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.