two; therefore I was anxious to meet this gentleman. introduced to him, and he made the following statement:

I was soon

The first mule that died was twenty years old, and the day before it died it seemed a little dull and consequently it was not worked much; was put in stable and given feed, some of which was eaten; went to the stable next morning and found the mule dead; seemed as if death took place suddenly, as the mule was propped against manger when it fell. A neighbor opened the mule, and said the cause of death was the rupture of a blood vessel. The second mule that died was seven years old. I first noticed that the mule could not eat; would chew food and try to swallow, but could not. It would eject the food from the mouth, and when it would try to drink the water it would return through the nostrils. There was a lump under the jaw; there was a copious discharge of matter from the nose and mouth. We smoked the head with pine tar and corn-cobs. Stood up until the last and fell dead. An examination after death revealed a tumor in the stomach containing matter of the consistency of hog brain.

66

From the above symptoms we can certainly conclude that the second mule was not affected by the staggers.' The symptoms point to strangles. In the case of the first mule there is a possibility that the verdict of the person who held the post-mortem examination was correct; if so, neither one of the mules was affected with staggers.

Mr. W. T. Frisbee said:

My brother and I farm jointly. Lost two horses this year. The first was an old animal; refused the feed; when brought out inclined the head to one side; kept going around in a circle; would not go straight forward; would back sidewise; left her leaning against door at night; next morning found her continually turning in a circle in the cotton patch; she soon fell and laid in a stupor until a short time before she died, when she strained a little and then died quietly. The other horse was seven years old; showed much the same symptoms. We examined them after death and found the lungs bloodshot and black; liver looked black; there was very little feed in the stomach; bladder full of urine. Fed on blade fodder and corn; noticed no smut or mold on it. We have lost over $2,000 worth of horses from this disease in the last ten years.

Mr. Frisbee said that the horses did not have any feed of this year's raising, to his knowledge, but he stated his brother knew more about the matter than he did. It is more than likely that the animals were either grazed or had been fed some hay, oats, or corn of this year's crop.

Mr. James T. Ramsey said:

I lost one horse seven years old. First appeared weak in the legs; would reel around and whinny very loud (delirium); he fell, and when lifted him up stood until 12 m., when he fell again and could not be gotten up; he appeared to be very blind; struggled very much; died that night. I fed oats of this year's crop, also old corn and fodder; my oats had been wet with rain after it was cut and was not perfect. I lost a horse four years ago with same disease.

Capt. T. R. Gaskins said:

I lost a mare this year. I noticed her reeling; she staggered and fell; died same night. I fed old corn and fodder, and oats of this year's raising.

Mr. Elisha Everett said:

I lost two horses this summer. A mare died first; she was down and struggling before we knew that anything was wrong; we got her up with assistance and took her out of the stable; discovered she was perfectly blind. We poured water on her head, which gave her relief; when we would stop the water she would reel around in one direction; she fell and died; she only lived twenty-four hours after we first noticed that she was sick. The horse we noticed to be sleepy and sluggish for three or four days; then he began to reel around and stagger and lean up against things, like a drunken man exactly; he fell, and we could not get him up; died soon after. I fed corn and fodder, and oats that I raised this year; they were damaged some by rain. I particularly notice that when we have heavy rains there are numerous cobwebs on the ground and trees, and always in those years there are more deaths from staggers than any other season. I remember this disease for years past.

I talked with many other gentlemen at Berea Church who had suffered losses by this disease, and there were many in the church engaged that I did not get an opportunity to see, who, I was informed, lost one or more horses during the summer with the staggers.

A number of times during the day I was informed that a Mr. Putnam had had considerable experience with the disease, and held many post-mortem examinations of horses that had died in the neighborhood. As I was desirous of getting his views on the subject we drove to his farm, about six miles from Suffolk. I may as well state that Mr. Putnam has something of a reputation in the vicinity as a "horse doctor." In fact, he told me that he "knew as much about practical horse doctoring as any other man." He did not put in a claim to theoretical knowledge, however. He said:

I lost some horses last summer; the first sick one I noticed could not get its head to the ground; there was a difficulty in swallowing; when he attempted to drink the water it would return through his nose; he would hold his mouth in the water for half an hour at a time and try to drink, but he could not; he breathed very hard; could not drench him; he would pick a little grass, chew it, and quid it; he stood very droopy until fourth day and then got in between some trees and roots and stood against the bank; fell on the fourth night and died the next; struggled a little before he died. The next attacked was a mare. She appeared weak across the loins; when down she could not get up again without assistance; the second day she got down and we could not get her up again without great assistance, when the breathing was very quick; her back was dry and hot. Next day she got down and struggled considerably for six hours and died that night. Another horse we first noticed sick in the stable in the morning. We brought him out and had much difficulty in leading him across the lawn, as he was inclined to turn to the right side and would not go straight; we finally got him to a cool shed about 20 yards from the stable; he leaned up against the barn and stood there until 2 o'clock, p. m., when he fell; he died that night about 7.30 o'clock without a struggle. I held a postmortem on the first horse; the lungs looked very slimy on the outside; did not cut into them, but there appeared to be matter around them; stomach contained very little food. I held a post-mortem on a yearling colt belonging to a neighbor; found lungs all right; stomach looked healthy, but all along the large gut there were tumors from the size of a buckshot to size of a walnut; some were hard and others contained a greenish water. I don't think I ever lost one before except when I lived in North Carolina, when I lost one by staggers. I fed corn, hay, and fodder; my horses grazed on the lawn; also fed some pea-nut hay. I fed some early corn of this year's crop; fed a great deal of last year's millet. The horses died in this neighborhood in July and August. One of my colts had the disease and I cured him.

It is not certain that the first animal of Mr. Putnam's was affected with staggers; it might have been laryngitis or strangles. There is no doubt about the other two. I was informed that Mr. Putnam was the gentleman who held the post-mortem examination on the mules of Mr. Shriver.

Many horses and mules were in the neighborhood of Berea Church tied to wagons and trees. I examined the feed they had before them and I did not find one specimen that I could call first class; all was more or less affected with mold or rust. I was informed that there are as many mules in this neighborhood as there are horses, and still I could not hear of an authentic case of staggers in a mule. This fact is worth considering. The mules and horses are generally kept in the same stables and subjected to the same conditions and treatment. Another fact I wish to call attention to is this: No matter what ailed a horse or mule it was supposed to be affected with this disease; but this is easily accounted for when we take into consideration the panic-stricken state of the communities that were affected

by the disease. One old gentleman, who lives in the vicinity of Berea Church, remarked:

We suffered heavier losses than the people of Charleston. Of course our houses were not destroyed by an earthquake, but just think of the thousands of dollars' worth of horses that were lost in this neighborhood.

I tried to get a fair estimate of the losses in the neighborhood, but it was impossible to do so without visiting every farm. The lands of the people with whom I conversed to-day are situated between the Nansemond River and the Dismal Swamp-all flat land; wherever there is running water it is from the swamp running into the river. Many of the animals drink the water from the ditches, but the horses get their water from the wells, which average from 15 to 20 feet in depth. During the months of July and August the swamp was full of water, and, as a consequence, the water in many of the wells and ditches was even with the ground. On the opposite side of the Nansemond the banks are generally higher, and the losses from staggers were very few in comparison.

On November 4 I drove to Isle of Wight County. On my way there I passed through the village of Chuckatuck, 10 miles north of Suffolk, where I was introduced to a gentleman named Mr. G. W. Brittain, who said:

I saw five cases of the disease called staggers. The general symptoms they showed were a drooping of the head; they would press their heads against stalls or mangers, lose the use of their legs, fall, afterwards get convulsions, struggle violently, and die. These cases were on five different farms on the lowlands; one case was owned on a sand-ridge farm, but was worked and fed on the lowland; all were fed on feed produced in the vicinity. Have known outbreaks of the disease in former years; when the outbreaks are general they always follow a wet season; I remember an outbreak in 1867 and another in 1876. Twenty-three horses have died within 5 miles of here this season, according to my count. Only one mule died-that was Mr. Lattimer's.

These deaths occurred mostly on Barrett's Neck, a strip of land between the Nansemond River and the Chuckatuck Creek. I have good authority for stating that considerably more than twenty-three died on this neck of land. Afterwards I met Mr. B. F. Lattimer, the death of whose mule is mentioned above. He said:

I lost one mule in March. He seemed dull for two days, and then got down and could not get up again; he could eat some up to the time he died; when down the head was drawn back and the tail up; legs were stiff; jaws seemed stiff; bowels did not move; noticed the washer extended over the eye. I lost another mule the latter part of August. First noticed her unusually wet with perspiration when she came from the thrashing-machine; next day she seemed stiff, as if foundered; she would try to drink, but the water would come back through the nose; swollen under the jaw, which swelling increased until she suffocated; before she died she could not breathe through the nostrils; she would get down and could not be gotten up without difficulty. The mate to this mule appeared to be affected the same way about two weeks after, but recovered. I keep four other mules and four horses on same farm. Ifed corn and fodder of last year, and orchard grass and clover of this year's crop which was damaged some, but would be considered good for this year.

The first mule lost by Mr. Lattimer may have died from a spinal affection, but I am inclined to think it was affected with tetanus. I do not for a moment suppose the second mule was affected with staggers, although it is the general opinion of the people in the neighborhood that it had the disease.

Mr. N. N. Pitt, who lives four miles north of Chuckatuck, said:

I lost three fine horses. First one that died when brought out of stable would step high and lean to one side; it scrambled about 15 feet, fell, and died; all showed similar symptoms. I fed last year's corn and fodder; two grazed; one most all the time on the mash; the other was fed at other places, and was fed here oats of this year's crop. All died between the 3d and 13th of September. All the horses that died on the sand ridges about here were worked and fed on the lowlands.

I next visited the farm of Mr. Mills Rogers, jr., which is situated across the line in Isle of Wight County. Mr. Rogers was away from home, but I met his son, who said:

We lost a colt two and a half years old. It would walk around in a circle; could not hold him still; he would get down and go into convulsions; would make several ineffectual attempts to get up, and would finally do so; he was sick two days; went perfectly blind before he died; finally got down and could not get up. We fed fodder and corn and oats of this year's raising; grazed some on clover and some on wild pasture.

Mr. Rogers reported eight horses that died on this side of Brewer's Creek within 1 mile, viz: Pitt, 3; Pruden, 1; Mayo, 1; Ashby, 1; Cutchins, 1; Rogers, 1. He heard of no cases back on the sand ridges, and said that very few horses had died in Isle of Wight County. The farms on which horses died in this neighborhood are along the bank of Brewer's Creek, which empties into Chuckatuck Creek near its mouth. The land is damp and wet at seasons. Dr. G. A. D. Galt, a physician of Benn's Church, Isle of Wight County, said:

I have seen cases of it in former years, and am of the opinion that it is cerebrospinal meningitis. I did not see any of the cases of this outbreak; there were only two cases in my neighborhood. I did not go near them, as I thought the disease contagious. The cases were nearly all in the necks between the creeks.

On November 5 I went to Portsmouth, where, I was informed, the postmaster, Mr. Lindsay, had lost some horses. I called upon him, and he took me out to his farm and gave me the following information as to his losses:

I lost five head. Two very valuable colts died in August; a mule died in September. I saw all when they were suffering, except the mule. I can not say that the mule died with the staggers, but it was said he did. I have lost horses almost every season by this disease for twenty-five years. It has been a common disease down in North Carolina, where I was raised, for at least forty years to my recollection. I believed it to be caused by malaria. I thought the hot sun had something to do with it; therefore I kept my horses in the stable during the sunshine, and turned them out on pasture at night, but they died all the same. They were also fed on hay and corn.

Mr. Lindsay has two stables, one distant about 35 yards from the other. One stable contained five and the other ten horses. The three that died on this farm were kept in the stable that contained the five. I was informed the stable got damp before the animals died. None of the horses in the other stable were affected, nor were the two horses that remained in the damp stable. All the horses in both stables were fed and treated the same. On our way to the farm we met the man who had charge of the mule when it died. He said the mule had a swelling in the throat, and lived nine days after it was first attacked. From the conversation with this man, I concluded that the mule was not affected with staggers. I remarked to Mr. Lindsay that I had not heard of a case where imported feed had been used. He replied that several such cases had occurred in Portsmouth, and gave me the names of W. & J. Parker and C. L. Dougherty. I called at the business place of Messrs. Parker, and met one of the firm, who said:

We lost a large draft horse about the 5th of August. He was in fine condition; was at the wharf for a load when he began to perspire and tremble; we put him in the stable; he was sick all the week and died the following Sunday. He was not blind at any time, but stood up until he fell dead, carrying the partition down with him. His bowels were regular during the whole week. Several times I noticed him throw his head back as if he was trying to shake off a fly. We held no post

mortem examination. We fed hay, oats, and meal from the West. For a week before he died we fed from a load of millet hay raised on our farm, which is about 10 miles from Portsmouth. The farm is flat land, and surrounded by the Nansemond River and the west branch of the Elizabeth River. There is a swamp within a short distance. The horse doctor who attended him left the impression with me that the horse died with staggers.

Mr. Parker then called in the hostler who attended the horse during his sickness, who said:

The horse doctor said he had pneumonia; he did not cough; when first noticed that he was sick he would lay down and wallow; after the first day he would stand quiet wherever I put him; he would stand very quiet all the time after the first day; would drink, but would not eat.

I do not think this horse was affected with staggers-more likely an abdominal trouble.

I next called to see Mr. C. L. Dougherty. He was not at home, but the gentleman in charge informed me that the horse died of lockjaw, and I must say that, from the history of the symptoms furnished me, I am inclined to believe he was affected with tetanus. He died the last week in September. Mr. W. J. Davis, livery-man, Portsmouth, said:

I averaged twenty horses in my stable during the summer; I did not have a case of staggers in my stable; I did not use a particle of food that was not imported from the West, and I think that is the reason I did not have any of the disease.

As I was anxious to discover a case of the disease in a large town where the feed is procured from feed-stores, and consequently raised in the West, I made inquiries in every direction, but I failed to find a single case. I was told that a certain horse doctor in Portsmouth had had great success in treating the disease. I went to see him and he made the following statement:

I cured eighteen cases out of nineteen I treated for the disease, only one of which was in Portsmouth and owned by L. H. Pearson; the balance were in the country. I did not see the one that died, but I sent the medicine to him, and the man only got one dose down the horse before it died, and I can not count that a case. I do not call the disease staggers. I think it is malaria, because I treated it for such and the horses got well.

I went immediately to see Mr. L. H. Pearson, from whom I received the following account of his horse, mentioned in the horse doctor's statement:

I had an animal sick; drove her about 15 miles the evening before she got sick; she appeared as well as usual; about 12 o'clock next day I noticed she was uneasy; would look back at her flanks as if in pain; would walk around, then lie down and groan and grunt like a person; she would paw continually when standing up, then lie down and roll over from side to side; at 5 o'clock same evening she was as well

as ever.

It is hardly necessary for me to say that I did not follow up any more of the cases of this horse doctor, who treated a case of ordinary spasmodic colic for a malarial fever, but, as I have remarked in another place, every sick horse was supposed to have the prevailing malady, even by that intelligent (?) fraternity, the self-made horse doctor. From a farmer or a business man I could always get a plain statement of facts, but from those fellows who pretended to have almost supernatural knowledge of the diseases of the horse I could never get anything but garbled accounts, accompanied by a superabundant quantity of volubility and pedantry.

I called upon Dr. H. F. Butt, of Portsmouth, who had given the