AT SEA: ON PASSAGE 137 



crude. The captain was always ex officio physician and sur- 

 geon, although he was utterly untrained for such offices and 

 was forced to follow some naive rule of thumb or his common 

 sense in ministering to his patients. As physician he was 

 guided by the contents of a standardized medicine-chest. This 

 included a limited quantity of the more common drugs and 

 medicines, each of which was given a separate number. Ac- 

 companying each chest was a book of directions describing the 

 symptoms of those diseases most common at sea and prescrib- 

 ing a dose of a certain numbered medicine as a cure for each 

 disease so listed. The duties of a physician then became a 

 "simple" matter of reading the book and following directions. 

 For instance, if a man complained of a certain set of symptoms, 

 the captain turned to the guide and found that the appropriate 

 treatment consisted of a dose of No. 7 or of No. 4, which might 

 be calomel or what not. This was promptly administered in 

 the amount specified, and the case considered closed. But at 

 times even this process was felt to be too complicated, and a 

 generous dose of glauber salts, calomel, or castor oil was pre- 

 scribed for any and every complaint, regardless of the symp- 

 toms. 



As surgeon the master was even more untrained in his meth- 

 ods and crude in his equipment. With a few exceptions, so 

 rare as to be negligible, no American whaler carried adequate 

 surgical instruments. Nor was there anyone on board who 

 had had the slightest professional training in surgery. This 

 was particularly surprising because accidents of all degrees of 

 seriousness occurred frequently, and because the British whal- 

 ing industry set a familiar example by carrying an accredited 

 surgeon on every large vessel. But whereas the captain as 

 physician was either ludicrous or grotesque, as a surgeon the 

 very inadequacy of his training and equipment often forced 

 him to exhibit downright heroism. Dozens of instances might 

 be cited in which terrifying operations were performed with 

 coolness and despatch, though not with skill and gentleness j 

 but a single illustration must suffice. 



On one voyage a man's hand and foot were completely cut 

 oflF by the flying loop of a whale-line. It was necessary 

 to amputate the leg and to dress the stump of the arm. 



