Author: M'William, James O.
Title: Medical history of the expedition to the Niger during the years 1841-42, comprising an account of the fever which led to its abrupt termination.
Description: London: John Churchill, 1843. First edition. Pp. viii, 287pp., frontispiece lithograph of nufi man, lithographed plate of chief's son, hand-colored lithograph of geological cross-section, full-page wood-engraved plan of highly decorated large canoe, folding engraved map at end of the lower reaches of the Niger River, later one-half brown morocco leather with 5 raised bands, red morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, over fine weave brown cloth, 8vo. This work documents a British expedition using three iron steam vessels to travel to Lokoja, at the confluence of the Niger River and Benue River, in what is now Nigeria. Of the 150 Europeans on the expedition, 42 died quickly. There were 130 fever cases but members who were of African descent suffered no deaths from illness. With such high mortality, the naval commanders called the expedition off, and withdrew to the island of Fernando Po. Other figures given are 55 deaths (out of 159) of Europeans, before the return to England in 1842. The author of this work was chief surgeon on the Albert, one of the three ships. From 4 October the handling of the vessel fell to him and the geologist Dr. William Stanger, the others being ill. M'William took the expedition to the open sea over ten days (from Wiki). According to Hogg 880, this expedition brought significant progress in the treatment of malaria. As Ebola is often mistaken for malaria, typhoid fever or dysentery, one could speculate that Ebola could have caused some of the deaths on the Niger Expedition. No ownership marks and few signs of use. A few tiny chips (1/4 inch wide) missing from the outer edge of pages 217-219, otherwise a near fine copy in a very attractive binding..

Keywords: Fine rare travel exploration medical history expedition Niger Nigeria Africa Niger River Benue River 1841 1842 fever malaria typhoid fever Ebola Fernando Po Dr. William Stranger James O. M'William


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