Mikm. 
CHARLESTON, s. 0. 
WALKER, EVANS A COGSWELL, PRINTERS. 
Nos, :i Broad and low East Hay Htroats, 
1,872, With compliments of 
rr if. GEimiNGS, m. n Mi ito Cttiinfjf t 
BY 
AMORY COFFIN, M. D., AND W. H, GEDDINGS, M. D, 
Man nennt als grosstes Gliiclc auf Erden 
Gesund zu sein. 
Ich sage nein. 
Ein grosser’s ist gesund zu werden. 
(inscription on statue of hygieia.) 
CHARLESTON: 
WALKER, EVANS & COGSWELL, PRINTERS, 
Nos. 3 Broad and 109 East Bay Streets. 
1872. latitat uttb its (Climate. 
The successful and gratifying results which attended 
our efforts three years ago, to introduce to the knowl- 
edge and notice of physicians and invalids the peculiar 
characteristics of the climate of Aiken, its beneficial 
results in asthenic diseases, particularly pulmonary 
complaints, and especially Phthisis Pulmonalis, have 
induced us to repeat them, and to confirm what we 
then stated by later observations of our own, and the 
conclusions of others of high authority, as to the cli- 
mate best suited to the amelioration and cure of inva- 
lids suffering from this class of disease. Since the 
publication of our first issue, the number of persons 
visiting us during the winter months has been more 
than doubled, and we have been highly pleased to find 
the position we then took strengthened by more nu- 
merous observations. To those of our readers who 
have never visited us before, we propose in the follow- 
ing pages to perform the role of master of ceremonies 
of yore, and make them acquainted with our little 
town and its surroundings, its histoxy and present con- 
dition, and then, as physicians, we will endeavor to show 
them what long experience and investigation should 
lead us to expect from climate in its different varieties, 
how this experience has been confirmed or modified by 
more recent researches, to explain to them the peculiar 4 
Aiken and its Climate. 
character of our own climate, and let them infer, with, 
perhaps, the assistance of their medical advisers, what 
good they are likely to derive therefrom. 
In composing the latter part of our work, wo have 
also wished to interest the attention of those of our 
medical brethren, whose peculiar avocations, perhaps, 
have not led them to pay the subject that regard which 
our constant contact with it and our conviction of its 
importance force upon us. 
In directing our remarks more especially to the in- 
fluence of climate on Phthisis, wo do not wish to be 
understood as confining its good effects to that disease, 
as it is equally beneficial in many others, which are 
either pulmonary in their seat, or asthenic in their 
nature, such as chronic bronchitis or pneumonia, ca- 
tarrhs of various kinds, and slow convalescences from 
acute diseases,—those convalescences which are so im- 
perfect as never to obliterate tho stamp of the original 
disease, if left to accomplish themselves under unfa- 
vorable circumstances; but we have dwelt more on this 
disease because of its great and rapidly increasing 
prevalence, the great interest consequently attached to 
it, and our convictions that we possess hero a combina- 
tion of circumstances constituting a climate calculated 
to influence beneficially a large majority of consump- 
tive cases, a climate which, wo will venture to assert 
and endeavor to prove, is unsurpassed, at least on this 
continent, by the good effects it produces in very many 
cases, in some of them perhaps only prolonging life, in 
others effecting a restoration to that most blessed con- 
dition, Health. distort). 
It may be interesting to go back a few decades and 
recall the history of our little town. In 1829, the 
Charleston and Hamburg Canal and Railroad Com- 
pany, the first to introduce the locomotive on the 
American continent, obtained a charter for the purpose 
of building a railway from Charleston on the seaboard, 
to Hamburg, at the head of navigation of the Savan- 
nah River. 
In avoiding the streams, a rather circuitous route 
was followed, which brought the road to the head of the 
water-shed, between the Savannah and Edisto Rivers. 
Thence, to reach the banks of the river, it was at that 
time thought necessary to descend a steep incline by 
means of a stationary engine. 
The dry, sandy plain at the top of this incline was 
deemed a suitable situation for a town, merely regarded 
in the light of a trading place, for the purchase of the 
moderate quantity of cotton and corn produced in the 
neighborhood for shipment to Charleston, which pre- 
viously took the long way of Augusta, and down the 
river to Savannah. 
In order to further this plan the owners of the land, 
with sagacious foresight, granted a quantity of it to 
the company, provided a depot should be established 
there. In 1833 the town was laid out, and named by 
the company Aiken, in honor of William Aiken, its 
first President. 
The hopes of the projectors were soon realized. 
Houses were built and stores were opened, which car- 
ried on a flourishing trade with the farmers and plan- 
ters of the country. 6 
Aiken and its Climate. 
As a mere place of business Aiken continued to pros- 
per until the year 1837, when it met with a series of 
reverses from which it did not recover for many years. 
In that year nearly the whole of the business portion 
of the town was consumed by fire. Only one or two 
stores were left, and these were fully equal to supplying 
the wants of the neighboring planters and farmers who 
had become impoverished by the extensive financial 
disasters of those days. It was not indeed until the 
sanatory nature of its climate became gradually known 
that it commenced its work of recuperation.. It was 
at first resorted to in summer by invalids from Charles- 
ton and the sea-coast. The marked beneficial influence 
exercised by its dry, tonic air on those suffering from 
affections of the lungs, and on convalescents from long 
tedious diseases, soon made it a resort for such. Thero 
are several of our most prominent and useful citizens 
who are still alive, who seemed to be rescued from im- 
minent death by its preservative effects. About 1845 
or 1846 an effort was made to bring its virtues to the 
knowledge of the .Northern public, as a great want was 
felt for a place of resort possessing more tonic proper- 
ties than the mild but debilitating climates of Cuba and 
Florida. The more consumption is acknowledged to 
be a disease of general debility, and not one of mere local 
import as affecting the lungs, the more importance will 
be attached in the selection of a sanatory climate, to 
the dryness and tonic action of the atmosphere, than to 
mere warmth and mildness. Until the breaking out of 
the war, Aiken was becoming more and more a place 
of resort for invalids from the North in winter. Since 
the restoration of peace it has had again to make a 
name for itself, and this it seems to havo done very 
rapidly, as the number of visitors has increased very 
largely every year. Position and Appearance. 
7 
In the winter of 1869-70 a little over 800 names of 
visitors were registered; in that ’70-71 the number 
reached to 1,200, whilst in ’71-72 they exceeded 1,600. 
In former days Aiken was the resort of two sets of 
visitors; wealthy planters from the coast districts found 
it a pleasant and convenient refuge from the malaria of 
the plantations, and built their summer cottages on 
choice situations, within a mile or two of the village, 
and no sooner had the frosts of autumn allowed them 
to return to their country homes than the tide of pul- 
monary invalids from the North set in; but the 
“ wealthy planter ” has become a personage of history. 
The planter of the day has become too straitened in 
circumstances and too hard working to afford himself 
a recreation and a retreat. The North and Northwest 
furnish us with by far the largest majority of visitors. 
These have become, however, so numerous that a large 
increase of accommodation has become necessary. Two 
extensive hotels, and a great number of private board- 
ing houses, well kept and obtaining their supplies of 
food and delicacies from the markets of Augusta, 
Charleston and New York. 
position nutr Jlppcsrmta. 
In order to make our readers better acquainted and 
more at home with us we may now proceed to describe 
the position and appearance of Aiken. It is a town of 
some 2,000 inhabitants, and county seat of the lately 
created county of the same name. It is situated on 
the most Northern point of the South Carolina Rail- 
road, 120 miles northwest from Charleston, and nearly 
six hundred feet above the sea-level. The rise is so 8 
Aiken and its Climate. 
gradual that it is imperceptible to the traveller who is 
only sensible of breathing a drier and purer air as he 
recedes from and rises above the sea-shore. 
Having attained this height, the highest point on the 
South Carolina Railroad, the road then descends more 
rapidly towards Augusta on the Savannah River, going 
down three hundred and forty feet in the course of 
seventeen miles. Between Aiken and Augusta the 
traveller passes in sight of the flourishing factory town 
of Graniteville, through the more recently founded 
mills and village of Langley, and the paper manufac- 
tory at Bath, which is also the shipping station for 
the Kaolin works. Not only is porcelain ware sent 
hence, but very large quantities of the crude Kaolin 
earth, which is also extensively used at the North in 
the preparation of paper. An occasional visit to the 
busy City of Augusta, on the Georgia side of the river, 
is a pleasant diversion to the invalid. 
The railroad, in passing through Aiken, enters a deep 
cut just above the town, and does not emerge from it 
until it has passed it, so that the tourist does not ob- 
tain more than a glimpse of the houses, even from the 
depot or station house, situated at one extremity. 
In order to make our survey of the town, we will 
commence from the depot with our visitor and proceed 
upwards until we reach the so-called village which is 
the nucleus of the town. 
?!jatels itnb jltablcs. 
Right opposite the station house is the Aiken Hotel, 
a light, pleasant-looking building, with its long double 
verandas, or piazzas, as they are called here, running 
along the whole front of the house, and giving it a Hotels and Livery Stables. 
9 
very Southern look. This house is able to accommo- 
date ninety guests. 
Starting from here we proceed up Railroad avenue, 
so-called from the railroad having long ago run through 
the centre of it. On it are situated some of the 
largest and pleasantest residences of the town. 
At the other extreme end of it, seated on the 
very brow of a hill and commanding an extensive pros- 
pect over the neighborhood, is the Highland Park Hotel, 
kept by Mr. E. P. Chatfield, a native of Connecticut. 
This is the largest hotel in the place, and even the most 
inveterate grumbler, the most fastidious invalid could 
not find fault with its management. Well lighted and 
warmed throughout, the table abundantly supplied 
with well cooked food drawn from distant markets, and 
every attention is paid to satisfying the wants of the 
guests. Exposed as it is to the South the sun seems to 
shine with special brilliancy on its broad piazzas of a 
clear day. 
Attached to the Hotel is a good Livery Stable, 
across the street is another one kept by IT. Jordan, and 
on each side of the Aiken Hotel is one kept respectively 
by E. Wimberley and John Staubes. These four stables, 
with their saddle horses and comfortable carriages, are 
of great importance to the invalids who depend so 
much on out-door exercise for the regaining of their 
health and their recreation. 
Half-way between the two Hotels is the main street 
on which are situated all the stores, and where all the 
trade with the country is carried on. They are well 
stocked with a variety of goods. The larger portion 
of the town is situated on this side of the avenue, as 
the more level character of the ground adapted it 
better for business purposes; the greater number of 10 
Aiken and its Climate. 
summer residences lie, however, scattered about on the 
hills and eminences overlooking the more broken ground 
on the south side. 
Religious. 
There are five churches for whites representing as 
many religious denominations. On Richland street the 
Baptist, the Pastor of which is the Rev. Lucius Cuth- 
bert; the Methodist, served by the Rev. Geo. Griffiths ; 
the Episcopal, the Rector of which is the Rev. E. C. 
Edgerton. These Churches are on Richland Avenue. 
On Railroad Avenue, are the Presbyterian and the 
Roman Catholic. This latter has only recently been 
finished and dedicated. Besides theso, there are two 
churches for the blacks, a Baptist and Methodist. 
fflcbicitl. 
From the mention of the religious to that of the 
medical element of the town, the transition is natural, 
but we cannot be expected to do more than mention 
the names of the practitioners of the place, as we our- 
selves are among the number. Drs. W. F. Percival, P. 
G. Rockwell, John Douglass, Amory Coffin, and W. II. 
Geddings, constitute the Medical Staff of the town. 
The peculiar necessities of the place, containing so 
many invalids accustomed to the refinements of a 
scientific practice, induce and oblige our apothecaries, 
Messrs. Wood & Co., and Mr. W. II. Harbors, to keep 
on hand a choicer and fuller stock of medicines than is 
found, as a rule, in small towns. 
Those of our visitors who may require their teeth Walks, Drives and Amusements. 
11 
and dental arrangements attended to, will, we are sure, 
be quite satisfied with the skill and scientific acquire- 
ments of Drs. B. II. Teague and G. McDonald. 
guilts, |lrib£s mtb Sjmtsements. 
The more recent observations on Phthisis, carefully 
conducted experiments, and our own experience, con- 
firm the time-honored prepossession in favor of a life led 
as much as possible in the open air. While carefully 
warning our patients against the injurious effects of 
over fatigue, we would perforce turn every one of them, 
who was not too weak, out of doors every day that it 
did not actually rain, and even the weak ones gain 
strength, inhaling the uncontaminated fresh air, seated 
under some tree, with nothing over head but the clear 
sky and the bright sun. But for those who are able to 
take longer walks, without the much to be depricated 
over fatigue, the exercise doubtless is beneficial, as 
improving the appetite and assisting digestion, besides 
avoiding th&injurious effects of the ennui inseparable 
from a monotonous stay in the house. And our climate 
is above all things remarkable for the rapid drying of 
the ground, so much so that after the heaviest rains 
the invalid is not detained at home by the fear of get- 
ting his feet wet. We will, for his guidance, enumerate 
one or two of the pleasantest of these rambles. The 
first is to the Coker Spring, about fifteen minutes’ walk 
from the Railroad avenue, along a broad, well-travelled 
road. At the end of his walk, in a pleasant valley, he 
will find the spring (named after the original owner of 
the adjacent lands) in an enclosure meant to protect it 
against the destructive propensities of rambling swine, 
etc. The water of the spring is simply limpid and 12 
Aiken and its Climate. 
cool, possessing no medicinal qualities whatever, but 
well charged with fixed air, and containing the slightest 
trace of soda. Extending his walk for ten minutes 
longer, the pedestrian comes to the picturesque little 
valley in which is situated the Calico Spring, so named 
from the abundance of the beautiful calico bush or 
laurel, (Kalmia latifolia,) which line the steep hill-sides. 
Following the path up the valley, we reach the pretty 
little spring, still presenting its natural picturesque 
appearance, and overhung in the spring by large 
bushes of azaleas, kalmias, and other flowering shrubs. 
A ramble through the pine woods to the north and 
northeast of the town is rendered pleasant by the 
peculiar balsamic fragrance of the leaves of the pine 
trees. A large grove of these pines exists to the west 
of Highland Park Hotel. Air impregnated with this 
aroma of the pine is particularly grateful to delicate 
lungs, and has been lauded from time immemorial as 
an important adjuvant in the climatic treatment of 
pulmonary affections. 
Those who are geologically curious will find interest 
in the singular formations and strata laid bare by the 
railroad cuttings. In the winter the tall evergreen 
pines predominate over the leafless deciduous trees and 
shrubs, but, as soon as the spring opens, the woods are 
full of the greatest variety of wild flowers, giving 
interesting occupation to the student of botany. Cryp- 
togamous plants are naturally not as abundant, either 
as individuals or species, as in moister climates; still 
there are enough of them to reward the collector for 
his search. 
Those who prefer carriage or horseback exercise, can 
be furnished with the means by any of the aforemention- 
ed livery stables, and the neighboring country furnishes Walks, Drives and Amusements. 
13 
some pleasant rides and drives. The first and shortest 
of these is the drive to a small and pretty settlement 
of gentlemen’s houses, about two miles from Aiken, on 
the road to Graniteville. The name of this little burg 
is Kalmia, and a visit to the highly cultivated terraced 
grounds and garden of choice flowers of one of the 
houses fully compensates for the rough up and down 
hill drive. 
Three miles further on, over an equally uneven road 
we come to Graniteville. Before we reach it, however 
we must stop for a little while on the top of the Chalk 
Hill to admire the extensive prospect of the valley of 
Horse Creek. To the right is a view of seemingly 
interminable forests of tall pine, with hills in the dis- 
tance; below us, sleeping placidly in the sunshine, like 
two small lakes, are the two reservoirs that feed the 
canal furnishing water power to the mills, and right 
beneath us, on the banks of the small river, is the manu- 
facturing village. Turning into a road on the left, we 
are led to the neatly kept cemetary; from the height 
on which this is situated we see down the valley a far 
distance towards Augusta, and in the middle ground 
we perceive the new and active factory, Langley Mills. 
In the valley below lies the picturesque little town of 
Graniteville. A lively place it is. The noise of the 
wheels, the hum of the machinery, the preoccupied 
business air of those you meet, the regularity and neat- 
ness of the streets and houses with their bright flower 
gardens in front, remind the visitors more of the 
villages of their Northern home. This factory was 
founded in 1845, by the late Mr. Wm. Gregg, to whose 
energy and prudent foresight it owes its long career of 
prosperity. We feel it necessary to warn those whose 
lungs are delicate against staying any time in those Aiken and its Climate. 
14 
parts of the mill where fine particles of lint and dust 
are floating in the atmosphere. A morning or after- 
noon spent in a visit to Grauiteville is always remem- 
bered with pleasure. 
On another day our friends can amuse themselves 
by riding out to Montmorenci Park. A large mansion, 
beautifully situated, at the commencement of, and over- 
looking a picturesque valley, dark forest, of majestic 
pines covering the hills on either side. The burr stone 
crops out here in great abundance, and is said to be of 
fine quality. 
The nearness of Augusta, (seventeen miles,) and the 
facility with which it is reached, a train running each 
way four times a day, makes a trip there a pleasant 
break in the uniformity of invalid life. The accommo- 
dation or local train, which leaves at 7.45 and returns 
at 5.45, is the one usually taken by those who go there 
on a pleasure excursion. It is a cheerful, pretty town, 
Main Street being alive with busy swarms, and the 
more retired streets, quite broad and well planted with 
elms, contain houses indicating more than an usual de- 
gree of taste and wealth. This is accounted for by the 
fact of Augusta not having been injured to any degree 
by the war, and having advanced steadily in prosper- 
ity ever since. 
A special train to and from Augusta can always be 
obtained for the sum of twenty-five dollars. 
One does not, however, like always and every day to 
be riding and driving about the country. To those 
who prefer staying at home, or when the weather does 
not permit these excursions, the Aiken Club offers 
the hospitalities of their reading-room and billiard ta- 
bles for a certain time. Any stranger can be admitted 
on application to one of the Executive Committee. Invalids—Consumption—Climate. 
15 
There he will find papers from different parls of the 
United States. Magazines from New York, Boston, etc. 
A register is kept where he can ascertain what strangers 
are in town and where they are staying, and he can 
make pleasant acquaintance, both among his fellow 
visitors and the residents of the place. Besides these 
sources of entertainment, there has been formed a com. 
mittee with a definite purpose of amusing the visitors 
and making their time pass more pleasantly. This 
“committee for the promotion of amusements among 
strangers,” was very successful the last season, ’71-72, 
in bringing forward concerts, races, theatricals, comic 
operas, tournaments, etc., participated in by both stran- 
gers and residents, and equally enjoyed by both. 
Jjnlntlibs, (fonsumptrott, 
And now having iudulged in this chat about our- 
selves j having tried to make our readers better ac- 
quainted with us, we would beg those of them who are* 
invalids, or who wish to acquire information on the 
subject, to accompany us while, in a more serious mood, 
we turn the conversation on themselves, and endeavor 
to explain to them the light that the most recent ii> 
vestigations have thrown upon the nature of their af- 
fection, what advances science has made in opposing 
and retarding its progress, and what beneficial effect 
they may expect from our peculiar climate. 
From its universal prevalence throughout the world, 
sparing neither age nor sex, respecting neither class 
nor condition, seizing with unpitying impartiality the 
young and the old, the princely merchant and the poor 
mechanic, the beautiful drawing-room belle and the 
humble factory girl, but electing for its favorite victims 16 
Aiken and its Climate. 
tho brightest and most interesting members of a fami- 
ly, the question of the nature and treatment of Con- 
sumption, has, perhaps, engaged the attention of physi- 
cians more generally than any other in tho whole do- 
main of medical science. Its prevalence may be deter- 
mined by statistics showing tho rate of mortality in 
proportion to the population and to that from other 
diseases. Thus wo find that one-seventh of all tho 
deaths throughout the world are due to Consumption. 
In the United States, in the years 1859-60, the num- 
ber of deaths from Consumption was 49,082, being in 
the proportion of 13.79 per cent, to that fx*om all other 
diseases. These numbers give us some idea of the 
enormous amount of those who are attacked by the 
disease, and have very naturally directed the attention 
of medical men to the ascertainment of its nature, and 
the discovery and application of some specific remedy 
for its cure. For centuries back, every few years some 
new Archimedes starts up, and cries out to all the peo- 
ple, “ I have found it,” and for awhile the people be- 
lieve him, and miraculous cures are effected and pub- 
lished to the world. But alas ! the new remedy fails 
to stand the test of time and of crucial scientific exam- 
ination. Undaunted by their failures, medical men 
still continue their endeavors to combat the insidious 
foe. Experiment upon experiment is tried with tho 
hope of discovering some specific capable of arresting 
its terrible march. But as far as internal drug-medica- 
tion is concerned, but little has been done, and, in this 
respect, we are to-day nearly as powerless as we were 
a hundred years ago. We would not make this con- 
fession without much mortification, if wo could not, 
with some degree of gratification, point to the results 
obtained by tho more philosophic application of other Invalids—Consumption—Climate. 
17 
agents, and a more judicious selection of the particular 
climate suited to each case, which promises to replace 
the indiscriminate sending abroad, or “ going South,” 
which has so injudiciously obtained hitherto. In order 
to determine what climate is best adapted to the 
restoration of an invalid from any particular disease, 
it is but natural that we should commence our inquiry 
as to the localities in which that disease is least preva- 
lent among the native population, and to ascertain 
what conditions procure for them that exemption. 
In applying this process to the disease in question, 
our investigations show it to be universal, with the 
single exception to prove the rule. Wherever man is, 
there is Consumption, but in varying quantity. These 
variations occur sometimes to a gi*eat degree in situa- 
tions not very remote from each other. Thus in 
Genoa, for instance, the disease is so prevalent that 
four-fifths of all bodies examined after death were 
found to contain evidences of Pulmonary Consumption.* 
In Nice, on the other hand, situated on the same coast, 
only a few miles to the southwest, it is so rare that 
consumptive patients are sent there to spend the win- 
ter months from all parts of Europe. 
It is proposed, in the present pages, to present a 
short resume of the medical geography of Consumption, 
and of the influences which are most active in giving 
rise to it, and thus enable the reader to form some idea 
of the climate which affords him the best chance of 
recovery, or, at least of a prolongation of life. 
In preparing the following statistics, the writers 
have been careful to select only such as are vouched 
for by the best and latest authority, and cheerfully 
*Descrizzoni di Genova. 1846. 18 
Aiken and its Climate. 
admit that they have drawn extensively on Professor 
Hirsch’s admirable book on Medical Geography,* a 
work which has not yet been translated into English, 
and is, consequently, beyond the reach of many of 
their readers. 
In treating of climate we have to take its three 
elements into consideration, viz: 1st. Temperature, or 
thermometrical range; 2d. Dryness or moisture, or 
hygrometric condition ; and, 3d. Equability, or sudden 
variations in thermometric and barometric indications; 
and we propose to consider the effect of each of these 
in its turn, both in the production of the disease in 
question and on its course when once generated. 
1st. Temperature. 
Believing that his complaint originates in exposure 
to a low temperature, as in many cases it doubtless 
does, the pulmonary invalid instinctively seeks relief 
in the warmer climates of low latitudes. Feeling keenly 
on the sensitive surface of his air-tubes the cutting 
effects of the cold Northern air, and with the hopoful- 
ness inherent in his disease, he is firmly convinced that 
if he could breathe for a season the warm breezes of 
the South, never mind where, he would get quite well. 
And we can imagine the astonishment with which the 
bold adventurers who first sought health in the dry, 
cold, bracing air of Sweden and Norway, Canada and 
Minnesota, and often found it too, must have been 
regarded. 
But medical geography proves conclusively, by its 
statistics, that mean temperature, independent of other 
*Handbuch der historisch geograpliischen Pathologie, August 
Hirsch. Erlangen. 1862-’64. Invalids—Consumption—Climate. 
19 
conditions, exercises but little influence on the devel- 
opment of Consumption, and that, although generally 
diffused over the whole globe, it is, as a rule, more 
prevalent in very warm than in cold climates, and its 
course much more rapid. 
The following tables, extracted from Professor 
Hirsch’s work mentioned above, show very conclu- 
sively how little the mean temperature has to do with 
the frequency of the disease : 
Name of Place. 
Mean Temperature. 
45° F. 
Mortality from Consumption. 
Boston ...... 
3.9 per M. 
London 
47° 
3.7 
St. Louis 
50° 5/ 
3.7 
Charleston j- 
64° 5/ (1856) ) 
59° 5/ 
3.8 
Thus we see that the relative mortality from Con- 
sumption is as great in Charleston as in Boston, 
although the difference in mean temperature amounts to 
from 14.5° to 19 5°. In Copenhagen the mean tempera- 
ture is 42.8° F.; at Malta it is 59.8°; and yet the mor- 
tality from Consumption in both places is 3.3 per M. 
Among the English troops, whether stationed in 
Newfoundland, where the mean temperature is 37° F., 
or the Ionian Isles, where it is 55.4°, or at Gibralter, 
60°, the mortality is the same, viz: 3.5 per M. 
✓ Setting aside from our calculations the injurious 
effect produced by life in large cities, there is no agent 
which exercises a more deleterious influence on the 
course of Pulmonary Consumption than a very high 
temperature, such as obtains in the tropics. Not only 
is the disease very prevalent, but its progress, when 
once developed, is terribly rapid. This is most strik- 
ingly the case in the West Indies, on the coast of South 
America, and in Brazil. 20 
Aiken and its Climate. 
Even on our own continent we have in Now Orleans 
a remarkable example of the deleterious effects of heat 
and moisture on the development of Tubercular Con- 
sumption. The rate of mortality from the disease in 
that city is estimated at 4.11 per M., and has been 
rated as high as 6 per M., which is much greater than 
that of any other city in the United States, and is 
equalled by that of few places in the world.* 
The climate of Florida, so much lauded for its bene- 
ficial effects in lung complaints during the winter, 
appears, from the report of Southgate, to exercise a 
most injurious influence on the course of the disease 
during the summer months. Speaking of the influ- 
ence of that climate on consumptives residing at New 
Smyrna, and other points on the Atlantic coast, who 
had contracted the disease at Florida, he says: “In 
such, the rapid melting down of the tissues of the 
lung in the warm months, it has been my painful duty 
to witness in more than a single instance. 
In few places does the disease commit such extensive 
ravages as in the warm climates of the South Sea 
Islands. Speaking of theso Islands, Comeira says: 
“ Pulmonary Phthisis is very common on the Islands 
of Tahiti and the Marquesas, in fact throughout the 
whole of Oceanica. It carries off one-third of the 
whole population. * * Pulmonary disorganization 
advances in these countries with fearful rapidity ; three 
or four months are sufficient to lead the patient to the 
grave. One finds at every step whole families a prey 
to convulsive cough, young daughters abandoned by 
their parents, consumptives in every stage reduced to 
a state of emaciation horrible to behold.” 
*Stark. Edin. Med. and Surg’l Journal, No.' LXXV, p. 130. 
f Med. Statistics U. S. A., 1839- 54, p. 313. Invalids—Consumption—Climate. 
21 
The Sandwich Islands, however, constitute an excep. 
tion to this statement, for there the disease is by no 
means common. 
Having thus proved that warmth alone is not antag- 
onistic to the pi’oduction, or to the progress of the 
disease, when once developed, but that, on the contrary, 
in many instances, it favors the one and accelerates the 
other to an appalling degree, we will next proceed to 
consider what effect the second element, mentioned 
above, has, viz: 
Equability. 
Although it is admitted that sudden and extreme 
variations of temperature are injurious to health gener- 
ally, and more especially detrimental to invalids, yet it 
is thought, by thoso who have paid most attention to 
the subject, that ordinary changes in the thermometer 
are rather beneficial than otherwise. Fuller, an emi- 
nent authority on Consumption, remarks: “Careful 
observation, amply corroborated by statistical records, 
proves incontestibly that the pure air of heaven which 
God has provided for us to breathe, and the variations 
of temperature, to which, in Ilis all-wise providence, He 
has seen fit to subject us, are not so noxious or produc- 
tive of ill health as man in his ignorance has oftentimes 
asserted. No climate is more variable than ours, (Eng- 
land,) and none certainly is more healthy, as proved 
beyond dispute by the bills of mortality.”* Southgate’s 
opinion is that equability can hardly be considered as the 
most vital element of climate, the highest degree of phy- 
sical vigor being attained in strikingly variable climates, 
the human constitution being adapted to such mutations, 
*Fuller on the Lungs and Air Passages, p. 366. 22 
Aiken and its Climate. 
and its powers would languish under the monotonous 
impression of a uniform temperature for a long time.* 
Nevertheless, we must allow that very sudden changes 
exercise anything but a favorable influence on the 
production and progress of Consumption, and that the 
disease is not only raror where the climate is equable, 
but its course is also much less rapid. 
But in estimating the influence of sudden changes of 
temperature wo must not leave out of the calculation 
the consideration that they are usually combined with 
a humid state of the atmosphere, and that, on the other 
hand, in places which possess an equable temperature 
a low dew-point obtains, indicating a dry state of the 
atmosphere j and this leads us to the consideration of 
the third, and, as we consider it, the most important 
element of climate, viz : 
Dryness or Humidity. 
Nowhere in the domain of meteorology do we find 
an agent more potent in the production of Pulmonary 
Consumption, or one which exercises a more deleterious 
effect upon its progress, than moisture. On looking 
over statistical reports from various parts of the world 
we are forcibly struck with the fact of its prevalence 
along the sea-coast, and its diminished frequency as wo 
approach the interior. On the coast of Africa it pre- 
vails extensively, especially at Benin and Biafra, but is 
almost unknown in the interior of that continent. On 
the coast of Egypt it is quite common, but diminishes 
in frequency the further inland we proceed, and disap- 
pears almost entirely in Upper Egypt. The same is 
true of all the parts of the African coast, where accu- 
*U. S. Army Med. Stat., p. 312. Invalids—Consumption—Climate. 
23 
rate statistics have been collected. Even Algiers is 
far from enjoying the immunity ascribed to it, the 
mortality from Consumption being 2.9 per M., very 
little below that of Dresden, which is three per M., and 
of many other European towns. In Europe the same 
predilection for the coast is observed, only in a less 
marked degree than on the other continents. In Asia 
we find it prevailing along the coast of the Bed Sea, 
but look for it in vain in the interior of Arabia. In 
India it prevails extensively on the coast of Malabar, 
Cawnpore, and in Bombay. 
Our own continent presents a striking confirmation 
of the statements regarding the baleful influence of 
moisture. Consumption is quite frequent all along the 
Atlantic and Gulf coasts, on the shores of our great 
lakes, and along the course of our larger rivers. 
Coolidge concludes his statistical report of the diseases, 
prevalent among the troops stationed in Florida with 
the following remarks : “An examination of the sta- 
tistics of that disease (Phthisis) for the several regions, 
in connection with the consolidated temperature and 
rain-tables, will serve to show in a marked degree the 
effect of long-continued high temperature, combined 
with excessive moisture, (high dew-point,) in the pro- 
duction and development of Pulmonary Consumption.” 
U. S. A. Med. Stat., 1839-’54, p. 338. 
In Mexico the disease prevails on the coast, but is 
almost unknown on the high and dry table-lands of 
that country. Nowhere, however, do we find the 
truth of the above assertion more fully confirmed than 
in Central and South America. Here, commencing with 
Mosquito, we find it prevalent along the coast of Costa 
Pica, Panama, Colombia, Guyana, Brazil, La Plata, 
Chili and Peru. In La Plata, where it was supposed 24 
Aiken and its Climate. 
at one time that a Sanatorium for Consumption existed, 
Dupont found the disease very prevalent. Speaking of 
Montevideo, he says : “Cest cetto affection qui donne 
en temps ordinaire le plus de morts, ot de rapatriese- 
ments pour les navires de oette station; la Phthisie ne 
marcho pas, elle galloppe, et telle est cette rapidite qu’il 
nest pas permis de rapatrier a temps les tuber culeux; 
presque tous meurent sans qu il y ait un seul instant 
de repit.” Notes et Observations sur la Cote orientale 
d’ Amerique, 1868. 
Our space will not allow us to go into detail as to its 
relative frequency in different parts of the island world ; 
it will be sufficient to state that, with tho exception of 
Iceland, where the humidity is counteracted by extreme 
cold, it exists more or less extensively on nearly all of 
them. We have already shown how fearful its ravages 
are in Oceanica, and in the West Indies it carries off 
numbers of the inhabitants, both white and black. 
The above facts, which might be indefinitely multi- 
plied, demonstrate to what a great extent the prevalence 
of pulmonary complaints is due to a humid condition 
of the atmosphere. We might even go farther and 
prove how great the difference of its prevalence is 
between two towns not very far from each other; the 
one situated on a small lake or river suffering severely 
from its ravages, while the other, with a drier atmos- 
phere, enjoys almost complete immunity, but this would 
carry us too much into detail. 
Winds. 
The winds which appear to exercise the most dele- 
terious influence are those which are most charged with 
moisture, viz: the east and northeast. Invalids— Consumption— Climate. 
25 
CONFIGURATION OF THE EARTH. 
This is naturally not without its influence. We have 
already had occasion to remark that in those countries 
where the disease is very prevalent on the coast, it 
gradually disappears as we ascend the mountains. 
Those places which are noted for their exemption are 
high and remarkable for the dryness of the soil. We 
find confirmatory examples of this in Central and many 
States of South America. The high plateaus of the 
Rocky Mountains and the Andes are almost exempt, 
and tuberculous patients derive great benefit from a 
residence in these elevated situations. The height that 
has been found most beneficial is from eighteen hun- 
dred to four thousand feet, and even higher. In Natal 
the Drakenberg range attains an elevation of ten thou- 
sand feet, and is crowned by a table-land where the 
climate is dry, the sun brilliant, and the heat not exces- 
sive. Dr. Weber, Physician to the German Hospital, 
London, in an interesting paper, read before the Royal 
Med. and Chir. Society, (Lancet, August, 1869,) asserts 
that there is no fixed elevation of immunity for every 
degree of latitude, but that elevation is influenced by 
all circumstances affecting the degree of dampness 01 
dryness of the soil, confirming his statements by refer 
ence to the important results of Bowditch and Buchan 
an’s researches. He further remarks these elevated 
localities offer great advantages in cases of early Con- 
sumption and tendency to Consumption, in the dispo- 
sition to Catarrhal Pneumonia, and the results of this 
disease, particularly the so-called tubercular deposits 
and the genuine tubercular infiltrations. 26 
Aiken and its Climate. 
EFFECTS OF CIVILIZATION. 
Civilization, and its attendant evils, undoubtedly 
favor the development of tubercular disease. For a 
long time Consumption was unknown among the In- 
dians and oarly settlers of our Western States, but as 
soon as the population increased, and the new comers 
brought with them the manners and customs of the 
East, the disease became every year more and more 
frequent, so that at the present day it is quite as preva- 
lent there as in the other parts of the Union. Among 
the Bedouins it is almost unknown as long as these 
people lead their nomadic life in the desert; no sooner, 
however, do they remove to the coasts of the Red Sea, 
and “exchange the tent for a house of stone,” than 
they become a prey to the disease. 
That the crowding together of many individuals is a 
fruitful source of Consumption, is proved by the fact 
that it is in large cities that it finds most of its vic- 
tims; thus in Edinburg the mortality is 4.8 per M., 
in Paris 4.1, New York 3.4, and New Orleans 4.11. In 
Lisbon the disease prevails extensively, while the sur- 
rounding country is almost exempt. That this is not 
owing solely to the enervating influences of city life, 
but to crowding, may be considered proved by the 
following facts: The aborigines of New Zealand, who, 
previous to the arrival of the English settlers, led a 
wild, roaming life, were found to bo comparatively 
exempt from tubercular disease. It was deemed after- 
wards necessary to confine them to a certain tract of 
country, but here, although they were supplied with 
food, clothing and dwellings, the mortality among 
them, especially from Consumption, became so great 
that government found it necessary to remove the Invalids—Consumption—Climate. 
27 
restriction, after which the mortality was greatly di- 
minished. (Powers.) 
The effect of the density of population is made appa- 
rent by the following tables, extracted from Professor 
Hirsch’s work. Thus in London : 
Where the population is 1 to every 32 square yards the mortality 
from Consumption is 4.2 per M. 
Where there is 1 to every 142 square yards the mortality from 
Consumption is 4 per M. 
Where there is 1 to every 173 square yards the mortality from 
Consumption is only 3.3 per M. 
In Ireland the proportion of mortality from Con- 
sumption to density of population, is as follows, Lein- 
ster making an exception, as Dublin is the main repre- 
sentative of the mortality of that county. 
In Ulster, 4,957 inhabitants to square mile, the proportion 
of deaths from Consumption to total number of deaths...1:8.96 
Leinster, 4,685 inhabitants to square mile, the proportion of 
deaths from Consumption to total number of deaths 1:6.95 
Munster, 4,133 inhabitants to square mile, the proportion 
of deaths from Consumption to total number of deaths..l:9.83 
Connaught, 3,101 inhabitants to square mile, the proportion 
of deaths from Consumption to total number of deaths..l:ll.ll 
\_Hirsch, vol. 2, p. 85. 
The injurious effects produced by the deprivation of 
good, pure fresh air are strikingly exemplified in the 
prison reports from different parts of the world. Of 
these we will only mention Bailey’s reports of the 
Millbank Penitentiary. Within the space of eighteen 
years there were 205 deaths, 31 of which were from 
cholera; of the remaining 174, 75 were due to Con- 
sumption. Of 355 discharged on account of disease, 
90 were affected with Consumption. Dr. Pietra Santra 
gives us the following account of the ravages of Con- 
sumption in the prisons of France and Algiers : Of 600 
prisoners incarcerated in the prison of Nimes, 350 died 28 
Aiken and its Climate. 
of Consumption in a very limited period. Of 27 deaths 
in the civil prison in Algiers, 17 were from Consump- 
tion, and at the Maison Centralo de l’Harrach, in Al- 
geria, 57 out of 153 deaths were due to this disease. 
The crowding together of troops in barracks is almost 
as fatal as prison life. The mortality among the in- 
fantry of the Guard in England reaches the very high 
figure of 12 per M. The mortality among troops en- 
gaged in active service i3 inconsiderable. What has 
boen said of prisons and barracks applies, though in a 
less degree, to cloisters, schools, and factories and other 
institutions, in which the inmates are compelled to lead 
a sedentary life. 
Clarke, in his Treatise on Pulmonary Consumption, 
makes the following pertinent remarks : “ The effects 
of sedentary life in all classes and conditions of society 
is, in my opinion, most pernicious, and there is, perhaps, 
no cause, not even excepting hereditary predisposition, 
which exerts such a decided influence on the produc- 
tion of Consumption as the privation of fresh air and 
exercise; indeed, the result of my inquiries leads to the 
conviction that sedentary habits are among the most 
powerful causes of tuberculous disease, and that they 
operate in the higher classes as the principal cause of 
its greater frequency among females.” 
The consideration of the other causes of Consump- 
tion, such as hereditary predisposition, contagion, etc., 
does not fall within the range of our work, which 
professes to treat only of those that are connected with 
climate, and, therefore, to a certain degree avoidable, 
avoidable in a high degree by the application of such 
means as a man’s own industry or that of his fore- 
fathers, inherited or acquired wealth, places at his dis- 
posal. Invalids—Consumption—Climate. 
29 
In the foregoing pages we have principally treated 
of those influences which are favorable to the produc- 
tion and progress of the disease when once developed, 
and we maintain that we have proved : 
1st. That a very warm climate is more injurious even 
than a very cold one, and that one of medium temper- 
ature is the best. 
2d. That sudden changes of temperature are inju- 
rious if extreme, but that moderate variations are more 
beneficial than a monotonous equability. 
3d. That the most unfavorable winds are those 
charged with most moisture, viz: the eastern and 
northeastern. 
4th. That civilization and its attendant evils, com- 
prised in the term ochlesis, promote the frequency of 
the occurrence of Consumption. 
5th. Which is a corollary of the previous proposi- 
tion—that the more crowded a population is, the more 
prevalent is the disease ; and, 
6th. That moisture, whether of atmosphere or soil, 
is the injurious agent, both in its production and devel- 
opment. 
Having thus considered the detrimental influences, 
we may now turn to the obverse of the medal, the 
brighter side of the picture; having shown our invalid 
what has been injurious to him, it is our duty to point 
out to him those agencies and climatic conditions which 
have been proved to be most antagonistic to the origi- 
nation of his disease, and opposing the most obstacles 
to its progress. These conditions are naturally the 
reverse of the preceding ones, and our researches show : 
1st. That dryness is the first attribute of a good cli- 
mate for consumptives. 30 
Aiken and its Climate. 
2d. That elevated positions are much to be preferred 
to low levels. 
3d. That fresh and pure air is indispensable to the 
consumptive, and consequently that that climate is best 
for him in which he is able, without discomfort, to spend 
the greater portion of his time in the open air, and we 
wish also to demonstrate that our own climate, while it 
is free from all injurious agencies, possesses, in a high 
degree, those qualities which are proved to be benefi- 
cial. 
Climate of 
1st.—Dryness. 
The favorable effects of dryness of air and soil on 
those affected with Pulmonary Phthisis has long been 
recognized—indeed, nearly eighteen hundred years ago 
Galen conceived the idea of treating Consumption on 
the same principle as he did ulcers on the skin and else- 
where, i. e., by dessication and consequent cicatrization. 
To effect this he was in the habit of sending his pa- 
tients to Tabise.* 
Putting out of consideration for awhile the general 
effects of a tonic-bracing atmosphere on the wholo sys- 
tem, it is but natural to conclude that an air contain- 
ing a minimum of moisture, and consequently of all 
those minute impurities which moisture holds in suspen- 
sion in such abundance, is more healing to a surface of 
lung irritated by deposit of tubercle or any other cause. 
Pest is after all the great healing principle of nature. 
In a large majority of cases of disease rest to the suf- 
fering organ is all that is needed for its restoration to 
* De Methodo lib. v., cap. xii., Ed. Kuhn. Climate of Aiken. 
31 
health. In very many cases if we can procure this, na- 
ture will finish the work of restoration. We place a 
broken limb in that position where the muscles will be 
most at rest, and nature re-unites the separated bones. 
An irritated brain we put to sleep, a diseased stomach 
we rest by abstinence, and it is only reasonable that we 
should seek to apply the same rational treatment, as 
far as lies in our power, to the lungs. Therefore, that 
air which calls for the least exertion on the part of 
these organs must necessarily offer them the greatest 
chance of recuperation. 
That the climate possesses the essential element of 
dryness we will now proceed to prove, and, for that 
purpose, have carefully compiled the annexed meteoro- 
logical tables principally from observations made and 
kindly furnished us by the Rev. John H. Cornish, to 
whom we are also indebted for much other information 
confirmatory of our own unformularized experience. 
The observations on which these tables are based, 
extend over a period of eleven years, and are complete 
with the exception of the dew-point, which was not 
noted for want of a proper instrument; observations 
taken in previous years, indicate that this is generally 
low. The difference of temperature between day and 
night must be very marked before dew is deposited at 
all. It is even then so slight that it disappears off the 
grass very soon after sunrise. The atmosphere is so 
dry that surgical and other instruments, guns, etc., 
which require so much care in other places to prevent 
their rusting, may be exposed here for months without 
sustaining damage. 
An exemplification of the dryness of our soil may be 
found in the fact that our wells have to be dug in some 
places from 90 to 150 feet deep before water is reached. 32 
Aiken and its Climate. 
Notwithstanding this fact, situated as we are, it is 
but in accordance with meteorological laws that our 
fall of rain should reach the average of the Atlantic 
slope, (see table No. 4,) but the porosity of the earth, 
composed of a loose, sandy gravel, overlying in varying 
thickness, a bed of red ferruginous clay is so 
marked that the water which falls during the heaviest 
rain dries off in a few hours, thus allowing the invalid 
to take his usual and necessary exercise and fresh air— 
the importance of which we propose to show a little 
further on. Fogs are extremely rare, and the Epiphyte 
Tillandsia, or tree moss, that unfailing indicator of 
moisture and malaria, which so gracefully festoons 
the live oaks of the low country, is entirely absent. 
All these facts conclusively prove that our climate 
possesses in a high degree the element of dryness, which 
we have shown to be so essential to render a climate 
negative in the production, and obstructive to the pro- 
gress of pulmonary disease in general, and Consumption 
in particular. To this element of dryness we conjoin 
the other important one of moderate 
2d.— Temperature. 
By reference to the annexed tables, Nos. 1, 2 and 3, 
it will be seen that our range is not a very extended 
one, more especially if we exclude exceptional cases as 
where the thermometer reached, 102° twice and 100° 
seven times in eight years, and the low temperature of 
-f-10°, 12°, 15°, 17°, 19°, each of which was observed 
but once or twice in eleven years, the usual winter 
minimum being seldom under -f- 34°. 
Owing to the dryness of the air, evaporation from 
the skin goes on very rapidly producing a cooling of 
the surface, and doing away with the feeling of oppres- Climate of Aiken. 
33 
sion and debility, which heat produces when accom- 
panied by moisture. 
Having given the absolute range of temperature of 
Aiken, let us now compare it with that of other places, 
both in the United States and in Europe : 
Table showing the difference between the Mean Tempera- 
ture of Aiken and other places of the U. S. 
Mean temperature of Aiken, is 61°.69 Difference 
“ “ New York, 50°.09—11°.60 colder. 
“ “ Boston, 48°.20—13°.49 “ 
“ “ Portland. Me., 45°.00—16°.69 “ 
“ “ Newark, N. J., 48°.39—13°.30 “ 
“ “ Philadelphia, 63°.46— 8°. 23 “ 
“ “ Cincinnati, 54o,07— 7°.62 “ 
“ “ St. Louis, 53°. 50— 8°.19 “ 
“ “ San Francisco, 57°.43— 4°.26 “ 
“ “ Princeton, Min., 39°.60—22°.09 “ 
“ “ Charleston, S. C., 64°.35— 2°.66 warmer. 
“ “ Savannah, 64°.26— 2°.57 “ 
“ “ St. Augustine, 69°.46— 7°.77 “ 
Thus, as compared with places in our otvn country, 
you will perceive that Aiken, in point of mean temper- 
ature, occupies a desirable medium, as a rule not very 
cold, nor yet hot enough to produce in invalids those 
unfavorable effects which we have already described as 
resulting from the depressing influence of long continu- 
ed high temperature. 
We will find next, if we compare it with that of those 
places in Europe which are most resorted to by pulmo- 
nary invalids, that the difference is very slight, all of 
them coming within a few degrees one way or the 
other. 
This is a point of some importance as it shows that 
we come between the isothermal lines which long ex- 
perience has proved to be best suited to invalids. Thus 
the mean annual temperature of: 34 
Aiken and its Climate. 
Palermo is 62°.70, or 1°.01 warmer than Aiken. 
Pisa, 60°.60, or 1°.09 colder “ 
Nice,* 60°.60, or 1°.09 “ “ 
Venice, 56°.40, or 5°.29 “ “ 
Madeira, 65°.40, or 3°.71 warmer “ 
As most of our guests are in the habit of spending 
only the six winter months with us, it may be more in- 
teresting to them if we select the temperature of the 
colder half of the year in other places, and compare it 
with our own during that period. 
The mean temperature of Aiken for tho cold season 
being -j- 51°.63 ; 
That of New York is 35°.40, or 16°.23 colder than Aiken. 
“ Cornish, Me., 26°.16, or 25°.47 “ “ 
“ Worcester, Mass., 31°.95, or 19°.68 “ “ 
“ Newark, N. J., 35°.88, or 15°.75 “ “ 
“ Philadelphia, 39°.30, or 12°.33 “ “ 
“ Chicago, 33°.88, or 17°.75 “ “ 
“ Cincinnati, 38°.70, or 12°.93 “ “ 
“ St. Louis, 40°. 11, or 11°.52 “ 
“ St. Paul, Minn., 21°.51, or 30°.42 “ “ 
“ Forida, 62°.06, or 10°.43 warmer “ 
As before, we will carry the comparison over to that 
of the most noted resorts for consumptives in Europe, 
and we obtain the following encouraging results : 
The mean temperature for the six colder months of 
Nice,f is 46°.35, or 5°.38 colder than Aiken. 
Palermo, 54°.50, or 2°.87 warmer “ 
Pau, 49°.26, or 2°.37 colder “ 
Pisa, 49°.00, or 2°.63 “ “ 
Madeira, 56°.00, or 4°.37 warmer “ 
Mentone,J 53°.21, or 1°.68 “ “ 
Venice, 41°.42, or 10°.21 colder “ 
St. Remo,§ 53°.80, or 2°. 17 warmer “ 
Ajaccio, 57°.20, or 5°.57 “ “ 
50°.20, or 1°.43 colder “ 
Thus we perceive that Aiken may, in point both of 
*Gsell Fell. 
fBauck. JStiege. $Reimer. Climate of Aiken. 
35 
mean annual temperature and of mean temperature of 
the colder months, be favorably compared with these 
well known and highly esteemed localities, leaving for 
the present for future consideration the advantages it 
possesses in point of dryness of soil and atmosphere, 
and consequent suitability for an out-of-door life. 
3d.— Winds. 
In eight years of our observation, the southwest 
wind, which is the pleasantest, and the one which taxes 
least the delicate lung, prevailed for thirty-nine months. 
On the other hand, the southeast, which is so injurious, 
is very rare, and the east wind prevailed for only 
twelve months during those eight years. The force of 
the wind is usually very moderate. 
The above-named three qualities combined contribute 
essentially to the fourth. 
4th.—Ability of the Patient to pass the greater portion of 
his time in the open air. 
We find the importance of this so forcible and 
emphatically described in Dr. C. T. Williams’ work 
on the climate of the South of France, that we prefer 
quoting his words on the subject. Speaking of the 
advantages of a Southern climate, he says: “The 
chief of these is the amount of sunshine the invalid 
enjoys for weeks and even months together, when the 
sun often rises in a cloudless sky, shines for several 
hours with a brightness and warmth surpassing that 
of the British summer, and then sinks without a cloud 
behind the ranges of the Maritime Alps, displaying in 
his setting the beautiful and varied succession of tints 
which characterize that glorious phenomenon of the 
Refraction of light, a Southern sunset. * * * * 36 
Aiken and its Climate. 
Owing to this genial influence, not accompanied, as it 
is in the most protected of English wintering places, 
by any sensation of chill or damp, and the chemical 
effect of which is seen in the tanning of the skin, 
owing to the freedom of tho climate from rapid and 
constantly recurring changes of frost, rain, mist, and 
mild weather, the invalid spends the greatest part of the 
day in the open air and scarcely knows what confinement 
within doors means. The exciting causes of his com- 
plaint being removed, and the long spell of propitious 
weather enabling the full influence of the gonial atmos- 
phere to act on his frame, his bodily vigor gradually 
returns and he finds himself able to enjoy a fair amount 
of exercise, whether walking, driving or riding in a 
region in which earth, sea, and sky present to his 
observation phenomena so varied in form, so brilliant 
in color, and so wondrous in beauty that an inexhausti- 
ble feast unfolds itself to his astonished gaze in tho 
enjoyment of which his attention is withdrawn from 
the contemplation, and oftentimes the exaggeration of 
his own complaint, and directed to higher and nobler 
objects.” 
To those persons whose systems have been depressed 
by nervous anxiety and despondency, or whose brain 
and nerves have been overtaxed, this attraction of the 
attention towards external objects is of no little im- 
portance ; while on those who havo suffered from too 
sedentary occupation and overcrowding, the ability to 
be out in the fresh air, and to take exercise, to imbibe, 
as it were, sunshine, and draw in health with every 
breath for so large a portion of the twenty-four hours, 
exercises very naturally the most beneficial influence. 
In Aiken he may enjoy this great privilege in a high 
degree; the weather is seldom so continuously dis- Climate of Aiken. 
37 
agreeable as to confine the invalid to the house for a 
whole day. 
This statement is not made vaguely, or from memory, 
but is proved by the figures of our Table No. 6, to which 
we beg leave to draw the reader’s particular attention. 
In this table the six colder months of two years arc 
taken, and the proportion of the day stated which the 
average invalid could pass out of doors, of the 363 days 
comprised in this period, there were 268 which he could 
have spent out of the house, and only 40 when the 
weather was so bad as not to allow him to go out at 
all. 
5th.—Elevation. 
As we have already mentioned, Aiken owes much of 
the peculiar character of its climate to its comparative 
elevation above the surrounding country. It is the 
highest point on the South Carolina Railroad. From 
here the road descends rapidly to Augusta, leaving us 
on a kind of plateau on the top of a hill. Six hundred 
feet above the sea-level may not seem a very great 
height, nor is it absolutely ; but then absolute height is 
not of so great importance as sufficient comparative 
elevation to ensure thorough drainage and a dry air. 
This subject of the beneficial effect of a prolonged 
residence on high levels on Phthisis was brought before 
the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society in August, 
1868, and elicited a most interestingdiscussion, to which 
we have already cursorily referred. As the opinions 
expressed were those of the highest authorities on the 
subject in England, we will take the liberty of laying 
them more extensively before our readers. Dr. Weber 
described seventeen cases treated by prolonged resi- 38 
Aiken and its Climate. 
dence on “high-level health resorts,” and the effect, he 
says, may be stated as decidedly satisfactory in fifteen, 
undecided in one, and unsatisfactory in another. 
Two of the cases were cured, but, on returning to 
unhealthy occupations and localities, were seized with 
fresh attacks, resulting in death. A post-mortem ex- 
amination showed the healing of the original lesion. 
It seems that most of the other cases got well, but 
would have relapses whenever they exposed themselves 
to the causes of their first attacks. A second and third 
more prolonged stay on high ground would lead to a 
more permanent cure. He thinks that these elevated re- 
gions “ deserve more attention than they have obtain- 
ed, both as winter and summer resort for pulmonary 
invalids ;”*****« that the tendency to ab- 
sorption and fibrous transformation or cicatrization of 
deposits—the result aimed at—is promoted, and the ten- 
dency to the breaking down of tissues and formation 
of cavities, the result to be avoided, is counteracted in 
elevated health resorts.” As confirmatory of this view 
of the retrogression of convalescence upon exposure to 
unfavorable circumstances, you will allow us to quote 
words used by one of us many years ago, when urging 
upon invalids a more prolonged stay in a healing at- 
mosphere, a view which has been strengthened by the 
observations of later years, and of which we have ex- 
amples under our eye at this present moment: “We 
too often see our Northern friends, after improving 
during the winter, and attaining a certain degree of 
health, return home for the summer. The next winter 
they come back to us a little lower in health than 
when they first came. This process is repeated several 
times, and then we either hear of them no more, or 
that we will not see them again, thus proving that a Climate of Aiken. 
39 
Northern summer does not possess the virtues of a 
Southern climate.”* 
In accounting for the beneficial action of these high 
levels, Dr. Weber attributes especial importance to the 
dryness of the soil and air; the former as permitting 
to a great degree an out-of-door life ; the second ensur- 
ing a freedom from foreign admixtures, and also to the 
presence of a large amount of ozone, which increases 
the oxidizing power of the air, and so lessens the 
amount of inspiration necessary to be performed by 
the weak lung, giving it, to some degree, that rest 
which we have already spoken of as necessary to a 
diseased organ. 
The inhabitants of large cities, whose health have 
been broken down by the action of that combination of 
deleterious influences which we term ochlesis, and which 
results from overcrowding, will be able to experience 
the revivifying influence, not only of fresh and pure 
air, but of plenty of it. Our little town is spread over 
a large area, the population sparse and the houses scat- 
tered ; so that, while we enjoy many of the privileges 
of a town, such as proximity to markets and shops, post- 
office, railroad and telegraph station, we have all the 
freedom from those impurities which poison the air of 
a closely-built town. 
Tonic Properties of the Atmosphere. 
Besides the soothing influence of the atmosphere on 
the bronchial mucous membranes of the lungs, it has been 
found to have a most tonic effect on the general system. 
This is most especially evidenced in the rapid recovery 
*Address delivered before S. 0. Med. Association by Amory 
Coffin, M. D., 1852. 40 
Aiken and its Climate. 
from diseases of debility, the stage of convalescence 
intervening between illness and health, usually so tedi- 
ous, being, as it were, jumped over. This quality is 
attributed by Dr. Hartscn to the “exciting and 
ing action of the South.” He remarks ■ “ Many a 
patient who in the North is scarcely capable of walk- 
ing a quarter of an hour without fatigue, is often able, 
after his arrival in the South, to take long walks with- 
out experiencing the slightest fatigue, and is thus en- 
abled to exercise his lungs in the open air. I have 
often observed this, and considered it ono of the chief 
advantages of a residence in the South.”* 
if ur»bilit|i of Consumption. 
“ But ” some sceptical reader will object “ although 
the climate is excellent, and highly beneficial in cases 
of bronchitis, pure and uncomplicated or pneumonic 
catarrh, or convalescence from diseases of debility, 
that your air is pure and easily breathed, your soil dry, 
your sun bright, and your temperature moderate, you 
must confess that the most that those advantages can 
do for a sufferer from genuine Consumption is to pro- 
long his life for a short time at the cost of expatriation, 
the privation of the precious comforts of home and the 
society of dear friends.” To such we would reply, we 
confess, no such thing. We could point out more than 
one person who came among us many years ago with 
hemorrhages, cough, emaciation and other symp- 
toms of Pulmonary Phthisis, who are not only still 
alive, but in the enjoyment of very fair health. Some of 
these cases occurred as long as thirty years ago, and in 
*IIart8en, Virchow’s Archiv., Band 46, p. 128. Curability of Consumption. 
41 
one instance the “ retrogression of convalescence,” on 
a return to unfavorable locality and occupation, was 
very marked. Let us, then, consider tho question, Is 
Consumption curable f 
As in all sciences, so also in medical knowledge pro- 
gression is never one of steady advances; but, like the 
waves of the rising tide, we are sometimes carried 
nearly back to the point whence we started, then a 
fresh progression, another falling back, and so on; 
always gaining, but every now and then checked by 
coming in contact with one of those apparently insu- 
perable barriers which seem to mark the confines of 
human knowledge. This truth applies with full force 
to the above question of tho curability of Consumption. 
In the last century but few physicians would have 
dreamed of answering it in the negative ; and it was 
only after the invention and application of percussion 
and auscultation, that the idea obtained that Consump- 
tion was an incurable disease, and, owing to the vanity 
of the age, which induced men to undervalue the truths 
acquired through the close and accurate observation 
and experience of the fathers of medicine, became so 
firmly established, that, ten or fifteen years ago, it 
would have been considered rank heresy for any medi- 
cal man to have asserted a contrary opinion. Since 
that time, however, the old idea of its curability has 
again revived; and we hope in the present chapter to 
be able to prove, not only that Consumption is curable, 
but that such instances of cure are not unfrequent, in 
the first place, as Waldenburg* justly remarks, it is a 
mistake to suppose that an individual can have Con- 
sumption but once; in the great majority of cases there 
*Die Tuberculose, etc., etc. Yon L. Waldenburg, Berlin, 1869. 42 
Aiken and its Climate. 
is a repetition of the disease, and the patient frequently 
looks well and enjoys excellent health in the intervals, 
the symptoms indicative of the disease disappearing 
entirely, or when this, from their nature is impossible, 
remaining in statu quo. 
It appears somewhat remarkable that this important 
fact should have attracted so little notice from those 
who have made a special study of the disease, and yet 
it is of every-day occurrence, so much so that many 
even of our lay readers will doubtless recall to mind 
examples of it. 
Without dwelling upon those cases which have come 
under our observation, which, although they impressed 
us strongly with the truth of the statement, yet have 
not been by us, put into notes of sufficient accuracy to 
make them of any value, we will give a short resume of 
the opinions entertained by some of the most celebrated 
authorities on pulmonary affections, selecting a few 
striking cases by way of illustration. 
Fuller, from whose work wo have already quoted, 
after calling to mind the fact that tubercle deposited in 
the external glands may remain quiescent for years, or, 
what is more usually the case, undergo complete re- 
sorption, makes the following remarks : “ Thus we are 
constrained to believe that the same holds good in 
respect to the lungs, and that whether tuborcular 
deposits in these organs remain quiescent or undergo 
absorption, or calcareous transformation, or be got rid 
of by suppuration and expectoration, the patient may 
recover, or attain to longevity, provided only that his 
general health be improved, and the condition of his 
blood altered, so that no fresh deposit of tubercle shall 
occur.” 
He mentions three cases of recovery in which ves- 43 
Curability of Consumption. 
tiges of cavities and of tubercular deposit were found, 
although the subjects had ceased to show symptoms of 
Consumption for years previous to their death, and had 
gained flesh in the meantime. The most remarkable 
case was that of Mary Liddon, whose mother had died 
of Consumption, and who herself had been “asthmatic” 
for years, and had occasionally expectorated blood. 
When she first applied for relief, in 1849, she presented 
most of the general symptoms of Consumption. She 
was pale, somewhat emaciated, with nails bent over, 
was short-breathed and expectorated a considerable 
quantity of matter. There was marked dulness and 
flattening under the collar-bones of both sides, and the 
evidences of a cavity in the right lung. A tonic plan 
of treatment was pursued, and after a time the general 
symptoms began to subside, the signs of the excavation 
to disappear, and she rallied so rapidly that before the 
expiration of eighteen months her general aspect was 
that of good health. In 1858, she died of another dis- 
ease, and the body was examined, revealing an old scar 
in the right lung, the remains of the former cavity 
which had healed. There was only a little old tubercle 
in the neighborhood of the scar. 
Even more cheering is the testimony of the Drs. Wil- 
liams, wTho have preserved notes of no less than two 
thousand cases of Consumption. The following aro their 
words: “ Powerless as medicine is in the overwhelming 
and rapid types of the disease, it has yet considerable 
influence over the milder forms, and under careful 
treatment life may be prolonged for many years in 
comfort and usefulness, and in not very few cases the 
disease is so permanently arrested that it may be called 
cured. In six hundred cases there were no less than 44 
Aiken and its Climate. 
fifty-six in which the disease was arrested and the 
patients lived twenty years and upwards.” 
This does not include many cases where the disease 
was checked in its incipiency. 
For the sake of encouraging our patients to persevere 
in the treatment prescribed for them, we will now give 
a brief synopsis of some of these cases. 
“An unmarried lady consulted Dr. W. in 1847—had 
cough for eighteen months. During the two months 
previous to her visit, her breath had become hurried, 
and her flesh and strength had become much reduced. 
She had no appetite, and had spit up a few mouthfuls 
of blood. At the time of her visit she was very weak 
and much emaciated, with quick pulse and profuse night 
sweats. There were signs of tubercle in more than half 
of the left side of the chest, and cavities in the same 
region. Under the treatment instituted, she improved 
in strength and well being, and had but little cough. 
She continued to improve, and was married in 1850. In 
1867, twenty years after her first visit, and twenty-one 
and a half from the commencement of the disease, she 
was alive and well. 
“ A clergyman, 32 years old, was seen by Dr. W. for 
the first time in 1846. He had lost four sisters with 
Consumption. Three years previous to that time he 
had become hoarse. Cough with expectoration and 
shortness of breath came on five months before. There 
were signs of tubercle and cavities in the upper portion 
of the right side of chest. He was placed under treat- 
ment, and for the next two years resided at Minehead, 
and in parts of Devonshire, Malta, and Pisa. In 1868, 
he was again seen when he was quite well and active, 
conducting a large school, could walk, preach and bear 45 
Curability of Consumption. 
exposure to any extent. The physical signs, dulness, 
etc., remained, rather to be attributed, however, to the 
vestiges of his former complaint than to any existing 
disease, as he had enjoyed excellent health for twelve 
years.” 
Dr. James Henry Bennett, in his late work “ on the 
Treatment of Pulmonary Consumption,” gives the de- 
tails of twelve cases, his own among the number, 
which had been cured, by proper hygienic means. 
These well marked cases are but types of what we 
have not unfrequently witnessed ourselves. 
But we agree with Dr. Bennett in his assertion that 
it requires not only means but character and Intelli- 
gence to carry out the necessary plan. Among his 
successful cases he remarks he does not find a single 
foolish, wilful, obstinate person. 
Waldenburg, after dwelling upon the fact that the 
same individual may have more than one attack of 
Consumption, makes the following bold statement: 
“Yiewedin this light, Phthisis is one of the most 
frequently curable among the diseases which endanger 
life, and its treatment is often for the physician a most 
grateful task. Compared with chronic disease of the 
brain, with nephritis, cancer, etc., how hopeless do these 
latter appear. It is-true that to attain this result, the 
patient’s circumstances must admit not only of his fol- 
lowing tho medical prescriptions and directions about 
diet, but also of considerable material sacrifices, such as 
long journeys, change of residence,” etc. (Op. cit.) 
Of late years it has been demonstrated by actual ex- 
periment that Consumption may be produced in the 
lower animals by inoculation. During these experi- 
ments, which have been carried on very extensively, it 
sometimes happened that the animals recovered, and 46 
Aiken and its Climate. 
grew fat again. They were afterwards killed, and their 
bodies examined. In such cases the vestiges of the 
disease were observed, the tubercular matter having 
undergone retrograde metamorphosis. 
We have thus corroborated our seemingly bold state- 
ment of the curability of Consumption bjT the quota- 
tion of the opinions of the most eminent authorities in 
Europe, and proved the ground of their opinions by the 
citation of cases most carefully observed by them. 
This is certainly most cheering, but such is the hope- 
fulness of disposition which, so strangely, almost in- 
variably accompanies this disease, that it falls much 
oftener to our lot to bo obliged, in mercy, to repress 
unfounded hope than to inspire confidence. This san- 
guineness seems to be contagious, for it not only com- 
municates itself to surrounding friends, but influences 
the judgment of the attending physician. The float- 
ing straw is not only caught at by tho drowning man, 
but is cruelly held out to him by those standing on the 
shore. The unfortunate consequence is that we have 
too often sent down to us, for our climate to cure, 
cases which are beyond cure—cases in which the ex- 
istence of large cavities, profuse suppuration, laryngeal 
ulceration, colliquative diarrhoea, and other equivalent 
signs indicate that they have reached that stage 
whence there aro no backward steps towards conva- 
lescence. 
“It is too sad,” as Dr. Pollock remarks, “to sit by 
such a patient and calculate his chances of life, whether 
they are sufficient to bear him home again, or whether 
it is necessary to allow him to breathe his last among 
strangers.” 
And now our task is done; we have set forth what 
we deem, and what others deem to be the essentials of Curability of Consumption. 
47 
a curative climate, and wo have shown how far our own 
climate possesses those essentials. In doing this we 
have endeavored to present an impartial, unprejudiced 
statement, and we are not conscious of having extenu- 
ated or embellished anything. 
In taking leave of our readers, those of them who 
are invalids, we sincerely hope they may realize what, 
in the words of our motto, is the greatest pleasure upon 
earth, not to be well, as many suppose, but to get well. 48 
Aiken and its Climate. 
MMMMMMMMMMM 
qdgocoqoooooqdooqoqcoo 
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• 
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m co o b ‘ h-* o ki to -4 
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January. 
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March. 
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Annual. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIOITS. 
No. 1. 
MEAN TEMPERATURE OF MONTHS AND YEARS. Meteorological Observations. 
49 
January. 
February. 
March. 
April. 
j May. 
June. 
July. 
August. 
September. 
October. 
November. 
December. 
Year. 
18G0 
71 
74 
80 
91 
92 
96 
102 
97 
91 
82 
75 
68 
102 
1861 
63 
73 
78 
85 
95 
102 
96 
93 
92 
87 
77 
62 
102 
1862 
76 
73 
80 
83 
90 
92 
94 
98 
89 
84 
75.70 
75 
98 
1863 
70 
71 
74 
87 
89 
90 
92 
95 
88 
80 
75 
66 
95 
1864 
74 
74 
76 
85 
89.61 
93 
95 
92 
90 
83 
75.70 
73 
95 
1865 
61 
69 
75 
81 
87 
92 
100 
92 
91 
81 
75.70 
74 
100 
1866 
68 
70 
77 
90 
88 
92 
95 
95 
89 
82 
75 
66 
95 
1867 
73 
78 
76 
82 
86 
91 
93 
86 
90 
85 
75 
75 
93 
] 868 
75 
64 
84 
87 
87 
92 
99 
90 
87 
79 
79 
69 
99 
1869 
68 
70 
75 
84 
91 
94 
101 
96 
87 
76 
71 
67 
101 
1870 .... 
77 
70 
73 
91 
91 
92 
96 
93 
87 
80 
78 
75 
96 
Max 
77- 
78 
84 
91 
95 
102 
102 
98 
92 
87 
79 
75 
102 
HIGHEST TEMPERATURE AT 2 P. M. 
No 2. 50 
Aiken and its Climate. 
January. 
February. 
March. 
April. 
CS 
a 
June. 
July. 
August. 
September. 
October. 
S 
<v 
> 
o 
fc 
1 
| December. 
Year. 
18(30 
15 
22 
32 
41 
45 
63 
67 
64 
54 
44 
22 
23 
15 
1861 
29 
32 
23 
45 
50 
63 
65 
63 
47 
42 
32 
22 
22 
1862 
32 
32 
26 
43 
53 
55 
65 
61 
60 
34 
30.12+ 
22 
22 
1863 
20 
23 
28 
35 
48 
62 
67 
60 
46 
42 
31 
25 
20 
1864 
12 
18 
26 
43 
50.90* 
54 
57 
65 
55 
41 
30.12f 
17 
12 
1865 
19 
23 
38 
52 
54 
62 
69 
63 
61 
44 
30.12+ 
28 
19 
1866 
23 
21 
32 
39 
44 
56 
64 
63 
60 
40 
32 
25 
21 
1867 
21 
22 
30 
39 
51 
61 
71 
65 
64 
42 
32 
28 
21 
1868 
22 
25 
32 
39 
56 
63 
71 
65 
50 
42 
33 
12 
22 
1869 
32 
25 
25 
34 
48 
64 
68 
61 
51 
36 
30 
30 
25 
1870 
23 
15 
26 
34 
60 
61 
70 
70 
63 
49 
29 
10 
10 
]\lin 
12 
15 
23 
34 
44 
54 
57 
60 
46 
34 
22 
10 
10 
; mean of ten years 
f Interpolated ; mean of eight years. 
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No. 3. Meteorological Observations. 
51 
Minimum 
Range 
1 H‘ ‘ '1 M M h‘Mh‘ t—» V-l 
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January. 
interpolation ; mean of ten years. 
1.43 
7.33 
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05 00—JCO4*.4^4».C>iCOO5C54»Q0 
February. 
1.06 .68 
5.61 8.66 
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March. 
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April. 
1.19 
5.23 
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May. 
1.31 .55 
10.17 9.92 
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June. 
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July. 
2.50 
7.20 
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August. 
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3.43 
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to —i oo -t © to o co "to in i-* bs oo 
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October. 
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November. 
px j-* 
co crt 
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December. 
to CO 
to CO 
hi bo 
to -J 
CTx 4-> ©* Ox CO ox OX Ox Ox CO CO 
rfx -7 4k 00 ox CO CO CO to 00 
OOCOOiCi^^HCDOOOi 
Year. 
: : 
M tCO C» P co M i O C O X p 
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Maximum. 
: cr» 
• Ox 
: l-1 . t- M J-1 .1-1 . "MM, 
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• 01C0C0OC5C500Q5OiOOi05 
Manimum. 
: : 
• 
• : -5M0lMO0505CDC005Cnp 
■ —1 4- O' CO io 1-1 be OO co 05 —1 —I 
: 4kQ04».4».©!P-‘CO«Ok5O54>>ts3 
Range. 
AMOUNT OF RAIN IN INCHES. 
No. 4. 52 
Aiken and its Climate. 
January. 
February. 
March. 
April. 
II 
>> 
a} 
s 
June. 
July. 
August. 
September. 
October. 
November. 
December. 
j Year. 
1860.. 
1861.. 
1862.. 
1863.. 
1864.. 
1865.. 
1866.. 
1867.. 
N.E. 
S.W. 
N.E. 
E. 
S.W. 
W. 
W. 
S.W. 
S.W. 
S.W. 
S.W. 
S.W. 
W 
E. 
S.W. 
E. 
S.W. 
S.W. 
N.E. 
S.W. 
E. 
E. 
S.W. 
W. 
S.W. 
S.W. 
S.W. 
N.E. 
S.W. 
S.W. 
S.W. 
S.W. 
N.E. 
E. 
S.W. 
E. 
S.W. 
S.W. 
S.W. 
s. 
N.E. 
w. 
E. 
S.W. 
N.E. 
S.W. 
s. 
s. 
S.W. 
N.E. 
E. 
S.W. 
S.W. 
N.E. 
E. 
E. 
E. 
E. 
W. 
S. 
N.E. 
N.E. 
E. 
N.E. 
W. 
N.E. 
N.E. 
N.E. 
S.W. 
S.W. 
"s.w! 
S.W. 
N.E. 
S.W. 
w. 
w. 
s.w. 
w. 
N.E. 
S.W. 
s. w. 
s.w. 
s.w. 
s.w.w. 
E. 
w. 
SW.NE. 
s. 
S.W. 
s. 
w. 
N.E. 
s.w.w. 
S.W. 
S.W. 
S.W.I S.W. 
S.W. 
S.W.I S.W. 
E. 
N.E. 
S.W. 
s.w.w. 
S.W. 
The prevailing wind was from S. W. in 39 months. 
“ “ “ N.E. “ 18 “ 
M U 11 11 <1 
(i << it <( j2 “ 
k « << g. (t 4 ii 
PREVAILING WINDS. 
No. 5. Meteorological Observations. 
53 
PROPORTIONATE TABLE SHOWING THE TIME THAT THE INVALID MAY PASS IN 
THE OPEN AIR. 
1870- 
-’71. 
1871-72. 
u 
<v 
S 
03 
S 
k> 
aS 
k> 
ju 
aS 
P 
a> 
rO 
I 
03 
rD 
s 
k> 
U 
c3 
k> 
h 
aS 
P 
© 
k 
O 
<D 
03 
9 
Q 
a 
p 
aS 
u 
rO 
03 
Ph 
t-i 
aS 
S3 
Apri 
> 
o 
£ 
03 
03 
03 
« 
§ 
03 
*-> 
pO 
03 
£ 
** 
aS 
S 
Apri 
Tota 
Whole days 
22 
21 
26 
18 
21 
23 
20 
25 
26 
20 
22 
24 
268 
Three-quarter days 
1 
2 
1 
2 
2 
6 
2 
1 
1 
1 
3 
4 
26 
Half days 
5 
1 
2 
3 
3 
1 
1 
3 
3 
1 
23 
Quarter days 
1 
1 
1 
i 
1 
1 
6 
No part of the day 
2 
5 
i 
5 
5 
... 
7 
5 
4 
4 
2 
40 
No. 6. HOW TO REACH AIKEN. 
Travellers from the North and East have a choice of three 
routes, viz: via Washington, Wilmington, N. C., to Augusta, 
Ga., or via Danville, Va., Charlotte, Columbia, S. C., to Augusta, 
both all rail and time the same ; say forty-eight hours from New 
York, fare $27 50, meals and sleeping cars extra; about $38 to 
Augusta. The most desirable, least fatiguing and cheapest route, 
however, is by steamship from New York to Charleston, thence 
by rail, 120 miles to Aiken. The steamships of the New York 
and Charleston line are strictly first class, commanded by seamen 
of admitted ability, who, being gentlemen and stockholders, care- 
fully watch over the comfort of the passenger, and do not delegate 
it, as is too often the case, to subordinates. This line has never, 
since its establishment in 1845, met with an accident; the tables 
are generously supplied with all the delicacies of the New York 
and Charleston markets. The sailing days are Tuesdays, Thurs- 
days and Saturdays, at 3 o’clock, P. M., from pier 29, North 
River; and immediately opposite is the office of the agents, 
Henry R. Morgan & Co., 177 West street, from whom through 
tickets can be procured to Aiken or Augusta for $22. This item 
includes meals, state-room and transfer of person and baggage to 
the cars of the South Carolina Railroad.* W. Stevenson, a resi- 
dent of Aiken, is agent of the line at Augusta, and will be happy 
to furnish all information, and promptly reply to such inquiries 
as may be addressed to him at his office, 219 Broad street, 
Augusta, Ga. Time tables of the Northern and Western Rail- 
roads will be cheerfully transmitted by him if desired. 
Those residing in the Western States, who contemplate visiting 
Aiken, it is unnecessary to confuse, perhaps, by enumerating the 
half-score of routes to Atlanta, Ga., the terminal point, and which 
is 173 miles west of Augusta. The traveller should procure 
through tickets to Augusta to benefit by a material reduction of 
fare. 
*The passage is from 50 to 60 hours, averaging 55 ; frequently it is made 
in 48 hours from dock to dock.