killed the wife, and children of Cornelius Campbell. The white man plotted 

 revenge and knowing that Chocorua often climbed alone to the summit of 

 the mountain which now bears his name laid a trap for him. He shot and 

 fatally wounded the prophet. Chocorua, who uttered this curse just before 

 he fell over the precipice. 'A curse upon ye. whitemen! May the Great Spirit 

 curse ye when he speaks in the clouds, and his words are fire! Chocorua 

 had a son, and ye. killed him while the sky looked bright! Lightning blast 

 your crops! Winds and fire destroy your dwellings! The Evil Spirit breathe 

 death upon your cattle! Your graves lie in the war-path of the Indian! Pan- 

 thers howl and wolves fatten over your bones! Chocorua goes to the Great 

 Spirit — his curse stays with the white man!' 



"At one time ( 1821 ) it was believed that the disease was due to the 

 natural occurrence of muriate of lime (calcium chloride.) in the drinking 

 water. Treatment of the drinking water with common soapsuds was recom- 

 mended. The waters in this area, however, have since been found to be low 

 in lime. Some farmers, as a preventive measure, feed their cattle clay from 

 certain pits, one such pit being in the neighborhood of Whiteface school. 

 In general the location of such pits was a closely guarded secret. The man- 

 ner in which this clav might function has not been determined.'' 



Another interesting sidelight on this situation was the rather profitable 

 business carried on by a few^ shrewd cattle dealers. These men made it a 

 practice to buv affected animals which were nearly ready to die. When 

 placed on pasture in other parts of the state, these animals usually recovered 

 rather quickly and were sold a few months later at almost a clear profit. 

 One farmer told about having to go out of the dairy business on two differ- 

 ent occasions because his animals were gradually starving to death because 

 they would not eat normally. The blame was laid on the grain, but changing 

 from one brand to another was of no benefit. This fanner was on the verge 

 of quitting for the final time, when the condition was relieved by the feeding 

 of cobalt. Other interesting situations were encounted. but a lack of space 

 prevents their being recorded here. 



Field Studies on New Hampshire Dairy Farms 



The first report on cobalt deficiency in New Hampshire was made during 

 1944 in New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station Circular 68. This 

 publication, which reported on the. first cases treated, was circulated rather 

 widely throughout New Hampshire and it helped greatly in arousing the 

 interest which was necessary for carrying out the second phase of the study. 



The second phase of the study was carried out to determine the extent 

 of cobalt deficiency among the livestock population of New Hampshire. Much 

 of the success of this undertaking was due to the cooperation of feedmen. 

 veterinarians, county agricultural agents, and the owners of the affected 

 livestock. The usual procedure in this phase was for a livestock owner to write 

 to the Agricultural Experiment Station stating that one or two of his cattle 

 were in very bad condition and would not eat normally but that the re- 

 mainder of his animals appeared normal in every respect. When this letter 

 was received, a small amount of cobalt sulfate and instructions for feeding 

 it were sent to the livestock owner free of charge, but with the request that 

 he report the results obtained from feeding it. Several of these farms were 

 visited in order to get first-hand information on the deficiency. 



