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Whole jTo. 424.
Tcirborough, (Edgecombe County, JV. a) Tuesday, October 16, 1832
5
Vol IXJSTo 8,
The "Xurfi Carolina Free Press,"
U V G KOKGE IlOWAltD,
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otherwise ordered, and charged accordingly.
Letters addressed to the Editor must be post paid,
or they may not be attended to.
FOR THE FISEE l'KESS.
ON CHOLERA.
Mr. Editor: The diflcrence of opinion exist
ing among physicians as to the best mode of
treatment of this dreadful disease, and a desire to
be prepared to treat it with success, should it
make its appearance among us induced the un
dersigned to address a letter on the subject to his
Preceptor, Dr. Samuel K. Jennings, one of the
most eminent practitioners of Baltimore. And
conceiving that any thing on the subject of Cho
lera, emanating from so respectable a source, is at
ibis time peculiarly interesting, I enclose you an
extract from Dr. Jennings' reply; which I consi
der replete with sound pathological reasoning,
and particularly deserving the attention of your
professional readers. Hy giving it a pi ice in
your paper you will muh oblige,
Yours, respectfully,
JNO. W. LEWIS, M. I).
EXTRACT.
"As to Cholera, a few remarks will be
sufficient. With the exception of those
individuals, who, from peculiarity of tem
perament or imprudence in diet, are par
ticularly liable to those disturbances of
the stomach and bowels, which mark
Cholera patients, l ho disease, as it will
prevail generally through the country,
will not materially differ in its character
and effects from bilious fever, whenever
it becomes epidemic, and has a tendency
to be in some degree malignant; and will
require no important difference in the
treatment, except that it must be more
prompt and decisive. To take another
view of the subject, I will say that Chole
ra is the termination of a bilious fever,
peculiarly modified by the effect of a low
temperature of the atmosphere.
"Before you will have received this,
you will have learned, that the dreadful
state of things which is denominated
Cholera, is ushered in, almost invariably,
with diarrhoDa. This symptom, there
fore, ought to be the signal of alarm.
Whenever it appears, the disease has al
ready progressed so far, that the life of
the patient should be considered at stake,
and. instead of relying upon camphor or
any of the pernicious quackeries of ihe
day, he should be informed of the neces
sity of employing the most energetic re
medies, under the advice and direction of
the best skill. In almost every instance,
copious blood-letting and a liberal use of
calomel are indispensable, if you would
do justice to your patient or to the pro
fession. In fact, such ought to be the
treatment, immediately on the appear
ance of the first premonitory symptoms.
By such proceed ure,- the disease is dis
armed of its power, and the life of the pa
tient made secure. If, however, the case
shall have progressed so far, that diarr
hoea shall have occurred, then, after
blood-letting, whenever it is at all admis
sible, the calomel should be administered
in doses, varying in accordance to the ne
cessities of the case, from 5 to 10, 15 or
20 grs. and repeated every second, third,
fourth, or sixth hour; adding opium or
morphia, as there may be occasion. 1 he
patient is never to be considered out of
danger until the abdominal viscera shall
have resumed their functions, and the
natural and healthful secretions shall have
been re-established. This being done,
you have plain sailing. Rut it mav be
be proper to add, that you may expect
convalescence to advance with a pace
unusually slow, and that the patients ge
nerally must be sustained in the most
careful manner, allowing them the light
est articles of .lutriment, and forbidding
stimulants and nearly every kind of solid
food for the first few days."
"I omitted to state in the commence
ment of my remarks, that in this disease
more than in any other that I have over
seen, the strictest attention is required to
be paid to the patient's skin: You should
therefore, apply external heat, friction
with a pretty stiff brush, heating "lini
ments, &c. but above all, keep a large
blistered surface continually sore, until
convalescence is fairly established. In
each and every other particular, I feel
perfectly free to say to you, follow your
judgment according to the regular prin
ciples, in using the ordinary agents per
taining to the profession.
"By way of precaution for the safety of
C' l 1 -f n i
your menus ana ineir iammes, advise
them to have a strict regard to cleanli
ness, put on clothing more than ordinari
ly warm for the season, and keep fire in
their houses. It will be important for
the safety of the blacks, that masters and
overseers be particular in seeing that
their quarters are kept clean and warm,
and every body ought to know, that a
loose condition of the bowels, instead ot
being useful, as it may have heretofore
proved to be, is now the harbinger of
death.
"I will conclude with a few remarks of
a speculative kind, for your amusement.
The malaria, which is strictly the remote
cause of the disease so often terminating
in Cholera, I consider to be nearly rela
ted to that which produces bilious fever.
It regards the same localities and ranges,
it produces the same effect with the addi
tion of the peculiarity of its termination
in those patients which are said to die, or
approximate to death by Cholera, and
many cases which are called Cholerine,
Sec, after the necessary evacuations, re
quire to be treated with quinine. 1 have
seen frequent instances of Choleric dys
entery, iu which not even the tenesmus
would yield to any other remedy.
"Whether the atmosphere is made in
salubrious because there is a deficient
supply of electricity, or whether the rays
of the sun are differently modified from
what they usually are, it matters not, be
cause vve cannot mend it. But we know
with certainty, that there has been a de
ficiency of caloric throughout the season.
The malaria then, has been made more
pernicious by the low temperature of the
atmosphere. Malaria has gradually pro
duced debility of the indirect kind, accor
ding to the general acceptation ol the
term in regard of the whole system, and
in consequence of the low temperature of
the atmosphere, the debility is made es
pecially to prepare the skin most readily
to fall into a collapsed state. The ex
citement of the blood-vessels of the skin
becoming feeble and deficient, with a
gradually continued increase of debility,
the circulating fluids become gradually
and permanently introverted, producing
a corresponding distention and ultimate
infraction of the blood-vessels of the ab-
lominai viscera. As a necessary conse
quence, the blood-making organs become
torpid, the blood itselt is iieterioraieu, uy
which, those large portions of nervous
productions of the great sympathetic,
called ganglions are weakened, and not
hv nnv snecifie noison. This is a hasty
j j i i
ed.-at this stage unless decisively met, so
as to arouse the liver to action and re
move the distensions of the blood-vessels
by a re-establishment of the natural secre
tions, the mucous membrane soon be
comes fatally relaxed, giving out the rice
colored evacuations which are character
istic of Cholera. This brief review of
the affection, whether true or false, af
fords a plausible explanation of the phe
nomena which accompany the dread dis
ease which has received the appellation
of Cholera; particularly of the collapse
of the skin and the simultaneous dis
charge from the bowels. And if true,
it obviously becomes the first concern of
every physician, to prevent, rather than
wait to prove his skill in curing the dis
ease. Yours, affectionately,
SAML. K. JENNINGS.
Dr. Jno.W. Lewis, Rocky Mount, N.C.
Appalling Mortality. A committee
appointed for the purpose in Philadel
phia, have published a narrative report of
tin; ravages of the Cholera in the Arch
street prison of that city. The scenes of
one day in that prison are represented to
have been of unparalleled fearfulness in
the history of disease and death. Before
night, not less than seventy persons, who
were living when the morning dawned,
were consigned to the graveljPa?. Obs.
(UWe published some time since, the
case of a marriage of a Doctor S , when
in a state of collapse from Cholera to
Miss W , that the lady might inherit
his property. We are pleased to see it
mentioned in the Doytestown (Pa.) De
mocrat, that the gentleman is now con
valescent and stands a fair chance of liv
ing to enjoy in health the society of his
bride. Ncwbcrn Sent.
the system
"When the abdominal blood-vessels
have been thus distended a sufficient
length of time, they lose much of their
natural tone and eventually the liver, to
gether with the whole portal circle, are
locked up. When this shall have occur
red, the infraction accumulates rapidly,
all the natural secretions cease, and the
distended vessels seek a morbid relief by
means of the discharges which constitute
the diarrhoea. When the case has arnv
(tTThc unfortunate Calvin Edson, is
no longer a Living Skeleton. Dr. Scud
der, of the American Museum, has recei
ved information of his death, at his resi
dence in Randolph, Vermont. The mys
terious cause of his excessive emaciation
has, it is said, been at length solved.
The disease of which he died, was tabes
mcsentericu, or tape worm. The worm
is said to have been twelve or fourteen
feet in lengih. If this be so, the mystery
of the enormous appetite of the deceased
is likewise solved.
The late Fire The Raleigh Register
says: we announced m a nasty post
script to our last paper, that our unfortu
nate city had again been visited with a
destructive Fire. We then stated that it
was generally believed to have. been the
result of accident, but we are pained to
slate that subsequent investigation justi
fies the conclusion that it was the act of
an incendiary. Indeed, so general is this
opinion now, that we scarcely know a dis
senting voice. No circumstances have
yet been developed, sufficiently strong to
authorize the apprehension of any indi
vidual, and perhaps time alone may elu
cidate the mystery, in which at present,
the matter is involved. It has been a
subject of notoriety, that Mr. Smith, the
gentleman in whose store the fire origin
ated, was in the habit of keeping always
by him, a considerable amount in money,
and whoever perpetrated the atrocious
villany, doubtless did it for the sake of
There was in different parts of
trous. . We subjoin a statement showing
the .value of the property destroyed, and
the respective owners. From this state
ment it appears that Richard Smith lost
in houses, goods, money, bonds, &.c.
about 836,000. Andrew H enshaw, iu
money, deposited with Mr. Smith, 3500.
Mr. Hardford, in ready made clothing,
S100, &c
Judge Mangum. At a meeting of citi
zens at Hillsborough, resolutions were
passed expressive of the confidence and
esteem which they entertained in relation
to the political course of the Judge during
the late session of Congress, and request
ing the honor of his company at a public
dinner; which he declined, stating "that
when he looked at the past history of
Orange county and her public men, and
the long and distinguished service of
some of them in various public stations,
and remember that it has never been our
custom to greet them with similar de
monstrations of public sentiment; every
man of delicacy would readily compre
hend.the reasons that render a compli
ance on his part absolutely impossible.
It is, (said he) an honor that should be
re3eryed for great occasions and for il
lustrious services. And besides, I have
so much respect for the plain, unostenta
tious and respectable habits of our peo
ple, that I am sure you will pardon me
for saying, 1 doubt whether they would be
improved by the introduction of a prac
tice which, on ordinary occasions,! think,
is more "honored in the breach than in
the observance."
plunder.
the store, at the time of the fire, about
sketch of the first grand impairment of 4000, in notes of various banks, all of
which either perished in the flames, or fell
into the hands of the incendiary.
As on all former occasions of fire in
this city, the shade trees were found of
essential benefit in protecting neighbor
ing buildings. But for this protection,
Mr.Rd. Smith's fine dwelling and a num
ber of other houses would have been in
evitably destroyed.
There was fortunately at the time, not
a breath of air stirring, or the consequen
ces must havo been much more disas-
Fatal Accidciit. The Rutherfordtoa
Spectator says: We are informed by a
correspondent, under date of McGannell's
Store, Macon county, Sept. 2, that on the
30th ult. the people of that neighborhood
were called on to witness a scene of the
greatest distress in the sudden and me
lancholy death of Mr. Lamkin Farler.
Several individuals were engaged ia
"deer driving," and as is usual each took
his stand. Mr. Farler took his on one
side of the Tuckascgec river, while Mr.
John Dilliard, Jr. took his on the oppo
site side but some distance above. VVheti
the deer went into the river opposite Mr.
D. Mr. F. left his stand and ran up the
river to where the deer had first entered
it. Mr. Dilliard in shooting at the deer,
which was then swimming between him
self and Mr. F. in the river, missed his
aim and the shot struck Mr. Farler, who
survived but a short time. Mr. F. was a
respectable citizen of the neighborhood,
and has left a widowed wife and fouc
children to mourn his untimely.fatc.
Mr. Randolph. The Charlottesville
Advocate, of the 21st ult. observes:
From Charlotte county, we learn that
Mr. Randolph's health is now better than
it has been for many years and that it
is likely (should he consent to serve) that
Capt. Richardson, the member elect for
that county, will vacate his seat in the
House of Delegates, in order that Mr. R.
may be elected to that body. That Mr
R. will be a candidate for Congress next
spring, we believe there is but little doubt.
C7The Danville (Va.) Reporter, of
the 29th ult. makes known a deficit of
S15,000 in the Agency of the Farmers'
Bank of Virginia at that place. It adds:
Mr. John Chew, the Agent, has been in
such a situation since the discovery of the
default, as to be unable to give any satis
factory information upon the subject.
Further investigation will be made, when
we shall be able to speak more definitively.
Amy Dardin. It is stated in a Loui
siana paper that the President had with
held his signature to the bill allowing
pay for the renowned horse Romulus and
that the old lady will appear on the Wash
ington course next winter, and run down
another generation of Congress-men.