Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1917-09-11

in q Ford ambulance or, as the
Tommies would say, "tin Lizzie"
The man who drove this vehicle would
make a good chauffeur for an adding
machine. Apparently he was counting
the bumps in the road, for he didn't
miss one Of them. However, the trip
was only a matter Of seven miles, and
I was in fair condition when they lifted
me out and carried me to an operating
table in the field dressing station.
A chaplain came along and murmur-
ed q little prayer in my ear. imagine
that would have made man feel very
solemn If he had thought there was
chance he was about to pass out, but
knew I merely had leg pretty badly
smashed up, and while the chaplain
was praying was wondering If they
would have to cut 1t of. I figured, II
30, this would handicap my dancing.
The first formality in shrapnel case
is the administration Of an ant-tetanus
innoculation, and when 1t Is done you
realize that they are sure trying to
save your life. The doctor uses horse
syringe, and the injection leaves
lump on your chest as big as base
ball, which stays with you for forty
eight hours. After the injection
nurse fills out a diagnosis blank with
a description of your wounds and q
record of your name, age, regiment,
regimental number, religion, parentage
and previous history as far as she can
discover it without asking questions
which would be positively indelicate.
After all of that my wounds were CIV
en- their first real dressing.
Immediately after this was done I
was bundled into another ambulance
and driven to Contay, where the @. Q.
8. Casualty clearing station) and rail
head were located. in the ambulance
with me were three other soldiers, an
artillery officer and two privates OF In
fantry. We were all ticketed of as
shrapnel cases and probable recoveries,
which latter detail Is remarkable, since
the most slightly injured Of the four
had twelve wounds, and there were
sixty odd shell fragments or shrapnel
balls collectively imbedded In US. The
nurse had told me that I had about
twenty wounds. Afterward her count
proved conservative More accurate
and later returns showed twenty-five
bullets and shell fragments were In
my leg. They took these out and pre-
sented them to me. I have been CIV
ing them away for souvenirs
We were fairly comfortable In the
ambulance, and I especially had great
relief from the fact that the nurse had
strapped my leg in a sling attached to
the top of the vehicle. We smoked
cigarettes and chatted cheerfully, ex-
changing congratulations on having
got "cleatl ones"-that is, wounds not
probably fatal The artillery of1cer
told me he had been supporting our
battalion that morning with one of the
sacrifice batteries"
A sacrifice battery, ! might explain,
Is one composed Of field pieces which
are emplaced between the front and
support lines and which in case OF an
attack or counterattack are fired at
point blank range. They call them
sacrifice batteries because some Of
them are wiped out every day. This
officer said our battalion that morning
had been supported by an entire divi
sion of artillery and that on our front
of 400 yards the eighteen FOUNDERS
alone, in a curtain fire which lasted
thirty-two minutes, had discharged
$1,000 rounds of high explosive shells.
1 was impressed by his statement, OF
course. but told him that, while this
was an astonishing lot Of ammunition,
It was even more surprising to have
noticed at close range, as did, the
number Of Germans they missed. To
ward the end of our trip to Contay we
were much exhausted and pretty badly
shaken up. We were beginning also
to realize we were by no means out OF
the woods surgically. Our wounds had
merely been dressed. Each Of US faced
an extensive and serious operation.
We arrived at Contay silent and pretty
badly depressed. For twenty-fou
hours in the Contay casualty, clearing
station they did little except feed Us
and take our temperatures hourly.
Then we were put into hospital train
for Rouen.
Germans Bomb Hospital Train.
Right here I would like TO telf q lit
tie story about hospital train leaving
Contay for Rouen-not the one we
were on, but one which had left few
days before. The train, when II was
1ust ready to depart with q full quota
Of wounded men, was attacked Dy
German aeroplanes from which bombs
were dropped upon it There 70 moth
ing apparently that makes the Ger
mans 20 fearless and ferocious. a. the
Red Gross emblem. On the top OF sacn'
AL 49, 0~~I =