Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-12-04
THE MISSIONARY NURSE.

Diversity OF Occupation In the Lot OF One
Who Cares for tho Poor.
MY working hours?" said the mis-
sionary nurse. ''Why, bless you, nurs-
ing isn't matter of hours; it is one of
endurance. One day out of six am al
lowed to rest, but during the other five
working days of the week am thankful
if get five hours of sleep out of the
twenty-four.
why don't the sick poor go to the hos
pitfalls? If you were to ask them they
would say that they are afraid of the
black bottle. They believe firmly that
when hospital nurses and doctors see
that patients case is hopeless they
put him out of his misery with dose
from black bottle. You would be sur
prised to find how common this kind of
talk is. even among those of whom you
would expect better sense. They would
rather remain among their people who
encourage them in such foolishness,
though they themselves haven't time to
nurse their sick, even if they knew how.
OF course people brought up in the
slums don't mind the smells as / do, and
the sight of vermin doesn't nauseate
them as it does me; but for all that their
sick would not only be much more com
Portable but in many cases their chances
of life would be doubled if they could
be persuaded to go to some decent hos
pital.
''What kind of smells do 1 encounter?
All kinds except sweet ones. 1 often
wish might leave my nose at home. for
while l am cropping about in the dark
halls, trying to find my way to the
shaky staircases, it seems to me differ
emit bad smell comes with every breath
draw.
81 have sometimes almost gone down
on my knees to some poor rheumatic or
partially paralyzed woman, imploring
her to let herself be taken to the hospi-
tai where she could receive all the at
ten ton she ought to have, and the an
swer would be, 81 amt fittin to die yet.
so I'm a-goin' to keep out of the hos
pita1 as long as I can One day the doc
tor said to a case of this kind-she had
been a dressmaker, and had supported
herself comfortably as long as she was
able to work-that she would be sure to
die if she stayed at home and let her
children expose her to draughts as they
were always doing. WE'LL said she,
better die at home, when my time
comes, than at the hospital, before my
time comes. and where / will be cut
open before the breath is fairly out of
my body. That's the way a friend of
mine was served last year. Her folks
didn't know no better than to let her be
took to the hospital. and after her death,
which / s'pose was helped along by the
black bottle, them doctors, without ask
ing leave of nobody, slashed away at the
poor thing: and they botched her w
again, making great quicker in
the seam, such as 1 wouldn't allow
no little prentice girl of mine to make.
Nov, that dress-maker is a fair speci.
men of the kind of people L work among:
Duties of a m visionary nurse? Well
besides giving medicine and sticking or
plasters and taking temperatures,
sometimes have to cook and wash and
| scrub and beg. Scarcely day passe:
| that don't broil Cruel and broil chops
| for sick people, and often have to roll
up my sleeves and wash dishes or scrub
| the floor. Then occasionally have tt
| go to some depository where benevolent
persons send such things and presen
petition for sheets or blankets, o.
whatever else is needed among my pa
! tents, whom I sometimes find lying OF
piles of rags.
SALARY? Forty dollars for the hrs
month, the month of probation, and
afterward fifty dollars a month. If yor
were to go the rounds with me some
day 1 think you would say that 1 am no
paid dollar too much. Just now, be
sides the case of rheumatism I have
been telling you about, 1 have con
sumptive patient, cancer to look aftel
and a bone felon to poultice and some
cases Of malaria that Zone or another Of
them) are needing quinine at every
hour of the day and can not be trusted
| TO take it by themselves; these are only
a few of my patients. IN. Y. Tribune.
Edison's Inventive Faculty.
Nothing. according to his scientif,
friends and admirers, has better shown
| the kind of man Edison is than hi
discovery of a new method of heliograpl
signaling. Mr.. George Romans, mill
tary expert, went to him one day AND
said: "Mr. Edison, our State troops
know how to signal with lights for long
distances. but they do not know how t.
render these signals invisible to al
enemy. Can't you devise plan?" Edi
| son walked into his laboratory, set two
of his high-salaried assistants, with al