a. nARKElt, Editor and Proprietor
I WOULD RATHKR EE RIGIIT TH AIT FRESIDENXnEtf b:V Cat. ' " ; '""'"' ' f
"( '.. )
U'-i.ooiy ,ADy.v, c c.
1
VOLUME- 7.
Elp$EIJRG;.m.; THIJRSDA;--JAIJAKY:4, 1866.
1
Att INTERESTING DOCUMENT.
-Report of tr. Rotlirock, Sur
. geon of . tbe Board of Enroll
ment of tbe 171b Pa. District,
to the" War Department. .
, . . War Department,
tENT, "I
VBKAtT, J
r 1, J865. J
TnoTOST Marshal General's Bv
Washington, D. C.", 3Iay
Surgeon Board Enrollment Hh District State
of Pennsylvania:
Doctobi -.The Provost Marshal General
'directs that you carefully prepare and forward
to this office a written report, giving, as the
result of your experience, information upon
he following subjects:
1. Your experience in the examination of
yatri for military service, and number exam
ined a3 near as can be ascertained.
-j.'General geographical description of your
District, with prevalent diseases and causes
'conducive thereto ; general character of its
Inhabitants, their modes ot life and occupa
tions. 3. Reasons why any particular diseases or
disabilities have disqualified a greater ratio
per thousand from military service.
4. Your views in reference to the different
sections ofParagraph 85, Revised Regulations
Provost Marshal General's Bureau, and what
changes you would recommend.
5. State, in minute detail, your method of
examining men.
6. The number of men that can be physi
cally examined per day with accuracy.
7. Mention the fraads most to be guarded
against which are practised by drafted and
enrolled men to escape, and by substitutes
and recruits to enter the service, and any
other obstacles you htve had to contend with
in the discharge of your duties, and makt any
suggestions a; to the best method of avoiding
or overcoming these difficulties in future.
8. What nationality presents the greatest
i-hrsical aptitude for military service.
9. Your experience as to the physical qual
ifications of the colored race for military ser
vice. 10. Your views as to the operation of the
Enrollment law as it now exists, with recom
mendations and suggestions in reference
thereto.
The above queries are given as a general
tfuide for the preparation of your "Report."
Jt is not to be. supposed that they include all
points of interest and value to this Bureau,
;md you will incorporate such other facts as
; ou may consider important, a.3 it is intended
to publish such portions of your "Report" as
uay be of special interest or value. This
f ibject being one of much importance, the
'Report'' should be carefully prepared and
f rwarded as soon as practicable.
It not completed at the date of the termi
nation of jour services as Surgeon of Board
v f Enrollment, please complete and forward
2r, as soon thereafter as cor.vem.ent.
1 am, Doctor, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
" J. II. BAXTER,
Surreon U. S. Vols, r.nd Brevet Lt.-Uol.
Ueapqim?. Pr.o. Mar. 17th DurncT, 1
Hollidavsbiiuj, June 1, 1SGI.
J. If. Baxter, Surgeon U. i. A.
Doctor: la conforruity toinktructior:s
in jour circular, dated at Washington, 1).
C., 3Iaj 1st, 1SG5, I herewith forward
written report, giving as the rtsult of
y experience such information as I can
f a the section3 therein contained.
On the 17th of 'May, 1863, the Board
f Enrollment convened at this place, or
iraiiized and divided the district into sub
u tricts, and proceeded from that time in
the regular discharge of the duties of the
u2ie.
On tbo 17.th.cf August, 1SG3, we eom
7!i : need the first draft, and on the 7th of
"September began to examine drafted men.
During the first few days I was sme
fhat embarrassed in. the examination,
and was disposed to believe that drafted
men would sometimes tell the truth ; but
ray experience sooa taught rac that the
declaration of every conscript under exam
ination must be disregarded if the surgeon
expect3 to do hi3 duty faithfully to the
Government. My early impressions too,
"vc:? that every soldier must enjoy perfect
hcuUh, and be free from blemish on his
Vcrson if he would endure the privations,
hardships and long marches incident to ;
rnny Vite; thi? impression led me to put
a very liberal construction on the differ
ent sections of par. 85. Consequently on
the first day 1 found by reference to my
record, that out of 52 men examined,
-9 were exempt; and that too, from a lot
of tolerably good men. I subsequently
ecame more rigid as I grew familiar with
ue duties of the office, and learned to
distinguish more clearly between the real
-d feigned disease. 1 held more men to
etrvice, and grew every day more incred
ulous as to the honesty of drafted and
enrolled men when it is their interest to
Jocsive the Board. There are. however,
"onorablo exceptions which a practiced
faargeon will readily detect.
As nearly as I can ascertain I have ex
amined up to this time of
prafted men, 4.7 21
Kecruits and Substitutes, 3796
And enrolled men,.. 7,261
Making in all- ...15,778
or in rouiid numbers, sixteen thousand;
for many recruits aud substitutes presen
ted themselves for examination so mani
festly unfit for military duty that I dis
missed them without wasting time or
X-aper to make their record.
The 17th District of Pennsylvania,
comprises the counties of Cambria, Blair,
Huntingdon and Mifflin ; in a direct line
due east and west: It is 135 miles long,
aad 35 wide, bounded on the west by
Indiana and Westmoreland ; south by
Somerset, Bedford and Franklin ; east, by
luniata and Snyder; and north by Cen
tre and Clearfield.
The .Pennsylvania Central Railroad
rrns direct through the long diameter of
this District, making the headquarters
easily accessible from the remotest sub
district : aud in this respect, perhaps the
most, convenient and desirable of any onei
in the State, except those in populous
cities. .
This District is. traversed north und
south by the. Allegheny, anoe, Brush,
Stone and Jack's mountains, averagings
from lOCKTto 1500 feet in heighVover the
level of the valleys at their respective
bases. These mountains run parallel with
each" other, with beautiful and fertile val
leys between. Cambria county lies several
hundred feet higher than Blair, Hunting
don or Mif3in, aud contributes by her
springs," to the waters' of th'o "Atlantic
Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. At Bradley's
station, on the farm of Reea Lloyd, Esq.,
on Ebensburg and Cresson Railroad, two
pprings arise 14 yards from each other,
one on the north, the other on the SQftth
side of the Railroad. The nortfcrn
spring runs into the West Branch of the
Susquehanna river, and through the Ches
apeake Bay to the Atlantic Ocean; while
the southern spring flows into the Cone
maugh and through the Kiskimineta,
Allegheny and Mississippi river3, finally
reaches the Gulf of Mexico.
The whole surface of Cambria county,
being so elevated, is of mountainous
character ; the surface is rolling, with
high bluffs and deep ravines ; the soil is
naturally sterile and unproductive 6f
cereals, but fair crops of oats, potatoes and
grass grow.
The Allegheny mountain divides Cam
bria from Blair county. On the western
fclope it may be said to be a map of mine
ral wealth. Bituminous coal, and several
varieties of iron ore of a superior quality,
as well as hydraulic cement lie there iu
juxtaposition and are inexhaustible. The
hiU3 throughout this county, contain large
quantities of the above minerals.
Along the streams flowing through the
ravines, there are strong indications of
Petroleum, which is now the object of
attention by the enterprising men of that
county.
The Cambria Iron Company have erect
ed works at Johnstown, on the P. R. R.,
yielding one hundred and fifty tons of
Railroad iron per day, and affording em
ployment to 2700 hands. This company
are now enlarging their works with the
view of doubling their capacity. They
get all their raw materials within a few
hundred yards of their works, and al
though they own several thousand of acres
of mineral lacd3 here, the area occupied
in their present operation including mines
docs not exceed 50 acre.
Creon, the delightful Summer retreat
on tho Allegheny mountain, too well
knewn from Maine to Mexico to require
description, ii in this county.
The surface of Cambria county is
covered with dense forests of Pine, Hem
lock:, Popiar and Oak timber, where the
land h.i3 not already been cleared.
The eastern slope of the Allegheny
mountain , in Biair county, furnishes the
headwaters of two principal branches ot
the Juniata. This river passes with a
rapid current in ai easterly direction,
through Huntingdon and Mifflin counties,
receiving tributaries every few miles in
its descent towards the Susquehanua river,
with which it unites in Dauphin county.
Blair ,and Huntingdon counties being
supplied with inexhaustible beds of Iron
ore and Bituminous coal, also dense for
ests of timber, yield large quantities of
iron: the former probably more in pro
portion to its size than any county "in the
State:
In Blair cottnty" near Birmingham,
there are extensive Lead and Zinc mines
now being developed, whi3h will be made
productive during the coming year,
as an
enterprising company are about erecting
a furnace for this purpose. These mines
were opened previous to the revolution,
and for many years the inhabitants of this
country resorted thither to obtain their
lead.
Tuckyhoc valley, in Blair county, at
tho base of the Allegheny mountain, has
since the erection of the P. R. R. furnish
ed the eastern markets with very large
quantities of shingles, boards and differ
ent varieties of lumber of superior quality
for building purposes.
Mifflin county, lying out of the"range
of coal deposits, with but a limited amount
of iron ore. furnishes a small quantity of
iron, compared with other parts of this
District. Freedom Forge, however, re
quires special notice. This establishment
is the property of the P. R. R., is worked
on a magnificent scale, and the company
manufactures the tiro for the large driving
wheels of locomotives, and the axles, and
all parts ot their rolling stock on the road,
requiring the best quality of charcoal
iron. They obtain their ore principally
from the Greenwood Bank in this county.
For many years the U. S. Government
purchased the Juniata Iron which was
made from this ore, to manufacture into
gun barrels at Harper's Ferry, before the
P. R. R. Company got possession of the
works..
All of this district lying east of the
Allegheny mountain has a strong lime
stone soil with but tew exceptions, conse
quently, the fields yield heavy crops of
wheat, .rye, corn, barley, oats and grass.
Lime is burned in large quantities in
jiair county unu iy i juouui
which is'used in'the manufacture cf glass,
on account of its superior quality. ' ' ' ' :
The headwaters of ; the Juniata, river,
rising in Blair, Huntingdon and Mifflin
counties, rush with a rapid descent thro'
this part of the District, and afford great
facilities for the erection of water-power.
There arVtaao'y furnaces, forges, flouring
mills and other factories erected thereon.
Among , the principal of these is Mann's
axe factory, which ( is built on tho Kisha
co'quillas creek) four miles above Lewis
town, where, the creek breaks through a
gorge in Jack's mountain with peaks one
thousand feet high,' overhanging, almost
perpendicularly, the stream as it flows in
torrents over its rocky bed beneath. The
celebrity of Mann axes ha?'givi afcfliris
factory a wide spread notoriety.
Altoona, situated at the base of the
Allegheny mountain, on the eastern slope,
on the P. R. R., is ODe of our principal
manufacturing towns. It contains 8,000
inhabitants, most of whom are employees
of the P. R. R. company, Here the com
pany have extensive machine shops and
foundaries, in which are made everything
pertaining to rolling stock for their road,
from a car wheel to a first class locomo
tive. The P. R. R. in its passage through
this District, pierces the Allegheny moun
tain by a funnel three-quarters of a mile
in length. The company built, and still
own, the Logan House, in Altoona, (one
of the best in Pennsylvania) for the ac
commodation of the traveling community
over the road. Every train stops here
long enough to accommodate the passen
gers with a meal.
The eastern portion of the 17th District,
through which the Juniata river flows,
was, so far back as tho memory of man
runneth, until about the year 1800, sub
ject to malarial diseases, in, the form of
bilious, intermittent, remittent and con
tinued or pernicious fever, frequently of
severe grade This intermittent type was
so prevalent here that pneumonia, pleurisy,
rheumatism and all other acute diseases
assumed its livery, and persisted not only
during the Autumnal season, but the year
through; and such was the impression
made on the subject of disease by malaria,
that apparent recovery was frequently not
the case : for no matter what attention
was paid to prophylactic?, or what system
of regimen was adopted, relapse after
relapse occurred iu the intermittent formV
producing functional and organic disease
of the liver, spleen, and other viscera which
often terminated fatally in dropsy or other
cachexia. When scrofulous diathesis ex
isted, tubercles were frequently developed
by this, as an exciting cause. Such was
the poisonous influence of malaria, that
premature old age marked our citizens,
and it was rare to see an individual among
us over 70 years of age. Premature decay
of teeth was also apparent, attributable, as
wb think, to this cause. Here quinine
wa3 indispensable in the treatment of
every disease before a cure was effected,
and this article could frequently be used
in the early stage of the disease with
advantage.
About the autumn of 1S58, bilious fe
vers in their several forms grew less for
midable, and in 1800 they disappeared
altogether.
At the present time, no epidemic pre
vails in any part of this district. Typhoid
fever for several years past has been the
predominant disease, and this in some lo
calities has broken out with, considerable
violence. Erysipelas, diphtheria, scarla
tina, and kindred diseases have prevaile'd
to as great an extent, perhaps, as any
class r Dysentery and diarrhoea are by no
means uncommon.
-Among returned soldiers, we find moro
suffering from diarrhoea than from any
other cause. - ,
In the large blacksmith shop in Al
toona, where there are many fires, and
where the P. R. R. company manufacture
and repair the rolling stock for this di
vision of their road, the predominant dis
ease is developed tuberculosis.
I found many men in every stage, from
the earliest symptoms of tuberculosis de
posite to the last stage of the disease.
Many suffer also from bronchitis, with or
without tuberculosis.
Tn one Fub-district, of all the men draft
ed and examined, I fouud scarcely a good,
sound man. Upon inquiry, I learned that
in the early settlement of this country two
families of Scotch Irish birth located
there, who were intelligent, . healthy,
thorough-going people, possessing strong
vitality and great endurance. Their
children commenced marrving and inter
marrying, until now in the fourth and
fifth generation, there is not really a sound
adult known in all that extensive connec
tion ; proving, bo far as it goes, the evil
of the intermarriage of relatives.
xne lnnnoitants 01 tnis district aro in
telligent; every man is a reading man
The public schools are becoming the ob
ject ot great solicitude, and the pride of
many of our leading men. The best men
that can be obtained are employed as
School Superintendents. School districts
vie with each other in procuring the best
teachers, aud schools are visited regularly
by the Directors. Every pupil has his am
bition stimulated, and "spelling matches''
are a regular institution in every school
Two or more schools .meet in full repre
sentation at least once every year, to test
the qualifications of the other, and strive
for the palm in correct spelling. Old and
young take an interest in, and witness thc
contest with much anxiety and good feel-
mcr.
. Jvery adult reader m this district is
supposed to be well versed in English
Grammar, History, Geography and Arith
metic; those who are not are the excep
tion, not the rule.. The yeriest vagabond
that walks the street is able to keep his
own accounts and transact business.
The moral character of our inhabitants
will compare favorably with those of any
um?r in xrcnnsyivania. The predominant
sentiment ; is decidedly a religious one.
rresbytenan, Methodist, Lutheran, Bap
tist, Catholic, United Brethren and Enls-
copaliari church e3 are most numerous,
with a fair representation of others.
: intemperance prevails to some extent.
and produces its consequent evils, but
public sentiment frowns so decidedly on
this iniquity that only those who are lost
to a sense of shame are among its votaries.
A few men were drafted who were exempt
from permanent physical disability a3 the
result ot Habitual drinking.
As a general thing the wealth i3 fairly
distributed among the inhabitants. There
are; however a large number of operators
and laboring men without means employ
ed by corporate companies and farmers.
But little calculation can be made on the
operations in our mines in support of our
military force. At least ninetecn-twenti-
eths of this class are foreigners, who have
no settled home, and who are ever ready
to take their budget and travel. When
it is their pleasure or interest to become
naturalizeu citizens, they can produce the
necessary documents and vote at an elec
tion, but when enrolled and drafted they
have gone to " parts unknown." Or if
they are perchance caught up, they have
no difficulty in avoiding military service
by swearing alienage.
The principal occupation of men in this
district is that of farmers, laborers and
mechanics, most numerous in the order
represented. The mode of life is simple,
the fare wholesome and substantial. The
dress is not extravagant but plain, calcu
lated more for comfort than show. There
are of course deviations in both extremes
from the rule here presented. The in
habitants are frugal, industrious and so
cial. ith exception of one or two lo--
calities, we are a law abiding people. In
the ""place "alluded to, deserters from the
army and draitea men who tailed to re
port, congregated and resisted by force of
arms all attempts to take them. In due
tune, however, these lawless bands were
dispersed by the capture of some and
routine: of the balance.
In assigning reasons why any particular
diseases have disqualified a greater ratio
per thousand from military service, I first
notice the malarial influence prevalent in
part of this district as ?bove adverted to.
Although it is now several long years
since this agent ceased to exerciso a- con
trolling influence over every form of dis
ease on the Juniata river, its baneful ef
fects are yet perceptible. Men who were
prostrated by a recurrence ot bilious
fevers, several years in succession, suffered
constitutionally, and a larg2 proportion of
drafted men taken from localities thus in
fected were exempt, sec. 9, from P. P.
disability, 4he consequence of functional
or organic disease of the liver, spleen or
kidneys.
Tuberculosis 13 developed sometimes
under the prostrating influence of bilious
fever, although it is by no means confined
to the malarial portion of this district, for
it prerai'.s in the mountain ranges and in
the valleys, and is cause for many exemp
tions. he only fruitful source of tuber
culosi3 worthy of special notice is in the
blacksmith shops in Altoona, to which J
have already adverted, also the sub-dis
tnct iu which intermarriages of relatives
have been practised for several generations
successively, as above stated. In the
lU33bcrinr parts 01 the 1 th JJistrict, a
greater proportion of hernia prevails than
in other localities, which is readily ac
counted for by the fact that men engaged
in clearing the land and removing heavy
timber must necessarily do much hard
liftinir, thus exposing them to the drinker
of this disability. In trie same localities,
and in the neighborhood of charcoal fur
naces, a large proportion of men are dis
abled on account of extensive, deep and
adherent cicatrices on the lower extremi
ties, the result of deep incised wounds
from the ase, in cutting timber. Sawyers
working on sawmills frequently have their
hands mutilated or "fingers removed by
the saw, thus disqualifying them for mill
tarv service.
On the railroad many are disabled on
account of severe injuries by collision of
o.ars. exdosion of boilers, cars running off
the track and other mishaps incident to
the working of the road. These accidents
produced almost every variety of injury
in the lorm 01 tractures, dislocations, mu
tilation of limbs, contusions, burns, scalds
&-3. Among this class of injuries we find
many men who have lost a leg or loot
arm or hand, or who have hands so mutil
ated that they are proper subjects for cx
emption.
Among our large rolling mills, forges
furnaces; foundries and axo factories
where heavy machinery -is used, the Fame
class of injuries are found, produced by
similar causes.
In paragraph 85, revised army regula
tions, there is in my opinion but little
that is liable to objection. If, however. I
were to specify any section" on which
amendment couid be made advantageously
10 government, 1 would mention number
six.
This section gives developed tubercul
osa alone as sufiicieut cause for exetnn-
tion, and has been to me, in Borne cases,
cause of embarrassment. Drafted men
aboring under evident symptoms of in
cipient tuberculosis, with no complica-
tion,were so manifestly unfit for militarv
duty, that it would be absolute Ios3 to
Government, and cruel to the men to hold
them to service, and yet pection G requires
that tuberculosis must be '-develoned to
authorize the; surgeon to exenint."2 Mr
experience has been tliat in consigning
men thus situated to the army, in most
cases they have broken down, and gone
into the hospital before they were accli
mated to their new location or accustomed
to camp life.
In carrying out instructions in this
section, we must either violate occasion
ally our own convictions of duty to the
Uovernment and the men, bv holding such
to service, or violate instructions in this
section by exempting.
In section lo, Chronic Purulent Otor-
rhoca is given as a cause for exemnMnn.
During the progress of examinationssinee
our organization as a Board, I have seen
many cases of this infirmity, and, although
the disease undoubtedly unfitted some for
military duty, by the offensiveness and
abundance ot the discharge, a majority of
well markeu cases were by no means dis
qualified from this cause. I would sug
gest that Chronic Purulent Otorrhcea be
regarded as cause for exemption only when
the purulent diseh
is very offensive
and abundant and the disease inveterate.
In section 33, Jjoss of Ungual Phalanx
;Of Right Thumb is given as cause for ex
emption. This, in my opinion, should not
be regarded as of sufficient: importance to
exempt a man otherwise able-bodied. In
our lumber districts, several men were
drafted who had lost this phalanx by the
accidental cutting of the circular saw in
saw-mills, yet the full use of the thumb
was not in any appreciable manner im
paired, and there is no duty of the soldier
that could not be readily performed by
them.
The mode of examining, as practised by
myself, is, iu the main," as follows ! "
J. ho man being stripped and presented
before me, I take a hasty glance over his
A - C 1 ' I.' 1"
pursuu, ij see 11 any aisquaniying.cODai
tion presents itself which would make
further examination unnecessary, such as
loss of right eye, large hernia, unreduced
dislocation of large joint, or other infirmi
ty readily detected. It a rapid survey
does not reveal cau?e for exemption, I or-
dei-Jfhim to stand erect, facing mc ; I
measure his inspiration and expiration ;
I examine his lungs, by auscultation and
percussion ; if respiration is healthy all
over the chest, I apnly my ear over the
region of the heart, and a?certain if any
disease exists there. In ordinary ca'03 I
apply the car to the cheat, having a clean
napkin thrown over the skin to protect my
senses from the filth of his ocrson, but if
any obscurity exists, I use the stethoscope
to the axil:c and other parts of the chest
inaccessible to tho ear by immediate aus
cultation ; I then examine his finger.-?,
hands, wnsts, elbows, and .shoulders : I
direct him to extend his arms at full
length, horizontally, with palms of hands
together; then separate the hands, ma
nipulate all the fingers, closing the fist
and extending all tho fingers alternative
ly, shake the bands up and down, so as to
ascertain the mobility of the wrist; then
supinate and pronate the bauds alterna
tively, giving to each motion as irce lati
tude as the joints are capable of making ;
then order him to flex the forearm ol
the arm,
extend the arm again
to lull
length, circumduct the arm to test the
motion of shoulder joint ; I then direct
him to place the back cf his hanas togeth
er above his head ; while he is in this
attitude, I place rrfy fingers over the in
guinal and femoral regions respectively,
and direct him to cough again and again,
until I ascertain whether any hornia ex
ists ; I then examine his teeth and eyes.
Finding him all sound thus far, and seeing
no blemish on his person in front view, I
order him to turn his back to me ; I then
examine him by a general survey of his
person in this attitude; then order him
to walk fast up and down the room, then
hop first on right -foot, then on left, then
to kneel first right and then left, "and fi
nally to stand with his back towards the
window, to place . his hands on the floor,
with rump elevated, while I examine for
hemorrhoids, fistula, fissures, or oilier dis
eases of the anus demanding exemption.
If I detect no good cause for exemption,
I ask him if he has any reason why he
should not be passed into the service; if
he presents any claim worthy of re-examination,
I turn my attention to the disa
bility he may designate, and then decide
whether I accept or reject him.
In examinations of drafted men with a
full day's work on hand, there is necessa
rily considerable noise by walking through
the room, promiscuous talking, and by ex
amination of aliens and others who claim
exemption on causes independent of phys
ical disability. This produced difficulty
in determining the fitness or unfitness of
men when close discrimination was requi-
red to distinguish the normal from abnor
mal sounds of the heart. Oa thea&:occa-f-ions,
my uniform practice was to hold
doubtful cases over until the regular
business of the day was disposed of, then,
when., the room was comparatively quiet'
re-examine and dispose of them.
I would here suggest the propriety of
ordering the Provost Marshals of Districts,
should another draft ever be required, to
purchase a cheap quality of carpet or
matting to lay on the ofHc-s floor, to pre
vent the noise occasioned by tramping
about, which is unavoidable when a num-"
ber of men are in the same apartment.
The cost would be nothing compared with
the great advantage, resulting from th
expenditure. " " "
Tho number of nien a surgeon can ex
amtno per day with accuracy varies much
under different circumstances. A surgeon
accustomed to the work can nxamine twice
as mauy a day as " one who is not familiar
with the routine, and he will decide too
with more accuracy. When there is a
run of good sound men, cither volunteers
or conscripts, examinations can be made
with more facility than when the reverse
occurs. One who ha3 become familiar
with the duties of the oUiee can without
an assistant examine eighty men per day,
aud not feel that he is imposed upen.
I did myself the whole duty required
of Surgeons of the Board until the last
draft was ordered, when Dr. Crawford
Irvine, of Hollidaysburg, was appointed
assistant, from whom I derived much val
uable aid.
- Tho frauds resorted to by drafted and
enrolled men to escape service are, iu our
experience, very numerous. Everv species
ot falsehood and misrepresentation is in
dulged in to feign disease, when nono
exists. Rheumatism, weak back, etitch in
the side, hemorrhoides, soreness from old
fractures, old sprains, loss of sight, in ono
or both eyes, disease of heart, consump
tion, hemorrhage from lungs, disease from
kidneys, anehylosed joints, and deafness
do not form even the tythe of disease
feigned by those who wish to escape ser
vice. Less of sight of right eye is very
often claimed without; cause. During the
first draft conscripts frequently came with
the pupil so dilated that the eye presented
the appearance of organic change. . After
examining several, who first came with
this disability, I suspected fraud. We
arre.-tel two from one nuh-diftriet, had
them brought before the Board, and I rc-ex-amiued
them and found the eyes both
sound, held them both to service, received
commutation aud dismissed them. With
in one year afterwards one of these men
enlisted for a bounty, and entered tho
service with a pair of sound eyes.
I had reason often afterwards to suspect
the application of belladonna to the eye.
Under these circumstances, we examined
tho pockets of the man, and placed him
rapidly under guard until the nature of
the case was clearly revealed.
Irritating substances, such as sand or
dirt, are thrown into the eyes by con
scripts, for the purpose of producing con
junitivitis, preparatory to examination.
When a man claims exemption for total
loss of-right of right eye, if I can see no
evidence of disease, before I decide his
case I close the left oyo perfectly, quietly
stand
little
t3 one side, and order him
in a peremptory manner and sharp tone to
look at me. If the sight is totally gone,
the right eyo is motionless, but if any.
sight remains, before he is aware, the eye
involuntarily turns with its axis towards
me, which satisfies mo that he attempts
deception.
Men frequently purge themselrea, prer
paratory to examination, with drastic ar
ticles of the aloetic class, to bring on hem
orrhoids. These cases can generally bo
detected by an erythematous discoloration
of the skin, radiating from the anus one,
two or three inches, connected with al
ternate contraction and relaxation of the
sphinater aui.
A great many men otherwise healthy
and sound have had all their teeth extrac
ted from the upper jaw. A considerable
proportion ot these, I have no doubt, re
sorted to extraction to avoid service.
Some came with gums lacerated and
swollen from having had their teeth re
moved within a few days of the examina
tion, while others had them extracted
perhaps several months previous.
When we had reason to suspect that
drafted men had their teeth extracted to
defraud the Government, we invariably
held them lo service, if they were other
wise sound, and assigned reasons for so
doing to accompany them to the rendez
vous. .
Drafted men frequently came in for
examination with one or more fingers, or
a-great toe cut square off, and bone pro
truding, "with a very sore stump. These
meu were also held to service, and reasons
sent forward why they were held.
When a farmer, mechanic or laboring
man claimed exemption, and I could not
fiud sufficient cause to dismiss him, the
appearance of his hands sometimes indi-
catea wnetner lie was truiuiui in nis
declaration of disability. If his hands
were covered with thick, hardened skin, j
well sunburned, tho presumption was,
clear that he could at least mako a good"
hand at home and vice versa.
In examination of enrolled men, vrv
any doubt whatever existed as tn tb
ci&ims for exemption,
-an s
- re.