Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1916-03-18


500 SHY Miles Tor Treatment. az oag
H"That these people realize and ap
preciate what we are trying to do for
Them" said the medical officer. i'm
charge of the trachoma work at the
headquarters OF, the public health
service in Washington recently, was
impressed upon me By an incident
which occurred when | was at tho
Hindman hospital not long since. s"a-
IAN old man brought in his son who
was badly afflicted With trachoma. II
was decided that an operation was
necessary, butt the boy overheard us
tell his father this The lad slipped
out and ram away, home. 1t was ~.
miles across the mountains. The fa'
Their and son had walked this 20 miles
to the hospital Etr''N 'n" !"
sThe father at once walked back
found his son and repeated the long
foot journey into Hindman the next
day. where the operation was per.
formed and the boy cured. That meant
q 60-milee trip on fOot-hard, rough
going all the way--by the parent tc
force his son to take advantage OF the
opportunity offered by the govern
next. H:% aa la @'Nt- ~ 80 .t'
when we seelthese things know
our work is we'll worth doing
The appeal of such incidents to the
hearts of a simple, natural and kindly
people is manifest. There was the case
of a mother OF four children, none Of
whom she had ever seen. The vision Of
both eyes was so far impaired by ira
choma that in bright sunlight she
could not recognize anyone. Following
brief treatment at one of the noun
tain hospitals she returned to hel
family and saw her children for the
first time.
There was an old man who was led
40 miles across the mountains fol
treatment. Though blind for years, his
vision was restored and he returned
home without escort.
AS stated, there is no miracle-cur
about it; no use Of marvellous eye-wa
ter, no mystery whatever. Eliminating
medical terms, it is largely business
of rolling back and sandpapering the
inside of the eyelids. After that comes
thorough cleansing, continued regular
ly by the patient. OF course, if the con
valescent returns to the cabin and
uses infected towels, the disease re-
turns.
The work of the government sur
geons in the mountains is not limited
to trachoma. Not long ago one I'M
usually busy day, an assistant surgeon
general of the public health service
received an unexpected visitor. 1t was
a teacher from Hindman, KY, where
the eye hospital has since been estab
lished. She had ridden % miles to the
railroad station and thence had made
the long trip to Washington upon most
urgent business. The assistant sur
geon general had made her acquain'
LuiiCc III COuIS VI tHC lioCiionhe' A1S'S
Investigations,
Finding Typhoid Source.
Doctor" she said, there are 50
cases of typhoid in Hindman and no
means of caring for them. We do not
know the cause of the epidemic and
came here to see if you cannot help
u.s." .s
How long will you be here?' she
was asked.
II am starting back this afternoon"
"We'll send one of our men with
you"
So, the second day following, fed
eral health officer accompanied the
schoolteacher on the ride into Hind
man. In sense, the surgeon went
armed, but not with rife and ammuni'
ton. A packhorse bore his arms-a
very ordinary looking box containing
a field laboratory especially designed
for emergency war against typhoid.
He had serums for those already i'll
and assisted the local doctors mate
rally in treating those already sick.
What was more important, he had tho
means of locating the cause Of the cpl
demic. This, after patient investiga'
ton, he finally discovered.
A typical mountain stream, cold and
clear as crystal, runs through the cen,
ter of the town. Some three miles up
this stream the federal surgeon found
the home of Chronic typhoid case"
In Hindman the stream flowed near
a we'll used by the pupils of the school.
The water from the stream, bearing