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Upon returning from Hochelaga in mid-October, Cartier and his crew gradually confronted the rigors of the harsh Canadian climate. Intense cold froze the food and drink kept inside the ships, which were used for shelter during the winter season. The French were weakened by a combination of cold weather and poor food, and were unable to resist disease effectively. The 110 members of the crew primarily ate dried or salt meat; fruit and vegetables were absent from their diet. Owing to the lack of vitamin C, scurvy, a disease whose causes were unknown at the time, decimated the crew. By mid-February, nearly all of the sailors suffered from this disease. Their legs and arms became swollen, their gums rotted and their teeth fell out. Finally, and even though Cartier had employed a hundred and one ruses in order to dissimulate the poor health of his crew, the Amerindians supplied the scurvy-sufferers with an unhoped-for remedy.
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