Medicine: At Sea

In mid-Atlantic, aboard the U.S.S. Eastern Glade, bound out from Norfolk, Va., to Cape Town, S. Afr., the captain sweated to recall what simple medical skill he had stored up. Two of his crew were dying and he had no ship's doctor. Nor could his wireless, fumbling about, reach a ship with a doctor. It did, however, make contact with the U. S. S. West Calumb going north from Buenos Aires to Boston. Doctorless too, the West Calumb's captain sent his wireless calls fingering until he made contact with the French cruiser Jeanne d'Arc. Then it became relatively simple for the seamen's symptoms to be relayed by the West Calumb and translated to the French doctors, who relayed back pertinent prescriptions. The sick seamen survived. The story was told when the West Calumb reached Boston last week.