Observations on the Diseases of Seamen

by Sir Gilbert Blane

Of Exercise.

It commonly happens in a ship of war that a great proportion of the hands is landsmen; for, besides the men required to navigate the ship, a great number is necessary to fight the guns, as well as for other duties, and their health may be affected by the want of exercise.

It has been observed before, that one use of frequent reviews and musters in a numerous crew is, to call forth men that would otherwise be overlooked, to oblige them to come into the open air, to keep themselves clean, and to prevent them from indulging in filth and laziness. It is observed, that seamen are in general less subject to scurvy than marines and landsmen, which seems to be owing to the greater activity of their life and alacrity of their minds.

There is an essay on the causes of the pestilence, by an anonymous author, published at Edinburgh in 1759, in which this disease is said to be entirely the offspring of idleness, and he illustrates this by its being more apt to arise in besieged towns than any other situation; and he alledges that a false alarm of the plague will actually produce it by throwing people idle, as was the case, he affirms, when the plague was last at Messina.

There are always numbers who have been pressed into the service, to whom a sea life is new, and who are therefore prone to indolence, low spirits, and self-neglect. Men of this description are by far the most apt to fall into the scurvy; and next to the quality of the food, there is nothing contributes more to promote the scurvy than such a disposition. It is indeed both a cause and a symptom of this disease, and therefore idleness and skulking should be rigidly discouraged, unless the complaint is so far advanced as to render it cruel and even impossible to force men to take exercise.

The Conqueror, of 74 guns, one of our squadron in the last year of the war, was an instance of a ship in which only the prime seamen were attacked with the scurvy, and this is to be accounted for upon the same principle, for it proceeded from their having been exempted from the duty of pumping, in which the inferior classes of men were constantly employed, owing to the leaky state of the ship.

As low spirits and indolence have such an unfavourable effect upon health, it would be wise, as well as benevolent, to promote whatever produces jollity, contentment, and good humour, so far as is consistent with sobriety and regularity. There are certain rough sports which are now almost in disuse; and whoever would revive and encourage them, would perform a useful office to the service.

A sea life frequently demands violent temporary exertions, from the uncertainty of the weather, and other incidents; so that men are more exposed to extreme fatigue and sudden calls of duty in this than in any other situation of life. Nothing tends more to shorten life than excessive bodily labour and watching; and it is for this reason that seamen in general are short lived, and that their countenance and general appearance make them appear older than they really are by several years. This is remarkably the case when a seaman comes to be upwards of forty and it has been mentioned before, that a person not acquainted with this circumstance will make a mistake of ten years in guessing at the age of a seaman from his looks.

Fatigue being therefore frequently the means of bringing on disease and breaking the constitution, as much tenderness is due to men as is consistent with the necessary duties of service. This is a circumstance in which young officers are apt to forget themselves; and they should take care how they call all hands wantonly, and oblige men to make exertions beyond their strength, especially as this will be submitted to more readily by sailors than any other set of men, from the generous alacrity of their nature.

It would be well if it could be rendered convenient at all times, except in cases of danger or emergency, to put the men at three watches instead of watch and watch. By the former arrangement they have eight hours sleep and rest; by the latter only four hours are allowed, which is not sufficient for refreshment, nor is there time for them to get dry, in case they have been exposed to wet.

It would be a good rule to have as few men as possible out of bed in the night-time, unless where active service renders it necessary; for, if unoccupied, they lie about the decks, fall asleep, and catch cold. In such situations, might not all the topmen but one remain on the forecastle, where they might take exercise, which they could not do aloft? I am indebted for this remark to the Rev. Mr. Ramsay, who joins to a great knowledge of the sea service a warm and disinterested zeal for its prosperity, and has been so good in several other instances as to communicate to me the results of his experience and observation.

The good effects resulting from the indulgent treatment of men are, that it encourages them to enter into the service, and to do their duty with cheerfulness and resolution. There is something more daunting to the mind of man to see his companions suffering under oppression and languishing in disease, or perishing miserably from sores or sickness, than in the terrors of fire and sword, which, as we have seen, make the least part of the calamities of war. The good treatment of seamen, in so far as it regards their health, is by no means incompatible with strict discipline. Indeed strictness and even severity is necessary with seamen; for it is observed with regard to men who are used to arbitrary government, that they cannot bear indulgence and relaxation. But the steady enforcement of discipline and regularity is so far from being akin to cruelty, that it tends to prevent both sickness and the commission of crimes, consequently rendering the infliction of punishment less frequent and necessary. The chief excellence in the character of an officer seems to consist in uniting strict discipline with indulgence and humanity.