Demoine courier., 1855-09-13

hicSt, j.. wi LYLE. CieTk.
THOMAS JOHNSON, President of
The Council
Attest, J. A. lIALDERMAN, Clerk.
n A very general complaint of SICK
ness bagins TO reach us, and we can nc
longer restrain an expression Of our as
constituent lha,O uumwa should continue
TO belle her reputation as a ''sickly hole,''
by the p%ersevering maiutainance Of a
state Of high health, good cheer and exu.
beren, spirits BY its inhabitants. On the
high p~rairies east OF US, it is said that
Ottumwa stands on a low bottom, sub.
jsc. TO annual inundaiion, MAT it lie Gu,
of from a free circulation of air Nv high
hills which almost surround il. and that,
in the heat of summer, the river becomes
a s,agnant pool. exhaling the most nox
ious miasinata Such was the story told
Us. last spring, within less than twenty
miles of our destination, anG where q
knowledge Of the facts certainly should
have existed. So far US our own obser.
vation has extended, The story is all
wrong. We are told that some years
since. the Demoine became so high, from
long continued rains, that a portion Of
one street in the town was covered with
water; bu, the calamity failed TO become
periodic, and has almost ceased 10 exist
in The memory Of those who are said to
1--we in imminen; danger oil lis repetition
Had the river any inclination to become
%siagnan', the present excessively dry, no,
weather would certainly induce tina. re.
suit. Blu, it is mol so. The little water
remaining in its bed flows as rapidly.
anG seems as pure an ] limpid as at any
other season of the year. The cirtula
zion OF the atmosphere, too, is quite as
free as is desirable; and. in winter, eiran.
gers frequently acknowledge its salu5rity
with tears in their eyes.
The entire western world suffers i'm
mensely, in the estimation Of patent
medicine vendors and the venerable
maicens who compose the New England
sewing societies, from ihe poisonous
character of its mias4na,ic atmosphere.
We wish some competent, philosophnc
NJ. ID. would take this matter in hand,
and give the world a faithful exposition
upon the subject of miasmas. We are
fully aware lha, many Of The most pop.
ular medical writer's of the present and
past ages ascri5e credence to the story /;
but a happy facility of stringing words
together, is not UNREASONABLE evidence
OF equal reasoning powers. The theory
of the internal hea, Of The earth, ha. been
regarded as unques.ionable Tor a long
time; and in supper, ofi:s truth eloquent
i~reaiiscs may be cited as emana,ing from
The pens Of the most profoundly learned
~geoiogis.s of ancien. aud modern times ;
but the fact that aresian wells of i'm,
mense depth throw up water almos.
freezlDgly cold has called a new lain Of
thought in,o existence, and the igneous
theory is tumbling abou. the ears Of the
few who are still willing TO venture an
argument in lie support. So. We venture
10 believe, it would be with the miasma,.
ic bugaboo. Why the breath VI air which
poisons me, because live upon low
ground, should, a moment later, invigor
ale with life aid health. my neighbor on
the hill, is beyond u comprehension.
We have an atmosphere of some forty
seven miles in dep:h, which, by the al
formations of hea: and cold is kept 10
motion. its currents flowing at an aver.
age. in the open countries Of the wes,, Of
twenty miles an hour. perhaps. and alb
sorblng oil ~noxious vapors capable OF
assimilating with. 1t. Ponds, and stag
nan, waite. of all kinds. exhale poisonous
vapors, tits affirmed, which are absorbed
by the lungs Of those who breathe air
%impregna.ed with them. and the result rs
bilious disease and death. Perhaps tins
is true; but, if j. il, why are moi the larger
towns and cities eternal plague spots Of
disease. The lungs Of all animal organi-
cations continually exiale carbonic acid
gas, which, being Of aegrealcr specific
gravity than the air. cominglee with j. bu,
slowly. This gas. in ils purity, is one of
the mostdcadly polsons known 10 nature;
and where hundreds Of thousands Of
human beings, Of horses, cattle &C.. are
congreaied in a super6ces Of bu, a few
miles in extent. all breathing, and conse-
quently reciifyiug this gas. we may rea.
sonably suppose tia. lungs subject 10
mocula,ion would stand a pretty fair
chance. IN such a locality. Of becoming
diseased. Bot, this 10 not the cave