xiii
I consider the principle is all but universally applicable. Insufficiency of the
diet and scanty supply of warm under-clothing are the chief agents in the
production of the bulk of the diseases from which sepoys suffer.
I have written somewhat at length on this subject, because having due
regard to every matter within my province, which will increase the efficiency of
the native army and prevent sickness amongst its members, I have felt it to be
my duty to bring prominently to notice the fact of the sepoys being—at all
events, in many instances—unprovided with a sufficiency of warm undress
clothing.
38. Another very important question in connexion with the native army,
and as yet an undecided one, is that which relates to the best kind of boot or
shoe to be worn on duty.
Necessity
for attention
to the undress
clothing of the
sepoys.
Boots and
shoes.
A great amount of service is annually lost to the State owing to the
number of men in hospital
for "blisters of the feet."
I will give, therefore, some
extracts on the subject from
the sanitary reports. In
the 35th Regiment, Native
Infantry, it is reported that
the men bad shoes of a new
pattern, , low at the
heels and sides, and fastened
in front by a brass buckle.
The men considered this kind of shoe to be an improvement, and the admissions
into hospital on account of sore feet were less than in former years.
The medical Officer of the 2nd Regiment, Native Infantry, advocates the
issue of a few pairs of stout socks to each sepoy. The men of the 31st Regi
-
ment, Native Infantry, on the line of march from Mooltan to Delhi, were
allowed to wear native shoes, and with the result, it is stated, of reducing the
number of blistered feet. In the 45th Regiment, Native Infantry, a black
leather shoe was worn instead of the ammunition boot, and, it is reported,
answered very well. The medical officer of the 5th Goorkhas reports that, so
far as he could ascertain from the returns, the adoption of native shoes in place
of ammunition boots had not the desired effect of diminishing the cases of sore
feet. The experience of the medical officer of the 42nd Regiment, Native
Infantry, is that little can be said against the ammunition boot when worn with
socks during the Duffia Expedition; it is stated that a service boot, of what was
called the "stable pattern," was served out to the men. The peculiarity in this
boot was, that it was lower at the ankles, and, as the men wore bandages
instead of gaiters, galled feet or ankles were almost unknown. The foregoing
extracts represent the opinions of a few medical officers only, but a great many
others have paid attention to the subject.
It appears to be generally conceded that a well-made and well-fitting
ammunition boot, worn with woollen socks of a good description, would answer
the desired purpose of preventing blisters of the feet, or at all events, would
reduce such cases to a minimum ; but, in addition, it is absolutely necessary that
the boots should be either greased or oiled, in order to keep the leather soft and
pliable.
Considering how much the efficiency of the soldier depends on the
state of his feet, it would doubtless be a great matter to determine definitely
what are the best and most serviceable boots or shoes for the native soldier;
whether they should be worn with socks, and if so, what kind of socks should
be brought into use. Meanwhile, it is highly probable that the use of better
leather, and an increase in the number ot "sizes" when making the shoe up,
would cancel a considerable part of the present inconvenience.
ADMISSIONS INTO HOSPITAL FOR BLISTERS OF THE FEET.
Year.
Admissions.
1871 . . .
2,429
1872 . . .
2,167
1873 . . .
2,194
1874 . . .
1,148
1875 . . .
2,542
Boots with
socks con
-sidered the
best covering
for the feet.
39. The duty of the regiments stationed at Fort William, Barrackpore,
and Peshawar has been heavy ; and in the 30th Regiment, Native Infantry, at
Peshawar, it was considered to be the principal cause of the severe forms of
illness amongst the men. The medical officer of the 4th Goorkhas attributes
some of his most serious cases to debility, caused by the constant duty to which
the men of the detachment were exposed when on duty at Simla.
40. It is unnecessary to make any allusion to the medical and sanitary
history of the troops engaged in the Duffia Expedition, as an exhaustive and
Duty.
Duffla Expedi
-tion.
4