THE ALUMNI JOURNAL. 



117 



FIRST AID TO THE INJURED.* 



By A. ERNEST GALLANT, M.D. 



Lecturer for the Society for First Aid to the Iniured, 



etc., New York. 



During the summer of 1891 my vaca- 

 tion was spent in the picturesque and 

 historical region of the Madeline Islands 

 at the northwestern end of Lake Supe- 

 rior, and there I witnessed the devas- 

 tation wrought by one of those terrific 

 wind and rain storms which come up so 

 unexpectedly from the lake. Nothing 

 can stand before its fury. Windows 

 forced in, houses unroofed and lifted 

 from their foundations, cellars filled, 

 foundations undermined, and frequently 

 serious results to life and limb. Just as 

 the storm came up a small traveling cir- 

 cus of one tent and a few cages of wild 

 animals was filling the hearts of the 

 country folk, from far and near, with all 

 the wonders of the ring, clown, bareback 

 riders, etc. In an instant the tent and 

 its occupants were dashed with terrific 

 force to the ground and pandemonium 

 reigned supreme. Women and children 

 screaming, wild animals howled and 

 roared, strong men fought with the fury 

 of the insane to free themselves from the 

 debris, cut heads, bruised bodies, dis- 

 located and fractured limbs were numer- 

 ous. All combined to make a scene al- 

 most sheolish. Every physician in the 

 neighborhood was called to the spot and 

 the wounded received appropriate care- 

 The scene remains vividly impressed on 

 my mind and has convinced me of the 

 importance of training every man, woman 

 and child in First Aid. 



In order to present the subject in a 

 nemonic way the title of the organization 

 may be divided as follows : 



I. The Society. 



II. For Instruction in First Aid. 

 III. To the Injured. 



♦Delivered before the New York College of Pharmacy, 

 April 10th, 1895. 



I. — THE SOCIETY. 



Following out the noble work of Miss 

 Florence Nightingale, Professor Esmarch 

 established the Samariter Verein in Ger- 

 many, and later the work was carried to 

 the British Isles, where, under the title 

 of St. John's Ambulance Association of 

 London, and the patron saints of Ire- 

 land and Scotland, the work has extend- 

 ed to the antipodes. 



Throughout the British domains, not 

 only laymen, but the police, military 

 officers and men, railroad employees, 

 miners, and many others, have been in- 

 structed, examined, and granted certifi- 

 cates. The St. John's Association has 

 granted nearly 25,000 certificates, dis- 

 tributed over 40,000 Esmarch bandages 

 and sold over 70,000 books on " First 

 Aid." 



In this city the First Aid work was 

 organized in 1882, as a committee of the 

 State Charities Aid Association, under 

 the championship of the late General 

 G. B. McClellan. In 1883, having out- 

 grown the work originally started, the 

 committee reorganized as the Society 

 for Instruction in First Aid to the In- 

 jured. 



The report of the society for the eleven 

 months ending March, 1895, shows that 

 during that period 39 classes, made up 

 of 228 men and 330 women, received the 

 regular course of instruction. Since the 

 organization of the society 7,443 persons 

 have taken the regular course and 3,927 

 passed the examination and were award- 

 ed diplomas. 



II. — FOR INSTRUCTION IN FIRST AID. 



The object of the Society is to give in- 

 struction by means of lectures and prac- 

 tical demonstrations in the use of means 

 to be employed before a physician arrives, 

 and thus provide for the immediate ap- 

 plication of the measures at hand to allay 

 suffering and save life. 



