The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-09-16
THIRST OF THE SOLDIER.
A NEW PROBLEM PRESENTED BY
THE SOUTH AFRICAN WAR.
Terrible sunsrinss Of British Troops Unable
to Get water-Man's Ability TO Get AionE
with Little Water-scientinc Views or ihirst
ADVICE About Drinking In Hot Cllmatcs.

with Little water-scientinc Views Of thirst
Advice About Drinking In Hot Climates
LONDON. Sept. Next to that Of transport
tation the hardest problem In moving the Brit
ish amy across the South African veldt has
been TO cope with the thirst OF man. Notin
the march alone. but while lying in the firing
line through a hot day the test has been more
than many could endure. Certainly hundreds
Of deaths have been due to attacks on a river
bed held by Beers. when the struggle lasted
through hours with the attackers on their faces
waiting for a chance to rush for the cover OF
the bank. The agony OF thirst was too much
and every now and then a man would jump
up. rush madly for water only To be shot dead
in the open before he could get there.
It II a question that has evidently forced
itself on the troops that marched to Pektn.
IN future warfare where the area OF conflict
is great and the water supply small. no mat
ter in the transport OF troops can be more I'M
portant. Food rations can be carried with
the column, but scarcely water. A stan cor
respondent OF The SUN who went with the Brit
ish troops to Pretoria IS convinced that very
much can be done in the way OF going without
water. Men can school themselves into ell
during long hot days without drinking water.
but IL Is not a habit that can be acquired by
the mere willing OF it. He has seen the High
land Brigade in an early morning having To
walt till some pieces or artillery were taken
across a drift and until their transport was
inspanned. the men waiting In their ranks
with their water bottles full. They had had
their coffee less than an hour before. but In
the idleness Of standing many Of them emptled
their bottles. In four hour, toward the end
NJ their days march. the same men would he
lying unconscious aud exhausted on the veldt.
g~rasping convulsively at their kilt waist bands
- a 80. I.-.V H. 1As. 81 UHtNZN altar
In the campaign the same men have done much
harder marching without water bottles at all.
Some interesting scientific explanations have
been given by medical men and travellers
in a controversy in the Times on this subject
Of artificial thirst.
One writer practically assents TO the as
sumption that the ordinary habits Of the
classes from which private soldiers are COM
monty derived are such as to render them
unIRturally DESTROYS OF swallowing fluid at
short intervals. and unnaturally impatient
at the absence Of opportunities for such In
diligence. The alleged result is that they
lose self control under the influence OF their
so-called thirst, and drink eagerly. without
any real necessity, OF any foul water which
may come in their way during a march or an
engagement. To this practice a certain pro-
portion Of the enteric fever and dysentery
WHICH lhN' DlFN diltu III ppNNh HlihN" MOI
be attributed. In order 10 Judge Of the ques-
ton fairly. it ia necessary to remember that
the word thirst il commonly used 10 express
two entirely different conditions-the cOndi-
ton IN which the mouth and throat are rem
dered uncomfortable ny dryness Of their isr-
ally moist surfaces. and the condition in which
the fluids Of the body have ceased 10 hold their
duo proportion Ia the solids, and In which
the performance Of many functions important
20 life and health il seriously interfered with.
DryneSs Of the mouth is q matter ~ small I'M
portance. but real shriukaGe Of the fluid ele-
ments Of the body soon leads. through agoniz-
ing distress. to painful death. Such a con-
dition. however. is guarded against by many
notifications Of function, and is not very speed
ily produced. Fifty or sixty years ago COM
plete abstinence from fluid for two or three
days was frequently prescribed as an effective
cure for severe cold in the head. and fun a.
counts of this dry treatment. as II was called.
may be found in the writings Of the physi-
clans Of that day.
While the functions OF vital organs cannot he
carried on without a suficiency Of fluid in the
body. yet, on the other hand, these functions
would be- seriously hindcred by excess; and
hence. as an excess is often supplied. CORES
pom ling facilities for it's removal are necessary
and are easily brought into play
The correspondence on the subject contained
some interesting letters from acknowledged
authorities Or Joseph kidd writes:
To drink the right thing at the right tine'is
often wrong. through mistake in the mode 81
taking It In our ordinary life nature requires
FIVE tumblerfuls Of fluid in the twenty-four hours
to carry on tho circulation Of the blood through
the lungs. kidneys. skin. &c. During hot
weather the need is increased 10 AZ least six or
.o,on tnpah1ara in tho vanty-four hours
In hot weather the wise man resists taking
much nnid At the regular meals To sip two or
four tumblers Of fluid on an empty stomach is
most helpful II anticipates thirst AZ meal
times. and meets the need OF the skin and kid
news
Taken in anal quantities 1t satisfies the dry
ness OF mouth and throat. and does not irritate
the delicate mucous membrane of the stomach.
or this We have n most perfect Illustration In
the experience Of DR.. Beaumont, a distinguished
American physician,
y Canadian hunter. through an accident.
got a wound in the front Of his stomach.
Through this opening DR.. Beaumont watched
for many months the process Of digestion. On
giving an ordinary meal with n moderate
amount Of drink, he could see a multitude Of
glands in the stomach throwing out little drops
NJ white fluid the gastric Juice and a slow
moving OF the stomach from left 10 right. A.
ter obser sing this process for an hour he gave
the man a tumbler Of water TO drink. In about
Ave minutes he saw the dots Of white fluid be-
gin To cease and the movement OF the stomach
from left TO right to cease, gradually the tum-
bier Of water was swept w by the absorbents
and then and not till then the white drops OF
gastric juice again poured out"
Prof Flinders Petrie says: At. tempera-
lures OF 100 degrees and over a gallon Of drink
Ing water a day is fairly requisite, but the time
Of taking II is all important. The opportunity
TO wash out muscular waste. without too much
loss by the skin, is at night After sunset as
much water as possible should be taken. and
throughout the night water should always be
at hand After freely drinking thus, there il
nothing left 70 eliminate In the morning. and
no need Of water will be felt in less than Ave
or six hours Of hot exercise. During the day
MS little "a possible should be taken, a. IL il
lost in Precipitation. The practical point is
that an u~nstinted supply should be ready as
soon as camp Is reached, and always at hand
until the morning. II, after that, none was
allowed till noon it would be an ad vantage.
The greatest safety against sunstroke is
in free evaporation from the nape of the neck.
A