Evening star., 1922-10-22

"A
few steps farther on to the brow of
the hill disclosed beautiful blue
sheet of water winding irregularly
among the hills. a reservoir Of ample
size for a large town and easy Of
access for our dog team, which we
hoped to purchase from the Eskimos.
Thursday, September s, was a busy
day for every one. We stripped the
Bowdoin Of all her running rigging.
The sails I decided to leave right in
the booms. 1t is customary on arctic
ships to dry them thoroughly and
stow below, with the result in the
spring of a mildewed sail, due to the
excessive dampness below decks. 1t
is far better to let them remain out
in the exceedingly dry, cold air. we'll
covered to protest them from the
abrasions of drifting SHOWS, yet per-
mitting of a free circulation of air.
Furthermore. all space below decks il
much needed for storage and arrange
ment of the personal paraphernalia,
one of the many details conducive to
happiness during the long, tedious
months to follow.
>
ran out the hawser to a large rock on
the beach, and turned the Bowdoins
head to what we judged would be the
prevailing winds. Our deckload was
then landed well above high-water
mark. This was followed by prac-
tically all provisions and camping
equipment on board ship as neces-
sary precaution against fire. At home
the neighbors' doors are open. Not
SO in the arctic on a dark night at 40
and so degrees below zero, ship af1re.
clothes being destroyed. Not even
woods for shelter or fuel.
Many an arctic ship has been sub
jected to this danger. The Roosevelt
(Peary) was afire In 1906. The Fran
(Sverdrup) was afire in 1899. The
Gtoa (Amundsen) was afire in 1903
and again in 1905. The L. S. S.
Rogers was burned at Siberia. For
tunateIy, the crew could retreat to
neighboring Eskimo village. else all
would have perished.
The forecastle, engine room and
after cabin of the Bowdoin were all
equipped with chemical fire extin-
guishers and q fire hole kept open
excepting during the coolest part of
the winter.
'0UR hunters continued to bring in
~ ptarmigan, old squaws (Hereeda
hyemalis) and elder ducks. all of
,,,bich woro ypost, oocantahIe for 40
is we'll known, practically every arctic
expedition depends entirely upon its
surroundings for it supply of fresh
meat, a sure preventative of that
dread nutritional disorder, scurvy.
which was so prevalent in the arctic
during the earlier expeditions, which
subsisted largely upon salt beef.
American whalemen recognized this
fact some seventy years ago by their
association with Eskimos. who aided
them in their work. If a sailor
showed scorbutic symptoms he was
sent Immediately to the igloos Of the
Eskimos for treatment, which was
simply that he live as they live, on
meat alone, and much Of it raw meat.
Charles Francis Hall, who began his
work from the decks Of an American
whaler, the barque George Henry Of
New London, Conn.,, was the first arc
tic explorer to take advantage of this
truth, and courageously relinquished
all thoughts of fresh provisions. lime
Juice, baths. ETC., and lived on tho nat
ural resources of the country alone. =
Schwalka and Glider adopted the
to-
Peary. who always insisted on plenty
of fresh meat for his men, knowing
full well that in spite of the knowl-
edge Of Psychologists, cIinicians. hy-
gienists, biological chemists and the
medical fraternity scurvy was impos-
sible II an ample supply Of meat
could be secured.
It Is hard to understand why medi-
cal men did not take cognizance of
the fact that scurvy was unknown
among the Eskimo up to the time he
came into contact with the whites and
began to eat the white mans food.
The Eskimos Of North Greenland
have subsisted upon meat alone for
at least 1000 years, a period of time
Of sufficient length to test its anti
scorbutic content About SO per cent
of their food Is eaten in a raw state,
one-half of which is in a decidedly
putrid condition. When without meat
of any description and practically
starving, 1 have seen them boiling
rock weed, and when walking over
the hills in the snring often noticed
my men plucking green leaves of a
certain kind of plant. The total
amount Of vegetables consumed would