Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1917-12-29

at the sound Of the "tom-tom" played
by q companion, and resmming his
native costume, plunge into the dance,
with consequent pneumonia. At the
first fall of snow dCzens Of the men
would walk about in it with naked
feet, being amazed at the subsequent
| numbness and cold. Others agaiE, on
the Mediterranean seashore, seeing
the water blue and sparkling under
the December sun, would plunge in,
only, to be brought back to the bar
racks stiff with cold. All this may
seem very foolish, or even childish,
but after all, 1t could not be matched
by the antics OF Inexperienced Euro
pean soldiers in the early days Of
their residence in the tropics? The
follies on both sides arise from sheer
ignorance of the line OF conduct i'm
posed by unaccustomed conditions,
and incapacity to learn from any
thing but the hard teachings of per-
sonal experience and suffering.
Another great difficulty. was to ac-
custom the men to the Wearing Of
boots Used to walk barefooted, or
with light and supple sandal, the AZ
rican foot rebelled strongly against
being enclosed in the stiff and cum
brous military boot. The difficulty
was Increased by the difference in
the formation OF the African and Eu-
ropean foot, the calcis in the former
being more prominent than in the
latter. 1t was therefore necessary
for the African to take a larger boot
Than the European with foot Of the
same size, which Of course caused
some trouble and even suffering i'm
I'll tho hnnf Nuo tbrn1ynnJt ~,
ever, the African soon recognized
that the European roads and the Flu
ropean climate demanded q moro cub
stantial protection for tho feet titan
had been necessary in Africa, and
submitted to the discipline Of their
feet rs part Of the making Of the
soldier. Naturally, the heavy cloth
ing and the unaccustomed footgear
detracted from the suppleness and
dash of the troops on the march, and
caused disappointment to MANY who
had seen and admired their agile car
'riago in the summer, or In their na.
tive country, but the authorities
wisely preferred health to appearance.
Even more serious than the imme.
diate chill caused by exposure to cold
in spite Of the warnings Of their Off.
GERS, or in the course OF duty, were
the pulmonary affections to which
Africans are so susceptible and which
appear to find in them so favorable
soil. But these had been anttci-
pated and were met by all the pre-
cautions which medical skill could
suggest. On the approach of winter
the African troops were located,
whenever possible, in large, we'll aired
and we'll warmed barracks, and their
hospitals were installed on the shores
OF the Mediterranean Sea- generally
In the sumptuous h2tels, which abound
there. The, LUXURY OF their surround
tngs apparently produced little effect
on the Africans, who seemed no much
at homo among the bedsteads pro-
videdsfor billionaires as among the
camp bedsteads and simple apparatus
of the barracks and would probably
have preferred the latter IL given the
choice.
Another preGaution was the en-
forcement Of meticulous cleanliness
among the. colored troops in order to
diminish the risk of contagion. On
returning from the trenches the per.
sons clothing, accoutrements, and
coverings OF the men are carefully
freed from parasites and the clothing
disinfected with the fumes Of sui
phur and formalin. In depots and
hospitals the most complete daily
ablutions are enforced task rem
dered easy by the Africans native
addiction to personal cleanliness and
the practice OF ablutions several
times day when In their homes. The
greatest difficulty was to induce the
men to make use OF spittoons, rem
dered necessary by the inveterate AZ
rican habit OF splitting at all times
and places.G Careful explanation Of
the possibility OF spreading tubercus
losis and such disease as leprosY, and
plague, by such means proved useless,
and 1t was reluctantly that recourse
was had to punishments to enforce
cleanliness In this regard. Isolation
Of all infectious was strictly carried
out with such success that mot a
single case Of bilharSiosis, filariosis.
trypanosomiasis has been detected
among the civil population. The re-
suit Of all this skill and care, to-
gether with the experience gained by
the men as to the proper line Of con,
duct under the novel conditions to
which they were exposed, Is seen in
the fact that in the winter Of 1916
being only about one-tenth Of the
number Of like cases in the CORE.
spending month Of 1915. 4
stahs. S.
Y. FOOD.
With few exceptions, the African
troops have taken well to the regula-
ton ration of the French army show
4 Ing splendid prediction for tho
breed and most of them even Mus.
Inns, have developed a taste for
French wine, without, however, fall
Ing into excess or abuse in ite use.
Tho only complaint made was that
the ration was a bit short" This
arose from most of them being hab-
ituated to an almost purely vegetable
diet, Of which q larger Quantity Is