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The Belgica became trapped in the ice of the Bellingshausen Sea in February 1898. The polar winter was approaching, and so was the polar night. At these latitudes, darkness enveloped the pack ice on 16 May. Almost 70 days of darkness followed. The health of our explorers suffered greatly! "Polar anaemia" was the diagnosis that Dr Cook initially attributed to the crew members, who suffered from physical exhaustion, irregular heart rhythm, mental symptoms such as diminished attention, confusion, and a tendency to stare absently into the distance, but also other signs such as pronounced pallor and their hair turning grey and growing very quickly.
His fellow expedition members were behaving "like plants in a hothouse," the doctor being convinced that human beings depended on the sun as much as plants. Cook was an incredibly inventive person, so if he could not get the Belgica to light, he tried to bring light to the Belgica! He prescribed the "baking treatment" for those whose pulse was barely perceptible and who were feeling increasingly unwell: for an hour, they were exposed to the heat and light emitted by the stove in the officers' quarters. Cook's intuition was correct, as light therapy is still used today to treat some illnesses, but the ship's stove was not the most suitable source for generating light. Improvements in symptoms were observed, as the patients found relief in the warmth and attention with which Dr. Cook cared for them.
Overall, however, things were getting worse every day! In the middle of the polar night, many members of the crew had fallen to bed and were showing severe signs of degeneration of mind and body. For those who could still stand, Dr. Cook prescribed daily walks on the ice floe near the ship because they could easily get lost if they strayed too far. These walks were called the "promenade of fools". The doctor observed that "people easily freeze part of their faces and fingers and toes without them knowing it!"