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

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at the sound Of the "tom-tom" played
native costume, plunge into the dance,
with consequent pneumonia At the
first fall of snow dozens of the men
| would walk about in 1t with naked
/; feet. being amazed at the subsequent
numbness and cold, Others again, 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 Yas to ac-
custom the men to the Wearing Of
boots. Used to walk barefooted, or
with light and supple sandal, the AT
rican foot rebelled strongly against
being enclosed in tho 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. It was therefore necessary
for the African to take O larger boot
THAN the European with foot Of the
same size, which Of course caused
some trouble, and even suffering I'm.
Til the boot was broken" in. How
ever, the African soon recognized
that the European roads and the Flu.
ropean climate demanded moro sub
stantial protection for the feet tltan
had been necessary in Africa, and
feet 80 q 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.
, riage in the summer, or in their no.
tive country, but the authorities
wisely preferred health to appearance.
Even more serious than the imme.
date chill caused by exposure to cold
In spite Of the warnings of their on.
GERS, or In the course OF duty, were
tho pulmonary affections to which
Africans are so susceptible, and which
appear to find in them so favorable
soil. But these had been antici-
pated and wore met by oil 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 sumptlious, haS els, which abound
there. The, luxuTys OF their surround
tngs apparently produced little effect
on the Africans, who seemed as much
at home among the bedsteade pro-
videdsfor billionaires as among the
/, camp bedsteads and simple apparatus
of the barracks, and would probably
have preferred the latter II given the
choice. g.a
Another probation 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
additions are enforced task rem.
dered easy by the Africans native
addiction to personal cleanliness and
tho practice OF ablutions several
times a day when In their homes. The
greatest difficulty was to induce the
men TO make use OF spittoons, rem
oered necessary by the inyeterate AZ
rican habit OF splitting at all times
and plaeesy Careful explanation Of
the possibility OF spreading tubercus
losis and such disease as leprosy, and
plague, by such means proved ;liseless
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 bilharAosis, fllariosis,
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
when they We're exposed, Is seen In
the tact that in the winter OF 1916
being only about one-tenth Of the
number Of like cases in the CORE.
spending month OF 1915.
siahs so
FOOD.
With few exceptions, the African
troops have taken we'll to the regulae
1 ton ration of the French army, show.
ing splendid prediction for the
breed, and most OF them even Mus.
Inns, have Developed a taste for
French wine, without, however, fall
ing into excess or abuse in It's use.
me only complaint made was that
the ration was bit Short. This
arose from most of them being fab-
ithated to an almost purely vegetable
diet, Of which larger quantity is
required thar when q I. cnnaiderahla