142 



the hofpitals, be not deceived into a belief 

 that fo many are about to become the vi&ims 

 of climate, and yellow fever ; nor fuffer your- 

 felf to be perfuaded that the whole of us have 

 * 4 failed to our graves." 



The hofpitals are certainly thronged, and 

 the number of fick is very confiderable, but 

 this cannot be placed to the account of the 

 climate, or of endemic diieafe, for, nearly all 

 the men, now in hofpital, arrived in ficknefe. 

 They had been detained on Spike Ifland, or 

 in crowded tranfports, during many weeks of 

 inhofpitable weather, whereby extenfive dif- 

 eafe was generated among them ; and hence it 

 happened that, upon arriving at Barbadoes, the 

 troops in many of the mips, although not 

 actually ill, had approaching difeafe fo ftrongly 

 marked in their features, that it became necef- 

 fary to remove every individual of them on 

 ihore in order to have the veflels thoroughly 

 fumigated and purified ; and from this circum-* 

 fiance it occurred that many flight cafes were 

 thrown into the hofpitals, which otherwife 

 would not have appeared upon the lift. This 

 will in fome meafure explain to you why the 

 hofpitals are crowded, although neither " yeU 



