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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (July 13, 1902)
Tr-- j - -j - THE SUNDAY OBEGOOTAN, PORTLAND, JTJ.LY 13, 1902. 2T H7VRDEST MEDICAL PAeTieE JM THE WOKLT) frT" tyjpv&rvi-rw . -Twvapr -iyp -V""-?"1 ln? mfWfiTtvm " yTJwJwtiptjBipiiipF ,"yj- -f MMxf ii ' yfySffiW ' Y V BRAVE AND BLESSED WORK OF THE LIT- W wm JlVV ' ' U A TLE HOSPITAL SHIP STRATHCON A ALONG ' g y Mj all X ' ' " " THE TERRIBLE COAST OF "LABRADOR mii THE hardest medical practice in the world is in swing again this month. While most of us in this latitude are dreaming of hammocks and cool drinks, only a few days' sail from our Northern Atlantic ports a little steanler is rolling and tumbling through great seas and fields of ice floes. And never castaway sailor saw delivering ship ap proach with such prayers of gratitude as rise from men's lips when the hospital ship Strathcona Is sighted working her way along the terrible coasts of Lab rador. Men and women and little children white, Indian and Eskimo are straining their eyes seaward while you read this, looking for the only help that ever comas to them in their solitudes, where ice and gale lock them away from all their hu man kind. Scattered along more than 1000 miles of coast, fishing smacks, crowded not only with men, but with women who are driven by need to fish for a living, hall the little ship as .the only place of refuge for any who become ill or .maimed in the hard calling. The Land of Pain. There is no spot on the globe where life is harder or serious accidents of all kinds are more frequent than along that stormy stretch of coast from St. Johns, Newfoundland, to Cape Chlldey, at the opening Into Hudson Strait. Thelntense cold, far below zero for the greater part of the year, causes Innumerable cases of frost bite, that, with no surgical help. Boon develop Into gangrene. Every year there Is a lack of food, and starvation weakens the people until they are easy prey to typhoid, consumption and intes tinal diseases of almost all the painful kinds known to medical science. The only methods for obtaining food are seal-hunting, whaling and fishing. Generally they arecarried on in poor craft, and fright ful injuries from broken bones to gun shot wounds are necessarily frequent. For nowhere is the pursuit of either ani mals or fish so fraught with difflculty and peril. Yet, although the barren land is In habited by nuearly 12,000 persons, while from 20,000 to 25.C00 sail to it every year i in June and July to fish for cod, there was not a single doctor to be found in j all Its thousand miles until 10 years ago, j when the Royal National Mission to ' Deep-Sea Fishermen sent a little 97-ton sailing vessel, the Albert, there under Dr. Wilfred Grenfell. And it was the most fortunate thing that ever happened to Labrador. For the misery that Dr. Grenfell encountered, the i hopeless suffering he found, so cried out to him that he decided then and there to devote his life to bringing what alle viation he could to the unhappy souls that were imprisoned in Ice for half the year, and cursed with privation and sick ness always. Month after month the little Albert worked her way through ice and snow and gale, through hundreds of miles of uncharted and unlightcd waters, over reefs pounded by mountain seas, seek ing out whom she might succor. When her sail was seen, men came in skin kayaks, in birch canoes, in all sorts of craft, crazy or staunch, bearing their sick and wounded to the visitors. Too often the visitors were too late to do more than case the dying moments of some poor wretch. They found whole settlements that had been wiped out by diphtheria. In one place they saw the rude graves, scooped into the hard Lau rentian rocks, 'of 29 persons who had died absolutely without any attempt at sav ing them. "Wounds, no matter how fright ful, were treated by squirting tobacco Juice into them and binding tightly with an old rag. But even tobacco and rags were wanting In many places, for the Albert found settlements where the chil dren were almost naked, and had to live in the very back of the hovels to escape freezing to death. A Frightful Story. They found one man whose little ono had frozen both her feet. There was nothing in the whole settlement with which to help he, and before- long both feet began to gangrene. And when the Albert returned to St. Johns so car ried back the terrible story of how the unhappy father had been forced at last, being in utter despair and knowing- that it was the only hope of saving the child V-- - - - tisTMiMHly,! & &? . . . as J) I ' J , v ' ( A Patient . j y from a death of torture, to take a hatchet and cut off both the little one's feet. With such knowledge as this to sus tain him. Dr. Grenfell and his band of doctors nnrt nmso Tr.cj a rv xn bardt and Eliot jCurwen and the Misses j uecejia Williams and Ada Carwardlne fought their way through the long sea sons on the coast, and then. on their brief visits to civilization, fntipht fA arouse men to help them In their efforts. ait oy pit tney obtained assistance. First MR, DOOLEY'S LETTER -rtHAT man Bailey iv Texas f'r mo I lvry time," said Mr. Dooley. "What's he been doln'?' asked Mr; Hennessy. "He done me frind Blv'ridge lv Injy anny," said Mr. Dooley. "An' I'm f r him f'r leader iv th party. He's wan iv th best two-handed orators in th' Slnit or anny where. He has a wondherful left, an' his repartee with th' right is said to be very stlngln'. He's lnthrajoocod th' sthrangle holt, be means Iv which th' tie bate can be suddenly cut off. He's me ldecl leader. "I want a leader who's got a good grip on public affairs an men, who can take hold iv anny question or anny Raypub lican an' choke it or him till they're black in th' face. Bailey's th' boy. I followed Tillman f'r a while, but he's gone back. He belongs to th ol school of parlymln tarlans, th' same that Jawn L. Sullivan belongs to. He's clever fr an old 'un, an I'd be wlliln' to back him agin anny Ray publlcan in New England" at catch w eights. His reply to Slnltor McLaurln was said to be wan lv th'v quickest Iver hcord since th' days iv Dan'l Webster. It laid open th scalp. But they tell mo Tillman's speeches is not what Hogan calls im promptchu. He rehearses thlm lvry morn in' with a punchln'-bag. Bailey is more Iv a nachral debater. No holds barred with him. Hand or ftft, 'tis all th same. ' "What was it all about, says ye? Well, ye see, this Slnltor fr'm Injyanny, me frind Jeremiah Bev-rldge, made a mos' ln insultin remark to Mlsther Bailey. What did he say? I mustn't tell ye. No, no 'tis too horrible. Well, if ye must hear it, close th dure an pull down th' blinds. Whisper! There! There ye have it! I blush to raypcat th' fool wurruds. To think that anny man shud so demean hlm ellf as to imagine such a thing, lave alone to say it. But he dld-right out in the Slnit, before Hlnnery Cabin Lodge. Qh, It was turr'ble! Here.it is in th' pa-apers: Misthcr Blv-ridge said the st-t-m-nts Iv th hon'rable Slnltor fr'm Texas was un-w-r-nted.' Modesty, where was thy blush? as Shakespeare Eays, accordln to Hogan. Now, th' SInltors Iv th' United States is not alslly shocked. That's not th' way yo get into th' Slnit. Th bright blush lv shame hasn't been used there mors thin twice since th' war. Te can say almost KaNEi msato gga rr EB 1 AotJany doctors Ha veaRoutb Lu 1j they Ot a rowboat. Then somebody else noipoct tnem to ouy a steam iauncn. Fi nally another sailing vessel was added to their tiny fleet. But still they knew that all this was vbut a scratching at the outside of a mountain of misery. And they fought on until now they have the little but beautifully equipped steamship Strathcona, given largely -through the ef forts of Lord Strathcona, while two hos pitals are established on the coast, and one Is open in Northern Newfoundland. annythlng ye like to a Slnltor. Ye can say he w&nst stole a horse, that he's llvin' -undher an assumed name, that he was made "be a thrust, that his on'y nourish- J ment Is beets, or that he belongs to New xork s clety, an th' Slnit will on y yawn. But wanst even hint that his such-an'-such Is co-nn'-o (I will not repeat th hee Jous wurruds), an' ye must hurry an schllp on th' brass knuckles, Tr they're a slap comln' to ye. "Here's what happened: Slnltor Bailey stepped quickly over SInltors Hoar, Mason, Quay, an others an made fr where Slnltor Blv'ridge was qultcly smok In a cigar an talkln to hlmsllf. Slnltor Bailey eays: 'Hon'rable sir, ye mist withdraw that lqatsome lnslnooatlon again me good name,' he says. I have not led a purq life. No man has. I don't claim to be anny betther thin others. But no wan before has Iver said about mo such things as these, an if yo don't take thlm back at wanst, I'll kill ye, I'll choke ye, I'll give ye a slap In th' eye he saye." L cannot conslnt, says th bol Slnltor fr'm Injyanny. I cannot conslnt to haul back me epithet. It would not be Slnltor! yal courtesy,' he aays. Thin,' says Slnl tor Bailey, 'here goes fr an assault an batthry.' An' with a gesture lv th' thrue orator, he seized him be th throat. Th' debate become gln'ral. Slnltor Spooner Iv Wisconsin led fr th' Raypublicans an' Slnltor Morgan lv Alabama counthered CARE OF RUGS THE average American housewife wears out her rugs by continual sweeping and beating. The plan of put ting them upon a line every two weeks, or even once a month, and there having them whipped. Is not to be commended if the rugs are of any value. They should bo cleaned with a carpet-sweeper, occa sionally put upon a line and crushed, and onco a year sent away to be cleaned In a proper manner, or else washed at home. The best way of cleaning the smaller, coarser rugs upon the. line Is to use a stjft'barn broom, and to brush the rug In the direction in which the nap lies, never In the opposite direction, as this de stroys the luster. Oriental rugs aro all made with tho knot bent In one di where the conditions of life aro almost as hard. The Strathcona is a steel steamer of S4 tons, so built that she can haul her propeller up and proceed with sail a!on& Her hospital is amidships, and it is fitted with electric light and a fine X-ray out- first year more than 1000 persons sought ' help from her. And each hospital since , then has treated more than that num ber each year; making a total of more I ON FIGHTING fr th' Dlmmycrato. Slnltor Piatt made a . very happy retort with a chair to whlcn Slnltor Gorman replied with a slntintous cuspidor. Owin' to th exciting nature lv th debate on'y a few lv th' best remarks reached th' gall'ry; wan iv thlm. a piece Iv hard coal, layin' "out a Rlprlslntative lv th Sultan iv Zulu. At th hospital he declared himself much Imnrlsscd. Durfn' th'" proceedings Blv'ridge acted In th' mos j gintlomanly an even ladylike manner. His face wore a smile of complete sang fraud or pain, an' he nlver took hi3 cigar fr'm his mouth wanst. Indeed, It was elv'ral hours befure th' Havana cud be exthract ed be th' surgeon who was called In. While th debate was In progress, a pitch er lv Thomas 'Jefferson was observed to give a slight moan an turn Its face to th wall. Th' Slnit thin took up routine business an' th Janitor swept up th hair, an necktlee. Slnltor Blv'ridge was not much hurt. Th' tinder outside lv th' wind pipe was somewhat bruised but th' wur rukln Inside is still Intact. , " Twas a pretty scene, HInnlssy, an wan that makes mt proud Iv Bailey fr his courago In pouncln' on his collogue; lv Bev'rldge f'r th' manly self-rcsthraint an raysplct f'r th' dignity Iv th' Sinlt that par'lj-zeii a man's hands whin his wind is cut off; iv our" noble coun thry that projooces such sturdy sons, Iv th' Sinlt that brings thlm to gether in a clinch, an iv mcrflf because I wasn't there. I'm with Bailey. Bailey ff Hard Brushing Is Less Destructive Than Beating rection, so that the nap all lies one way. When a rug Is to be thoroughly cleaned. It should be sent where the work is prop erly done. A machine Is now In use which loosens tho dust and removes it by means of a strong current of air. This is effect ive and not hard upon the rug. When the surface becomes soiled It can be w.ashed with no fear of Injuring the colors, since the majority of Oriental rugs arc washed repeatedly before reaching this country, and tho dyes used are thereby mellowed and enriched. The bert method of washing a large rug Is to stretch and tack It upon a clean floor, then scour It well with soapsuds. After the scouring it must be thoroughly rinsed, In ordjfr to remove all trace of tho animal matter In tho soap, after which it should than 3000 who,, in the old days, had no recourse except to He in their rude sur roundings 'and. gothrough- torment un--tll they died. Still thew service can only reach a per centage of those whp need it. For through the Winter months even the brave hearts on the Strathcona can not force her through the ice that girdles the coasts as with an iron ring. Then the doctors must sally out in dog sledge3 to pay their sick calls, and often they go for 100 miles to find, their patient. What such medical practice means is told well by the simple report of one of the doc tors at the hospital, Mr. Simpson. He says: . "A man from Ha-Ha arrived, and re quested me to go at once to attend his wife. It was exceedingly cold, with a dead head wind, but on we went, over hill and dale, across frozen ponds and lakes and bays, along frozen brooks and streams, until at last Pistolet Bay was reached. Now came our hardest work. A light drift of snow was blowing up with the wind, and onco out on the bay no sheltering land was near. More than once we had to warn each other of small patches of frost bite on nose, ears and cheeks. Vigorous treatment, however, soon restored the circulation. The poor dogs had hard work against the cutting A Discussion on the Bailey-Beveridge Incident vin the United States Senate. - fr Prlsldent! Bailey or bust or choke! " I'm not sure that If I vas In th same place I'd do th same thing. But I'm no statesman. Who am I to say that what wudden't be manners in a bar-room is not all right In th' Sinlt? Dlft'rent men has dlft'rent ralsons f'r fightln'. lvry man will flght. Ye can bet on that. A brave man will flght because he Is brave an' a cow'rd beca,use he is a cow'rd. All men vjlll flght an all men will run. Some will flght befure they'll run, but they'll run; some men will run befurp they'll flght, but they'll flght. They'se a pretty good flght an a pretty fast run In lvry man I know. Th debate in th . Sinlt don't prove annythlng about th' meclts lv ayether pug. In some other circum stances, Blv'ridge might have hunted Bailey up a three. It happened to be Bailey's da. "As I get on In years, I believe less In fightln'. 'Tls a turr'ble thing to see th' aged an lnflrm swlngln away at each other. 'Tls so unscientific. I hate to think lv a man with wan leg In th grave usln' th' other to thrlp th' free foot lv a felow aged. I'm glad -Bailey an Blv'ridge ar-re young men. What a scandal if Slnltor Culloman Slnltor Morgan shud mix It up! Wan iv th things a man lams as he grows old Is to dislike flghtln'. He dislikes anny thlng he can't do as well as he cud. 'I'm that way. But I wasn't always so. No, j sir. xney was a time whin I'd fight at th dhrop if a hat, fr money or marbles or be left fn the same position to dry. and the tacks should not be removed until 1? Is perfectly dried. If this be done the rug will not shrink and will He perfectly flat upon the floor. A small rug may be tacked upon the side of the house or barn, scoured as if upon a floor, and then rinsed with the hose. This. Is the best manner of rinsing, and approaches most nearly the true Ori ental method for thoroughness. The Ori entals wash their rugs with soap and wa ter, after which they take them to a river or stream and rlnso them. A crease or ridgo will sometimes be seen In an Oriental rug which looks like an imperfection in tho weaving. This Is al most invariably the result Of the rug hav ing been folded before it was sufficiently dry. wind, but eventually we arrived safely at our destination, and although our pa tient had been 12 hours in distress, and her friends in much anxiety, we were able very quickly to relieve her, and set at rest the fears entertained for her safety." From November 14 to March 29 Dr. Mac pherson, of the Battle Harbor Hospital, traveled 1S33 miles, by sledge, snowahoes and boat, and paid 6S0 visits. He missed scarcely a hut or a tent on the whole coast from Paul's River, above the Straits of Belle Isle, to Rlgolet. under latitude 33. He found 26 dying persons, some ui whom he saved, while he made the last hours at least easier for the rest. He found a woman who had been walking around for two weeks with a broken and unset arm. He stitched up the forearm of a fisherman who had been In agony from a great gash mado many weeks before that never healed. Scurvy, another affliction tha curses the dwellers on the inhospitable coast, was fmtml In mnnv nlnees. One case had EOnO so far that it had produced Internal hem- nr-rVinrrt nnrl romilrpri PTftpnrfvft oneratlon. A crippled girl was found and sent by dog team to tne nospuai. wnere sne was cured sufficiently to enable her to move around freely. A woman was treated who was dying from cancer. She had never hApn soon Vi' n. floptor. or. Indeed, bv anv ono except poor, ignorant persons like pool checks; f'r th' good name lv women or th' revarse; f'r political principals or unprincipled politics; f'r th' gate receipts; f'r me religion; f'r th look lv, th thing, because th' barkeeper heard what he said, because he whispered to her; tlr th sa cred theory that th' bulldln's Is higher in Chicago thin in New York; f r th fun iv th' thing, and f'r th' flght. That last's th' best iv all. A man that won't flght f'r th flht ltsllf is no rale fighter. I 'don't know what wud make me fight nowadays. I know lots iv things that wud make me want to flght, but I've lamed to repress me desires. Me heart is full Iv song, but I've lost me voice. In me dhrcams I'm always punchln somebody's head. I shall nlver frget th night whin I put Jeffries out iv th business with wan well-directed punch an me In me .bare feet, tbo. I can nlver frget it f'r I fell out lv bed an' bumped me head again th rocker lv a chair. But In me wakln' hours, I'm a man iv vl'lent Impulses an' peaceful ray suits. In a flght I'd be like a deef-mute in a debatin' s'ciety. But as I said, Hin nlssy, they was a day whin th' lightest wurrud was an Insult. Nowadays I say to mesllf : 'Consldher th soorce. How can such a low blaggard as that Insult me? Jus because some dhrunken wretch chooses to apply a foul epitaph to me. am I goln' to dignify him be knockln him! down In th' public sthreet an p'raps not, an' gcttln' th head beat oft me? No, sir. I will raj-mlmber me position in th' com munity. I will pass on with a smile lv bitter contempt. Maybe I'd betther run a little. Dear me, why didn't I think to bring an ax with me? "Th las' throuble I got into I begun to think lv th' new suit I had on an' I knew me warryor days was over. Whin a man raymlmbers his clothes or his appearance in battle, 'tis high timo f'r him to retire fr'm th ring. Th' ca'm, almost deathlike smile that rests upon a man's faca whin another man Is cloutin him about Is on'y th outward exprission lv something about two numbers up th' chest fr'm seasick ness. That's all I've got to say about fightln. Ye can't lay down anny rules about It." "Ye nlver will go to th' Sinlt with thlm views," sdld Mr. Hennessy. "I don't want to," said Mr. Dooley. 1 "Some day th Sinlt will be pulled." (Copyright, 1S02.) herself, who had not tried to do anything to relieve her agony. In one day alone the surgeons opened five badly poisoned wounds for not only do the Implements used in fishing nat urally poison the cuts they make, but the cold weather makes it almost Impossible for the fishermen to wash their injuries properly with warm water, as even fire wood Is scarce on many hundred miles of shore and almost entirely wanting in the northern parts of the land. Strathcoha's 1100 Miles. A year ago this July the Strathcona had just completed a- voyage of more than 110C miles, during- which sho visited 56 harbors. Among major operations, they had one amputation of the foot, one amputation through the knee joint, one laparotomy and one gastrotomy. What the condition of those patlenta .would have been in previous years may be imagined from one case that Dr. Grenfell found in a hut far from other human beings. As he entered 'the dark, foul lit tle place he saw a man who, moaning plteously, held up two terrible things. They were the stumps of his arms. He had shot off every part of them below the elbows while hunting seal two weeks be fore, and from that time he had been lying on his back with nothing over tho awful wounds except an oily rag that a fellow-hunter had laid over them. The bones protruded, and the necessary opera tion was something to make men shrink, performed, as It had to be, with few In struments and hardly enough chloroform to do more than ease the poor fellow's worst pangs. Yet he bore it manfully. Despite it all, it was too late, and he died that night. They found an old woman who had a tumor on the leg. They told her they could put her to sleep whllo they operated, but she would not have it. The next day Dr. Grenfell found five strong men await ing him. The woman had asked them to come and hold her, and all she asked was if sho "might bawl." She did, indeed, bawl, but within a. few minutes after the operation was over she was laughing over it, andin ten days she was well. Her Busy Summers. From this time on until the Winter again sets In, beginning with the Septem ber gales, tho Hospital ship will be kept on the "go" steadily. She will have to face dally not only danger from unknown waters and treacherous seas, but the ever present menace of the ice. For, as the fishing fleets besin to steam northward "at hazard year by year," the. icebergs begin to drift southward In ghostly col umns. Many times has the Strathcona been in imminent peril. Once she was so locked in with ico and floes that she was invisible among the encompassing blocks and piles of It. Masses began to topple over on her decks. Untold tons of it squeezed her keel. She escaped this and many other similar dangers and went out to brave new ones unfalteringly. For these are brave men indeed that go on tho deep for the Labrador Medical Mission. And brave men are they whom she goes out to help. Ground by poverty, the New foundland fishermen have no other means of finding even the most miserable of Ihings than this of hunting the cod on the worst coast In the world. As soon as the Ice Is blown from the coast by westerly winds they sail eagerly north in every variety of vessel. Dr. Grenfell In his "Vikings of Today" describes this annual voyage thus: Crowded Fleets of the Poor. "They come In every variety of vessel, small and large, good, bad and indiffer ent, mostly of the schooner type. Besides the crew, which varies from five to 10 men with one or two women, most New foundland vessels bring a number of peo ple called 'freighters.' These aro landed at various harbors where they have left mud huts and boats the previous year and where they will fish all Summer. Theso persons cure their fish on the spot. Mean while the vessel goes on farther north to seek flsh for herself. When they como SOUth aealn thfv rn71 trr tha fotc.Vitafo I who pay 25 cents for each hundredweight uj. nan ior tneir passage. "Besides the cargo of flsh. casks of oil, nets, boats and general goods, SO, -10 or 50 men and women will bo crowded into these small vessels, at 'times with only room to Ho down in th hold between tho deck and the cargo. On one small schoon er of 19 tons we counted 34 men and 16 women. The women, many of whom havo children with them, often are very bad sailors. As a rule thev are not allowpd on deck except In port, and this voyage- Is a nightmare to most of them. They aro pillars of pluck, many of these women. They can handle an oar and sail a small boat with the best, and among them ara 'Grace Darlings,' only wanting an oppor tunity, They work chiefly at cleaning fish and keeping tho huts for tho men, though some form parts of the fishing smack crews." Dr. Grenfell examined many of these schooners and found such instances of crowding as this: A 44-ton schooner, 13 men and. 16 women In one hold on a 23 day voyage; a 19-ton schooner carrying 23 men and 15 women; a 50-ton schooner with 75 men and 15 women, making the measured cubic space allotted to a man, his wife, two other men and a boy and a girl, eight feet by six feet Pitiful Tales of Suffering. There never has been a- year when a number of these vessels were not lost, and shocking stories are told on tho coast of the sufferings of women and children while drifting In the ley waters, some times being afloat on bits of wreckago for days among the ice floes before being rescued or finally, drowned. Pitiful stories, too, are told of the suf ferings of the "freighters" when il!ne33 or other misfortune incapacitates them from catching their fish or getting food by hunting. Rarely do they have money enough when leaving Newfoundland to buy provisions sufficient to last them till the schooners call for-them again late in the season. Professor E. B. Delabarre, of Brown University, who visited the re gion In 1900, was so impressed by tho dreariness of life among these poor folk and their helplessness and destitution that he raised a sum sufficient to endow a cot In one of the hospitals on the coast, and has since then aided the mission in many other Intelligent and useful ways. A suggestion of the hardships that the "freighters" must face Is given In this description of what Is the staple delicacy of the menu along shore: "Powder dried cod fine, rub It up with fresh seal oil and add cranberries If you have any." Thl3 delicate dish Is called "PIpsey." What plights the fishermen may find themselves In is shown by the case of one Olllver, who, with his wife and five children, had just managed to exist through the Winter, finding himself ut terly destitute when Spring came. Ho had no dogs left to travel with and no ammunition to hunt. All that he pos sessed in the world was an old jackplane and a trout net. He traveled for many miles over snow and Ice afoot till he reached the house of a Norwegian set tler. He begged him to let them have food, but the settler, a good-hearted man, was entirely unable to give up any. Tho next settler, too. said that he would have to starve himself If he shared what llttlo he had. This was not selfishness, but stern necessity. The poor father went on 12 miles farther, faint with hunger, but spurred on by the thought of the starving ones at home. Again he received the same reply. All were as destitute as was he himself. He dragged his way home again, sent his wife and the. two older children away, and then killed all the rest with an ax, after which he blew his own brains out with the last charge left in his gun. This Is the misery that the little Strath cona is helping to relieve this Summer.
