Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - X. The Japanese ambulance and hospital service
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118 THE SIEGE OF PORT ARTHUR
primitive, and I do not think a European army
could manage with so little. Bandages, medicine,
everything was of the cheapest. The wounded
lay on floors of unplaned planks, without beds,
mattresses, or pillows. They had not even a
mosquito curtain to protect them from the num-
berless flies and the millions of mosquitoes, more
poisonous and more ferocious here than anywhere
else in the world.
Between the foot-hills, along the narrow valleys
and winding gullies, right behind the infantry lines,
often in front of the batteries, these tents, flying
the Red Cross flag, were everywhere seen. Stand-
ing in one of them, it was difficult to know which
to admire most—the skill, dexterity, and untiring
care of the Japanese army surgeons, or the
marvellous fortitude and endurance of the Japanese
soldiers. With most horrible wounds, and during
most painful operations, the wounded man lay
there without uttering a groan. His teeth might
gnash convulsively and the cold perspiration break
out on his forehead when the pain became too
acute ;
but only once—and then the man had had
the whole fore part of his head and body burnt
and torn to tatters by a high explosive shell—only
once did I hear a moan or a cry.
It is said that the nervous system of the
Japanese is not so highly developed as ours, so
that the pain they feel is nothing to what we
would suffer under similar conditions. The doctors
say that their diet and entire mode of living is
much more rational than our own, and that this
prevents a great deal of suppuration and other
complications. They also assert that the healthy
physique of the Japanese makes their nerves less
highly-strung than ours. If that is so, it may
prove a blessing in disguise when the time comes
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