The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1849-05-11
Ch,iera-i.s Cause.

Waite, who prctends 10 explain 'ne ea"sc
Of I'M. my .,erious disease. lie has, also,
invented a remedy which is as sure a cure
as The cholera has been fatal heretofore.
The only suspicious Circumstance connect
ed with this commune alton is that it smaoks
too un,h II quack Advertisement. he'o"
we ,ive the mb>taLcr Of his theory. IL Is
quite ingcniou. anh, doubtless VIII be iea'
with interest;
Ills, undue,tionably, caused by super
abundance Of acid abouudng in the atmos-
pher-, sud my observations mduce me 10
believe thai it is carbonic acid gas. 1t Is
wei, known fact, that our atmosphere, When
in a healthy state, is composed Of nitrogen,
oxygen AMI carbon, in the proportion oil one
mart of carbon, 10 twenty seven oi nitrogen,
anltweniy two of oxygen. III tins equlIih-
rum be broken up by an over portion ei-
Their one Of these gases, except ygen, our
air becomes unhealthy; iiby nitrogen, we
are prsdisposcd to bilious fever; bat eN cry
one that ever saw a case of cholera. knows
that i,isa disease diame,rt ally the oppC-
site of bilious fever: consequently, II must
be some other substance, and II can't be on
wen, for an excess of that ~ould only pro-
duce thunder storm, therefore, it must be
c1rbouic gas, or some other substance float
inr in the atmosphere, that i, not properly
a component pant thereof. think II can't be
carbnretted hydrogcn gas, for that would
predispose us 10 fever aud ague, but to de.
terminc whether il is some foreign substance
or carbon, we mus. examine the history OF
the disease and lis effects upon the subjects
j, attacks. Its history informs Us, that it
has bt en- disease of India for ages; that
it made its appearance first on All Island, To-
Gated at or near the mouth Of the Gauges,
from whence it spreads abroad, doing its
work ofdestructiun, then subsidingto reap
pear at its old starting point III some future
day. I.is well known that carbon enters
very largely in the composition OF all ami
NAL, as well as mineral and vegetable sub
stances. This fact being taken ia connec-
ton with the fact that the llinloos throw
thousands Of human beings into the GangeS
and that they float down and lodge at the
Island, n; the mouth ofthat river, gives US,
n true clue TO the cause Of the disease
Those beings laying purifying round the
shores Of that Island, disengagc very large
portion Of carbon, whichby uniting with the
oxygen within lis reach, forms earbonic ac-
i'll gas for it's well known, that carbon has
the property Of de. oxydizing even the OK
iles Of metals, and other combuStible sub
stances, and of uniting with their oxygen TO
form carbonic acid .as, when the proportion
Of the dSengaged carbon amounts to more
than one per cent. The history further
showeth, that whether it be carbon or some
other substance that constitutes the base Of
this disease, it is ola heavy nature, for il
always RACES with the greatest violene, in
low marshy situations, along the margin OF
rivers, Sc. Persons living in cellars, or the
lower stories Of their houses, are more sub
iect TO it than those who live i'll garrets or
the higher stories in their buildings this is
more observable among the females-the
males being more likely 10 contract the dis
ease in their shops.
In the fall of -, spent several days in
Buffalo, n. Y, at the time the disease was
at its worst, and had an opportunity OF wit.
Messing its operations, in all lis various sta
yes. There I embraced the views now
entertain a, 10 its nature, and have practic-
ed in accordance with those views ever
since, with almost uniform success.
The first thing that attracted my a,ten-
ton, was the great difficulty experienced
in breathing. found it almost as difficult
to breathe in the open street, as though had
been shut up in room charged with gas
from burnin. charcoal. This was more
particularly the case in the iowerpayt oil the
city, while one mile back from the city, the
mir was as good az it is here now. 1t APP
peared that every thing that had life was at
tackled, from the common house fly, to the
animals in tho street. The birds taat were
uncaged, all left the city. and those tha
were Gagged died. This disease is distinc
from all Others, and, is Numerically the OPP
posiie of bilious fever. The one is an un
natural degree Of heat and is produced, mos
likely, by an unhealthy combination OF by
drogen and oxygen, whereas the cholera i
attended with most rapid diminu,ion OF The
ANNA, heat from the commencement TO IT.
final Notwithstanding the deoX
odzement ofthc blood, not only of the blooC
but Of every part of the animal system, fn
even the bones OF a cholera subject are par
TALLY 0ecomposed; they are more soft an
porous than the bones of persons dying will
other diseases. Bilious fever is always al
tended with a surplus OF alkaline matter
.ilTassd throughout the system, whereas i
the cholera there is but little or no n'Galin
matter found in the system.
Twill now call your auentonto the symp
toms Of the disease. 1t has been heretofor
understood that tho diarrhGa which mos
commonly precedes the cramps. was tn
premoniory or .ymp'om.-This, how
ever, is altogether mistake. Instead {
its being premonitory symptom, it is tn
disease itself; the natural dcoxidizement {
the blood. The first symptom we have {
the disease, is an involuntary twitching {
the muscles in different parts OF the body
sometimes III the arms, sometimes in tn
legs or thighs at other times down the loiu
OF The back, but most frequently around til
region Of the abdomen. We also frequent
Iy feel a sensation in different parts Of tn
body, similar to drop of water runnin
down the back, as though something COLI
about the size of shot Ind passed rigl
through, regardless of what il came in COZ
tact with. As these twi,chings or cramp
in embryo increase, the feet will feel kin
of leath-like GOODNESS. Up to this time II
patient will not be likely to notice what
going on in his system, unless hc has hO
the cholera before. The hands now beg
to feel at times, very similar to wha, the
would il he was gong TO have u shake
the ague shortly, and the tongue W i In,
become smooth aud red, indcatinsa tot
absence Of bile, anil II will not be long b.
fire he will Al "A h,rup n baiJ whitp pyrrl