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Show PATHETIC SCENES AMONGWOUNDED Procession of Mangled Men Through German Hospital on Verdun Front ON THEIR WAY TO FATHERLAND Roar of Guns Punctuates the Groans of Pain-Wracked Soldiers Mutilated Mu-tilated Men Think Only of the E-'emy. Berlin. A German correspondent with the army of the crown prince near Verdun sends a graphic description descrip-tion to his newspaper of scenes In n little French village where the wounded wound-ed are brought in and taken care of. "The songs of the German soldiers who are on leave in this village," he writes, "become softer as the gray hospital hos-pital wagon appears in the dusty street. The men are severely wounded and are unable to sit up. They are lying on their narrow stretchers. Some ure ill and others are only slightly wounded. wound-ed. The wounded now and then look sadly at the bindings of their wounds. They tell of their sufferings. One of them was wounded by shrapnel during an attack by the enemy. He was able to crawl to the rear, and while his wounds were being dressed a shell exploded ex-ploded nearby and he was wounded a second time. But now we are all moving mov-ing to the rear to Germany. Wounded Hobble In. "It is getting quite dark. The croaking croak-ing of frogs comes from a pi.'ad not far away. The roar of guns 1 no longer deafening. The hospital wsuon slowly moves up the street and utCps before the barracks. Those who are able at once alight. One, who received a rille ball in his leg, jumps to the ground with his good leg and hobbles off. Another An-other takes an ill soldier on his back and carries him to the barracks. The physician meets us, glances at our papers pa-pers and asks us to sit on the nearest bench while the severely wounded are at once taken care of by other physi cians. All around the room are beds occupied by wounded soldiers who are in no condition to be sent back to Germany Ger-many for the present. In one bed lies a man whose head is all tied up; another an-other has had his arm amputated, another an-other his leg. All are asleep, and some are smiling, laughing and talking in their dreams what sweet dreams they must be ! golden dreams. The man with Ms head all bound up is talking softly. The physician says that he had the worst wounds that he has yet seen during the war. It was a question ques-tion whether he could live, but the physicians brought him around all right, and today, when the wounded man asked for something to eat, they were so delighted they treated everyone every-one with cigars. "We are waiting for the automobile which is to take us to the nearest field hospital. No one says a word. The guns are again roaring. Looking out of the window we can see the clear starlight blue sky now and then vividly vivid-ly illuminated by the fierce glare from exploding shells. Here and there is seen the searchlight on the watch for hostile aviators. One of the wounded remarks: " 'It would just be my luck to have some aviator drop a bomb on me now after all I have gone through.' Is Short of Time. "The door is opened suddenly, and a soldier stumbles in. He is holding his head with both hands and the blood is streaming down his face.' He quietly tells the physician that he would like to have his wounds dressed. He adds that he was driving an ammunition am-munition wagon when he was wounded. wound-ed. As the attendant examines his wounds the soldier remarks that he has not much time to spare, as the ammunition am-munition wagon is awaiting outside and it is his duty to deliver the ammunition am-munition promptly. He tells the physician physi-cian simply to wash his wounds and let him be off. The physician tells him quietly and firmly that that is impossible. impos-sible. He must remain ; his wounds are more serious than he imagines. "Everything is quiet again and nothing noth-ing is heard except the deep breathing of the sleeping wounded. Near me one man awakens and sits up In his bed. He looks at me with two staring, star-ing, feverish eyes: "'How is it with the French?' he asks me. I notice that his wounds are in the chest "What a question to ask, I said to myself. Here is a man seriously wounded, nnd from a deep sleep he suddenly awakes and all he asks is about the enemy. Not a word about his mother or his home, not a word of complaint about his sufferings. " The French are worse off than we are,' I answered him. "That seemed to satisfy him, and then he asked for a drink of water. "Just then tha automobile stops in front of the door and those of us not severely wounded are escorted outside and placed in the machine. Adieu 1 And the automobile starts on its journey to that beloved place where clean beds and loving hands await to nurse us." |