Health Problems

Accidents were common, especially among the soldiers working on the fortifications. Loss of sight, broken bones and hernias were the major injuries. Broken limbs were either set or amputated, depending on the severity of the injury. Hernias were treated by bandaging them with special bandages. Individuals who suffered from mental illnesses were sometimes tied up and left alone in a room. Scurvy was a much more common ailment. Sailors and merchants who sailed long distances developed scurvy. Symptoms include skin lesions, brittle bones and teeth falling out. Local natives helped cure this illness by administering a potion consisting of conifer bark and needles. Native populations were nearly wiped out by the European diseases. Even the most simple disease could destroy a native village because no immunity was ever built up.

The cold, damp climate caused some respiratory ailments. Probably the most deadly of all the diseases was smallpox. This disease is characterized by a high fever, rashes on the hands and face which would deteriorate and eventually become infected. Death is caused by infection of the brain and lungs. There were two major outbreaks. The first, and most deadly was in 1733, when patient mortality rose over 300%.