A HAKIM 285 The two men seemed much pleased. It was evident to them that if they could do these things it would widely add to their reputation. It is good/ they said; you shall go round with us and see the wounded, and we will see for ourselves what you can do. Will you want this chest carried?

‘No/ I said; will take these instruments with me. Should it be necessary to cut off a limb to try and save life, I shall need the knives, the saw, and this instrument, which I heard the white hakim call a tourniquet, and which they use for stopping the flow of blood while they are cutting. There are other instruments, too, that will be required.’ ” CHAPTEE XYIII A HAKIM ‘‘X SUCCEEDED in getting out two more bullets, and -L then handed the instruments to the hakims, saying that I had shown them all I knew, and would now leave the matter in their hands altogether, or would act as their assistant if they wished it. I had no fear that harm would come of it, for being so frequently engaged in war I knew that they had in a rough way considerable skill in the treatment of wounds. I had impressed upon them while probing the wounds that no force must be used, and that the sole object was to find the exact course the ball had taken. As to the amputations, they would probably not be attempted. A fighting Dervish would rather die than lose a limb, and were he to die under an operation his relatives would accuse the operator of having killed him.

“ I remained at work with them for two or three days. In nearly half the cases they failed to find the course of the ball; but when they did so and the wound was not too deep, they generally succeeded in extracting it. They were highly