Elmer Coulston to Family - May 27, 1933

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AARK Identifier
  • 20213764
Place of publication
  • Zhangjiakou, Hebei, China
Rights statement
  • In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Date Issued
  • 05/27/1933
Publication GeoCode
  • 40.76744,114.88644
Date created
  • 1933-05-27
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  • Transcription: Sabbath Afternoon May 27, 1933 Dear ones, This week we have been especially Cheered by the many letters that we have received from home, altho the foreign mail arrived later than usual yesterday a letter from Dad, one from father Wenke, & one from Randal Wenke. Today, along comes mother’s fat letter with the “trip letters,” and I have just had a treat read- Ing them. Just wish you could have made your trip come by China, then we could have had such a lovely visit and I am sure that you would have seen even more to write about. Everyone who comes here, says that it is really an education to make the trip from Peiping to Kalgan. I has been rather exciting about us In the past few days. Thursday noon when We went to clinic the streets were lined with police and there was a procession of soldiers, retreating from the front where they have been fighting the Japanese; thousands of them, and they looked mean & ready for trouble. Whenever such troops go thru an area they plunder & rob, so machine guns were much in evidence to prevent trouble. - 2 - When we returned to the hospital we found Guns mounted on a small hill north of us, troops at the south wall, and not far away – these bandit troops moving about. The air was tense with potent rumors of trouble, and it wasn’t the easiest thing to calmly lie down to sleep. About 10 o’clock I was awakened by a commotion at the gate, and soon I was called to see a poor soldier, who in the attempt to control the bandits had shot himself thru the thigh. He had lost a great deal of blood, but was soon fixed up all right. Two bandits, however, had been killed in the fracas. Yesterday when I started out to see a patient, They all said that I couldn’t go because martial law had been proclaimed & no one was allowed in the streets. Nevertheless I started out on my bike, and before I passed the R.R. station I was stopped by sentries. They are equipped with broad swords as well as guns, bayonets & pistols. Then at strategic points were machine guns and trench mortars. Because I was generally recognized by the friendly troops I had little difficulty in passing thru, but it makes little thrills ship up & down your spinal column to have a loaded gun with fixed bayonet thrust at you. There was no one else on the streets, the shop windows were barred & all doors were barred closely. - 3 - When I returned I discovered that the local government had been changed, all the police had been deprived of their arms because there had been a plot to turn over this province to the Japanese, therefore, General Feng Yü Hsiang, the Christian general, had come out to take charge of affairs. Also, General Feng had disarmed all the “bandits” (about 3,000) camped Just south of our compound, so there is little to fear from them. Incidentally, no trains came in from Peiping yesterday because of the bandit menace. Today, the latest news is that General Feng has asserted authority in North China, in Opposition to the Central Government at Nanking be- Cause of their policy of submission and compromise With the Japanese. It must seem strange to you that the Chinese show so little resistance in fighting the Japanese, but it is no wonder to us as we see the poorly trained, poorly equipped troops with such poor morale, many of them opium addicts. Then the whole government lacks positive leadership with concerted action by the people. But there is no such thing as patriotism among the masses, and the big ballyhoo about national salvation simply refers to plans of the minority for aggrandizement & gain at the expense of the poor “pai hsing” (common people) We have had some interesting surgery this past week – a radical breast amputation for cancer in a woman 59 years old, a huge diabetic gangrene - 4 - of the chest wall, which I cauterized with a soldering iron which was heated to red hot, & then rushed from the kitchen to the operating room; and the patient made sudden & miraculous improvement. A prisoner was brought from the prison with Huge T.B. glands in the neck, and it was a most difficult bit of surgery, had to cut thru the jugular vein & exposed all the structures of the neck. He went back the same day & I have gone there every day to do the dressing. Our garden is progressing very slowly because of hot, dry winds, but last night we had the first real rain of the season, soaking the ground thoroughly. The corn, onions & tomatoes are coming fine. Peonies are in full bloom. The Russian is helping so much with the work here & relieves Leatha from much re- sponsibility, & is so nice in the house. It is getting dark, and I must say goodnight. Love, Elmer P.S. You said nothing about Harold’s discipline? How come?
  • Summary: Elmer to family. 1933 May 27, Sabbath afternoon. ALS, 4 pp. -- Mentions receiving many letters from home – from Dad, Father Wenke, Randal Wenke, and Mother. Remarks how he wishes his parents’ trip had brought them by China, as they could have had a lovely visit. Talks about the Chinese soldiers that have been fighting the Japanese, retreating through town; bandit troops moving about outside the compound, guns mounted on a hill, troops at the north wall, a soldier who had accidently shot himself through the thigh. Martial law was declared which could have prevented him from going to the clinic, but he rode his bike through the sentries with their swords, guns, bayonets and pistols. Upon his return he discovered the local government had been changed and all weapons taken away from the police; General Feng Yu Hsiang has asserted authority in North China. Talks of the surgeries he has performed recently. Hot dry weather making gardening difficult. The Russian nurse is proving quite helpful.
Abstract
  • Elmer to family. 1933 May 27, Sabbath afternoon. ALS, 4 pp. -- Mentions receiving many letters from home – from Dad, Father Wenke, Randal Wenke, and Mother. Remarks how he wishes his parents’ trip had brought them by China, as they could have had a lovely visit. Talks about the Chinese soldiers that have been fighting the Japanese, retreating through town; bandit troops moving about outside the compound, guns mounted on a hill, troops at the north wall, a soldier who had accidently shot himself through the thigh. Martial law was declared which could have prevented him from going to the clinic, but he rode his bike through the sentries with their swords, guns, bayonets and pistols. Upon his return he discovered the local government had been changed and all weapons taken away from the police; General Feng Yu Hsiang has asserted authority in North China. Talks of the surgeries he has performed recently. Hot dry weather making gardening difficult. The Russian nurse is proving quite helpful.
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