The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1923-11-16

blond Swede from Illinois told Ann, as
he stopped to drink the water she Of
| fered him.
where are you going now?"
"We are ordered to camp on the
ridge by the seminary on the other
side Of town, but we are placing
vedettes on all the roads. They say
General Reynolds has been ordered to
occupy the town: looks as If this is
the place all right. It's a pity you
ladies aren't safe away"
| Ann laughed. II can nurse" she
said. eff there is going to be battle
I can be useful"
"Why don't you report TO the Medi-
cal corps? They have taken over the
seminary building for hospital"
Into AIMS mind rushed the tales
she had heard of field hospitals and
the atrocious care men received In
them-care vastly different from the
well-equipped wards in which she had
worked.
II am going" she said to her
hostess. ~ have worked for a year
and half in hospitals in New York"
The woman smiled at her anxiOusly.
Reckon you belong there, then" she
said reluctantly, "but 1 kind of hate
to see you go off like this"
Her dubious glance followed Ann
down the street and gave the girl a
warm sense of being looked after. She
thought she would always remember
this kind friend bound to her by such
exciting events. It was not until she
had crossed the town that it struck
her she did not know her hostess
name.
There was great confusion at the
seminary, which was being trans
formed from a school into hospital
Ann, there was sort of panic. She
found the doctor rather Indifferent to
her proffered assistance. He had, he
said, half dozen men nurses, whom
he had picked up in Gettysburg. She
set humbly to work bringing cold wa
ter to the patients, and tanning them
as they lay exhausted. No one of them
was alarmingIy i'll, and as the dark
ness settled down they all went to
sleep. There was nothing for Ann to
do, so she found an empty room In the
seminary, and locked herself into it.
The seminary yard was crowded
with troops; the men lay about on the
grass laughing and talking, so Ann
kept her curtains drawn until she blew
out her candle. Her window faced the
mountains, and when she threw it
open she gasped in amaZement. The
night was velvet black and the stars
in the sky were hot shining dots; Ann
could follow the outline of the noun
tain range only where it cut arbitrar-
lily against them. The long swelling
slope was invisible, but ON 1t were
myriads of points of light, bright and
hot like the stars, only nearer and
more Pickering. They were the camp
fires of the enemy, and as she looked
at them Ann thrilled with a sensation
that was as much anticipation as fear.
The next morning the girl was
awakened by picket firing down the
pike. She sprang up, daZed, and for
moment glared about her wildly at
her strange room. There were no more
volleys, but down in the yard beneath
her window there was a great turmoil.
Peering out she saw wagon had been
backed up to the main door and that
two or three men were being taken
from it on improvised stretchers. She
flung on her clothes and ran down to
find that a group Of wounded pickets,
the first casualties of the fight in
railroad cut not far from the SEM
mary, lay in one of the recently
cleared lower rooms. There were no
cots for them, and it was fortunate
man who had a blanket between him
and the floor.
At nine o'clock a report reached the
hospital that General Reynolds had
arrived in Gettysburg in advance Of
the first corps, and that he had mount
ed fresh horse and galloped out past
the seminary to the front. Some sol
diers reported they had seen him, sur
rounded by half-dozen aides. The
hospital corps felt the stimulus Of this
good news at once; even Ann was GER
tain that the hOrrid tide of wounded
would ebb with the arrival of the pop
ular Union leader. She was engaged
in cutting the uniforms from horribly
mangled men; the regular nurses
were unable to cope with the wound
ed, and she was welcome to do what
she could.