The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-03-14

with his arms out of bed and partly un- i covered it was really pathetic to see the | W ay he hustled to get under cover. meek i ly apologizing for his "forgetfulness," as ht, expressed it.
 | grew to love those big, splendid fell l lows:
 Imagine what it is like to be buried 1 three tiers down in thme bowels vf a | ship, sick unto death, with no air, no 1 light except here and there an electric 1 light bulb which seemed only to accent l uate the horror of it all The stencil was awful Fiths rats. vomit and sputum everywhere. in it at every step War? Did somebody say war was hell? Has somebody said that the ~ man in this war was merely out on a jsmboree?
 | distinctly remember one night, or rather early morning-it was 2 a. m, to be exact-a young orderly came to my cabin q was not In bed) and said to me in an awestruck tone:
 T am afraid -- is going Can you come AIr. Bridges"
 | went with him and stayed with the poor fellow till he passed to the great be- yond He was an exprizefighter from New York and a big, strong. muscular fellow, and completely out of his head.
 On my way back Ito my cabin. along a dark passageway, l nearly stumbled on the prostrate form of young British seaman lying unconscious at my feet. drought he was dead. i stopped down and examined him. He was suffering from shell shock. | obtained help, got the ships doctor an old gentleman be- tween 79 and so years old-and we brought him to- The young fellow had served in the British army, had been badly wound cd gassed and sheilshocked. Dis charged from the army, he went to rea, truly one of Britains heroes.
 Things were in an awful condition, nth everywhere and the troops were in mutinous frame of mind. Quite few Of the men had congresated in the meantime and young army doctor who had just arrived on the scene gave the men se- rious talk pointing out the intoleraoie condition of things, and that, as we had several days vet to go. unless things V ere cleaned up, there was every prob ahility that we should all he dead or dying before we reached port
 The "Chow'' served to the boys was sbominable The beef was whtish look ing stuff, and when taken out of the ice box a rope was slung around it and 1t was dragged along the vomlt and sputum- covered decks to the cook house. le became so bad that the troops threatened that they would take things in their own hands unless things were changed The weather, too, was very bad, and about this time some catastrophe hap DeneU at sea. TOT uDt hiBIif Niitl ''ue on deck for few minute 10 get an airing. we heard an awful crash and scleams: sirens started up, searchliSnts flashed out from all the ships in the convoy, and they went scurrying in every direction and | remember wondering to myself what was going to happen next was with a ships officer and pr. Denehy at the time and as the great hulk of the Otranto loomed up against itte. md xx-iti1in a few faPf of crllSlf~ 1 ing us in, the doctor turned to me ana said, How do you feel, Bridges2 All right" I said except that my heart is going little faster than l care to admit" Well" he replied. my heart is not bothering me, but my knees are shaking like the devil.
 | Next morning the Otranto was missing
 from her accustomed position on Our starboard and did not show up for two days I very distinctly remember, v~-en all the hubbub was on how 1t seemed l that we could almost touch the Otranto as she loomed up against our ship. What really happened l never learned.
 I When making my rounds the psys would invariably say Come again soon, Mir. Bridges and stay longer; what's your 1 hurry?" But I was always careful not i to stay long enough to tire them. More over, l was too busy, anyway. It was l the home touch, the feeling that some | body cared for them. that helped.
 Many of the boys were finely educated
 and came from some of the best homes ] in America: consequently they were useo l to the better things of life. One of these I fine fellows said to me. of only could have good bath, This gave me an in- aspiration, and by a little iudicous brib-ig l and tact l was able to arrange th T' with our stateroom steward so that c'i- ] tained the use of private bathroom with hot and cold water for as many of the
 bows as possible. and their appreciation 1 was gratifying indeed
 am only 1T years old, but my hair is more or less gray, and I was little
 shocked when one of the boys c = lp behind me one day and. putting his arm in mine. said, Say. dad, aren't you work ing little too hard? Don't overdo it. "Dadr' Was that old? And then I nn- derstood. He could not have paid me a greater compliment.
 Say. Mir. Bridges said another, we've got pretty sick man down below, and hell die before morning if we don get him out Can you do anything TOT ihim?'
 I "I'H try I promised. and immediately
 looked up the doctor and put the cast before him.
 I I looked him up and reported and we got the poor fellow into more comfort ! able quarters with satisfactory results He was such fine fellow. He was sti lf but in much better shape when left him at Liverpool. and thanked ms with tears in his eyes for what I hac ipeen able to do for him.
 1 Do you know how to put on mus tard plaster Mr Brdges?' I was as~ed My wife usually does this at home whcf i the children are sick. and I was little
 dubious as to my ability to perform n
 task But l Thought if Mrs. Brid. D
 could do it. surely could put on taa
 plaster.
 Many pathetic instances occurred. IT
 slite of all that we could do, some of tn,
 poor fellows passed to the great beyond
 heroes all--j just as truly heroes as if the,
 lad died brayely facing the foe.
 II was-my sad privilege to be with then
 when thes passed away. with one excep ttion. Lieut. Rodney Crowley. a splendid
 young officer. who d'cd in the evenins
 fo.Iowine the storm which we encoun
 tered later
 As there was no chaplain on boar~ was reqrestedto conduct the burial serv
 ices at sea. Burving the poor fellows a nieht in heavy sea was extremei, trying experiences almost gruesome-ii those solemn hours. Standing at the hea, of cornse which was wraped in sa,i icloth, it was necessary to die one of m! arms to the rail to prevent my fallini loverboard when the body was dropps'
 over the side An officer held torci ;ostr the prayer book that might see tn and cne nesrcr to he forgotten by thos who participated.
 [ wrote personal letters to the se l, sreaved friends and relatives of the me- who died aid these certainly. in t;iei , letters to me. showed their sincere ap