The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-04-01
Qondon Pail Mall Gazette.)

ed" The expression is odd. Medical
men are not commonly appointed. -
like regimental officers, to do d piece of
Work. Bearing in mind that there is
no mention Of these surgeons elsewhere,
1t seems probable that they were only
men chosen from the ranks who had
SPECIAL experience or aptitude for dress
lnS wounds. Thus HippOcrates says
that the two sons of AesculaDius prais-
ed by Homer for their skill were not
priests" but warriors. The other ref
erence occurs in Xenophon's report of
the Spartan military system, where he
observes that in battle "a safe place is
FOUND Tor the surgeons and those who
looked after the wounded" In fact, it
may be said briefly that all we know
about the army medical service Of the
Greeks is the bare fact that something
Of the kind existed.
And no more could be said of the Ro-
mans If we had only the written evil
dence to guide us Mr.. Long says out
right IN his careful study of the repub-
hcan system: Il find nothing about
surgeons in the Roman army" And he
suggests that the Fabri, the engineers.
may have been told off TO do what was
necessary julius Caesar remarks on
one occasion that ne waited some DAYS
after q battle in order to look to the
wounded, but that is all Who looked
aIter them, and how. is nowhere limited.
fortunately, inscriptions remain to
snow that legion had its medical .ar-
vice; a doctor was attached to each CO.
hort, probably. Neither in this nor in
any other science did the Romans an
proach the level of the Greeks. but
their regimental surgeons were comUx-
ent enough TO earn the gratitude of the
troops anyhow. Several stones have
been found upon the wall dedicated by
soldiers to their p NJ. O.. as one to
Anicius VergenUus by the First Tun-
GRAN Cohort; another by an Ala. a
squadron Of Spanish cavalry: also
stamps Of stone, incised with the name
or the doctor, the disease and the title
OF the medicine We may suppose that
an impression of this stamp on wax was
carried TO the regimentaI dispensary
py way OF a prescription. The medi-
cneS, or course, were such as we should
call patent, recognized by their names:
plenty Of them are mentioned bv PIinv
and writers Of all sorts But the dis
pensary had drugs in store and made
them up at need.
For such an establishment was dis
covered last year at Baden. near Zu-
r1ch, forming part, as we should expect
OF a hospital And it may be assumed
that the hospital was a military one.
designed for the use Of the very strong
garrison, the seventh and eighth I,e-
gions, occupying Vindonissa, close by.
1t IS discovery unique up to the pres
ent, and profoundly interesting on that
account, though among the objects
round there was nothing to aStonish the
learned. They have long been aware
that surgical instruments of compIicat-
ed form, quite modern inventions with
US, were used in Rome, and even in
Athens, for the things themselves NAV
be inspected under a glass case in the
museums there. But the public at large
may be surprised to hear that this an
clent hospital was furnished. as the
Times report states, with many kinds
OF medical, pharmaceutical and surgi-
cal apparatus, the latter including
PROBES, tubes, pincers, cauterizing in
struments and even a collection of
safety pins used in bandaging wounds.
There were also medicine SPOONS in
bone, and silver measuring vessels, Jars
ana pots for ointment, some still con-
tanning traces of the ointment used. -
AS Tor safety pins, such an ingenius
discovery of our own times, they will
be found among the prehistoric antioui-
ties in the Copenhagen Museum.
Descending to the middle ages. blank
darkness envelops US again. Doctors
of sorts accompanied a feudal army.
perhaps, Tor they are mentioned occa'-
slonally- JOinville speaks of them once.
When the constable Of France was
stunned in an engagement, several Of
the surgeons and doctors in camp
FASTENED 10 his tent" But all through
the horrors Of plague that followed
there is no further reference to these
gentlemen. The illness of the king is
described at length. but never a word
about his doctors. He who can read the
account of the camp sickness without
thrill must have a strong stomach:
but there is only one alluSiOn to medical
attendance, when the gums Of our peo-
pie were so OYerladen with dead flesh
that it had TO be cut away by the
BARRIERS, so that they might eat and
swallow. 'C'etait grand pitie d'ouir
cr1er dams lie camp les gems auxquels on
coupait Ia chair mOrte; car lis criaient
alnsi que les femmeS qui SOnt en- nal
d'enfant-' Duke Leopold of Austria.
broke his thigh badly; it served him
night for his treatment of that gallant
brute, Couer-de-LiOn. Doctors enOuel,
attended him, no doubt, but the chron-
lclers do not notice them. Anvhow the
wound began to nOrtify. Ieopold did
not think of calling in professional aid
with his own hands he held an AK in
position while his chamberlain struck II
with hammer. The duke lived inst
long enough to note the success of the
operation.
When the most fashionable doctors in
large practice were idiots-,InIess in
deed, they had studied with the Arabs
or the JeWs-we can imagine what sert
Of men followed the army. Rut fbere iS
no need TO imagine. When the middle
ages were past, in the reign of Henry
VIII. the barber surgeons begged a.
charter, and in support Of their pefifio1
Or. Gale recounted his experience when
ordered 10 report uDOn the medical
service of the English army besiegino,
Montreuil: According to command
ment, we made search. some
were sow-gelders and some horse-geId-
ers, with thinkers and cobblers. :
we demanded what chirurgicaI stuff
Iney mad 10 cure men Withal. and tbav
would show US pot or box which they
had IN budget, wherein was s1cb
trumpery as they did use to grea 60
morse heels. and laid upon seabbed
horses backs, with REVEAL and such Ike
And others which were cobblers and
tlnkers, they used shoemakers' way
With rust Of old pans, and made witbaI
a noble salve as they did term il !" Tho
report is long, but this extract shows ire
burden Judge then what like vrers
army surgeons IN Tna aarlfay. 49,