Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-04-17
"AT THE BACK OF THE FRONT
\ WAR NURSES DIARN-NO. I

\ WAR NURSES DINRN-\O.
Copyright. 1918, by robGc Lrdg"r CO.
HOW can | ever describe that jour
IL ncy to Ghcnt of fourteen and half
hours? 30 one but those who went
through it can realize it. Have you
aver ridden in London motorhuS'
If not. | can give little idea of what
oul. poor men suffered TO begin with,
even travcrsin- the smooth London
streets these vehicles jolt you to bits,
while inside the smell of burned gas
oline is often sitting; so just imagine
these unwieldy things humping over
cobblestoncs and the loose sandy ruts
of rough tracks among the sand
dunes, which constantly ncccssitated
every one who could dismounting and
pushing and pulling by ropes in front
10 get the vehicle into an upright
position again, out of the ruts. When
YOU have the picture Of this before
YOU. lust think of the passcngers-not
healthy people on a penny bus ride
but wounded soldiers and sailors,
Upon the brow of many Death had set
his seal. ...
All these inside passengers were
either wounded in the abdomen, Shot
through the lungs or pierced through
the skull, often with their brains run
ming out through the wound, WhlIe we
had more than one case OF men WIN
broken backs. Many Of these had Just
been operated upon.
We started from the Boulevard Leo
poId at 3 i'm the afternoon. We. ar
rived in Ghent at $50 next morning.
For twcnty-four hours those men had
had no nourishmcnt aud we were so
placed that it was impossible to reaCh
them. Now that you understand the
circumstances, | will ask you to ar'
company me on that journey.
Hell Let Loose
Leaving our own shcll-swcpt street
which seemed like hell let loose; we
/ turned down long boulevard, From
/ one end to the other the houses were
| a sheet of flames We literally trav
/ eIed through valley with walls OF
/ fire. Keeping we'll in tho middle OF the
| street we constantly had TO make de
tours to avoid large shell holes, Al
last Wc arrived at one of the large
squares near the Cathedral. Ihat ap
peared to bc intact, while the BelgianS
/ had taken Ruheus'S and Van Dyck's
famous pictures and hidden them m
the crypts.
aIIed that s0uare. II would have beer
possible to have walked across on the
| ION of the cars. The only way to gel
out of Antwerp was across the Scheldl
by a pontoon bridge made of bargeS
/ with blanks between. IT would llol
bear too much traffic, 50 the aulhoil
/ ties let the people and vehicles cross
one by one still looking at passports
For one and a half hours we $1,000
| there waiting for our turn TO come
| Just after we were safely over a sUG.
/ struck the bridge and broke II IN haIl
From Antwerp to st. Nicolas Is
about twenty miles. 1t was the liigh
way of Sorrow. Some people escaped
i'm carriages and carts, but by iar IN,
greater number plodded on loot II
was now ; p. m. on an October even
ing: there was "A fine drl2zllhS ram
II was cold and soon il was dark
Along that road streamed thousands
panic.stIicken, cold, hungry, weary
homeless. Where were they golnG
Where would they spend the nlsht
Here was a mother carrying her Ddny
around her skirts Clung four or hv'
children: small sisters of five or sl'
carried baby brothers of two years
old. There was a donkey cart piled
high with mattresses and bundles anC
swarming on il were bedridden Ole
men and women and babies, Here
was a little girl wheeling an oldfash
toned cot.perambulator with an OIL
gray.bearded man in 1t, his legs dan'
Cling over the edge.
suddenly little girls voice called
ont of the darkness: "Oh, Mees, Mees
take me and my leetle dog with you
have lost my father and he has ou
money" So we gave her seat oi
the spiral stairs outside.
Very soon all the ills that coul'