Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1879-01-14

biographer, that his ailments had always
in them a preponderating character OF
neuropathic disturbance. Even when be
was comparatively free from the acute
form of rheumatic disorder, his nerves
were tingling and rioting with irritation.
But in the midst of this nervous rioting
he was always heroically calm, sedate,
serious, and thoughtful. His friends, be-
lieying that his disease rendered him unfit
for the profession of an engineer, he
yielded to their suggestions, and began
the study of medicine. In his twenty first
year he was elected Resident Physician
in the Pennsylvania Hospital at Philadel-
phia. He attended strictly to his duties
for six months, while he was laboring
under so severe an attack of cardiac dis
ease as to be unable to sleep in hori-
zontal position; and he never closed his
eyes at night without the feeling that the
chances were against his ever opening
them again in this world. The conscious
ness OF his physical condition must have
weighed heavily upon his ardent nature,
but it never interfered in the least degree
with the performance of his duties.
His father, being satisfied that the
routine of a physician S life would be fatal
to his son S constitution, obtained for him,
without his knowledge, an appointment
as a Surgeon in the Navy. He was
greatly indisp sed to the place, and the
position he held on ship board was always
odious to him. His aversion to a sea life
amounted to detestation; but he again
yielded to his fathers wishes, and after
his examination prepared himself cheer
fully for his new duties.
Now commences the actual career of
this remarkable man; and henceforth his
life is succession of wild and romantic
adventures, which sound more like the
creations of some highly imaginative
fctionist than the actual exploits of a
slight youth, who, with mortal disease
in his system, has quietly schooled him
self to the determination to ''die in har
ness" His first appointment to active ser
vice was as physician to our Chinese
Embassy, when Mr.. Cushing was sent
out as Commissioner to China. The
Commissioner went out overland, with
the design of meeting the frigate at Bonn
bay that was to carry him to Canton, and
Doctor Kane embarked in the Brandy
wine,' expecting to join him at that port.
He sailed in May, 1S43, and had the adj
vantage of stopping at Madeira and Rio
de Janeiro. At the latter place he i'm
proved his time by making an ascent of
The Eastern Andes, which rear their fan.
tastic forms on the Coast of Brazil The
notes which he made of this exploration
were unhappily lost while he was travelling
on the Nile. On the voyage from Rio to
Ncc--,h hay he employed himself assiduously
ef lf lastSsteneo stss 10 tbs rss1.-ns, and modern
Ian nguages, and NJ Gushing not. having
arrived when the 'Brandywine" reached
the latter port, he directly began to visit
the caves of Elephanta, and every other
object of interest in the neighborhood,
and then started on an elephant hunt in
the island of Ceylon. The frigate, with
the Commissioner and his suite, arrived
at Canton in July, 1874: and impatient
at the tedious progress of Chinese diplo-
macy, he obtained leave of absence from
Mr. Gushing, and started to make an ex-
ploration of the Philippine Islands. He
the largest ofthe group, Luconia,
from Manila across 10 its Pacific coast,
and at great hazards and imminent perils,
he made the descent of the crater of the
Tael; a feat which but one European had
ever attempted, and he without success.
This feat very nearly cost him his life:
first, by the poisonous gases he inhaled;
and secondly, from the attacks of the wild
natives, who were outraged by his sacrile
gious invasion of the residence of their
Deity. After the departure of the embassy,
he remained at Canton to establish him
self as physician; but, at the end of six
he was struck down with the
rice-fever, and came near dying but he
recovered after long il ness, and left
WhampOa for Singapore, in company with
a young Englishman, intending to make
the overland journey for Europe; and
while en- route, he visited Borneo and
Sumatra, and crossing over to the Indian
Peninsula, he made the ascent of the
Mountains. Arriving in Cal
cutta about the time the great Dwakanoth
Tagore was preparing to start on his visit
to England, he joined the suite of the
princely East Indian, and having visited
Persia and Syria, parted from him at
Alexandria, whence he visited Thebes
and the Pyramids, and, in the course of
his wanderings, formed the acquaintance
of Professor Lepsius. Here again he
twice narrowly escaped with his life once
in skirmish with the Bedouins, in which
he was wounded in the leg, and then
from an attack Of the plague After six
months of travel, he determined to return
to Manila, and establish himself as ply
sician; but failing to obtain permission
from the Spanish authorities, he bent his
steps homeward through Italy, France,
and England At home once more, in
1S46 he hired house, and made prepara-
tions for settling down in his native city
as physician. He had never been com
as Surgeon in the Navy, and
thoroughly detesting the rules Of the ser
vice, he would have resigned his post, but
the country was on the verge of war with
Mexico, and he could not, in honor, aban-
don it just as there was chance of his
services being needed.
Three weeks before war was declared,
he was ordered to the frigate "United
States, bound for the coast of Africa. He
cheerfully obeyed the summons; and after
visiting the King of Dahomey, he was
attacked with the coast-fever, and was
again brought to Death door; being com
pletely prostrated, he returned home Fin
valided," and never wholly recovered
from this disease. But the Mexican war
was not at an end and he painted for an