THE VETERINARY SURGEON IN THE U. S. ARMY. 
413 
expected to perform a miracle; then comes the troop blacksmith— 
but let him pass, he is a monument erected to the ignorance of 
the War Department on all matters pertaining to veterinary science 
and especially to the treatment of the horse’s foot in health ; he 
is the butchering mutilator, who, armed with a knife and rasp, 
revels in the devastation he causes among that most important 
part of the equine’s anatomy—his feet, and this individual lords it 
over the veterinarian in the army, for were he to interfere with 
the traditions of the troop shoeing-shop, or offer any suggestions 
without first requesting permission from the troop commander, 
he would be ordered out of said shop forthwith. The troops 
commander relies solely on the farrier and horse shoer, and treats 
the daily visits of the veterinary surgeon as a piece of imperti¬ 
nence. The drugs used in veterinary medicine in the United 
States army, thirty-one in number, are placed in the hands of the 
farriers, who keep them under lock and key, except the alcohol 
and ether, which he dispenses to his friends, and should the vet¬ 
erinary surgeon be called to treat an animal in a very urgent case, 
he has to hunt up the individual farrier to whose troop the animal 
belongs, in order that he may gain access to the drug that he re 
quires. As you may observe, there is not much choice in the 
matter of drugs—turpentine, laudanum and aloes being consid¬ 
ered all-sufficient by our friend the War Department. 
The surgical instruments are in the custody of the quarter¬ 
master’s sergeant, already referred to, who loans them out to the 
veterinary surgeons, who must return them the following day or 
an explanation is in order; these instruments are generally in a 
filthy condition and half rusted, and no sane man would for a 
moment entertain the idea of performing the simplest operation 
with them. The only alternative left is to use your own case if you 
can afford to purchase one out of your small salary. The Gov¬ 
ernment furnishes nothing in the shape of a hospital in which to 
treat animals. Anyhow it would be a useless appendage, as the 
veterinary surgeon has not the power to place an animal on the 
sick list without the sanction of the troop commander, who may 
be some old fossil who knows no more about a horse than he does 
about maneuvering his company—and heaven knows, in the ma- 
