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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAmiC MAGAZINE 



4 * 



Photograph by Herbert Corey 



AMERICAN AND FRENCH SOLDIERS PAYING A SILENT TRIBUTE TO THE 



AMERICAN DEAD 



The flags which float above these newly made graves are the tribute of the Americans ; the 

 wreaths are the homage of their French companions 



their blood to a study of the problem, that 

 a high degree of heat and rigorous clean- 

 liness are the only means by which the 

 plague can be successfully fought. 



N C I POWDER USED IN WAR ON THE 



BEASTIE 



The NCI powder, supplied to all the 

 armies, will free the men from the beastie 

 if they have some little chance to keep 

 clean while they are using it. One ap- 

 plication is considered good for five days. 

 It is made up of naphthalene, 96 per cent ; 

 creosote, 2 per cent ; and iodoform, 2 

 per cent. It would not be favored in 

 civilian circles, because the user of N C I 

 advertises that fact to the most casual 

 passer ; but it does the work. 



Another objection to N C I is that it 

 causes severe smarting if used in large 

 quantities ; but the men seem not to ob- 

 ject to that. The soldier who is thor- 

 oughly inured to war seems to care little 

 for bodily pain. I have seen men at hard 

 work whose slight wounds had been only 

 partially healed, so that each movement 

 must have been productive of pain. 



The Englishman, if asked about it, 

 grins and says that he must "carry on." 



The American says : "We've got to get 

 through with it." The Frenchman as- 

 sures you that it makes no difference to 

 him. 



■ There are other treatments. One is 

 a vermijelli ointment, with which the men 

 smear themselves almost from head to 

 foot. A preparation of crude oil and 

 soft paraffin melted together sets like a 

 salve and is very useful when similarly 

 used. A mercury ointment is likewise 

 employed with success, but all these are 

 merely temporary expedients. 



It is when the men come into rest 

 camps that the "cootie" is properly han- 

 dled. Heat and hot water give temporary 

 relief from the scourge. The method 

 usually followed is that of the British 

 army. 



THE DELOUSING ESTABLISHMENT 



The men enter the first room of a 

 three-room bathing establishment. There 

 they undress and hand their soiled clothes 

 through a window to a receiver, who 

 sends the bundle to the "delousing ma- 

 chine." 



They pass into the middle room and 

 take a thorough bath with plenty of soap 



