The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 2, 1899, Page 21

THE SAN FRANEISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JULY 2, 1899. nnuus \\\\\‘\\\\\\ NN NS TR NN TRt EWYORK, June B.—To write a complete account of the voyage of the Belgica to the Antarct l would be the work of many months. Much has been accom- plished by the expedition, and the importance of the work done can- not be realized until after the knowl- edge gained has put in proper shape by the v in the land of now and ice. This may not be com- pleted for a year or as some of the professors have other work on hand that will preve them giving their at- tention to their work in the Antarctic circle. The our expedition is the been kers inctive feature about fact that we were most dis the first human bei to ever spend a nter in the Anta « le. And a winter | was—cold, dis- But that did not inter- t 11ly with sel c work. In we had to work in order to keep up our spirits, for we were in danger all the time. Our vessel was frozen tight in the ice for nearly thirteen mont d it was just as impossible to get away from her as it w have been to fly to the moon he Belgica expe was sent out by the Be Government. In some unaccountable 1 on that way people got the we were going to make a search for the South Pole. This is T All we went out for was to sientific and to stud aretic To ymplete sel stic observations extending throughout the whole vear within the ntarctic circle. We made the first pro- >d of the ocean e a large cc and flowe We fou been kn t a gulf at all uthern Son appar of the Horn and that Fuego, wh ine (Govern- with coal filled up The B achored every night in navigat intricate waters, and e fauna, flora and inua the Belgica port of Hushuaia near Lar intention of gaining the of eastward, and staying for at Haberton, where a re- missfonary has estab- lished a farm and a warehouse. But here we met our first disast Dark- 1ess set in before we reached the bay where we intended to anchor, and the Belgica ran on a submerged rock and remained fast all night. We thought at first that we would get off when the tide rc but were disappointed and had to pump out our entire supply of h water in order to lighten the ves-. ne itated a return to a 1pply station on Staten and. ore we were ge and make tired English small It wa for the Then weather and lost our first man. Fogs came down so thick that we could not see the sel, and during one of ad spells the wind rose to a gale. orm was at its height one named lost overbo: out of ou we lowered a boat and made a long search for him at the risk of our live Our hoat partially filled witn wate the cold intense. After an hot were compelled to go aboard the Bel- hout having had the least of the unfortunate man from ths 11 overhoard. length of the v he b t men we entered the Pa- red for Alexander along we had bad weather., bu nevertheless began a steady and careful exploration of our surroundings. When we reached 70 de- ees and minutes south we were Imost in the depths of winter. A gale rifts formed in Huge blocks W ving 2nd great of the ice pack wn around like so many chips. und and crunched among and it seemed as if the craft crushed to pieces. We kept the weather moderated pushed still farther to the south. We all knew the risk of getting caught in the ice, as the season was advancing: but we also considerad the apportuntiy as bl thr 0 of zaining a very high latitude, so still bore toward. the south We cventually reached a point close to the seventy-second parallel south, 85 we We sailed up quite close to the ice pack and attempted to make an -ice journe but th proved im- possible on account of the condition of 3 uthward of. us d an ice field as fat as the eye reach. There were no very large but one vast plain of frozen It was then realized that we could go no ther to the we det mined to return d impos- sible, as ice was fo round us. he followin de seven <. although the vessel was kept up to her full steaming capacity day and night rch 10 we were finally blocked wrations for the winter. up with moved and we hoped that it would ‘tense, and all hope left us. Then the cold became in- We were frozen as solld as a rock of granite. At this time some remarkable weather changes were noticed. The temperature depended entirely on the direction of the wind. When it came from the south, the weather was clear and cold: when from the north e, from the open sea, it was almost al- ways cloudy, often foggy, and the tem- perature kept near the freezing point, sometimes even causing a thaw. The drift of the ship was aisa a direct func- tion of the wind. During the drift the latitude of 71 de~rees 34 minutes south was reached in 89 degrees 10 minutes west on May 16, and 71 degrees 36 min- utes west on May 30. The appearance of the pack changed constantly with the movements to which it was subject. Generally it was compact, but great openings sometimes appeared, clear spaces, channe. or mere threads of water. The cracks the formation of which gave rise to these lanes of water often extended beyond the reach of vision to the north or south, the east or west, and they were often formed quite near the ship, which, gripped in its icy vise, was. unable to reach them. Occasionally there would be awful convulsions that made the ship tremble from stem to stern. The openings in the ice field had a way of closing up as the result,of some outside pressure. The two edges would come together and then gradually rise to a height of several feet. A row of hummocks break up. marked the spot where the crack had been. When the intense cold weather we had hopes that it would be r and calm, but in this were d d. High winds prevailed, r w the thermcmeter feli, nost certain death to t distance from the ship. Snow fell in blinding. stor Travel across the ice way was, impossible, as the pack had a f moving and cracking and leav- openings that it would be impossi- blé to eross should one come between us and the ship. Gradually the days got shorter -and shorter, dreary and more dreary. On May 17 the sun set after a day of only a few minutes’ duration, and we did not se it again for nearly ten weeks. Then began our struggle with ourselves There was nothing we could do for day and days and the awful darkness bor down 1i heavy weight. This W 1 critical period for all of the ship ympany, but all survived except Lieutenant Danco. He fell k at about the beginning of the dark days and gradually grew worse in spite of all that could be done for him. 1 spent days at h bedside and was careful that he should not realize the serious- ness of his ¢ Every man on board did all in his power to save the brav fellow, but all to no purpose. He passed away on June 5 at 7 p. m., but there was nothing to distin, sh the time of day, as it was as dark as pitch. Then followed one of the most dis- mal days that I have any recollection f. Every man on the vessel was pros- irated, and it was all that the officers zould éo to keep some of them from falling into fits of melancholy. One or two poor fellows took to their beds and gave vent to their grief by violent sob- bing. They seemed to think that they would never see their homes nor friends again. A death on board a vessel un- der such circumstances and at such a time is one of the most heart-rending events in the world. The worst of all was the burial of poor Danco. The only way to dispose of the remains was to cut a hole through the ice and drop him through. It seemed a ghastly thing to do, but we had. to reconcile ourselves to it. The day of the funeral was dismal in the extreme. Even the custpmary twilight was dimmer than usual/and a slight fall of snow was blowing through the air. The cold was in- tense. Digging the grave was a woeful task and consumed several hours, as the ice was at least seven feet thick. The burial ceremony was made as impres- sive as possible. The body was car- ried from the ship to the grave on a board just as If it was to be dropped into the It was weighted with a cannon shot, and at the sacred words read by Captain de Gerlack we let poor Danco slide into hi icy grave. There was no splash as the body left us, only a little gurgle that cut the heart of every man there and caused many a brave fellow to weep. That day is in my memory as the saddest of my life. Taken as a general thing the health of the men on board the ship was good. There was a complete absence of the ailments usual on such cruise and a with the exception of a slight touch of nostalgia and some cardiac affec- tions during the latter part of the dark season evervbody was in perfect health. Toward the end of the winter, when the sun began to peep out for a few minutes each day, we cured several seals and penguins, which bit of fresh meat greatly added to our regular diet. When the polar night was past all be- gan to feel in better spirits and to hope for an opportunity to get out of our icy prison. Of course none of us had the least idea that we would have to stay there during the summer, but we did. During October the ice began to crack and canals appeared all through the field, but none of them came any- where near our ship. All through the summer months we watched the ice thawing all around us, but still keeping solid near our ship. The nearest water to the vessel was about 500 feet When Januar came, and there seemed no prospect of getting cut of our pr . we decided that some desper must be re- rted to. y We looked at the clear water 300 feet from our ship and the solid ice between, and the only way to reach the water to cut a ‘canal through the ice. Measurements with a borer showed that the ice was about seven féet thick. With the two longitudinal lines and the many cross lines we figured that there would be about 4000 feet of sawing through the ice—a herculean task, but we had to do it. We accomplished it in about weeks. Then we blew up the pieces with tonite and made ready take our leave. Just at this time a swgll struck the pack and narrowed the channel so;that the vessel would not move.. Disap- pointment made us all sick, but the swell kept up its work, and alternately kept opening and closing the canal. By the middle of February the vessel was loose from the solld ice and we were able to give the propeller a few turns. Steam was kept up day and night. Once we were out of the pack and ac- four loose to tually started north when we were blocked again and had to remain in bondage for four weeks. On March 14 we felt the vessel shiver from stem to stern and toss about in the icefield. All around us the great blocks rose and fell, and our craft was bumped and pinched, but by constant work with the propeller we really moved, and. in a short time the icepack gave way and we slipped out into the open sea. On the 16th, at 4 p. m., we Trecog- nized Black Island. and at 6 p. m. an- chored in its lee to shelter from a strong west wind. From the edge of the pack to Tierra del Fuego we had not encountered a single piece of ice, § a fact which is at least worth mention- ing. During the night of the 26th there were heavy squalls, and at 5 a. m. on the 27th the wind blew a gale from east-southeast. and the anchor began to drag, and we had to cut the cable and stand out to sea to save the vessel from driving on the roc At 9 a. m., while the gale was still raging, we en- tered Cockburn channel and reached the anchorage of Punta Arenas "next morning at daybreak, fourteen d after leaving the pack. One of the principal lessons of the cruise of the Belgica is the demonstra- tion of the fact that wintering in the Arctic and wintering in the Antarctic are two entirely different propositions. .| If the south pole is ever reached it will not be by dog sleds nor any over- land travel. There will either have to be an open channel or some aerial plan of navigation will have to be adopted. Winter in the Antarctic, if last winter is any criterion, is subject to thaws when the ice should be solid. The ripping of the channels in the ice pack is an insurmountable difficulty. More animal and vegetable life are to be found there than at the same par- allel on the northern end of the globe. The north and the south poles are two different problems and will have to be studied out on two different lines. FREDERICK A. COOK. Tist Water eer et y Whie Men it e Anarct Crce g 7 AR W BUR!AI- THROVGH FEET OF ICE »J?ow | fi’earz‘ Discase W/a_y Do Cured X Sy : Symna&i/fo& great b ey me methods - world, Their wive this rush and bustle degree. And all this eir ancestors & ndition directly one. To ions the ra may chi s environment been the ntly in the lama at- he been » of New the Post Hospitals. hoved Na n to study the now practicing it in @ to describe it som the curious as- American malz e in those rer It m: atly in bulk during the twents hours, Its beat may go down to fifty and 00. If a man stands up or lies down the difference in his n will cause nis heart to vary t 4 minute, or 602 an hour, Wher at each these lost g alters 1 of the blood ns, hanges body at diseased h greater. urious, also, that the heart some- murmurs when its owner is ly down in a way that cannot be dete when he is standing.. These sounds v vith age and with health. Vierordt stud- them. He placed a number of flat & of guttaperc chips, on the che women_and children. He piled these chips one above the other just over the heart until they formed a solid column. Then he placed ._shaped of men, Mke poker ar to of ened. so1 the not _be rd through the | erordt removed the chips from the top of the pile one by one until it could be heard. In this way he got a comparison of the intensity of t sounds. He confirmed th le that fferent parts of the heart ma diffe ent s There were two distinct sounds—one - a low-pitched, vibrating yund of about forty vibrations a second; rf a sound in the bass clef of 100 and 200 vibration a second, vations were invaluable to gators. They were enabled differences in hearts whi. h be- stect - that were not known to exist. The treatment of heart disease by sound be- came an important matter in the medical profession. However, physi knew more of the existence of the condition than they did of a means of alleviating it ““Professor Schott of Bad Nauheim, Germany, began some years ago to treaf heart disease. not as most physicians had rted it—that is, with the fear that any tion mizht prove fatal-but with the as a physical organ the heart ceptible of the same changes as be any other physical organ if Schott and his brother were led to these con- clusions by an accident. It appears that these men, while treating neurasthenics some years ago, found that in forcing the blood to the merve centers the volume of increased, whife at the same ag diminished. As this re- sult was desirable when .treating loss of compensation in heart disease. they ap- plied the method in chronic cases with such satisfactory results that it has been would surrounded by a like condition. rec and em 1 by many of the best ctitioners rope Professor Geo Oliver of gland had shown that a heal arm, after being exercised, displaced more water in a ves- than it did before it w was attributed to the thickened during e Schott at Nauheim knpew g smartly across a room w often diminish _the rapidity. and incr the ree, for the time being, ¢ 1 weakly acting heart He decided to treat the wart for its development as he would any other muscular organ of the body, He proce t it from the standpoint of the f exercise to growth. All bodily which are exercised grow any organ which is not exercised ce its development. Professor Schott termined to exercise the heart “The treatment involved first a series of preparatory baths in the f th natural springs which exist in Nauheim. 1 stimulating effect of these water: hares the sufferer for the exercise which follows. The exercise involves : in the body. No apparatus - patient is told to make cer- in motions which bring certain muscles into play, but when he tries to do it an tches him by the arm, or the 2 er part is to be moved, and tries to stop the movement. The patient must do it in spite of the attendant, the ‘resistance’ causing him more exertion than if he were left unobstructed. In consequence the houses of Nauheim seem at times to be full of men and women wrestling with one another. One man will be seen swinging his hands over his head ike a human windmill, while an attend- ant stands beside him on a chair, holding acid and dilited with fresh warm After a few days the fresh warm water is left out and he gets the spring water gt normal temperature, but with most of the carhonic acid extracted. Next he is put info a bathtub which is charged with the salts and carbonic acid just a honic water emerges from the earth. The fourth final stage of the bathing seances ca r a bath like the « just mentione dlowed to run in None but except that the water is and out of the tub constantly 1 quite vigorous person can take this form of bath without ill effect. These baths are really the first stage of the exercise treatment, and they are given to diminish the frequency and to increase the force of the pulse beat. ‘When the patient comes for treatment Ally found that his heart is and dilated with blood. The first & to do then, naturally, is draw this blood as far away m th central organ s possible. The heated bath is the be- @inning of the process of withdraw The of the skin are relieved capillaries of their ural store of blood and some of the oversupply in the heart rushes out to supply the los: In the second stage of the bathing the carbonic gas numbs the skin, practically- it paralyzes the capil- laries and increases the rush of blood from the heart. In the third form of bath the chioride of calcium sets up an irrita- tion which makes the body appear as if :overed with nettle rash. It is the ad- vanced stage of the process by which the heart is relieved of overwork. It prepares the patient for the exercise that follows, ““Hundreds have been benefited by the uheim treatment, but there are famous ases which stand out prominently from the rest. These cases naturally are the HE ST EXPANSION — his wrists and“trying to stop him. An- other man will be found standing oh one leg and moving the other violently, while an attendant holds on grimly to his ankle and will not be shaken off. Still another, standing with his back to the wall, seems bent on falling flat on his face in spite of the attendant, who persistently props him up a he comes forward. Others around about seem to be indu]?(ng in sparring matches, the attendants In every case re- sisting the movements of their charges. All of these people are under treatment for heart disease. % “In other parts of the place men, women and children are being bathed, some of them in brine, others in water which is hardly brackish. The newcomer is given a simple bath in the water of the springs, which has been freed from car- constant subject of talk b the newcom- ers who go down to the baths. There was the broken-down Englishman, 50 years old. who was carried into Nauheim, help- less from heart disease, gout, dyspepsia and enlarged liver. He could not walk a step. They cut down his food supply at once, allowing him about half of what he really wanted to eat. They bathed him in diluted water at first, gradually in- creasing the sirength of the solution. At the end of a week he could walk a little, and he began to take a constitutional of five yards a day. Then they exercised him iightly, increasing the resistance and the work as the days went on. His daily routine was about as follows: He arose at 8 breakfasted on soft boiled eggs. weaK coffee and Zwiback at 8:30; bathed ; slept at 10 for an hour: exercised v at 11; rested from 12 until 1, when he dined; rested an hour; went to walk at 3 returned and rested until when he dined; retired at 9 p. m. He was allowed but one cigar a day, in deference to_ his demarnds, although 1o tobacco should be allowed in any form, and only the sour wines. At the end of four months he could walk five miles a_day, and he was harged apparently without an_ailment. “This treatment is not, as many might think, ed to the Swedish movement cure. The latter is violent, while the N: heim treatment is a slow process, both in practice and in development. In fooiing with such a dangerous malady as heart disease one has to be carefui, or there might be a collapse. For this reason I should not advise any one to -undertake the treatment except under the care of a skilled operator—preferably one who had personally ‘studied the German method. If nnasium instructors were to take it up, or ins I am afraid they could not be thoi ly impressed with the ab: lute necessity of going slow. Every mo ment should be made owly as pos ble, and the rests between each movement are quite as important as the movement itself. On the other hand, I believe.the cure can be carried on with even better effect in America than in Germany. has no exclusive right to the baths. They are public affairs under the control of the »vernment, and there are twenty doctors in Nauheim giving the treatment. The baths, too, are.open only during the sum- meg months. In America our excellent plumbing arrangements are well adapted to the purpose. In Nauheim the patients have to go in the day time and stand around in the open waiting to cool off. H we give the baths at bedtime with much greater effect. e difficulty of pro- Schott curing a substitute for the Nauheim salts will have to be bridged by the family phy- sician. T believe the crystallized products of the bath can be Imported, but the in- gredients can be produced chemically. If vou can obtain sea salt, chloride of eal- cium, bicarbonate of soda, muriatic acid and a bath tub- you will have all of the essentials of a Nauheim bath, but I should not care to put these chemfcals into the hands of the inexperienced layman. He might do damage to limself and the tub. Better g0 to a chemist and have him mix you up the necessary ingredients. Almost any doctor should be able to give the. pre- scription. The bath zhould.be only slight- ly saline at first. gradually increasing in strength as the days go forward. Do not attempt the strong solution at first or it might have bad effects. Z/yé and Work of a fa&u/oz/s{y ek C?eryymtm. T 70 the Rev. Eugene Augustus Hoffmann, D. D., multi-millionaire and richest clergyman in Amer- ica, if not in the world, is a busy, shrewd, clever man. As dean of the Union Theological Seminary in New York, he is at the head of the chief divinity school of the Protestant Spiscopal church, and in the twenty he has filled this post he has exer- cised a tremendous formative influence upon the Episcopal clergy of the country, a very large proportion of whom have been trained under his eve. Attired in non-distinctive dre Dean Hoffmann’s appearance would suggest al- most any station in life save that of the: ological teacher. Perhaps he would more closely resemble an opulent, self-made banker than any other type, one, how- ever, who was born with gentlemanly in- stincts, and who by dint of keeping his eves constantly about him has developed into an alert and courteous man of the world, albeit there is much bluff hearti- ness in his cour! His figure is tall and rotund, his strong features are deeply seamed and his hair and full beard are grizzled. His voice is by no means un- pleasant, but by no means melodious; it suggests the ice of a veteran admiral who has salled over many seas and fought many a desperate fight. Dean Hoffmann is sixth in descent from Martinus Hoffmann, who came to America in 1640, and son of the late Samuel Ver- planck Hoffmann. The family has been a factor in the social, commercial and political life of New York City for two and a half centuries. The dean w born just east of Broadway, in White street, when that now downtown thoroughfare was an aristocratic residence center. After courses of study at Columbia, Rut- gers and Harvard, he sighed for adven- ture, and was allowed to join an expe- dition formed by Professor Agassiz to ex- lore the region north of Lake Superior. gome months of rough experiences on that expedition were quite enough for a life- time, and he returned to vilization and studied theology at the seminary of which he is now the head. and in 1851, when only 22, began the life of a clergyman, only to lay it down for the broader work in which he is still ac Conservative capitali estimate the present value of the Hoffmann estate at from $15,000,000 to $20,000,000, but no one, not even the dean himself, can appraise it with certain accuracy. It was founded before the republic was born, and under the never-faulty Hoffmann managemcent has been growing yvear by year and dc ade by decade, almost without interm sion, ever since. It now takes in row on row of downtown structures and blocg after block uptown. The Hoffmann House, itself worth more than a million, with iis world-famed bar, is part of the property, which was divided by inheritance a few years ago between ‘the dean and his i})rother. also an Episcopal clergyman, far the Iflrfer share falling to the dean, Dean Hoffmann has been very lavish of his wealth in the: seminary’s behalf. Since he assumed its headship the two or three almost shabby gray buildings at Twentfeth street and Ninth avenue, in which the institution was then housed, have been increased to a noble cluster of structures surrounding a beautiful quad- rangle, and the school itself has advanced ' to the very first place. Throughout his service to date his salary has been al- lowed to accumulate, and in time will Ee added to the endowment fund. Just how large his various benefactions have been no one knows but himself, and he won't tell. From sources that Should be re- liable, the writer is informed that ths total is certainly more than-a milllon. His fts to the seminary include the beauti- ul deanery, and have been supplemented by the Chapel of the Good Shepherd, erected by his mother in memory of her husband. From the beginning of his career to the present time, Dean Hoffmann, rich, cultured, courted by society, has ' been a friend of the workingman. He has no sympathy with the gradual deser- tion by the churches of those city re- gions which are crowded with indus- irial population. He believes the enfl‘s “downtown church” problem compara- tively simple and easy of solution along lines' long since found out in_Philadel- vhere he established the first work- gmen’s club ever organized in America. That_was just three decades ago, in 1863, the first ar of his service rector of St. Mark’ one of the most fashionable churches in the City of Brotherly Love. Socially considered, the.roll of 400 com municants was irreproachable. The con- gregation included many of the most prominent pérsonages in the town. Most rectors would have thought such an a semblage as Dr. Hoffmann officiated be- fcre every Sunday an ideal one. But from his viewpoint there w. something lacking. - Few or no working persons were ever to be seen in the pews of St. Mark’s, despite the fact that the neigh- borhood supported a large industrial population. he founding of the St. Mark’'s Work- cgmen’s Club was Dr. Hoffmann's first move toward interesting the toilers in St. Mark’s Church. ““We got the workingmen’s club notion fro; printed descriptions of Englisl¥ workingmen's club id Dean Hoffmann to the writer recently Philadelphia being not tly like those obtaining in England, we had to work out a plan of our own. The first thing we did was to take quarters over a market place. Our ‘conve " room was fitted up comfortably with chairs and tables and supplied with current reading matter, the daily papers and such class periodicals as »ut, conditions in we thought would interest the. men spe- ciaily predominating. In one-room games were -allowed. There were rooms o the men could smoke and In the ten there was not one un- pleasant incident in the club, and its hold upon its members increased steadily. It is still prosperous.’ Dr.. Hoffmann remained rector of St. Mark's till 1579. In his ten years' service he had become personally acquainted with ome member of each of the nearly 1000 milies in the parish. His acquaintan with his parishioners was by no means perfunctory—he knew them as a friend who always visited them when they need- ed him, éven when they were suffering from contagious diseases. From Brook- lyn. from Elizabeth and Burlington, N. J., hd from Philadelphia come stories of sitations that were made by him in times of pestilence. theory seems to have been that the clergyman is needed quite as much as the doctor when death near, and he never hesitated to visit a ck parishioner the diseass was smallpox or During the cnce of a Smallpox epidemic in one New Jer: irishes he visited the they could not with St. K 12 n patients so re that the Mayor.of {he city threatened to lock him up unless he would promise to. stop the practice, for read- by his fear the disease would be s comings and goings. He was not stopped either there or in Brooklyn, where he went freely among patients afflicted with yellow fever. Dr. Hoffmann's house to house isita- tions were such a noteworthy fea- ture of hi work as long as he served the churches that his parish- joners felt free to call upon him in every sort of emergency. Thu Elizabeth a little girl rushed into his study one day, crying: Mother hopes youw'll come to the house right away, sir. = Father says he’s going to kill her.’ The doctor left the sermon he was pre- paring and followed the child. At the house he found the father crazy drunk. entered—this fellow to As the young clergyman t was all of forty years ago—the raised a chair high in the air as if brain the intruder. “I'm not_afraid of you man,” velled the drunken you'd better clear out.” : “I don’t want you to be afraid of me replied the clergyman, ‘‘but there one chap vou'd better be afraid of. His name is James Anderson. He lives here, and when drunk he’s dangerous.” The chair dropped to the floor at this unexpected speech, and James Ander- son, already half sobered. begged pardon for his brutality and promised to keep the nor no o man, and peace. Then the rector went placidly back to his sermon-writing. & I D. MARSHALL.