472 POISONS : THEIR EFFECTS AND DETECTION. [§ 603. 
§ 603. The Gangrenous Form of Ergotism. —In this form there is 
generally acute pain in the limb or limbs which are about to mortify ; and 
there may be prodromata similar to those already described. The limb 
swells, is covered with an erysipelatous blush, but at the same time feels 
icy cold ; the gangrene is generally dry, occasionally moist ; the mummi¬ 
fied parts separate from the healthy by a moist, ulcerative process ; and 
in this way the toes, fingers, legs, and even the nose, may be lost. During 
the process of separation there is some fever, and pyaemia may occur with 
a fatal result. 
Fontenelle described a case in which a rustic lost all the toes of one 
foot, then those of the other ; after that the remnant of the first foot, 
and lastly the leg. But probably the most extraordinary case of gangrene 
caused by the use of ergot is that which occurred at Wattisham, Suffolk, 
in the family of a labouring man named John Downing. He had a wife 
and six children of various ages, from 15 years to 4 months. On Mon¬ 
day, January 10, 1762, the eldest girl complained of a pain in the calf 
of her left leg ; in the evening her sister, aged 10, also experienced 
the same symptoms. On the following Monday, the mother and another 
child, and on Tuesday, all the rest of the family except the father, became 
affected. The pain was very violent. The baby at the breast lived a few 
weeks, and died of mortification of the extremities. The limbs of the 
family now began to slough off, and the following are the notes on 
their condition made by an observer, Dr C. Wollaston, F.R.S., on 
April 13 :— 
The mother, aged 40. Bight foot off at the ankle, the left leg 
mortified ; a mere bone left, but nob off. 
“ Elizabeth, aged 13. Both legs off below the knees. 
“ Sarah, aged 10. One foot off at the ankle. 
“ Robert, aged 8. Both legs off below the knees. 
“ Richard, aged 4. Both feet off at the ankle. 
“ Infant, 4 months old, dead.” 
The father was also attacked a fortnight after the rest of the family, 
and in a slighter degree—the pain being confined to the fingers of his 
right hand, which turned a blackish colour, and were withered for some 
time, but ultimately got better. 
As a remarkable fact, it is specially noted that the family were in 
other respects well. They ate heartily, and slept soundly when the pain 
began to abate. The mother looked emaciated. “ The poor boy in 
particular looked as healthy and florid as possible, and was sitting on 
the bed quite jolly, drumming with his stumps.” They lived as the 
country people at the time usually lived, on dried peas, pickled pork, 
bread and cheese, milk, and small beer. Dr Wollaston strictly ex¬ 
amined the corn with which they made the bread, and he found it 
“ very bad ; it was wheat that had been cut in a rainy season, and had 
