MORTALITY IN THE PAST 117 



them the disease appeared in tlie early part of July. 

 The weather was unusually dry and liot. About the 

 same time fever was severe and destructive amongst 

 the inhabitants of St. John's, Antigua. The troops 

 in the island escaped tlie disease. 



" In the quarter ending December 31, 1839, fever 

 prevailed amongst the troops in Barbados ; it was fatal, 

 and obtained chiefly in the brick barracks. It first 

 appeared amongst the respectable inhabitants in the 

 early part of October, and about tlie end of the 

 month became prevalent in the garrison. The hospital 

 sergeant and orderlies of the 52nd Regiment were 

 amongst the first taken ill ; tlien the families of the 

 married men ; then the troops in the barracks. The 

 disease broke out amongst the troops on the sliips, 

 and even in Trinidad (March 184()) fever prevailed ; 

 402 cases occurred, 13 died. 



"In Tobago, during the same quarter (1846), 62 

 were attacked with fever out of 71, 8 died. 



" In St. Kitts, out of 8 attacked 4 died. 



" In the same year 7 fatal cases of fever occurred 

 amongst the troops in Berbice, 5 in Trinidad, 24 in 

 St. Kitts, out of 90 attacked. 



" In the following quarter (1840), at St. Kitts, there 

 were 10 deaths from fever out of a garrison of 33 

 attacked ; the ci\il inliabitants suffered as well as the 

 troops. During the twehe months ending JNIarch 31, 

 the deaths from fever at Brimstone Hill, St. Kitts, were 

 49, which was a large proportion of the garrison." 



Again, in the year 1847, during a severe epidemic in 

 Georgetown, Demerara, Surgeon- General Blair wrote : 



" Within the trenches aquatic larvae and exuviae 

 abounded, and over them clouds of mosquitos and 



