The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1878-07-18

used to clear with. I am Informed that
the Rev. B. F. Porter assured the Gus.
tomhouse authorities that Curtis under.
stood the practice of medicine, having
studied it in his youth. He knows
about as much of medicine us street
car mule. During the whole voyage he
was prowling around tween decks with
q small book called "the mariners medi-
cal guide" in one hand, and all sorts oi
pounds extracted from the medicine
chest in the other. Even the book was
given him by the captain. I feel very
confident that be was unacquainted with
the symptoms of the simplest diseases.
and my idea is that be went almost en-
tirely by guess-work. When he had
formed some opinion as to what the dis
order was, he would refer to the book,
and treat it thereby. he used continu-
ally to be consulting the captain as to
what he should do. l ives called in to
one or two of these consultations, but
my medical knowledge being acquired
principally from fence somewhere, and
consisting of vague idea that TUFTS
liver pills we're good for something or
another, was subsequently, and wisely,
ignored. This thing seems to me to
have been either deliberate crime, and
a very grave one, or equally criminal
careessness on the part of the managers
of this exodus. 1t is horrible to think of
a laundering ignoramus like this man
having charge of the health of some
three hundred people, a large majority
of whom we're women and children. 1t
is only Heavens mercy that there are
not even more deaths to record. Capt.
Holmes, while possessing considerably
more knowledge of the simpler diseases
than Curtis, of course could not be ex-
pected to be able to cope with anything
of complicated nature. So there ne
all were, entirely at the mercy of any
pestilence that might arise. am cer-
tain that the more intelligent of the
passengers agreed with me in my esti-
mate of this Doctors" skill. I don't
think he was ever allowed to experiment
on any one in the cabin, and I know that
his practice land it literally was prac-
tice) was laughing stock on the quar-
ter deck, where he was generally known
as "calomel and jalap," that being his
favorite prescription. He administered
it to Johnson's child, which died in ccn-
vulsions. It's death was attributed to
worms, although he was in doubt as to
whether il. was that or cerebro spinal
meningitis. Of DR.. Curtis, too, I shall
have more to say hereafter.
The log showed on Sunday at noon
that we had made 144 miles that day,
making a total of 1866, and leaving us
still ahead of the necessary average. In
addition to the funeral services already
mentioned, regular services were held
twice on Sunday, being largely attended.
On Monday, 2Sth, the log scored 1875
miles, total of 1880. Still slightly
ahead of the average. On this day
THE FIRST BIRTH
took place, being that of a boy, report
ed to be fine one, to the wife of Ned
Clark, steerage passenger. Mother ard
child both fourished from the first. We
had by this time been driven into about
80 north latitude, being about the. :lati-
tude of Cape May, and two degrees fur
ther north than the captain had intend.
ed going, he having proposed to run only
as far up as Baltimore, latitude 81. As
soon as the head wind abated the vessels
course was changed, and she went into
her long southeast stretch.
On Tuesday, 29th, we made two hun
dred and fourteen miles, gaining triAe
south, the wind having shifted somewhat,
and making total for the nine days of
one thousand three hundred and ninety
four miles. We were still ahead of the
required average, but lost considerably
by being becalmed during Tuesday night,
only making seyenty-two miles to We'd
nesday at IL o'clock. The sea during
nearly all of Wednesday lay like sheet
of flexible glass, only disturbed by
heavy but quiet swell, which rolled
abeam, producing, as heavy swells gene
rally do, most unpleasant effect, keep
ing the vessel rocking violently. Du-
ring the evening, however, brisk breeze
came up, just forward of thequarter, and
the Azor went bowlong along before it,
running on her port side, keeping every
body and everything drifting to leeward,
making the holding of ones self in a
bunk a process requiring considerable
science, and adding to the difficulty of
the problem how to stow six feet of
anatomy comfortably in FIVE feet eight
inches of bunk, which I had been en-
deavoring to solve from the beginning.
The wind continued to freshen until it
became light gale, and the vessel tossed
on the waves at great rate. Wednes-
day was the regular "bed-airing" day,
but the spray and wind obliged the hasty
taking in of all such furniture. The
emigrants had great fun at first coaxing
their unwary fellows to stand near the
windward gangway, and get well "soused"
by the water which now and then came
dashing over the rails. Much diversion
was also caused by the loss of several
hats, which took to themselves wings and
few away, that being the only thing
about them suggesting riches even in the
most remote manner. By the way, /
believe nearly every man aboard the
Azor lost head gear at some stage of the
voyage, and a collector of curiosities in
the way of ancient and dilapidatsd tiles
might have reaped a rich harvest had he
been in our wake.) Towards night, how.
ever, when the vessel carsehed so much
as to dip up water through her lee SOUP
pers, and the wind still freshened, many
of the passengers became first anxious,
then timid, and finally thoroughly fright
ened. The doors Of the hatch houses
were closed and everybody sent below.
A driving rain had set in, and neither in
the lowering sky above nor in the rush
ing water beneath was any comfort.
I took walk through the steerage on
Wednesday night and found everybody
nervous and disposed to be sick. The
nervousness and sickness both increased,
and on Thursday morning they had be-
come almost universal. We scored 213
miles to Thursday at noon with what
sail we carried, bringing the total run to
1879 miles. Daylight brought some
comfort, but the wind still blew freshly,
with occasional light squalls, which