Dress of the
; soldier and
the weight
carried.
Artillery.
.6th Native
Infantry.
Dress, &c., of
he 42, 43, 44.
Weights carri-
ed by the
sepoy and the
transport
coolie.
Flannel belts.
Water-bottles.
APPENDIX—MEDICAL HISTORY OF THE DUFFLA EXPEDITION.
235
44. Dress, of the soldier and the weight carried. —This part of the subject may be corn
pleted by giving a detail of the dress of the soldier and the weights carried, the weights as
given being exclusive of the clothes worn.
Artillery.—The Artillery were dressed in khaki colored drill with red puggries; they had
a s u f f i c i e n c y o f u n d e r - c l o t h i n g . T h e y c a r r i e d a c h o g a ( 6 ½ l b s . )
i n p l a c e o f g r e a t c o a t . E a c h
man carried an average weight of 37½ lbs. Six of them had the Snider carbine with 20
rounds of ball, about 10 lbs. The others carried tools or implements for the guns, about the
same weight. Their sword, with belt, &c., weighed 3¾ lbs.; a kookri also was carried.
Sappers.—The Sappers also were in khaki drill clothing with good under-clothing. Many
of them, if not all, bad a 'Guernsey frock.' They had no side arms, but each man had hie
Sni der carbi ne wi t h 20 rounds—7½ l bs. —and a kookri or dao. The average Wei ght carri ed by a
pri vate i n marchi ng order was 33 l bs. ; and wi th thi s they di d the cl eari ng and work requi red
of them on the line of march.
Sappers.
160th Native Infantry.—The 16th native infantry had a very workmanlike dress of khaki
16T
colored drill; tunic and knickerbockers and pug-
grie; they had substantial under-clothing also.
Their red tunics were worn 1o c c a s i o n a l l y .
The 42nd, 43rd and 44th were in green;
cloth tunic and serge knickerbockers; 42nd wear-
ing a large dark-blue puggrie, 43rd the Glengary,
and 44th the Kilmarnock cap; a very good Working
dress, though the tunic might be looser, like a
Norfolk jacket; the serge does not stand the
thorny jungle. The detail of weights carried by
the 16th and 43rd is given in the margin.
The 42nd bore the long Snider, bayonet and
kookri. Average weight per man 45 lbs.
The 44th were armed with the short Sni-
der, did not bring their sword bayonet, but
had the kookri only; their average weight car-
ried was 43 lbs.
Weights carried by the sepoy and the transport coolie. —I have given these details to show that
the average weight carried by the Infantry soldier
—421bs.—was almost identical with the regulation
load of the transport coolie, 40 lbs., but on route
marching the latter had his bundle besides, reckon-
ed ' to average 18 lbs. * These bundles, always
looking large and unwieldy, .took a great deal out
of the men. On staging duty they were not car-
ried, and thus the 40 lbs. load was a light one;
and on those days they could have as well carried
•
.
a compact. load of 50 or 60 lbs. as the lighter one. Further, with regard to comparative
weight and work, the coolie had every night in bed, while about one-third of the sepoys were on duty.
lbs. oz. lbs. oz.
Rifle, long Snider
1 0 0
0 0
" short Snider
0 0
9 4
Bayonet, complete
1 0
0 0
Sword-bayonet, complete
0 0
2 7
Waist-belt and pouch
1 4
1 0
Shoulder-belt and pouch
2
8
1 5
Kookri, complete
2 0
1 14
Havresack
0 12
0
8
Great coat
6 8
4 14
Ammunition, 60 rounds
6 0
6 0
Water-bottles, full
2 8
2 0
Lotah, brass cup, iron plate
and spoon
3 10
0 0
Lotah
0 0
2 0
Spare under-clothing
2 2
0 7
Two days' rations
5 4
5 1
TOTAL
43 8
37 0
lbs. oz.
* Blanket
5 0
Havresack, &c.
1 0
Rope and dao
3 0
Trowsers, blanket
1 0
Share of cooking utensils
2 12
Two days' rations
5 2
T O T A L
1 7
14
Flannel belts were not in general use. The artillery wore them. The sappers wanted
them but could not get them made up. The 42nd only of the infantry wore them; but natives
generally wear clothes round the waist.
Water-bottles.—Each soldier had one. The Artillery of copper, others of tin, and others
the soda, water bottle covered with cane. The transport made chuglas for themselves;—a piece
of bamboo between two joints. Nearly every officer had his pocket filter.
Clothing for
followers.
45. C l o t h i n g f o r f o l l o w e r s
.
—
T h es
c a l e f o r f o l l o w e r s , i n c l u d i n g t r a n s p o r t c o o l i e s , w a s
ample. The blankets were of good quality. The officer commanding the transport corps procured
blanket trowsers for his men in Calcutta, and also provided a second pair of shoes for them—
thoughtful provisions which proved of value. Water-proof sheets were not in the country to
serve out. A supply had been telegraphed for from England, which did not arrive in time to
be of any use. As a substitute; 2,000 blankets were allowed by Government. They reached
h e a d - q u a r t e r s a b o u t t h e m i d d l e o f J a n u a r y , a n d w e r e v e r y u s e f u l d u r i n g t h e w e t w e a t h e r t h a t
then prevailed. The men were, however, well clothed without the addition; and perhaps the
absence of the water-proof sheet was a relief, on account of its weight. The transport had
as much as they could well carry of their own. As it turned out, there was no position where
sufficient bamboos, grass and jungle were not procurable in sufficient quantities for good shel
- t e r . o t h e r w i s e t h e s h e e t w o u l d h a v e b e e n m u c h m i s s e d .
46. Hospital baggage. —The orders gave 80. lbs. weight for the hospital of each regiment,
and 40 lbs. for each separate company. The total, therefore, for the four regiments (detachments
of). employed were 320 lbs., or 4 maunds; and the Artillery and Sappers being each reckoned
as a separate company, gave 80 lbs. or 1 maund more. Total 5 maunds carried by 10 coolies.
Each medical officer, therefore, had. five coolies for his hospital stores; and on the arrival
of the tarpaulins, the carriage was thus arranged.†
Splints were carried on the pole of the litter, and
that conveyance also bore the hospital office of
each medical officer, for which there was no other
provision. The' carriage was just sufficient; but would not have sufficed if we had been
† coolie for No. 1 pannier.
1 " for No. 2 "
1 " for box of spare medicines and stores.
2 " for tarpaulius.
Hospital
baggage.