution pretty 
 
310 HISTOKY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 far, bought lancets for themselves, not daring to 
 allow themselves to be bled with the lancets of the 
 bleeders. 
 
 "Many houses were scarcely a moment in the 
 day free from the smell of gunpowder, burned 
 tobacco, nitre, sprinkled vinegar, etc. Some of 
 the churches were almost deserted, and others 
 wholly closed. The coffee-houses were shut up, 
 as was the city library, and most of the public 
 offices — three, out of the four, daily papers were 
 discontinued, as were some of the others. Many 
 devoted no small portion of their time to purify- 
 ing, scouring, and whitewashing their rooms. 
 Those who ventured abroad had handkerchiefs or 
 sponges, impregnated with vinegar or camphor, at 
 their noses, or smelling-bottles full of thieves' 
 vinegar. Others carried pieces of tarred rope in 
 their hands or pockets, or camphor-bags tied round 
 their necks. 
 
 " The corpses of the most respectable citizens, 
 even of those who had not died of the epidemic, 
 were carried to the grave on the shafts of a chair, 
 the horse driven by a negro, unattended by a friend 
 or relation, and without any sort of ceremony. 
 People, uniformly and hastily, shifted their course 
 at the sight of a hearse coming towards them. 
 
HI 811 
 
 Many never walked on the foot-path, but weai 
 
 into tlu i middle of bh s, to avoid being in- 
 
 fected in passing houses wherein people had died. 
 Acquaintances and friends avoided each other in 
 
 the streets, and only signified their regard 
 cold nod. The old custom of shaking hands tell 
 into such - .1 disuse that many shrunk back 
 
 with affright at even the offer of the hand." 
 
CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 THE MONUMENT ABLE REPORT. 
 
 A popular movement having been made, and 
 measures having been taken, with regard to a 
 suitable and lasting commemoration of the virtues 
 and efficient services of the heroes who nobly fell 
 at their posts, during the late terrible visitation, 
 the wishes of the people will, no doubt, be carried 
 out by the erection of a handsome monument, in a 
 suitable location. 
 
 At a meeting of the citizens of Norfolk, held $t 
 Ashland Hall, on Thursday, the 15th of May, 
 according to previous adjournment, to take into 
 consideration suitable measures to commemorate 
 the names of the illustrious dead who fell at their 
 posts, during the pestilence of the past summer, 
 
 Major George Blow in the chair, and William 
 Lamb, Secretary, 
 
 The Chairman of the Committee, appointed 
 for the purpose, Charles A. Santos, Esq., presented 
 and read the following able report : 
 
 " Mr. Chairman : — In the performance of our 
 
Ill . 
 
 commission, « to report a bui table mode oi • 
 morating the virtuefl and services of those who 
 
 1 their lives in the cause of humanity, 
 during the late terrible epidemic,' words are ii 
 
 slings of intense inti 
 which have actuated your Committee, and the 
 unanimity with which they recommend ti 
 lofty and time-enduring monument should be 
 .in evidence of the gratitude which 
 they and every member of our community feel for 
 the self-sacrificing devotion of the noble souls who 
 laid down their lives for us. 
 
 "Our city is now gay and populous, and all 
 outward traces of the late sad visitation are re- 
 moved ; but if the mind is permitted to dwell upon 
 the terrific days of August and September, and to 
 learn from an eye-witness the heart-rending details 
 of the pestilence, we conceive that the most indif- 
 ferent would be excited to the keenest sympathy, 
 and the most intense anxiety to indicate his appre- 
 ciation of the marl 
 
 "As the first civil officer, tin; noble, high-toned 
 Hunter Woodis should stand first upon our pro- 
 posed Monument. Those who witnessed his untir- 
 ing zeal at the commencement of the fever, and 
 
 his subsequent incessant toil in relieving the sick, 
 
 1 1 
 
314 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 burying the dead, and carrying out sanitary regu- 
 lations, will rejoice in seeing his name and noble 
 deeds handed down to posterity. 
 
 " In the language of the 'just and eloquent tri- 
 bute,' paid him by the Rev. Mr. Hitselberger, who, 
 by reason of the triple relationship of i spiritual 
 father, guide, and friend, knew him so well :' 
 
 " ' He thought of others, not of himself. Like the 
 soldier of the forlorn hope, who marched to the 
 mined breach, he rushed to the van of havoc, to 
 tight for the common good ; and like him he offered 
 up his life, with all the honors and endearments of 
 that life, a sublime sacrifice to the cause of huma- 
 nity and official duty. Smitten by the hand of the 
 destroyer, in the exercise of the noblest charities 
 of our nature, in the very act of administering to 
 the dying and the dead, the chivalrous Woodis, un- 
 appalled by danger, and unwearied in beneficence, 
 was ravished away, in the flower of his age and the 
 vigor of his usefulness ; honored, loved, bewailed 
 in the purity of that affection which virtue inspires, 
 with the intensity of that grief which only true 
 hearts can feel.' 
 
 " The name of William B. Ferguson, the active, 
 zealous and indefatigable President of the Howard 
 Association, who, actuated by the inherent bene- 
 
HXBTOBY OP iHi 
 
 volence of his heart, labored bo assiduously and 
 effectually to alleviate* die ould occupy the 
 
 next position. 
 
 11 Fn the words of the resolution adopted tfl our 
 g meeting, - he forgot himself in h b desire 
 there, and he has left in our affectio 
 imperishable monument of die ed usefulness 
 
 and true courage. 1 We are sure that we Bpeak 
 the sentiments of our fellow-citizens, when w( 
 that we feel it especially a sacred duty to 
 petuate his memory. He, sir, was not connected 
 with ns by the ties of birth, which bound our la- 
 mented Woodis, and our obligations are, then 
 greatly enhanced. But a few years have el. 
 since he came a stranger among us, and the devotion 
 which he displayed for his adopted city during her 
 prosperity was only increased with her advert 
 
 " The magnanimity of his soul was revealed at the 
 beginning of our late affliction, in being among the 
 first to establish the Howard Association. Called 
 unanimously to preside over this noble band, he 
 threw his whole energy, zeal, and industry into the 
 work, and but for the aid afforded by its organized 
 
 •m of supplying food, medicines, and nui 
 hundreds, who now live, would he in the cold and 
 Bhunned yellow-. 
 
316 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 " The names of our clergy who, actuated by the 
 noblest and highest sense of duty, remained in, our 
 plague-stricken city to point many a wretched 
 sufferer to the Lamb of God, and who sealed their 
 faith with their lives, shall be deeply engraven 
 upon the handsome shaft we intend toerect. The 
 friends, kinsmen, and admirers -of the Rev. "Wm. 
 M. Jackson, Anthony Dibrell, Stephen Jones, and 
 Wm. C. Bagnall, will experience a melancholy 
 pleasure in seeing their memory thus perpetuated. 
 
 " The heroism displayed by our resident Medical 
 Faculty — the sagacious Silvester, the calm and 
 scientific Henry Selden, the bold and able Higgins, 
 the frank and indefatigable Upshur, the estimable 
 and pure-minded Nash, the quiet but brave and 
 efficient Halson, the unobtrusive but reliable Con- 
 stable, the assiduous and talented Tunstall, and 
 the youthful and manly Briggs, and the magnani- 
 mous and self-sacrificing volunteers, Doctors Blow, 
 Gebhard, Gooch, Walker, Thompson, Craycroft, 
 Fleiss, Booth, Howe, McDowell, Kierson, Smith, 
 Jackson, DeBerche, Schell, Obermiiller, Dillard, 
 Berry, Capri, and others — should also be com- 
 memorated. 
 
 " If it were possible to elevate the character and 
 standard of the noble profession of medicine, it 
 
m 817 
 
 would be done l<; . ;i ,i,i 
 
 eel indifference to danger displayed i>\ 
 intrepid corps, in th< duty in the 
 
 ilence. Time and language would fail, were 
 to attempt to mention in detail the aid they 
 ded, to describe the distress they alleviated, 
 and the Bcenes of horror in which they daily 
 
 d. 
 
 "The namesof Robert S. Bernard, John S. Lo 
 Thos. Handy, F. Schleisinger, E. Perry Miller, 
 
 M. Cannon, and others, who, prompted solely by 
 duty, remained at their posts, and performed the 
 
 arduous duty of dispensing medicine, should be 
 deeply engraven upon our proposed monument. 
 
 Exhausted by superhuman exertions, and by daily 
 and nightly toil, in the exercise of their responsible 
 and important profession, death found them an 
 easy prey. 
 
 "The members of the Howard Association, who 
 so heroically toiled and finally yielded up their 
 for us, should have a conspicuous position 
 upon our elevated Italian obelisk. It' we recolleftt 
 the terror existing at the time, the harsh quaran- 
 tines established by our neighbors, and the malig- 
 nant character of the fever, we may have stum- idea 
 of the stern courage required to become ;i member 
 
318 HISTORY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 of this Association. In the eloquent language of 
 the able report of the Philadelphia Relief Commit- 
 tee : ' if there was heroic courasre shown in storm- 
 ing the Malakoff, and in the attempt on the Redan, 
 it required yet more to minister to the sick and 
 dying in the plague-stricken cities of Norfolk and 
 Portsmouth.' 
 
 " Finally, let the memory of all nurses, public 
 officers, and others, who lost their lives in obedi- 
 ence to the calls of humanity or promptings of 
 duty, be perpetuated. Let our children gaze 
 upon their names, coupled with deeds requiring 
 more courage than the mightiest on the battle- 
 field, and learn our gratitude for and appreciation 
 of them. 
 
 " Actuated by a desire to carry out the noble 
 design of honoring the memory of those heroic 
 spirits, your Committee, immediately after their 
 appointment, addressed themselves to the work, 
 and proceeded to procure from the principal 
 monument-builders in the country a number of 
 dtsigns and plans. 
 
 " In answer to their communications, a great 
 variety, embracing every style, were submitted, 
 and received a careful examination. 
 
 "Conceding elaboration of style 'to majestic 
 
prop they ha> 
 
 Baird, ol Philadel 
 mitted, and they trust it will be 
 ■11. 
 
 Monument will I 
 thousand dollars and 
 
 that on the part of Mr, I 
 
 as others who have \ 
 
 sidei. nutation to be acquired by build- 
 
 ing so larg ■ and important a monumi 
 
 ridered <A' more consequence than any p 
 
 " From well-derived information, 
 
 mend that the monument be built of Italian mar- 
 ble, as possessing greater beauty and <i 
 than American, with very little, if any, ad. 
 of cost, in the large blocks r for the plan 
 
 adopted. 
 
 " The dimensions of the respective par, 
 follow : The stone which will I 
 foundation will be tm 
 thick. The first base will be of bl 
 marble, and ten 
 
 .. The second 
 feet four incl are, and i 
 
 high. The die and butti 
 
320 HISTOKY OF THE PESTILENCE. 
 
 square, and four feet six inches high, and will be 
 of sufficient size for three hundred names. The 
 base of obelisk with brackets, three feet nine 
 inches square ; and on the four sides of this mas- 
 sive block of marble will be carvings of a bust of 
 Hunter Woodis ; Hygeia, emblematic of the sci- 
 ence of Medicine ; Charity ; the Good Samaritan, 
 or any other deemed more appropriate. The base 
 of the shaft will be two feet eight inches square, 
 and one foot ten inches at top. The shaft will be 
 twenty feet high, ornamented with wreaths repre- 
 senting the tobacco leaf, the oak, the ivy, and the 
 laurel, and surmounted by a gracefully draped urn. 
 The work to be executed in the best style of art. 
 The whole height of the monument will be forty 
 feet, and will contain fifty-six tons of marble, or 
 about 575 cubic feet. 
 
 " The location of the monument next occupied 
 the attention of your Committee ; and after due 
 deliberation, and care, and industry, in ascertain- 
 ing the sense of the community* they recommend 
 that it be placed ' in the Court Green. In this 
 opinion they were confirmed by the sentiments 
 expressed by the committee of physicians ap- 
 pointed to confer with them. The daily view of 
 the magnificent structure will ever keep alive the 
 
III.- 
 
 recollection of the nobility of iouI developed in 
 
 our midst, and the d ' by 
 
 ogers, who rushed to our aid, i 
 v one of the mosl fearful calamities that 
 the world has ever witnessed." 
 
IXDKX 
 
 A daughter's devotion, 191. 
 
 A fair sufferer. 201 . 
 Aid from abroad, 5. 
 Alarm. 126. 
 A luckless trio. 10."). 
 
 rican Beacon, 26 1. 
 An aged victim. It 7. 
 Andrews, Miss A. M.. 53. 
 A night in the pestilence. 60, 
 108. 
 
 Baltimore, 176, 2 
 Barry's Row. 25, 46. 
 Bagnall,Eev.W.C.,229. 
 
 Barron. Mrs., 264. 
 Bay line steamers. 1 77. 
 Baylor, Mrs. 0., 259. 
 Beale, C. H., 268. 
 Bernard. R. S., 272. 317. ■ 
 Bill, the cake bov. 197. 
 Black vomit. 7. 30. 166. 
 Blow, Dr. Richard, 256. 
 Bourk, Miss L., 69. 
 Bovd, Captain, 173. 
 Brown, Wm. 
 
 . .!.. 245. 
 .ion. T. <;.. 
 Burroughs. John J.. 51. 
 Burials, 4, 102, 104. 
 Burying in pits, 106. 
 
 Callousness, 164. 
 
 Capri, Dr., 1G0. 
 
 Cause of yellow fever, 287. 
 
 Charab i 
 
 65. 
 
 Churl.-. B. 
 Churches, 105. L25. 
 Chisholm, B 225. 
 
 Clack. P. 11.. 1 . 
 
 Clergy 
 
 lo5. 121. 219, 
 
 316. 
 Clergyman's Bon, 1 '.' 1. 
 
 ('lima! 
 
 .1. L62. 
 Colored people, L03. 
 
 Commencement and pi 
 
 Condition of the city, 91 . 
 
 Bible, Dr. I 
 Contagi yellow 
 
 lever. 283. 
 Correspondence, loi . 
 
 Crayerol't. Dr.. 161. 
 Cunningham. Wi 
 
 Daily pap 
 Dalrymple, K.. 272, 
 
 Death of a true 
 
 Death, and the church bell, 
 
 27'.'. 
 Death in a thunderstorm, 1 90. 
 Death <>[' a pi | man. 
 
 Death ; 
 
 alliance. 191, 
 D.Iany. Wm. I>. 
 Descrip 
 
324 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Desolation. GO. 
 
 Devlin. Eev. F., 154, 228. 
 
 Different theories about the 
 
 disease. 62. 91. 
 Dibrell, Eev. A., 222. 
 Dosrgett, Dr., description by, 
 
 92. 
 Donations from abroad. 56, 
 
 65. 
 
 Eskridge, Eev. V., 230. 
 
 Families broken up, 3. 
 Families swept away, 155. 
 Female victims, 125, 
 Ferguson, Wm. B., Ill, 215, 
 
 314. 
 Fever in Philadelphia. 308. 
 Fever subsiding, 135, 143, 
 
 152. 
 Finch, James H., 150, 2G9. 
 Fire bells, -198. 
 Fires in epidemics, 290. 
 First week in September, 30. 
 First eases, 7. 25, 26. 
 Fiske, D. 1)., 79L 
 Flight of the citizens, 2, 40, 
 
 123. 
 Frigate Columbia, 24 
 
 Gait. Alexander, 111. 
 Gas-lights, 138, 199. 
 Gatewood, Richard, jr., 265. 
 Girard, Stephen, in the yellow 
 
 fever, 44. 
 Gooch, Dr. P. C, 253. 
 Grave-digger, 117, 163. 
 Grave-yards, 156. 
 
 liaison, Dr. George I.. 243. 
 Handy, Eev. Mr., 219. 
 Hartt. Mr., naval constructor, 
 
 69. 
 Healthfulness of Norfolk and 
 
 Portsmouth. 8, 28. 
 
 Herron. Miss A. P. B., 262. 
 Higgins, Dr. F. L., 234. 
 Halliday, J. G., 66. 
 Howard Association. 4, 6, 55, 
 
 58, 184, 317. 
 Hume, Eev. Thomas, 159. 
 
 Incidents of the pestilence, 61, 
 
 81, 187. 
 Infant sufferer, 193. 
 
 Jack-son. Eev. Wm. M., 106, 
 
 220. 
 Jones, Eev. Wm., 230. 
 Jones, John, the hearse-driver, 
 
 273. 
 Julapi hospital, 58. 
 
 Leonard, A. F., 203. 
 
 Letter from the Acting Mayor, 
 
 76, 167. 
 Lightning and epidemics, 303, 
 Lovett, John S., 317. 
 Luckless trio, a, 195. 
 Luther, Martin, in the plague, 
 
 43. 
 
 Matthews County, 51. 
 McKeever, Commodore, 73. 
 McDonald, Mr., 66. 
 Market, 59. 
 Misstatements, 8. 
 Mistakes in burying the dead, 
 
 107. 
 Monument, 313. 
 Mortality, 129. 
 Mourning, 82, 134. 
 Music in the Pestilence, 200. 
 Myers, Henry, 255. 
 
 Nash, Dr. T., 245. 
 Non-intercourse, 48. 
 Northampton County, 49- 
 Norfolk before the fever, 208. 
 Nurses, 137, 175. 
 
 O'Brien and Quick, 272. 
 

 
 Orphai \ 
 Orphans, L20, 184,1 
 
 17,18. 
 Philadelphia, I 
 Philadelphia fand. 72, L61, 
 
 L82. 
 Physicians 
 
 London, '2. 2 
 ability of the yellow 
 IV v 
 Portsmouth, 47. 63, 79, 211. 
 
 ntion of the fever, 4, 
 
 Princess Anne County. 51. 
 
 Wm. 111. 
 Relapse, 32. 
 
 Relief Commit tee of Ports- 
 mouth, 55. 159. 
 Remedies, 30. 295, 296. 
 Removals of the citizens. 157, 
 
 Report of Monument Com- 
 mittee, 312. 
 
 Resident Phvsicians of Ports- 
 mouth, 231. 248. 
 
 Return of the citizens, 121, 
 127. 143. 
 
 Richmond, 176, 186. 
 
 Robertson, I. R., 273. 
 rteon, Jos. II., 2G5. 
 mi. D.. jr.. 266. 
 
 Roll of Honor. 249. 
 
 Rose, Dr. R. W., 232. 
 
 Sabbaths of the pestilence, 106 
 Selden. Dr. II.. 240. 
 Silvester, Dr. R. J.. 2 
 
 ! \12- 
 Bimplrins, Dr. •'. J., 231. 
 
 and o 
 
 3 
 
 Steam I 
 
 ! 
 
 Sudd 
 
 Summers, E., 31, 
 
 Symptoms of the 
 
 TayLu-. Walter II.. :■ . 
 
 The bereai 
 
 The birds and the i" stilence, 
 
 196. 
 The city at night, 
 The citv a 
 
 131. 
 The crv from Virginia, 277. 
 The! ii. 
 
 The Norfolk and P 
 
 dead. 278. 
 The pestilence, 1 . 
 The pious dead, 
 
 and it- Victims, 
 
 The yellow fever ii 
 York, 306. 
 
 Treatmeni of tfa 
 295. 297, 301. 
 Tnnstall, Dr. 
 
 Upehui 
 
 i 
 « in. 1 L9, 151. 
 
326 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Visiting, 118. 
 
 Visiting Physicians. 250. 
 
 Walke. Eev. Louis, 220. 
 Walters, B. B., 272. 
 Watts, W., 66. 
 
 Weather, 64, 115, 118. 123, 
 
 137. 142. 
 Webster, Thos.. jr.. 181. 
 Whitehead, N. C, 76. 167. 
 
 Whole family taken, 120, 
 141. 
 
 Wills. Rev. D. P., 220. 
 
 Wilson. Dr. Win. M., 231. 
 
 Wilson. Holt, 68. 
 
 Wise, H on. H. A. ; 51. 
 
 Woman's efforts in the pesti- 
 lence, 170. 
 
 Woodis, Hunter, 124, 212, 
 274, 313, 314. 
 
ientral Steam Printing Establishment, 
 
 CORNER OF CENTRE & WHITE STREETS. 
 
 STEW "STORK. 
 
 ILLEE & HOLMAN, 
 
 Printers and Stereotypers, 
 
 prepared to execute Book and Job Printing and Stereotyping- ^ith 
 itch, in eveiy style and variety, and at moderate prices. Particular 
 ition given to BOOK WORK, whether Pamphlets or Bound Volumes. 
 
 »ry part of the work, viz : Printing, Binding, &c, done at the same 
 
 iblishment 
 
I