Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-06-04
Men With Both Legs Gone.

| The debarkation from this strange
ship of broken men had been under
way for ten minutes, perhaps, when
there suddenly appeared among the
human fragments at the foot of the
Egangway man who had been entirely
lost sight of as he made his way to
shore Both of his legs were gone and
his head scarcely showed above the
gangway rails as he swung the rem
nants of his body along between two
stubby little crutches. 1t soon deve1-
oped. however. that he was not alone
in his misery, for there were several
Others like him. 1t seemed that the
crutch process would never end. for
the doctors said the number of leg
shipment of human wreckage home to
Russia. One of the leg cases was a
boy of fifteen His left limb was gone
well above the knee but with the deX-
terity of youth he had learned to hop
along with only one crutch and had
thrown the other away SO much
impedimenta
But soon the arm cases" and the
| hand cases We're very much in evil
dence. and at last came the wholly
| helpless. There was one soldier with
right leg and both eyes forever gone.
another with arm gone and a shat
| tered foot supported in a rope sling
bout his neck. Then came the men
crazed by the shock of battle or suf-
fering from acute melancholia. One Of
the latter never ceased to cry There
were but three Russian officers in the
| first exchange Two of these were
medical officers.
| One was paralyzed as result of
of tuberculosis. Few of the Russians
| had ever seen the sea until they were
| taken aboard the transport. and on
| the voyage across the Baltic most of
them were violently lila happy ships
| company, indeed.
Happy, Though Badly Crippled.
| Through the courtesy of Prince Carl
| the correspondent of the Associated
| Press was extended the privileges of
| the Red Cross train. 1t was wonder
| full to the difference one night on
| neutral soil md an understanding that
| they were really bound for Russia at
last effected in the men. When the
| train stopped at junction point for
breakfast the poor cripples hobbled to
the station platform. most Of them APP
parently happy and wholly content
with life. Oddly enough. the broadest
men with the fewest legs. Breakfast
was ready and piping hot. 1t was a
'ountiful repast of meats fuits and
vegetables. each man with glass of
nothing of the haste of extreme hum
ger. however. in the manner the meal
was approached Everything was calm
and orderly. The men without legs
We're helped onto the eating benches:
the others largely managed for them
selves. Only about thirty meals had
to be served on board the train. One
man at the tables tainted away as the
| food was brought on and wilted into
a heap on the dining room floor. Red
Cross orderlies carried him back to his
bed on the train.
| The train stopped for two hours at
| the breakfast station. was quite thor
| ouglfly cleaned and resupplied After
| breakfast there was promenade of the
| wounded up and down the platform A
| party Of three Americans who had OBJ
| tanned permission to visit the station
| distributed cigars and cigarettes among
| the men, and soon all were smoking as
| they scrambled along. Each man also
| had flower on his coat, pinned there
by the pink checked Swedish girls who
! had served the breakfast. The tables,