256 BARBER AND TEAGUE. 



nurses, attendants, and inspectors during the recent epidemic 

 of pneumonic plague in Manchuria will never be known. The 

 following death roll at Fuchiatien, the Chinese city near Harbin, 

 shows that the total must have been extremely high. 



List of deaths of antiplague staff at Fuchiatien.- 



Doctors 



1 out of 



20 



Students 



1 out of 



29 



Native practitioners 



4 out of 



9 



Police inspectors 



2 out of 



31 



Police 



30 out of 



688 



Sanitary police 



11 out of 



206 



Mounted police 



5 out of 



80 



Firemen 



5 out of 



20 



Coolies 



102 out of 



550 



Cooks 



4 out of 



60 



Ambulance parties 



69 out of 



150 



Soldiers 



63 out of 



1,100 



Total 



297 out of 



2,943 



In South Manchuria the plague sanitary corps suffered a loss 

 of 122 persons among whom were 1 Japanese, 1 English, and 

 40 Chinese physicians. This represents 2.66 per cent of the 

 total plague mortality in the districts concerned.^ 



The presumption is that all of the members of the sanitary 

 corps wore masks. The masks were, however, not worn con- 

 stantly nor were they always properly adjusted; coolies were 

 often seen with the masks hanging around their necks instead of 

 being over their mouths. Hence the high death rate of the sani- 

 tary staff can not be regarded as proof of the inefficiency of 

 masks. 



In Mukden the mask which was almost universally employed 

 consisted of a pad of absorbent cotton about 16 by 12 centi- 

 meters and about 1.5 centimeters thick; this was wrapped in 

 gauze, the ends of which were tied at the back of the head. 

 (See Plate V, fig. I. B.) A many-tailed bandage (see Plate 

 V, fig. I. A) composed of three layers of gauze with holes for 

 the eyes was tied around the entire head and served to press 

 the mask firmly against the face and to keep it snugly in place 

 for hours at a time. When first put on, this mask was deci- 

 dedly uncomfortable, but after a few minutes one became some- 

 what accustomed to it and could wear it for two or three hours 

 at a time. There was, however, always an intense feeling of 



"-Ibid., p. 242. ''Ibid., p. 244. 



