Page:McCosh, John - Advice to Officers in India (1856).djvu/157

 are entrusted to the hospital sergeant, or havildar, whose duty it is to see the wounded brought to the rear immediately. The best way of carrying the instruments and dressings, is to have them laid out in order in a dooly, to be distinguished from the rest by a couple of yards of bandage, tied to either end of the pole; a dozen or more rollers should be ready prepared; ligatures waxed,and cut into convenient lengths; the tourniquets made to run easy; the saws found not to lock; the knives and needles oiled; the sponges washed and wet; chloroform and a bottle or two of port wine; and last, and yet of most importance, a mussuck, or sheepskin of good water. A few portable tourniquets should be distributed amongst the officers, with instructions how to apply them, in case of hæmorrhage. An amputating table should not be forgotten, which can be stowed in a dooly. The young assistant will do well to wrap a pillow and a counterpane,a bottle of beer and a few biscuits,up in a bundle, and stow them away in the dooly; he may have occasion to dine on the one, and to bivouac in the other, and think himself lucky in having them. To take care of others the first thing is to take care of ones'self!

It may appear ridiculous to warn him against the risk of losing his regiment in a dark night; but when many columns are moving at the same