The Detroit times., 1914-09-26
British Soldiers Left on Field
When Comrades Retreat, Beg
For Finishing Shot
CANNON DESTROY
FIELD HOSPITALS
Desperately Injured Soldiers
Loaded on Trains and Rushed
To Coast
BY WILLIAM G, SHEPHERD. 4
2fnH n0S-reRnnod TTsoSfDA De-

l . =
(StGf Correspondent United Press. J
GHENT, Sept. 2.-(By Courier and
Mail to New York There Is no other
way to get to Ghent but by the Red
Cross train, and the doctor told me
TO climb in. Client was four miles
away.
Four miles back the Gsrman artil.
lery was booming. German shells
were smashing buildings In Malines;
they had wrecked the cathedral altar,
entering through the great colored
windows; houses and homes were 90
Ing down at every deep booming
sound that reached our ears. And In
this Red Cross train were all the pa
tients who had been I'm the hospitals
at Malines. ESQ OF them.
I'VE had to take them out" ex-
planned the doctor, because the shells
were flying around the building. It's
probably blown up by this time"
We were standing In long car on
the sides Of which were two layers Of
shelves made OF stretchers hung on
steel arms.
The engine was moving very slow
ly, because, the doctor explained,
there were some wounded soldiers on
the train who shrielSed with pain at
every swaying motion of the cars.
But there's nice great big hospi-
tai waiting for them at Ghent." the
doctor said, "and Wen fx them up
all right"
We walked through the car and
across the platforms to the next car.
The doctor pointed his finger toward
an upper stretcher IN corner.
Dead" he said.
I looked and saw nothing but
sheet covering a form that swayed
gruesomely.
IT'S a soldier who was shot
through the head. He was dying this
afternoon" the doctor continues, "but
we brought him along. / suppose
moving has killed him. but what were
we to do? We couldn't stay at Ma
lines"
He showed me another wounded
soldier who was very nearly gone.
There were great bandages about his
chest.
"Shot through the lungs" explain
ed the doctor. Those nurses are
trying to stop the pain for him and
let him out easily. They'll probably
give him too much, but he can't live.
anyhow"
When we reached Ghent, two hours
later there was sheet over him.
For him, the greatest war In the his
tory OF the world had ended during
the ride on the train.
There were not many wounded SOL
diers. Most of them had been shot In
the hands or arms.
Look here, America" a soldier on
q nearby stretcher called to me.
He held up an odd-looking bag.
II took that from the tin hat OF q
dead German ofhcer, 'L83' It says on
1t. suppose II was his regiment"
took the helmet covering In my
hand and examined IT,
THE Germans wear those on their
helmets to hide the shine." said the
soldier wouldn't take q thousand
bits for that scalp"
what do you know about 'bits'"
Lived in 'Frisco before the quake"
he said.
Then he told me why all the In
jured seemed to be only slightly hurt.
ITS because It's only the Fellows
who can get away without help that
are able TO escape We had to leave
our wounded on the field. I've had
some who were only shot in the feet
beg me to kill them as we retreatsd
to save them from the Germans. You
can't use your revolver on q comrade.
The only thing we could do was to
stick our fingers In our ears and keep
on going. hoping that the Germans