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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 1908)
THE OREGON SUNDAY r JOURNAL, PORTLAND, '' SUNDAY i HORNING, . JANUARY 19, 1903 - ... - - ".-ir; -. As an American Doctor Mel Them in the Wilds of Africa JTESIDES carrying to the dusky-skinned natives of the African jungles the hope of salvation in the after-life", Christian medical missionaries are giving them freedom from the clutch of disease and bodily Penetrating the Soudan, traveling through miles of high grass and almost im passable jungles, Dr. J, S. Derr, a graduate of the University of Virginia, last fall visited savages who had never seen a physictan. Many of them, indeed, had never seen a white man. Working at the station of the Soudan United Mission at Donga, JDr. Derr has cured hundreds of negroes. Journeying from Don ga, which is 6oo miles inland, he traveled nearly ioo miles toward the interior, treating tribesmen until he reached Gongome. f In that section medicine had never been applied for the cure of diseases. Hundreds of natives sufer from virulent blood diseases, ophthalmia and ulcers, languishing in suffer- j ill -z: v-V ;- ' it mfmYi II . Ml ' M mOM Inland from th Atlaatlo toast and north of th Conga roglon. Tn tiSertnn of th popl In that aec tlen Art narrowing. Uanr ft'ceordlng to recent letter re eelred from hlm,;uSar from virulent blood dlaeaaea. In the Interior bo hat been kept pur, from morning until - nlgnt treaUng th olck. He cured one old ehlef, who wii M orerjoyed that .be accepted Cbriatlahltjr. The medical mKaion," wrote Dr. Derr, " an accee OOTT to preaching the gospel; used a a meant of gaining , the lore and eemfidtnoe of the people, has proved a euc . eoea In moat fields. Jt ohowg the people In a tangible ' form that ,Chriatlahltjr etaada for love, rood work and : tbo relief of i jffarlng. Though they may be Ignorant of their mental darknea and moral depravity, bodlljr pain la aa real to them mm It ie to ua." , Traveling In tbo "Land Of Darkneaa," the Soudan, la not tbo moat comfortable thing In the world. Dr. Derr atarted on hie trip Auguat H. with more than a half dosen . atttndaata,' a number of whom deaerted him on hie Jour Bey. Frorlslone were .carried In, bpxea which the negroea . bore on tbelr Beada. Thui the Journey waa made for three day w4ry tramp through land covered with ' graa which exceeded a man In height. Much of the land was marehy and aoggr, and it waa with difficulty thai progrea waa made, Dr. Derr arrived at Suntal Augutt IS. Thl ii tbo place where, aome year before, CapUIn Parker waa met by pear point when he dismounted from his horae. The chief of guatal," writer Dr, Derr. "had hoard of my medical work, and ha gave me a cordial welcome. Th ehlef la a pagan. He aeemed pleased that I vlelted him. but did not understand what could be done with the material In my medical cae." What Dr. Derr did amased the old negro. Immedi ately on hi arrival the doctor went among the people. Score lay alck- with fever, aome with limb awollen by elephantiasis f others suffering from goiter or leprosy.. Ono patient lay with swollen legs, writhing In anguish. ' "I gavo him morphine and whisky," write th doc- fTJN"? VfiCiN, 'k .,,.. -v. - r V 0mm nil unpin '""' ,v '.- ) ' " ! .-v n. fc; Mi ''at f : 'I , iv..,,: .;.., X . t , 1 a t I ,. Hi- 4 4 faer?Arj?fa. Comma XfeJTftt'fe Joc&f7 t - - - Mry r. Dr Derr applied his rem-edies--the natives regarded him in wonder, land, when sufering was relieved and sores healed, they sank to the ground in worship, believing the missionary a god. Accounts of his work, just received by friends in this country, are intensely interest ing. Net only has Dr. Derr cured many physically, but he has converted scores of na tives, among them an old chief, at one time one of the most bloodthirsty and implacable in the Soudan. larly, has much been accomplished by mlsalonariea within the last few years. : - ' . . Physician have gone among the. native and per formed what aeemed miracles to tboae simple-minded peo ple. Accustomed to the witch doctor, who never oured, and to supposedly enchanted remedies, which never, of their own virtue, healed, the natives viewed the applica tions of medicines and ointments -with amasement. 4 At Gongome. the Innermost point of the continent reached by Dr. Derr laat fall, the native at firat regarded him a a god endowed with supernatural powers, His work among these primitive people of the jungles is typical of the experience of physicians who roach uOf in vaded territory. ' Dr. Derr Is stationed at Dongaj 4 largo town about tor, "and poulticed the leg with potassium permanganate. His temperature wag 103. Day after day Z vial ted him. and,' as his pain decreased, he regarded me with wonder and awe 1 Buch treatment had never been givon him be fore, and he thought the easement of pain was done by - ome divine agency," .wia.'!.-, The mysteries of the revolver, as explained, by Dr. Dorr to tho old chief, filled him with wonder at the In ,genutty Of tbo wblta man. While walking with tho chief along tho Suntal river one evening, Dr. Derr showed him tho . revolver, at tbo same time discharging it With a wild ory, tho old man threw himself on bis knees, his eyes staring in fright at the Strang weapon. 'When ha saw DT. Derr hit the head of a duck on tbo river, at a seemingly incredible distance, tho old man was speechless. Dr. Derr spent several days at Buntai, during tho time . dressing the wounds of Injured natives and administering medicine to the sick. On th night of tbo harvest festi val be sat without tho tent of the chief. ., "The moon was Shining In tho clear sky," he writes, "and the palm tree gently stirred. As wo sat there mem ber of the trib appeared, all dressed In whit, carrying th strangest Instruments. There were horns, made of elephants' tusks, which gavo forth th weirdest, most piercing sounds; and strange, blubbering drama made of Una. . "Then tho native orchestra played. Ono could hardly Imagine a more weird scene the moon shining so pallidly, and the strange musicians producing unearthly noises. That night I talked to th natives about Christ, and they were deeply Impressed. When I aroee, tho ehlef took my band.- He was deepty stirred." Ono night Dr. Derr and the chief took walk Into the forest. pointed out the star to bint and showed him the Milky Way. t explained the movement of the earth about the sun and the moon about the earth. Then I told htm of the majesty and splendor of Qod'e universe and the love and greatness of the Divine One.' Bitting tinder the lets! tree that night I told him more of Jos us." . And so Dr. Derr continued his work, medical and re ligious. He cuted many and converted ft number, among them the old chief. Pursuing his war through the grassy swamps, Dr. Derr and his party reached Jafuag, where he heard of a pagan tribe near Oongome. These people, he waa told, were warlike and fierce, and wore dreaded by the other natlvea. The Mohammedan missionaries, who are active In th Soudan, feared to go to them, After treating the sick at Jafung, Dr.. Derr went on to Bakundl. a large town, which is principally Mohammedan. In - the center of Africa, Dr. Derr points out, the na tives do not live In caves or Isolated cabins In the Jungles, as many persona suppose, but in towns. Bakundl Is one of the largest. These-village are much the same. The houses certainly do not resemble tho comfortable dwell ings of America. Tbo homea of tho natives are built of grass, the roof, which Is cone shaped, resting on heavy props. Very little clothing is worn, tho garments consist ing of light wrappings worn about tho waist or flung over tbe shoulder. GRATEFUL FOR ATTENTIONS , Here Dr. Derr visited tbe blacksmith, the weaver and the school. "This was the first time Z saw a Mohamme dan school in session," he writes, "and It was very pio turesque. The little boys were sitting on the ground shouting the Koran from wooden tablets. These were held by the handle, and looked like shovels." From Bakundl Dr. Derr continued his Journey, cross ing tbe mountains. Here, for the first time since be took up his work in that region, he was able to drink pure spring water. In tbo mountains tho air was fresh and pure, tbe scenery splendid. Passing down the mountalna on tbo other side, he arrived on September at Klngana, . large town, and practically the key to tho region be yond. On the 9th he treated twenty patients. That night tbe chief visited him and told him th town was his. When preparing to go farther Inland soma of Dr. . Derr's laborers ran away from him and he was left stranded. He continued his work, taking Journeys by day and treating the sick. Near Klngana he treated na tives who bad cover seen a white man. Instead of op posing him. tbe natives received hi attentions with grat- -, itude, and Dr. Derr was so elated bo mad plan for th establishment of A station On his return to Donga Dr. Dorr continued his work, ' leaving behind him hundreds of patleitts who had been etarted on the road to recovery. At first, be says, he ' found dlfflculty in getting tho natives to let htm treat ' them, their faith In tho hative witch doctor having been Implicit, despite the failure to cure, One old woman recently came to him for treatment For three years she had suffered from Ulcers, The only treatment she had received waa applications of fire. In vestigation showed that her ligaments had been sloughed Into shreds. Although the natives, after seeing a cure, .regard a physician as a god posaessed with supernatural powers, they show little faith In bis medicines at first Dr. Derr writes as follows ..r , Injections for a biooa auwase. I had It carefully ex plained to them that they could not be cured immediately, but would have to" come once a week for treatment Two) - came for a second Injection, and one of these never cams for a third. Tbe ono who baa received regular treatment now shows decided evidence of Improvement, and alsa seems quite grateful. A boy was brought to me wltH largo patchea of chronic yaws on bis shoulder, chest an4 leg; Ha waa a pitiful spectacle, and his expression wasj that of ono resigned to his fate. I cleaned up the sores, and applied ointment, but he never came again,-, "From all accounts, spectacular operations are tbosO that make tho Impression on the mission field; but fon myself 1 ao not cuiunuer 11 wisv 10 mmM " out an assistant who Is able to administer an anesthetic and without better means of caring for th patient than exist now. Up to the present I have been without soma of my most needed drugs, owing to tho fact that my station chest ha not yet arrived from IM." i Many, of course, are the humorous experiences of si physician. Some months ago the chief at Donga sent fo Dr. Derr and asked for whisky for his sore leg.. .' .' "I had a note from. Mr. Berkeley saying that his maJ- eaty had a sore leg, and bad expressed a desire that X should examine it" writes Dr. Derr.. "He told mo pri vately, however, that he thought it waa whisky be really wanted. I thought this not unlikely. . Putting a box of mustard leaves and a bandage In my pocket Z proceeded to tbe king's house, where I was cordially received. II looked quite wholesome, except for bis dull eyes, and Z could distinguish no limp In his walk. After preliminary; salutations, I proceeded to investigate th leg." obtaining a history of an enlarged ankle somewhere In tbe dim past. This, he told me, had yielded most remarkably to whisky also that It hurt him now from time to time, and It re quired more whisky to eaae It ( "I informed him that my plaster was much better for bis foot than whisky; and, after ordering some water, applied it and faatened It on tight with a bandage, giving him Instructions not to remove it until it had burned a long time. I learned afterward that the plaster did Us work well! He asked for no mor whisky." , u ; , Dr. Derr has been working in tbe Soudan about 4 year. Among the natlvea whom he has visited aro th Muncbl people, who aro extremely savage They us a peculiar poison on the tips of their arrows, which is fatal. The antidote la known only to tbo Munchi people them selves. U?-'1? ' How Important Is medical work In this section of Af rica one who has not visited tho country cannot realise. Innumerable diseases prevail, and Dr. Derr's days aro full ofwork. He has had to treat patients who suffered from tho sleeping sickness that fatal disease to which thou sands of natives have succumbed. '? Mohammedanism has been sweeping over th Sou dan, and Christian' missionaries are now : pitting their, strength against the spread. Th Soudan comprise aa area equal to about two-thirds that of th United States without Alaska, and comprises about ten kingdoms, under British, French and German control. There aro about 100 distinct free heathen tribes, with a population of from W.ooo.ooe to w.000,000., v . . - .;-- . The medical mission, it Is said, Is tho strongest weapon against the spread of Islamlsm. "Cured of physical ills writes Dr. Derr. "tho natives will listen to religious teach ing. And in sending them physicians Christians hav am opportunity which the Mohammedans do not possess." . Some Curious Facts o DIFFICULTIES BESET DOCTORS "Fear on the part of tbo native Indifference and lack of faith in the white man's medicine retard the work at first A short time after Z cam to pong, four men got K eepiogarm "with rigbl-liaed Reinpant "TP ERRIBLB maladies Infect whole tribes of natlvea .-'I . In innermost Africa. Plagues spread and decl X njate the black nations. Incredible sufferings are endured by the people of the Jungla; they die, and tho disease or plague continues its ravages unchecked. -Frightful poisonings of the blood kill off thousands each year. Infectious diseases crawl through the Jungles ; with a purpose more subtle and virulent than the moat poisonous of serpents. . , , ; : For centuries It has been so. The blank man suffered f and died because he had not wherewith to cur himself, '. because' bo did pot know how to treat his Injuries, as- suage his fevers and check contagions. ft. . Now, however, hope Is given him, cures are promised, for th "white man will doctor him and treat his sores. . Bandages will bo wrapped about his ' aching, swollen bmbs, and lotions will be applied to festering hands and i facet. Quinine will dissipate fevers, and various remedies : 'clean out. the venomous germs which bare devoured the strength and virility of tribes. . - Nature herself .has dealt bitterly with many of these children of nature. Now civilisation promises remedies for their ills. ' ' 1 " During the last decade marvelous work has been ao. compllshed In Africa by the vanguards of civilisation, the Christian missionaries, who aro taking; with th cross, : medicine and the surglcaj case. . In. the Soudan, partlou- F YOU will wear light-colored clothes your wu wui ui Hjii warmer in winter wan 11 your habiliments bo tha dark hues which man throughout the) civilized world has so lone affected. And your spiritt will continually he a good deal higher, mor, cheerful, than tha condi tion which, during the long yenrg you have do voted to aomberness of attire, you have trained yourself to regard as normal.' ' ;C -a Such is the latest theory advanced in the foremost medical journal known to tha profession, tha London Lancet. : ". w.V-v-: When the Lancet speaks, medicine and surgery hold their breath. So every circle of civilised hu manity, fr6m teachers to tailors," has hastily risen up and taken notice Af H . E LEMENTARY chemistry, when it deals with the hasio properties of light and hear In tha prepara tory schools, has been accustomed to state that heat and light. In conjunction, as when they are received from tho glowing disk of the sun, are uniformly reflected by surfaces that are light in color and aa uni formly absorbed by surfaces that are dark. Part of the rising up and taking- notice that developed among tbe medical men of Great Britain, v Immediately upon the utterance of Its novel dictum bjr tho Lancet, was deyoted to announcing that the infallible one must be suffering from an. Invasion of bat in the belfry, because " . I - ' - light-colored clothing must Inevitably reflect the sun's rays of light and, with tho light, tho beat tho rays con tain. . But tbe Lancet's word goes far, and the season In London hat produced some specimen of male garments that would have made th queen of Sheba chase Solomon off the block. And already tbo Anglo-American mind, which still thinks it can't think for Itself, Is tuning up Its wheels for a few preliminary sartorial revolutions. -. Mostly these new passion flowers In dud run to waist coats. The era of the vest ended finally when Dewey at Manila spoke the hlstorio words, "You may fire when ready, ,arldly." That was tho occasion whn tbo United States proved it had the punch; and Great Britain com memorated It by admitting that we were no longer her, poor relations and receiving our homage in the drawing room Instead of the servants' hall. We discovered the Japanese were really human beings aa soon as they had alaughtered enough Russians. ;., , America's gratitude for her kind old! grandmother's condescension at one ended the existence Of th vest, which degenerated into an article of feminine attire henceforth unmentionable, a th grateful Japanese left their flowing national robe to their women while they Inserted themselves into trousers and looked like $3.7$ worth of hand-me-downs. , So now America's hall-mark of elegance I the waist coat of which the great historical significance Is hero for the first time explained. Whenever an Englishman gets excited be sees red. Ho is so much worked up over the Lancet's announce ment that his waistcoats are volcanic Th American Is dutifully taking bis In crimson. The glare of Bute street In Chicago has locoed the steers In tbo stockyards. New Tork is going heavy on 0 bear-up cravats. The patrioUo American neoku became obsolete with the hereditary American vest it survives only lit New Mexico and the adjacent acreage, where necktie parties maintain some of their old-tlmo popularity; yet even there" many prominent citisens, 1 while willing enough to attend, are prejudiced against wearing the necktie them , aelves. " :'- . ,V.A-Vj.i rl: 1: .v .' New Tork, however, Is almost In despair. It yearns, with the fierce longing characterlstlo of tho Great White Way, for cravats which shall be more lurid this year than they were last But every hue of the spectrum was long ago levied on by New Tork to whoop up lbs sagging splr-, its, from virgin white, which it likes to fawncy appropri ate, to polychrome braided with gold tinsel. The Inventor who can otter to dear old Broadway a jiew and gorgeous cravat color will bo welcomed from Fulton street to tbe Park by every haberdasher notice that word? any time betwoea 1 A. OH. and 12 midnight Sundays Included.- rM--''- It waa unfortunate that tho Lanoet did not move Its discovery ahead a tew week before all th husbands of ( aU tho women dug down for the black pony furs that have nearly frozen tbe mor desirable half of the popu lation this winter. r't ; . , They didn't know they war freezing tmtd the Lancet 4.f told them. But now they do know. It has become appar- nt that they must change to ermine. ' There certainly la something la tho cheerfulness end of tho theory.- ; t N AN average, thirty-one people lose their uvea yearly by accidents in the Alps. ; For a feat of dexterity and nerve It would bo difficult to surpass that of the Bosjesman of South Africa who walks quietly up to a puff adder and deliberately, sets his bare foot on Its neck. In Its struggles to es cape and attempts to bite Us assailant . the poison! gland secretes a large amount of the venom. ; This la Just what the Bosjesman wants. Killing th snake, be eats the body and uses the poison for his arrows. Tbe latest use of th telephone la Jn locating sboau of fish. The electric apparatus is a German patent Ai microphone. Inclosed in a water-tight ease, connected with an electric battery and telephone; Is lowered Into the water. 60 long as tbe telephone hangs .free no sound Is heard, but on Its coming into contact with ai shoal of fish tbe constant tapping of the fish against! th microphone case produces a series of sounds which at once betray tbelr presence. The, cord attached to the microphone Is marked, so that tha exact depth o the shoal is designated. ' lv , : The title lieutenant comes from words signify! , "holding the place." Thus, a lieutenant colonel hoi.' s the place of a colonel In the absence Of the latter, and a lieutenant holds the place of a captain; . In the manufacture of knives, the division of labor has been carried to such an extent that one knife is handled by seventy different artisans from tbe moment the blade Is forged until the Instrument is finished an i ready for the market ,' , An iceberg often last 200 years, Jt is declared by; scientists. ' ' v ' - One sudden death occurs among women to eight among men. t , l " The smallest, simplest and beat protected post office in the world Is lq th trait of Magellan, an I has been there for many years, It consists of a sma.l painted keg or cask, and 1 Chained to tbo rocks c.; tha extreme cape In a manner so that it floats fr opposite Terra del Fuego, Passing ships eend boat to take letters out and put others In. This curlou postofllce Is unprovided with ; a" postmaster, and I , therefore, under tho protection 1st aty the navies of th world. ,?-fir'1 : - The coldest period of the day la said to be a fw minutes after sunrise. . This 1 due to the fact timr, when ttV sua first- strikes tbe earth, it causes f evaporation of a chilling moisture. One of the strangest prises offered by the I'ren. Academy of Sciences is f 20,000 for the person w :. discover a method of communication between plan, t . Locomotive engineers in Germany receive a sum ' money .and a gold watch for every ten yearn ,. f . Without an accident . " t. Insects, aa a general rule, have little or n Of sound. The ant I th insect With tits best tt -oped bearing organs, ' ' V' : Great Britain has a longer searoast 1;n other nation in Europe. It meimuri' nvnr Italy coming second with 2172, ItusrlA rank t franco fourth,.
