The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 52, July 1948 - April, 1949 Page: 105
512 p. : ill., maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Notes and Documents
From four to six months supply of that part of the ration not
liable to injury from the effects of the climate is usually on hand; of
perishable articles, only about six weeks supply-the frequency and
ease of communication with New Orleans obviating the necessity of
keeping in the warehouse a larger amount of such articles. The
provisions, which appear to be of good quality, are stored in a secure
building and every attention is paid to their preservation. The prin-
cipal loss has been in bacon, some 3,500 pounds having been con-
demned in May last by a Board of Survey and sold. All of it had been
in store a year or more. Lieut. Hayes' practice now is to take it from
the barrels as soon as received and hang it up, except during the
rainy season. This will doubtless be beneficial.
The average cost of the ration is thirteen cents. Fresh beef, of fair
quality, is obtained by contract at 52 cents per pound. No other
parts of the ration could be purchased in the vicinity to advantage.
The excess of purchases and contingencies over the amount received
from sales, is about $2oo per month. The cash on hand is $1,721.
(Provisions are received from New Orleans, and Lt. Hayes reports
that he has found the stores sent him "to be, for the most part, very
good." I think it right to state this, as I heard at some other posts
much fault found with the quality of New Orleans provisions.)
Lieut. Hayes is familiar with his duties and keeps his public
accounts with extreme neatness.
MEDICAL DEPARTMENT.
This department is under charge of Surgeon S. P. Moore, to whose
kindness I am indebted for the notes which follow relative to the
medical statistics of the post.
From the occupation of Fort Brown until within two years past,
the position has been considered a healthy one; but since its occu-
pancy it has been visited by four epidemics-yellow fever, cholera,
and the dengue twice. The malarial fevers appertaining to a South-
ern climate were not frequent. The last year, however, fevers pre-
vailed to a very great extent on the lower Rio Grande, especially
intermittent fever, since which time it appears almost impossible to
eradicate the disease from the systems of the patients-relapses oc-
curring time and again, in spite of the patient being drugged with
those medicines that usually cure the malady. The prevalence of these
fevers can be attributed to excessive dry weather, no rain of conse-
quence falling in summer, succeeded in the fall by heavy and repeated
rains and oppressive heat, and to recruits being sent to the post at
an improper season of the year. For instance, the last detachment
arrived in June, and the fevers were principally confined to them,
as will be seen by referring to and noting the great increase of the105
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 52, July 1948 - April, 1949, periodical, 1949; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101121/m1/113/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.