FEEJEE GROUP. 349 



tract a cough, become emaciated, and in a few days it would prove 

 fatal to them. 



Fevers, whether intermittent or remittent, are unknown. 



Ophthalmia is less common here than in the other groups. 



Hernia is as frequent as it is in the United States. 



Primary syphilis does not exist among the people, as far as the 

 information of the whites goes. No case of it occurred among our 

 crew during our visit ; nor are the other diseases of this kind found 

 here. 



Bad ulcers on the extremities are frequent, and this is one of the 

 most disgusting things about the Feejee men. I might say, that 

 almost every third man has either his fingers or his toes ulcerated ; 

 but, though more common among the Feejee men, it is also frequent 

 among the natives of the other groups. These ulcers are often 

 neglected, even among the chiefs. Our friend Mr. Phillips had a 

 very bad one on his finger. The whites who reside among the 

 natives, told me that they frequently had them, but that, when treated 

 in time, they were easily cured. The natives, however, generally, 

 leave them without any application. 



They have no physicians, but were anxious to receive medical 

 advice from our surgeons; and, when the kings or chiefs took medi- 

 cine, it sometimes happened that all their people were desirous to 

 take it also. 



They occasionally suffered great distress from gunshot wounds, but 

 the nature of their climate, and the vegetable diet to which they are 

 at most times restricted, operate to effect cures in cases that would 

 elsewhere be dangerous under the most skilful treatment. 



By their constant use of human subjects, they have become some- 

 what acquainted with the anatomy of the human frame. They can, 

 therefore, perform several surgical operations, in a rude way, and are, 

 at times, successful in their treatment of diseases, although, from the 

 following anecdotes, they have more confidence in the skill and know- 

 ledge of the whites than in themselves, however rude the practitioner. 

 One of the natives of Ambau being taken sick at Levuka, David 

 Whippy (who told the story to me himself) proposed to bleed him 

 from the arm, to which the native consented. Not having any 

 lancets, Whippy sharpened his sheath-knife (such as is used by 

 sailors) to as fine a point as he could get it, punctured the vein in the 

 arm, and drew a quantity of blood, which at once afforded the native 

 great relief. He soon afterwards returned to Ambau, where he 



vol. in. 88 



