The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-11-17
ARMY NURSES.
Stories of Their Experienceg.

former nurse Mary ST. 1Ollduu, WlleIe- in many interesting stories of the lives of army nurses are told by themselves. It was a happy thought which inspired her And she takes hold of the sympa- | thies of her feminine readers at once | by telling the spirit whereWith she met Miss Dixs order. She had heard her "call' to go to war as nurse, and had tried to enlist under Miss Abbie May, and also to be one of Mrs Lander's volunteers for Fortress Monroe, in the plan that failed.
 Miss Dix's circular read: No wo- man under thirty years need apply to serve in government hospitals. All nurses are required to be very plain looking women. Their dresses must be brown or black, with no bows, no curls, no jewelry and no hoopskirts" The Quaker Dorothea Dix little knew what heroism the last phrase in that order demanded. Thus the nurse summoned to duty 'It was fashionable at that | time to wear immense hoops. I had worn one for some time, and really felt | it a sacrifice to leave it off. Other re- | quirements were agreeable, but ] felt I could not walk without hoop. l 1 said: Well, if I can't walk without it I will crawl; for I must go, and I will do the best I can Soon after this l | took up morning paper and read that the wounded were being brought into Washington so fast that more help was needed at once. wrote immediately to Miss Dix, saying: I am In possess sion of one of your circulars, and will comply with all your requirements. I am plain-looking enough to suit you and old enough I have no near rela tives in the war, no lover there. new CT had husband and am not looking for one Will you take mel" In a few days here answer came: Report at once at my house, corner of Fourteenth street and New York avenue, Wash ington She labelled me so nicely that l think if had been a box of glass l should have gone through safely, and gave me instructions to procure trans portation."
 Here is an extract from the much more detailed story of her experience given by another nurse, Mrs. Kaiser:
 Early Sunday morning we were reused by the drum calling to battle. The men responded promptly, leaving me with only one attendant to care for the helpless sick soldiers who lay on the damp grourda wrapped only in blanket. l gave them some coffee and hard tack, with sclile and the assur- ance that I would get them out of the way of the flying lead The camp was in the range of the battle. and I knew the regiment had no ar munition and must soon fall ba,k, rerhaps before I could even get tde men ready to go. Several balls came tearing through the tent, creating almost panic. We had gone there in the dark, and had not taken the trouble to find our position, and what to do we did not know. Suddenly I thought of lieutenant who had been sick q e day before. l sought among the tents and found him, and he gave me the points of the com pass, and told me of a ravine near by where we must try to get the men. Those who were unatlt to walk we carried on poles, and thus all were transported but one old man, who was delirious and would neither go nor be carried.
 "A captain came in. wounded in the left shoulder, and so once more l went to the camp and returned with what l could carry, then bound up the wound to stop the blood By that time an or derly came with the command to get the men as far down the ravine as we l could, and an ambulance would meet us there As soon as all was in order I took a rife and started for the battle ground. When I reached the lines l found our men in great numbers, and worked as long as I could find anything to do with. After using my own skirt and handkerchief and everything l could get at, l went down to the river, There I saw such sights as l never want to see again-wounded men, mules and horses, tents and blankets in the widest disorder. The surgeon was attending to putting men on a boat. He sent me aboard to do what l could. 1 There were men wounded in all imag- inable ways. Soon an amputation ta- ble was prepared; meanwhile l sat down on the floor with my back to the partition, trying to rest a moment, as had been passing through so much since before daylight. A woman came out of stateroom, just in time to see me there, and walking up to me she said in sharp tones, Why don't you go to work?' As had been on my feet all that dreadful day without food and working in blood, I thought her ques- ton called for reply, and asked Why don't you go to work yourself and see how you like it?'
 ''She said, I am at work, taking care of my husband, who has had his thumb shot, and is in that stateroom.' l qui- etly walked over the wounded men to see him. He had had his thumb well dressed on the field! Then l went tc dressing wounds and worked with the surgeon all night and all the next day. '
 When Harriet Scott, of Charlestown was at Armory Square Hospital. she saw and spoke with Lincoln, and thus tells the tale:
 "One day President Lincoln visited the hospital bringing grapes (with two men to carry the basket), himself giv- ing to all who were allowed to have fruit, shaking hands, speaking kind words to each one. Noticing the small red flag at the foot of some of the beds he said: May ask, nurse, what those flags mean?' They mean low diet sir Whats low diet?' Wine whey