"This permission was willingly granted, and two soldiers of the guard
brought a tall and strong man of about thirty years of age whom they placed
on the ground between themselves.
"When the Frenchman learned of the presence of a surgeon he narrated that
something quite extraordinary had happened to him.
"Notwithstanding the great general misery, he had thus far been cheerful and
well, but half an hour previous his feet had stiffened and he had been
unable to walk, and now he had no longer any sensation from the toes up the
legs.
"I examined him and found that his feet were completely stiff, white like
marble, and ice cold.
"The officer was well dressed and, notwithstanding his pitiful condition,
more cheerful than myself and my comrades.
"Soon he felt a strong desire to urinate, but was unable to do so.
"With great relish he ate a large piece of horse flesh which had been
roasted at the fire, but soon complained of great illness.
"His cheerfulness changed suddenly to a sensation of great distress.
Ischuria persisted for several hours and caused him great pain; later on
during the night, he involuntarily voided feces and a large amount of
urine. He slept a great deal, the breathing was free, but at dawn he fell
into a helpless condition, and, at daybreak, before we had left the fire,
this strong man, who eight to ten hours before had been in good health,
died."
Most excellent and ingenious men in the prime of manhood all suffered more
or less from the cold; with the exception of a few cases, the senses of all
were, if not entirely deranged, at least weakened.
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