Stretcher bearer

“ A stretcher is, perhaps, not exactly a bed of roses for a wounded man, but when one considers what pain is involved in moving a man who is badly wounded, there is obviously a great advantage in placing him on a stretcher once for all on the battle-field, and never moving him again until he can be actually placed in bed in a hospital. ”

“ This done, cut two spines, or connecting rods of bamboo, each thirty inches long and as nearly alike as possible. Next, with waxed thread, or light wire, bind the two spines over the ends of the eleven-inch stretchers. The spine must fit like the top of a letter T over the stretchers and be square; that is, at right angles with the stretcher. Each end of the spine must project beyond the uprights five and one- half inches; that is, the ends must each be five and one-half inches long, which leaves nineteen inches between points named. Bind the other four stretchers to the ends of the sticks. ”

“ The stretchers should be set horizontally by nailing a strip of wood, say 1 × 1Â1⁄2 × 12 inches, with a piece at each end to form a space between it and the wall, or place of location in line with the edge of the shaft, as in Fig. 48. The top of this stretcher should [Pg 50] be low enough to clear the largest pulley, and high enough to clear the hat of your tallest man. You would perhaps find it convenient to go between the spokes of a large pulley. ”

“ They may be said to be current, like money, and whenever one organization turns over a grave case to the succeeding organization, the stretcher goes with the case, and an empty one is received in return. The number at any one point is thus maintained at a constant figure, and there is a general tendency for battered and infected stretchers to gravitate toward the south of France, and for new stretchers to gravitate toward the front. ”

“ Nail these in with a small wire nail at each end. A handful of shingle or lath nails and a clump of osier sprouts will make a full outfit of stretchers for a temporary camp.
I know it is as much value in stretching your furs and preparing them for market as it is in trapping, writes a trapper. If you have no boards, go to your grocer or dry goods store and you can get all the boxes you want for 5 or 10 cents apiece. They must not be over 3/8 of an inch thick; if they are, plane them down smooth on both sides.
I make what I call the two piece stretcher with a wedge for muskrats. ”

“ As the stretcher approached the foot of the stair two of our number stepped forth from the rank, each taking a handle from a Bluebottle; the stretcher thus proceeded on its course up the stair carried by four men, one on each handle—two Bluebottles and two R.A.M.C.'s.
That flight of iron stairs from the platform to the road seemed no very arduous ordeal for the first half-dozen journeys. There was a knack about keeping the stretcher horizontal: the front bearers must hold their handles as low as possible; the rear bearers must hoist their handles shoulder-high. ”

“ As to the use of the stretcher-straps. Many coaches imagine that when they have said, "Do not pull yourself forward by your toes against the straps," they have exhausted all that is to be said on the matter. ”

“ It is usually hard to find withes that are long and straight enough to bend so as to form a good shaped stretcher. You should always aim to stretch and cure the furs you catch in the best manner. In skinning you should rip the animal straight from one heel across to the other and close to the roots of the tail on the under side. ”

“ We asked the man if he could help himself at all as he was huge, and there is always great difficulty lifting patients off of the stretchers because there is so little space between the beds and the two carriers can’t do much more than hold the stretcher at the bed level. ”

“ A Scout who dislocates his own hip, far from help, should try lashing his leg to a tree, and on his back, clasping another tree, should pull himself forward with all his strength. But a dislocation of the knee is much more delicate to manage, and with that or a dislocated elbow the Scout can contrive to get to a surgeon.
Note 59, page 214: Yes, Scouts can always manage. The quickest way to make a blanket stretcher is to double the blanket, tie each pair of corners with a non-slipping knot, and pass a pole through the fold on one edge and through the knotted corners of the other. ”

“ It was determined that these 150 men should be carried down to Frere on stretchers and by hand. And this was done, and well done, by the much-ridiculed corps of "body-snatchers."
It was no light undertaking, for the distance was twenty-five miles, and the road was dusty and not of the best. Every step had to be tramped under a glaring sun, and the heat of that day was great. Allowing twelve men to a stretcher, 1,800 men would be required. This number was forthcoming at sunrise, and they accomplished the march in the day, reaching Frere at sundown. ”

“ By Bearers.—If no conveyance can be procured or improvised, you can transport an injured person a short distance by human bearers. If only one is available, and if the patient can stand up, let him place one arm round the neck of the bearer, bringing his hand on and in front of the opposite shoulder of the bearer. ”

“ If the ground is too steep for a stretcher, and too broken for lowering on a slide, it is best to use a blanket or a web of rope; upon this the man can be lowered sideways, stage by stage, the men on the under side holding up their edge so as to keep the lie level. If the ground allows of the stretcher being carried freely, but is still inclined, one or, better, two men should act as a brake behind, pulling back on a rope attached to the stretcher. During the descent, one man familiar with the ground should be sent ahead to select the easiest line. ”

“ Indeed, if these movements are properly performed, you get a very pretty play of the toes and the ball of the foot against the stretcher, you counteract the tendency of the body to tumble forward, and you materially help the beginning from that part of the foot in which the spring resides. ”

“ As soon as the lower slopes are reached, one man should go off for assistance (two, if possible, when glaciers are in question) ; and meanwhile a stretcher can be made of cross-linked rope, or of boughs or axes combined with rope. It is well to remember that carrying a stretcher over rough ground is exhausting work, and not to spare men in the rescue party. With a heavy man rapid shifts are necessary, and twelve men have been found barely sufficient to bring down a heavy man with a broken leg, in the dark, over some hours of broken ground. ”

“ We shall take six stretchers with us; the ladies will be utterly worn out after the fatigues of such a terrible day, and possibly one or all of them will need to be carried. At any rate, we shall want stretchers in case any are wounded; we must not allow any one to fall alive into the hands of these bloodthirsty scoundrels. ”

“ Much trained skill and dexterity, especially in knee and arm staking, are required in the stretching, which is the essential feature of these operations. Breaking is first resorted to. The break beam, which is armed at each end with a knife edge, oscillates up and down. In a frame beneath it the operator stretches the dried and stiff skin. The break beam comes down upon the skin, stretches and softens it, and removes much surplus custard. The operator presents a new surface to each stroke of the break beam, and in a very short space of time the entire skin is rendered soft and pliable. ”

“ This is a stretcher suitable for a mink, or a marten.
Two large sizes with similar proportions are required for the large animals, the largest size suitable for the full grown otter and wolf, should be five feet and a half long, seven inches wide at the large end when fully spread by the wedge, and six inches at the small end. An intermediate size is required for the fisher, raccoon, fox and some other animals, the proportions of which can be easily figured out.
These stretchers require that the skin of the animal should not be ripped through the belly, but should be stripped off whole. ”

“ While soldiers are ever ready to avail themselves of every possible comfort when in the trenches, they hesitate to make use of a field service stretcher. They prefer to make their bed on the ground, under the impression that if they were to lie on stretchers in the trenches they would be carried out from the trenches on stretchers. ”

“ It is plain that great flexibility of hip-joints, knees, and ankles must be attained in order that the slide may be used fully up to the last fraction of an inch in coming forward. This flexibility very few novices, and not all old stagers, possess. The muscles and joints at first absolutely refuse to accommodate themselves to this new strain, and you will see a man as he slides forward, taking his heels well off the stretcher in order to ease the strain upon his ankles, and moving his shoulders back long before his oar has gripped the water in order to relieve his hip-joints. ”

“ What is known as the hand-litter or stretcher is used to carry men from where they fall in battle to field hospitals. The hand-litter or stretcher is generally constructed with canvas about 61⁄2 feet long by 3 feet wide, the sides securely fastened to two hard-wood poles about 8 feet in length; the two cross-pieces should be constructed so that the litter can be rolled up. Small outlying bodies of troops, especially detachments of cavalry, are not always provided with them ”

“ The flexor muscles on account of the position in sitting and because of a lack of expansive activity, often become too short. They can be extended only by activity of the extensor muscles. The stretch is the special and instinctive action of the extensor muscles in response to a distinctive demand for freedom of the organs, or harmony of the whole myological mechanism. It is also, as has been said, closely connected with the circulation, and the activity of the vital organs.
There is no more important exercise than stretching. Its neglect is one of the strange things in training. ”

“ In using the board stretchers the fur should always be on the inside, and when the hoop or bow is used it should be placed in such a position, that the air may circulate freely on both sides of the skin, which should not be removed until thoroughly dry. ”

“ I anticipated every moment that my bearers would have complained of the road, which was badly paved, and very steep the greatest part of the way; but they were fine, hardy, muscular men, and quite indifferent to a toil with which habit had rendered them familiar. Each bearer carries a long stick in his hand, which assists to support and steady him, over the uneven ground. ”

“ These are underground, too, and are little better than the posts in the trenches. But they can handle more men here and do emergency work, like amputating, if necessary. Besides, when a big attack is on, blessés are brought in much faster than we can remove them and they take care of them here for a few hours, and sometimes for days if necessary. Our work is to load up the ambulances with the assistance of the brancardiers (stretcher-bearers) and carry them back to an evacuation hospital ten or twelve miles behind the lines. These are rather crude affairs and seldom employ any women nurses. ”

“ The rope passing round the body and the forearm gives a surprising amount of resistance in friction; more so, owing to the elastic surface it embraces, than is given by a rigid belay. With its aid, if the feet are firm and the balance good, we can take a man’s weight on one arm alone, and leave the other hand free to hold the loop-anchor, or pass the loose coils round the belay or round our body as they come in. ”

“ By the word stretchings I mean the stretching of his body and limbs by a slow and gentle convulsion of the extensor muscles; for in all the attacks I never observed the flexores any way affected. — His feelings were frequently so odd that, he said, he could not describe them. He often felt as if his left side, from his head to his waste was empty, and that millions of small bodies were drove up and down with great velocity: which he likened to the shaking of peas in a bladder. ”

“ A more powerful method is by stretching the limb upon a board having axles at both ends with thongs fastened to them, by turning which such powerful extension could be made as would be sufficient even to break the muscles and tendons. When these are stretched, if the bone is dislocated [504] forwards, some round body is to be placed in the groin, and the knee is to be suddenly carried over it, for the same reason and in the same manner as in dislocations at the shoulder. In the other cases the surgeon is directed to push the bone towards its place, while an assistant propels the hip-joint. ”

“ When standing in the erect position, the hip-joint only permits the limb to move forwards, the knee-joint backwards, and the ankle-joint neither backwards nor forwards. When the body or limbs are inclined obliquely, or slightly flexed, the range of motion is increased. The greatest angle made at the knee-joint is equal to the sums of the angles made by the hip and ankle joints when these joints are simultaneously flexed, and when the angle of inclination made by the foot with the ground equals 30°. ”

“ You should have a long rope or strap ready, and as soon as you have the halter on, attach this to it, so that you can let him walk the length of the stable without letting go of the strap, or without making him pull on the halter, for if you only let him feel the weight of your hand on the halter, and give him rope when he runs from you, he will never rear, pull, or throw himself, yet you will be holding him all the time, and doing more towards gentling him than if you had the power to snub him right up and hold him to one spot ”

“ It has long been known that a contracted muscle can be stretched to a given extent by a smaller weight than is required to stretch it when it is at rest and not contracted. This has led physiologists to say that by contraction the elasticity of the muscle is diminished in amount while it is still perfect; that is to say, a contracted muscle is easily stretched, and when the stretching force is removed, it returns at once to its former length. ”