U. S. S. MASSACHUSETTS, AT SEA, OCTOBER 5, 1901.
THE SECRETARY AND TREASURER OF THE U. S. NAVAL INSTITUTE, ANNAPOLIS, MD.
Sir:—In Vol. XXVI, No. 4, of the Proceedings of the U. S. Naval Institute, 1900, is an article, "A Stretcher for Wounded on Board Ship," by Lieut.-Comdr. Dennis H. Mahan, U. S. Navy.
As a matter of history, I send you this for publication.
I designed and have used the same stretcher for the past nine years. The first one made was on the U. S. S. Montgomery in 1893. The second and third on the U. S. S. Detroit in the same year; they were used by me during that whole commission in China and until the Detroit returned to the United States. Straps were first used, but were discarded for a simple lashing, as the straps dragged on the deck, were not tidy, and were trodden upon when used in drill. The coil of lashing was kept in the place assigned for the stretcher. Medical Director Ayers, Fleet Surgeon, Asiatic Station, in his inspection of the ship, commented upon its simplicity.
My idea in designing it was to secure a rigid splint for the whole body, so that no matter what part sustained injury it could be transferred without movement and least discomfort; its narrowness was to admit of its ready transit through watertight doors and small hatches of our modern ships. The buttock strip and foot-rest to prevent the sliding of the patient when passed down hatches or into boats.
The simple lashing is preferable to the fixed straps; it can be adjusted to prevent pressure over the seat of injury and variation in size of patients.
The first one of these stretchers I saw other than those I had made is the one now on board this ship; it was brought to this vessel by Dr. Bogert, U. S. N., from the New York. I immediately recognized it, but was surprised and astonished when informed it was called the "Mahan Stretcher." Afterwards I saw an article by Medical Inspector C. U. Gravette, U. S. N., in the Proceedings of the Associations of Military Surgeons, giving Mahan the credit, and later, the article in the Institute Proceedings.
Lieut.-Comdr. John L. Gow lately suggested a valuable improvement in making the buttock strip adjustable to allow for the variation in the length of legs.
Very sincerely,
HOWARD E. AMES,
Surgeon, U. S. Navy