The record-union., 1899-10-16
WAS ON THE FIRING LINE.
EXPERIENCES OF A SACRA-
MENTo WOMAN.
Mrs. May Stevens-Boysen Tells OF
What She Saw in the
Philippines.

(San Francisco Call, October l3th)
MY experiences on the firing nne!
Mrs. Boysen sat down on the couch
and smiled as she thought over my
question.
"Well, really, 1 have lived those ex-
citing scenes over again many time.
l can never sweep them quite out OF
my memory"
Tell me, then" I asked, why did
you go to Manila?"
Il went to Manila expecting to be
nurse in the hospital. My son had
gone and l felt it a duty, as we'll as
the fulfilling of lifelong ambition to
be a nurse among the soldiers.
AS she talked and lived over again
her life in Manila 1 sat and watched
her pretty expressive face and Won
dered. / wondered how this dear little
woman. whose great, big motheriy
heart would make her eyes overflow
as she told about those poor, suffering
fellows, stood all the pain and misery
she saw. Dainty, refined and delicate,
yet constantly on the firing line.
1t seemed mpossible-incongruo
Bullets and blood to be thought of in
connection with her!
You see. it was like this" and /
woke up to the fact l had missed part
of a story.
Il wore the nurses garb and work.
ed with the full hospital corps. Fresh
water, a nice chair cloth, bottle OF
Florida water and some matted milk
I always carried with me. L could not
do so very much-just wash their faces
in the sweet, cool water; feed them and
mother them and pet them, and they
did need it so sadly. Sometimes when
they felt the cool cloth on their faces
they would open their eyes in aston
ishment, knowing it was woman 8
touch, and smile-smile up into my
face when their suffering was so in
tense they could hardly stand it. One
poor fellow l shall never forget as
long as I live. He had been shot
through the stomach and was dying;
the doctors had done their best for
him and gone. / sat down beside him.
put his head in my lap and bathed his
face. Death was very near, so near
that he could hardly speak; but he
opened his eyes. smiled and in the
most pathetic way said. 'Oh-Oh-oh!' /
held him until he died"
Mrs. Boysen's eyes were full Of tears.
and somehow my throat felt tight and
drawn
Tell me about your first experience
on the firing line-the very first" I
said.
I certainly have cause to remember
my first time out. 1t was there I had
a very narrow escape and there that
General Wheaton complimented me on
my bravery We were standing around
talking and waiting for the wounded
to be brought in. We could hear the
firing in the trenches, but thought our
selves in no danger I stepped away
from the man 1 had been talking to.
and as 1 did so he stepped into my
place. 1 was hardly two feet away
from him, when bullets came thick and
fast He was struck and had his leg
broken in two places. For an instant I
was terribly frightened stunned by the
suddenness of it all. but soon regained
my composure and never felt the least
fear after that"
Was that the only narrow escape
you had?"
mo; one other that I know of. but
then you can hardly call it an escape,
as we never discovered whether the
shot was fired at me or not. 1t occur
red down on the south line at Panay.
Things were rather quiet, so l walked
down TO the beach and was amusing
myself gathering shells. Our outpost
was less than one thousand yards from
the Filipinos and as l walked / unwit-
tingly passed the danger line Then a
shot rang out, quick as a flash Our
boys ran down to the beach, but moth
ing more was done We could see the
Fihpinos running about, but never
knew if the shot was fired at me or
just into the air to give warning. 1
did not care to investigate by going
down on the beach again, so l never
knew.
1T was while I was on the south
line that 1 slept on the floor of a Fill
pino hut After the taking of Las Pi-
mas L went into the town under the
escort of some newspaper men. There
were good many wounded. and I STAY
ed late There was then no way for
me TO get back to Manila, so I slept
on the hard floor in a little deserted
nut Their floors are like this" (step-
ping over to the table and bringing to
me the model of a house) sort of Stats
fitted together, with little spaces left
between them, something like a round
log bridge. You can imagine how com
Portable humpy, rolling floor like that
is to sleep on
1 looked at it and asked how MANY
times she sneezed during the night. az
little currents of air must have lust
danced around her.
No | did not take cold The only,
time I caught severe cold was at
Caloocan. l worked all day long among
the wounded, got too much overheated
staying SO late that I had to ride in
the ambulance into Manila 1t was