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Directly or indirectly, James Bowie’s (aka Jim) enigmatic illness during the siege of the Alamo resulted from his actions. A hearty man of six feet, Bowie was a walking contradiction; a slave trader who fought for freedom, a generous and congenial man who had his thunderous temper, and a commanding leader who was prone to binges of sloppy drunkenness. He was determined in his actions and proceeded through life with an indestructible will, yet found himself bed-ridden as he took his last breath.

[[File:yellowfevermound.jpg|thumbnail|350px|left|Memorial to Louisiana yellow fever victims buried in a mass grave.]]

Until October 1833, Bowie's life continued unabated, but tragedy struck. While in Natchez he learned the news that his wife had passed away due to cholera. This occurred just days after he himself recovered from a bout with yellow fever.<ref>Davis, 361-362.</ref> According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), once having recovered from yellow fever one is usually protected against subsequent infection. This, however, is under ideal circumstances wherein the individual is in optimal physical condition. Alcohol and malnutrition impede the immunity process.<ref>Valerie Carter, RN, BSN, MSN, interview by author, Phoenix, Arizona, April 15, 2010. It has been historically documented that Bowie consumed a great deal of alcohol. Also, malnutrition must be distinguished from under-nutrition in that an individual may be consuming substantial calories that lack nutritional value.</ref> Bowie was not only complicit in transporting infected mosquitoes into North America, he also counteracted his own recovery with his lifestyle choices.

== How did Bowie Die at the Alamo? ==

Andrea Castanon de Villanueva, more commonly known as Madam Candelaria, gave several different accounts as a witness to the siege at the Alamo. They all conflict as to the manner in which Bowie was killed but concur as to the symptoms of his illness. Descriptions of Bowie's condition by other witnesses concur with Candelaria's account of him having shortness of breath, a continued cough, rapid pulse and fever, and the loss of "considerable flesh."<ref>Maurice Elfer, ''Madam Candelaria: Unsung Heroine of the Alamo'' (Houston: Rein, 1933),9.</ref> It must be noted; however, that the credibility of Candelaria must be closely scrutinized as she had no medical or nursing background and often contradicted herself in interviews. In an 1890 interview she was convinced he was "very ill of typhoid fever," while in an interview from 1899, she stated that Bowie was "afflicted with consumption."<ref>Bill Groneman, ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1556228465/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1556228465&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=f25e7db795530fa1ef53bfc5b9faefc1 Eyewitness to the Alamo],'' (Plano: Taylor Trade Publishing, 1996), 107.</ref>

Generally, there are no respiratory symptoms associated with typhoid fever. <ref>Groneman, 122. Pulmonary consumption was a term used in the 19th century for what is currently known as tuberculosis.</ref> Henderson Yoakum, a prominent lawyer, historian, and congressional representative from Texas made a strong argument refuting Candelaria’s claim to having been Bowie’s nurse. In a letter dated January 8, 1870, to an unknown recipient, Yoakum argues that Juana Alsbury nursed Bowie at the Alamo and that Madam Candelaria was not even present at the time of the siege.<ref>Henderson Yoakum, “The McArdle Notebooks,” (Austin, Texas State Library), 29.</ref> Yoakum deduced that Mrs. Alsbury would have been the choice to nurse Bowie as she was the niece of former governor Veramendi and Bowie’s sister-in-law. The note claims that Alsbury was not aware of another woman nursing Bowie.