Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-15
TELLS OF TIMELY RESCUE
Carried Out to Sea on a Cake of
Ice.
HAD TO KILL FAITHFUL DOGS
Immediate Gratitude of the People
Aided-Little Money and
Few Crimes.

| LII. WlIfred Il. Grenfell. whose work
among the deep sea fishermen of Labrador
is known the world over told an audi
ence that crowded the Central Presby-
terrain Church last evening of his expert
ence on that bleak coast, of the thousand
and one ways in which he has taken
practical Christian message to those peo-
pie and Of the gratitude he has received
for the unselfish labors of himself and his
helpers.
The lecture was illustrated with many
stereopticon slides, showing the physical
conditions in Labrador. types of the peo-
Pile and the hospitals and boats used by
DR.. Grenfell in his work.
| AS the climax Of the lecture he told
OF his thrilling rescue from a watery
grave under the ice packs after about
twenty-four hours exposure on a small
chunk of ice five miles from shore.
His Thrilling Rescue.
| Easter morning. he said. he started out
on trip to distant patient. with his
faithful dogs Sending others in the
| party around by safe route, DR.. Gren-
| fell started across bay on the ice. After
going some distance he discovered the ice
was too thin to hold him and his sled He
found that he could not go back either,
and before he fully realized the danger
he and his dogs were precipitated into
the water. He cut the dogs loose from
the sled and the faithful animals battled
with the ice cakes. trying to find one large
enough to hold them. One finally reach
ed cake of ice about five feet square.
but as DR.. Grenfell was pulling himself
| toward it by the rope of the harness. the
dog slipped off his collar. Then the battle
with the ice began again. Another dog
| reached the ice cake and DR.. Grenfell
H10 Ac Ton II
for safety. DR.. Grenfell sent his dogs to
a larger cake enarby and by the ropes
fastened to the dogs pulled himself onto
it. The wind rapidly swept the ice pan
DR.. Grenfell and his clothes were thor
oughly wet and he had to throw away
some of them. Owing to the intense cold
DR.. Grenfell needed more protection for
his own body.
ut was a question of which should die
first he said, describing it last night.
In some ways~it seemed blessing to die
first. I managed to stab three of the dogs
and used their skins as clothing. Piling
up their bodies as a shelter the remain
ing dogs and I lay down and went to
sleep when night came on. The wind
carried us out to sea, but later it shifted
and we were carried against ice banks
| five miles from shore. I made a pole of
the legs of the dogs had killed and hung
the only remaining article of my own
| clothing-myshirt-ou as a signal of dis
| tress Luckily, a boat was in the vicinity
and We were rescued some time later.
II have rarely seen those fishermen cry
but the five who came to get me that
| morning had tears coursing down their
checks as they pulled me aboard their
| ship"
AS he showed the pictures Of the faith
full dogs who had been with him during
| the ordeal and of the man who had saved
his life after the night on the ice pan
| there was hearty applause.
Work Among the Fishermen.
DIR. Grenfell outlined the creed which
moves him tn his work in Labrador
"The true message of Gods love- he
said. tells the people not only the good
| things that are coming in the next world.
but also gives them some of the good
things in this world
| ut Is strange that the message of
Christ should be limited to theory he
| said again. II believe that IL Christ were
living today He would not only preach
against evil places. but would also try
to establish good places to which to at
tract people.
When 1 went to Labrador. seventeen
years ago." he said, land saw so many
sick untreated and so many bad cond-
tions unremedied 1 felt that the prob
lem could not BE- dealt with in the ortho-
dox way" So instead of preaching to
them or reading from the Bible, he ex-
planned. he treated them for their dis
eases and thus showed them Christ's love
/ for men.
1.-THE true joy of missionary life is in
the immediate gratitude that follows.
| he stated. when you have set a boken
leg and eased the pain the appreciation
| Of the patient is quickly expressed or
| course, we sometimes found stiff oppose
| ton when we tried to help Them, when,
for instance, we downed the liquor traf-
| fc. We touched their pocketbooks then.
Christ himself interfered with the money
I ri OF irrn1
| than his sermons
When sailing up and down the coast
| on his steamer, the Strathcona. he said.
| he finds many ways to help the people
| and does many errands fo- them. He
acts as preacher, magistrate policeman
doctor and in other capacities. Once, he
said. he was called upon to carry pro-
| posal Of marriage from a young man in
the south Of Labrador to a girl way up
north.
| II got a refusal, and I don't think 1
| will again carry that kind of a message
at least, not for any one except myself"
| he added.
Few Crimes Committed.
There are no policemen in Labrador"
he continued. when we need one we
swear in one for the occasion and then
| release him when the work is done We
do not keep any on the payroll when he
| is idle. There is prohibition along the
| COAST ana there Is no excess or money
There is no wealthy class and so there
is no temptation to rob. So we have few
| crimes
"Tubercuosis is found very prevalent
! in Labrador. AS the people thought their
greatest enemy was cold. they believed
| their greatest friend was heat. So when
a person Is Ill with tuberculosis the win
dows are closed and the rooms kept hot.
| They favor the bacillus and kill the
patient. But we have found the open-air
treatment very successful. He described
some of the methods of meeting the
disease, transferring some of the patients
to hospital, building outdoor shelters for
others.
DR.. Grenfell spoke highly OF the nurses
who have helped him in the work in
Labrador.
| ''They are undeniably the best mission
aries In the world he declared They
are loved by the natives whom they have
| helped. he said. One nurse who spent
/ q little time In of the