Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-08-03
5 AMBULANCE HosPiTAL
. WORK DESCRIBED ~
. AMERICAN At FRONT

1 4 4
New York.. Aug. s.-Eliot Norton. a
New York lawyer. brother Of Prof.
Richard Norton. the founder Of the
| American volunteer ambulance corps.
the chief Red Cross unit with the Sec
ond French army. makes public a let
ter written to him by William r. Ber-
ry, attached to the corps. giving vivid
description Of its work and the dangers
its members have to undergo. Pro-
fessor Norton was but recently decor
ated by the French government with
the military Cross
Mr.. Berry's letter. dated Baisieux.
Somme, Juno l, states that the corps
has been removed to base less than
six miles behind the lines and tells his
experiences during "a hours at post
half mile or so from the trenches.
Two of us, on a two stretcher. three
sitter ambulances. arrived at the APP
pointed village a little after midday"
the letter reads, 'sbut still in time to
bid goodbye to the French guard car
which we were to replace. At 2.30 p.
M. there came q telephone order from
the Premier Poste de Secours" at the
trenches for the 'voiture Americans
to report there Immediately. At once
the car was gotten under way. Slow
~ we crawled thru streets Uttered with
the debris Of shell shattered houses
and walls, and by sentries who de-
manded the password at the bayonet's
point. Further on clutter of supply
and ammunition trains in country
lane kept us back. but a sudden turn
to the left showed q white ribbon OF
empty road that wound up over high
rA h~f
and inviting We opened the throttle
wide, and rushed to the summit-to
find ourselves in full view of the Ger
man guns and trenches while in the
surface Of the road we jolted over, old
shell marks gaped at us like man
holes
Down the far side Of the ridge we
dropped at full speed, holding our
breath. But no shells fell, and no bull
lets, and we inwardly congratulated
ourselves as we drew UP near the dug
out shelters hidden in a hollow behind
the French second line, where we found
an orderly waiting for US beside final
sentry. Here the car was turned round
and the stretchers shouldered, for we
had reached point beyond which the
ambulance might not go, since the
road, which led straight on to the Ger
man lines, was heavily barricaded at
intervals of fifteen meters.
"The Premier Poste de Secours' was
some ways down the road and we hur-
ried towards it with the orderly. When
we reached It, this first aid dressing
station proved to be a dugout cham
Der five feet below ground reached by
an inclined plane much as one enters
to the tomb chamber of the great
Pyramid Of Cheops. Here we found
our men,, wounded but fifteen minutes
before, ready for us. One had rifle
bullet thru his head, the other was
riddled with shrapnel. Both were in
pretty bad shape. the shrapnel case
especially, but as we lifted the first
onto a stretcher his eyes opened and
he smiled at us while from the dis
torted bundle OF light blue uniform
and red bandage which was the second.
a weak and bloody hand crept out and
closed over mine as we lifted him, and
from mouth which could not see
came the whisper. Les Americaines.
Mr.. Berry then describes the painful
work of carrying the two men back
thru the post village to a little church
farther on. which had been fitted up
as temporary hospital.
During dinner that evening the viii
lage was shelled for half an hour, he