The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1918-04-09

thc water IN our pals was frozen sol
| III in the morning, but we are not mind
ing it 8. bit, for after all that is much
better than the raw, rainy weather to
| which we are SO often treated. Indeed
| we have already gone back to that and
To-Day has been one steady downpour.
Inc units motto these days Is Ger
| tainly, keep the home fires burning"
| for wood fires have a way of going ont
most suddenly and Unexpectedly, and
1T Is as much as ones life is worth IN
get them started. There Is plenty of
WOOD 10 be mad hereabouts, but 1t
must be cut, and the difficulty In to
ma someone to do that for us. Also
the wood is often so green that one is
strongly tempted to follow the methods
o. the well-known "lady named Mary
McGuire.' Fortunately the stoves in
the portable houses are provided with
what are called drum ovens. At first
we were inclined to wonder what might
be the use Of these ovens, but we have
long since discovered that thew are j,
hfaVen-sent provision for drying wood
MY own IL Mt presnt fairly stuffed
WIN Il supply of wood for the eve.
ming.
! suppose it will sound funny to vol,
to hear that our most acute problem is
the same old story of the servant uues-
tlon. Units are expected to have their
minds on more heroic things, but / can
assure You that this is n most vital
ara pressing point for us. The per
sons whom we secure are quite like
TIER Xix at home, here one dav and
gene the next
But really everyone has been so
good to us here that "a list of onr
itlehds ana benefactors would be as
long as the proverbial moral law, for
people have helped us in all sorts of
ways, from cranking the Ford machines
"a very real help, sometimes. can
assure yoD to presenting us with m
expected gifts of money. One of orr
best friends Is the commandment OF
Whom | wrote before (the one who
save us the COW to provide milk for the
dlrectoD. and we have just had a gift
ol about 700 francs through him. from
II lady who is Interested in contributing
10 work IN the war zone He told us
IL was TO be used for "betise." in other
"ords any sort of nice extra thing
which might strike our fancy, Ac-
cordingly we have put part OF it ut
once into our Christmas fund. and
with the rest We have been able To
huy shch things as q basket crib for n
new. baby, a pair of Sunday shoes for
" l4-year-old girl, a big comfy pillow
iof a SICK woman who has heart at
tacks and has to be proppod up in bed
III night and a doll for a LITTLE sick
girl That is the sort of thing that 7
OFTEN get with money which has been
gwen me to spend as choose, for there
are lots of little things which give
pleasure out of all proportion to the
expense. You should have seen the
ii,tie girl with her doll. She lust
looked at it with eyes like saucers. and
sat quite still. smoothing its dress with
nor hand, as If she couldn't believe that
1t was real. There is a great deal of
our medical work here that Is a matter
or bringing cheer and comfort tn
people, rather than simply handing out
medicine, as you can readily believe.
And after all. these things are only a
drop in the bucket to people who have
gone lhrouEh what these people have.
How can YOU really comfort them for
the loss of their homes and, what Is
more, their families? ! think | shall
never forget the poor old woman. dyinr
IN II woodshed, without kith or kin to
care for her, and talking of her chill
dren up to the last minute of her life.
There Is another old woman whom we
sometimes go to see. who is ALWAYS
hcpInE for news of her son, always
Thinking that some happy chance NAV
bfInT him back, and the neighbors
nav" not the heart to tell her that
'i'f' Is news of him, that he has died
aN't les RoCheS. She has not much
longer to live, and they do not want to
add to the troubles of her last days.
IN" OF our patients, an old man with
asthma and a bad heart, died a few
days ago. and when we were trying Il.
say som" word of consolation to his
Vile, all she could say was, IF on,y
ms children could have been here
with him"
but You must not think that the
work is all sad have so MANY good
friends among our people that | thor
~ guy 'HJNN hithltE our visits. There
Is on" family in our pet village of
amy which beats Mrs. Wigs of the
cabbage Patch all hollow. and | only
WISH l could write them up in proper
style. There was a forlorn baby who
was crying all night and keeping the
'lolher awake, so We made a special
arrangement to have it taken to a sort
or hospital. for her sake as we'll as its
own, and then she came and COM
p'ain"d that she couldn't sleep because
she missed having To get up with It at
night. She was the one who always
began to talk as soon as we tried Ia
say anything to her, and when nr.
Kelly finally demonstrated with her.
| explained plausibly that it saved time
| !! W" all talked at once. After much
admonitlon and preparation she finally
started TO do up \ wonderful aceumu-
lauon of family washing, with the re-
suit that the stove could not stand the
strain and collapsed, and we had a
! hurry call 10 dress u burned leg. And
| mere never was on sea or land such A
funny goat as belongs to the family
and guards their yard. menaeins the
nnwary social service visitor.