Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1851-12-24

as soon as he returns TO town. have
seen great many men in my day, but |
never saw as fne specimens of perfcc.
health and extreme robustness as in these
sons Of the forest on their return. In the
name of physiological law, ! ask what it
means, and how it is, that these men, thus
exposed TO Ach extremes of both wet and
cold combined, should never take the
slightest cold, whereas persons surrounded
with al! the protectives and comforts i'm
aginable, should so often take it, and be 80
often crippled by it? What physiological
principles are Lere involved? Here are
results which demand analysis-effects, by
sscertaining the causes Of which, we can
incalculahly promote our own and families
health-that greater earthly good
Another class Of exactly accord.nt facts
occurs in public land surveyors. Lucius
Lyon, for ten years suveyor-general Of
Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, and from six
to nine months Of most of those years en-
gagged in active service, with corps Of
men under him, in a recent dinner con-
versation at Detroit, his headquarters,
made these sweeping declarations: that
neither he nor any Of his men, in all that
time, ever had cold, or were unable, for
one hour. to perform those vigorous exer-
tions required by surveying; and yet he
added, with great emphasis, Il never knew
one Of these men to remain in town three
days without contracting cold, and being
more or less disablcd-and this is equally
true with myself What the cause is I
cannot say, but such are the facts These
surveyors undergo even greater hardships
aud exposures than New England lumber
men; for, instead Of having log shan.y
to go to, they sleep in tents, and often on
or an The sno,r, and that too when every
rag Of clothes on them is wringing wet.
They mus. run straight lines, and hence
ire of:en obliged to cross marshes and
Streams, aud wade up to their arms in mud
and water, or snow-water, and never think
of changing garments, for they have no
change; but down with big tree, Gu.
couple of logs for the back of their fire,
and roll one top Of the other, then the
smaller ones and tcp for the fire proper
cook their supper, tramp down the snow,
pitch their tent, eat, retire, their tent open
to the thorough passage Of winter blasts,
and yet no colds. In the name of all
physiological law, how can we account for
this sleeping in wet clothes, in cold wealth
er, and on the snow, only tent over their
heads, and FIRE at their feet, outside, near
its entrance and yet aerer take cold? where
as We think even getting our feet damp in
suIes cold. What is it in their regimen
which counteracts this cold-taking tenieu-
cy? for that counteracting power must bc
immense.
One contra class Of facts aids us in ma
king correct summary Of these striking
results, namely, that persons who protect
themselves the most, take the most colds
Thus, did you ever see family Of chill
dren where the mother took the utmost
care not to let them 60 out, except in the
plcasantest weather, and all mufiled up at
that, their rooms particularly warm and
comfortable, and the greatest possible pa
rade made over them, but were frequently
taking cold? Here is the greatest care
and the most colds there the greatest ex-
posure and fewest ills. Who takes cold
in the parts constantly exposed? Expo
.urc hardens and fortifes the system, as
the inside of the hand or the sole of the
foot become hardened by use. Petting
he system makes it delicate. The bare
arm viii blister in hot sun in an hour
expose it like the hand, continually, and
it will resist the influence Of the SUE in
like manner 1t is equally true relative
to exposure to wet and cold
Most undoubtedly, good health is fhe
great heater of the system-of course in
conjunction with food-and thereby be
comes its great protector against colds.
And in this way, nothing but breath and
food can, by any possibility, warm the sys
TEN. Neither clothes nor FIRE can ever do
It; for the former can not generate heat,
but only retsrd its escape, and the latter
can not possibly be kept at temperature
as high as that of the body without we'll
nigh suffocating us, and acts only on the
principle Of clothes, namely, that of re-
tarding the escape Of heat; for generating
it yjthin us it never can, nor even heat up
the surface Of the body, because the latter
is always war,ner than the warmest rooms.
But fresh air contains that oxygen which.
combining with the carbon supplied by
food, becomes the fuel of the system,
which is more and still more Seuudant the