The American Plague - Molly Caldwell Crosby [117]
I found the dramatic statistic about the 1878 epidemic in Memphis taking more lives than the Chicago fire, San Francisco earthquake and Johnstown flood combined in the Memphis Avalanche as well as in Bloom’s book.
The quote that yellow fever is more calamitous to the United States of America above all other countries comes from the report of the Board of Experts, 1879, held at the Library of Congress.
Part II: Memphis, 1878 Carnival
The Edgar Allan Poe quote from “The Masque of the Red Death” is considered by some historians to be a reference to yellow fever. Poe was living during the time period when yellow fever plagued so many cities, and the red death may have alluded to the bleeding common from yellow fever, which is a hemorrhagic fever. The poem tells the story of a king who locks his people away in a castle to prevent disease. Celebrating his victory over epidemic, he throws a lavish masque, only to find that death has indeed made its way into the castle wearing a mask. I thought the allegory was a chilling and perfect introduction to Memphis and its Carnival in 1878.
The description of the Mardi Gras invitation from 1878 comes from visiting the Pink Palace Museum’s Memphis History exhibit. Though they only have a few invitations from the years that Mardi Gras took place, 1878 happens to be one of them. The museum also displays illustrations of the Mardi Gras parades from Harper’s. Remarks about the number of people who attended the parades, including the president of the United States, are from the Mardi Gras file held in the Memphis History Collection of the Memphis Library. The file contains various clippings, descriptions and newspaper illustrations. I also used an article entitled “History of the Memphis Cotton Carnival” in the West Tennessee Historical Society Papers. To recreate the 1878 parade, I read the February and March issues from 1878 of the Memphis Appeal (later to become the Commercial Appeal) and the Memphis Avalanche. The majority of the details that re-create the 1878 Mardi Gras for this book came from those sources. Not only did they give lengthy descriptions that today would seem trivial and heavy-handed, but in reading advertisements in the newspapers, I could piece together where shops were located on Main Street or Second Street, what sort of clothes people wore and the fact that caramels were sold at one store and kid gloves at another. The newspaper is also where I found the impressive fact that the fountain in Court Square flowed with champagne during 1878 Mardi Gras or such quaint details as the feathers escaping from ladies’ fans during the ball.
For an accurate account of the weather on those two days, as well as for the remainder of 1878, I read the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Weather Bureau from the Memphis Station Records. I would refer to that source again and again to determine if it rained, what the clouds looked like, if a light frost fell or what the temperature might be on a given day. The weather bureau reports are held at the University of Memphis as part of the Mississippi Valley Collection.
For information about Colton Greene and the Mystic Memphi, I again went to files held in the Memphis History Collection of the Memphis Library. In those files, I found biographical information—including a description of Greene looking like Stalin—and the small details that give personality to Greene—the card allowing him admittance to the Vatican and a copy of Greene’s Last Will and Testament. Likewise, I learned about the Mystic Memphi from those files, including a 1933 newspaper interview in which J. M. Semmes reminisced about the secret society that answered to the letters