Hypocarnivory

From Doctor Jameson, Royal Artillery. Tynemouth, 1st March, 1798. 

ROBERT NIXON, a Collier, belonging to the works at Benton, about six miles from this place, of a slender make, dark brown hair and complexion, aged 22, and whom I visited on the 29th of December, 1797 informed me, that about two years since, he was induced to work very hard in the damp coal pits, which, he supposes, exceeded his strength and abilities, from an anxious desire to support his aged parents; that he then used to sweat greatly while at work in the mine, and to drink at the same time very freely of cold water, having no opportunity of procuring other liquor. From enquiry, I have reason to believe that he was not addicted either to inebriety or excess in eating, previous to the attack of his present disease : ardent spirits, I was assured, he never tailed ; and no beer or ale-house being nearer his habitation on Benton Moor than two miles, he says he had neither inclination nor opportunity for procuring in the intervals of labour, the common, though perhaps ncceilary indulgence of malt liquor ; and that he feldom tailed it oftener than once a week, and never drank to excess. His food, previous to, and since his indisposition, has been milk, or weak tea, and bread, in the mornings and evenings ; fresh meat for dinner four or five times in the week, with a small proportion of vegetables ; at other times fresh or felted fish, and occasionally pork; the colliers rearing hogs about their huts, in the same manner as is done by the negroes in the West Indies. The bread that the poor people use in this county, is a mixture of about equal parts of second flour and rye meal, of their own baking, and generally unleavened. Since his sickness (at the same time that he has complained of constant thirst) he has also had a keen appetite, but I did not understand that it could at any time be termed voracious. He says he could eat heartily, and more than even himself thought prudent, as his food generally after eating lay heavy on his stomach, and, in his opinion, also increased his thirst ; but he very seldom rejected his food or drink. On the first attack he felt himself languid, and unequal to his customary exercise: had a particular weakness in his knees ; pain in his loins ; unpleasant dry sensation in the mouth and face, with frequent desire for drink; and in describing the progress of his complaint to me, he dwelt much on the excessive dryness of his skin, and entire want of perspiration from the beginnings which he was induced to take particular notice of, from having been remarkably disposed to sweat previous to his illness. 

The debility, and other symptoms, obliged him to leave off work about 18 months since, and soon afterwards he put himself under the care of a Surgeon in the neighbourhood ; he also had the advice of a Physician in Newcastle. Previous to his application for medical assistance, he had not attended to the sweetness or increase of his urine, though I have no doubt but that these symptoms existed also from the beginning of his other complaints. The Physician and Surgeon whom he first consulted, pronounced his disease to be Diabetes, and put him under a course of astringents and the customary remedies. These he continued for some time, but with no permanent advantage ; he was therefore induced to discontinue all kinds of medicines for an interval of several months ; during which time his disease became gradually worse, and reduced him to a very feeble and emaciated state. 

It was at this period of the disease, and after at least 8 months continuance, that he employed Mr. Burnet, (an ingenious young practitioner of the town of Shields) on the 10th of December, and I have been obliged to take the history of the symptoms and progress, previous to that time, from the patient himself, and his friends; as I have not the pleasure of knowing either of the two gentlemen under whose care he was at first, I have therefore endeavoured to be as accurate as possible in taking the minutes of the case before Mr. Burnet, in hopes they may tend to throw some light on the cause of the disease, or elucidate any circumstances connected with its future progress. 

When Mr. Burnet first saw him, he made about 12 quarts of urine in 24 hours, (as measured by his sitter) of a straw colour and sweet taste. His appetite keen, and third exceflive, but the quantity drank during any particular period has not been hitherto ascertained. Bowels inclined to costiveness. Skin dry, and without perforation. He had oedematous swellings of his legs, and was so weak as to be scarcely able to walk across the room. Pulse about 80. Restless at night, with frequent headaches. 

He was directed to take on the 10th a grain of opium every night at bed-time ; and as I had had an opportunity previously of conversing with Mr. Burnet on the subject of Diabetes, and giving him a perusal of your publication on that subject, he readily entered into the plan of cure suggested there; which the Patient was desired to adhere to rigidly as far as concerned the regimen ; being strictly forbidden to eat any vegetable food, and to be guided in that respect by the rules you have laid down. He was, however, at the same time ordered an astringent mixture of bark and alum, of which he was to take a spoonful frequently ; and this he continued until I saw him on the 29th. During the interval from the last to the 29th of December, a quart of his urine had been evaporated on each of the following days. 

On the 12th, leaving three ounces of a thick . Saccharine extract, in smell and appearance like treacle. On the 20th, two ounces and a half of the same kind. On the 26th, two ounces ditto ; and on the 29th, one ounce and two drachms, evidently mewing a progressive degree of convalescence ; which was also confirmed by a very considerable abatement of all the symptoms; his third in particular had almost left him, and the quantity of urine was diminished to about two quarts in 24 hours. He said he had made 5| quarts the last three days and nights previous to the 29th, as measured by himself. (The extract was weighed by Mr. Burnet.) 

On the 29th, when I visited him, though heartedly declared the great advantages of the plan he was pursuing, even in so short a time, he still, however, complained of considerable debility, some pain about his loins, and dryness of skin, with a degree of 26; of restlessness and headache ; but his third and appetite were so moderate, that he found very little self-denial necessary now in abstaining from much food or drink. His mixture had griped him, and occasioned a little sickness at stomach; I therefore advised it to be omitted; and the next day he took 60 grains of the kali sulphuratum, given in 10 grain doses, He was directed to have two small blisters applied to the region of the kidneys. The opium at night to be continued, with an occasional aperient, and to wear a flannel shirt next his skin consistently. The regimen of animal food, &c. to be very rigidly adhered to, and the quantity of liquid taken, as also his urine, carefully measured, and both it and the egeila kept for inspection. 

On the 4th January, 1798 

On visiting him again, I found the blisters had not been applied, but that he had taken the kali sulphuratum as directed; his skin cool and moist; pulse 79 ; says that he perspires much in the night time, and that his sleep is less disturbed; the flushing of his face, oedematous swelling of his legs, and temporary headache, have almost entirely left him, and he is gaining strength fail. One quart of his urine had been evaporated the day before, and the quantity of extract from it was an ounce. The smell and quantity of his urine little different from natural, and the quantity of the extract much the same as on the 4th. The kali sulphuratum had been omitted ; and though he has taken but very little of any hepatic or narcotic medicines, his progress towards recovery has been very rapid since the plan commenced; and the diminution of the quantity of the residuum lingular in so short a time.

January 16th. Found him not so well as I expected, the plan of cure having been deranged, and retarded confiderably, by the unfortunate circumstance of his brother-in-law (on the 11th) losing his leg, by an accident in a coal-pit; his dependence being entirely upon him, he could not now get proper and regular diet. 

Mr. Burnet had also rather prematurely substituted a strong aromatic tincture, which I found him taking, and which might probably, with other circumstances, have tended to disorder his bowels, as he said he had a tendency to diarrhoea for some days past I proposed his taking an emetic and omitting the tinclure; but the emetic was not given him. The evaporation of his urine had also been neglected. He was much better, and the diarrhoea had ceased. The progress towards recovery is by no means so rapid as for some time prior to the 11th, though he appears to gain ground ; his skin moist; appetite and thirst moderate. One quart of his urine, on evaporation, yielded about an ounce of the extract as before. 

He was under great depression of spirits, and unhappy from considering himself an incumbrance to his brother-in-law's family. Said he thought himself sufficiently recovered to work for his bread anywhere but in the pits, and would seek employment ; and as I saw this was likely to frustrate the hopes of a complete cure, I proposed taking him into the Artillery Hospital at Tynemouth, where he could have been very well accommodated in a room with the Hospital Steward; and attested him I would maintain him, and I hoped, complete his cure, without any additional expence whatever to himself or friends. The lad himself anxiously wished to embrace the proposol, but it was otherwise opposed; and on my calling again on the 24th February, I was informed, that he had gone to work in the mine again; but after a few days trial, finding his strength inadequate, and the disease gradually returning, he went to Burtley, near Chester Street, about 18 miles from this, where he hoped to meet with easy employment; and I have not had an opportunity of seeing him since. 

I think from the great progress towards a cure, considering the time, there is no doubt but had the plan been followed up under more favourable circumstances, it would have terminated successfully. It was my Intention to have been guided entirely by the new theory of this disease, and to adhere strictly to the plan suggested by you ; but I could not get the gentleman who attended him, to abide entirely by it; and as Nixon had little assistance from medicine, the rapid progress at one time towards a cure, is therefore principally to be attributed to regimen, and the advantage of originally a good constitution. Previous to the attack of this disease, he had been a very healthy young man, without scrofula or other complaint, and accustomed always to the plainest and simplest food. The pain in the region of the kidneys ceasing soon after commencing the treatment, renders it probable they were not morbidly affected; and the sympathy or connection between the stomach and skin, in his disease, from the beginning, was remarkable.

Tynemouth 1ft July, 1798. 

ON riding past Benton yesterday, I inquired after Nixon, and found he had returned, and been employed in the colliery there as a pitman, about nine days. His strength and appearance were greatly improved. He says, the only remains of his complaint, are some degree of weakness, and lassitude, particularly after working; he also makes rather more urine than when in his former health, which in quality is apparently natural. The edematous swellings of his legs, third, and other bad symptoms, have disappeared. On the whole, I consider him a successful instance of what the regimen suggested by the new theory of the disease can effect, even with little other assistance, when the constitution is originally good, and the habits of the patient not previously vitiated.

In April 1837, the fi rst issue of the Graham Journal of Health and Longevity became available to the public. The journal served as a catalyst for a significant shift in the development of proto-vegetarianism. The new journal promoted Sylvester Graham’s diet as well as his writings, lecture tours, and other public appearances, helping to expand the diet’s prominence and reputation. Graham regularly contributed to the journal, providing both new essays as well as excerpts from his previously published books and pamphlets. However, the journal—despite bearing the name of the movement’s founder—was published independently of Sylvester Graham, who was not directly involved in its production. Thus while the Graham Journal of Health and Longevity helped further expose the masses to Sylvester Graham and his ideology, it also emphasized that the actions of individuals helped determine its success. The journal helped further develop a nationwide community that, for the time being, bore Graham’s name. However, the journal relied on the work of other writers, editors, and reformers to accelerate the spread of meatless dietetics.  

The publisher of the new journal was David Cambell, owner of the first Graham boardinghouse in Boston. The journal quickly spread its reach throughout the United States. During its first three months of publication, only thirty-eight local agents were listed as selling the Graham Journal in twelve states. By October of the same year, 108 agents were selling the journal in fift een states, as far west as St. Louis; south to Macon, Georgia; and throughout all of New England. 123 In 1839, its final year of publishing, New Jersey was added to this list of states, and the journal was sold by a total of 140 agents.  

The journal featured a wide variety of articles and followed a similar structure in each of its biweekly issues. It opened with a series of letters and endorsements, offering the familiar conversion narrative structure of redemption. Nathaniel Perry of Boston, writing in the first issue, recollected that soon after marrying he “began to indulge in what is called by most people, good living,” consisting of “roast and fried meats, of all kinds, and poultry with their rich gravies.” Meat and alcohol led to a battle with rheumatism, constant headaches, canker sores, and tooth decay.  

Perry hit bottom when a dyspeptic stomach left him unable to attend to his business dealings or even leave his house. After hearing Graham lecture in Boston, Perry “became interested in the principles he taught; and finally adopted them in diet and regimen.” The results were nearly immediate, Perry reported, with all maladies gone within a month. He slept soundly, and at fifty years of age could attest to “good health,” “the keenest relish for my food,” and an “elastic, energetic, untiring” ability to labor.  Both lay Grahamites and professional medical doctors wrote testimonials, attempting to lend populist and professional credibility to the cause. 

In each issue Sylvester Graham himself was represented by an article, often a summary, excerpt, or reworking of themes and arguments made in lectures and published works on the science of human life or bread making.  The journal also included articles focused on anatomy and the inner workings of the human body as proof of the benefits of a meatless diet. Charts, figures, and drawings frequently accompanied these articles, attempting to make scientific arguments accessible to the average reader.  

In a series of articles appearing in the journal, William Beaumont—a famed U. S. army surgeon—wrote on his observations of human digestion. Beaumont’s research was based on fi rsthand observation of Alexis St. Martin, a patient who had been accidentally shot in the stomach. This wound caused a fistula, an observable hole in St. Martin’s stomach leading to the digestive track. Beaumont placed various foods on a string in order to observe how food stuff s were broken down, leading to the observation that stomach acids helped digest food into various nutrients. Beaumont’s experiments illustrated that vegetables were easily broken down by stomach acid, in contrast to various meat products, which were “partly digested,” observable proof of Grahamites’ claims that meat was difficult to break down into digestible matter.  

Issues also included recipes, further linking Grahamites through common gastronomy. The recipes expanded the Grahamite diet beyond cold water and Graham bread, teaching meatless epicures how to properly prepare vegetables, bake pies, and prepare grains. By expanding the repertoire of meatless cookery, the Graham Journal ironically further shifted proto-vegetarianism away from Graham. The publication closed with an advertising section, offering information on where to buy the journal and find Grahamite boardinghouses, literature, and dietary products.  

Health advocates frequently wrote letters to the journal, though not always in support of meatless dietetics. One concerned reformer wrote with the desire to express a few “hasty remarks” regarding the journal’s advocacy for a vegetable diet. Not all advocates of dietary reform were followers of Graham, he argued. While admitting that Graham’s diet had beneficial effects, the writer said he would call “no man master” and was writing to the journal to “protest against the common notion that the efforts of the advocates of physiological reform are designed solely or mainly to bring about the disuse of animal food.” The writer believed that “there are far worse articles of food in common use than healthy flesh-meat. . . . A man may be a pure vegetable liver, and yet his diet be far less favorable to health than a diet of animal food might be.” The letter concluded with a call for further scientific study into the eff ects of all dietary practices, stating that “we do not aim at dietetic reform solely—we advocate physiological reform.”  The anonymous writer raised an important question for those interested in dietary reform to consider: Should the movement focus on a dogmatic dedication to a meatless diet or advocate for scientific study to continually redefi ne the most benefi cial diet?  

The fate of the journal at the end of 1839 seems to have offered an answer to the lingering question over the aims of dietary reformers, indicating that total dietary reform had become preferable to Grahamism. After three years of weekly publication, the Graham Journal of Health and Longevity ceased production, with its last issue dated December 14, 1839. The journal had originally planned to release a fourth edition, promising potential subscribers seven free issues for the remainder of 1839 when opening a new account for the coming year. This enticement to subscribe seems to indicate significant financial diffi culty for Cambell and the journal.

 In October, 1857, I placed four hearty, well men upon oatmeal porridge as an exclusive diet. It was seasoned with butter, pepper and salt. Cold water was drank between meals, and a pint of coffee, seasoned with sugar and milk, was taken at each meal. The men were the most healthy and vigorous I could procure. All regarded themselves as perfectly well, and none had ever suffered any severe illness. Their ages ranged from twenty-three to thirty-eight years. I required them all to live with me continually, night and day, and to take no food or drinks other than what I gave them. They were to receive $30 per month each, with board and lodging. I subjected myself to the same rules and regulations, asking of them nothing but what I would and did do myself. This gave them a confidence and pride in the work, each striving to outdo the other in the strict observance of the rules. 

At noon on the 9th of October, the rigid diet began. The noon and night meals of the first day were greatly enjoyed by all. Retired at 9 p. m. and slept soundly and well. All were called up at 6 a. m. next morning. Meals were taken at 7 a.m., 12 m. and 6 p. m. On the afternoon of the second day, all began to be more or less flatulent. Bowels bloated, and wind in motion in the large bowels. Each had a constipated movement of the bowels during the middle and latter part of the day, accompanied by much wind. Before the exclusive oatmeal diet began, each had one regular movement of the bowels every morning.

At 4 p. m. gave the men a walk of about two miles, which helped to work off the flatulence. All retired at 9 p. m. and slept soundly. 

At 6 a. m. of the third day, all were called and required to take a cold sponge bath. Before the bath, a dull, heavy feeling pervaded the entire party ; this was partially relieved by the bath. Very flatvdent ; bowels more or less distended and uncomfortable. Ate quite heartily at the 7 a. m. breakfast, each drinking the pint of coffee allowed.

 At 8 a. m. walked the men out for about two miles. This somewhat cleared away the dullness, and worked off the flatus. There was a general feeling of thirst during the forenoon, which was satisfied by a free indulgence in cold water. 

Dined at 12 m. At 2 p. m. all were feeling quite bloated and very uncomfortable. Gave them a two mile walk, which to some extent relieved the distended, duU feelings. Not one had a passage of the bowels on the third day. Appetites still good, but not ravenous, as on the first day. Retired at 9 p. m. A stupid, heavy feeling pervaded the household. Very flatulent, with colic pains. 

The fourth day, all rather dull and quite flatulent, with occasional colic pains. All had movements of the bowels in the latter part of the day, accompanied by much wind. Appetites good. 

The fifth day found all about the same as on the fourth day, except that the symptoms were aggravated. Each had a small, constipated movement in latter part of the day and evening. 

The sixth day, all the derangements of the fifth day were more pronounced. Each had a small, difficult movement during the latter part of the day and evening. Very flatulent. 

The seventh day, the derangements of the sixth day were stdl more marked. Flatulence and constipation increasing. Each had a very small, hard movement during the latter part of the day and evening.

I will indicate the boarders by the letters A, B, C and D. They exercised daily. Morning and evening walk of two mHes. Rising hour, 6 a. m. Retiring hour, 9 p. m. The following table will show their symptoms under the diet named, from the 8th to the 34th day, inclusive : —

It was found that whenever soldiers were thrown largely upon the use of hard bread, or army biscuit, as a diet, a peculiar train of abnormal manifestations presented themselves. These are : — 

1. Constipation. 

2. This constipation is preceded, accompanied and followed by fermentative changes and the development of intestinal gases and yeast plants (Saccharomyces and Mycoderma) in the food in the stomach and intestines. 

3. These fermentative changes are always worse towards evening and during the night, and go on increasing from day to day till : — 

4. Finally the gases and yeast plants and other products of fermentation developed, produce so much irritation, commotion, distention and paralysis of the intestinal walls, that diarrhoea ensues, which soon becomes chronic, and is not at aU amenable to the treatment of ordinary diarrhoeal conditions. 

5. Accompanying the fermentative changes is always a paralytic tendency, more or less strongly marked. This is manifested in the alimentary canal, and especially in the larger intestines ; next in the extremities, the legs prickling and " getting asleep," frequently, with ringing in the ears and a numb, mixed up or confused feeling in the head, etc. These are manifestations pertaining to the history of the disease known as Locomotor Ataxy.

6. A cough, accompanied by more or less hoarseness, usually sets in, especially during the night and on rising in the morning. It is also accompanied by the expectoration of a thick, cream-colored, sweetish mucus. 

7. This is followed by more or less constriction in breathing with frequently palpitation of the heart on any excitement. 

8. After the diarrhoea sets in, there is generally a remarkable tendency to fibrinous depositions in the heart (Thrombosis), and to the clogging up of the pulmonary vessels with fibrinous clots (Embolism), with pains and aches in extremities and back. 

9. The diarrhoea is not so likely to come on when the men are actively engaged, as it is when they go into camp and are less active. The active exercise seems to aid in working the starchy food out of the stomach into the bowels, where it is digested before it gets to fermenting badly. To demonstrate more positively that these abnormal conditions had their origin in the too exclusive use of Army biscuit as a food, it was determined to institute a series of experiments upon the exclusive use of this kind of food, as tried upon strong, healthy men, in a healthy locality, and free from the enfeebling influences of Army life. Accordingly, on arriving at Cincinnati, Ohio, I engaged the services of three strong, vigorous men of good habits and in the prime of life, for this purpose. The experiments were conducted with watchful care from day to day, and the results were most convincing and conclusive in favor of the previous observations made upon the soldiers, as will be seen from the following daily records of the experiments. , . , October 12th, at noon, began feeding the men exclusively upon Army biscuit. For drink used water, to which at dinner and tea about one ounce of good whiskey was added. Gave the men the whiskey, as they were used to taking about two or three drinks daily.

On the evening of the 9th, after giving my boarders a good beefsteak supper, I paid them off and discharged them from a diet drill to which they had submitted with a good grace for 28 days. These three subjects are all strong, healthy men in the prime of life, who had been used to the substantial diet of the active business men of our Western cities. From the commencement of the army-biscuit diet, up to the time when the discharges assumed a yeasty, chronic diarrhoea type, 19 days elapsed in one case, 18 days in the second and 20 days in the third case. The fermentative condition, and the production of alcoholic and acid yeast (Saccharomyces and Mycoderma), commenced and showed themselves in a marked degree on or about the 6th day, and increased until the army-biscuit diet was discontinued. 

The first abnormal condition brought about by this diet was constipation, with a partial suppression of the biliary and intestinal secretions and lessened peristaltic action. This left the alimentary matters in the stomach and intestines an unusual time, during which fermentative changes were started. This fermentative condition increased daily, till the alimentary canal became filled with alcoholic and acid yeasts in a state of rapid multiplication and development, disengaging large quantities of carbonic acid gas which distended the bowels with flatus. 

Just previous to the commencement of the diarrhoea and afterwards, there was a general paralytic tendency : this was especially marked in the intestinal walls, they losing their normal sensibihty and contractility under the irritant and poisonous action of yeast plants, carbonic acid gas, vinegar and other products developed during the fermentation of the amylaceous alimentary matters. In severe forms of the disease produced by this kind of feeding, the large intestines and sphincter become frequently so paralyzed that the feces pass involuntarily. About the time the diarrhoetic discharges commenced, there came on a huskiness and hoarseness of the voice, and a dry, constricted feeling about the larynx and pharynx. This was accompanied by a scalded, smarting soreness of the throat, as if it were inflamed, which extended into the bronchial tubes, together with the secretion of a thick, ropy, sweetish expectoration and considerable night and morning cough, with oppression and tightness about the chest. On examining the throat and larynx, the surfaces were found to be Avhiter than usual, showing that the parts were more deadened than inflamed.

This affection differed from all colds, it being caused by partial death or paralysis, instead of by over-action or inflammation. It continued while the diarrhoea lasted. There was also palpitation of the heart and oppressed breathing, on any excitement. I have noticed the same pulmonary derangement in all well-marked cases of chronic diarrhoea, or consumption of the bowels. During these experiments, the boarders were not allowed to perform any manual labor, or permitted to take any exercise besides the two to four mile walks, morning and evening. I was constantly with them, day and night, to observe all the symptoms and conditions ; to make such tests and microscopical examinations as were necessary to determine the various states and changes that were taking place and to indicate the latitudes and departures from the normal state. Had they been allowed to labor and take vigorous exercise, the fermentation and consequent consumption of the bowels would have been deferred to a later date. Vigorous exercise would have shaken and worked the food down out of the stomach into the small bowels, where it is digested, before any very serious fermentation had set in. Such as did set in, however, would have finally culminated in the disease as before, but under a much slower rate of progress. On the tenth day of the feeding, all the men began to show quite evident signs of semi-paralysis of the nerves of the extremities. This gradually increased until the army-biscuit diet was discontinued. During the last few days of the feeding the symptoms of locomotor ataxy were strongly marked, and the disease was progressing with alarming rapidity. The eyes were growing more and more dim, and the deafness and ringing in the ears were becoming strongly manifested.

Page 369:

During the winter of 1866-7, and following summer, Captain Libby, of our Telegraph Service, with nearly forty men, stopped at this inaccessible place. At Grantley Harbour, a good titation, and other houses (which have been left there), and portions of the telegraph line, were built by these men. It was, as before stated, the spot intended for the Bering Strait cable “landing” on the American side, and it has been already mentioned as the central point at which the natives of Kotsebue and Norton Sounds, and the neighbouring country, meet the Tchuktchis from the Siberian coast. Many whalers annually visit this harbour for trading purposes, and I expect to hear of a permanent white settlement being formed there. The experience of the earlier Arctic explorers, as of our telegraph men, shows that it is a good spot to winter in. Some of our men there, at one time very short of provisions, lived for months at an Indian village near Cape Prince of Wales. Supplies from the resources of the country were very uncertain. In 1866-7, the natives in the neighbourhood were almost starving, and were at one time reduced to boiling down their old boots and fragments of hide, in order to sustain life. “ Yet,” said a correspondent (a member of our expedition), writing from thence, “ the party under Captain Libby although without bread or flour for some weeks, escaped the scurvy entirely. The generally received opinion that scurvy is generated from want of flour, does not seem to be correct. At the station (Fort St. Michaers), where plenty of flour was received, and freely used, they wore afflicted with this disease; while at Port Clarence, where they were almost entirely dependent upon the resources of the country for some weeks, living upon walrus and seal meat, without flour or bread, no symptom of scurvy made its appearance.”

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https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.37317/page/n293/mode/2up?q=Scurvy 

Some few of the workmen had suffered from frost-bite and scurvy. A propos of the latter terrible scourge, it is to be remarked, that our men at Port Clarence, the worst fed of all our parties, who had lived for a long time on a native diet of walrus and seal blubber, had not suffered from it at all, while those in Norton Sound, who got a fair amount of flour, &c., from the Russian posts, suffered severely from the disease.