The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-03-14
NURSE GIRL IS
A TRUE HEROINE
ATTENDS FIVE PATIENTS ALONE
AND RIDES FOR HELP IN
BLIZZARD.

Minneapolis, March IA. - From
western Minnesota there came to
Minneapolis today the story of
young girls heroism and unflinching
devotion to duty, that is considered by
all medical men who have heard it as
one of the most extraordinary tales of
obedience and bravery. If they have
their way there viii be a Carnegie
hero medal for the girl, who is only 49,
What this girl. did was done when
she was alone in a farm house with
four typhoid patients and a corpse,
the. nearest neighbor four miles away,
and blizzard raging. this coming to
her when she had received only three
months of training as a nurse.
At Breckenridge, Mimi, is the St.
Francis hospital where, in addition to
sisters and nurses. there are several
young girls receiving training to be
nurses. To this hospital there came
some weeks ago a country physician
with the story Of five typhoid patients
in an isolated farm house, twenty
miles away. He wanted a nurse. The
mother superior told him there was
no nurse to be had. for all were en-
gagged. The physician persisted. He
said he had TO have a nurse, for it
was a matter of life and death.
At last, the mother superior made a
suggestion. There was no nurse, she
repeated, but there was Little Eliza
beth" This is the only name by
which the medical profession has
heard of the child. Elizabeth. she ex-
planned. had been there only three
months. and was only 19 years old
death. except what had been taught
in that time. but, she said, Little
Elizabeth" would obey.
The physician hesitated. but there
was nothing else to do. Little Eliza
BETH when told what she was to do
said neither that she could nor that she
couldn't She merely got her things
together and went with the physician
At the farm house she found four
members of the family and a hired
girl all i'll with typhoid fever. The
old grandmother was the only one
who was not i'll. but practically help
less. aud her care also devolved upon
the child AS carefully as he could
the physician told Little Elizabeth
what to do and then he went away.
That night the hired girl died. The
physicians orders had not covered
this contingency. Little Elizabeth
only knew that the body must be tax
en- care Of She gathered it up in her
arms and put it in the woodshed.
/ There. she took care of 1t and went on
with her nursing. When the physi-
clan came again he got the under
taker, but before ne went away he
said. Nov be sure to let me know II
anything else happens"
Next night the old grandmother
had a hemoFrhage. All the girl knew
was that the physician had said TO let
him know ii anything happened. But
there seemed 70 be no way TO let him
know. A blizzard was raging. She
could not walk to the nearest neigh
boris neither could she leave her pa
TENTS. desperately i'll. that long. See
\ inx only one way out. she pushed to
the barn through the storm, bridIed d
L horse. an entire stranger TO the coun
1 tryside. late az night, and through the
/ snow gallOped four miles. gave the
/ alarm ard returned TO her post and
| went on minding her patients There
she stayed until the Inst one was well