Al,

Do you think this might be a misspell of "Croup Fever" or "Croup", which would signify "laryngitis, diphtheria, or strep throat"? Or, could this be "Crop Sickness" which identifies an "overextended stomach"? Or, "Camp Fever" which was the term for Typhus, aka Camp diarrhea. Just guessing, but these definitions are located at:

http://members.aol.com/jweaver300/grayson/medterm.htm
http://www.ehistory.com/uscw/features/medicine/cwsurgeon/commonterms.cfm
http://www.ehistory.com/uscw/features/medicine/cwsurgeon/medicalterms.cfm

The ultimate resource for old medical terms is probably this link:

Archaic Medical Terms
http://www.paul_smith.doctors.org.uk/ArchaicMedicalTerms.htm

Jim Martin