The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-09-05
ID. Il. II. Work.
On the Hospital ship Reiief-Journey
to Manila and Return.

On the Hospital ship Relief-Journey
to Manila and Return.
Following is a letter received from
| Miss Hasson, d. A. r. nurse on Hos
| pital Ship Relief" Miss Hasson is a
member of Mary Clap Wooster chapter,
and was sent out in May, 1898, by that
chapter, She has been connected with
the ship Relief from the first:
United States Ship Relief,
| San Francisco.
| My Dear Mrs. Champion: l think
perhaps you will like to have a short
account of our Manila trip. OF course
it must be a rather brief sketchy one,
as it would be impossible to cover so
much ground in a letter. We left New
York March 4th. Had a very pleasant
| trip across the Atlantic and stopped
| tWenty-four hours at Gibraltar to coal.
| Our next stop was at Port Said, where
we remained about the same length of
time We hoped to coal at Alden, but
| the powers decreed otherwise and we
went to Pen Island instead. 1t is just
barren rock in the middle of the
Strait of Babel Mandeb, and there was
absolutely nothing to see. Colombo
took us two days to coal at each place
on account of rough water and we
made the most of our time driving
about the country and seeing every
thing possible in the short time al
lowed us. We reached Manila April %,
having made the fastest trip on record.
We had hurry orders from the sur
geon-general, so had made all the way
at speed and were rather proud of
our achievement, but, as usual, pride
had fall" and upon our arrival we
We're asked why we had come at all?"
Apparently no one wanted us and we
We're almost three weeks without pa
tient. | spent week in Manila taking
care of an officers wife who was very
i'll with meningitis. Two other nurses
had cases in town. We We're not or
dered on this duty, but were allowed to
volunteer until we were needed on the
ship.
At last we began to get patients.
One night several boat loads came over
about midnight all wounded men
from the front, and after that we were
never without plenty of work The
men were all so pleased to be brought
to the ship, and said it was thousand
times more comfortable than anything
on shore We remained in the harbor
until June 22d on which day we start
ed for San Francisco, much to the de-
light of ALL Manila bay grew to be
something Of nightmare to us all, for
we were anchored at least two miles
from shore, and as the launches ran
very infrequently, we would rarely
go ashore for The rest and change of
scene which is SO necessary for nurse.
We found that working twelve hours
a day week In and week out in tropi-
cal climate is very different thing
from working the same number of
hours at home. We brought back
about two hundred and fifty patients
from Manila Nearly all were volun-
teers and most of them improved great
ly during the voyage. In fact when we
reacher San Francisco all but fifteen
were able to walk off the ship. Only
three died on the way across and one
of those when we were but four days
out from San Francisco.
The poor fellow did long to live to
see his own country once again, and
we did all in our power to keep life in
him long enough for him to do so, but
he had been i'll too long and had no
strength to fall back on. He had been
Ill at the Manila hospital for three
months before he was sent to the ship.
We stopped to coal at Nagasaki, Yoko-
hama and Honolulu. We were able to
see something of each place.
The people of Honolulu were perfect |
ly charming and so good to the soldiers. |
They took all who were able to go for |
drives, dinners and suppers, and the |
ship fairly blossomed with flowers. |
The nurses were not forgotten either. |
A carriage and pair of horses were |
placed at our disposal whenever we |
could be spared from the ship.
The Relief is at present undergoing |
repairs preparatory to starting again |
for Manila. / think we will leave soon |
after the first of September / have
been spending a few days with friends |
1T the Preside and greatly enjoying the
rest good food and change. viii you
please give kindest regards to Mrs |
when you see her, and believe
me,
Ever Very Sincerely Yours,
ESTHER V. HASSON.