The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-08-26

the frightful side Of war. II il does not
haHe, it forbids description. II It uhe
glory Of war is exungulshed the glitter
disappears. and the facts OF flesh become
ghastly and ineradicable.
Here it is that enthusiasm has 70 lie
down helplessIy with mystery. inertia,
and pain But the worst OF it IS that this
aftermath OF war IS always unprovided
II the resisting forces OF the human eco
nomy. So long as q man can oppose vIo-
leace with resistance and match force
with strength, ne does so with an exuit-
ing mockery Of death Itself that 1t char
acteristic OF the masculine animal. But,
carried into the hospital, q door clangs
behind him He IS shut in with his own
perishability, mis- OWL consciousness. and
the surgeons helplessness. He brings
with MIN physical our2ges that science
can only meet with a general assuage-
ment Your exploding shell mas no re-
gard whatever for special provision or
special experience. The course Of rifle
bullet when IL enters the delicately ad-
justed physical economy Of man follows
no predica Declines of the least resistance
Il bores or crashes through vertebrae
tissue. and artery. 1t cuts ganglions and
rends viscera- Every fresh patient is
therefore, a new case. and must have
special treatment without the advantage
OF precedent.
One does not get the Lesson OF mortality
not IN the general hospital. where death
has weedad out the doomed and given a
tidy air Of cool convalescence to the ward.
It IS in the field hospital that death exc
cutes his pleminary dance OF horror. and
science itself bravely sets its teth and
tries to keep peace with an emergency
that the laws Of life cannot anticipate.
No one has ever dared to 90 the full
length Of realistic description in the field
hospital Hugo. with his magnificent au-
dacity, and Balzac, with his microscope,
would falter and vince before the con-
fusing delriums of human agony and the
indescribabIe spectacle OF man tearing his
kind limb from limb with the perfected
enginery OF his science, and then ask
ing science TO keep pace with him in
Arrangement and relief.
My first hospital experience must have
been that Of tens of thousands. I passed
in a twinkling from the ecstasy of physi-
cal excitement TO the swoon Of death.
There was a click. then the exit Of every
thing as the lights were extinguished and
the soul of me fed like recedlng river
The next second dull light. an over
towering smell of ether a suppressed
hurrying of feet, and the disonances OF
human agony growing more audible and
more intolerable as the light grew. told
me- that I was in a hell or in hospital
Two hours had elapsed. They have never
been accounted for by me. Then it was
that I came slowly to the full conscious
ness Of what kindly blow was mine,
that stunned while it stayed the courses
OF life
Others were not so fortunate. We were
lying without order on the straw in a
rude shed. Some Of it had been used as
bedding for cattle. The ambulances were
at the doorway. The curses Of tie teams
ters mingled with rhe groans OF their
burdens. There ware two surgeons and
two assistants. Tsley were IN their shirt
sleeves and had napkins or handkerchiefs
around their necks. I lifted myself as
well as I could and looked round. Ny
eye fell first on what appeared TO be a
collection OF boots but which I speedily
enough saw was a Pile Of ampUtated
limbs from which the boots and shoes
mad not been removed, and from which
dripped and ran a congeaIing stream OF
blood that was tracked all round the mar
row spaces by the slipping feet OF nurses
Instinctively I put my hands upon my
own neither limbs 70 feel # / had lost
them, and they made themselves known
By a convulslve vince as I did so. They
hrr- -
keep them? In the centre of roe place
some boards. torn from the shed itself.
had been placed upon two trestles, and
this was the operating table. I tried to
shut ny eyes as I saw one form lifted OF
and another lifted on, but I couldn't
The business-Iike butchery OF the sur
geors facinated ne for a time. prevented
ne from feeding my own pain some
kind OF suspense was inwrOGght with the
hI5eousness OF It all. Il would be my turn
next One or two OF the men died under
the operation. I could see that by the
look Of thesurgeon and me extra haste
OF the attendants. One of the ambulance
men. seing ne sitting Up. came over 20
ne and pushed me back rather roughly,
Keep still" re sad; you're all right
y you don't squirm thai tournguet Of.
They've ted up your artery and you're
in luck"
some kind OF duh t+ankfu.ness. IKE
glow, sEnused ne. and AZ ne same time
a duh pain made i,seif known. accompan-
led by al intolera5Ie thirst ! tried %
ask him 20 get ne a drink, but ny tongue
suck last. Keep still" he sad; "che
Sanitary Commission wagons vii - tere
80
We were about q nile and a half sren
tle front TIE bacc.e was raging YET;
me pulse % Il e0gld = heard 81 times
above re inarticu.a.% sounds Il ,nat
place. Now and then 4 shell exp5oce6
II The vicinity. N1b51y pad the east al
,ention 20 l. The saoulances were com
lnE and going TIE curses ard shouts
outside and ,he growing G-sso-ance %
death ard torcue inside. made tne tztunc-
ton % keep Sill" q horrible irony Eo~
was one . keep cu5et With .zat ghzs.lv
routine before hln and that tuuult out
ss5e2 Ones nea-t must keep tine % tee
intensity OF i. and thal Is not the best
thi1g tor tired artery. Besides xhz.
was al d tbs Patctsng and carving
against re Issue ogt ths-= = ME ard
a hall aways WY id Tot s3ne o1e
tel Is -four bataEioa got across re
sd; did We turn thsir ,ett a4nkg-,na.
vas the question cri@5 20 shout =.
buc K sounded Ike 4 dry wHissls s-5 s-Ea.
and -55o5y gave any head % t.
Way sEou,d he2 score % tc-u z14
d-s2s zoe-e5 zea we're saying t1i-ss t1a-
70 ear -cou15 6.sentanE.e. AID yet they
wounded AID sting Z yoa listened -
tasu- Oz1s- sounds. sgil za5-s dreadful.
cane troa ;hs mere asto-nztiS- az HIS
1.ss ,Aac hsa- chs nco- Eisz rhy;h1-c
hse,s and b. a. shs planking Il re par
oxys-z o. selirogzs pain TIE eoz6l sloz C