s, however, rendered them liable to many accidents.

Possessing no firearms, and thus necessarily obliged to come in close
contact with the savage beasts in their conflict with them, they were
often severely wounded.

Fortunate was it for the injured one if he had companions near when the
bone was fractured or the flesh torn. If, when accidents occur, the
injuries are not considered very desperate, a little camp is improvised
and with a day or two of rest, with some simple remedies from nature's
great storehouse--the forest--a cure is quickly effected. If a leg or
arm is broken, a stretcher of young saplings is skillfully prepared,
interwoven with broad bands of soft bark, and on this elastic, easy
couch the wounded man is rapidly carried to his distant wigwam by his
companions.

When there are but two persons, and an accident happens to one of them,
two young trees that are tough and elastic are used. Then tops of small
branches are allowed to remain, and very much diminish the jolting
caused by the inequalities of the ground. No carriage spring ever more
successfully accomplished its purpose. A couple of cross bars preserve
the saplings in position, and the bark of some varieties of shrubs or
trees cut into bands and joined to either side forms a comfortable
couch. In this way an injured man has often been dragged many miles by
his companion, and in some instances it has been found on his arrival at
his forest home that the fractured bones were uniting, and soon the limb
was whole again.

With these healthy, simple children of the forest wounds heal with great
rapidity and fractured bones soon unite. This reparative power of the
Indians when injured is only paralleled by the wonderful stoicism with
which they bear injuries, and at times inflict upon themselves the
severest torture. With flints as substitutes for lances, they will cut
open the largest abscesses to the very bone. They will amputate limbs
with their hunting knives, checking the haemorrhage with red-hot stones
as was done long years ago by the surgeons of Europe.

With marvellous nerve many a wounded hunter or warrior has been known to
amputate his own limb, or sew up with sinew the gaping wounds received
in conflict with the hostile foe or savage beast. They were cognisant
of the value, and extensively used warm fomentations. If rheumatism or
other kindred diseases assailed them, the Turkish bath in a very simple
form was often used. Som