PAG li 4
T H E C H E M A W A A M E R IC A N
TH E EXTINCT GREAT A U K
E ggs of any kind are expensive en o u g h now adays
but those of th e g reat auk are so h ig h — and not on
account of th e w ar, e ith e r— th a t only a m illionaire
could afford to buy a dozen, says th e B altim ore A m er
ican. Indeed, it is doubtful if th e re are m ore th an th a t
m any in the w orld.
T h e great auk was a sea fowl th at in form er days
had its most im p o rtan t breeding place on a rock called
F u n k island, 32 m iles off N ew fo u n d lan d coast.
W halers provisioned th eir sh ip s w ith th e birds (w h ich
w ere so fat th a t they are said to have been utilized as
fu el), and fisherm en stole th e ir eggs by wholesale.
In consequence of such d ep red atio n s th e species be
come ex tin ct about 70 years ago, and today to re p
resent it th ere are only a few stuffed specim ens and
skeletons in m useum s. Also a few eggs, one of w hich in
1859 fetched $90 at auction. Since th en , how ever, they
have gone up . In 1882 one w as sold for $500; a n
o th er egg, in 1895, was knocked dow n at $825. F o u r
years later one b ro u g h t $1,500, and in 1900 the price
quoted f o r a specim en was $1,678.
T h e Sm ithsonian In stitu tio n possesses an egg and a
barrelfu l of m iscellaneous auk bones— th e la tte r col
lected bv a scientific expedition w hich it sent to F u n k
island for the purpose.
O ne day a few years ago a scientist connected with
the S m ithsonian happened to be in L ondon and, pass
ing a ta x id e rm is t’s shop, he saw a stuffed g reat auk in
th e w indow . H e nearly dropped w ith asto n ish m en t.
But ju st as arran g em en ts for its p u rchase at a g reat
price w ere on the po in t of b eing com pleted th e d is
covery was m ade th a t th e bird was a “ cam o u flag e,”
m ade o u t of odds and ends of d u ck s, geese and o th er
b irds and fowls.
F or exam ple a m an w as b ro u g h t in w ith his chin shot
en tirely aw ay. T h e surgeons w ere obliged to perform
five different operations for him but they succeeded in
b u ild in g a new chin and jaw . I t was a com m on th in g
to save arm s and legs w hich th e old-tim e surgeon
could not possibly have saved but w ould have am p u
tated p ro m p tly , believing th a t the only way to save
th e life of the p a tie n t—and th e chances, at th a t, were
u sually unfavorable. D elicate operations on punctu red
lu n g s and th e in testin es are perform ed daily and the
lives of m any m en are th u s saved.
A side from th e m erciful, h u m an itarian considera
tions of saving lives and lim bs and preventing suffering,
th e efficient, u p -to -d ate hospital treatm en t available
for A m erican soldiers— they could not get b etter or
m ore com petent surgical atten tio n in th e best hospitals
in th e ir hom e la n d —pays well from a financial point
of view; it is figured th a t one of th e big evacuation
hospitals w hich has been operated u nder A m erican
control but a sh o rt tim e by carin g for U . S. soldiers
has saved no less th a n $3,000,000 to U ncle Sam in in
surance; th a t is, th is am ount in insurance would
have com e o u t of th e g o v ern m e n t’s funds had th e
men H eated in th is hospital died.
LONGEVITY OF OUR P R E SID E N T S
An article in a B ritish m edical jo u rn al some tim e
ago called atten tio n to th e rem arkable longevity of the
p resid en ts of th e U nited S tates. T h eir ages, it was
recalled, w ere as follows: 67, 90, 83, 85, 73, 80, 78,
79, 68, 71, 53, 65, 74, 64, 77, 56, 66, 63, 70, 49, 56,
7 1 ,6 7 .5 8 . T hose w ho died at 56, 49 and 58 w’ere,
respectively, L incoln, G arfield and M cK inley who
w ere assassinated. T h e ages of the 24 men total
1,663 and th e average is 69 years each, indicatin g th a t
the d u ties and responsibilities of th e presidency a p
SUCCESSFUL W A R SU R G E R Y
p aren tly do not shorten th e lives of incum bents.
A m ercan w ar h ospitals are recognized as being w ith
T h e follow ing are generally given as th e causes of
out an equal anyw here and the su rg eo n s and nurses in d ea th of the presidents: W ash in g to n , pneum onia
them are w orking w onders in th e trea tm en t of sick
(m o re correct acco u n ts sta te edem atous affection of
and w ounded m en. T h e largest A m erican evacuation
th e w indpipe or m em branous c ro u p ); J. A dam s,
hospital, not far from th e b attle line was equipped d eb ility ; Jefferson, chronic d iarrhea; M adison, debil
w ith 1800 beds and its surgeons, am ong th e forem ost ity; M onroe, debility; J. Q. A dam s, paralysis; Jack-
in th eir profession in the w orld can tak e care of 2500 son, consum ption and dropsy; V an B uren, asthm atic
surgical cases in 15 to 16 hours.
c a ta rrh ; H arriso n , bilious pleurisy; T y ler, bilious a t
T h e w ounded men reached th e hospital w ithin the tack (w ith b ro n ch itis); Polk, chronic diarrhea; T a y
sh o rtest possible tim e, the m ethods of tre a tin g them
lor. cholera m orbus and typhoid fever, F illm ore, d e
w ere th e best know n to science and the eq u ip m en t of bility; Pierce, dropsy and inflam m ation of stom ach;
th e hospital was unsurpassed; as a resu lt 90 per cent B uchanan, rh eu m atic gou t; L incoln, assassination;
of th e w ounds w ere treated w ith o u t any pus being a l Jo h n so n , paralysis; G ra n t, cancer of the tongue and
low ed to form in them .
th ro a t; H ayes, paralysis of the heart; G arfield, assas
Soldiers often entered the hospital w ith w ounds th at sin atio n ; A rth u r, B rig h t’s disease, paralysis and apo
o rd in arily w ould be expected to b rin g d eath w ith in a plexy; Cleveland, debility; B. H arriso n , pneum onia;
short tim e and left it practically w hole and sound.
M cK inlev, assassination.