417 ON CORAL REEFS AS A CAUSE OF FERE8. 
mites from the garrison, to blockade the port, the Sybille 
kept constantly ‘shifting about to interrupt the approach 
of small vessels to the city and the Bravre lay at anchor 
under the small island of Onrust about 3 miles from the 
mainland of Java. For the first few weeks the squadron 
continued tolerably healthy, the minds and bodies of the 
men being constantly excited with chasing the enemies 
vessels, rowing guard, and loading and unloading prizes. 
The weather was temperate, the Thermometer 82° to 87> 
with regular land and sea breezes. The laud breeze is 
represented to have brought with it a thick mist accompa¬ 
nied bv a very fetid smell during the prevalence of which 
many people would complain of indisposition in the stomach 
and B ut ea about this time, the Bravre disembarked an officer 
and some men of the 12th Regiment on duty on the island 
of Onrust where a temporary hospital was established and 
here the first appearance of endemic fever was observed. 
a This fever attacked principally the intemperate, and a 
few of the 12th regiment fell victims to fever. “In con- 
seauence of which an idea was very generally propagated 
that the island was peculiarly unhealthy.’’ On the 14th of 
September, the Centurion relieved the Bravre and took 
charge of the Hospital when 12 cases were left behind, most 
of them very ill, and some of whom died. Prepossessed 
against the island, the surgeon of the Centurion declined 
landing any of his sick there at first, till finding that some 
of the Bravre’s who were exceedingly ill recovered, and 
that none of the nurses were attacked m the Hospital, he 
ventured to land 6 of his worst patients who all did well. 
He therefore became convinced that the reported lnsalubu- 
tv of the island was unfounded in a great measure at least.” 
This last qualification was necessary and only amounts to 
this—that instead of all those attacked dying some did 
actually recover even on the spot where they had been 
Drimarilv attacked* # « « ,1 , 
The commanding officer of the expedition conceiving a, 
the vicinity of the island to the mainland was thejcause of 
sickness, ordered the sick to be removed on the 28th bept. 
to the small island of Edam situated 9 miles out to the sea; 
a circumstance that he thought must insure its salubrity. 
Here the tragic part of the tale commences. Of 60 soldiers, 
12th regt. landed at different times in health toi do duty at 
Edam Hospital and other buildings on the island, between the 
1st of October and 12th of November, ol died (besides 5 or 6 
