574 ON CORAL REEFS AS A CAUSE OF THE FEVER 
“ as a peon at Blak&n Mati, died iti June last after a months resi- 
“ dence. He was succeeded by Hingon who died in August; his sue- 
“ cessor Cadoo Mera died in September, and again Bera Gajee died 
<£ in November, the latter individual had for several years been em- 
“ ployed in the Arsenal, and recently discharged consequent on the 
“ transfer of the ordinance department to Fort St. George. The 
“ climate appears to be of that baneful character as to prove fatal 
“ to Europeans as well as natives.” The climate, as this extract says, 
is as pernicious to Europeans as to the natives, for, on consulting 
my notes, I find the following taken from the victim himself. Mr 
Spicer while at Lombok in 1835 had the fever of that place, a pure 
remittent, which returned upon him several times, but he considered 
himself at last quite relieved of it, when in November 1842 he was 
appointed to the signal station at Blakang Mati. He had been 
there 14 days only, when he was attacked with the fever, which 
lasted one month, and under which he nearly succumbed. A sai¬ 
lor who was with him, was similarly attacked, and died. During 
the time of Mr. Spicer’s stay on the island, he slept at the bottom 
of the hill. 
Having in common with others heard of the uncommon fatality 
amongst the natives and strangers, who sojourned there for a limit¬ 
ed time, I made many inquiries of the medical men who had been re¬ 
sident in Singapore lor a longer time than I had, but, saving the 
fact of its being very unhealthy, they could not furnish me with any 
information. 1 had on several occasions visited the island, but as 
my object was amusement, I took no heed of the place. But the 
extraordinary circumstance of having such a fatal spot so near to 
Singapore town, kept possession of my mind, and determined me at 
last to investigate the place to ascertain the cause of the fever. 
Before proceeding in this investigation, I will briefly describe in 
a note, to which I beg the attention of the reader, the two forms of 
fever that are met with in this locality, and which are identical, in 
all particulars, with the same forms in other places, as the west coast 
of Sumatra, Batavia, Dilli, Lombock, &c., only differing in intensi¬ 
ty and the idiosyncracy of the patients.* 
* Batavia fever, West Coast of Sumatra fever, Jungle fever, Remittent 
fever and Dim.am Itapielu of the Malays are all synonymous. The 
symptoms may be said to be, at first, slight headache, occasional rigors, 
pain in the small of the back and thighs, restlessness, skin of hands and 
feet dry, tongue generally dry and brown in the centre, slight thirst, fever 
felt principally at nigh t, but not severe, loss of appetite, flatulent abdomen, 
