The National tribune., 1890-10-16
CHAPTER LXXXV.
WET AND COLD,


CHAPTER LXXXv.
WET AND COLD.
A historian of the Seven Years. War de-
scribes o scene after the battle of Leuthen,
when the exhausted soldiers fell asleep around
the campfire before they had taken outhful
of food.
Never mind; exercise is healthy" laughed
King Frederick, when Gen. Ziethen complained
that his men could not stand such fatigues
much longer.
Healthy Yes, 80 is water" said the frank
old trooper; "but all the same fellow does not
like to be chucked overheard in mid-ocean
A similar reflection is often suggested by the
method of the cold bathing cure apostles. who
would persuade us to "fortify our constitution"
by showerbaths of ice-water in Mid winter
In warm weather cold water is undoubtedly
one of tho most effective natural specifics for
the prevention of numerous diseases; but the
habitual violation of an emphatic instinct is
always a risky experiment, and it might be
questioned If Ovcr-exercise, carried to all but
the most outrageous extremes, will ever call
forth more urgent protests of nature than
those provoked by the practice of cold bathing
in cold weather. Under the spur Of violent
excitement considerable overdose of exercise
may fail to produce q feeling of fatigue and
lead to no serious after effects, and young
Lochinvar, chased by the yells of enragcd pur-
sucrs, may have swan the Esk River with COM
parative impunity If tho long range arrows
failed to penetrate his armor / have known
hunters to scramble up steep mountain-slopes
at the rate of five miles an hour, and stroll
about after supper as if nothing had happened;
but convict who, in the dreary solitude of his
prison, should be forced to take the same num-
ber of steps in a tread mill would probably feel
the effect for the rest Of his life.
A deer running at top-speed with pack Of
dc Of fa hca 4yII h,af tote 70 tee
life by plunge in river covered with drift
Ice, but under ordinary circumstances wild
animals avoid such waters with dread which
plainly proves that their protective instincts
warn them against the consequences and poo
pie who prefer to follow the laws Of nature
rather than the whims of medical hobby
riders, will find it tho safest plan TO discontinue
cold baths after the middle of October.
The question as to the risk of exposure to
the influence of cold air might DO equally we'll
decided by the verdict of instinct Wood cutters
and other laborers engaged in hard outdoor
work hardly feel difference of 10 or IL de-
greeS Fahrenheit. Frost stimulates them to
extra exertions, and If the north wind does not
assume the form of gale they can easily work
themselves into a state OF comfortable warmth.
The Michigan lumbermon in fact prefer steady
cold weather, and never sleep sounder than
after q good days work In the snow covered
woods But under circumstances precluding
the possibility OF active exercise cold weather
may lead 10 much more serious consequences
than chilled toes or frozen ears, especially If the
patient should have been used TO a mider eli
mate. In city hospital Of Brussels. Belgium,
/ once had an interview with n young fellow
who had come oil the way from New Orleans,
La, to attend the polytechnic schools of west
ern Europe. lilo had relatives somewhere In the
neighborhood Of Breslau, and on his return
from vacation visit in Midwinter. had been
caught in a snow blockade and obliged 10 pass
bitter cold night IN wretehed little West
phalian flag station. without hotel and with.
out n waiting room. Heated railway cars were
then unknown In continental Europe and with
a storm OF 20 degrees below zero sweeping
through the chinks Of their many. windowed
dormitory, half a hundred passengers had to
pass the night the best way they could. BY
good luck the passenger cars were divided into
small compartments for eight persons apiece,
and by crowding into a corner behind wagon
burg OF sachels and shawls tho eight occupants
oil the car next 10 tho haggage-wagon managed
10 survive the night and we're rescued noxt
morning by a brigade of track sweepors but on
his arrival at Brussels the young American felt
Ills strength give way. and had TO take hack
to reach tho next hospital. He complained Of
dull headache aud feeling Of general ex-
haustion and soreness In all joints. and the
next night those symptoms eliminated In
burning fever The patients constitution WIS
by no means delicate, and he bad the add itional
advantage of pluck and temperate habits, but
10 WAS "a full week before he could leave his
bed, and after getting on his legs again he
registered vow that he would walk 40 miles
To the next hotel rather than pass another
night in Westphalian flag station.
Tourists in the upper Alps describe tho Gu.
rious feeling Of exhaustion which often sud
denly gets the better Of them on their return
from snow-coYered peak, while during the
uphill-trip excitement and constant exertion
keeps such symptoms In allegiance Norwegian
reindeer hunters think nothing Of pursuing
their game a dozen miles through rocks and
woods in freezing anowstorm, but their pluck
aud powers OF endurance are apt 10 give out
together II the snow should happen TO turn
into sleot. In other words, thaw implying
considerable rise OF temperature at first in
creases tho feeling of cbilliness-a paradox
which, however, can be explained by the fol-
lowing circumstance: Warm clothing serves
Its purpose, but If IL leaves little space for the
accumulation Of warm air between coat and
SIX IN. and tho warmest feeling dress of the same
weight Is the triple linen-blOu of the Havre
longshoremeu; the inner and outer blouse
smooth, but the ono In the middle ra6led-puck-
cred up into q multitude OF little folds that
help TO gather and hold calOrlc like tho under
down OF a seabird Ordinary loose clothing
serves similar purpose, but drenching rain
causes both linen and wool 20 cling TO tho body
Ms tight as an eeakin, aud thus deprive the
Weafer OF the intermediate stratum of warm
air. In warm weather. too, wet clothes ought
TO be avoided, In consideration of tho fact that
warmth and moisture favors the development
oil all sorts Of disease germs, and from "A SAM.
tary point Of view the superiority of dry cli-
mate must, therefore, be- admitted at all seasons
OF the year. for 10 would be mistake to sup
pose that the objections to outdoor work in a
rain could DO wholly obviated by tho use OF
waterproof clothing. Oil-skin cloaks, indeed,
will keep tho rain out and the warm air in but
also prevent the secretion of those exhalations
by which the respiratory functions of the Lungs
are supplemented by tho skin. A days march
through streaming rain under cover of a
waterproof cloak is almost as trying to the con-
stitution as days work in an unventilated
room.
10 be continuodl