The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1889-05-11

ON which long sea voyages were formerly
so much advised for consumptives and
sufferers from other constitutional vices,
was that of revulsion: setting up u disease
not necessarily fatal In place Of one Ger
tainly so. If the invalid could contract the
scurvy on pro,racted voyage, 1t would al
ford possible chance of eradcating the
scrofulous or other constitutional disease
mis- certain doom. II is the same idea On
which, formerly more than now, mercurlal
salvation was employed. some medical
practitioners still on the stage, will remem.
Der that in cases where existed extensive
hepatlzqtlon, in advanced pneumonia, II
the patient preserved sufficient vitality so
that his gums could be touched his
chances for recovery were much increased.
A well,known, established principle In
medicine Is called tolerance OF remedies
Using an article for considerable time,
the quantity requires more and more 10 be
increased TO continue It's full effect, or to
be- changed 10 others Of the same class. A
person may become by continued use OF
virulent poison so insensible to Its ordinary
effects as 20 bear enormous quantities
without fatal results. Those with the
opium habit for example. Classical read
ers will remember the story of Mithridates,
King of Pontus, who, having many secret
enemies, and fearing death by poison, &C.
customed himself to the use of those then
best known and thus employed until he
became proof against them. The same
principle Is fully shown In the use OF food
Too long restricted TO sameness In this, the
digestive organs cease to answer to the
stimulus assimilation and nutrition fall,
as do all other functions; general wasting
ensues and death at last from causes anal
gous TO starvation-it practically Is starva-
ton The doctors, In the early settlements
of Illinois, will remember the serious diff
culties they had TO encounter with patients
women mere especially-because SO
limited In the variety of diet. "rattlesnake
pDik and corn dodger' being chief, occe-
sionally varied by game, but monotonous
at best
The same principle obtains in the man
agement Of domestic animals. Confined
too long to the same kind of fodder, they
" get Off" their feed and fail. A change In
this restores them. People are healthier
and longer lived in these days, partly be-
cause go generally travellers, and In many
ways continually varying their diet A
" commercial traveller" though weak and
puny at commencing, soon becomes
healthy and robust have often success
fully advised that pursuit for the "debili.
tated and broken down.
Never was an army supplied with bet
ter or more varied commissariat than ours
In the war of the rebellion; nor with more
accessories for varying It's items Of diet
And yet in the MAN, there were not sci
dom long periods, when pork aud pilot
bread were the main, unvarying depend
ence These did not supply all the ele-
ments necessary to maintaining full heath
All were not affected alike; some showed
no reduction Of health and strength; Others
did and very pronouncedly. | never saw
actual scurvy there, but often deteriOrat
ed condition with its advance symptoms
and other manifestations of disorder clear
ly traCeabe To the cause which produces
that diseased state. Scarcely had thought
of the possibility of scurvy, or even its
premontlOns, when my attention began to
be called TO certain vague symptoms OF
which men seriously began to complain
almost indiscribable, but sufficiently disa-
bling TO demand excuse from duty,-men,
too, who were dependable and of too much
character TO be feigners
A remarkable fact about this whole
class was, that while their appetites were
imperiously craving, they were unappeasa,
BILE by any amount Of the regular rations.
With stomaChs as full as they could hold,
the hunger was as unsated as ever. 1t was
said of some, by their comrades, in deris-
ion; "Jlm will eat his own rations and
all he can beg buy, borrow and steal and
n then just as hungry as ever; and he Is
up at surgeons call regularly, and COM
planning of being sick all the time, at that.
believe that fellow must be play'n' off,
The men attached to the hospital were
quite reliable, two or three with good
endowments for detectives. 1t was legiti.
mate thus to employ them for "the good
of the service"-which | did. The more,
rs became assured that under mask
was a serious menace TO the sanitary wei,
fare of the command; and | wanted to
know the best facts appertalning, TO GER
tainty. | had learned that wel-declared
scurvy had appered in some portions of
the army In certain localities had even
proved quite fatal. But while our anoma-
lOus cases did have some of the advanced
symptoms those more pronounced AMI
diagnostic were wholly wanting, Example
the "spongy gums" and the purple spots
| Iugtaa1 pf Ipgg af apnntita n WAS