The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-11-26
MOST FAMOUS
ARMY NURSE
BLACK ANGEL OF MERCY AT
MoNTAUK AND SANTIAGO.
Interesting Story of the Kind
Hearted Colored Woman who
Nursed Many Of the Brave Boys
to Life and Health--An Immune
Nurse of Two Wars.

From Leslie's Weekly.
Just an cd colored woman standing
at the door Of a tent in white dress,
clean apron,and soldiers wide e-brimmed
hat, yet this is, perhaps, the most
famous nurse in the army. This Is
"Auntie" or Mother" loved by dozens
OF boys she brought through tortured
days at Santiago, blessed by scores OF
fever-stricken soldiers at Montauk
1t is from old that "Auntie' knows
the happenings Of the battlefield, for
she nursed and cooked through our
Civil war, and for thirty-five years
since then she has faced all the epi-
denies Of the south, smallpox. yellow
fever, typhoid fever, malarial fever,
and come out unharmed. Not without
reason is she called an immune nurse.
I had long talks with "Auntie" dur
ing those sad Camp Wikoff days. and
she gave me some Of her experiences.
II have gone through all kinds OF
sickness" she said. II have seen cities
wasted by the plague. I have seen Ave
hundred men killed and wounded In a
single day. but I never saw anything
like what there was In this war. I
never saw such suffering from neglect.
such filth. such-well. let me give you
the case Of Johnson, the Swede,
johnson was stupid, half foolish
with the fever: they get that way.
When l saw him first-thls was early
in Augustine was In the Second divis-
ion hospital, about a mile and q half
out of Santiago. The heat was terrible,
and he lay on his bed as naked as the
day when he was born. I cleaned him
and covered him. but he fought the
covers off. The flies swarmed over his
bed-sores. swarmed into his mouth. and
he would not close 1t. A dozen times
a day l laid a cloth over his mouth to
keep the flies out, but he would throw
the cloth away. The flesh of his upper
jaw was eaten away by the flies and
their spawn until there was a hole
there you could put your finger In.
THAT is one of many cases. Some of
the men would shut their mouths on
| the flies and we would have to go down
the line making them open their mouths
quick to let the files out, or else they
| would have choked. You do not know
the stupor OF that Cuban fever. I'd
| rather nurse ten cases Of yellow fever
than two cases of that fever.
"And the delirium-the crazy delir-
| ium--that is something to remember
| 1t was partly the fever and partly the
| quinine. Always qulnine, every few
| hours-ten grains, twenty grains-nc
| wonder they went mad. One night a
| private slashed his wrist across with g
| razor and bled to death before morn
| ing. Another man, a doctor in the
| Second Massachusetts,. sprang up one
| night and wanted to fight everybody
and then rushed out into the bushes
stark naked, screaming: The Span.
iards have got us; the Spaniards have
whipped us! Run. boys: rum! What g
time had getting that doctor back tC
| bed!
Then there was a corporal in the
| Ninth Massachusetts, a young fellow
about 25, but he looked every day OF
40. There were boys down there who
looked like old men. Well. one might
they told me this corporal was COINS
to die-he was sure to die before morn
ing: and after lay down / heard hit
screams, hour after hour: 'Aa-i-e
aa-i-e, catch him; catch that man ovel
in the corner. aa-i-e.'
"The next morning ] found him still
alive. and asked him why he hac
made such a racket. He looked VI
out or his poor, hollow eyes and whisp
cred: Did you hear me? Say, didn't
yell? Didn't bluff 'em? They want
ed TO dose me; they said was dying
Pshaw! / wasn't dying. I amt dying
and / amt going to die. Gods on m,
| side, and IL fight for my life"