12th. The day was uncommonly hot, and my fever came upon me about ten o’clock. The heat was intense. Mr. ——, a young unexperienced Frenchman, gave me tamarind water and cream of tartar, which had not a good effect. I now discerned the first symptom of a cold fit; but it was slight and of short duration. This day, however, I supported the fever rather better than usual, and in the evening had a short intermission, and slept a little during the night. The air on the river was this day cooler and more refreshing than on shore.
13th. About eleven o’clock had a regular cold shivering fit, succeeded by a very severe hot fever, which continued till five in the evening, when I was somewhat relieved by perspiration. This day the agony of the hot fit was inexpressible, with great pain in my loins, and a constant inclination to make water, which came from me in drops like blood. I had a very bad, sleepless night.
14th. By Mr. ——’s advice I took a dose of tartar emetic, which not working, he gave me some ipecacuanha. I brought up a great deal of bile, but the fever increasing, my sufferings under it were greatly increased by the operation of the emetic, which worked powerfully both upwards and downwards. This was a trying day indeed. I can give no idea of what I suffered, which must have been intolerable, attended with intervals of delirium and frequently swooning. About five the fever began to abate a little, and at six Mr. —— gave me a small dose of decoction of bark, which seemed instantly to cause a return of the fever, heat, thirst, anxiety and pain.
My fellow-sufferer, Mr. Abraham, was in violent agony this day; he cried out repeatedly that a fire was consuming his bowels, and that he was in exquisite torture. The captain of the cruiser had been complaining; he, Mr. Abraham and myself lay in the same cabin. About 4 o’clock in the afternoon, when my pain was excessive, I crawled from my cot, with an intention to drop myself from a port-hole which was under the captain’s bed, into the river. I had nearly accomplished my purpose, when the captain perceived me, and had me carried into my bed. I was not delirious; and, in spite of all my resolution, the agony I suffered this day made me repeatedly scream out. One of our seamen died suddenly, and the blood, I was told, instantly flowed from all parts of his body.
This evening we arrived at Bushire. On our coming to an anchor Mr. Abraham was immediately carried ashore; but I was too ill to be moved, and accordingly followed in the morning with Capt. Sheriff, after a very severe, sleepless night.
The heat was so excessive this day that even the natives we had on board sunk under it, and many of them were struck down with the sun. By noon nobody could keep the deck; and about this time the vessel ran aground on the bar at the mouth of the Euphrates, but fortunately beat over, and got into the gulf. Two more of our people died in the evening; and I should have mentioned that, in sailing down the river, we saw them throwing many dead bodies from the vessels which were at anchor below Bussorah, and many boats crowded with people from the Arabian shore, passing over to Persia.
The Persians at first opposed the landing of our sick, and threatened to burn the ship; but they were prevailed upon by the company’s agent at Bushire, a most worthy man, to permit us to come ashore.
15th. I was so weak that it was with difficulty they could carry me ashore in my cot; my strength was quite gone, and I was helpless as an infant. Some grapes, water-melon and ice had been got for Mr. Abraham: of the latter he had eaten freely; I was much pressed to do the same but was afraid of its increasing my pain, and could hardly be prevailed upon to taste it; I, however, swallowed a little, but by this time my tongue and throat were so swelled that I had difficulty in getting any thing down. About 10 o’clock I was attacked as usual; but I was become so weak, and the fever running higher than usual, that I appeared in the course of this day, more than once, to be in the agonies of death; perspiration gave no relief to the violent pain and oppression I laboured under.
The factory at Bushire is a miserable, wretched mud building, bearing more resemblance to a stable than a human abode: the few rooms, or rather cells, are insufferably hot, even to those in health, and the rest of the building has no cover from the sun. In one of the best of these recesses in the wall Mr. Abraham and I were placed, and on the same bed, as there was not room enough for two: our agonies were great, and our cries dreadful. About 7 o’clock in the evening I perceived my companion in the agonies of death. The company’s agent, Mr. Beaumont, most humanely afforded him every assistance in his power; and when every other person was afraid to come near us, he himself attended, and administered such cordials as he thought might give us relief. Mr. Abraham died in great pain; and, for fear of alarming the inhabitants, or rather commandant or sheik of the town, Mr. Beaumont thought it necessary to conceal his death. It was some time before the dead body could be removed, which had become very putrid, and covered with purple spots. I have been since told that immediately after death a great quantity of blood or bile flowed from him as black as ink, and so highly offensive as to be smelt at some distance from the factory. Past midnight we were both removed to the terrace, but, unfortunately for me, there was only one spot where we could lie, and the smell of the dead body became intolerable; I was, however, cleaned and put into another bed by the humane assistance of Mr. Beaumont, who sat by me, and treated me with uncommon tenderness. I recovered a little, but passed a dreadful night indeed. I shuddered at the agony which I was to feel on the return of the sun, and most anxiously wished for death, as the only relief from pain that I could expect. I was unable at this time to move hand or foot, and at times could not speak. I told Mr. Beaumont that I thought a gentle dose of physic, if it could be got down, might alleviate the racking pain in my breast, stomach, bowels and loins; he accordingly prepared some salts, manna and tamarinds, and gave it to me in the morning.
16th. At eleven o’clock the violence of the fever came on; I grew delirious, swooned, and the symptoms of approaching death, I was afterwards told, grew evident to those around me. My eyes were fixed, my tongue hung from my mouth, and my face grew quite black. I recovered from this fit about twelve o’clock, and felt excruciating pain, and a burning suffocating heat. My stomach and bowels seemed all on fire, my lungs played with the utmost difficulty, and I felt a pain and sensation about my heart which I cannot describe. I was unable to move; my servant lifted me; I fell into a swoon for a few minutes, and, when I came to myself, a great quantity of black putrid bile flowed from me. Relief was instantaneous, and I slept or swooned till about 5 o’clock, when I found myself free from fever, and able to speak, my recollection clear, and my mind perfectly composed, but my body so weak that I had no power of moving, except one of my hands. They gave me some sustenance; I had a little sleep; but about midnight I fell into a situation which I had all the reason to think indicated the immediate approach of death. My tongue cleft to my mouth, my extremities were as cold as ice, and the coldness also appeared to extend up my thigh; my arm was destitute of pulse, nor was the smallest pulsation of the heart perceptible; I never had my recollection clearer, or perhaps so clear, in my life. My servant was lying by my bedside; I was convulsed for some minutes; and, on recovering, I got out the word boy. Fortunately for me he was not asleep, and heard me; I then got out the word wine; on which he brought me a glass of claret, which, with much difficulty, I got down; I felt myself much revived; I reflected on my situation; and, although I had not the most remote idea of surviving that night, I recollected that I had some fine powdered bark in my trunk, and it occurred to me that, if any thing could be done to preserve my life, it would be that medicine taken in red wine; but, my speech immediately failing me, I could not direct the servant to give it to me. Death seemed approaching; coldness had seized all my limbs; my sight became confused, as I perceived from looking at the stars, which danced before me; and the rattle or noise in my throat was very perceptible to the servant, as he afterwards told me. I fainted and continued in a state of insensibility, I believe, for about an hour. The loud lamentations of the servant, bewailing his own misfortune in losing his master in a country so remote from his own, seemed to recall me to life; I felt as if refreshed with a little sleep, and got out the words bark and wine; it was instantly brought, and the man gave me two large tea-spoonfuls in a large glass of claret. The effect was instantaneous, and operated like a charm; the coldness left me, I could speak intelligibly, and could move my hands. I told the servant to give me a tea-spoonful of the bark every hour, in a glass of claret. By 8 in the morning I had taken six doses, and more than half a bottle of claret. I was considerably strengthened, and could converse with Mr. Beaumont, who encouraged me to persevere in the bark, and treated me with uncommon attention. I had been sadly neglected at Bussorah, but this was amply made up to me by the humane and tender attentions of Mr. Beaumont, who was a great predestinarian, and who never shunned danger when he felt it a duty to assist a fellow creature. He waited upon me like a nurse, consoled me under pain and sickness, and, when my fever was at its greatest height, he has often held me in his arms, when I wanted to be removed, or my bed shifted. About this time my legs and thighs became covered with blotches of a dusky brown hue, some of them as broad as the palm of the hand, quite dry, and they itched intolerably. At the same time several little boils broke out in different parts of my body, but there was only one, over my eye, that came to suppuration; the others, and the eruption on my legs and thighs, all disappeared.