The Past The origins and early use of radiology in South Africa Radiography in South Africa before 1899

JC de Villiers In South Africa as elsewhere, physicists and photographers initially showed the greatest interest in the "new rays" which Roentgen announced at a scientific meeting in January 1896. In July of that year, the Port Elizabeth Amateur Photographic Society obtained a complete apparatus for "taking photographs by means of the new process" from London and on Thursday, 13August 1896, the Port Elizabeth Amateur Photographic Society invited a representative of the Port Elizabeth Telegraph to attend a demonstration of their apparatus. The journalist reported glowingly on the new wonder' and the president of the Society, Mr.A. Walsh, offered to demonstrate the apparatus to doctors to acquaint them with its possible uses. This was probably the first x-ray demonstration in South Africa.' In October of the same year, the Cape Town Photographic Society arranged a lecture/demonstration by Professor Holm on the mode of production of Roentgen rays, and an x-ray picture of a hand was taken by way of demonstration. Emeritus Professor of Neurosurgery, University of Cape Town

Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR), due to its greater wealth, was somewhat better supplied with equipment than the Orange Free State. The British Military authorities had also underestimated the magnitude of the campaign awaiting them and experienced great organizational difficulties, in their medical as well as in their military arrangements. Radiology was in its infancy and its exact place in military surgery was not known.

The Siemens and Halske apparatus
This apparatus used by Gould for his demonstration in Krugersdorp, was later used in the hospital in Varleys Hotel in that town. In April 1900, just before the British occupation of Johannesburg, the x-ray machine was transferred to the French Hospital in the Marist Brother's School in that city. After the war it was sold to the Jagersfontein diamond mine and its Ruehmkorf coil can be seen in the Adler museum of medical history in Johannesburg.'

Apparatus in the Staatsmeisjesschool
The management committee of Het Transvaalsche Roode Kruis bought an x-ray apparatus for the Pretoria Volkshospitaal in 1897 and this was transferred to the Staatsmeisjesschool when it became the base hospital of the First Dutch Red Cross Ambulance in December 1899.
Professor J. A. Korteweg of this unit reported in 1899 that despite the apparatus being rather old, it was still capable of rendering good service provided it was handled with patiencel The radiographers were Mr Wierbitsky. a local photographer, and Mr CF. Delfos, who during the war had become a small arms and bomb manufacturer and later also became interested in x-ray apparatus."

Apparatus at Boshoff
On 13 October 1899, a Spargo x-ray tube and screen were ordered for the base hospital at Boshoffby Dr Ramsbottom, head of the Orange Free State Red Cross Ambulance. A week later he requested the Landdrost to make the local school available as a hospital as a safe place for the x-ray apparatus was required."

German/Belgian Ambulances' Apparatus in Krugersdorp
In April 1900, when the Boer retreat had already commenced, Dr J.
Fessler of the German/Belgian ambulance on returning from Natal, was asked to go to Krugersdorp with the x-ray apparatus, which he had brought from Muenchen. Since December 1899 this machine as well as some other equipment belonging to the German/Belgian ambulance, had been standing idle in the warehouses of the Red Cross in Pretoria. The x-ray apparatus was installed in the Boer hospital in Varley's Hotel, which was supplied with electricity by a dynamo driven by a steam engine. Fessler mentions an engineer of Siemens and Halske in Johannesburg who connected the x-ray apparatus to the mains supply, which eliminated the use of accumulators. (

The First German Red Cross Ambulance, Jacobsdal
Dr H. Kuettner, chief surgeon of this ambulance, was an experienced radiographer as he had written his doctoral thesis on the subject of radiology in war surgery, based on his experience in the Graeco-Turkish War of 1897. 4 This German unit was sent to Jacobsdal -a seven-day journey from the nearest railway station and three times as far as the nearest sourc of electricity' Fortunately the ambulance had been joined in Pretoria by a trained electro-technician, Isaac Rousseau van Alphen, son of the Postmaster General of the ZAR. Van Alphen travelled to Johannesburg where he requisitioned a four horse power petrol engine at one mine and a dynamo at another, "acquired" a quantity of petroleum and a number of light bulbs which he carted back to Jacobsdal via Bloemfontein. "Presently the x-ray apparatus was installed, accumulators were loaded and the African interior saw for the first time rays of that great physicist," Kuettner said with German pridebut incorrectly. II

The Second German Red Cross Ambulance, Springfontein
The x-ray apparatus supplied to this ambulance by the German Central Red Cross Committee, was probably identical to the one used by the to page 14 The Past _.Rad iography in South Africa before 1899 frampage 13 First German Red Cross ambulance in Jacobsdal and was under the care of Dr Ringel, who had also seen service in the Graeco-Turkish war. That x-rays were extensively used is indicated in publications by members of this ambulance unit."

The First Dutch Red Cross Ambulance
A new x-ray apparatus for this ambulance arrived in Lourenco Marques as Prof Korteweg, surgeon to this unit, returned home on 20 January 1900. Itwas intended for the base hospital of the First Dutch Red Cross ambulance in the Staatsmeisjesschool, whose rather antiquated machine would then be sent to their forward station at Pepworth's farm. This never materialized as all the accumulators were broken during off-loading in Lourenco Marques and as a result the ambulance unit at Pepworth's Farm was stranded without an x-ray machine."

Dr EA. Piper's x-ray machine at Colesberg
On January 15 the Hoofdkomitee of the Transvaalsche Roode Kruis received a telegram from the Ambulance Comite of the Free State offering the services of Dr Piper of Winburg with his own x-ray apparatus to the Second Dutch Red Cross ambulance. Dr Coster, head of this unit, was only too eager to take up this offer and on 17 January 1900 promised to contact the Red Cross in Bloemfontein directly. What happened after that is not clear because two days later Dr Mangold, chief of the Johannesburg Red Cross ambulance at Colesberg, informed the Hoofdkomitee that Dr Sabon and Dr Piper, with the x-ray apparatus, were working with him at his hospital. Proof that the x-ray apparatus was in use, is provided by Dr Mangold's telegram of January 30, to the Red Cross in Pretoria, ordering chemicals for developing and fixing the x-ray plates."

Unused x-ray apparatus on the Boer side
Prolonged negotiations between Dr W. Leyds, Minister plenipotentiary of the ZAR and the firm of Siemen's and Halske with Mr Barth Veth as intermediary, resulted in three Roentgen ray machines being shipped to Lourenco Marques for the Boers. This was during the guerilla phase of the war and there is no evidence as to who was to receive them or work them for the Boers.These machines never left Lourenco Marques and were returned to Germany after the war."

Radiological services on the British side
This was the first war in which x-ray machines were supplied by the War Office as standard equipment for general and some stationary hospitals, i.e. hospitals where the wounded received definitive surgical treatment. Radiological apparatus was not supplied to field hospitals where the wounded were only admitted very transiently for essential life-saving care as it was thought that radiological examinations were not necessary at that stage of management. There were 22 general hospitals in South Africa but many of them took over previous stationary or private hospitals so that it is not always clear where and when an x-ray apparatus was allocated, whether it was received or if it functioned. That the War Office's intentions

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SA JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY. January 2000 to supply this service did not always materialize was pointed out by the pioneer British radiologist, Dr John Hall Edwards who was attached to the Imperial Yeomanry Hospital at Deelfontein. Of ten x-ray machines initially provided by the War Office, only four had reached South Africa by November 1899. Two of these were located so far from the battlefield that they were of little use, while the remaining six were apparently in transit or about to be dispatched from England."

Standard x-ray equipment supplied to General Hospitals
This comprised lO-inch fieldservice coils manufactured by Apps & Co. or Cox & Co, fitted with ordinary spring-hammer interrupters; 6-cell lithanode accumulators of 30 ampere-hours capacity, fluorescent screen; Cox's "Record Tubes"; a Mackenzie-Davidson's couch, portable cross-thread localizer and the necessary photographic materials." When preparations for the war were being made and hospital personnel allotted, care was taken to appoint one officer with at least an elementary knowledge of skiagraphy to each generalor stationary hospitaL The intention was that this officer should devote all his time to x-ray work but it soon became apparent that the large numbers of wounded and sick demanded the attention of all the medical officers. Despite this limitation of their radiological activities, some of these medical officers kept up a special interest in this work and became very skilled at it. Later a number of "expert radiographers" were sent out to South Africa and rendered excellent service.

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The Past -Radiography in South Africa before 1899 frampage 14 J Hall Edwards (12. 1.1901) found the late awakening of the War Office to the radiological needs inexcusable as he had long pleaded for such services to be organized timeously but he had been ignored. In his view, x-rays had not been given a fair chance because in some hospitals, despite excellent apparatus being available,there was no competent person to use it so that it posed a danger rather than a help. Some deserving hospitals were not supplied with the necessary apparatus and at a large hospital in Pretoria he found a Mackenzie-Davidson's cross-thread localizer being used by the staff as a developing table for their Kodak films!"

No.1 General Hospital, Wynberg
When the old military barracks were upgraded to become a hospital, an x-ray room was installed and fitted with modern equipment, including a Mackenzie-Davidson localizing apparatus. Electricity was obtained from the mains so that accumulators could be dispensed with. The experienced Mr (later Sir) Robert Fox Symons was in charge of the x-ray service.'?

No.2 General Hospital, Wynberg
This tent hospital, which was erected on the parade ground below NO.1General Hospital in Wynberg, consisted of 99 double-fly marquees, with a total bed capacity of 504. 20 The Officer in charge was Colonel A.W Duke and the surgeon/radiographer Lieutenant H.H. Norman." This hospital was transferred to Pretoria in July 1900.

No.3 General Hospital, CapeTown
This hospital, also under canvas, was located in Rondebosch, Cape Town, in close proximity to the Portland hospital. The Officer in Charge was ColonelO. G. Wood, the registrar! secretary was Major (later Sir) Alfred Keogh and Lieutenant N. Ensor performed the x-ray work. 21 ,22 This hospital was later split into two sections, one going to Springfontein and the other to Kroonstad.

Town Hall Hospital, Ladysmith
Lieutenant and quartermaster Forbes Bruce, who had gained radiographic experience in the Tirah campaign and in Sudan, was transferred from a base hospital in Cairo to Natal in September 1899. He took one of the Abadieh kits with him and on the way to Pietermaritzburg obtained two wet batteries. In Ladysmith he worked under Surgeon Major Westcott at the Town Hall Hospital where Bruce kept up his work despite the building being struck on several occasions during the Boer shelling of the town."

Intombi Camp Hospital, Ladysmith
The x-ray apparatus installed in the temporary "neutral" hospital established close to Ladysmith by mutual agreement between the combatant parties, never functioned satisfactorily due to problems with the lithanode batteries. Lieutenant Arthur Weld was the radiographer in charge of this machine.

No.4 General Hospital, Mooi River
Colonel JA. Clery was in charge of this excellently appointed hospital and the x-ray machine was under the direction of Lieutenant W.R. Blackwell."

General Hospital, Pietermaritzburg
In the early months of the war, this hospital was constituted from the existing hospitals that had found accommodation in various buildings in the town. A local chemist, M. Allerston, did the x-ray work for the military authorities.'

No.5A General Hospital, CapeTown
This section of the NO.5 General took over the old Woodstock Military Hospital, which was altered and renovated to become part of the base hospital group in Cape Town. The officer in charge of the x-ray work was Lieu-tenantA.F. Carlyon."

No.6 General Hospital, Naauwpoort
In July 1900, No.6 General Hospital, which had been waiting at Naauwpoort since 20 February, transferred to Johannesburg where it was accommodated in the grounds of the Wanderers Club. Attached to the operating theatre was the x-ray room, 20 x 12ft, fully equipped, and electricity was available through the mains supply." The officer responsible for the x-ray work: Lieutenant H.C.R. Hime." Later during the war the hospital was moved to Johannesburg.

No.3 StationaryHospital, De Aar
This hospital was predominantly kept busy with patients with medical conditions, chieflytyphoid, and although it had a very good operating theatre, it was hardly used, probably because the Imperial Yeomanry Hospital (IYH) at Deelfontein, with its excellent facilities, functioned as a base hospital and was only 40 miles away.According to Hall Edwards, this x-ray apparatus at No.3 Stationary Hospital was never used."

Temporary Hospital, Modder River
The apparatus used here wasprobably the one for which a Wirnshurst machine was used as power source, as indicated in the report of the Portland Hospital."

No.8 General Hospital, Bloemfontein
This was the major military hospital in Bloemfontein and was under the command of Lieut.-Colonel R.T.Beamish. The medical radiographer was Lieutenant E. McDonnell. 25

No.9 General Hospital, Bloemfontein
The radiography was done by the Civil Surgeons Mr J.L. Brownridge, Mr e.w. Donald and Mr E. Turton who apparently had knowledge of x-ray work according to the official notification of their appointrnent"

No.lO General Hospital, Bloemfontein
After the British occupation the existing hospitals in Bloemfontein became one organizational structure under the command of Major R.e. Freeman and functioned as No.10 General Hospital. Arrangements for the appointment of surgeon radiographers were made after the hospital arrived in South Africa but it is not clear who were appointed."

No.ll General Hospital, Kimberley
During the siege x-rays were taken in Kimberley and by special arrangement some of the Boer doctors could have the occasional Boer patient benefit from this service. The military hospital consisted of the existing hospitals as well as additional huts and marquees; all of which were supplied with electricity by De Beer's. It was a modern 1000 bed hospital with a railway siding within its confines to facilitate patient transport. The interconnected x-ray room and operating theatre were located in a special building. The arrangements for the management of the x-ray machine were made in South Africa but individual doctors have not been identified."

Private Hospitals
A number of hospitals were donated by individuals or organizations through the agency of the Central British Red Cross Committee for service in South Africa. These hospitals were very well equipped and staff was selected from leading British medical insti tutions.

The Portland Hospital, Cape Town -Bloemfontein -Pretoria
This was the first private hospital to be donated to the central British Red Cross Committee and was one of the best-equipped units to serve in South Africa. As the campaign progressed it moved to Bloemfontein at first and later to Pretoria. It had an x-ray machine with an independent power source, which was rarely used. The person in charge of this service was Surgeon-Major e.R. Kilkelly,who later was transferred to the Pretoria branch of the Imperial Yeomanry Hospitals."

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The Irish Hospital
The Irish Hospital was the first private institution to arrive in Pretoria, and was established in the newly completed building of the Palace of Justice on Church Square. Dr Percy Stewart was the radiographer of this unit. When the Irish hospital closed, the x-ray apparatus was donated to the Pretoria division of the Imperial Yeomanry Hospital by Lord Iveagh.'?

Imperial Yeomanry Hospital (IYH), Deelfontein
Of his apparatus at Deelfontein, the pioneer British radiologist J Hall Edwards said that his x-ray equipment was as complete and as efficient as could be purchased at the time. It was, however by no means perfect and he admitted that if he had worked in less fortunate circumstances, he could have been in serious difficulties at times. He emphasized that a great deal of research was necessary to design an apparatus which could do the job of military radiology effectively in adverse circumstances.He had two complete x-ray kits with a dynamo driven by foot-power available at Deelfontein. This institution was handed over to the British GovemmentinApril1901 and became NO.2l. General HospitaPI

Imperial Yeomanry Hospital, Pretoria
When the Irish Hospital in the Palace of Justice in Pretoria closed in Apri11900, their x-ray apparatus was presented to the Imperial Yeomanry Hospital by Lord Iveagh. It was installed in a convenient out-building, which had been used by the previous occupier of the house as a photographic studio. Colonel Kilkelly who had previous experience of x-ray work, was in charge of the radiological to page 17 The Past -Rad iography in South Africa before 1899 (rampage 16 work and also instructed the staff in radiographic technique. When the Pretoria branch of the IYH closed, the x-ray machine was transferred to their hospital at Elandsfontein. This hospital became the NO.22 General in September 1901,30

The Edinburgh and East of Scotland South African Hospital, Norval's Pont
Their x-ray equipment, which was supplied by Newton and Co, London, arrived at Norval's Pont without breakage and the first skiagraph was taken on 25 May, 1900. 32

The Princess Christian Hospital, Pinetown Bridge
An x-ray and dark-room formed part of this excellently equipped hospital but who the radiographerwas,isnotknown."

The Claremont Sanitarium
This luxuriously equipped institution, which was established in Cape Town in 1897, also had x-ray facilities. Part of it was used as a convalescent hospital for British officers. 29

Hospital ships Privately donated ships
With the financial assistance of the Princess ofWales' fund, the steam yacht Midnight Sun was purchased by the Central British Red Cross Committee (CB.R.CC) and under their direction it was converted into the hospital ship, Princess of Wales. The Roentgen ray apparatus, supplied by Messrs. Harry W. Cox, Ltd. was donated by the Duke of Newcastle but for some obscure reason the equipment did not include a localization apparatus." . A cargo ship was offered to the British Government by the American Atlantic Transport Company for conversion into a hospital ship. This was done at considerable expense by a committee ofladies under the direction of Lady Randolph Churchill. The end-result was the American ladies' hospital ship Maine, which was also equipped with x-ray facilities.

Ships commissioned by the War Office
Hospital ships did not merely serve as transports for the sick and wounded but also as base hospitals in Durban harbour, in the earlier phases of the war when hospital facilities in Natal were not sufficient for the great demand created by the campaign in that province. Those ships used predominantly as hospitals were provided with x-raysbut those used purely as transports were not. The Spartan and Trojan were troop ships which were converted to hospital ships in England and both were fitted with x-ray facilities.The Duke of Newcastle donated the apparatus of the Spartan, which was supplied by Messrs. Harry W Cox who alsosupplied the one for the Trojan, but this was fitted in Durban. The Nubia was one of the hospital ships fitted out in Durban by the naval transport department and its x-ray machine was used by Dr Bensusan.

Ra.diography during the war in South Africa
From the numerous publications by doctors who had worked with x-ray machines in South Africa during the war, one gains a view of the work done, the difficulties experienced and the lessons learnt.

Tubes used
. The five ordinary focus tubes supplied by Newton & Co to the Edinburgh and East of Scotland Hospital proved so satisfactory, that no other tubes were used during the six months of the hospital's existence. The Portland Hospital had 12 Crooke's tubes of various makes and resistances, but one of them gave such satisfactory results,with both screen and photography; that they used it exclusively during the time they were in South Africa.

Induction coils
In general the standard Apps' coil supplied by the War Office gave little trouble and was capable of providing a 12-inch spark under favourable circumstances. Coils never seemed to be a source of trouble. The coils used by the German Red Cross units were supplied by Hirschmann in Berlin and provided a spark of similar length.

The interrupter
The platinum contacts of the interrupters tended to wear out rather rapidly and later in the campaign, a MacKenzie-Davidson's motor mercury break was supplied in some instances. This worked very well but even the inventor thought that it was not robust enough for field service.

Plates
The glass plates used by Kuettner were all 24x30 cm, which made transport much easier. Plates were packed half a dozen at a time in tin containers with a tight-fitting covers, held in place with adhesive plaster strips to render them airtight. One plate was usually sufficient, but to take a complete pelvis simultaneously, two plates next to each other were used. Despite all these precautions, handling in adverse conditions and transport took their toll of these fragile plates.

Accumulators
Accumulators were liable to run down rather suddenly if much used to page 18 The Past -Radiography in South Africa before -I899 (rom page 17 without frequent recharging and theoretically, this had to be done at least once a week, but in practice this was not always necessary. The Portland Hospital's staff found the current loss so slight that infrequent recharging sufficed and this was an advantage when they were in Bloemfontein where fuel was particularly scarce. In general, accumulators had to be transported with special care except the ones supplied by Hirschmann of Berlin to the German Red Cross ambulances. These had cells made of celluloid with solid filling and damage was not significant, as refilling with water reconstituted them.

Supply of electricity
Electric lighting installations were relatively common, so that even in some smaller towns in South Africa, stationary hospitals could benefit from this and recharging of accumulators posed no problem.
The lithanode batteries belonging to the Portland Hospital only required recharging at the Rondebosch Electric Light Works, on three occasions during the three months that the hospital spent in Cape Town. In the absence of such a source of electricity, an oil motor and a dynamo was found suitable and could be adapted as circumstances required. Motor and dynamo could be fixed on a metal bed from which they could be detached for transport, the entire apparatus weighing less than 200 Ibs.

Wimshurst machines
The Portland Hospital was lent an "Influence machine" which could not be used in Cape Town as atmospheric conditions were not favourable. Sand on the plates and collectors allowed numerous points of leakage so that sufficient tension for the tubes could not be developed. This source of electricity was apparently used with some success by one of the Guards' Medical Officers at Modder River, where the atmosphere is very dry.Dust was however a greater problem! A Wimshurst influence machine was supplied as a power source for the x-ray apparatus on the hospital ship Maine.

Pedal power machines
The equipment provided for the Imperial Yeomanry Hospital, included a specially designed foot-motor and a small dynamo for charging the accumulators. This bicycle arrangement constructed upon a firm metal frame, was fitted with a heavy flywheel which was driven by two riders by means of a chain, and a belt from the flywheel worked the dynamo. Perfect as it was in theory, in practice it was a complete failure on account of the great effort necessary to generate power.

Steam engines
These varied from a small + hp horizontal steam engine and boiler which could drive the dynamo at a speed sufficient to charge the batteries, as used by the Portland Hospital, to the massive steam engine driving a large dynamo used by the Edinburgh and East of Scotland Hospital. This power source could not run continuously, owing to heating of the dynamo but the time the engine ran to supply lighting proved to be sufficient for the purpose of charging the accumulators. Hall Edwards of the IYH at Deelfontein, connected the coil directly to a dynamo driven by a steam engine of considerable size (about 1 hp) and interposed an electrolytic interrupter with very satisfactory results. Objections to this method were the size and weight of the plant, the fuel required and the time taken to prepare for even the smallest radio-graphic study. The Town Hall Hospital in Ladysmith fortunately had a flour mill next-door and from the mill shaft the dynamo was run, which supplied electricity for charging the accumulators and lighting the operating theatre.

Exposure times
The exposure varied from half a minute up to three quarters of an hour in spinal and hip cases.Prolonged exposures proved a problem in Ladysmith when the town was being shelled, as patients could not be kept still while bombs exploded in and around the hospital.

Localisation
Methods of localisation varied, using different formulae which allowed the position of the bullet and its distance from the plate and therefore from the skin surface, to be calculated. Errors were not uncommon. The Mackenzie-Davidson couch proved of the greatest use to those who understood and employed it and was of value in the diagnosis of the presence and position of bullets and in the examination of fractures.

Dark-rooms
Kuettner's dark-room in Jacobsdal teemed with insects and the temperature at times reached 50°C. The absence of running water and ice for cooling resulted in plates being inadequately washed and dried, which caused deterioration of the pictures. Dust penetrated into every nook and cranny and settled on the drying plates, which acquired rasp-like qualities. The Portland Hospital reserved a bell tent inside which a small dark tent was set up, an arrangement which enabled to them to change plates or even develop films during the day but as a rule all x-ray work had to be done after dark.

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The Past -Radiography in South Africa before 1899 from page 18 They had many opportunities of proving the superiority of images on plates over simple observation by means of a fluorescent screen, though the latter had advantages of its own.
Fesslerin Krugersdorp, found developing of the photographic plates very difficult due to the heat of the sun, the lack of water and the fine, ever-present dust due to the constant wind. He sometimes had to borrow some water from the operating theatre! At Deelfontein, Hall Edwards erected a small corrugated iron darkroom and excluded light by sticking scraps of brown paper over every little hole in the structure. When the door was shut, it was like an oven and the film peeled from the plates. On opening the door, khaki-coloured dust settled on everything, including the plates. At first he had to use abucket for washing his plates but later he acquired a new dark-room with running water and telephonic communication with the operating theatre! Transport During this war the long distances to be covered by animal transport over poor roads, in a hot, dry country posed major problems, which were greatly enhanced for the surgeon-radiographer by the weight of accumulators, dynamos and engines as well as the fragility of x-ray tubes and plates. Nevertheless, Hall Edwards and Major Beevor thought that these difficulties were over-accentuated.

The local population and . tlie new rays
The population of Krugersdorp, regarded these new rays, which could produce pictures of their bones on a glass plate, as something of a miracle.
At first they were wary of this examination but one by one, allkinds of aches, pains and diseases, real and imaginary, were brought for examination by "the rays". In the evenings, the medical and nursing staff put on a show and invited the citizens of Krugersdorp to demonstrations of these remarkable rays which penetrated wooden doors, etc. Dr.Fessler,the chief surgeon's, dog even had to swallow small lead pellets which were then shown on x-ray -all for the benefit of the Red Cross Fund' In Jacobsdal the people thought that this German invention would be put into the wound and illuminate it from within outwards. Others regarded the whole story as yet another "Uitlander swindle." Kuettner, who had encountered similar skepticism and amazement about his apparatus during the Graeco-Turkish war, attributed it to a genuine sense of wonder. The excess current provided by the dynamo supplied enough electricity for electric lighting for part of the Jacobsdal hospital. From far and wide people came to look at this latter-day wonder and the throng became so great that Van Alphen, the technician, had to run a wire charged with a low faradic current around the circumference of the hospital to keep transgressors at a distance.