WOMAN DOCTOR IN SERBIA.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 49, 26 February 1916, Page 8

WOMAN DOCTOR IN SERBIA.

TCt. J. SCOTIPB AJWEHTUBES.RETIRING BEFORE THE GERMANS. WORK DESCRIBED IN LETTERS. Some days ago a London letter dated. 31st December gave us newa, through, the refugee English nurses who had then.. reached London,' after a terrible ney across the 7,000 ft. high mountams . into Montenegro, of two New palan.l, women doctors who were then left behind. One of these was Dr. Jessie Scott, of Auckland, and it is presumed that she is now a prisoner in the hands of the Austrians. Two; letters have since, been received by Dr. Elizabeth Mac-• donald from Dr. Scott, giving an interesting account of the conditions and work in Serbia. The first letter, dated 16th October,' 1915, from the Military Reserve Hospital, Lazarevatz, says: "It would take too long to describe here the beauties of Serbia—the soft, undulating hills, eov-; ered with luxuriant vegetation, and a profusion of wild flowers. The flowers have gone off now as we are getting into i winter; but during the past month the-j acacias and other deciduous trees have been going through the most exquisite changes of colour. . . . The Scottish women at the time of my ; arrival had units at Kraguievatz, Val- j ievo, and Mladanovatz. The unit here at i Lazarevatz is really Serbian, and is known as the Military Reserve Hospital. It has a Serbian Director, who really has ■ almost nothing to do with the six hos- I pitaU staffed by the Scottish women. Our unit has 200 beds at present, but i we could pack in a few more. We have just to commandeer other buildings,! cafes, shops, and so forth, when a rush! of patients comes. There arc ten build- j ing being used as hospitals six of | which are staffed by us, and the rest by j the Serbs. We have also a house for' the nursing staff, with, mess-room, eit-l ting-room, and kitchens. We doctors (three), the administrator and two j others of the staff, are sleeping in tent?, j It U getting very cold now, but last month it was delightful. We have charge of the store, which is a -considerable responsibility, and -laundry, which is also a fearful bother just now, with no proper equipment or staff. Everybody has to lend a hand at times. PRIMITIVE TRANSPORT. " Until two days age we had Austrian prisoners as orderlies, but with the German advance bn*Belgradc and the Danube I these have all been sent back. We miss | them very much. I was sorry to see the poor chaps go, as one had got U3ed to having them about, and they knew their jobs. Xow we have in their places old Serb reserves, amiable old things who are too old to do anything else, and some of the halt and the maimed. They are a source of endless amusement, and I daresay they will learn their jobs m I time. AU the able-bodied Serbs are away at the front. " It has been a fearfully cold wet day. When the weather is bad the roads are I something awful. One must wear top--1 boots and a skirt which is .very short, jor:Jßo»e~et./aTlif it is dark.- At nights jin wet" Weather wer plough about from (one place to the other with lanterns. As J soon as the sun begins to shine 1 everyI thing dric3 "Up quickly, and the sticky, slimp clay becomes as hard as a board The roads are no good at all.for.motors, for in wet weather they are impassable, I and in dry weather they are full of j holes. Bullock wagons are the best j mcaas of transport, and practically the J only vehicles used by the Serbs themi selves —at least so far as my knowledge Jof the country .coes. There is so much i that I might tell you, but I must not. jT am keeping" very well, and have .a voracious appetite."

A HURKIED DEPARTURE. ] The eecond letter is dated 31st Octo-! •ber, 1915, and has just been received. '■. Dr .Scott eaya , :—"I do not know ho-w I much the newspapers tell j'ou of affaire i in Serbia, but tve are having a fairly hot time. Some of the Scottish women's I staff .(nurses], are going home by a special .transport via Montenegro to- ; morrow, so I am seizing the opportunity i of getting.a couple of letters through. Probably the nurses will have to walk part of the way." This is the "Epic Flight" described in the newspapers some daye ago, and the nurses in question reached England safely after almost unheard-of hardships. ~ Dr Scott chose to ; remain behind, along with Dr Elsie Inglis, of Edinburgh. The letter is writ:tcn from Kruchevatz, and"continues: — "1 am so tired to-night that I cannot ■collect my ideas sufficiently to write-an interesting or descriptiye letter. I-was, [as you know, at Lazarevahz with the •Military Reserve Hospital,,but we were wired to retreat when the-Germans advanced.. That area was evacuated" witaj out being defended. We had. only eight Lhours' notice-to get bur "whole hospital I equipment and personal - belongings ; packed, and two houra of that were I docked off by an officer who came' in towards the end of the day saying that ! the last train went in an hour. We had jto dispose of all our patients; those who I were able were told to dress and depart, j wliile those unfit to walk were taken over the hills on foullock-wagbns or transported by rail. After getting down. to the station with about four-fifthe of our equipment, we were unable to get away that night The railway to Valievo is a. little, narrow gauge one, and it was taxed to its utmost. There were several trains, but they were packed with -wounded and refugees. So we, 25 in all, slept on the dirty stone floor of the station waiting-room, with the rain teeming down outside and nrud everywhere. Early next morning one or two of us went back to the house where the majority of the staff had been living to try to collect some more of the equipment, beds, storee, etc. We found it full of soldiers—Serbs. They had been. retreating for some wee&s past, and ive had had crowds in the village lor come nights previously. The artillery of the division which bad been defending the western frontier passed through that morning. The soldiers had enjoyed our comfortable beds, and had built themselv«e fires in all the stoves. The men good-naturedly helped lie to take down the beds, and we let them scramble for the apples, onions and -potatoes tliax were left in the garret. I also gave away some bottles of antiseptics which I couldn't put anywhere.'" They wanted to know whether this medicine was good to take. I flincerely trust they didnt sample the lyeol and iodine, for I was at some pains to explain that it .vas to be used outside only. RAIN AND OVEEOBOWIIENG. When our train eventually left we were tightly, packed in. a hone-trnek, sitting on our belongings or where we could. Wβ changed that night at '■ Mlaidariovatz, and spent the night in ■more comfortable carriages, but. sitting bolt upright, as there wae no room to j recline. We fed on the biscuite, bread

and a few other thinge we had with us. A large' tin of' honey -which the cook had snatched up at the last minute fell on the.line at Mladanovate, to our dismay and amusement. Sugar is a great luxury at present, and so is tea. Butter I have not had at all in Serbia. "We arrived at Kruchevatz looking typical refugees; and very cold and hungry. We found the town crowded and every room taken up. It was still raining. Finally, the hospital gave us a large room. Mattresses were laid on the floor, and we were each given, a blanket and permitted to sleep in rows round the room. Here" we have remained, still sleeping on the floor. During the last week enormous number* of wounded have come town. Three "days ago we turned out a large store, and now have between 400 and 500 wounded packed in like sardines in a tin. For the first two days we had them on mattresses on the floor, but now we have beds, but only one blanket apiece, and some have mattress covers serving as blankets. The lower part of the building has an earth floor, and is far from satisfactory, but we cannot help it. So far we have no place for the patients to wash, and only one small stove for the whole huge building. The wounds are from bullets- and shrapnel and grenades, and we have to go hard at dressings all day long. The men are most philosophical, and make no "complaints. WELL AND HUNGRY. "At-Lazavevatz we had a lot of medical cases —malaria, typhoid, and so forth —but here all are surgical. There is no time for anything else. ' It is to be hoped no typhus occurs this winter, for, with the men crowded in as they are, there is no knowing where it would end. We get enormous numbers of fleas.daily, but just have to put up with them. Thej mud is awful just now, but it is bad for. the transport of the German guns, and does not seriously interfere with the bullock-wagon transport of the Serbs; bo you see it's an ill wind that blows no; body good. "Several of the foreign medical units have left Serbia, but most of us have elected to stay on, and there is no lack of work, I can assure you.. The wounded are pouring into the place in hundreds daily. Now I must hie mc to my humble mattress, as we have to start dressing the wounded at 7.30 in the morning.- I am well, but could eat twice as much as I am getting." ' '