In 1833, while he was still in Washington, two more slaves died, and William Donelson wrote the General expressing the opinion that the deaths had grown out of lack of proper medical attention. Immediately Jackson was on the warpath again. He wrote Andrew strongly urging him to investigate the charges of neglect; and, to make doubly sure of getting the facts, he wrote to his old and trusted friend Major William B. Lewis, asking him to look into the matter and let him know what was going on. Major Lewis made a typically thorough and painstaking investigation and his letter, reporting conditions as he found them, gives such a clear and interesting detailed account of life on a Tennessee plantation of a century ago that it is worth preserving in its entirety: I have this moment returned from a visit to the Hermitage. I left home after an early breakfast and got up there between ten and eleven o’clock, where I remained until after breakfast this morning. It is with pleasure I inform you that I found every individual, big and little, well, except Hannah, Sally’s eldest child, and she, I was told by the overseer and her mother, was getting better. I had her brought to the house so that I might see her myself and ascertain, if I could, the nature of her complaint. I was apprehensive from what Mr. Holtzclaw told me that she was afflicted with the hip complaint, such as Major Barry’s son had; but on interrogating her and her mother as to the origin of the disease I am inclined to think it is something else. Mr. Holtzclaw and some of the black people think it is the white swelling. Her mother told me when she first complained of a pain in the hip she examined her and found a large lump in her groin having the appearance of what is called a waxen kernel. She also told me she complained not only of pain in the hip but also in the thick or muscular part of the thigh, and particularly the knee. As I do not know how those who have the hip complaint are affected, I can not say whether these are synptoms of that disease or not. When she was first taken, Sally tells me, she could not walk at all and suffered much pain. She can now walk a little, and her pains are not so distressing. Indeed she told me she suffered little or no pain except of nights. I thought this was owing probably to her taking too much exercise in the day, and I told her she must walk very little on her leg until it got better. I also charged her mother to keep her from exercising too much. She is a very pretty little girl, and as she will no doubt make a valuable servant if she lives and gets well I have some thought of getting Dr. Hogg to ride up and see her, for I am apprehensive Dr. McCorkle does not understand the nature of her complaint. If she should require any personal attention afterwards she might be brought down (to Nashville) and left with her grandmother who lives on