The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-06-01
WOUNDED "POILUS"
SUFFER IN SILENCE
Nurse in Montpelier Hospital
Tells Of FOrtitude Of
French Soldiers.
"MIRACLES" IN HEALING

Nriticn nN tTDl. Juito NdieTy VI tne
Faculty Of Law. Montpelier University.
france, regarding the treatment Of the
civilian prisoners. men. women and chill
Sren. driven from France into Germany
following the German invasion and re-
Gently returned. excepting the able bod
,,8 men among them. to France.
The following letter has been received
from Nine. valery. who is serving as a
nur.. in the Montpelier Field Hospital
and who tells "A detailed story OF the
surerings " the patients who have come
under her u rsonal Observation:
.The number of women nurses "A
abou; two hundred and this Is by no
means too large, for you must remember
,he work which falls to their lot. IL Is
mn, merely q question OF helping the
surgeons in their operations and dress
ing wounds. hut we also have to watch
,he food Of our beloved wounded. the
administration Of medicine to them.
write their letters. amuse them, soms-
times PLAYING checkers, or cards. some
times nv reading out loud to them. and
anally and above all. It IL our duty to
encourage them and help them TO endu g
Tho hard tests to which they are SO often
put by their wounds
Let me tell YOU some examples "
the fortunes and ehavio or our
wounded patients.
"a soldier, Cauvan. came to us from
mo trenches Of the Argonne. He came
into tho hospital Ave months ago. HIS
Zee, and his hands were frozen. Fro n
then almost up to the present time we
have had an unceasing fight to keep hl1
arms and legs. which gangrene had al.
ready attacked. The kill OF our sur
reons has finally been successful and
moor Cauvan will only lose the eN-
tremi,ies Of a few fingers and toes. Blu:
that was not his only trouble. From
the time when he came into the hospital,
he could not get out OF bed and he was
constantly IN the most %agonizing pain,
aggravated by assesses which formed
on all parts Of his body and which had
10 be lanced one after the other.
Worse stili. since the arst days Of
the month OF August he has been and ls
At present without any news whatever
Of his family. The German troops are
still occupying the little village In which
he made his living as a shoemaker and
AZ The German generals always forbid
every form Of correspondence with th-
regions OF which they are In possession
this man is still ignorant as to whether
his wife and his children are living or
dead and whether they have or have
not been the subject OF the atrocities o;
these invaders. II he was not a maj
Of profoundly Christian sentiment and
belief. II he did not manifest every day
his confidence in the divine goodness. hr
would certainly have chosen death for
himself.
I'VE have another man here. a SOL
der. and. like Cauvan, n native OF the
invaded departments. But the enemy
were repulsed and driven out OF his dis
trict. and so after a time he received
a letter from his wife. Alas. she was
writing to tell him that the barbarians
had put gu; the eyes OF his son and cut
OF the fingers of his daughter. leaving
each finger. by an utterly Internal refine
ment Of cruelty. at a different length so
% to prevent her from being able to
grasp any object properly. As to the
wife herself she had been violated many
times. When this poor man learned
this terrible news he was seized with
an attack and actually beloved in his
bed as you would expect from a wild
beast. His state was appalling. Now
ne thinks OF nothing but his ambition to
Ne cured SO that he may wreak VEN
seance for the suffering which has been
endured by his people.
N our task is difficult when We try TO
calm such physical and moral anguish.
On the other band think Of our consola-
ton when our efforts are own with
success. | could scarcely tell you my
10Y when I witnessed the discharge.
cured. Of a soldier, Marchand. who came
in IN the month of November with a
fragment OF she'll in his head. He was
then covered with black blood and with
the mud of the trenches. weakened by
Ms wound and by a long and painful
Journey 0n the railway. Us a result of
hhs wound he had almost lost his mind
End AT = his skull had been trepanned
y" aupoaroh for a considerable lime to
I'VE in a sort OF dream. But now we
have made out OF him a new and superb
mui fan Of life and energy and he too
MY asks to get back to the firing line.
Another, combes, was brought to the
hospital IN such a condition that we
exp ct'd him to give up the -host within
% few hours. IL had received "A frag-
meut Il she'll in his chest and the blood
Na. ,scap.ng from his wound. from his
mouth ana from his nose. He showed
p sN' er obs;inacy and desire to live.
Mot OF the doctors OF our city came
10 i'oN at him as II he was "A curiosity,
for they considered 1t wholly eStraor-
tragy that he should live instead of dy-
o.. With the speed which all the rules OF
O. ed.,Li SCI, nee would suggest in his
tase He was reduced TO al unimagin-
able leann -, absolutely without color
srl all the appearance of n corpse.
- few sundays ago ] was al church
In the chapel attached TO the hospital
C'o,e beside me there was a soldier sing
Ing III. hymns at the top of his lungs
turned and could not believe my eyes
which showed me that this superb young
man with a voice like thunder was this
same Combes. whom ] had seen FOR Sc
many weeks so near death. We have
God to thank hat we have so otter
such good results. so encouraging In
'helr effect upon the rate OF mortality
In our hospitals. But we must recog,
hze beyond that, not merely the yea
and SIKH of our surgeons and their help
Hs, hut still more the moral vigor Of
our soldiers. | have never heard ont
W them give voice to the least com
PLANT. All accept. with resignation. thu
pains which they endure. They ar,
happy to suffer for their country and
HE so that they may fight again thu
enemies OF France.
That is the wish thst ! have OTTER
heard expressed by MA1os. He is q
soldier OF the colonial ina ntry. anc
Paving fought with glory like the fine
aeNll that he is. he was brought to thu
ambulance in such a condition tina
when they finally delivered him at thu
hospital they had TO trepan his skull
lake out one eye and dress thirty-si,
additional wounds with which his body
was rlddled. In spite Of that we hav,
never been able to keep him In bed fol
an entire day. He has borne the mos
.,uel operations without any anRs
tnetic and without a cry OF pain an,
sn that he, too. asks In when he car
"ke his place in his regiment.
ihen there Is a Breton named
Mathieu, who had one leg crushed b,