Page:California Historical Society Quarterly vol 22.djvu/73

 When checked, it becomes worse in other cases the tongue has been smooth the edges red— the centre dry & chapped, Post Mortem of two cases has shown that inflammation was present in mucous membrane of Small intes- tines Stomach— & large intestines— that ulcers had formed in the Duodenum, illieum, and in the Colon, in Webster there were many points of the intes- tines infected and inflamed as if ulceration were about to commence. The ulcers were large— ragged— and containing in their center a yellow spot- When this yellow substance was removed, the whole mucous and muscular tunics of the intestine seemed to be removed with it— The bowels in both cases contained little but discolored matter— in Webster the gall Bladder full of yellow bile— the liver I do not think was diseased— except it might have been larger than usual— I did not observe that the Spleen was diseased— The pancreas was extremely hard and indurated— the urinary bladder empty and much contracted— Heart and lungs healthy—

The fever seems to take to the remittent form— and keeps to this type through the whole course of the disease— There are many other men who have had the fever— but are now either convalescing or have recovered— I have not remarked that any course of treatment was particularly success- ful— Sul Quinine does not seem to have as good an effect here as I have ob- served in the fevers of the U.S— Mercury seems to be the best remedy— The people of the country are not exempt from the fever— among them however so far as I have seen Quinine answers every expectation. The cause of this difference I cannot account for— except it be that the unacclimated Ameri- cans—from the change of climate are more subject to Gastric enteric affec- tions—from the heat of the climate, and possibly the dryness— as there has not been rain here since May— diseases of the Bowels such as colic— Diar- rhoea, Dysenteria are very common. This I think is no doubt to be attrib- uted to eating fruit— unripe.— The Diet of the Country is almost exclusively fresh meat. Beef— and a coarse Bread— tortillias, &c— made of corn meal or Wheat badly ground— The Diet of the soldiers is 4 times a week Beef— 3 times pork— and Bread of fine American flour— The Bread so far as I have seen is well baked. The men who have died— and had the disease worst- were generally temperate. Stout young men, two of the fatal cases— Ham- merly— the Dragoon— and Webster were taken while in the guard House— the first under sentence of general Court Martial for mutinous conduct— the latter arrested for disobedience of orders— Their situation seems [to] have exercised a bad effect on their minds in both cases— and I have no doubt contributed considerably to the fatal termination of their disease— Some time since I extracted a large tumor (in July) from the shoulder of a Cali- f ornian This tumor must have weighed fifteen pounds— he has recovered rapidly.