The Savannah morning news., 1902-07-13

alert for patients-conseoue no
call is refused because it should han
pen to come at a late hour of the night
OF from part of the city that is not
the pieasantest to visit. The meeting
OF the Alumnae Association of the
Women's Medical College held recently
brought numbers of women physicians
together, and, while talking shop is
generally tabooed among themselves,
TO a layman several were willing to
tell some stories connected with their
work.
L can truthfully say that / never
was frightened but once in my life,"
SAID quiet-looking, dark-haired lady,
whose manner denoted primness and
determination. st was after midnight
on a winters night when a man came
Tor me to go down to Alaska street,
IN the Sums, to see a woman he said
was dying. He was a rough-looking
man, and l told him to go on down
and l would follow. 1 went to my
room and gathered together the things
l felt needful, intending to go over
TO Broad Street Station and order a
cab, as l did not wish to be depend
emit on the street cars in that down.
town neighborhood at night. But the
man was waiting outside my house,
and insisted upon escorting me, and 1
could not get rid of him. Before 1
reached Broad Street Station / made
up my mind it would not do to run
the risk of offending the man by TAX
ing cab by myself, and that might
be safer walking the streets with him
than shut up in the confines of a cab.
So we walked all the way down to-
gether.
II found my patient ina very dan
gerous condition, and the squalid room
in which she lay was occupied by no
less than ten other people. 1 promptly
ordered every one not before proceed
ing with my examination. All went
save one gigantic negro, who said he
would not go out in the cold / in
sisted, however, that l could do moth
ing for the patient while he was in
the room, and finally the other ten
ants succeeded in getting him out.
1T was an hour or more before I
was ready to go home, and l intended
to walk up to Eighth street and take
a car. The man who had accom-
panied me down offered to go home
with me, but l refused and started
alone. Before I had gone block
saw I was being followed, and by
crossing over the street 1 managed
to turn my head, and saw it was the
negro l had sent out of the ROOM /
walked steadily on, but my heart beat
faster than ever before or since in my
life. / missed the car I wanted to
take, and, knowing it would be a long
time at that hour of the night before
another would come l walked on, still
hearing those footsteps just behind
me. When we reached the shadow of
the Pennsylvania Hospital wall l felt
sure of an attack. My knees fairly
knocked together as I walked, and 1
prayed for a policeman to appear, but
none was in sight.
IT still kept on, however, until / got
to Chestnut street, and from there.
block by block, to Fifteenth and Arch
streets, 1 still heard those footsteps,
and at times 1 almost imagined l felt
the mans breath upon me.
Il made up my mind the negro would
attack me as 1 reached my own door.
but fortunately, my key turned easily
and 1 stepped in. Then from a window
l looked out, only to see that my pur-
suer had evidently turned some time
before 1 had entered my door and was
now retracing his steps. The next
morning when 1 went back to see my
patient / was received like a princess.
1t seems that they had doubted my
ability to go home alone and that rough
negro, whose aspect had struck terror
to me as I remembered how I had
ordered him out, had determined to
act as my guard in case someone
should attempt to attack me. 1 then
learned that two men physicians who
lived nearer had refused to go to the
house at night on account of it being
in dangerous neighborhood, a muir
der having been committed there a
few weeks before. This was some
years ago."
81 am constantly having rather anus
ing things happen to me-" said another
feminine M. D., who has one of the
largest practices of any woman in the
city. Some time ago I was standing
near Ninth and Race streets. waiting
for a car. 1t was about 9 o'clock in
the evening. A very well dressed man
came up to me. He was Keeling from
drink.
LADY he hiccoughed in most re-
spectful manner: Lady, want to go
home. l ought to go home, and I don't
know how, so I've been waiting, wait
ing for a lady or a gentleman to tell
me. Seen lots of women going past,
seen lots of men, too, but you're the
first lady. Now, lady, 1 need to go
home, I want to go, didn't know
and the rest was unintelligible. l saw
the man was irresponsible. and while
I finally got the words Thompson
street from him, could not get his
name or the number of his house. How
ever, / realized 1t would not be safe
to leave him in his helpless condition
in that neighborhood, for ne had a gold
watch and chain and several other
pieces of valuable jewelry so 1 told
him to come along with me and / got
on the car with him. l explained the
situation to the conductor, whom l
knew and he promised to exchange the
man out Thompson street and, if pos
sible, ascertain the number Of his res
idence, which he could tell the con-
ductor of the other car.
1.-THE next day the drunken mans
wife came down to my Office to repay
his car fare, which / had paid, and
she was almost ready to get down on
her knees to me. she was so grateful
that [ had taken him out of the neigh
borhood where 1 found him. 1t seems
that the man had had a fortunate
business transaction that day and had
gotten drunk on the strength of it. AT
the time took him on the car and paid
his fare he had $11 900 on his person.
Had 1 not happened to be in the Ten
derloin' that evening he would prob
ably have fallen into some one else's
hands and been robbed. That man is
in very good circumstances, and I
think l may truthfully say that there
is nothing I could ask of him or his
wife that they would not grant"
~'I had an experience of rescuing
drunk" said a younger doctor, who
was extremely petite in size. 81 was
coming along Fifteenth street, and at
Arch a young man accosted me. He
was a stranger in the city and did not
know one street from the other, but
he wanted to go to his home and did