| OCR Text |
Show * 2 4Kweiyang Nov 15s- I had just written the first page when word came that;* we were to be ready to start for K-Y at 6.30 the next A M, in a Chinese Red Cross motor truck,- starting on the 11th, yr iathex?s 69 th birthday! We were 4 das 7en route, but could have made it in a private car in three, or, even in the tru:, >In which we came which was practically "private", since it carried little be- 'side humans aboard and something of their luggage, the "little" being some large bamboo baskets filled with paper for Red Cross use, despite despite its being now almost prohibitive in price. It was a 2£-ton truck, but carr'd abt i 2-ton load. This was sufficient load for the "machine" to ascend some of the gradients that probably later will be lowered somewhat. Practically all R*C. trupkB arp of the same make - the Studebaker - to facilitate purchase of new o"parts". s«d application of the same, when needed. The top portion of these Struck* 8re made in China. This particular truck was in charge of an "overseas Hchinege, with a particularly interesting history, Dr Wang. Born in .British if Guiana, educated in England, including graduation in Medicine at Guy's Hosp, ^contemporaneously with Dr Lyth; felt the call to serve his "Fatherland",and, ™ tho in China but a very few yrs, speaks the language so easily and idiomatically " To crown all, he was marr'd a month ago to an American lady, at Hong-kong,and his bride has now gone to Jteer. to "explain" their act to bee parents.' He It- , much in love and eld scarcely wait to get to K-Y where he hoped to receive mart : from htr. He had been at our table sevx times in Packing. On the driver's seal f'he, the driver, (being a Shantunfsese had learned to drive care- at Tsing-tao.He | drives them very well; and Dr Wang occupied the cushioned seats. That seat was I widened by the addition of a bundle to accommodate Dr Jensen, the Austro-Spen- }ish M D aiding the Chin. Red Cross.- the bundle further built up by the addit of our steamer-rugl Those seats had wooden slats, and, behind them and the nor. wooden seat which we occupied in their rear were wedged Miss Feng end self.fla, nked at either end by Yr father and Dr Holm, the spaces there being larger to accommodate their longer thighs. We mitigated the hardness of our almost impossible seats by the use of a pillow apiece. Behind, on the baggage, rode 1 oth- **er Chinese personnel of Red Cross,eager young fellows,incl^g one young woman f-vhfl has been a Missn School student. One young man is also frm overseas, Batav *4 ia in Java, and is hampered by little knowledge of Chinese Mandarin. He also >can drive oars as can Dr Wang. A 2nd car also carr*d R Cr personnel, one dree a i! in Boy- scout uniform. This comprised our •party" coming this way. k What a splendidly constructed, road is it all the 740 kilometers from •LPaoking'to here - roughly 500 miles! Kearly all of it is mountainous, and, especially in Kwei.('2/3rds of the distance, or more) there were many acute triple f S turns making dangerous going. Twice we just missed, having real acciuentte. f Once I awoke from a nap when the car had just stopped before plunging over a ?%high precipice. Not having time to collect ray faculties, it is small wonder X ^let out a yell!- my only one, though. There was real reason for having sey I ^day-tint* naps,tho, for, with all there was to do to get away that A F of Jlov Jt-ll, T had had just one hour of sleep/ We carried part of our food, but it was tfeaty to purchase food, and most places it was very good. The inns are mostly 4|new. Still there were insects to bother, tho not badly for us. Yt spent our Tfirst night at Yu Shu Wan (Willow-tree Bend) where the motor-road thru Pao g 2/joins the older motor road from Changsha which bends northward, running thru Chlang-Xeh - to whose Presby Hosp we could not go! AM, how well the road is catrcnized f almost entirely by trucks hauling things for the WAR. We counted fully 1000 such going eastward, besides sev'l small pr5vat« cars carrying mil* (itary officers. Among the trucks were s«ffie passenger buses. We passed tmm Gbi-harkiangCYttan-chowT/V.Hunan, concerning the bombardment of which 1 have written you at length, as told by Rev Mr Becker of the Llebenzeller Branch of the' COT 1 telling of destruction of orphanages, the almost complete destrat a of their 2 foreign residences, particularly of Miss Walsch's, from whose sttic trunks, boxes, etc. were blown into the garden. They then constructed some hoi seg. outside the city, for residence, boys' and girls' orphanages,etc,, saying humatf nature would not allow of going thru such troubles egai**D.Qn-- xfche^Srd ane iaferfc bombing of that poor city$ the missys were in the cityK"^tt^nding to tn« wounded victims,all citizens, when word reached them that their residences $Y*i H |
