Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1872-07-05
sUNsTRoKE

The telegraph Informs u that on
Thursday last, in New York, there
two hundred cases Of sunstroke,
with sixty deaths resulting therefrom'
and in Boston on the previous day
there were nearly thirty deaths from
the same cause The mercury stools
lO3 degrees In New York and 81 de-
crees In Boston. Similar results are
in st. Louis aud other river
and seaside cities, and a comparison
between that section and this In this
respect naturally suggests itself. Past
and present experience shows that a
much greater degree Of heat on this
coast IL endured without any such ia
tai effects. In many localities among
the gold mines Of California, alongthe
western slope Of the Sierra as well As
on this side, on Carson river, the
.rruckee, about Walker Lake. and even
out on the deserts, the thermometer
during the summer frequently rises to
from 100 to l25 degrees, yet we'll de-
fined cases Of sunstroke are rarely or
never heard Of, although there are
plenty Of miners and other laboring
classes working exposed to the full
power of this great heat. The greater
humidity Of the atmosphere In the
East Is the most popular theory as
signed for the prevalence Of sunstroke
there. and our exemption from 1t, and
this may be the true theory. The air
OF this section certainly Is very dry
and light In comparison, unless San
Francisco aud other seaside localities
may be accounted as exceptions. Even
there, however, during the greatest
heat, the air seems dry and not oppres-
sive. In some portions Of the deep
mines of the Comstock the air Is both
very hot and oppressive, the natural
heat OF the earth and water there be-
Ing from ITO to 100 degrees, and even
more, and the miners work nearly or
quite naked, yet they suffer no Ill Of
fects from 1t. Some Of them, however,
who work In the hottest parts Of the
| Belcher and Crown Point mines, COM
planned quite bitterly Of the heat yes
lterday at Virginia while marching In
the procession with the other members
Of the Miners Union, although the
mercury did not stand above 80 degrees
In the shade.
We lind an Instructive article on the
subject of sunssroks In Lippineott's
Magazine for July, from the pen OF
Horatio C. Wood, Jr., N. D. The
writer shows the true nature Of this
always alarming and often fatal dis,
ease, and by Inference Its proper treat
ment. his views In both being illus-
trated and confirmed by physiological
experiments. The practice Is not new,
but one likes to sec It placed on a
broader and more scientific foundation
than before, and thus remove all ex-
cuse for INDUCING in empirical and
~coniectural trials to the interruption
or postponemeut Of remedial measures
which ought to be had recourse to with
out the loss of a minute. Sunstroke
rcoup de solein Is shown to be simply
an effect Of ovcrheatsng. External
heat Is the cause Of sunstroke, and thi:
"heat produces directly all the symp'
tou,." It Is well remarked, that In
such cases there should be no waiting
for the doctor ; but the true nature o.
the case should be first clearly ascer'
tanned. "Has every man that fall:
unconscious, OF a hot day, the sun
stroke? A criterion Of easy applica'
ton Is to put the hand on the chest
and "if the skin be cool you may
rest assured that whatever be the
trouble 1t Is not sunstroke." II, on
the contrary, the skin be OF a burn
Ing heat, the n /, certainly sun
stroke, and no time should be lost,
Cold water, drawn from the nearest
pump or hydrant, or, II the case occur
In the harvest field, from the nearest
spring, should be freely dashed ovel
the head and chest Of the sufferer, who
Is to be raised for a moment to allow
of the water being poured on his back
and render the cooling Of the body
more complete. This Is to be contln'
ued until the heat Of the surface !;
brought down to nearly Its natural
standard and consciousness begins te