The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1890-07-11
HERoIsM OF MISS PARSONS.
An Army Nurse Who Is Frightened Neithe
by Heat Ner Disease.

Miss Louise Parsons, head nurse of
a ward in Johns Hopkins hospital, Bal
timore, and acting superintendent of
nurses pending the arrival of Miss
Isabel A. Hampton of Canada, has an
interesting history. Miss Parsons is
one of the nursing sisters, II Nightin-
gale nurse, trained in 1879 at ST. Thom-
as Hospital, London. Florence Night
ingale, after the Crimean war, start
ed this school of instruction UNI
der the name of ST. Thomas Training
School for Nurses. For service in
Egypt during the Soudan war, Miss
Parsons has been highly commended
and handsomely decorated. She re-
ceived from Queen Victoria the Royal
Red Cross. which the queen, the
princess of Wales and other members
of the royal family of England wear;
a silver medal from the English war
office, and bronze medal from the
khedive of Egypt.
Miss Parsons, Us described by the
Springfield Union, is an Englishwoman
of medium stature and active move
ment. She sailed from London for the
Soudan March 3, 1885, and landed mt
Suez, from which place she had a two
and half days trip TO Suakim. She
was stationed on the steam transport
Gauges, fitted up as a hospital. The
boat received its complement of pa
tients from the seat of war, wounded
and fever-strieken. There were about
four hundred on the Gauges when Miss
Parsons was assigned to that post.
During her stay on the steamer the
ship was cleared of all who could be
moved. They were transferred to she
Iberia and sent to London. Suakim is
said to be the hottest place in the
world-so hot that flies cannot live
there. The last popular belief, Miss
Parsons, says, is mistake, for she
saw and fought millions of flies here
and all the plaques of Israel. Miss
Parsons, with two other sisters, took
back to England 400 patients on the
Iberia and only lost four on the way.
She returned overland to Brindisi and
crossed the Mediterranean to Alexan-
dria, whence she went to Suez by rail,
passing the battlefield of Tel-e-Keber,
where the Arabs in 1883 lost 5000
killed. The journey is described as
terrible, on account of the heat. With
three other sisters she was stationed
at Suez, and received all sick forward
ed from Suakim, AS soon as con-
valescent they were put aboard home
bound ships.
1t was intensely hot at Suez, and Miss
Parsons had a thermometer, from ex-
cess of heat burst in her pocket. The
hospital yard was gorgeous with beau
tiful flowers, but they had to be gath
cred before o'clock in the morning or
the hot atmosphere robbed them of
their fragrance. In some of the
marshes the men, suffering with dread
full thirst, would drink water that had
been lying in the sun for days. The
result was always largely increased
number for the hospitals. She was
herself attacked with typhoid fever at
Suez suffered relapse on the home
ward voyage on the steamer Ganges,
and had second relapse after she
reached home. Miss Parsons sent her
resignation to the war Office before
coming to this country. She'came to
the United States on visit, but cir
cumstanccs caused her to remain long
er than she expected, and finally to ac-
cept place in the Johns Hopkins hos
pital. She has never served in any
other hospital in the United States.