146 
FOREST AND STREAM 
[Ato. 15, I90S. 
Nessmuk’s Camp Grounds. 
Tarpon Springs, Fla., July 25. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: ^ I read the communication of Justina Johnson 
in your issue of April 22, and was thereby reminded that 
I had for some time thought to write you something 
about Nessmuk. 
One of the first things I did, after coming to this place, 
was to visit Nessmuk’s old camp-grounds. The first of 
these is on the south side of the Anclote River, and a 
mile or so above the present bridge. The bridge was 
nearer when he camped there, and there were more trees 
about the camp than now. There is a fine view from the 
high bank of the inlet on which the camp was situated, 
and my wife and I have gone up there in a canoe more 
than once, to enjoy the sceneiw and have a picnic. The 
only traces now remaining of the old camp, are a couple 
of half-bricks, and one or two fragments of ancient tin 
cai^. 
'Jiiis place is near Salt Lake, so called, and is not far 
from Lake Butler, to which Nessmuk had a trail. He 
afterward moved his camp to the “Oak and Pine,” a 
singular natural curiosity, which, I think, lias already been 
described in your columns. There he stayed, I believe, 
while he remained in this part of the country, and he 
used to hang his canoe under a great oak branch, a part 
of the Oak and Pine. This canoe, by the by, is now the 
property of Commodore Phinney, and when he is here, it 
usually hangs under his front porch. He thought that 
there was no one now in town who could paddle it. I 
had an idea that either “Tarpon” or I could do it without 
much trouble, and intimated that if he would soak it up 
I would undertake the job. He advised me to change my 
clothes, and to have a rope made fast to myself before 
getting into the canoe, and I think that he was a good 
deal disappointed when I took a cruise on the bayou 
without taking harm. 
Nessmuk’s last camp was near a road which was fre- 
quently traveled by the people living to the northward, 
and he used to have a good many calls. There is an iron 
ring in a pine tree near which he put up for people to 
fasten their horses to. This is about the only trace of his 
presence now remaining, except a few potsherds — the 
fragments of Nessmuk’s old “monkey-jug.” A few years 
ago, when I was staying with your old correspondent, 
“Antler,” at that time about eighty- five years old, near 
Grand View, Tenn., another correspondent of yours, 
“Camerambler,” knowing that the old gentleman was a 
great admirer of Nessmuk, picked up the larger mouth of 
this jug near the Oak and Pine, and gave it to “Antler” 
for a relic, at which Mr. Stratton was very much pleased. 
I chanced to find near the same place the drinking-spout 
of the same old jug, and if “Justina Johnson” would like 
it, I .^hall take pleasure in sending it to her by mail. 
There are those here who remember Nessmuk very 
well, but there seems to be little worth telling about his 
life at Tarpon Springs. He was old and worn, the hey- 
day of his youth was far behind, and the end was almost 
in sight. 
The two poems from his pen, which I inclose, have 
iTjCver been in print. They were copied from an old album 
formerly the propert}^ of the late Mrs. Kendall, through 
the courtesy of her husband. So many people are still 
interested in the many things that Nessmuk has said, 
done and written in the past, that it seemed a pity that 
these poems should remain unpublished. Kelpie. 
Tafpen of Tarpon. 
Tarpon of Tarpon, here’s health and good wishes, 
I have camped for long months within hail of your ranch. 
I have found you a Don among paddlers and fishes— 
A comrade in woodcraft, both able and stanch. . 
Tarpon of Tarpon, the wife of your bosom 
Soon follows the redbird, the blackbird, the blue, 
And one lone canoeist will sorrow to lose ’em — • 
(The lady, her pets, and her cedar- canoe). 
Tarpon, my comrade, the solstice approaches, 
’Tis time that our sharpie stood out for the keys. 
Then adieu to debts, duns, punkies, red bugs and roaches. 
And hey for an outing on tropical seas. 
Oak and Pine, June 14, 1885. Nessmuk. 
In an Album. 
Albums are mostly paper traps. 
Put out from time to time. 
To corral unsuspecting chaps 
Within the jaws of rhyme. 
When morning stars begin to fade. 
And flowers are moist with dew. 
We lay the trusty double blade 
Athwart the light canoe. 
The bee is in the lily’s cup, 
A zephyr on the lake. 
We watch the sun rise slowly up. 
And paddle in his wake. 
And when our cruising here is through. 
Let Charon stand aside. 
And we will chance the light canoe 
Across the Dark Divide. 
Tarpon Springs, Fla., June 14, 1885, G. W. S, 
Camp Surgery. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
It is with some degree of fear and trembling that I ap- 
proach the subject of surgery in the camp. Perhaps near- 
ly every man who' has had occasion tO' penetrate the great 
woods for any length of time has felt it his duty to read 
one or niorc of the many books written upon the subject, 
“First Aid tO‘ the Injured.” No doubt that he, like my- 
self, has been appalled by the magnitude of the surgical 
requireinents of the little volume. The truth about the 
matter simply is that I have never seen one of these little 
brochures that was written by a man who had ever had 
any practical experience in the hills. They are written 
solely by men who have at their command surgical sup- 
plies unlimited, and are as useless for the guidance of 
the average woods-loafer as would be a work on conic 
sections. 
No one more fully appreciates the weakness of this 
article thaii your most humble servant ; still, I cannot 
help but think that some ray of light might be shed by 
iny speaking to the lay brother anent the taking care of 
his body should he be so unfortunate as to- require sur- 
gical aid when skilled surgical aid is an impossibility. 
I shall be nothing if not simple. The medical man who 
reads this article will no doubt criticise ; that is his privi- 
lege, but he must remember that the subject is not treated 
of for his_ enlightenment but for the instruction of the 
man who is not trained in surgical technique. 
The first and most important surgical axiom that occurs 
to me now is comprised within the one word, “cleanli- 
ness.” By that I do not mean the ordinary idea of the 
word, but absolute surgical cleanliness. You can hew and 
hack the human form divine in almost any old shape (as 
some of our would-be surgeons do) provided you keep it 
clean, and it will restore itself. 
However, I am sort of getting the subject mixed up 
and slopping it all over the sides. I should first begin 
b}' telling you what I have always considered necessary 
for me to take into the hills. The surgical outfit has been 
selected with an idea of meeting all emergencies, at the 
same time being compact and so simple that the layman 
could fully understand how to use it. 
You have caught my idea ere this that antisepsis 
(cleanliness) is an essential; nothing so conduces toward 
surgical clpnliness as corrosive sublimate. This power- 
ful germicide is now manufactured into a tablet known 
to the medical profession as “Bernay’s Tablet.” One of 
these added to a certain quantity of warm water produces 
a solution of a definite strength and is the most active 
and powerful agent that we possess for the cleansing of 
wounded or otherwise septic surfaces. This tablet, then, 
should find the first place in your kit. 
I should consider that hiemostasis (stopping blood) 
to be the most important knowledge that you can possess. 
Many valuable lives have been sacrificed from lack of in- 
formation upon this very point. Nearly every school boy 
knows what his text-book on physiology says about the 
bleeding of severed vessels, but it is a safe wager that 
not one person in ten could successfully ligate a bleeding 
artery. The facts learned in your school days that a jet- 
ting stream was arterial and a steady one venous are in 
the main correct, but at that it is not a very valuable 
lesson. That you should compress between the heart 
and the injury for the jet and beyond it for the stream 
is only relatively true. That it will suffice in the ma- 
jority of cases only makes the fact the more dangerous 
for the minority. There are ver}^, very many arteries in 
the human body that branch in such manner as to form 
what is technically known as anastomoses, and where 
these anastomoses occur it would be only supplying fuel 
to the flame to compress above the wound. All this talk 
is a little previous, but the thought came into my head 
just at that point, and I am not any way responsible for 
the working of my mind, so right there was where I set 
the thought down. Buy at least six Kelly’s haemostatic 
forceps and at least two tank packages of Lee’s catgut 
ligature. That will be all the stuff that you will require 
to stop the flow of blood. 
Of course you will need some dressings for your 
wounded and otherwise injured surfaces. Six assorted 
rolled cotton bandages and four ounces of best sterilized 
absorbent cotton and several yards of plain sterilized 
gauze, and at least one jar of moist iodoform or boracic 
acid gauze. One ounce of camphophenique powder. One 
dozen assorted best surgeon’s needles. One-half dozen of 
Red Cross ligatures (silk), one drachm of cocaine hydro- 
chlorate in a sealed tube. A good hypodermic syringe in 
metal case, which case will admit of the placing of sev- 
eral tubes of tablets. These tablets to comprise strych- 
nine sulphate gr. i-6o; morphine sulphate, gr. i glonoin, 
gr. i-ioo; apomorphia, gr. i-io. One small knife and a 
pair of sharp-pointed plain forceps will be about all the 
surgical supplies that you can use. Possibly you might 
use a roll of adhesive plaster, about 2j4 inches, to- a good 
advantage. This is all that occurs to me at the present 
time. Should there be anything more that I deem requi- 
site I shall mention that fact in the course of the discus- 
sion of the various surgical phases that may present 
themselves. 
The first and most important class of injuries that will 
require the attention of the woods surgeon is that class 
known as incised wounds. It is quite a common thing for 
the denizen of the woods to suffer a cut from some sharp 
instrument. An ax, in cutting ivood, makes an ugly and 
sometimes_ very dangerous cut. The first duty is to- strip 
every vestige of clothing and covering from about the site 
of the injury, and then for the sake of heaven, do not in- 
sist upon applying chewed tobacco, flour, or the thousand 
and odd local remedies of popular favor, but simply keep 
the wounded surface as free from foreign matter as pos- 
sible. Note carefully the character of the bleeding, and 
if arterial in its nature pass a compress about the limb or 
body above the wound and turn it very tight. This will 
only serve to- stay the flow and possibly not even that. 
At any rate, it will give you an opportunity to investigate. 
After the blood has ceased flowing in spurts wash the 
wound out thoroughly wdth the solution of bi-chloride, 
as mentioned above and examine. Yon will probably find, 
down deep in the bottom of the w'ound, a little teat ; now' 
let the compress loose for an instant and if this little teat 
should send forth a sharp- jet of bright red blood imme- 
diately clamp it with a pair of the hiemostatic forceps, 
catching well down on the flesh each side of the vessel. 
It may be that the vessel will spout from both ends. The 
procedure is obvious; clamp from both ends. Unless the 
vessel is a very large one, if you will allow the forceps to 
remain clamped upon the artery for some ten or fifteen 
minutes before removing them, the vessel will become 
stopped up and will not flow any more. It is better, how- 
ever, to make assurance doubly sure by ligating the sev- 
ered vessel. This is easily done by taking a portion of 
your catgut ligature, that is preserved in the tank pack- 
age, and loosely tying it about the jaws of the forceps, 
then sliding it down over the clamped vessel and drawing 
tight. Tie once more and cut off short. Now, just one 
vyord about tying a ligature, and this will apply to- all 
ligatures or sutures, so- please bear it in mind. Where 
you desire either suture or ligature to remain taut (and 
you always do) take two turns- with the thread under 
before drawdng it tight. That is, tie your first knot twice 
then draw down. You will notice that I have not advised 
you to carry along any scissors. ' The reason for that is 
that you can do nearly everything with a good sharp knife 
that can be done with scissors, and you save one tool in 
j'o-ur kit. do resume, having tied your bleeding vessels 
and washed out your wounded surface with many wash- 
ings of warm water and corrosive sublimate, then are 
you ready to close it up. Most surgeons prefer to handle 
a needle upon some form of needle holder. I fancy that 
the average person would find that instrument a very 
clumsy and unwieldy one, so I have purposely omitted it 
from my list. If it should become necessary for you to 
use more force in passing your needle through the flesh 
than that which you possess in your fingers, then you may 
use one of your Kelly forceps to- a very good advantage, 
but in almost every case you will find that yo-u can force 
the needle through with your unaided fingers. Load one 
of your needles (preferably a curved one) with a strand 
of silk that seems to you most appropriate in size, and 
proceed to pass it through the flesh at one end of the 
wound, about a quarter of an inch from the injury and 
carr3'ing the needle well down to the bottom of the 
wound before causing it to emerge into the cut. Pass it 
on through to- the opposite side of the cut at the bottom 
and cause it to penetrate the opposite wall, bringing it 
to the skin surface an equal distance from the wound. 
Cut off the thread and proceed as before, allowing about 
one-half inch between the sutures. Right here let me 
define the two terms ligature and suture. Ligate means 
to bind and refers solely to where you throw a thread or 
some other substance about a limb or a vessel and con- 
strict it by drawing the substance tight. Suture means to 
draw opposite surfaces together as when sewing up a 
wound._ Bear these definitions in mind so that when read- 
ing articles upon this subject you need not become con- 
fused with the terms. 
After suturing the wound as suggested, begin at the 
point of commencement and tie each one of the sutures 
snugly, turning each one under twice so that it will not . 
slip. Wash again thoroughly and dust over with campho- 
phenique and lav on several thicknesse of iodoform gauze 
and several more- of plain gauze, then run on a bandage 
and allow Dame Nature to do the rest. Do- not disturb 
that dressing for at least four days, and if it is not giving 
you any trouble not even then. It will be impossible for 
you to avoid a certain amount of suppuration in a vast 
majority of your wounds, but remember that nature is 
qualified to handle a gi'eat many germs, and some sup- 
puration will not cut much figure. Should your pus be- 
come very profuse, however, it will be well for you to 
dress the wound with a strong solution of bi-chloride on 
cotton or gauze, renewing the dressing several times 
daily. This will only be necessary, however, when the 
patient finds himself with some fever and much pain 
about the wotmd, the wound itself becoming angry and 
red. In m.ost cases all that will be required is to- dress 
the surface with the dusting powder and the moist gauze 
and at the expiration of the sixth day clip the sutures 
and pull them out. 
I will now discuss- very briefly gunshot wounds. The 
modern high velocity firearm usually produces a wound 
that of itself is antiseptic, that is clean from the surgeon’s 
point of view. Therefore^ when wounded with one of 
these weapons the sole indication is to combat the shock 
and keep the surface clean. Remove the clothing from 
the immediate vicinity of the wound and apply ^a very 
strong solution of corrosive sublimate to both the en- 
trance and exit wounds. Above all things, if the bullet 
has not passed entirely through do not begin probing for 
it. That is an qrror that many surgeons fall into, '’The 
