The National tribune., 1900-05-03

guard for the hospital had a detail made
for such purpose, and fixed up an old build
ing down the hill, at the extreme north end
of the grounds, for their quarters. Here
stationed at each entrance and others
patroled the south and west sides. ! was
| to issue all passes to attendants and patients
which, by arrangements made at Provost
Headquarters, were good to go outside the
picketlines when ,countersigned by the
issued 4 standing pass and the countersign
was regularly communicated to me every
night, for my duties were liable to take me
through the lines and around the city at
any and all times.
DR.. Salter told me my chief duty would
be to superintend the loading and unload
ing of sick and wounded, and that my
requistion upon the convalescent camp for
men, and ambulance corral for ambulanceS,
would be unlimited. l might as well say
here that while in this position at times
had as high as 600 men under my COM
| mand. | was notified ahead whenever a
hospital train was coming, the number and
class of patients comprising it, and made
my details and had everything ready when
it came. The sick and slightly wounded
ones came in trains of box-cars, but the
| stump cases." as those suffering amputa-
| tons were termed, came in passenger
| coaches.
| had to be in readiness for duty whenever
train was reported, at any hour, day or
| night, my notice always coming from the
railroad officials. When a train arrived
| my first duty was to go through it and sort
out the cases. Those dangerously sick or
badly wounded, and all stump cases"
must go to No. 1, which was only about so
rods from the depot: those with contagious
diseases to the pest hospital. and the others
distributed among the field and other gen
eral hospitals. AS inspected the first car
and designated the destination of each
occupant, they were taken TO an ambulance
or borne away on a Stretchcr by the men
comprising my detail. So went through
each car until all were unloaded.
The officers hospital was on Lookout
Mountain. and four-horse ambulances were
required for that trip. AS the mountain
was beyond the picketline, had to supply
some of the attendants with Il pass, or
countersign if after night. My first service
was in loading trains. Soon after my
arrival at Chattanooga orders We're issued
| to clear out the hospitals and prepare for
| the advance of Sherman on Atlanta; so
every man who could stand the trip to
Nashville or farther north was loaded as
fast as We could get cars, making busy
| times and long hours for me.
DISAGREEABLE DUTIES.
Occasional trains came i'm from the front
| and gave me considerable practice in sort
| ing. My experiences were by no means
pleasing, and Iwould have gladly changed
my position for one at the front if | could.
Cne night we had long train of box-cars
to unload. After sorting | always went
| through the train again to see if none had
| been overlooked and to dispose of those
who had died in transit.
This night as | stepped from the plat
form into the side door of the third car in
the tram, saw in one corner of the car what
looked like a pile of rags and thought it was
| a corpse. Going to it saw it was the form
| of i man, and when | pulled the blanket
| from off his face he cried: Don't touch me.
| I've got the smallpox" Sure enough.
would gladly have left him, but my duty
was to see that he WIS properly cared for
Ny multifarious duties compelled me to
have an Orderly, and Isent him for the pest
| house ambulance and attendants.
1t was not an unusual occurrence to find
victims Of contagious diseases among a
| trainload of sick and wounded. do not
| think such were deliberately loaded where
| their contagiOn WIS liable to infect all
| within the car, but rather that such cases
We're obscure and rot fully developed when
| loaded At first 1, used to worry over this
contactwittl smallpox, never having had the
disease, but got over it after a while and
WAS never infected.
1t was not long before the hospital trains
began to pour in from the front, each bear
ing from 300 10 500 suffering heroes. and a
nights sleep became a rarity with me In
my work at Chattanooga | supervised the
| loading and unloading of over so 600 men
| and had many narrowing experiences
but the worst of them all was with a train
load of stump cases" ! received notice
one morning that such Il train had started
from the frontand prepared a large stretchcr
corps Tor Its reception. After waiting all
day word was received that the train had
been wrecked, and | dismissed my men,
bidding them be in readiness at moments
notice when the train arrived. Three d:lvs
afterwards it came in, and the sight those
poor fellows presented was terrible one
/ can never forget il.
AS Field Surgeons were scarce and could
not be spared, ditto nurses, it was the cus-
tom TO forward trains without either in
attendance, as the running tine was from
10 to II hours. This particular train
was made up of particularly severe cases.
and, besides the horrors of the wreck. had
been three days overdue and nothing had
been done to the wounds during that time
as they had to be handled only by the train
hands at the wreck, and being as careful
as the railroad men might they had no
surgical appliances to ease the terrible
sufferings OF tie wounded
l have oitcn Spcculated as to what be
came OF those thousands of mon handled
under my supervision at Chattanooga
Should these lines ever catch the eve of any
of them ! would DC more than pleased TO
hear from them at my address, Delphos.
Kan.
My tent was commodious and fitted nm
with many conycnicnces not found at the
front, including stove, desk, iron cots
camp-stools and floor, and was used as
headquarters for any of my regimentil
comrades, officers and other acquaintance
passing through Chattanooga.
| FOOLISH CHARGE
A First Lieutenant named Cummings
of an Indiana regiment. the number of
which have forgotten. blew in" one day
from somewhere, and claiming to be sick,
impoItuncd DIR. Salter TO put him in com
mand of the hospital guards, 50 he comIl
be near treatment; but why he did net aDply
and be admitted to the officers hospital on
Lookout. never learned. He was given a