Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-08-15
Successful Operations Are
Performed in Hospital at
Kief, Russia.
TITLED NURSES HELPFUL,
DECLARES DR.. E. H. EGBERT
Red Cross Expert Here to Purchase
instruments and Medical Supplies.
Tales of Strange Happenings.


of manned victims of war treated at
the American Red Cross Hospital in
Kief, Russia, where he was in charge,
are told by DIR. Edward T. EGbert of the
Cairo, who is in Washington on a mis-
sion from Russia 20 purchase in this
country large quantities of medical and
surgical supplies.
Appreciation of the Russian people
as "the most sympathetic, courteous.
warm hearted. hosptable and grateful
people he has ever seen is voiced by
DIR. Egbert He is especially earnest
in commenting upon the zeal with
which the women of Russia are doing
all they can to aid their country in
this crisis
For many months Dr.. Egbert has
been in charge of the American Red
Cross Hospital at kief. occupying the
Polytechnic institute. with corps
consisting of two American Red Cross
units, C and H. These comprise ten
American surgeons, four of whom are
from Washington, and twenty-five
American Red Cross trained nurses and
twelve Russian nurses who speak Eng
lish. Most of the latter are titled So
ciety girls, who, after six weeks tram
ing are doing capable work at any
thing they are set to do.
Six Hundred Beds.
This hospital has 500 beds. All the
time it has had many more patients
than the beds would accommodate.
When Dr. Egbert left Russia there
were $40 patients and more than 1000
had been cared for. The American
surgeons have performed more than
1000 operations, some OF them the
most difficult known to surgery.
One of the cases treated at this hos
pital was of a Russian soldier who
had been buried as dead for two days
on a battlefield in Galicia near Lem
berg. The Russians changed the name
to Lvov When the Austrians retook
1t they changed the name back to Lem
berg. This is the ancient capital of
Galicia.
This poor soldier was severely shot in
the face. He was thrown into the
shallow trench in which the Austrians
were burying the dead and covered
over, all but his head, when the Rus
slams recharged and finally routed the
1t was in midwinter and intensely
cold. For two days this man lay thus
exposed. DR.. Egbert says that being
partially buried is probably all that
saved his life.
He regained consciousness, but was
too weak to break his way out of his
grave. Finally his cries attracted
some Russians, who rescued him. He
pital by playing on a valoluka. cross
p between guitar and a mandolin.
There was a Jewish soldier named
Bass. from Wilma, who was cured of a
bad case of hernia of the brain through
large wound in the back of his head.
He came into the hospital with his
brain protruding as large as a mans
hst. After several months he recov-
cred.
1t was popularity of his case that
this wound caused him to lose all pow
er to judge direction and distance, so
that his tendency was to walk in a cir
Gle. When he was discharged from the
hospital he had recovered sufficiently
to take care of himself.
''Ku Klux" was the nickname given
to man who had his face burned off
by a gasoline explosion. He was given
this name because of the appearance
of his face, swathed in bandages, after
the famous Ku Kiux Klan Of carpet
Dagger days. He was the only man to
escape alive from a house which had
been used to store gasoline in and which
had been exploded by a shell.
"Torchy's" Strange Wound.
Another patient was nicknamed
'Torchy." because of his flaming red
hair. He didn't know the reason. but
when he was dismissed DR.. Egbert told
him his American boss would explain
the joke to him. This was a boy about
twenty, who had been employed by an
American sewing machine concern in
town near Warsaw.
He had a very peculiar wound He
was hit in the right thigh by a piece of
shrapnel, which struck his jacknife
and glanced off, SO that it inflicted two
wounds entering and two in leaving.
IT then went through behind the pu-
bic bone and lodged in the opposite
groin He made perfect recovery and
Went back to the front after going to
see his mother in Moscow
The case which interested DR.. Egbert
most, as a delicate operation, was the
result of an Austrian teel-jacket bull
let. which entered mans left cheek,
and traversed the face through the
back OF the nose and was buried ahout
one-third in the right orbit rendering
the man totally blind. DIR. Egbert re-
moved this bullet taking it out care
fully without gouging the eyeball The
patient left in about two weeks. ran.
IDLY recovering and extremely grateful
because he had expected to be blind
for life.
A patient was brought in wearing g,
valor' medal. His right femur bone
was shattered by shrapnel and had 10
ne patched up with Wire DESPITE this
terrible wound the man STAYED on the
iine nrlng for more than an hour. For
honors for valor.
THESE are but typical cases DR. E,y
Der.s notebooks are filled with other
stories just as interesting.
Attached to the American Red Cross
hospital Corps at kief is a Russian
NJ NJ kadetZ, graduate in 1914 n,
the Long Island Medical College. Wbsr
the war broke out he was in German,
pursuing POSTGRADUATE studies Hi
people live at kovil. on the frontje,
between Poland and Russia.
He was assigned to the hospiia1 corns
in Kief and had official charge Of ~.
records, including pension certificata 20
Dr. Egbert says that he gave exceIlen,
service in the operating rooms anf
showed a particular aptitude for sur.
gerry. This young Russian is comine
over to the United States to practic.
his profession after the war
Work of Russian Women
All Russian women with whom DR.
Egbert came in contact from the EN-
press and the titled women down to tn.
humbiest peasant. are making all sort
of personal sacrifices and doing al
sorts of work gladly for the cause
many of whom never even dresse,
themselves or did up their own hal
before. In hospital work, caring TO
the needy, carrying dispatches and i,
preparing food. they are doing all tina
women can, even up to the very fore
front of the conflict.
When DIR. Egbert went to the from
at Zyrardof, about twenty miles ives
of Warsaw, within two miles of tn
trenches, he found. at cross roads,