Year: 1870

cent fever remitten or bilious fever dysenery and d
eases OF the liver come in order; but they
i,s .oon, a nor anythng near SO dangerous as tno
by cold am well that this assertion
tradicts the commonly received opinion outside of I'll
State; but care nothing for that / speak from what
nave been seeing and noting for the third of centur
In this parish.


Intermittent fever occurs or less every summe
and fall but 1t is seldom of serious character and
always easily relieved. With the old and intrm, an
with those persons whose constitutions have been broke
Gown BY organic diseases By dissipation, it is oe
attended with danger in their usually become
conesnve and then more likely to prove fatal unes
promptly treated.


RemItten or bilious fever at the same
with infermittents and is easily relieved. A arg
majority of the of these fever will
well spontaneously with rest and care, but am free
confess that experiment might be attended with som
risk.


These two forms of fever our peculiar fevers
regard them as being almost devoid of danger her
common prudence is observed. The mortality arisin
from them, according to my experience, has not bee
more than onefourth of one per And yet it is tn
great apprehen sion of falling victims to these fever
that deters strangers from settling in this State
To The European, landing at New York, the risk t
health and life would be many times less by coming her
to live than by going to the Western States where b,
will be shaken by ague in summer and fall and frozen
winter.


That abominabe form of intermittent called ayue O,
the Atlantic coast and in the Western States is amos
| unknown here. do think have seen twenty case
OF it that originated here since have been praccin
". o.. A.,W
north Of this, contracted that form of fever and
home with it; but most of them recovered from
| under the benign influence of our mild climate.
Dysentery occurs occasionally during very hot
wet summers, but it is not common is it usual,
fatal Negroes usually have Iiuch worse than htes
and sometimes they die from it. Whites rare.y have i
severely, and very few of them ever die from it.
Diseases Of the liver of here, al
though country has the reputation abroad of being
like India in that respect have hesitation in sayinl
that no warm country where there moisture enough
maintain good vegetable growth is free liver
affections as louisiana and particularly parish
Landry. No one need fear such diseases here


have found that what called infectious diseases
as measles, whooping cough scarlet fever small pOx
and typhoid fever generally milier in their
ter aud more easily cured here than colder regions
They not more common here than in other
no civilized country being entirely free from them


Whites are not more liable diseases here than ne
groes but their probabilities of recovering from them
greater This arises probably from superior nte
gence and greater prudence.


People coming from other States, and from Europe
not more liable to have fevers than than those born
hore and when they have them their chances to get well
good those of the natives of the State This
assertion another HAT contradiction of the commonly
received opinion outside of State The doctrine
taught in books and orally that all persons who settle
here must undergo what is called accimaon fever
from which the chances to recover great This is
foolish error gravsy taught by sincere who be


eve it, well by designing men who do not ca,
whether it is true false.


What is called acclimation in persons coming from
cold 10 warm climates is that the skin takes a por
ton OF the functions performed by the lungs collier
gions, and If it be assisted by wearing little extra
clothing and keeping it clean the first there
risk OF the accimaon tev,r at ALL any other fever
unless it he infectious which avoided here
as elsewhere by keeping away from the infection


The wearing Of coarse cloth flannel next the skin
during the hrst summer and fall here will protect the
person from all our common Diseases and the
from the prickiy heat is entirely got Of as it will moi
appear under such clothing the cold bath be i'm
prudentiy used Let the stranger tepd baths and
wear coarse cotton shirts and drawers (or nnei and
he need not fear any acclimaton disease.


As to longevity think people live long they
parish IN le49 at the age of hundred and twelve
years He was native of Port Tobaccon Maryland and
mad lived here eighty years His descendants very
merous and Of his eighty wears old met an
accidental death a few months ago.


A woman, one of my neighbors, died in 1865 aged one
hundred and six She was native of the hill region
South Carolina, and had lived here sixty years


A great uncle Of my wife died in 1863 aged abou,
ninety five years. He native the upper part OF
South Carolina, and lived here fifty wears


In proportion to the population have known more
very old people here than in other place.
where have liyed and at the present time know sew
era that are vergng on ninety.


This State has been too recently settled to have very
large population Of very old people, the first settler.
and their immediate descendants had too many hartsps
to to live to very old age and they shared
s % caansT a ns5s E fHensray Hsr and died young
life that the first settlers faf Iss and
peared; and our population oi very old people
tinue to increase.


The probabilities of living TO an extreme old age arr
greater in warm countries than in cold ones as two
thirds of mankind die from disease of the respiratory





warm climates than in cold ones.


know that it is believed at the North and in all coli
countries, that life is necessarily short in countries


believed so myself before had had opportunity
correcting the error by personal observation
know now that the average duration of human life
longer here than it is else in the United States
and the chances tor persons coming from other State
countries are as good as those native born v
to old age.


second childhood than in other places where l hav
known Old peoples and men and women retain their
tai faculties generally until they die from old age Amon
all the old hite women, rich poor, tha:
have known here, not has shown a particle
of that peculiar iutOnation Of and conduct that
tie the appeaton of crones which SO commo
here and in northern countries Anon
negro women it is common when they grow old. Thi
Is the country to grow Old gracefully in


have been asked the question frequently by stranger
if thought white perform field la0o
he'e; and my answer has invariably been that know
they con.


Ever since have lived here have been seeing whit
and boys working in their own fields frequently aon
side of their slaves, cutivaiing the crops
the country; andI have never known them to be con
PEELED to desst from such labor except from inclination
1 have known many white people who had no slaves
10 work for them who have worked continuously in tn
field without injury to their health raising good crops
corn. potatoes and cotton


L have not that white people who perform fci
labor :ny liable to have fevers and other dis
than those who have lived in idlcness To the
trary have found the idle liable to be sick ha
those who work out of DOORS idcness has general
engendered habits of indulgence in alcoholic stimulan
that induce disease.


Persons coming from the North from Europe nee
not fear that they cannot work plantations farm
here the summer is hotter here than it is in
Fest and the work no harder.


| Respectfully, c. d. TATMAN NJ. d.


Drs. George Hill and John A. Taylor both dstinguishe
yscians the former practitioner for 81 years. an
The latter for nearly the period the abov
statement as to the heal,hfuIness of this parish.