178 MEDICAL REPORT OP EASTERN DIVISION. 



saline water. These slight ailments yielded very readily to treatment, and but one man was 

 prevented thereby from duty, and confined to bed. His illness was promoted and aggravated 

 by his own gross imprudence. With proper choice of camping grounds we could nearly always 

 obtain good water, and plenty of it. 



2. The route passed over between Fort Union and Fort Benton, by way of the valleys of the 

 Missouri, Milk, Marias, and Teton rivers. 



The command at this time numbered over one hundred persons, and the time occupied on the 

 march was between August Sth and September 8lh. The length of this part of the march was 

 three hundred and seventy-five miles. 



Three men came on the sick report : St. Louis, (teamster,) epileptic convulsions; Osborne, 

 (cook,) partial paralysis ; Sergeant Collins, (corps sappers and miners,) dysentery. 



The two first mentioned would probably have been attacked with the above complaints 

 whether they had been employed by the expedition or not. St. Louis had been subject to fits 

 for several years. It was thought best to send him in a boat with a party which left Fort Benton 

 for St. Louis, Missouri, under charge of Lieutenant Saxton. Osborne continued with the mam 

 party until it reached St. Mary s village. He then had another attack of the paralysis, and 

 was left with the men under Lieutenant Mullan s charge. Collins s attack seemed to be owing to 

 indigestion, and consequent diarrhoea, kept up arid aggravated by riding on horseback. He was 

 too unwell to proceed farther with the train, and was consequently sent down the river with 

 Lieutenant Saxton. The health of the rest of the party was exceedingly good. 



3 Contains that portion of our route between Fort Benton and Fort Colville, passing over and 

 through the Rocky, Bitter Root, and Cceur d Alene mountains. 



This country is \vell wooded, and is abundantly supplied with swift running cold spring brooks. 

 No cases of sickness occurred in the main command. At St. Mary s I was detailed on special 

 service, which necessarily involved my absence from the main party until we reached Fort Van 

 couver. 



Section 4, embraces our route through a country almost destitute of timber between Fort 

 Colville and the Dalles; the health of the command still continued excellent. 



Section 5. March between the Dalles and Puget sound, via Fort Vancouver. 



This district is well wooded, and abundantly supplied with good \vater. Three cases came 

 on the sick report as follows : The first was that of a mule-packer, who had contracted syphilis. 

 The second was a case of severe acute articular rheumatism in the person of a dragoon private. 

 This was produced by his lying out in the wet all night, during a fit of intoxication. The rest 

 of the men were all healthy, except one of the gentlemen of the scientific corps, who became 

 slightly indisposed in consequence of the sudden change from being in the open air, to in-door 

 confinement at Vancouver. 



On reviewing the whole route, the unequalled and unparalleled good health of the command 

 during a march of over eighteen hundred miles appears remarkable ; especially when we consider 

 the hardships and exposures necessarily incident to such a trip. Not a case of ague or fever 

 occurred. Such a state of health could only be accounted for by the great salubrity of the countries 

 passed through, and their freedom from malarious or other endemic disease. 



All the Indian tribes which came under my observation east of the Rocky mountains seemed 

 free from epidemic disease, at least temporarily free. Their principal complaints are chronic 

 inflammations of the eye and phthisis pulmonalis. Lues venerea and gonorrhoea prevail, to a 

 certain extent, among the Assiniboins and Gros Ventres ; but the Blackfeet proper, Piegans, 

 and Blood Indians, as far as I could learn, are nearly exempt from these diseases. 



The Indians seen between the Rocky mountains and Fort Colville belong to the Flathead 

 and Pend d Oreille or Kalispelm tribes. Owing to the good principles inculcated by the mission 

 aries they are very virtuous in their habits ; consequently syphilis is almost unknown among 

 them. Phthisis pulmonalis is very common among them, especially among the last mentioned tribe. 



