The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1890-01-09
HERolsM OF MISS PARSONS.
An Army Nurse Who Is Frightened Neither
by Heat Ner Disease.

Miss Louise Parsons, head nurse of
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, Nlghtfn-
gale nurse. trained in 1879 at st. Thorn
as Hospital. London. Florence Night
ingale. after the Crimean war, start
ed this school of instruction I'M
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
khe5iye of Egypt.
Miss Parsons. as 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 at
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 hospital. The
boat received its complement of pa
tents from the seat of war. wounded
and fever-strickcn. There were about
four hundred on the Ganges 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 a mistake, for she
saw and fought millions of flies here
aud 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 1888 lost 5000
/ killed. The journey is described as
/ terrible, ON account of the heat. With
three other sisters she was stationed
| nj Suez, and received all sick forward
ed from Suakim, As soon as con-
yalescent 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 4 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 2 largely increased
I humber for the hospitals. She was
herself attacked with typhoid fever at
Suez suffered a 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 a visit but cir
cumstances caused her to remain long
Ell 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.