The St. Louis Republic., 1901-07-23
HEAT WAVE IS MARKED BY
UNUSUALLY LOW DEATH RATE.
Absence Humidity Moisture the Responsible
This Condon--General Health of the City High
ard low % Avoid Prostration - Method
of Rcviving Heat Victims.

Absence OF moisture from the great heat
wave sweeping over the city accounts for
remarkably low death rate. 4 correspond
ing degree of humidity would have over
crowded the hospitals and made the recov-
cry OF the army of the sick extremely doubt
ful.
A striking feature of the drought is that
the general health OF 81. Louis has never
been at such high standard. Physicians
of the City Hospital staff say that the pr;ic-
tice OF their profession has decreased GO per
cent since the visitation of the withering
liroCco.
Humidity brings disease and pestilence.
None of these dreaded conditions have
plagued the city during this. the longest and
hottest period in her history.
Acting Weather Forecaster Eugene L.
Spencer finds from the record of the drought
that at no time within its torrid sway of a
month has the atmosphere been charged
with more than 20 per cent of moisture,
which f. incomparably below that of any
similar heat conditions observed by the lc-
cal Weather Bureau since its foundation.
The dry and blisterins heat of Arizona and
New Mexico has been felt here in all OF
It's white intensity. Every breath OF air is
heavy with furnace vapor. No relief has
been found on street cars and other vehicles
that make a circulation of their own. The
skin exposed to these burning blasts has
been scorched I'm the glare.
EVERY HALF HOUR
BROUGHT NEW VICTIM.
The effects of this strange contrast to the
traditional ST. Louis summer flied the heat
prostration pavilion at the City Hospital
yesterday afternoon with victims, who be
gan arriving at l o'clock in all stages OF
consciousness. There was no break In these
arrivals up TO o'clock. Every half hour
brought a new victim. Between ana
o'clock they were received at the rate Of one
every fifteen minutes.
TWENTY CASES RECEIVED
BEFORE O'CLOCK.
Doctor Julian A. Gehrung. in charge of the
heat ward. has been almost prostrated Tor
TWO days by the incessant demands upon
MIN. Heroic haste has been used in resiv-
ing nearly every patient. Constant care ana
watchfulness has been required 10 pull the
thirty persons under his charge through to
recovery. Very few cases have been lost
since the first patient was received.
What / have dreaded since the heat wave
overwhelmed us" said Doctor Gehrung. ''is
q rise In the humidity. Our experience has
taught US that heat prostrations are on the
advance whenever the presence of moisture
in the atmosphere keeps pace with the tenn
perature. I feel justified in saying that the
hospital would not have held all the heat
victims II we had undergone the usual hu-
mid heat that is felt here every summer.
st Louis has been lucky. 1t has been
missing These persons stretched out here
would be enjoying the average health now
II they had let alcohol alone. Nearly every
case / have received this afternoon had It's
origin In a saloon. The class of patients
shows that persons who order their habits
en- an intelligent plan escape heat prostra-
tion."
The hospital gong changed four lines and
the overworked physician turned to new
arrival The victim was led to the heat pa
viIion in the hospital court. He was stupid
with the paralysis that marks sunstroke.
Attendants helped him TO remove every
stitch of clothing. while Doctor GehrunS
oeftly applied his little glass thermometer
This mans temperature Is loe degrees AT
this moment he remarks. Other ATTENDANTS
had filled a porcelain bath tub with blocks
of ice. The man, whose blood was as near
boiling az that of a human being ever gets
without death intervening to end his suher-
ings was lifted into the ice water.
HOW THE PATIENTS
TAKE ARCTIC PLUNGE.
AT the plunge he shrieked. The shock was
SO great that a momentary collapse caused
him to sink peacefully into the arctic water.
A staying hand held his head above the
surface. Another block OF ice was applied
10 the back of the skull. and the glass
Thermometer was dipped beneath the chill
,ng tide and held firmly against the victims
skin. Attendants relieved another at
this duty. Their hands came out of the
water numb. and were beaten back into life
by their fellow-helpers. The cooling process
was continued until the glass read 102 de-
grees
"Out OF the water" shouted the physician.
as the gong changed with the news of an
other approach. The last patient was re-
moved from the tub and placed on his feet.
His benumbed legs sank beneath him. and