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Chapter One: No One Noticed

• By August 3, 1793, the heat wave that began in May had caused marshes and swamps south of Philadelphia to evaporate.

• The Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers were so low that dead fish and rotting plant life were attracting insect swarms.

• In the city, numerous cats died from heat exposure and were thrown into the sewers where they drew flies and mosquitoes.

• Along the docks, a sloop, the Amelia, arrived loaded with spoiled coffee that was dumped on Ball's Wharf.

• The stench of the coffee wafted throughout the community.

• Though the odor was bad, shoppers and vendors crowded the city streets.

• Everyone was glad to be outside away from the heat inside their enclosed houses.

• Competing with the coffee odor were the scents of roasting meets, innards, and horse manure.
• A block from the market was the home of wealthy manufacturer, Robert Morris, who had helped...

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