The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-16


work.
For the next ten days we were the only
women nurses in the camp, and as all
the men felt more comfortable when there
was woman about, we did what we
could for the whole 600. 1t was during
those first days of rushing around that
we found ourselves nickuamed 1.-The sun
shine of the camp" Some of the Michi-
gan volunteers were gallant enough to
originate that title.
Going one day to look for one of the
men nurses who was not at his post, l
found that he had developed a mild form
of insanity, and was TO be sent to the
asylum. l went to see if could do any
thing for him. He jumped to his feet
when he saw me, saluted and said: Like
two angels of light We descended upon
us. Goodby, goodby I'm going home to
ride my new white bicycle with my mono
gram painted on it." l concluded he was
at least happy, and left him to the two
hospital stewards who had him in charge.
Scattered through all the tents were
few of the colored troops, and wherever
/ found one, found gentleness and good
humor and patience; and all the men
agreed TO the verdict of an old Irish
sergeant when he said: AN thin coons
kin fight! There's lots of us wouldn't be
here now if twant for thin.
One of my men told me that as he lay
wounded in the trenches another man
came to him so covered with blood that
he could not tell whether he was black
or white, and asked him if he couldn't do
something to help him. mo, man." re-
piled my patient. you'd better go and
have something done for yourself" The
other man wiped the blood from his face
and said Now look, and tell me what's
the matter with me-" and he told him he
had been almost scalped by a piece OF
shell. "Oh, WELL" was the wounded mans
answer 'If that's all, I'll go see if some
of the other men don't need help" and off
he went, stopping at the wounded and
the dead, and finally finding down the line
a wounded man who consented to be car
ried back to the doctor, whereupon he
promptly took him on his blood-stained
shoulders and carried him to the hos
pital.
In one of my own wards I had a little
colored private, very black, with popped
eyes that blinked continually and an
indescrible accent, whose one prayer
was, 'Leme git back to my company.
Please, miss, git me Well an sen me
back"
One day asked him, Peters, why do
you want to get back? Aren't you COM
Portable here?"
YES miss" he answered, but please,
miss, le'me go back. 1 wan Kill some
more them Spanyuts?"
"But, why, Peters, don't you think
you've killed enough?" 1 insisted.
''No miss, no miss, dey done kilt my
captun, and den we kotch de man what
done it, an when I see see i'm start TO
i'm, an I say Now Use got you, now Use
gwine serve you like you serve my captun.
An my lieutenant he grab me by er
shoulder an he say, You, Peters, you git
back whar you belongs, don you never
let me even hear you talk bout KILN
prisoner but 1 say, You just lie me git
holt my carbeen, an see whether l kill
i'm er not Yes, miss, I sutenly is got to
kill some more Spanyutes."
After things become more systematzed,
and more women nurses were employed
l only had two wards, about 60 men,
most of them regulars, who had sol
diered'' for years. and thought the eli
mate of Cuba not so bad after that of
Nebraska. One day an old cavalry cor
poral asked to what regiment the men
in a neighboring tent belonged. told
him they were all members of a we'll
known volunteer regiment. "Ah, sure
then" he replied, "rhe poor bhoys need
rale good nursin', for many's the time
down to Santiago I've seen 'em come to
nornin sick call, suffering wild sun
stroke, which is dangerous when you
contract it at night; an thin that didn't
have sunstroke had cold feet!'
A sergeant of infantry in one of my
wards was a great joy to visitors who
wanted 10 hear of hairbreadth escapes,
let across his whole body, beginning at
his left arm and going all across his chest
to his right arm. His real wound was
bad one in the thigh, but he valued above
everything the flannel shirt ne wore al
Santiago with it's eight holes, all made
by the same bullet.
1t was in the first part of August hat
a new man, an Illinois volunteer, was
brought into my ward from Porto Rico
with fever. He was not very i'll, and
as 1 put him to bed and made him COM
Portable I said How do you think you
caught this fever? 1 thought Porto Rico
was a healthy placer" He was nothing
but a boy. and he burst out crying as he
said: II don't know anything about Porto
Rico, miss l never landed. got sick
on the transport, and they sent me right
back here; and all the other fellows IS
there now" He was in the blues" for
several days, till his mother came to look
after him, and think her content at nav
ing him safe, and not with the other fell
lows" reconciled him, for he went on
furlough in a week or two, looking happy
The very best of the men nureses were
two Armenians. One had been the son
of a minister of the Armenian Church.
and had seen his father, mother and
sisters killed by the Turks. He told of
il one day, very quietly, but with look
in his eyes which made me think that
stray and unprotected Turk ks had best
avoid him Both of the Armenians were
wonderfully clean, endlessly patient and
as gentle as women. The men grew
very fond of them, and called them
John" quite regardless of their intri-
cate names, which sounded just as they
looked, written in Armenian characters.
Only a day or two before l left the hos
pitai ! went into the diet kitchen and
found the chef dancing with rage and al
most speeches.. lie ran toward me as l
came in, and when l could understand
ANYTHING he said, l found he was begging
me- "Spik for me! Spik for me! Tell
the docta.rer l said 1 would speak 10
any one he pleased if he would only tell
me what he wanted, and then he waved
his hand solemnly toward the stove and
said: Look Behold! Here are ten gall
Ions of milk l hat put to sterilize and
they hat curdie-curdle!
o, but he was a jewel that cook! He
had been chef at the White House for
years, and then at government house in