Iceland: Horseback tours in saga landRussell, W. S. C. (Waterman Spaulding Chapman)
History
Iceland: Horseback tours in saga land
Russell, W. S. C. (Waterman Spaulding Chapman)
Iceland -- Description and travel; Sagas -- History and criticism
The flow of the boiling water is quite constant throughout the year
and the temperature is constant. My thermometer registered 95°C in the
runway. Considerable steam rises from the water and when the air is still
it is most difficult to obtain an unclouded photograph. The water is
impregnated with hydrogen sulfid and a little carbon dioxid. This is true
of most of the hot springs in the country.
On our return to the city we passed near the Leper Hospital, an excellent
modern structure located near the sea. None but physicians are allowed
admission to visit. While the Teutonic races are quite free from this
ancient disease, nevertheless it does exist in Norway, around the
shores of the Baltic, in Iceland, Scotland and in those portions of the
United States settled by Scandinavians. It seems to effect islands and
sea-coasts and because of this it is often stated that the disease in
Iceland has been perpetuated by eating tainted fish in times of famine.
Credit is due the physicians of Iceland in not only controlling the
plague but in actually obtaining a steady decrease. This disease goes
hand in hand with tuberculosis, that is, lepers are usually tubercular.
Until recently tuberculosis was prevalent in Iceland owing to the damp
and unventilated houses especially on the farms. Thanks to the energetic
crusade of the Icelandic doctors the conditions are rapidly improving
and both leprosy and tuberculosis are decreasing. The Surgeon-General,
Guðmundur Björnsson, told me with considerable pride that the percentage
of tuberculosis in Iceland was now less than in Europe or the United
States.
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