The sun., 1900-11-17
BACK FROM THE BOER WAR.
CHICAGO AMBULANCE CORPS MEYER
LIFTED A STRETCHER.
wanted to Ftsht and Did FiGht for the Beers
Despite the Non n.Comba tant Oaths Thev
Took Bere-Their Captain Says They Hsd
To-Reception Committee Drops Them.


Despite the on.Combstant Oaths Thev
Took Here-Ther Captain Says They Had
To-Recepion Committee Drops Them.
Thirty-three members OF the Chi ago Irish
American Ambula nee Corps. which left this city
10 help the Beers In the Transvaal last February.
got back Yesterday on the steamship Trave
They did not do anything for the wounded Beers.
but according to their own story they did what
they could to give the ambulance men on the
British side plenty to do.
There we're ifty ty-eiRht men in the corps which
left here in February. Capt. Patrick O'Con-
nor was In command and there were six ply
sicians In the party. They were Drs. j. r.
Mcnamara. Herbert McAuley. James J. Slat-
terry. r. l.. Long. A. r. Corney and j D. Ader-
holt. all OF Chicago. George Cassidy went as
q nurse. The other 1fty-ons were supposed
to be litter men: but they never lifted litter.
Before leaving this country each Of the nifty
eight men went before Justice of the Peace and
made affidavit that he was going to South
Africa. not as an ally Of the Doers but a. an
ambulance man. and each man pledged him
SELF not to fight. Miss Clara Barton was so
well satisfied with.these pledges that she CAV
the Irish-American Corps n Red Cross flag and
recognized the organization as Red Cross
The SIX physicians and Cassidy, the nurse.
Capt. O'Connor, went into tho field as a part Of
the Boer fighting force as soon as they could
ssy shas he and and ali his ser men " shsns
TO ambulance work. but asserted that they
we're obliged to fight anyway regardless OF
AS soon as we got 70 DelaRoa Bay, said he
-Mr Hollis. the United States Consul at I,or-
ders s from or Hh the stats Department at Washing
ton not to recognize us as Red Cross workers
and not TO do ANYTHING for us So We had to
S..Lt 10. Annt. hn
got ambulanCes and stuck TO them. but what
could we poor litter men do but hslp the Beers
lick the British
we got across the Portuguese territory any
old way, most Of the time on freight trains,
and made our way to Pretoria, where We we're
made a company ia the Irish Brie ,de and
then from the ?oth Of April until the, ??d
OF September. We were right In the 'hick
Of and it was better than nursing But We
signed those Rod Cross pledges n good faith
to 'em il the State Department hadn't given
-We we're under Gen. Botha most Of the
time and we were, treated as well "a the Boer,
,hemselves al The ms Thsre er mS5
furnished our horses. guns and ammunition
LY2 Of N ohCsss n Hsn MiThae, cha lara S
sent TO st. Helena Daniel McHue OF Chicago
and James Malloy Of Boston were separated
Foley. Richard Morrl,sov and Richard Cah!
are in Pretoria hospital. John Hale ana
Michael Hearn are prisoners OF war, nr.
Adarholt and the ono nursr are attn working
IN South Africa pr. Conroy is At Cape Town
the trip home bv ea'y stages. Eight OF Capt
O'Connors company who took to guns In
stead Of littArs are still fighting In South Africa
OF the thirty-three men who c!me on the
Trave ten belong in Holyoke. Mass. They
went home Yesterday afternoon, The Chicago
delegation viii go home to-day. They all
left Dea9oa Bay on Oct 81 Their pnssaa !.
home was paid bv the Boer Govern-nan'. and
in addition 70 HE fare each officer got sl2O and
each man SO There we're oniv thrAe officers
Cart OConnor and two Tieutenants.
There was no demonstration In this city
IN honor Of the Trish-Auoricans. and their
reception nv Holyoke conimitt"e here to
meet them was not altogether cordial There
was row nj the Hotel Vanderbilt between
Capt O'Connor and the committee over the
hrokon pledges, and the Captain was accused
of forcing his nle- to fight and told that ha had
dissrqced himself and all Irish-Amerc1ns.
ca-nd thov wanted 20 fight and intended 10
fight ANYWAY pledges or no pledges. That
wound M the row and the Holyoke committee
went OF In hrfY