PETCHORA 289 



Eagle, the same S Hen Harrier and a fine ? Merlin, 

 which last I shot. We also shot some Tree Sparrows, a 

 Magpie, two Hooded Crows, and one Yellowhammer. 

 And we saw an Eagle Owl at a peasant's house, which 

 had been shot with a bullet. 



There is great need here for a doctor, and there is none. 

 Peasants have repeatedly come into our rooms asking for 

 advice as regards ugly wounds in the hands and legs and 

 feet, principally caused by the axe. We think it no great 

 wonder that such wounds are frequent, as the axe is 

 held in a way which would be considered highly dangerous 

 in our country. The men stand with the feet close 

 together, and cut across a tree or log straight towards 

 their legs, lifting the axe straight above the head. 



But it is not the immediate effects of the wounds which 

 are dangerous, if they were properly treated, but the bad 

 and most ignorant treatment they receive, possibly com- 

 bined with the bad state of the blood in individuals. The 

 wound is wrapped up in a filthy dirty rag or coloured 

 handkerchief, which appears never to be changed, never 

 washed or tended, and the consequence is, all kinds of 

 impurities get in, and the wound becomes a festering 

 sore. They seem to be utterly unaware of the necessity 

 of frequent washing and cleanliness, and of giving it rest, 

 or keeping the leg in a horizontal position. One man had 

 a wound in his heel — how received I do not know— but 

 it had opened into a deep circular suppurating sore, an 

 inch or more in depth. Another had cut one of his 

 fingers nearly off with an axe, and had the wound 

 wrapped up in a dirty rag. For four weeks it has been 

 tormenting him, swelling and mattering until the other 

 fingers next to it have become affected, and are bent out 

 of shape and comeliness. We dispense lint and oilskin, 

 and do what we can, but we never can feel sure that they 

 follow our directions. 



