POLAR HOSPITALS 



almost through the whole of that winter in the Arctic. 

 Several of the others suffered from slight frostbites on 

 that same occasion, and many times did this occur after- 

 wards, but none was so serious as to cause the loss of even 

 a finger or a toe, except the sad case of poor Sergeant 

 Elison, of which I shall speak at length hereafter. 



During our sojourn in the north two simple fractures 

 occurred; Sergeant Gardiner broke his left leg by slipping 

 on the ice and falling against some projecting point, while 

 endeavoring to read the tide-gauge. This occurred Novem- 

 ber 30, 1 88 1, but by Christmas of the same year he walked 

 round again, with the aid of a strong cane. On December 

 13, Sergeant Rice was unfortunate enough to break his 

 left shoulder bone, by falling against a sharp piece of 

 hummocky ice, while out in the dark, searching for our 

 little Eskimo Jens, who had in a moment of depression of 

 spirits taken it into his head to wander off in search of a 

 happier hunting ground. He was overtaken by Dr. Pavy 

 and a party about nine miles distant from the house. 

 Rice's shoulder mended rapidly and neither he nor Gar- 

 diner ever suffered thereafter in consequence of their in- 

 juries. 



It is strange that in that extreme cold climate, no so- 

 called colds, such as catarrh or bronchitis, were ever 

 incurred by any of us. This is the more remarkable, if 

 one considers the rapid changes of temperature which we 

 met when going out of a comparatively warm room into 

 the outer air where it was sixty degrees below zero, or 

 even lower; or when coming in after spending a few hours 

 inhaling those icy blasts. 



A few light cases of tonsilitis occurred, but they were 

 of so trifling a nature, that they hardly deserve mention. 

 Private Bender had suffered previously from an affection 

 of the lungs, and often complained of pains in his left 

 side, but recovered entirely, and did some good service 

 afterward. 



The spirits of the party often became somewhat depressed 

 during those dreadful long Arctic nights. When the face 

 of old father Sol left us on the 16th of October, not to be 

 seen again until the 1st of March, there was a general 

 feeling of lassitude, loss of appetite and sleepiness in some 



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