The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1916-02-01
5000 OPERATIONS
NEAR FIGHTING LINE
Remarkable Work of American Sur
geon with Russian Army-Compli-
ments Russian Soldiers.

geon with Russian Army-CompI-
ments Russian Soldiers.
PETROGRAD, Jan. 10, Correspond
ence of The Associated Press More |
than three thousand surgical opera |
tions, most of them close to the fight I
ing line and with the roar of artillery /
in his ears, is the past year record /
of Dr. Eugene Hurd, until recently |
the only American surgeon at the front |
with the Russian forces. Dr. Hurd is
chief surgeon in charge of the Twenty
Ninth, known as the "Grodno Nobili- |
ty'' FLYING Column. He has the rank
of colonel in the regular army. His
physique-he stands six feet three
inches in height and weighs 225 pounds
makes him conspicuous figure,
even among the big fellows of the
Siberian Corps among whom he works.
He has acquired reputation among
the simple minded soldiers for doing
the impossible. A soldier returning
from the hospital told his fellows that
the big American surgeon could take
hand that had been shot off. patch
it together and put it back on good
as new
Hurd has been reported several times
killed, wounded or missing. He has
made a number of hurried getaways,
! but he has always turned up with
! his outfit when the smoke cleared. His
column was Quilted b. the noble fam
lies of Grodno soon after the out
break of the war. Then they looked
about for a surgeon to take charge.
| About that time Hurd, who was in
/ Seattle, was offering his services to
Russia Through the Russian consul
pffar WIS arpaD+oI nd
he sailed on November IS for Nladi-
vostok. He was at once sent to Grodno
with a contract to serve during the
term of the war. He believed he was
giving his services gratis, but several
months later. when he had time to
have his contract translated, he found
that he was to receive 400 roublcs
monthly.
His first taste of battle was on the
Grodno front. On the retreat of the
Russian army last summer Hurd mar
rowly escaped an involuntary trans
fer of his activities to the German
side. After a twenty hour stretch of
hard work he was ordered to retire
by night to Orani. At three clock in
the morning he had reached an estate
SIX miles from that point and there he
decided to rest until daylight Whe~
preparing to resume his journey the
following morning he found the stable
yard full of Russian cavalry horses
some of them wounded. A Russian
, soldier informed him that Orani haC
, been captured by the Germans carl
in the morning and that they We're ap
preaching less than two miles away
) He made a hurried exit southwark
, through sand dunes where Napoleon
5 lost his transports on the retreat from
| Moscow. Until four clock in the af
2 tenoon, whea he reached new Russian
e position he was between the hostil,
E lines uncertain as to the location o
2 either army.
L AT another time the German cavalr,
= broke through the Russian lines befor
r Hurd was aware of the fact and hat
j. cut his field telephone. They passe
\ his operating base, evidently believ
i ing his capture assured on their re
c turn. But the American doctor harness
ed his horses and with his opcratin,
force made q break for the retiring
o Russian army. The Germans turned
y battery on him and with shells burst
l. ing all around him he galloped hi
G teams over the crest of hill an
S eventually made his way to safety
? DIR. Hurd works customarilv about
ii'AAN Dt''tN VI NV tiNiiA llVS Al lIllt W II
the light artillery and in front of al
Z under the heavy batteries.
1t u believe the Russian soldier to b
t the best in the world he said. on
- recent visit to Petroorad, his thir
Z brief absence from the trenches i
t. more than a year. "The Russian is
- fatalist, is absolutely fearless. willin
- 10 attack under any conditions, an
. is an expert with the bavonet, hi
= favorite weapon. | am convinced tina
: the Germans lost twenty men to ou
, one on the retreat last summer.
!. "a new form of trench bomb, file
n with an acid that acts like vitriol
/, the last element we have had to cor
p tend with. The effect is fatal if tn
* fumes are inhaled and the least e
@ feet is to produce total and permane1
n blindness. These bombs are fired {
m close range and explode on contac
Is From one TO seven men are affecta
ID where the explosion occurs anon
,d men unprotected by respiratOrs Ofte
the men have not time to adjust the
ne respirators in time to escape.
n "a remarkable thing that [ hay
H. observed is the number of cases
er frozen feet among German prisoner
C. while 1 have yet to treat the fir
Id Russian for that trouble. The reasC