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Gazette & Courier - Monday, September 6, 1875
The horrors of idolatry
The horrors of idolatry - Miss Harriet Brittan is writing some interesting letters depicting life in India, to the "Christian at Work". From a recent one we make the following extract in which she describes a religious gathering: "And now to turn to a sad sight witnessed during my visit to Allahabad...".
[Long article discusses diseased beggars, religious pilgrims who come once a year to bathe and shave at this spot. She describes one street "which appeared to be entirely devoted to fakirs...men who are supposed by self-inflicted tortures to have become very holy...They were about the vilest creatures that it is possible to describe; it made you shudder to think that humanity could be so degraded...These men were almost all of them almost entirely nude - none of them had any covering but one filthy little piece of rag, not more than a fig leaf...
Their hair and beards were all long and matted with filth, their bodies smeared with a mixture of cow dung and ashes; some of them had a thick mixture of whitewash or white plaster, with 1, 2 or 3 broad stripes, like, blood, down the forehead...One man...sat in a bed of ashes, with 4 fires built around him on either side; not of course close enough to burn him, but close enough to scorch him and cause great suffering...
There was another, a miserable looking creature, who for many years had held his arms up over his head with his hands crossed. At first when he began to do this, he was obliged to have his hands bound to poles, to keep them up until they stiffened in that position...
Gazette & Courier - Monday, August 30, 1875
News about home: Greenfield items
School Street has beneath its road bed not less than a dozen drains. Two or three times a year it is trenched for half its length by private parties, who are putting in tile to drain their premises to the open sewer that crosses the street. As these drains are constantly getting out of repair, the road is dug up and in a semi-passable condition for at least half the time, and one cannot dig without striking about half a dozen of these sewers, which cross and re-cross each other in their course under the road.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, August 16, 1875
Find in Greece
In clearing away the refuse from the ancient silver mines of Laurium, in Greece, a large number of seeds were found, unknown to modern science, but described in the writings of Pliny. The seeds took root, budded and blossomed, bearing beautiful yellow flowers, after a burial of at least 1500 years.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, August 9, 1875
A mystery cleared up
Discovery of the mutilated remains of a missing man - The people of the quiet farming village of Petersham were greatly excited Sat., by the discovery that a most horrible murder had been committed in their midst by a farmer named Frost, a recent settler in the neighborhood, the victim being his own brother-in-law, named Frank Towne. The particulars of the bloody affair are as follows:
About 3 years ago the man Frost settled on a farm in the south part of the village, his family consisting of himself, wife, 4 children and the above named Towne, who was employed as hired man. This Towne, after laboring about a year, went off, it being generally understood that he had been unable to collect of Frost the amount of $300 due him for work. Last spring Towne reappeared, and made arrangements with Frost to hire the farm and work it himself. He restocked it, adding considerably to its value. Under the new arrangement matters went on until the 4th of July last, upon which morning both men went to the barn to milk the cows.
Returning alone shortly thereafter, Frost said Towne had gone on the hill to salt the cattle. As days passed and Towne did not appear the surprise of the neighbors was aroused, but Frost allayed temporarily all suspicion by saying that Towne had gone to Worcester where he, Frost, was to meet him to settle with him. Several incidents, however, together with Towne’s non-appearance, and the bad terms which were known to exist between the two men, led to suspicion and finally to quiet examinations and inquiries.
Frost in the meantime conducted himself in a rather strange manner not calculated to allay the suspicion of his neighbors. He was often mysteriously employed at the barn nights, never giving satisfactory accounts of the nature of his work there. This state of affairs continued up to last Friday when Frost was seen mysteriously engaged in digging a cornfield. A colored man seeing him thus at work went up to the place the next night, Sat., and found a fresh mound of earth and a piece of sack sticking out of it. Remembering the reports concerning Frost, and suspecting at once he had clue to the mystery, he gave alarm and in a short time 30 or 40 neighbors were assembled in the cornfield.
Examination was made, the sack dragged out and in it was discovered the ghastly, worm-eaten remains of a human body, or part of it, consisting of the trunk and upper part of the legs. The horrified searchers made further examination and found, several feet distant, the head of the unfortunate man, badly worm-eaten, and having behind one ear the marks of a terrible wound. The mystery was unraveled. The remains were at once identified as those of Frank Towne, and no doubt existed in any mind as to the identity of the murderer.
Sheriff Bothwell [most probably Sylvander Bothwell] of Barre was notified. On his arrival search was at once began for Frost who had disappeared. His wife was, or pretended to be, ignorant of his whereabouts, but after diligent search the murderer was discovered early Sun. morning, concealed in rubbish in the garret of his house. He took his arrest coolly, refusing to give any account of himself, and insisting that Towne had gone from Worcester to Washington. He was taken to Barre and safely confined.
Putting circumstances together the evidence seems clear that the fateful deed was committed on that July morning in the barn, when a quarrel is supposed to have taken place between the two, Frost finally knocking down Towne with a single blow from a sledge hammer, the wound at the back of the head showing it came from such an instrument. Frost’s frequent night labors in the barn is now accounted for by the supposition that he was then engaged in cutting up and burying his victim.
Becoming alarmed at the suspicion of the neighbors he is supposed to have removed part of the body to the cornfield. He refuses to tell where the rest of the body is concealed. In the cellar of the house a pocket book belonging to Towne was found, and within it a note against Frost for the amount of $300. Closer examination in the barn disclosed clots of dried blood, tufts of hair, and other unmistakable evidences that the dread crime had been committed there. (Athol Transcript).
[Whew! This one was tough to identify. But I finally found an article about it in the Aug. 6, 1875 New York Times online index, under the title "Shocking murder at Petersham Mass." The murdered man is named Frederick P. Towne, and the murderer S.J. Frost or Samuel J. Frost. Frost was the last man executed in Worcester in May of 1876].
Gazette & Courier - Monday, August 2, 1875
A horrible disaster in Missouri
Thomas Donahue, proprietor of a boarding house in the lower part of Carondelet, Mo., near the Vulcan Iron Works, was drowned in a privy vault on his premises Fri. aft., and Charles Prunty, James Henry and Joseph Schlichtig, who successively descended into the vault to recover Donahue’s body, were overcome by the foul air and vapors of the place, and died before they could be rescued.
[A slightly different version appears in the New York Times Online Index of July 31, 1875 under the title "Four deaths in an outhouse vault". Some of these articles defy belief].
Gazette & Courier - Monday, June 14, 1875
News about home: Greenfield items
There is an open sewer on Pleasant Street that dwellers in that locality have good reasons for objecting to. Our Town Fathers, if it is their business, should abate the nuisance.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, June 14, 1875
Sanitary precautions
"Cleanliness is next to godliness", says the familiar proverb, and certainly upon it depends much of our health and happiness in this world. Scientific investigation in the past few years has clearly demonstrated the fact that many of the diseases that are so prevalent during the summer months are traceable to local causes. Sometimes it may be defective drainage from sink or privy, poisoning the water in the well or filling the air with foul gases that are inhaled, and plant the seeds of disease; or again, there may be near the house stagnant pools of water from which arise the fatal miasma.
/ ...Every New England housekeeper, no matter what may be her station in life, is sure, when the warm days of the spring come, if she does not get impatient at the season's delay and inaugurate operations before, to pull up all of the carpets in the house and scour the paint from the parlor to the kitchen. This done, the house is put to rights, and she feels as proud of her little campaign against dirt, as the general who has successfully measured his strength with an armed foe. But after all this thorough cleaning of the inhabited rooms of the house, there is the cellar, in which barrels and bins which have contained the potatoes, apples and other vegetables and fruits that were laid in for the winter's supply, having still in different stages of decomposition what has been unused. Frequently a large quantity of mouldy rottenness, that sends forth an unsavory, unwholesome smell.
/ While about the cellar, boards and rubbish are decaying and the beans are covered with mildew and fungus...A thorough cleaning of cellar and outbuildings should be inaugurated; the pig sty should be placed a safe distance from the house, drains should be examined, and be sure that your water is sweet and wholesome. What is saved in doctor's bills will pay for your trouble ten times over, not to speak of the danger to your life and to the lives of those you love if these precautions are not taken.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, May 3, 1875
A New Hampshire editor
A New Hampshire editor, while traveling recently, had his wallet abstracted from his pocket by an adroit pickpocket, while indulging in a short nap. The thief was so disgusted with the result of his exploit that he returned the plunder by express to the address written inside the wallet, with the following note: "You miserabil skunk, hears your pockit book. I don't keep no sich. For a man dressed as well as you was to go round with a wallit with nuthin in it but a lot of noospapur, a ivory tooth comb, two noospaper stampts, an a pass from some ralerode director, is a contemterble impasition on the public. As I hear your an editor I return your trash. I never robs any only gentlemen".
Gazette & Courier - Monday, March 8, 1875
News about home
(Greenfield) Greenfield Town meeting - The annual town meeting on Mon. was attended by more than usual interest. John A. Aiken was elected moderator, but when the vote was declared, could not be found. After some delay he was brought to the Hall and declined, but the meeting refused to accept of the resignation. The whole number of votes cast for Town Clerk was 117, of which F.A. Pond had 58, Noah S. Wells 57, and C.M. Moody, 2. Mr. Pond was declared elected and sworn into office.
/ As there had been no party nominations the tickets were various, Republican and Democrat candidates being indiscriminately mixed. In fact, politics for the time were sunk from sight. The polls were closed at 4 1/2 o'clock, and the vote for the principal officers stood as follows: Selectmen - William Keith, 225; L.G. Barton, 211; Charles R. Field, 310; Charles Keith, 62; A.K. Warner, 26; S.B. Slate, 62; A. DeWolf, 62...The constables elected and a full list of the Town officers will be found in another column.
/ Two o'clock in the afternoon was the time assigned for making appropriations and the transaction of other town business...Col. C.H. Munn took occasion to criticize the reports of the Selectmen, School Committee, and Finance Committee. He thought the Town Hall building was a money losing institution, and offered to pay $400 a year for it, giving the town the privilege of using it whenever it wanted, Mr. Munn's proposition was not acted upon...The appropriation for schools last year was $10,500, but the Committee were able to save quite an unexpended balance, and thought by economy they could get along with $9000, if an additional $500 was appropriated for the repair of school houses.
/ The gas question, as usual, stirred up considerable excitement. Rev. J.F. Moors, a member of the committee, said that their first inquiries were about the feasibility of lighting with kerosene lamps. Taking the first cost into consideration, expense of keeping in order, etc., it was found to cost about as much as gas. The managers of the Gas Company said that they could not furnish the amount of gas that had been previously used at less than $22 per post, but they would put on a different burner, furnish 3/4 the amount of gas, or 15 feet where there had previously been 20 feet, and light the lamps for $20 per post. This was the best arrangement that could be made, and as far as the committee knew, the contract had been faithfully carried out.
/ The contract was made for one year. The motion to pass over was lost, 67 to 69...so the town has now a contract to be supplied with gas until next Fall, and has refused to appropriate money to pay for it.The money to be paid on the town debt is the $1000 required on the loan from the Smith Charity fund and $1100 borrowed last year. The office of Collector of Taxes was sold to the lowest bidder and struck off to Salem Rich for $150. He was bid against by E. Owen and others. Rich was then formally elected Collector and Constable by ballot.
/ It was voted to abolish the Finance Committee and an Auditing Committee was created, and Newell Snow, Hopkins Woods, and Charles H. McClellan appointed to the Committee. It was voted to repair the highways and bridges as last year...The dog money was appropriated to school purposes...The article in the warrant for action on Sewerage was passed over...Quite a long list of eligible candidates for Field Drivers was elected, but when called upon to present themselves to be sworn into office, they were too modest to assume the honors...A committee consisting of the School Committee, were appointed to consider the matter or erecting a new Primary School house, and report on plans, cost, location, etc. at a town meeting which shall be called when they are ready. The committee was also instructed to include the Chapman School house in their report. The appointment of Measurers of Wood and Bark http://law.justia.co...-pt1-toc/94-296.html was left with the Selectmen. At about half past 7 in the eve. the meeting was dissolved.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, February 22, 1875
Where they come from
Where they come from - by Olive Thorne [the pen name of http://www.harpers.org/NightMonkey.html Harriet Mann Miller ]. You’ll be shocked, I fear, when I tell you that your doll came out of a rag bag; her curls from the back of a goat, and her elegant china tea set out of a small hole. But what will you say when I tell you that your http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC3180.htm jelly is made out of old boots, and your delightful perfumery from horrid smelling coal tars. You don’t own all the made over things in the family, either.
Johnny’s new http://www.bharattextile.com/dictionary/66 beaver cloth overcoat was worn out on the back of a beggar, and perhaps even played the part of a scarecrow in some farmyard, before it went into the rag bag and began to come up in the world again; and the http://www.adrynight...20Physiology129.html "Table Gelatin" which everyone in the family likes to eat, once did duty as skin on the back of a rat. The pearl of your paper knife lined the shell house of a modest little creature at the bottom of the sea, while mamma’s shell comb was the comfortable roof over a Sea Tortoise.
Your guitar strings were indispensable to the internal comfort of some poor pussy or unfortunate sheep, and your piano would be but a dumb wooden box, without some of the same internal arrangements of a horse. Your nice hair brush first saw the light on the skin of a hog, and its pretty back of papier mache came out of the ragman’s bag. The crinoline that stiffens the bottoms of ladies’ dresses was used originally to switch the flies from the back of a horse, and the mattress on which you sleep so comfortably served the same use before it fell into the manufacturer’s hands.
Your dainty toilet soap - dear me, how can I tell you! - was made of dead cats and dogs, found in the streets, and the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almond "bitter almonds" which so delightfully flavors your candy came from the horrible smelling coal tar, while the choicest are as deliciously flavored with -- putrid cheese. The scent hairs of that offensive creature, the skunk, furnish some desirable additions to the toilet table, used for removing freckles and tan, and the dreadful stuff left in drains is changed into a fashionable toilet article, and adorns the face of ladies. To be sure these disagreeable materials have some pretty rough handling before they come out in their new colors. The old boots, for instance. They do not step from the gutter into the jelly kettle by any means. They go through a long process of washing and soaking in lye and smoking with sulphur, and steaming and boiling, before they come out white and delicate, and fit for the table. T
he coal tar to grow into perfumery goes through the hands of chemists, who treat it with I don’t know what dreadful chemical processes, and the dead dogs and cats are boiled to extract the grease, purified, whitened and perfumed before we use them as a soap. The doll whose ancestors inhabited a rag man’s den endured unheard of operations of washing, soaking, bleaching, chopping, molding, and so forth, before she took her place in the nursery to amuse the little folks, and the clay from the mud hole was washed and patted and whitened and kneaded, and baked and glazed before it ventured to call itself china, and take its place on the tea table.
The horse tails that stiffen the dresses and stuff our mattresses are washed, and soaked, and boiled and baked before we use them, and the intestines which make the voice of guitar and piano went through long processes of scraping, soaking in lye, and washing, before they were drawn out into the fine, tough strings you are familiar with. The rat skin which we eat under the name of gelatin first flourished as the thumb of a kid glove, and after being worn out in that capacity went through ever so many purifying processes, somewhat as the old boots did, before it ended on our table.
Nearly all the things that we throw away in [?] or even in our drains - the most disgusting things you can think of - are valuable, and after going through the hands of skilled workmen, come out in new shapes and have new fields of usefulness. The feats of old fashioned fairies, who turned pumpkins into carriages, and shabby old gowns into elegant robes, do not compare with these wonders performed in our work shops by rough looking men in shirt sleeves and white aprons.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, February 15, 1875
The first train through the tunnel
The first train through the tunnel - The first train to pass through the tunnel was made up on Tues. aft., and was composed of an engine, three platform cars and a box car. The party who are here to enjoy the notoriety of making this first trip was composed of http://www.naplibrary.com/HTHistoricNotes.html engineer Granger , Chief Engineer http://www.naplibrary.com/HTCollnotes.html Frost , Austin Bond, Dr. Hawks and Conductor Wright of North Adams, N.C. Munson, the contractor Edward Rice of Boston, H.J. Davis of Greenfield, Charles B. Mayhew of Charlemont, a few reporters and others, in all about one hundred. The first mile was made in 7 minutes, the 2nd in 6; the central shaft was passed without slowing or stopping and then it was down grade to the western portal, which was reached in 30 minutes from the time of starting. The air in the tunnel was considerably warmer than that outside; the change as the party came out into the daylight was quite perceptible. Though there were frequent allusions to the danger of falling rock, the trip was made without the slightest accident. Perfect drainage is secured from the central shaft westward by a stone drain, 2 ft. square and covered with flagging; eastward from the shaft an iron pipe is laid about the entire efficiency of which we believe there is some question. The brick arching already completed extends from the western portal to the west shaft, and beyond this limit portions of the tunnel where the rock is not self-sustaining must be arched, the experts who have been looking up this question under the direction of the board of state corporators differing widely in their estimates of the arching required. It seems to be the general judgment however, that some 12,000 ft., or about half of the tunnel must be bricked; a notable feature of the roof of the tunnel today being the daubs of white paint indicating where the arching is required. A yellow circle, semicircular in shape and of enormous weight is used at the process of arching...The central shaft is being cleared of timber and debris, a very dangerous work. After the shaft has been closed...It is now settled that freight trains will be running through the tunnel at no distant date...The following persons went through on the train: V.P. Granger, Chief Engineer, Thomas Doane, consulting do., George E. Fuller, 1st assistant, E.R. Hamilton, 2d do., John Rhood, road master, W.R. Monroe, road man, John Newman, axe man, A.R. Dalton, express messenger, T.A. Halpin of North Adams, I.D. Hawks of Zoar, John Blue, superintendent in tunnel, George G. Merrill [of Shelburne Falls], inspector of stone work, B.H. Ford, contractor, K.C. Hawks of Charlemont, Edwards Brothers, I.S. Miller, conductor, S.J. Talmadge, Hoosac Tunnel, Fred Rice, Rice Hotel, Robert Campbell, Supt. tunnel, H.J. Davis of Greenfield, who took a photograph of the first engine through the tunnel. George Cheney, engineer, Mr. Richmond of the Richmond House, north Adams, N.C. Monson, contractor. A large number of workmen also went through. Alvin P. Dutton, messenger for the U.S. & C. Express Co. was the first Express Messenger who carried express matter through the Hoosac Tunnel to North Adams.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, January 25, 1875
(Greenfield) There are but a few weeks now until our voters will be called upon to make appropriations for the coming year. Although we believe in tight economy in town affairs, we think the town sho
(Greenfield) There are but a few weeks now until our voters will be called upon to make appropriations for the coming year. Although we believe in tight economy in town affairs, we think the town should make some outlay for sewerage. There is a great deal that will have to be done before we have a perfect system. It cannot all be accomplished in one year or two but a beginnning can be made. Let the town appropriate all it can afford for this year for the purpose, and let the work progress from year to year until the end is attained. There is no disguising the fact that our open sewers have become an intolerable nuisance, the source of illness and perhaps death. We want to see the subject fully agitated, and the town take wise and judicious action.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, January 4, 1875
The New Year
The New Year - Old Father Time has winged another 12 months’ flight, and we must chronicle the advent of the new year. It seems but yesterday that we greeted the coming of 1874, and had but just become accustomed to writing it correctly in dating our letters and ledger, and here we must make the acquaintance of 1875. The commencement of the year just past found us in the midst of financial depression, and though there has been a decided relief in monetary affairs, the business of the country is far from being upon a sound and healthy basis; yet it has been a year of agricultural abundance, a year of national peace at home and abroad. the vast resources of the country await only development by labor and capital, and these would not be lacking if there was sufficient confidence in our financial system...the only sure road to healthy prosperity is to do away as speedily as possible with our inflated and fluctuating currency...There is to be shrinkage in prices, and a corresponding reduction of wages, but that it will finally result in national good and individual benefit, all must admit...Be the cause what it may, the people saw fit at the last election to return a Democratic majority to Congress...We cannot see how the Party that permitted the Rebellion, and then furnished aid and comfort to the confederacy, will be likely to have a wise and beneficial influence upon the country, but if the people want the experiment tried, we must submit, hoping that no serious evil may result...We are now coming upon the Centennial of Lexington and Bunker Hill. Fitting celebrations are to be held, and there will be a general awakening of those historic deeds of our fathers, which have become almost obscured beneath the dust and rubbish of the country...We trust that another marked event of the year will be the completion of the tunnel route, and the successful opening to travel and traffic of the new thoroughfare from the West to the sea board...
Gazette & Courier - Monday, January 4, 1875
Impurities in water
Impurities in water - A case which has recently occurred at South Norwalk, Conn., where 3 persons in one family died in consequence of drinking water from a well tainted by drippings from a sesspool [i,e, cesspool], ought to be a warning to all persons to beware of the typhoid poison sure to be found in wells, near dwellings, if any of the house drainage can porcelate [perhaps they meant percolate?] to them. The gelatious [i.e. http://www.bfhd.wa.gov/eh/ludw.php gelatinous ] matter often found upon the stones of a well is poison to the human system. Wholesome water is always odorless and colorless. To test its purity thoroughly place in it a few grains of lump sugar and expose it stoppered to sunlight in a window. Should the water become turgid soon after an exposure of 8 or 10 days, it is proof that it has been contaminated by some kind of sewerage. If it remains perfectly clear, it is pure and safe. Such an experiment as this costs nothing to make, and it would be well if all families who have the faintest reason to suspect that their drinking water is impure would take this way to ascertain the truth of the matter, in order that they may provide in time against the insidious and deadly poison contained in all water contaminated with sewage.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, December 21, 1874
They tell of an insane man recently found imprisoned in a brick cell about 4 ft. square on a lonely mountain in Washington township, N.Y., where he had been for 12 years. His father had died leaving
They tell of an insane man recently found imprisoned in a brick cell about 4 ft. square on a lonely mountain in Washington township, N.Y., where he had been for 12 years. His father had died leaving him $1000, but the mother married another husband, and the young man was imprisoned, for feara that if he were sent to an insane asylum the $1000 would be used fo his support. When found he was naked and incrusted with filth while his cell was disgusting beyond description. His limbs had become paralyzed and he was unable to stand without assistance.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, December 7, 1874
The prevalence of diphtheria
The prevalence of diphtheria - its symptoms - treatment and prevention - At the meeting of thr New York Board of Health, Dr. Stephen Smith, Chairman of the Sanitary Committee, presented the following paper in relation to diphtheria:..."Mode of attack...caused by the inoculation of the air passages with the diphtheric poison, which from this point infects the whole system: the local inflammation is attended with the formation of membrane exudation, the fever and general symptoms are the result of this...How it spreads: Diphtheria is therefore a contagious disease (not perhaps as marked as scarlet fever) induced by contact with persons infected. It may be diffused by the exhalations of the sick, and the air surrounding them, or directly by the exudation, as in the act of kissing, coughing, spitting, sneezing, or by the infected articles used, as towels, napkins, handkerchiefs, etc. The http://paaap.org/immunize/course/slide26.html poison clings with great tenacity to certain places, rooms and houses, where it may occasion cases after the lapse of months. Symptoms: In ordinary attacks the poison begins to act ...It lodges upon the tissues, but like a vaccination, causes but slight sensible efects in from 2 to 4 days; there is marked prostration, dryness of throat and pricking pain in swallowing; the throat becomes red and patches of white exudation appear, and the glands of the neck swell. In mild cases these symptoms subside on the third or fourth day from their appearance...Predisposing conditions - Diphtheria attacks by preference http://www.idph.stat...epics/diphtheria.htm children between the ages of one and 10 years, the greatest mortaility being in the second, third and fourth years, children of feeble constitution and those weakened by previous sickness, and those suffering from catarrh, croup and other forms of throat affections...Most severely affected are those who live on low, wet grounds, in houses with imperfect drains or surrounded by offensive matters, as privies, decaying animal or vegetable refuse, in damp rooms, as cellars in overcrowded and unventilated apartments. Diphtheria is not affected by either heat or cold, drought or rain. Preventions - the dwelling or apartment - Cleanliness in and around the dwelling and pure air in living and sleeping rooms, are of the utmost importance wherever a contagious disease is prevailing, as cleanliness can both prevent and mitigate it. Every kind and source of filth in and around the house should be thoroughly removed; cellars and foul areas should be lime washed, and every occupied room should be thoroughly ventilated. ..wood work painted...No child should be allowed to kiss strange children, nor those suffering from sore throat. The disgusting practice of compelling children to kiss every visitor is a well contrived method of propagating other grave diseases than diphtheria...The well children should be scrupulously kept apart from the sick, in dry, well aired rooms...
Gazette & Courier - Monday, November 23, 1874
http://www.nfid.org/...heet-diphtheria.html Diphtheria in Greenfield - Editors Gazette and Courier: Feeling that it is the duty of some person to call attention to the causes of the unusual amount of sickness in this town at the present time, and also to the large number of deaths from a single disease, I take the liberty to bring the matter before the people in this manner, being impressed with the importance of having something done immediately, if possible, to check the progress of this disease which is causing so much alarm. Anyone who is in the habit of passing through Federal Street cannot but have noticed the horrible stench that arises from the ravine, which is a short distance from Main Street, and into which runs all the http://www.whale.to/m/butler.html sewerage [or sewage] from the hotels, stores and buildings on the north side of Main Street. Anyone who knows the places of residence of those who are and have been afflicted with diphtheria the past few weeks, will notice that in the majority of cases their residence is in the vicinity of this ravine, or who have had to pass it a number of times daily. There are at the present time a large no. of cases of http://www.todayinsc...mentOfDiphtheria.htm diphtheria in New York and other places, and there have been a large no. of deaths. The greater part of the sickness and death in these cities has been in those localities where the sewerage was imperfect. The town of Greenfield needs a good system of sewerage; it is absolutely necessary for the health and prosperity of the town, and if some steps had been taken last spring, when the matter was talked over, there is not much doubt but that we should have been spared this large amount of sickness. There can be but little done in this direction before another year, but it seems to me that the Glen water might be introduced at some point into the above mentioned ravine, and left running long enough to carry away to its proper place the large amount of filth which has been accumulating on account of the absence of rain, which ordinarily carries it away. It seems to me that unless something is done, the sickness will increase. Those who have cisterns near their houses will do well to have them thoroughly cleansed, as stagnant water is often a cause of sickness. I give these few ideas in order that the matter may be talked up by our people, for it seems to me that the causes of this trouble are evident enough.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, November 23, 1874
(Greenfield) Open Sewer nuisance
(Greenfield) http://www.presbyterian.ca/pwsd/apiraq6.html Open Sewer nuisance - To the editors of the Gazette & Courier: Dear Sirs: I would like to ask the citizens of Greenfield, and more especially those of Davis Street, also Federal, School, and Chapman Streets, if we have anyone elected whose business it is to look after our streets and keep them in a healthy condition? If we have no one, let us have someone, and that at once. A nuisance like the one on Davis Street, between Mr. Briggs' and S.T. Conant's house and opposite Mr. Taintor's, ought not to be tolerated a moment. One of our best doctors said yesterday, he thought it was partially owing to this nuisance, which caused this awful disease, diphtheria, which is now raging with such violence in that part of the town. If our Selectmen don't think it is a bad place, let them pass along there some good frosty morning, about 4 or 5 o'clock. I will warrant they won't undertake the thing again unless something calls them there which is of the utmost importance, and then they would have to hold their breath until they passed that place. This nuisance is made by a small brook running from near the Mansion House through the above streets, fed by a number of our houses. But where I would call attention more particularly, is the place where the drain which runs from the American House empties its filth into the brook on Davis Street. The Selectmen have been notified of this nuisance a number of times, but pay no regard to it. Now, if anything more can be done, do for mercy's sake let us know. I for one will take hold and fill the hole with dirt that will stop some of the stink which arises there, if anyone else will volunteer. Tax Payer.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, November 23, 1874
(Greenfield) A correspondent complains of the open sewer that carries the filth from half of the privies and sink drains of
(Greenfield) A correspondent complains of the open sewer that carries the filth from half of the privies and sink drains of the village through the most thickly populated portion of the town. Our Selectmen, perhaps, cannot be held responsible for the nuisance, because the town has refused to take any action in the matter of sewerage, or made any appropriation that can be used for that purpose. If they have any means in their power to abate the evil we trust they will use them. Before another summer we hope the town will be able to see that true economy requires a judicious outlay for the protection of a large portion of our community. Throughout the past season there has been more or less sickness and several fatal cases among children, that are traceable to local causes. It is not to be wondered at that dwellings along the line of this filthy stream should become alarmed, and if means are not taken to protect them from the evil, this portion of the village is likely to become depopulated.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, November 23, 1874
Diphtheria in New York ...greatly increasing. The disease prevails to the greatest extent among the cellars in the Fourth Ward, and the aspect of affairs show a disgraceful amount of sanitary neglect
Diphtheria in New York ...greatly increasing. The disease prevails to the greatest extent among the cellars in the Fourth Ward, and the aspect of affairs show a disgraceful amount of sanitary neglect. In one district, which is a perfect nest of diphtheria, seven cellars were found, containing 42 beds, and regularly used as places of lodging. These had all been closed by the police at the request of the Board, but as the police exercise no supervision over such matters unless specially ordered, the cellars were promptly occupied again for their old purposes and are now exercising their former influence as centers for the propagation of contagious disease.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, October 5, 1874
The Deerfield Valley Agricultural Fair Tues. The 4th exhibition of the Deerfield Valley Agricultural Society commenced on Tues. at Charlemont, under rather unfavorable circumstances. The heavy mists
The Deerfield Valley Agricultural Fair Tues. The 4th exhibition of the Deerfield Valley Agricultural Society commenced on Tues. at Charlemont, under rather unfavorable circumstances. The heavy mists that hung about the summits of Mt. Peak, Bald and Institute, instead of rolling up and away as they should have done, thickened and darkened, until there was a slight spattering of rain drops upon the forest foliage. The good people that dwell among the hills of the region, who have been anxiously looking and hoping for promises of a brighter day, felt their hopes sink at these forebodings of doubtful weather, and of course many gave up their anticipated holiday and set about their accustomed duties. But yet there were coquettish glimpses of blue sky; and by 10 o'clock the grounds of the Society were liberally sprinkled by the sturdy farmers of the Pocumtuck Valley, and their cousins from the elevations of Florida and Savoy, while the good dames and daughters showed their disregard of soiled dresses and ruined hats, and turned out in goodly numbers. This is truly the paradise of oyster booths, for the white tents of the enterprising proprietors of these establishments were pitched in long rows, like those of an encamped army. A "burnt cork" performance was soon in full blast, and the revolving horses, propelled to the tune of a grinding hand organ, found juvenile riders in waiting, and the improvised dancing hall, with cotton canvas to protect the Terpsichoran fellows and lasses who were going through " http://burgessa.home...nceInst03-01-04.html eight hands round " and "balance all" was crowded to its fullest capacity, and all the sights and sounds of the most approved Cattle Show were soon in lively operation. There is no place in the Commonwealth where a Cattle Show,, and all that should belong to it, is better appreciated than here in Western Franklin...But the article of all others deserving praise was Mrs. C.P.C. Miner's wreath. It was made of 100 different grains and seeds in their natural color, formed into delicate blossoms and foliage, while beautiful little birds and insects were sporting among the flowers. Some idea of the amount of labor and patience required for the construction of the wreath is formed when we are told that a single lily, made principally, by the way, of rice, took the lady a whole day. The same lady, who is a newcomer in Charlemont, is evidently quite an architect. She had on exhibition a little cottage made of perforated paper that was a model of neat proportions and workmanlike skills...Mrs. Miner too, had on exhibition an oil painting and a crayon sketch that were worthy of merit, while she contributed articles in other departments. The whole of this region abounds in antiquities, and relics of ancient days always form an interesting feature of the Fair. Among these souvenirs of bygone days we noticed a pewter teapot which contained the favorite beverage of our grandmothers 217 years ago; accompanying that was an extensive array of pewter ware, an old tinder box, etc., now in the possession of G.F. Mitchell of Shelburne Falls. There was a dress too, which was the "go to meeting" gown of some good lady 95 years ago. It was nothing but calico and yet we are told that it cost $1.50 a yard. It was exhibited by Mrs. Henry White of Hawley. We are shown here a diminutive teaspoon 100 years old, and Harvey Polly of Savoy exhibited a bible which was printed in 1680. Miss H.N. Marshal of Charlemont, whose "trailing arbutus" was an attraction of last year's fair, contributed this year a painting in oil colors of "Golden Rod", very truthful and pretty! There was also a drawing of Col. Leavitt's residence in East Charlemont. A beautiful worsted wreath was made by Nettie Thayer of East Charlemont...Our attention was called particularly to the http://www.bookjackets.com/howard/logcabin.htm "log cabin" bedquilt made by Mrs. A.A. Hicks of Monroe, and another by little Millie Sears, and the beautiful rugs by Mrs. Furnace of Charlemont...showed to the ladies of the fair his Eureka Washing Machine, and the method of its operation. It certainly has the appearance of being a good thing, and the saver of a vast amount of disagreeable labor. With the drudgery of washing day left out of the week's calendar, a woman's life should be happy. And with the washing machines should be classed the sewing machines. If there is a family somewhere in the Pocumtuck Valley without one, they should not, if able, postpone the purchase longer. W.G. Stewart of Greenfield exhibited the Singer, one of the best machines yet invented, and in the same class should be reckoned the Florence, for which W.D. Chandler is the agent. J.H. Lamb of Greenfield was present too, with one of his fine toned organs, and prepared to receive orders for any of the numerous instruments for which he has the agency. Rev. Mr. Moors' address - After dinner, which was served by W.C. Fuller [probably William C. Fuller] of Hawley, in the basement of the exhibition building, the South Deerfield Band in attendance, summoned the multitude to the hill side where the speaker's stand is erected...Rev. J.F. Moors of Greenfield was introduced to his audience. His address, which was upon the New England farm house as we find it today, was a plain, practical talk...He was born upon a farm, and a large portion of his life was spent with the farming classes...He turned his attention to the farm house. Women and children spend nearly all of their time indoors, and men more than half. The air we breathe and the food we eat depend upon the house, which has important relations to health and refinement. He spoke of the prevailing fashion in our rural towns of painting the houses white and blinds green. It is the New England ideal of neatness and beauty. But the speaker thought it was bad taste, and gave one or two rules that might aid one in selecting a color for his dwelling. In turning up a stone or turf, the color of the soil might suggest the shade desirable for the house to be built upon it. Where houses are much exposed the paint should be dark, but if screened and shaded by foliage it should be light. Blinds look very well, but they exclude light and air. There were houses that stood out alone, bare and barren, and others so much shaded by trees that they were dark and unhealthy. The average farm house was neat and tidy in appearance, but frequently when you pass around to the back yard you find everything in slovenly disorder; and these slovenly habits have a serious effect upon the tastes and morals of the farmer and his family. He knew no reason why neatness and good order should not be demanded as well out of the house as in it. Out buildings were inconvenient and filthy. The air is filled with smells from pig stys, privies and sink drains, having an important bearing upon the health and comfort of the family. In the http://digital.libra...an/wide/wide-15.html chip yard , the rotten wood is allowed to corrupt the air. The farmer experiments with patent fertilizers when the material he needs is allowed to waste itself upon the air around his house. By throwing this decaying matter into his pig sty , he would increase the amount of manure and absorb the disagreeable effluvia. The privy, the speaker termed a disgrace to our civilization, and if it was to mark our progress, then we should rank far back with the savages and barbarians. From them can be traced the foulest poisons and the seeds of disease. Typhoid fever, which in the number of its victims ranked next to consumption, was more prevalent among our farming classes than in the cities, and the secret cause of the disease was the poisonous gases from the farmer's back yard. The sink drain was a mosquito manufactory, and these pests serve as scavengers and are really disguised blessings [I'd say this idea is wrong]. He would not hesitate to say that not one in 20 of the farms of this community were in healthy condition. Those fatal diseases, typhoid fever and dysentery are frequently traceable to the well which is located in the same back yard, in close proximity to the privy, the sink drain and the pig sty, and the water is charged with poison, not detected by the senses, but breeding disease to those who drink it. More than 3/4 of the wells of our farm houses are within 60 ft. of these corrupting localities. Other complaints, particularly the prevailing diseases of the women, are traced to these local causes. He objected to the use of ice water or the excessive use of coffee and tea. We should be sure that we get fresh, pure water from wells or springs, and see to it that our neighbors are not pouring these poisons into our wells. The speaker said that a farmer's front door was a useless appendage and never required except at weddings or funerals. He would have the house so arranged that it might be dispensed with. The kitchen is always neat and tidy, but rarely does the cellar bear inspection...[lots more]
Gazette & Courier - Monday, October 26, 1874
(Greenfield) Workmen engaged last week in clearing out the rubbish from the cellar of the store recently occupied by G.S. Eddy, discovered among other things, a box which had evidently been sent by e
(Greenfield) Workmen engaged last week in clearing out the rubbish from the cellar of the store recently occupied by G.S. Eddy, discovered among other things, a box which had evidently been sent by express (the express ofice was in this building some years ago), and upon bringing it to the open air, it was found to contain blankets and bed clothing, a package of soldier’s testaments, a pair of boots, and a revolver half eaten away by the rust, while all the articles were so rotten that they fell to pieces when the box was opened. It was evidently sent here by a soldier, probably during the war, and why it was never called for of course is a matter of conjecture. Its discovery brought back forcibly the scenes and events of a dozen years ago, when soldier’s boxes to and from home were the links that connected us with the brave boys in the army.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, October 19, 1874
Advice to young ladies
Advice to young ladies - Sensible tale by Dr. Dio Lewis. Now ladies! I will preach to you just a little sermon, about an inch long. I don’t often preach, but in this case nothing but a sermon will do. First, you are perfect idiots to go on in this way. Your bodies are the most beautiful of God’s creations. In the Continental galleries I always saw groups of people about the pictures of women. It was not passion; the gazers were just as likely to be women as men; it was because of the wondrous beauty of a woman’s body. Now stand with me at my office window and see a lady pass. There goes one! Now isn’t that a pretty looking object? A big hump, 3 big lumps, a wilderness of crimps and frills, a hauling up of the dress here and there, an enormous, hideous mass of false hair piled on the top of her head, surmounted by a little hat, ornamented with bits of lace, birds’ tails, etc. The shop windows tell us, all day long, of the paddings, whalebones, and steel springs which occupy most of the space within that outside ring. In the name of the simple, sweet sentiments which cluster about a home, I would ask, how is a man to fall in love with such a piece of compound, doubled and twisted; touch me not artificially, as you see in that wiggling curiosity? Secondly. With that wasp waist squeezing your lungs, stomach, liver, and vital organs into one half their natural size, and with that long tail dragging on the ground, how can any man of sense, who knows life is made up of use, of service, of work, how can he take such a partner? He must be desperate indeed to unite himself for life with such a fettered, half-breathing ornament. Thirdly. Your bad dress and lack of exercise lead to bad health, and men wisely fear that instead of a helpmate, they would get an invalid to take care of. This bad health in you, just as in men, makes the mind as well as the body faddled and effeminate. You have no power, no magnetism! I know you giggle freely and use big adjectives, such as "splendid", "awful", but then this don’t deceive us, we see through it all. You are superficial, affected, silly, you have none of that womanly strength and warmth which are so assuring and attractive to men. Why, you have become so childish and weak minded that you refuse to wear decent names even, and insist upon baby names even. Instead of Helen, Margaret, and Elizabeth, you affect Nellie, Maggie, and Lizzie. When your brothers were babies, you called them Dobby, Dicky, and Johnny; but when they grew up to manhood, no more of that silly trash, if you please. But I know a woman of 25 years, and she is as big as both of my grandmothers put together, and her real name is Catherine, and though her brain is big enough to conduct affairs of State, she does nothing but giggle, cover up her face with her fan, and exclaim once in four minutes, "Don’t now; you are real mean". How can a man propose a life partnership to such a silly goose? My dear girls, you must, if you would get husbands, and decent ones, dress in plain, neat, becoming garments, and talk like sensible, earnest sisters. You say that the most sensible men are crazy after these butterflies of fashion. I beg your pardon; it is not so. Occasionally a man of brilliant success may marry a weak, silly woman; but to say, as I have heard women say a hundred times, that the most sensible men choose women without sense is simply absurd. Nineteen times in 20, sensible men choose sensible women. I grant you that in company they are very likely to chat and toy with these overdressed and forward creatures; but they don’t ask them to go to the altar with them. Fourthly. Among the young man in the matrimonial market, only a very small number are independently rich, and in America such very rarely make good husbands. But the number of those who are just beginning in life, who are filled with noble ambition, who have a future, is very large. These are worth having. But such will not - and dare not - ask you to join them, while they see you so idle, silly, and gorgeously attired. Let them see that you are industrious, economical, with habits that secure health and strength, that your life is honest and real, that you would be willing to begin at the beginning in life with the man you would consent to marry, then marriage would become the rule, and not, as now, the exception (Boston Congregationalist).
- Wed, Feb 11, 2009
