The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-04-01
FACTS ABOUT COLDS.
THERE ARE PLACES WHERE THIS
SICKNESS IS IMPOSSIBLE.

eome '"rio"s Experience" "hic
Tend to Prove Thnt"Cntching Cold
IL One of the "Blessinss" That G.
with Civilization,
|
Many people may no surprised to hea
that even IN this world there are place
where IL Is impossible to catch cold, sim
ply peca'iSe there are no colds to catch
1hcro arc facts however, which seem t
| provo TINS FOR example hansen and hi
men during the three years which the,
| spent IN the arctic regions never caught t
cola' YET ticy were exposed to cold, ia
| ugne ana wei 10 degree whlch we al
| nome can hafaIy realize Especially one
remembers now Nahaeh ana MS comradS
Johanscn during their wonderful expcdi
tioh on loot over the polar ice went on
dny after DAY, cihd IN clothes winch were
50 saturated win preparation that they
lroIc ny DAY INTO one so!lu mass Of Ice,
ana even cut !htn their ileSh; now every
night, When thcy tucked themselves up IN
their sleeping bags the ilrst hour was
spent III thawlhg' now they lay shiverlng,
thclr frozen SOCKS spread across their
chests until the clothes gradually became
wet ana solt, ana eventually comfortable
ana warm. 1t was, indeed damp bed to
sleep H. ltt they never c"ught a.colu
ana, marx tins, Tor II Is very important,
WIN the exception OF Nansen brlet at
tack OF ln'hbago, their health did not suf-
fer In any way from the exposure The
members OF the jackson -llarmsworth ex-
petition, who staid for three years in
Franz Josef Land never once suffered
from colds Yet thcy DISD with Nnlv two
exceptions, suffered from severe colds di-
rcctly they reached civilization,
Very interesting, too, is Sir Martin
Conway account OF his experiences For
two months, when exploring Spitzbergen,
he and his four comrades were exposed to
considerable prlvations, wero almost con
stantly wet through and frequently had to
sleep IN their wet clothes, yet their health
never suffered in any way from this. But
at tho end Of that time they went down to
Andree's settlement on the coast where
some 40 men were living and where, more
over, there was almost constant Inter
course with the mainland Within two
days OF their arrival Conway and his com.
panions all developed violent colds Still
more striking were his experiences In the
Hinalayas
While among tn" mountains he and his
men, notwithstanding great exposure,
never caught cold. They even visited
native villages without doing so. But
once they came down to village where
there was small European settlement
having communication with the outside
wor!d-one white man had come up three
days previously. There Conway and his
mcnall without exception took bad colds,
which developed, hc thinks, in about q
couple of days. Tho present writer has
heard. too but has been unable to verify
the fact that the men ut the observatory
on the top of Ben Nevis, often living in
the midst OF cloud and rain and snow,
never suffer from colds, but that when
ever they dcsCcrd to inhabited regions
they invariably catch severe ones
Then there is the classical instance Of
the st. kilda cold On that rocky, lonely
island, lying some 40 miles beyond the
western Hcbridei, there are nigh upon
100 inhabitants, who keep Il few sheep and
cows, cultivate some 40 acres and collect
the eggs, feathers and young of the numcr-
Gus sea fowl Their coast is 50 precipitous
and their seas are so stormy that for $
m&ntha out Of the II they arc practically
inaccessible Formerly they were visited
only once II year by ship from the main
land Now several call there during the
summer, including excursion steamers
from Liverpool and Glasgow. The curious
point is that whenever ii ship reaches the
island all the inhabitants, including the
very infants at the breast, are seized with
Il cold. This fact has been known for
nearly 200 years and greatly interested
DR.. johnson when he and Boswell wero
making their famous tour of the Icbrides,
The problem of this st. kilda cold long
puzzled learned men, who seem. never to
have suspected the simple explanation of
the mystery. One solution suggested was
that the steward always brought whisky
with him, and that it was the intcmpcr-
ance and jolllty which took place on the
occasion which caused The epidemic. An.
other explanation wak%hat a ship could
only reach tho island from the mainland
when tho wind was from the northeast,
. The wind, not the strangers, caused the
cold" This cold is still characteristics of
the island, and is called by tho inhabitants
the strangers cold" On the arrival of
tho first Steamer every summer all tho is
land folk fall victims; afterward many Of
them escape. The attack lasts eight or ton
days, and is often accompanied by bron-