38
THE ASIATIC EPIDEMIC OF 1817-21.
generally observed that their bowels had been pre- viously in a deranged state."* The value of this history would have been greatly enhanced had we been absolutely certain that no communication had taken place between the crew and the shore at Cochin, prior to the outbreak of cholera.
Cholera occurred among the shipping at Diamond Harbour 'in 1818, in its usual irregular manner ; in fact, the only vessel that entirely escaped was the " General Hewett," " the men not being allowed to go on shore, and otherwise carefully protected from the sun and damp."t
In 1819 the shipping again suffered severely; the instance of the " Carnatic " is somewhat peculiar. This ship anchored in Madras roads on the 5th of August, clean and with a healthy crew. She sailed for Calcutta on the 20th, but in the mean time six men had been seized with cholera ; seven days afterwards one of the crew was re-seized with the disease, and died on the 20th; and within the three following days, six of the crew were attacked with cholera, and five of them died ; subsequently there were six other cases, but they aU recovered. The weather was ex- tremely bad, and the ship close to land, being only fifteen miles from the shore at Ganjam.J " The disease had no appearance of contagion. It occm^red only among the seamen, although between their con- dition and that of the soldiers on board, there was only this difi'erence, that they slept on the gun and the soldiers on the orlop deck. Some were seized
- 'A Treatise on the Epidemic Cliolcra of India,' p. 33. By J.
Boyle. London, 1821.
t Jameson's ' Report,' p. lO^. + Idem, p. 321.
