The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1875-09-01

her, and relied upon her skill,
strength, and tenderness Those
who were the reverse cursed he1
and clamored for her removal. =
Her efforts not only saved unnum-
bered lives and mitigated untold
sufferings in her own hospitals,
but, by the example they afforded
to others, became schools of in
struction. Her huge organized
laundries saved hundreds of thous.
sads of dollars to the government
and to the Sanitary Commission, by
washing what would otherwise
have been destroyed, to say moth
ing of the health and comfort they
bestowed upon the sick.
She was herculean in strength,
and indomitable in will, and pos
sessed the most extraordinary en-
durance. She saw no lions in the
way, admitted the existence of no
misunderstanding what others
would regard as such, 'cobwebs,"
and these she demolished with
nonchalant and invincible energy.
The surgeons admitted that she
had no rival in extemporizing, or
ganizing, and running hospitals.
The great military men
Grant, Sherman, Mcpherson,
Thomas, Lyon-were her firm
friends, and supplied her with ia
cilities to carry on her work. =
: She soon discovered DISPOSE
ton to misappropriate sanitary
stores, and raised her first TEMPEST
in the Brick Hospital at Cairo. A
fine box of supplies had been con
signed to her at Galesburg, con-
spicuously marked with the name
of the society that sent them. She
gave certain number of shir is,
socks, and slippers to a ward mas
ter to distribute. The next morn
ing, in going the rounds, she per
ce;ved the official wearing a SAM
tary shirt, broadly marked, while
one of his sick patients was minus
his clean one. where did you
get that SHIFT" she said fercely.
Its none of your business" he
answered. s.I'll see if it isn't" she
replied; and Selling it, as he had
no coat on, she drew it over the
head of the unfortunate wight,
stunned into silence. "Now let me
see your feet" she said, STOPPING
and taking one in her hand. Off
came the socks and slippers in II
twinkling, to the infinite delight of
the patients. The denuded thief
skunk off suddenly, a sadder and a
wiser man, and Mrs. B. had no
further trouble in this hospital con
corning sanitary stores
She was matron of the large and
complete hospital at Corinth, which
occupied the female academy of
that place, beautifully situated on
rising gound. with large addition
of hospital tents She had estab-
lished in the building a fine diet
kitchen and laundry, and was run
ming the entire concern with her
customary success. when the bat
tie commenced, and was fought on
the 3rd and 4th of October, 1862.
So perfect and comprehensive was
the system, that, Notwithstanding
the immense and sudden influx Of
wounded during the battle, and
sick and wounded rebels left on our
hands at it's conclusion, it was said
that perfect order was maintained
and every man attended properly.
The medical staff were in
spasm of delight over feat she
had just accomplished. The small
pox hospital had become charnel
house, and there seemed mono to
regenerate it. She at
once took charge of the revolving
place. An ordinary thunderstorm
would be powerless here, and she
created an earthquake; ran the
prairie pillow through the filthy
grounds and out houses, overturn-
ing cots, and in three
weeks had pure clean hospital
where few men died, and all were
made as comfortable as the loath
some disease would permit X
In the spring of 1864 she came
North to carry out characters :
tic Bickerdyke project. She de-
clared that the boys in hospital
must have fresh milk, and nothing
but COWS could give it; and they
must be solicited from the western
farmers, and taken down 10 Mem
phis. And then she waited hun
dreds of hens to lay fresh eggs for
the sick The Commission consent
ed to the plan, and agreed to fur
nish transportation for the cows
and hens. Mrs. B. procured
eighty COWS and several hundred
hens, and they were transmitted to
her at Memphis. She re-
manned with Sherman's army
through the entire series of its
brilliant victories and bloody fights
receiving and caring for its wound
ed, running and consolidating hos
pitfalls, experimenting laundries.
: She superintended the cooking
of hundreds of tons of sanitary
stores and vegetables. If in
her Journeys she found men suffer
ing with wounds fostering for lack
of clean bandages. her own cloth
ing was torn into strips, and her
own night-dresses taken for clean
covering for the poor emaciated
soldiers. No exigencies baffled
her skill and self denial-From the
Boys in Blue.
Capturing Ostriches.
The greatest feat of an Arab