Note 18 — PETER KALM’s TRAVELS. (continued 4)

Professor Kalm wrote this, when the truly laudable method of treating the small-pox with a cold regimen, was not yet adopted; and he thought therefore, the way in which the Americans treated this disease, was the cause of its being so deleterious. But when the Khalmucks, in the Russian dominions, get the small-pox, it has been observed, that very few escape. Of this I believe no other reason can be alledged, than that the small-pox is always dangerous, either when the open pores of the human skin are too numerous, which is caused by opening them in a warm water bath; or when they are too much closed, which is the case with all the nations, that are dirty and greasy. All the American Indians rub their body with oils, the Khalmucks never wash themselves, and rub their bodies and their fur coats with grease; the Hottentots are I believe known to be patterns of filthiness, their bodies being richly anointed with their ornamental greasy sheep guts; this shuts up all the pores; hinders perspiration entirely, and makes the small-pox always lethal among these nations; to which we may yet add the too frequent use of spirituous inflammatory liquors, since their acquaintance with the Europeans. F. ↑