The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-08-01
WOUNDS STUDIED.
Some Interesting Deductions BY
Lieutenant Van Duser.
Were Made From Examinations OF
Killed and Wounded Soldiers.

A Lieut.. Louis B. Van Duser, OF tno
United States army, writes as follows
In the New York Herald:
In the present war we are iinding out
a few more facts concerning small CAL
ibre bullet wounds. and they may make
some peoples pet theories totter upon
their pedestals. IL they are not wholly
knocked over.
The truth is we have not solved the
entire question by any means. III there
is one fact established, it is that the
character of the wound appears to de-
pend upon It's calibre, shape or compo-
sition, though these are certainly fac
tors. Perhaps we shall reach some
definite conclusion before the war Is
over.
The regular army Is using practically
the same calibre as that OF the ma
jority of the Spanish weapons, which
is .301 inch; our volunteers are chieny
armed with the 45-calibre Springfield;
the marines and navy have the Lee
straight pull rifle OF .236, and the Span
iards have a few of their last model
Mauser, which has, calibre OF .2'o q
millimetres), and a good many OLD guns
Of 49,.
1t would seem as if here was diver
sity in calibre sufficient for compari~
son. But the apparent simplicity OF the
case may cause us to judge too
hastily.
The performance of our new. navy
rifle in the hands OF the marines has
convinced those of the officers who
have opposed small bore weapons OF
their mistake.
In the first place, / think we may re-
assure those who have feared the rine
lacked stopping power ana was
therefore unsuited TO use against ran
atics or savages. IL there is any sort OF
bullet which hits him in the body or leg
at close range. he can only be stood OH
by a twelve-inch gun.
In every observed case in which the
range was less than about 300 yards Tor
the Mauser .301. or 700 yards for the
Lee .236 the results were practically
the same. In soft flesh the bullet made
a small wound in entering, but an enor.
nous hole at the point of exit--and all
bullets go completely through the body
not only at this range. but at much
greater ranges. When leaving the
body they drove the flesh before them
and dragged 1t along with them, alto.
gether making shaped, ragged
wounds sometimes two inches in d.
ameter on the surface, particularly
when bones were struck.
At the close ranges 0imits about as
stated but not yet accurately deter
mined), IL a bullet strikes a bone the
injury is of a shocking character. the
destruction of both bone and tissue be-
ing very extensive. In almost every
case in which the head is perforated at
short range the skull is split or burst
open--in the cases examined, along the
top on the centre line extending from
front to rear. In none of the cases dio
the break occur in the sutures. The
fractures were nearly straight, four or
six inches long, and opened about ar
eighth of an inch. One Spaniard wes
shot In the back by Lee bullet at less
than six hundred yards. II hit rib,
splintered It, and made a wound big
enough to put your fist in almost.
EFFECT OF .MAUSER BULLET AT
SHORT RANGE.
n One of the mHriness was shot through
the arm at the elbow The range is un-
known, but believed to be very short
perhaps thirty yards-and the bullet
was a Mausers of .216 or .301 calibre.
The entering hole through the sleeve
was so slight as to be unnoticeable and
the hole In the flesh likewise small.
The wound at the point Of exit was an
inch and a half to two inches across,
and a still larger piece of cloth was
torn from the sleeve.
This was one of the marines killed
on the picket line. The two were found
on outposts on one of the paths leading
to the camp from the interior. The
enemy crept up behind the poor fellows
and when almost on top of them
opened fire from fifty guns and fired
several shots each. One of the men
was struck by twenty-six bullets; the
other by fourteen. Parts of the breast
face and front parts of the body were
torn away by the escaping bullets. and
the frightful appearance of the corpses
led TO the report about mutilation or
the dead. One shot entered the base
of the brain and escaped through the
eye. The skull was splintered near the
point of entrance. split along the top,
and large wound of exit made, which
included the whole eyesocket and part
of the cheek.
TEARING EFFECTS OF BULLETS.
So far as observed, the tearing effect
of the escaping bullets Is limited TO
ranges of four or Ave hundred yarus
for the .S01 AIauser, and seven or eight
hundred yards for the .236 Lee. So,
also, is the smashing OF bones and
let's. Within ranges assigned these
effects are not always very marked, es-
pecially when the upper limit is APP
preached. and, as rule, the less the
range the greater the destructive
effect.
Beyond the upper limits there is
zone of complete perforation without
tearing or destruction OF tissue aside
from the narrow path of the bullet.
This zone is not very well defined as
yet Beyond II there Is another in
which the bullet frequently tumbles
and causes broad lacerations and large
wounds. irregular In depth and direc-
ton. and SO variable in character that
many were thought TO have been re-
ceived at close range.
The greatest advantage OF the Lee
rifle is the long range at point blank
and it's very fiat trajectory or line OF
flight at all ranges at which fair marks
men may reasonably expect to hit a
single man. This is, of course. due
primarily to the high velocity of tho
bullet. and that again TO the calibre.
A further reduction in calibre would
enable us to increase the velocity. but
the bullet would be so light as to make
it's flight erratic at long range. and the
difficulty OF cleaning the bore and
troubles with the cartridges, jackets