The San Francisco call., 1899-10-01

i turned to his own, his native land.
- a welcome that knows no State
line has greeted him. Americans
the Union over are there 10 receive
him and swell the patriotic wave
that threatens to inundate the nations
hDr1.
...r rr the Pacific Ocean sails the hos
eHin Relief Manila bound. There
person on board who does not re-
.hat the ship pulled anchor ere
,,v came marching home. She
IIGn't crane her neck for a glimpse
Tho admiral She's glad to escape rub
t.... llbows with the mob, being jostled
a-H fiwuod tumbled and trod upon by
Cl.rHrl Cr0e hCro-worship mad. -
Shes uat uupatrlotic. Sober gown,
snowy cau and Red Cross refute that.
In fact. Mics Strong, head nurse on the
Relief. IS the most ardent admirer Of Ad-
miral Dewey who ever disCla!med any
desire TO witness the Dewey reception.
on board the ship Relief are twenty
other nurses ordered TO the Philippines
for duty Tiey have all seen active SER
vice in Cuba, i'm Porto Rico, wherever
the stars and stripes foated on the bat
1le-Iaden breeze.
The Relief was ready TO sail on the NOR
row. A group Of nurses stood on deck
looking toward san Francisco perhaps for
the last time. From every State they
had come to this city to sail for Ma
Mia.
IF we could Just have waited a month
longer we could have been in New York
for the Dewey celebration" Thereupon
twenty nurses sighed as one.
Nonsense" said the head nurse. You
can't get any idea of the admiral that
way. He's not n parade man. If YOU
had met him on board the Relief the
last time we were in Manila you'd know
dewey as he is in peace. 1t was the
next bcst thing to standing beside the
Olympia guns with him in war. This
first in the hearts Of his countrymen'
display Will euIbarrass the admiral and
make him creep into his shell. He'll ap-
preciate the feeling that causes It, but
he'll squirm like a fish out of water. If
you could only have known him as we
cid"
- II has been given to very, very few to
look through the crust Of reserve into
the heart of the admiral. One Of the
few thus favored was Miss Strong. head
nurse ON the Relief. Small wonder that
She did not regret being deprived of a
biTdseye view OF Dewey. She has seen him
at closer. range. Moreover, she has beer
admitted 10 his friendship, enjoyed his
hospitality and studied his personality.
We have had endless descriptions OF the
battle Of Manila Bay. We have had
.ILTnDerleSS dissertations on the military
tactics of the admiral. We have had not
q. few stories purporting to show the
personal side Of Dewey. But alackl they
were all written by men. There lives not
q man with ken so feminine that he can
satisfy the worlds wife on those little
TOints which interest her.
Dewey from a wOman's point Of view
IS what we have been waiting for. No
one could be more competent to give this
than Miss Strong At the urgent re-
quest Of a Sunday Call reporter she mar
rated her experiences with the great ad-
mifal.
II did not meet Dewey until after the
Cuban campaign. The Relief cared for
the sick and wounded there, making two
trips north with the disabled After her
second trip we stopped in New York
harbor just long enough for repairs, and
then, according to orders, put off for
Manila, making the run in the fastest
time on record.
when the Maine was sunk / was
nursing in a hospital IN Washington.
The day war was declared I offered my
services az a Government nurse. AS 1
was on the spot and knew powers near
the throne 7 was one Of the first, If not the
first nurse, accepted by the Government.