HEALTH AT THE DIGGINGS.
Although the part of the country in which our mines are situated is almost unequalled for salubrity, yet the miners as a class are not of robust health: most of them look pale and haggard. The work underground, excessive toil, discomforts, and neglects, too often bring on disease. Singularly enough, accidents seldom occur. Cramps, colds, rheumatism, bad eyes, diarrhœa and dysentery are the prevalent complaints. The sitting on the damp ground induces piles. Most attacks of sickness resolve themselves into fevers of the low typhoid type, as the powers of life are soon exhausted there, and medical men have but few appliances. A great mistake arises from persons delaying a visit to the doctor. In many cases recovery is hopeless, from long continued neglect. Some will be for six or eight weeks under dysenteric attack before seeking relief. Then, too often, though they offer all their gold, no aid can be rendered. The doctor’s fee is usually ten shillings at his tent, a pound for a visit near, and two or five pounds elsewhere, according to distance. When a medical man is consulted in time, he may often see it right to send his patient at once to town, as from experience he knows the difficulty of providing proper nourishment and attendance during the period of convalescence. Yet instances are not unknown, nay, they are common, of kindness and christian charity towards the sick, even from strangers. An old man, that from ill health was unable to join a party, was tended by some neighbours for three weeks, who not only paid all expenses of such sickness besides, but actually gave £20 to get the poor creature conveyed to an hospital. If the diggings are so unpleasant a place for ordinary attacks of illness, it may be supposed that they are not the most comfortable home for a new mother. Yet on some occasions neither doctor nor nurse has been present. Deaths at the mines are by no means so frequent as may be imagined. At the Loddon cemetery I saw but eleven graves, four of which were unenclosed; no memorial appeared over any mound.
My friend and mate at the diggings, R. T. Tracy, Esq., M.D., has favoured me with a few hints which he thinks may be of service to his old friends at the mines. He desires to enforce upon their attention the necessity of regarding their mode of living; as, carelessness in preparing meals, lying on the ground, not guarding against night chills, neglect of damp clothes, and want of variety in articles of diet, are the fruitful sources of disease. He would recommend them to get potatoes, beef, onions, preserved fish and things called luxuries as often as they can. A filter in the dry season is invaluable; as bad water produces dysentery. In attacks of diarrhœa and dysentery, much mischief is done by persisting in the use of soda-damper and fat mutton; broths, arrowroot and leavened bread ought then only to be taken. Dr. Tracy would, also, recommend that a store at the diggings be allowed to sell port wine for strictly medicinal purposes, upon orders from medical men, as at present the sick can only obtain this stimulant by sanctioning the sly grog shops, at which, too, a bad article is sold at an exorbitant price.