The Arkansas advocate., 1832-11-21


 i slckened and died. Of eleven men so detailed, eight died ln about seventy two hours! There were Indian prlson- CTS under guard oil each side of the hos pital-some Of these died. Two steam. boats from St. Louis, that had inter. course with Rock Island, contracted tile disease and lost some men, and some U. ;. rangers, located several miles below fort Armstrong, also re- ceiged the infection from us and suffer- ed severely. 1 have been more paric- nlar in these details than might seem necessary, but have done il to express my conviction thai, under some circum- stances, this fell disease is certainly contagious, and that all unnecessary if- tercourse between the sick aud well should be sedulousiy interdicted. On the nights Of the 23th and 29th of Au- gust, there was severe storm of cold faif, which inundated the tents. Be- fore dawn, more than twenty men were brought ln from the camp, of whom etghteen died before ten o'clock in the morning. A Astfictinyestigatonofthe these, and some of the preceding cases, proved that rice water diarrhma had prevail Eed universally. Measures were HOW promptly adopted b alarm those affiiet- ed with Purging, and, before l2 o'clock, azs;' such persons were under medical treatment, very iew of whom went into collapse. By particular attention to every complaint, the disease soon lost Its ferocity, and at the end of fifteen days from is first appearance, it ceased among the troops. The man first taken ia the hospital, (he who had slcrt near the rangers9 being under the direction of Dr. Goleasaa, had been spasmodic thirty minutes when ! was requested to sec him. His appearance Was so in animate that he seemed long since dead. ihe face was sunken, as if wasted by iiagerIag consumption; perfectly an galar, and rendered peculiarly ghastly by the complete removal of all the soll solIds, and their places supplied by dark lead colored lines; the hands and feet were blueish white, wrinkled as when long maceratcd in cold water: the eyes had fallen to t!H bottom of their orbs. and eylnced a glaring vitality, but with out mobility; and the snrface of the body was cold and bedewed with an eely exudation. stood gazing in mute hor- Tor upon the rerolting object, when. a suddcnspasm conyulsing his limbs, caus. eG him to screach ina voice so uncarth- ly, that involuntarily covered my cars with my hands. The strongest stimuli, both externally and internally applied for several hours, made no impression upon him, and he expired in the 5th hour. In the. succeeding fifty hours, many men were removed in a manner equally distressing. It would be need. less 10 enumerate all tbe probable and possible remedies, that were unceasing- Iy employed, in vain, for their relief They were as water poured upon the sand. l had witnessed expiring nature in almost every form, but had hitherto been sustained by the belief that my profession was a lofty intelligence, inad- equate oAly from some neglected coun- teractiog forces; but here all selfsuf ficiency was utterly subdued: The throne Of science was cast dQwni A dark spirit, adverse 10 human life, had gained admission into the inmost place, and with malign joy dissipated, with a prodigality known only to a demons heart, all that had been given to man, by bountilul Creator, 10 express a nearness to himself. With deeply castigated spirit, l pondered in soli- tude over this superhuman calamity.- Ii was evident that all the great fune- tions were overcome. The lungs gene
 rated no animal heat; the liver se- creted no bile; the stomach no gas tries; the kidnies no salt; the brain no nervous fluid; whilst the exhalants of the great ventral cavity poured out life as from a mighty fountain! Whence this excessive eXudation? It can onl, be the grand constituents of the bIofd,- Soda and Fabrina. exhausted. the business of life is ended. The heart feebly essays last onward impulse. and the muscles, like dying worms. wreatle upon themselves; but both are merely convulsivc moments fromthe withdrawal of their accustomed sup plies from the blood. How impotent are all efforts to recreate this vital fluid, when the great intelIigencies allotted ] for it's elaboration are quiescent! Will the combination of salt and water tesa l kind substitute for fhis beautiful com