om, wounds. There are two main things
to be watched: first, the wound itself, and second, any unwashed or
unsterilized part of your own or some other living body. Dirt of all
sorts is a mighty good thing to keep absolutely out of the wound, but
practically a whole handful of ordinary soil or dust rubbed into a wound
might not, unless it happened to contain fertilizer of some sort, be
half so dangerous as a single touch with a finger which had been
dressing a wound, picking a scab out of the nose, rubbing an ulcerated
gum, or scratching an itching scalp. If it be a cut on the finger, or
scratch on the hand, for instance, don't suck it, or lick it, unless you
can give an absolutely clean bill of health to your gums and teeth. If
not thoroughly brushed three or four times a day, they are sure to be
swarming with germs of twenty or thirty different species, which not
infrequently include one or both of the pus-germs. Indeed, the real
reason why the bite of certain animals, and above all of a man,
particularly of a "blue-gum nigger," is regarded as so dangerous is on
account of the swarms of germs that breed in any remnants of food left
between the teeth or in the pockets of ulcerating gums. Many a human
bite is almost as dangerous as a rattlesnake's. The devoted hero who
sucks the poison of the dagger out of the wound may be conferring a
doubtful benefit, if he happens to be suffering from Rigg's disease.

Don't try to stop the bleeding unless it comes in spurts or the flow is
serious. The loss of a few teaspoonfuls, tablespoonfuls, or, for the
matter of that, cupfuls, of blood won't do you any harm, and its free
flow will wash out the cut from the bottom, and carry out most of the
germs that may happen to be present on the knife or nail. If water and
dressings are not accessible, let the blood cake and dry over the wound
without disturbing it, even though it does look rather gory.

A slight cut with a clean knife, or other instrument, into which no dirt
has been rubbed, will often require no other dressing than its own
blood-scab. If, however, as oftener happens, you cannot be sure of the
cleanness of the knife, tool, or nail, hold the wound under running
water from a pump or tap (this is not germ-free, but practically never
contains pus-germs), until the wound has been thoroughly washed out,
wiping any gravel or dirt out of the cut with soft rags which have been
recently washed, or baked in the oven; then dry with a small