NORTHERN ITlGHT "
Published monthly by the Uanlakleet
•yj Eskimo School [/-*
Ufutlakleet Alaska.
E. E. Van Ness.Editor
Henry Ivar.off.Hr si:.ess Manager
One Dollar a \ear
Single Copies Fifteen Cents
EDITORIAL
T. \V. Ritchie, author of Human
Physiology says:
' ‘Of all the evils that l efell man when
he left his forest home anti came to
dwell within walls and doors.the lack
of fresh air is the greatest by its own
activity, the body is constantly man
ufacturing great quantities of a very
poisonous gas,—carbon dioxid.
Within doors,when the lungs have
thrown o:7 the carbon dioxid, they oft
en find their work of no avail, for the
air is impriso. cd, and the carbon di
oxid is breathed again into the brags,
reenters the b o d y, and poisons the
cells. The cells then become vv c a k
and diseased, and fail in their work.
Disease germs creep in, the weakened
body can not overcome them,anc! the
troubles thi s started often end only
with the end of life.”
The primitive dwelling of the
Eskimos was the dug out, void of
ventilation,and often occupied by two
or more families. In this damp room
they cooked, ate, slept and lived dur
ing the long dark winters. As a re
sult of this we have a weak lunged
people who now fall easy victims to
consumption. What can we do?
In the hands of the teachers arc
the boys and girls of this remarkable
b t passing race. We have an oppor
tunity of counteracting to a great
extent this mistake of the past.
Of all the necessary things taught
the Eskimo there is none so essential
as ventilation.
Ordinary air as we inhale it con
tains 4 parts in 10,000 of carbon
diox id, a very poisonous gas. Air ex
haled from the lungs contains 100
times as much.
It is carbon dioxid that unfits for
breathi-.g the air in oar I10 ues, school
rooms and churches.
In one hour an adult throws on
from the lungs one half cubic foot of
carbon dioxid. Ivnough to quite unfit
for our use 1000 cubic lect of air.
Therefore a congregation of 100
adults would vitiate 100000 cubic feet
of air in. 60 minutes. This means
a room 200 ft. by 50 ft. by 10 ft.
which is some twenty times the size
of an ordinary school room and six
times the size of a country church.
With all openings closed, o* c hun
dred adults in an hour’s time unfit?
for use the iooooo cubic feet of air.
Think of what the same congrega
tion v ovdd do in an hour in a room
one sixth the si e. Cognizant of this
even the white mail’s buildi: gs are
made as tight as iumler, paper,
cement and moss can possibly make
them. And in many ii stances 1.0
thought is paid to scientific ventila
tion.
To keep the carbon dioxid in a
room i ithe proper proportion a man
must have .1000 cubic feet of air every
hour. It being quite impossible to
change the air in a room more than
five times an hoar without causing
drafts. It is obvious that each person
should have 600 cubic feet of air
space. It is a sad mistake to believe
that because air is cool that it is
always fit for breathing.-continued