[Illustration:  Triangular Bandage; Method of Folding Triangular Bandage for Use; Bandage should always be secured by means of a reef knot.]

Broken Bones

Do not try to reduce the fracture if a physician can be secured, for unskilled handling will do more harm than good.  The thing to do is to make the boy comfortable by placing him in a comfortable position with the injured part resting on a pad, keeping him perfectly quiet.  If there is an open wound, cover it with cheesecloth or gauze which has been dipped in boiling water, to which baking soda has been added.  Then wrap absorbent cotton around it.  If the boy has a fever, put wet cloths on his head, swinging them in the air to cool for changing.

The following practical suggestions are given in “Camp kits and camp life,” By Charles Stedman Hanks.

Nose

If the nose is broken, plug with gauze to stop bleeding.

Jaw

If the jaw is broken, push the bone gently into place, and if there is an open wound, cover it with gauze or cotton, made antiseptically, and then put a bandage around the jaw.

Collar Bone

If the collar bone is broken, it will be known by the pain in the shoulder and the shoulder dropping.  Holding the elbow up will relieve the weight from the collar bone.  Lay the boy on his back.  Put a cotton wad in his armpit and bandage the arm to the side of the body and put the arm in a sling.

Shoulder Blade

If the shoulder blade is broken, put the forearm across the chest with the fingers on the shoulder and then bandage the arm to the body.

Rib

If a rib is broken it will pain the patient when he takes a long breath.  Put him on his back, resting a little on the uninjured side, so that he will breathe easily.  If it is necessary to move him, bandage strips of adhesive plaster around the body, beginning at the lowest rib and working upward, having each strip lap over the one below it.  If you have no adhesive plaster, use a wide strip of cotton cloth.  After you have put his coat on, pin it as tightly as you can in the back.

Leg Above Knee

If the leg is broken above the knee, lay shoulders slightly back, with the head and shoulders slightly raised.  Draw the leg out straight, and, after padding it with cotton or towels, cut a small sapling long enough to reach from the foot to the armpit, and fasten it at the ankle, knee, and waist.  If it is necessary to move the boy, bind both legs firmly together.

Leg Below Knee

If the leg is broken below the knee, lay the boy on his back and put a pillow or a bag stuffed with grass lengthwise under it.  Then put a board or a hewed sapling on the under side of the pillow to stiffen it, and bandage the pillow and the board or sapling firmly to the leg.  If the boy has to be moved, bind both legs together.