The Face of Manchuria, Korea, & Russian Turkestan by Emily Georgiana Kemp

From Moukden we made a flying visit to Peking and into Shansi, but as that does not come within the scope of this book, I shall take up my narrative from the point where we re-entered Manchuria on our return by the South Manchurian Railway. We were astonished to see the hundreds of emigrants going north: every train was packed with them. There was an accident on the line, a young lad of twenty having his leg badly crushed by the train preceding ours. First aid was rendered by the officials, who are trained to give it, and by means of a chunk of coal and some cord the bleeding was stopped, the ligature being so tight as completely to stop the circulation. The lad was put on a big sort of door and placed in the luggage van of our train, and the conductor came round as soon as we had started again to see if a doctor was aboard to give further aid. Our party provided one, and there were all necessary requisites in the shape of bandages, splints, permanganate of potash, &c., in the surgery at the junction farther up the line, so that the patient was made as comfortable as possible when he arrived there, and a message was telegraphed to the medical mission at Hsin Muntun, which happened to be both his and also our destination. On arrival the doctor and assistants were waiting, and the young man was carried away at once to the hospital. Amputation was necessary, but the lad would not at first agree to it; however, just as we had finished dinner a message came to say that his friends had been summoned, and that both they and he were willing for the operation to take place, so no time was lost in performing it.

Next morning we visited him in the hospital, and found him looking quite comfortable, and not at all pale even.