How much it may have contributed to cause and maintain it among the Russians, I am not in a position to determine.: I;R STITLY. clous effect, on the health of the troops sent to occupy s soon evident. Marshy and unhealthy ground '. I-MLC the Tc! 'ially near its mouth, and at the head of several of the creeks; but most of lay beyond the allied lines. The French. was at a late period of the war cantoned along the river, suffered considerably from the marsh within the range of whose influence they there The water obtained within our lines was, on the whole, good in quality; but its amount necessitated economy in its use during summer.
The fear that the supply would fail in autumn, was one of the many evil anticipations which the establishment of the siege gave rise to at home; but by the prudent precautions adopted bv tin- authorities in constructing tanks, and placing the. - under supervision, these anticipations were fortunately not realized. Without much attention, how i to the management of the reservoirs, I doubt not a scarcity nii-'iit it after tin- exhausting drought of the hot summer and the increasing demands of an I hiring midsummer the water obwithin the position of the division to which I nged the third contained avast number of of them MS to be seen by the naked eye swimming about in little, shoals in the water tanks, the unavoidable use of this water may have predisposed to that on >K-ra which took place at that season, it is difficult to say.
The wells were generally situated at tin- head of the raviiu s, down Btf dl brooks flowed constantly. of other more weighty matters early part of the siege, and the unanticipated sojourn of the troops on the ground, prevented that care being at first taken in the arrangement of latrines, which is so desirable in the distribution of a camp, and which was afterwards so abundantly shown. It appeared tome that the arrangements on this head were better within the British than in the French lines. The difficulty of organizing this part of a camp is by no means trifling, and the necessity of paying great attention to it is evident when troops remain long Pits were used as latrines by both armies, and earth or lime was thrown on the surface of the ordure.
Generally speaking, the pits were too broad, as they exposed too great a surface to the atmosphere. In winter, the smell from these pits was scarcely perceived; but during the heats of summer, and amidst a teeming camp, it became much more obvious, and must have had a sensible though little recognised effect on the health of the troops, more especially on the progress of wounds. The burning of the horse manure within our lines was a great mistake. The black fetid smoke hung in heavy folds over the camp, and was carried far and wide. The French with more wisdom buried it. Such trivial circumstances assume an unlooked-for magnitude when repeated on so vast a scale. * Those who visited the encampments of the Russians on the M'Kenzie plateau after peace, will easily be able to understand what a miserable condition cantonments may be reduced to by the neglect of the necessary precautions on this head.
So to allocate sites for these purposes as that they may be accessible to the camp, and at the same time sufficiently removed to prevent their contaminating the air, and that the locality they occupy shall not be required at any future period for the location of troops, calls for considerable forethought and arrangement. >D. Then- war alter arriving in camp, and from the want of men to bury them were not unfreqiiently left to decay when- they fell. 'Hie stench from this source between klava and the head-quarters' camp was at one time very offensive, and at last compelled active interference for its removal.