I%
h .L


sive exposure and fatigue endured by onr troops in the Indian
wars, in penetrating the swamps and Everglades in pursuit of


the savages, the


'amount of serious


disease


developed was re-


markably small, and the ratio of mortality, as Forry has shown,


correspondingly so-only twenty-six per 1,000;


while in other


portions


United


States


was


Barnes, our present Surgeon-General,


thirty-five.


informs


the


on one occasion he accompanied a boat-expedition


General


writer that
through a


portion


of the


constantly wet, t
eating uncooked
alarming the en


Everglades,


making


, although


their


food, being


way


they


at night,


afraid to


light


were


for a


fires for


Most
time
ear of


emy, no severe cases of fever or rheumatism


were


developed in


the detachment.


General


Crane, the AA-


sistant Surgeon-General,


gives similar testimony from his own


experience.
 In the "Statistical


Report of the Sickness and


Mortality


of the


United States Army," from 1855 to 1860, is a table, at


page 163, which exhibits the sickness and mortality among the


troops


stationed


at the


especially as regards the


interior


Gulf


posts, and


former, the most


embracing,


unhealthy part of


peninsula.


The


number of


cases


whole


year is


19,312, the deaths 119, or 0.61 per cent. There were but four
cases of congestive fever, none of which died. It could there-


hardly have


been of


the severe


character which is met


with in other parts of the country.


If we take into considera-


tion-the very unfavorable circumstances surrounding the small


commands scattered over this area, the


bad water, poor food,


hard work, and continuous exposure of all kinds, the small per-
centage of mortality is remarkable, and shows that, although


the cases


reported


for treatment are very numerous, the dis-


eases of all kinds were very amenable to treatment and rapid


cure; as all the military operations went on successfully


not-


withstanding this very


large amount of


sickness.


The very


small


percentage of deaths from


diseases


of the respiratory'


organs is especially noteworthy--only thirteen


case


among


the 19,000 of all diseases treated.


Notwithstanding the damp-


'ne, rait, and exposure, there were olily.thirty-three case of
 a


wemtwk and


twenty-five of Dneumonia.


"I have served in