Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1917-09-04
SOMEWHERE In FRANCE

| Hospital OIlls mo. Il tSL. LOUIS OHlt.j
They will give the reader an idea OF
the situation across the sea and per-
haps prove an incentive to the ladies
who are knitting for the Red Cross
Somewhere in France June IL.
June 13: We landed in Havre,
from England, June 10th and arrived
at this British Base Hospital June IL.
The question of postage is much dis
cussed and you may have to pay post
age on my letters. Soldiers mail here
and in England is taken free-and
some of the U. S. officers says it's
the same for the States, but nobody
British stamps here at camp. We are
located on an old race track near a
large city, and as this hospital has
been in operation for several years
it is we'll organized and the grounds
at present are beautiful. The object
in these base hospitals is to send the
cases either to England or back to
ktheir units, Nas soon as possible, and
we're not allowed to keep a case
longer than three weeks.
We have four meals a day; break
fast from 49, dinner at 1, then tea at
5 and another regular meal at 5
o'clock"
June 18th: l have a bunch OF
| British patients now and am very
| busy. Think I've discharged about
| 20 cases in the past two days. ! have
never seen such lot of patients who
have such good spirits and endure
so much pain without complaining.
We have to censor our patients mail,
and l assure you it's not always pleas
ant. Some of the men who have hor-
rible wounds write home saying they
are getting along nicely and will soon
| be in "Blighty British Tommies
name for England; and they have one
| huge smile when asked if they feel
we'll enough to take the boat for
Blighty.
We send the men on as soon as pos
sible in order to keep the beds empty,
| in readiness for new cases, following
what is known as a Push, namely
| battle"
June 18th: Did l tell you of our
| Journey from Havre to this place? At
o'clock, June 18th, we were ordered
| to the R. R. Station for so mile ride
and told to take days rations with
us as it sometimes took that long
| to make the journey. We waited
awhile and then were told we'd not
start until 10 p. M, and we finally
| left at a. m. Fortunately we COM
pleted the journey the same night and
didn't need our three days rations.
There are German prisoners near
here and they were much surprised
to learn that America was fighting
against them, so you see the German
soldier is not we'll informed as to his
enemies.
We are well taken care of and have
much better food, than we had in
England.
THE other day we attended con-
| cert at the Australian camp. One OF
| the men who sang a solo, is an ltal-
| ian, who had sung with Melba and
| who is now camp cook. / have a
Botany Professor in my ward to DO
all the dirty work"
"July End: Yesterday we went for
a boat ride on the Seine and left the
| boat at landing for IL mile walk
back to camp. We stopped at a res
| taurant for tea, then climbed hill
| to admire some ruins and incidentally
| discovered we were on the wrong
road, so walked back couple of
miles. Later we stopped at an Inn
| for supper. The land lady told us
she had eggs, salad and bread. or
course all the conversation was III
French, but two of the fellows were
able to understand little, and all OF
us knew the sign language. In due
time she brought in good omelet
salad and sardines. While we were
eating a French Madame came and
said her son had married an American
SC we had more French conversa-
ton. About that time we ordered
| coffee and one of tie doctors said
he wanted a large cup, only he used
the sign language and English. AS
a result each received large bowl
of very strong black coffee. The
French Madame then informed us
that it is not customary in France to
drink from bowls, and asked If we
did such things in America"
July 18th: The Germans seem to
be getting enough of the fighting. The
"Tommies" say that one man can take
20 or 80 prisoners and at times many
of the Germans give themselves up
without any resistance. OF course
there are some companies of men,
| who never take German prisoners,
while others are more tender hearted,
and don't kill men, if they shout
4 "Kamrade."
This afternoon we entertained the
Australian Hospital, officers and nurs-
es at tea. We had good things to eat,
fresh strawberries, cherries, ice cream,
French pastry, sandwiches and tea.
Then there was a base ball game be-
tween the nurses and the doctors, the
Halter wearing skirts, so they couldD t
run too fast. Think we shocked the
Britishers. but then, they need it,"
July 24th.-I have 80 beds in my
ward and tonight all but two are
filled. but some will be ready to be
sent on to England in day or two
Our work comes in punches. and, dur
ing full moon we had very little to
do, as the heaviest fighting is done on
dark nights. We don't work at night
however, unless it's absolutely neces-
sary, as the patients need sleep.
August 22nd.-We've been reading
in the Paris edition of the New York
| Herald, Oh the great neat wave Al
America Well, it's 10 p. M, and there
are only two other people in the mess
room. Everyone else has gone to bee
to keep warm. Some of the fellows
are wearing their winter clothes anC
still are freezing.
August 5th--I am sitting in my suite
of one room you know we live iI
tents-whicb is furnished with a camp
stool for a Norris chair, and a box il
lieu of a mahogany table. The fool
is beautifully waxed with mud, and tht
: Oriental rugs chop sacks) are
ldrenched. Sunny France has turned
to rain, cold weather and mud. Tht
, fellows are wearing sweaters ant
, socks to bed at night to keep from
!, freezing. The fighting at the from
,, is terrible, consequently the soldier:
orc Glad RI caf into dry hedS ever