78 On the Use of Issues. 



under an indisposition of the lungs, which was occa- 

 sioned by the hardships of his profession, he, in con- 

 sequence, relinquished the practice of it, and at pre- 

 sent keeps a public house. He informed me, that 

 he had removed the indisposition of his lungs, by the 

 use of a seton, in his side. 



While he laboured under this infirmity, he fre- 

 quently visited upwards of one hundred patients, 

 labourers at the Onondaga-Salt- Spring, who were all 

 ill with bilious fevers. Among this number, he 

 found only two and himself, who were exempted 

 from the disorder. The cause of this exemption he 

 imputes to the circumstance of issues, or running 

 sores, in the two labourers ; and the discharge from 

 the seton, in himself. One of the men had a run- 

 ning sore on his leg, and the other a scald head. 



Dr. Beech concludes, that the disorder was pre- 

 vented by these evacuations, which he found were 

 much more copious, while the fever raged, than at 

 other times. The discharge from his side was also 

 more copious while he remained at the Spring, than 

 when he was absent. 



It is remarkable, that out of more than one hun- 

 dred, only these three persons, thus circumstanced, 

 should be exempted from the fever. From hence, I 

 have been induced to believe, that issues might prove 

 an excellent preventative of the Yellow-Fever, ike. 



Cannandaigua ( State of New-York J, 

 January I2tb, 1801. 



