The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1921-06-19

cause an Of its ships had been lost In the
war. Consequently, Richie did not open
the custom house ashore, but carried on his
duties in an Office aboard the steamship Sol
streif, anchored half q mile or 80 south Of
the house.
This whaling factory ashore Is the far
thest south factory in the world, and build
ing nearby, used to store powder over the
frozen months, is, 30 far as 1 have been able
to discover, the farthest south permanent
building in the world. Near it Is . huge
tank for the storage Of whale oil, and this
is the farthest south oil tank in the world
At the base of the volcanic mountain, only
q stones throw from the factory, Is an
impressive little patch of black volcanic
sand into which have been embedded some
twenty or more headstones and crosses and
roughly cast monuments. This is the grave
yard used by the whalers as the last rest
ing place for those who fall victims to the
accidents inevitable in such q strenuous and
hazardous calling.
ODDLY enough, the biggest monument on
~ this far southern graveyard Is erected to
the memory of a man whose body does not
lie beneath it. He was gunner on one OF
the. whale hunting boats, and his duties made
il necessary for him to stand in the very bow
of the boat, ready to shoot the harpoon in
spite of wind and weather. I've seen these
hardy men a dozen times cling desperately
to their guns when the little ship plunged
and the green seas came over solid and tore
at their oilskins in voracious greed. Usually.
the men manage to hold on, or, As happened
last season, are torn loose only to be hurled
back against the mast or the winch with
broken leg as q memento. But this one
gunner was not swept straight back. The
seas tore him loose and flung him up and
out, and, before the boat could be stopped
and Unanswered back in tie heavy weather,
be. was gone His body was never found,
but the whalers, at considerable effort, cast
a really impressive monument Of concrete in
his memory and set it Up in the center of the
little bcrial ground.
Shut OF as they are from an possible
contact with civilization and working under
conditions that make sickness and accidents
a foreSone conclusion, these whalers must
Of necessity have medical advice immedic tely
available. They have built up strong union
in Norway, and this union not only governs
them Is regards to labor, but it also does
what it can to provide for their creature
comforts while they are in the Antarctic.
One Of these provisions is a physician Of
excellent professional standing who is en-
gagged by the union and paid q coed salary
by them and who goes south on one Of the
ships Of the feet every year. For q good
many seasons past, this important and self
sacrificing post has been held by DR.. Jakob
Frost: Of Andebu, Tonsberg, Norway. His
patients are any or all Of the men in the
South Shetland islands, and he charges them
NO fees Yet I have seen him work early and
late In emergencies, as though every hour
meant extra pay, and my own ill-luck gave.
me personal knowledge Of his patience and
good win toward all suffering humanity.
DR.. Frost can thus claim to be the ply
stefan with the farthest south practice in the
world. The only man who might dispute
that claim Is DR.. Mcclure, of Edinburgh,
Scotland; who has been down there on the
steamship Neko-a whaief Of British registry
ut.sf course, manned BY Norwesians, FOG