CHAPTER XL. CARE OF HEALTH. 376. Blankets and Clothing. The personal property to be carried by each individual of the party will depend necessarily, as do the other articles of the camp outfit, upon the mode of transportation and the region in which the party is to work. Where wagon transportation is provided and the party may carry all essentials, each individual may take a small steamer-trunk for his clothing and should roll and strap his blankets in the form of a cylindrical bundle in a piece of No. 6 canvas or 16-oz. duck. The canvas cover should be 7 feet long by 6 feet wide, so that when the bed is laid down it may rest on half of the canvas to keep out moisture if on the ground, and air if on a cot, and the other half of the width of canvas should be passed over the bed to protect it from air and moisture. An excellent mattress consists of a good large comforter folded three times endways, the width being about as long as a man's body. Additional wool blankets and a comforter should be taken for covering, the number depending upon the climate. Sleeping-bags, such as are now sold by dealers in sporting goods, furnish the warmest and most comfortable bed for almost any condition of camping. Where rain is to be encountered a mackintosh or rubber coat is of little value. A heavy oil-slicker is the most serviceable garment; and for horseback, leggings and peajacket of oil-slicker. The most serviceable hat is a heavy, wide-brimmed soft felt sombrero or army campaign hat for all climates and conditions. The more intense the heat of the BLANKETS AND CLOTHING. 851 sun's rays and the more penetrating, as in the tropics, the heavier should be the head-covering. Under such circumstances a heavy pith helmet may be used; but, be helmet or heavy felt sombrero worn, a band made of light linen or India silk, folded to about three inches in width and of a length of about two yards, should be wrapped around the hat close to the brim so as to make a thick pad over the temples to keep out the penetrating rays of a tropic sun. Rubber boots should never be used even in snow or water. In deep snow or intense cold, arctics or a wrapping of gunnysack over the leather shoe may be employed. a shoe is much more comfort able and supple than a boot. For riding leather leggings may be added, or else waterproof leather boots may be used. In any event, in cold or wet and for heavy climbing water-proof leather shoes with thick extension soles should be worn (Fig. 203). In the tropics the foot-covering should be light and supple, but the soles should be heavy both to protect the feet from moisture and to keep out the heat of the soil. Light canvas shoes should be carried to rest For climbing the feet, which easily blister in tropic lands. Where much foot-work is done, very heavy, coarse cotton socks should be worn. In cold weather heavy woolen socks, and in intense cold and deep snow German felt socks, must be As a substitute for leather boots and arctics, felt boots worn. may be worn over the German socks. In high altitudes the underwear should always be of heavy wool regardless of how high the temperature may be in the daytime. Medium-weight wool may be carried, and two suits be worn, one over the other, in very cold weather. The sudden changes at evening and night render heavy underwear an essential to health. In the tropics light silk gauze or a mixture of silk and wool underwear should be worn next the skin to absorb the moisture of the body. For sleeping-clothes, pajamas only should be used, and in the tropics especially these should be of light flannel. Also in the tropics flannel cholera-bands should be invariably worn over the abdomen, and never removed except to change. For work in the brush or woods the most satisfactory outer garments are made of brown duck, or light overalls may be pulled on over woolen trousers. In cold and windy weather, such as is experienced at high altitudes, flannel-lined hunting-coats and trousers of duck should be worn, the duck keeping out the wind. The best coat for wind protection is the blanket-lined leather hunting-coat. A canvas or leather hunting-coat, lined or unlined, is a most convenient garment for the surveyor because of its numerous pockets. In the cold and at high altitudes a woolen sweater should be carried or worn in preference to an overcoat (Fig. 203). In addition to the above the novice in camping should not neglect to take towels, soap, and miscellaneous toilet articles. Where the party is to sleep in the open air, or when the weather is very cold, the head should be covered with a knit nightcap of worsted, the most satisfactory being the conical toboggan cap, which can be pulled down well over the ears and head. The lack of a tooth-brush, even in the Arctics, has been known to produce sore mouth and gums in one accustomed to its use. Toilet-paper is essential, especially in extremely hot or cold climates, or piles may result. Camping is at best uncleanly, and every effort should be made to keep the person and the camp as clean as possible. Even then much dirt will have of necessity to be encountered. 377. General Hints on Care of Health.-In camping or working in high altitudes the topographer is liable to contract a disease known as mountain fever, which is allied to typhoid. It is caused chiefly by carelessness in becoming overheated under the hot rays of the midday sun and then suddenly chilling off in the night air. The precaution already described of covering the head at night and of wearing heavy woolen underwear, despite the intensity of the heat at midday, will generally suffice to protect the camper from any sickness in the healthful climate usually found at high altitudes. In the tropics the traveler is liable to sickness from malarial fevers, dysentery, and cholera. With proper attention to food and clothing, if living a healthful outdoor life, one is hardly more liable in the tropics than elsewhere to contract other diseases than malaria if great care is exercised in carrying out the following suggestions: Wear thick-soled shoes of soft leather, and change or dry these, going barefooted meanwhile if necessary, as soon after they become wet as practicable. In other words, do not keep wet shoes on the feet, and do not wear rubber to protect against moisture. If the body become wet from rain or fording streams, the clothes should be taken off and dried as soon as possible thereafter. The body should never be allowed to steam while covered with drying shoes or clothes. Flannel cholera-bands should be worn at all times. Clothing worn in the daytime should invariably be changed at night for flannel pajamas. The head-covering must be of the heaviest, and the protection over the temples should be especially heavy. The topographer should not expose himself to the direct rays of the sun more than absolutely necessary, and where practicable should be shaded by an umbrella. The back of the neck should be shaded from the level rays of the early morning and late afternoon sun by a cloth veil hung from the back of the hat. The camper should sleep in a hammock or on a cot. He should, if possible, never go to sleep wet or on wet ground, and when this is unavoidable he should endeavor to sleep in dry woolen blankets, or, if he must sleep in wet blankets, these should be of light wool and should be next his body. Above all, the head should always be protected from the night dews either by some temporarily improvised shelter, by covering with a sheet, or the canvas bed-cover, or mosquitonetting fine enough to keep out the moisture. He should avoid rising before the sun has dispelled the night dew. Early rising is very dangerous in malarious regions. Lime-juice Where possible, drinking-water should always be boiled and allowed to cool. (Art. 378.) At work it is best to carry in the canteen boiled water or thin coffee or tea. should be freely used in water which is not boiled. Weak ginger tea made of a thin effusion of Jamaica ginger with a little sugar is a palatable and safe beverage, especially where the water is alkaline. Unless absolutely unavoidable, water which is standing in the sun, especially running water in shallow streams, should never be drunk without previously boiling or adding whiskey or lime-juice to it. Water should be kept shaded from the sun as far as practicable, and only water which has stood overnight to cool should be used if possible. Water may be kept fairly cool in canteens throughout the day if they are heavily covered with one-half inch of woolen blanketing shielded outside by heavy canvas. This covering should be soaked in the morning, and as it evaporates it keeps the canteen water cool. When it dries off it should if possible be again soaked, perhaps several times during the course of the day. The covering should be omitted on the edges under the carrying-strap. Heavy foods and flesh foods should be used sparingly. Fresh meats once a day and in moderate quantities should be eaten to keep up the system, but not more than one such meal a day should be consumed. Jerked or sun-dried meat, chipped beef, or the "carne seca" of Spanish America will not pu |