Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1916-11-01

head light, which was the axis of this
compact and infinitely tidy little uni
verse. 1t was in this room, this room
built in a train, that 1t had been de-
cided whether or not men were to live
or die.
Yes. it's a bit difficult-operating
here" he doctor admitted. What
with the motion of the train and all"
But he added hastily that it was not
on board ambulance trains that the
true miracles Of science and of medi-
cine "a come. 1t was in the dressing
stations. in the casualty clearing sta
tions, in shabby little rooms under shell
fire, where the light was a lamp or a
was at a premium. Nobody believed"
the doctor said, that surgeons could
do what they have done"
Then we went down a very narrow
corridor and, quite suddenly, L found
that we had entered the first coach
filled with wounded men. 1t was deep
and narrow, with a white, concave roof.
But it was above all a very long coach,
and running the full length of it We're
two double tiers of cots. The aisle be-
tween these tiers was of good width
and m~iraculously clean. The cots were
wide, with thick mattresses.
Dead to the World.
In each of these cots a man was
lying. They were lying as if they We're
asleep. with their faces turned away
from the light. The coach was very
still.
/ walked down the aisle. following
the doctor. j was afraid of the move
ment of tho train throwing me against
one of those which cots where those
curious, inert. motionless things were.
But the doctor was hurrying along.
4 ~ IN r;cl- ,rl ~ ~:- - 1T
amazing new diseases of this war,
talking in a low, yelled professional
tone and looking at his PATIENTS, each
one. as we passed by.
There's, Of course, shell shooks.' he
said. General collapse. Nerves simply
give away-can't stand it. The wear
and strain, and the noise. the horror
and the rest of tt
They come home like this"- We
had stopped by one of the cots where
a man was lying with his face turned
straight toward the light. His eyes
were closed, his thin, nerveless hands
lay. palms upward, on the gray blanket,
Inc slender veins in his wrists showed
very clear.
He's been like that perhaps for
days." the doctor said. Doesn't see,
doesn't hear, doesn't feel. Absolutely
unconscious. Total collapse.
Yes, oh, yes, he'll be all right. It's
JUST llIne, you KNOW. Time and care
and patience. Like any other shock
only $1,000 times greater. It's wonder
full to see how their memory comes
back. slowly. slowly. You wouldn't be-
lieve what man can live through. You
wouldn't believe tits only flesh and
bone. after all, you know.
Then there's this thing of trench
feet-pretty bad that. Slow rot. Wholly
new disease. And for that matter. there
are plenty of them = not yet even
named, some of them. But, of course,
it's mostly %shrapnel. Shrapnel and
amazing things"
And SO, like this, we passed through
coach after coach-95 wounded men
there were on board. And the doctor
at a dressing or to ask a question. And
was walking behind him filled with
wonder and amaZement. I a not
known it was like this-the getting
wounded men back from war. They
Were so patient so pitiful and SO
happy. And think that they, too,
were sometimes filled with wonder.
For when l stopped to talk to them
they said always that it was a miracle,
q miracle being on that train.
II never knew l was goin' to be ere"
a Tommy told me. He was lying, both
OF ms bandaged feet propped up at the
foot of his cot. "They got me in both
Shrapnel. Two days 1 was lynn out.
Two days. No, you wouldn't believe
an wouldn't either, hadn't l done it.
fflghtful it was. H. E. spatterin' round
everywhere. They were rippin' things
open, them two days. Oh, i was sorter
OF 1T. . y Don't know where I'd got
to-we was pushin' on. Down 1 went.
Down stayed. Wasn't no good tryin'
TO crawl; -. Yes, 1 was a bit out O.
me mind. thinkin. all sort-a things out
there. Two lay an a night of it
thrown in. In the legs I'm it, 1 said
to meself. Wish they'd bowed off me
arms. /. ~ I'm done I said. But /
remember EN- getting me bout. Two
days I'd 'ad-two days in ell.
.Ihen L was put in a barn, full up it
was. an they went an strafed that.
Busted out a whole side of 'er. Saw
'er Gavin in-frightful noise. That's
crooked up l said.
An now I'm ~'ere-'ere in a train.
IT. heaven, I call it,"
Ihen there was another Tommy in
another coach who talked to me. The
there was a bit of difficulty about an
amputation case; the sister had sent
for him.
The "Shiney Eye"
This Tommy, who was 10 years old,
and who had asked me to look out Of
the little window at the end of the
compartment and tell him what it
looked like out there, had been left for
n night lying on the bottom of a
German trench. which had been won
M lost three times in the space Of one
days fighting.
you see such strafin'," he told
me. An such fightin'. Yellin' an
Whoopin' we was, a bombin' 'em out,
the beggars. Their 'elmets was lyin'
all over the place. Walkin' all over 'em
We was. mashin' 'em up. 'Oles in the
ground bigRer'n a horse Yo, no.,or