This name applies to a disease said to be very fatal in the Western
States, attacking certain kinds of live stock, and also persons who make
use of the meat and dairy products of such cattle.
The cause, nature, and treatment of this disease is so little understood
among medical men, and such an alarming mortality attends their
practice, that many of the inhabitants of the west and south-west depend
entirely on their domestic remedies. "It is in that country emphatically
one of the _opprobria medicorum_." Nor are the mineralites any more
successful in the treatment of other diseases incidental to the Great
West. Their Peruvian bark, _quinine_, and calomel, immense quantities of
which are used without any definite knowledge of their _modus operandi_,
fail in a great majority of cases. If they were only to substitute
powdered charcoal and sulphur for calomel, both in view of prevention
and cure, aided by good nursing, then the mortality would be materially
diminished. The success attending the treatment of upwards of sixty
cases of yellow fever, by Mrs. Shall, the proprietress of the City
Hotel, New Orleans, only one of which proved fatal, is attributed to
good nursing. She knew nothing of blood-letting, calomelizing,
narcotizing. The same success attended the practice of Dr. A. Hunn, of
Kentucky, in the treatment of typhus fever, (which resembles milk
sickness,) who cured every case by plunging his patients immediately
into a hot bath.
"The whole indication of cure in this disease is to bring on reaction,
to recall the poison which is mixed with the blood and thrown to the
centre, which can only be done by inducing a copious perspiration in the
most prompt and energetic manner. If I mistake not, where sweating was
produced in this complaint, recovery invariably followed, while
bleeding, mercury, &c., only aggravated it."
From such facts as these, as well as from numerous others, we may learn,
that disease is not under the control of the boasted science of
medicine, as practised by our allopathic brethren. Many millions of
animals, as well as members of the human family, have died from a
misapplication of medicine, and officious meddling.
The destruction that in former years attended milk sickness may be
learned from the fact, that in the western settlements, its prevalence
often served as a cause to disband a community, and compel the
inhabitants to seek a location which enjoyed immunity from its
occurrence. The legislatures of several of the Western States have
offered rewards for the discovery of the origin of the milk sickness. No
one that we know of has ever yet claimed the reward. In view of the
great lack of information on this subject, we freely contribute our
mite, which may serve, in some degree, to dispel the impenetrable
mystery by which it is surrounded.
We shall first show that it is not produced by the atmosphere alone,
which by some is supposed to be the cause.
"It is often found to occupy an isolated spot, comprehending an area of
one hundred acres, whilst for a considerable distance around it is not
produced."
If the disease had its sole origin in the atmosphere, it would not be
thus confirmed to a certain location; for every one knows, that the
gentlest zephyr would waft the enemy into the surrounding localities,
and there the work of destruction would commence. The reader is probably
aware that bodies whose specific gravity exceeds that of air, such as
grass, seeds, &c., are conveyed through that medium from one field to
another. The miasma of epidemics is said to be conveyed from one
district to another "on the wings of the wind." Hence, if milk sickness
was of atmospheric or even epidemic origin, it would prevail in
adjoining states. This is not the case; for we are told that "this fatal
disease seldom, if ever, prevails westward of the Alleghany Mountains or
in the bordering states."
The atmosphere which surrounds this globe was intended by the divine
Artist for the purpose of respiration, and it is well adapted to that
purpose: it cannot be considered a pathological agent, or a cause of
disease. In crowded assemblies, and in close barns and stables, it may
hold in solution noxious gases, which, as we have already stated in
different parts of this work, are injurious to the lungs; but as regards
the atmosphere itself, in an uncontaminated state, it is a physiological
agent. It always preserves its identity, and is always represented by
the same equivalents of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbonic acid gas. Liebig
says, "One hundred volumes of air have been found, at every period and
in every climate, to contain twenty-one volumes of oxygen."
Thus oxygen and nitrogen unite in certain equivalents: the result is
atmospheric air; and they cannot be made to unite in any other
proportions. Suppose the oxygen to be in excess, what would be the
result? A universal conflagration would commence; the hardest rocks, and
even the diamond, (considered almost indestructible,) would melt with
"fervent heat." If, on the other hand, nitrogen was in excess, then
every living thing, including both animal and vegetable, would instantly
die. Hence we infer that the atmosphere cannot be considered as the
cause of this disease.
_Causes._--A creeping vine has been supposed to occasion the disease.
This cannot be the case, for it occurs very frequently when the ground
is covered with snow. We are satisfied, although we may not succeed in
satisfying the reader, that no one cause alone can produce the disease:
there must be a diminution of vital energy, and this diminution may
result, first, from poor diet. Dr. Graff tells us that the general
appearance of these infected districts is somewhat peculiar. The quality
of the soil is, in general, of an inferior description. The growth of
timber is not observed to be so luxuriant as in situations otherwise
similar, but is scrubby, and stunted in its perfect development, in many
instances simulating what in the west is denominated '_barrens_.' We can
easily conceive that these barrens do not furnish the proper amount of
carbon (in the form of food) for the metamorphosis of the tissues; and
if we take into consideration that the animal receives, during the day,
while in search of this food, a large supply of oxygen, and at the same
time the waste of the body is increased by the extra labor required to
select sufficient nutriment,--it being scanty in such situations,--then
it follows that this disproportion between the quantity of carbon in the
food, and that of oxygen absorbed by the skin and lungs, must induce a
diseased or abnormal condition. The animal is sometimes fat, at others
lean. Some of the cows attacked with this disease were fat, and in
apparent health, and nothing peculiar was observed until immediately
preceding the outbreak of the fatal symptoms. The presence of fat is
generally proof positive of an abnormal state; and in such cases the
liver is often diseased; the blood then becomes loaded with fat and oil,
and is finally deposited in the cellular tissues. The reader will now
understand how an animal accumulates fat, notwithstanding it be
furnished with insufficient diet. All that we wish to contend for is,
that in such cases vital resistance is compromised. We have observed
that, in the situation alluded to, vegetation was stunted, &c., and
knowing that vegetables are composed of nearly the same materials which
constitute animal organization,--the carbon or fat of the former being
deposited in the seeds and fruits, and that of the latter in the
cellular structure,--then we can arrive at but one conclusion, viz.,
that any location unfavorable to vegetation is likewise ill adapted to
preserve the integrity of animal life.
In connection with this, it must be remembered that during the night the
soil emits excrementitious vapors which are taken into the animal system
by the process of respiration. In the act of rumination, vapor is also
enclosed in the globules of saliva, and thus reach the stomach. Many
plants which during the day may be eaten with impunity by cattle,
actually become poisonous during the night! This, we are aware, will
meet with some opposition; to meet which we quote from Liebig:--
"How powerful, indeed, must the resistance appear which the vital force
supplies to leaves charged with oil of turpentine or tannic acid, when
we consider the affinity of oxygen for these compounds!
"This intensity of action, or of resistance, the plant obtains by means
of the sun's light; the effect of which in chemical actions may be, and
is, compared to that of a very high temperature, (moderate red heat.)
"During the night, an opposite process goes on in the plant; we see then
that the constituents of the leaves and green parts combine with the
oxygen of the air--a property which in daylight they did not possess.
"From these facts we can draw no other conclusion but this: that the
intensity of the vital force diminishes with the abstraction of light;
that, with the approach of night, a state of equilibrium is established;
and that, in complete darkness, all those constituents of plants which,
during the day, possessed the power of separating oxygen from chemical
combinations, and of resisting its action, lose their power completely.
"A precisely similar phenomenon is observed in animals.
"The living animal body exhibits its peculiar manifestations of vitality
only at certain temperatures. When exposed to a certain degree of cold,
these vital phenomena entirely cease.
"The abstraction of heat must, therefore, be viewed as quite equivalent
to a diminution of the vital energy; the resistance opposed by the vital
force to external causes of disturbance must diminish, in certain
temperatures, in the same ratio in which the tendency of the elements of
the body to combine with the oxygen of the air increases."
_Secondly._ In the situations alluded to, we generally find poisonous
and noxious plants, with an abundance of decayed vegetable matter. An
English writer has said, "The farmers of England might advantageously
employ a million at least of additional laborers in clearing their wide
domains of noxious plants,[28] which would amply repay them in the
superior quality of their produce. They would then feel the truth of
that axiom in philosophy, "that he who can contrive to make two blades
of grass, or wholesome grain, grow where one poisonous plant grew
before, is a greater benefactor to the human race than all the
conquerors or heroes who have ever lived." The noxious plants found in
such abundance in the Western States are among the principal causes,
either directly or indirectly, of the great mortality among men, horses,
cattle, and sheep. The hay would be just as destructive as when in its
green state, were it not that, in the process of drying, the volatile
and poisonous properties of the buttercup, dandelion, poppy, and
hundreds of similar destructive plants found in the hay, evaporate. It
is evident that if animals have partaken of such plants, although death
in all cases do not immediately follow, there must be a deficiency of
vital resistance, or loss of equilibrium, and the animal is in a
negative state. It is consequently obvious that when in such a state it
is more liable to receive impressions from external agents--in short, is
more subject to disease, and this disease may assume a definite form,
regulated by location.
_Thirdly._ A loss of vital resistance may result from drinking impure
water. (See _Watering_, p. 15.) Dr. Graff tells us that "another
peculiar appearance, which serves to distinguish these infected spots,
is the breaking forth of numerous feeble springs, called oozes,
furnishing but a trifling supply of water." Such water is generally
considered unwholesome, and will, of course, deprive the system of its
vital resistance, if partaken of.
_Fourthly._ A loss of vital resistance may result from exposure; for it
is well known that cattle which have been regularly housed every night
have escaped the attacks of this malady, and that when suffered to
remain at large, they were frequently seized with it.
_Lastly._ The indirect causes of milk fever exist in any thing that can
for a time prevent the free and full play of any part of the animal
functions. The direct causes of death are chemical action, resulting
from decomposition, which overcomes the vital principle.
Professor Liebig tells us, that "chemical action is opposed by the vital
principle. The results produced depend upon the strength of their
respective actions; either an equilibrium of both powers is attained, or
the acting body yields to the superior force. If chemical action obtains
the ascendency, it acts as a poison."
_Remarks._--Let us suppose that one, or a combination of the preceding
causes, has operated so as to produce an abnormal state in the system of
a cow. She is then suffered to remain in the unhealthy district during
the night: while there, exposed to the emanations from the soil, she
requires the whole force of her vital energies to ward off chemical
decompositions, and prevent encroachment on the various functions. A
contest commences between the vital force and chemical action, and,
after a hard conflict in their incessant endeavors to overcome each
other, the chemical agency obtains the ascendency, and disease of a
putrid type (milk fever) is the result. The disease may not immediately
be recognized, for the process of decomposition may be insidious; yet
the milk and flesh of such an animal may communicate the disease to man
and other animals. It is well known that almost any part of animal
bodies in a state of putrefaction, such as milk, cheese, muscle, pus,
&c., communicate their own state of decomposition to other bodies. Many
eminent medical men have lost their lives while dissecting, simply by
putrefactive matter coming in contact with a slight wound or puncture.
Dr. Graff made numerous experiments on dogs with the flesh, &c., of
animals having died of milk sickness. He says, "My trials with the
poisoned flesh were, for the most part, made on dogs, which I confined;
and I often watched the effect of the poison when administered at
regular intervals. In the space of forty-eight hours from the
commencement of the administration of either the butter, cheese, or
flesh, I have observed unequivocal appearances of their peculiar action,
while the appetite remains unimpaired until the expiration of the fourth
or fifth day." From the foregoing remarks, the reader will agree with
us, that the disease is of a putrid type, and has a definite character.
What is the reason of this definite character? All diseases are under
the control of the immutable laws of nature. They preserve their
identity in the same manner that races of men preserve theirs. Milk
sickness of the malignant type luxuriates in the locations referred to,
for the same reasons that yellow fever is peculiar to warm climates, and
consumption to cold ones; and that different localities have distinct
diseases; for example, ship fever, jail fever, &c.
Before disease can attack, and develop itself in the bodies of men or
animals, the existing equilibrium of the vital powers must be disturbed;
and the most common causes of this disturbance we have already alluded
to. In reference to the milk, butter, cheese, &c., of infected animals,
and their adaptation to develop disease in man, and in other locations
than those referred to, we observe, that when a quantity, however small,
of contagious matter is introduced into the stomach, if its antiseptic
properties are the least deranged, the original disease (milk sickness)
is produced, just as a small quantity of yeast will ferment a whole
loaf. The transformation takes place through the medium of the blood,
and produces a body identical with, or similar to, the exciting or
contagious matter. The quantity of the latter must constantly augment;
for the state of change or decomposition which affects one particle of
the blood is imparted to others. The time necessary to accomplish it,
however, depends on the amount of vital resistance, and of course varies
in different animals. In process of time, the whole body becomes
affected, and in like manner it is communicated to other individuals;
and this may take place by simply respiring the carbonic acid gas, or
morbific materials from the lungs, of diseased animals in the infected
districts.
We are told that the latent condition of the disease may be discovered
by subjecting the suspected animal to a violent degree of exercise. This
is a precaution practised by butchers before slaughtering animals in any
wise suspected of the poisonous contamination;[29] for according to the
intensity of the existing cause, or its dominion over the vital power,
it will be seized with tremors, spasms, convulsions, or even death. The
reader is, probably, aware that an excess of motion will sometimes
cause instant death; for both men and animals, supposed to be in
excellent health, are known to die suddenly from excessive labor. In
some cases of excess of muscular exertion, the active force in living
parts may be entirely destroyed in producing these violent mechanical
results: hence we have a loss of equilibrium between voluntary and
involuntary motion, and there is not sufficient vitality left to carry
on the latter. Professor Liebig says, "A stag may be hunted to death.
The condition of metamorphosis into which it has been brought by an
enormous consumption both of force and of oxygen continues when all
phenomena of motion have ceased, and the flesh becomes uneatable." A
perfect equilibrium, therefore, between the consumption of vital force
for the supply of waste, protecting the system from encroachments, and
for mechanical effects, must exist; the animal is then in health: the
contrary is obvious.
_Treatment._--The greatest care must be taken to secure the patient good
nutritious food, pure air, and water. The food should consist of a
mixture of two or more of the following articles, which must be cooked:
linseed, parsnips, shorts, carrots, meal, apples, barley, oats, turnips,
slippery elm, oil cake, &c. We again remind the reader that no single or
compound medicine can be procured that will be suitable for every stage
of the disease; it must be treated according to its indications. Yet the
following compound, aided by warmth, moisture, and friction, externally,
will be found better than any medicine yet known. It consists of
Powdered charcoal, 8 ounces.
" sulphur, 2 ounces.
Fine salt, 3 ounces.
Oatmeal, 2 pounds.
Mandrake, (_podophyllum peltatum_,) 1 ounce.
After the ingredients are well mixed, divide the mass into fourteen
parts, and give one night and morning.
_Special Treatment with reference to the Symptoms._--Suppose the animal
to be "off her feed," and the bowels are constipated; then give an
aperient composed of
Extract of butternut, 2 drachms.
Powdered capsicum, one third of a tea-spoonful.
Thoroughwort tea, 2 quarts.
To be given at a dose, taking care to pour it down the throat in a
gradual manner; for, if poured down too quick, it will fall into the
paunch. If the rectum is suspected to be loaded with excrement, make use
of the common soap-suds injection.
If the animal appears to walk about without any apparent object in view,
there is reason to suppose that the brain is congested. This may be
verified if the _sclerotica_ (white of the eye) is of a deep red color.
The following will be indicated:--
Mandrake, (_podophyllum peltatum_,) 1 table-spoonful.
Sulphur, 1 tea-spoonful.
Cream of tartar, 1 tea-spoonful.
Hot water, 2 quarts.
To be given at a dose. At the same time apply cold water to the head,
and rub the spine and legs (below the knees) with the following
counter-irritant:--
Powdered bloodroot or cayenne, 1 ounce.
" black pepper, half an ounce.
Boiling vinegar, 1 quart.
Rub the mixture in while hot, with a piece of flannel.