Rambles about Portsmouth. Sketches of persons, localities, and incidents of two centuries: principally from tradition and unpublished documents. By Charles W. Brewster.

194 RiAMBLES ABOUT PORTSMOUTH.
of the malady now became too manifest. The selectmen
sent the ship off and had her properly cleansed,-but it was
too late to stop the pestilence which now began to spread
with fearful rapidity in the neighborhood. The north part
of the town was soon depopulated. Every family that
could conveniently remove left for other places, and people from the country abstained from visiting the town. A
strict guard was kept to prevent intercourse below the infected district and other parts of the town. The fever raged principally in Green, Russell and the east end of Deer
streets, and from Rindge's wharf down Market street to the
house next south of late Thomas Sheafe's mansion, now
occupied by Albert A. Payne. At that time the widow of
Noah Parker kept a boarding house there. The victims in
this house were her daughter Zerviah, her neice Rebecca
Noble, and William Plummer, a merchant. In the house in
Russell street, now occupied by Joseph Remick, Mrs. Hannah Noble and two daughters, Eliza and Mary, died-none
could be found to bury them, and the brothers of the girls
were compelled to bear their sisters and mother to their
grave. There were some cases elsewhere. Dr. William
Cutter was dangerously sick with the fever, on Congress
street. In two months ending on the 5th of October, when
the frost terminated the course of the fever, there were 96
cases, of which 55 proved fatal. In the same time there
were 52 deaths from dysentery and other diseases, making
over a hundred deaths in two months, and that too at a time
when our population was only about 6000, and a large number of inhabitants had fled to other towns.
Eleazer Russell, mentioned in the 47th Ramble, died at
the time of this fever but not of it. He was said to be so
much in fear of the fever of which his sister died, that he
refused to have any one come to his assistance, and died
alone.
The sickness was not confined to those who remained in