Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-08-02
NURSE FROM
HERE WRITES
OF WAR WORK
Mrs. Helen Gage Tells of the
Wounded Men in French
Hospitals

The other side-the side opposite
fighting,-that of nursing is given
in the following letters from Mrs.
Helen Lauder Gage, a daughter of
prominent local family.
Her description of what the Red
Cross is doing is vivid. She sailed
from America with a unit last May
as a member of the American Red
Cross.
Two of her letters follow:
Somewhere in France"
Dearest People:
Il hope you received the letter l
wrote you the other day. 1 thought
| would write to-day when l am not
busy in case the other one did not
reach you. One never knows This
is the first afternoon 1 have taken off
since came and l am enjoying 1t
down on the beach. The season is
not yet in full swing but there are
quite few people sitting around and
always lots of soldiers and nurses
l wish | could send you pictures of
the place, it is so pretty, but 1 will
bring home plenty when 1 come.
I'VE have not been so rushed in our
work the past few days; they have a
work the past few days, they have a
scarcity of water and consequently
we are not accepting any convoys and
are sending many home Army nurs-
ing is very different from civil nurs-
ing and the English methods very diff
ierent from ours. 1t is so nice to
have our doctors to work for. The
first week the English doctors were
here. Most of our doctors have been
living in tents, waiting for the Eng
llsh officers to go; also all the "
a. DIS are in tents. 1t looks like an
indian village. Our hut accommo-
dates about sixty-five nurses and we
nave a comfortable little sitting room
and dining room-much on the Camp
ing out style. We have a bath room,
too, in this hut and electric lights,
so really it is quite comfy The meals
are, of course, not like home cooking.
but we have to remember there is
a war on when we sit down. What
we miss most is coffee. They serve
tea each meal and it is horrid to
have tea for breakfast. We get
sugar not much, but enough, and
we have breadless days very often
and what we do get is stale. We
come down to the little town often
and have tea and can get lovely
strawberries. Tomorrow No. 8 Can
adian Hospital are entertaining us at
tea. We like the V. A. DIS here very
much. They are very refined girls
and wonderful help.
AS yet we have not had any mail.
When in the world did you send your
letters? l am hoping and expecting
a letter each day and I do hope you
have sent me some papers. They
will be a God-send.
Il suppose you have already heard
they have sent home for more nurses.
doctors and men. We are short of
all three, especially nurses. II you
know any young fellows who want
to escape training camps, advise them
to get into Unit for it beats being
in the trenches and most of the fell
lows say they like it. We are all
very happy lot. We have an actor
among the boys and he is getting I'D
a play for the Fourth of July. DIR. 7.
told me to-day we may not be here
next winter, but may go wherever
the troops are or wherever General
Pershlng establishes our base. We
think 1T would be fine to nurse our
boys although they could not be any
more patient and nice than these
boys, but 1t will also be nice to be
where it's warmer in winter. l have
one chap who has just come in with
one leg off to his hip, the other knee
is fractured and three shrapnel
wounds which are terribly infected.
also the arm has three shrapnel
wounds as large as an egg; also badly
infected, in addition he had the end
OF his spine injured. He is as cheer
tul as cricket and never yet has
complained of one discomfort, and
when We inquire how he is it is al
ways the same reply, L feel fine, sis
ter l have another patient who has
six large shrapnel wounds in his
back, six on one leg and four on the
other, two with fractured spines. and
they are all smiling and happy and
they know the war is over for them
and they will soon be sent home. We