TRANSPORT EPIDEMIC

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 68, 14 December 1918, Page 8

TRANSPORT EPIDEMIC

THE STRICKEN FORTIETHS

A SOLDIER'S GRAPHIC LETTER

The following graphic letter regarding the epidemic ou tho transport carrying the Fortieth Keinfoi-co-ment, which resulted in the death of over 70 New Zealand soldiers, is republished from the Christclntrch "Sun." It was written from England, on completion of the voyage, by one of the men who was on tho stricken vessel, and sent to a, resident of Christchurch.

"Spanish influenza"—which is as good a name as any other for a fatal sort of fever which ehows some of tho symptoms of pulmonary plague—got us in Sierra Leone. Eighty died on board, half a dozen are missing owing to -some idiot saying that the oea. was cool, 250 aro still un" hospital, and myself and about 60more are merely out and about. That's all!. After-effects include lung trouble nnd damaged hearts. Thanks be! Irn fairly free from either, though slightly touched by both. Siewa Leone is a stinking, steaming, native town, green and poisonous as the filth paddocks of a sowage farm. The niggew we chattoring, grinning animals, who do about one-thirtieth as much work as a worn-out white wharf labourer wrio is following .the go-slow policy. Our lads had, much fun throwing things at them, but were stuck for something heavy until it occurred to a returning "Aussy" to fill a biscuit tin with boiling water.' The results of this bomb being dropped from 40 feet wore startling.. They included our being forbidden to go near the rails at all. ... Of course, there was no shore leave, though three officers went ashore on business, ■ and three sailors "hooked it" to learn i the delights of cheap-trade whisky. We lay thero for five days—lazy days of heat and damp—and watched another stenmer dump her dead-each night at twilight: Our health was good—men never looked fitter than we. Concerts in. the evening kept things going, nnd w(> were, always interetsied in the gathering of the convoy—quaintly-camouflag-ed ships of every nation. First day out some of us felt rather rot-ten, and showed hi?h temperatures. Tho next day tho hospital was full, and (he third day 800 were down. Always Hip samo symptoms—weariness, general feeling of not being up to tho mark, a temperature, and . . . the innn dropped ■where he. was. I went out with IOIS, and lav .for three' days in a breathless hellhole, where the. dead jostled the living. Dysentery made matters worse, especially as sanitary needs could not be considered, nnd tho ship had run out of disinfectants. The doctors worked like heroes, .although sick men themselves. The. muws paved ninny a life, and one has since died as a reword for her efforts. Most of the officers and mo.uy men kept going w'nilo they could keep tlioir fent, washing <uul aiding the sick. Then, of all (ho foMier.i nndi ship's crew, only 71) odd were left on flieir feet. Tow men had. to do all the butchering nnd cookin? for the crowd, the dippwiser was out through fever and overwork, both doctors worr- "bust," nm\ the stock of drugs began to fail—not that it mattered much, for one of (:he strange features of the ditrenso wn« that drugs had no effect. Vctc boy? who had never used the drwj before were tnlcinf 40 prains of nunine—with no result. Great slnjis of chloral, which should have put a man out for a. Ion? spell, did not produce slppp at all.. Injections nf morphia matle no difference. Rnlphonal had n.o effect. Later, thev 'found that mm, in small teaspoon doses, enabled men to iniln down their unapnetisin? portions of boiled rice—about all tho food that was going. On account of submarines, we were in the dark from (! to G—l2 hours of lving awoke nmk] such scenes is hell. M-iny were delirious/Men stripped tlicmfielves naked nnd danced, wept, sang, nmypd. cursed, rode imaginary horses, felled imaginary' trees, drank imaginary bs" , ' , , nnd grew very drunk. Next I was down on deck with a temnemturo of 10- , !. I had no clothes except my shirt and my denim shorts, and nobody was fit to' go afler my kifbnjr. Put I was absolutely determined thiit. whatever were the Titles of tho irarne, T would not let my wifo enjoy being a widow. I gef: up when they found me an old pair of breeches: aiid a "civvy" singlet, and began on amazing series of efforts to back inv staying power against high temperature. I was thoroughlv convinced that if I once went down I should do like the rest, and maybe die. The chief conV saved my life by Inking mo to his cabin and feeding mo up on soup ami soft stuff other than tho eternal rice. ,p he (by we reached Enirland I was slill (eo weak to walk. Tho arrangements were, perfect.- our sick coin;; at nno into hospital at Portsmouth, the milder /wm beinp sent by special train In/ Oodford. and tin* rest'of us met by motor amb-.il.'inccs from (he roilwiiv ?(a*ion to our present camp. Our bunks had been made nil, and it v.\ns nuito funny to note thn unanimity with which each man dropped into them and lay there coughing, with tho short, dry. symtom-itic couih. Next a hot feed of steir, hot tea—ant! to bee!.