The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1919-01-02
placed me on white table In krlghtly
lighted room.

A sergeant OF the Royal Army Med
ical corps removed my handages and
cut eff my tunic. Then the doctor,
with his stee7es rolled up. took charge.
He winked at me and | winked back.
and ihen he asked. "How do you feel,
smashed up II bit!''
/ answered: I'm all right, but I'd
give d quid for a drink of Bass
He nodded to the sergeant, who dis
appeared. and I'll be darned If he
didn't return with glass of ale.
could only open my mouth about
quarter of an inch, but got away with
every drop of that ale. 1t tasted just
like Blighty, and that Is heaven 10
Tommy.
The doctor said something to an or
DERBY. the only word could catch was
"chloroform,' then they put some Kind
of an arrangement over my nose and
mouth and it was me for dreamand.
When l opened my eyes was lying
on a streteher, in low wooden
building. Everywhere I looked | saw
rows of Toinmics on stretchers, some
dead to the world, and the rest With
fags in their mouths.
The main topic of their conversation
was Blghty. Nearly all had grin on
their faces, except those who didn't
have enough face left to grin with.
arinned with my right eye, the other
WIS bandnged.
Strctcher-bearers came in and be
gan To carry the Tommies outside. You
could hear the chug of the engines in
the waiting ambulances.
| WIS put into an ambulance with
three others and away we went for an
cighteen-mle ride.
! WIS Gn a bottom stretcher. The
lad right across from me was smashed
up something horrible.
Right above Inc was man from the
Royal Irish rifles while across from
him was IA Scotchman.
We had gone about three miles when
| heard the death-rattle In the throat
of the man opposite. lie had gone TO
rest across the Great Divide. | think
at the time | enyied him.
iliul III Tie ihDRdi lIlSH TilltS
had had his left foot blown off, the
jolting of the ambulance over the
rough road had loosened up the band-
ages on his foot, and had started it
bleeding again. This blood ran down
the side of the stretcher and started
dripping. | was lying on my back, too
weak to move, and the dripping Of this
blood got me in my unbandaged right
eye. | closed my eye and pretty soon
could not open the lid; the blood had
CONCEALED and closed 1t. as If il were
glued down.
An English girl dressed in khaki WAS
driving the ambulance while beside
her Oh the seat was Il corporal of the
Il. A. NJ. G., They kept up a running
conversation about Blighty which al
most wrecked my nerves; pretty
soon from the streteher above me, the
freshman became aware of the fact
that the bandage from his foot had be-
come loose IT must have panied him
horribly, because he yelled In a loud
voice:
III you don't stop this bloody death
wagon and fix this d bandage on
my foot will get out and walk"
The girl on the seat turned around
and in sympathetic voice asked,
Poor fellow, are you very badly
wounded?'
The Irlshman, at this question, let
out howl of indignation and an
swered, Am l very badly wounded,
what bloody cheek no. I'm not wound
ed, I've only been kicked by canary
bird"
The ambulance Immediately stopped
and the corporal came to the rear and
fixed him up, and also washed out my
right eye. | was too weak to thank
him, but 1t was great relief. Then
l must have become unconscious, be-
cause when regained my senses, the
ambulance was at standstill, and my
stretcher was being removed from 1t.
1t was night, lanterns were flashing
here and there. and | could see stretch
er-bearers hurrying to and fro. Then
l was carried into a hospital train.
The inside of this train looked like
heaven to me, just pure white, and we
met our first Red Cross nurses; we
thought they were angels. And they
were.
Nice little soft hunks and clean,
white sheets.
Red Cross nurse sat beside me
during the whole ride which lasted
three hours. She was holding my
wrist; thought l had made hit, and
tried to tell her how I got wounded,
but she would put her finger to her lips
and say, Eyes, l know, but you mustn't
talk now, try to go to sleep, it'll do you
good, doctors orders" Later on
learned that she was taking my pulse
every few minutes, as was very weak
from the loss of blood and they ex-
pected me to snuff 1t, but | didn't.
From the train we went into ambu-
lances for a short ride to the hospital
ship Panama Another palace and more
angels. | don't remember the trip
across the channel.
i opened my eyes; | was being car
ried on Il stretcher through lanes of
people, some cheering, some waving
flags, and others crying. The flags were
Union Jacks, | was In Southampton.
Blighty at Inst. My stretcher was