The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1914-10-21

MISS LIVINGSTON. JOHNS HOP.
kiNs NURSE, WAS IN THICK
OF FIGHT.
Saw Germans Take CharlcrOi-Dcath
Destruction. Cruelty, Gcntlcncss and
tratcrnizing Of Wounded Arc Parts
Of Picture.
Baltimore Sun. October 49,


Hopkins nurse. who has been living
In Paris for year or more and who
answered a call for volunteer nurses
at the front. a letter vividly portray
Ing the war rs II appears to those in
the thick of Ii.
IL Is a story Of death and destruc-
tion--death and destruction made
worse by the birth of baby during
the hell Of II all: made worse by the
agonizing and dying OF civilians; made
worse by unnecessary brutality that
seems reminiscent OF the Dark Ages.
Only In the flash here and there of
gentleness. as when a big French SOL
dier soothed the little new baby, is
there anything suggesting that this is
an era of civilization.
Miss Livingston went to the front
with fellow-nurse. Miss Steen- Han
sen. They were ordered to Charleroi
and stayed there about two weeks,
thinking. as Miss Livingston says. that
the war was myth. until suddenly 1t
IL broke about them with unrestrained
fury. Miss Livingston and Miss steen-
Hansen are now In Paris, from which
city the letter was written. 1t Is a
real and graphic picture that forces
conviction OF its truth and drives
home the horrors OF the conflict more
convincingly than any private COM
munication that has come from the
other side.
The letter follows:
1T Is like a dream that I am back
In silent. deserted Paris after a seven
weeks stay I'm Charleroi. before and
after the German occupation: that L
nave even met on the Rue de Passy
this morning a slim French boy Of
20 years old. soldier in the One Hun
dred and Nineteenth Regiment. whom
i last saw calmly smoking a cigarette
beside mitrailleuse on top Of the
Charleroi Station the day before the
Germans arrived.
81 had come to this little Belgian
town with four other nurses In answer
to call for volunteers from the
Belgian legation In Paris. We quite
expected that we would go on duty
the same night of our arrival, having
heard that both In Brussels and
Charleroi thousands OF wounded and
dying were lying about the streets.
This OF course was not the case, for
on August there were no wounded
In Charleroi and only So In Brussels.
Ii was August 21 before we picked
up the wounded out of the streets
We had almost begun to think the
war was a myth. for after the day Of
our arrival no news of any kind
reached US
THE One Hundred and Nineteenth
Regiment arrived on August 10. ItI
was very exciting to see them barri-
cade bridges and place the danger
Gus business-looking mitrailleuses
both there and on the station roof,
the bigger cannon and artillery
guarding the river by which the town
was approached.
with a feeling of absolute security
the next morning Miss Steen- Hansen
and left the house In which we
were lodged for the school which had
been given US to install as u hos
pital.
Tho boom Of cannon. which had
been indistinctly heard for many
days. gradually became louder; pres
emily we knew that some dreadful
fighting was taking place close at
hand.
From tho attic windows we could
see black clouds Of smoke In the dis
tance. The distant smoke became
great sheets OF licking fame, with
the cries of the wounded, screams of
dying horses. the cultural yells of
the Chlans as they dashed past our
hospital. Smoke. dust and q rainlike
sheet of fine broken glass from the
bursting windows OF burning houses
obscured the view. Haggard. wild
eyed civilians OF every age and con-
dition, forced to march in advance Of
the Germans for their own protection
ton. flashed past stumbling and fall
ing. fainting with fear and misery,
bleeding from the wounds Of shots
both French and German or kicked
aside to die when they could march
no longer.
BLACK. smoke-blinded and blood
stained we rushed into the streets
with our stretcher again and again,
picking up the wounded and improv-