10 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [Jan., 



while the others are of such slight nature and have so 

 few typhoid symptoms as to make it at least doubtful 

 whether they were really typhoid fever. Of these cases 

 of undoubted typhoid 13 have been very serious and the 

 others not very serious. Three deaths have occurred 

 and at the time of writing there are two or three other 

 patients in a very critical condition. It will be noticed 

 from these facts then that the outbreak of typhoid fever 

 in college began about the 20th of October, and the last 

 case occurred about November 8th. 



As soon as the serious nature of the disease was rec- 

 ognized an investigation as to its cause was begun. Of 

 course at that time it was not known that the disease 

 would be limited to the dates above mentioned and it 

 was regarded as possible that there was in college a con- 

 stant source of infection. The students that were sick 

 were found to room in all of the college buildings and 

 also in several houses in town. Moreover, it was seen 

 that they did not board at the same boarding place, and 

 there appeared at first, therefore, to be no connection 

 between them except the college campus. The first ob- 

 ject of suspicion was the water from two wells at the 

 back of the college buildings, which was used occasion- 

 ally by the students of the college for drinking purposes. 

 On this suspicion the use of the water was immediately 

 stopped and an examination of the wells was made. 

 Chemical examination showed in one of the wells an ex- 

 ceptionally large amount of albuminoid ammonia. The 

 examination was made immediately after a heavy rain 

 following a long drought which might possibly have ac- 

 counted for this. A bacteriological examination was im- 

 mediately set on foot according to the method of Prof. 

 Vaughn. Bouillon cultures from the water of each well 

 were made and cultivated for two days in a culture oven. 

 Then twenty cubic centimeters of the culture were inoc- 

 ulated into the abdominal cavity of white rats. The 



