Idaho news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1887-1891, 1889-05-04
PHYSICAL ENDURANCE.
How Clear Grit May at Times Pro-
long Human Life.

dure the most, he continued.
All the small men assented and all
the big men dissented.
II am led to make these remarks, "
said he. "by the fact that have re-
ceived a letter from a friend Of mine
who is now abroad, in which he de-
scribes the survivors of a wrecked
steamer, sank by collision in the Brit
ish channel. He says that to his sur
prise, they were not men of the great
est strength and size but were many Of
them slender and far from robust. He
says that this was particularly striking
in the cases of those men who had
been compelled to float about for hours
in the icy water with nothing but a
life preserver, bit of wood or their
own energies to keep them from drown
ing. 1t was their stick-to-it-iveness'
which kept them alive. You can't tell
by looking at man whether he can
stand the strain of exposure, disease or
injury. 1t is largely in his mind"
Physical endurance may be a matter
of experience, said he. 1T is not
wonderful that sick men survive where
we'll men perish in cases Of disasters on
sen or land. Those who have suffered
from sickness gain a patience that
might well be their salvation when they
are placed in circumstances of hardship
and danger. They know what it is to
suffer and will not give up. for they
have learned something OF the ultimate
possibilities of human endurance. On
the other band, man who has never
experienced such physical affiiction as
comes from sickness might well believe
that their sufferings, when tossed about
by icy waves, passed the limit of hui
man endurance. They would give up
mentally before they were conquered
physically"
You think, then, it is largely amat-
ter of the mind?"
1T may be matter of inheritance
he replied. ''You can tell a great deal
about mans power Of resistance il you
know his ancestry. Longevity is a good
test 1t is fine thing for man TO have
the power of long-lived ancestry be-
hind him. / make point to get as
much information as possible on this
subject from my patients. 1t helps me
to knowledge OF the forces that will
fight with me against disease. / have
two patients i'll with pneumonia at this
moment, and one Of them will probably
live while the other is likely to die.
They were equally healthy before the
attack, to all appearances, and l do not
believe that one is more severely sick
Of the disease itself than the other is,
but there is a difference in their vital
force. One of them will endure to the
very last Of which his body is capable;
the other will yield the battle before he
is conquered"
lis there anything visible in man
that determines his power of endur-
ance?n
There is difference in the arteries
that can be seen. A man whose arteries
are in good condition can, as rule, en-
dure much more than one who has be-
gun to wear out in this part of his or
ganism. You can't tell mans age by
the family Bible. Some men are older
at thirty than others at forty; and if a
man has begun to wear out he is not
prepared to resist disease, physical ex-
posture or surgical operation. / saw
the difference very plainly marked in
the war. Some men would be shot all
to pieces and would yet live, while
others would die Of slight wounds"
"a man once came to me, !" continued
the doctor, with an affection Of the
larynx. examined him carefully, and
with the greatest difficulty, for the great
noise he made in his laborious breath
ing confused me in listening to the ac-
ton of his lungs. / came to the con-
afterward shown to be correct
that the man was suffering from
sternosis Of the larynx, which in every
day language means narrowing of
the passages in that locality. He was
not in danger of immediate death, but
could not live long unless something
was done for him. j decided that his
lungs must have rest, and after secur-
Ing that, I could see what might be
done for the relief of his laryngial
trouble. 1t was before the days OF in
and determined upon
tracheotomy-or the cutting OF an
opening into the windpipe for
the admission Of air. The patient con-
sented to the operation and was re-
moved to the hospital dispensary,
where it was performed with every in
1ication Of favorable result. The
patient was at once greatly relieved,
and said that he felt very well. This
was on a Monday afternoon. The next
day every indication was favorable and
on Wednesday equally so. saw him
in the afternoon and he was feeling
greatly improved. Going down stairs
from the ward in which he was / met