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Archiver > TMG > 2002-09 > 1030878590


From: "Darrell A. Martin" <>
Subject: Re: [TMG] 1880 Census Question
Date: Sun, 01 Sep 2002 06:10:53 -0500
References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020831201704.00a16d70@pop.sprynet.com><00d301c2510b$176ffae0$0100a8c0@mshome.net><5.1.0.14.0.20020831201704.00a16d70@pop.sprynet.com>
In-Reply-To: <200209010303490640.041CA297@mailhub.aros.net>


At 03:03 AM 9/1/02 -0600, Stuart Armstrong wrote:
>Darrell A. Martin wrote:
>
> >I vote for "acne", but it might also be an even worse misspelling of
> >"angina", as in "angina pectoralis".
>
>No, it's almost certainly ague. Handwriting u's and n's are frequently
>indistinguishable. As others have pointed out, it means fever. It was a
>common ailment, sometimes accompanied by violent uncontrollable shaking,
>chills, and profuse sweating, recurring at regular intervals. It was
>_common_ among pioneers, particularly in swampy areas, and was sometimes
>called the shakes. Malarial strains vary in intensity, and in many
>instances can be tolerated for many years. Some of the pioneers actually
>associated it with the swamps, and realized the "bad air" of the marshes
>was unhealthy, long before the connection to mosquitoes was proven. It is
>actually possible to harbour several strains of Malaria in the body
>simultaneously. The resulting frequent flare-ups could certainly be
>considered a handicap.
>
>Stuart Armstrong
>mail to:
>web page: http://cgi.aros.net/~stuarta

Hi, Stuart:

My message changing my vote to "ague" probably crossed yours in the mail.
One of my lasting souvenirs of an all-expenses-paid trip to Southeast Asia,
courtesy US Army, is malaria. Having been through several bouts of that, I
can say with confidence that "ague" (being prone to such) would indeed be a
handicap. Only the loss of a limb, hearing, or eyesight would seem worse to
me. Fortunately I am not "prone to such" ...

Darrell


Darrell A. Martin
a native Vermonter currently in exile in Addison, Illinois



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