yolfville, 1.3, Dec, 14,1917. ‘Dear Uncle Andrew; I hn hoped to see all you folks before this, but uarious olrounstences have prevented so that I am still here and will be now until after Christmas at any rate. I ‘ave had 2 couple of jobs that have xept me awfully busy. I was county secretary for the Victory Loan - you have hoard no doubt how splendidly. it.wes oversubscribed. I vas also publicity menager, and in addition, at sano time, was acting as Military Representative at the local exemption tribunal here. Between them, 1 was working day and night. However they are both finished now and I expect to have some time that I can call my own from now on, except that I have now been appointed a Military Representative for the appeal tribunal which sits next week and the week after. We are not gotting half enough men around here by conscription,tut as this section of the country is essentially a farming community it is undoubtedly of more service to leave most of them on the farms as producers for the presont at least. ‘The election too is keeping the country stirred up. We have never had a crisis such as this in the history of Canada where the mero representatives count for so little and the issue for so much. ie are all workbdg tooth and nail trying to educate people up to the necessity for Union Goverment and what it séands for at this time, and I ‘think there will be no doubt of the result. If the Laurier party should get in, standing as it does for a policy by which Canada would do no more for ‘tho. wwan-andalsoplacing thé Covermment of the country elmost wholly in ‘the hands of the Catholics, then I for one don't want to stay in Canada or say that I ama Canadien any more. That is how strongly we feel about it down here. I just got back Saturday night from Halifax. Of course you have read of the terrible disaster down there. No reports could exaggerate the terrible damage and loss of life. As I think perhaps you would ve interested in getting an account from one who was on the scene, I am going to teal you about my experiences down thore. We first heard of it about eleven o'clock on Thursday morning. simply that there had been an explosion and part of the city had been wrecked and was in flames. Of course we thought it greatly exaggerated, at when about half an hour leter an urgent oall came for doctors and murses we began to think there must be something in it. A special train was made up end left about noon. Dr. Elliott, one of our physicians here, knowing ‘the experience I hed had at the front in first ald, called me up and asked me to come slong. I just had ten minutes, but I made it. The train stopped nt a couple of other pieces to take on doctors and murses and finally reached the outskirts of the city about 2:50 o'clock. wie couldn't get within threo miles of the efty for the whole space in betwoen was a bleging mass of ruins. We got out of the train and, conducted by an officer in charge of a working party of soldiers, proceeded to walk in. We hadn't realized till then how ‘completely ruined all that section was. I saw some terrible scenes of desolation and ruin at the front, but never, oven in that old hard hammered City of Ypres did I ever see anything so absolutely complete. In that entire area of over three square miles in the inmediate vicinity of the explosion there was not one stick or stone standing on another. Every house and wuilding had just crumpled up and the whole was a raging mass of flames. We had to keep moving pretty fast, as the heat was so great and the walking was vory bad, md about up to cur knces caused by the tidal wave, about thirty feet high by all accounts which had swept over everything.The entire oity had been placed under martial law and parties of soldiers were working everywhere among the ruins, pulling out the dead and the almost doad, and trying to get them identified. We had to walk between long rows of tundrods and hundreds of dead. Men, wonon, and tho most pitiful part of it all, little children. They were lying in every conceivable position, their bodies in many cases crushed or burnt out of all recogition, ‘nd all so blackened and charred that one would hardly iow them for anything 2 Wut heaps of charred rags. The blood was everywhere, and even when we cot up to the less ruined part of the city the sidewiks and streets vere strewed with it everywhere. As soon as we got to the dea& line established by the military we were able to conmandeer a motor to take us to the City Hall, and as we went along I was able to get some idea of the anount of damage done. Practically the whole water front was wrecked. A11 the large new steel ‘and concrete plers just completed recently were wrecked beyond repair. People were killed everywnere, all over the city, and there was hardly a whole coiling or pane of glass in tho city or within a radius of five miles. As soon a5 we arrived at the City Hall we were sent up to Camp Hill Hospital, 2 large now military hospital that has just been completed. As soon as we got there weswere assigned to different wards and got to work - and believe me there was plenty of it to do. Poor, wounded people everywhere. On the bec: vetwoon the beds on the floor, in the corridors, on mattresses and blapkets, everywhere, they could find a place to put them, and still they were oozing in. 4nd tho wounds were terrible. There was every Kind I ever saw at the front, but the great majority have head wounds. Hundreds of people lost their eyes. In one of the operating rooms where they took only eye cases, the surgeon took out one hundred eyes the firet day, and then handed over to the next man to operate. The stench of blood was almost overpower- ing. Several of the treined mrses keeled over at the sights. As for me, I -had-eeen so mich of that kind.od thing that it didn't bother me at all. f ™ was assigned a trained murse and aV.4.D to help me, and my how we worked! I dressed every kind of wound, set several fractures, and did a number of thiuges as well. ‘e were relieved at four the next morning and got some sleeps I came on sgsin at 6:50 that morning and worked till three next morning, vhen we were so tired wo were Just running about in circles. However, we cane back again Saturday at nine 1’clock and worked till twelve. By that time they had gotten things pretty well organized and the 0 in C chased us all avy who had come first, called us a bunch of scare crows. I gness he was pretty nearly right at that. I hadn't been able to change my collar or shave and was plentifully touched up with blood all over my clothes. ‘he non didn't bother me at all, but it was so pitiful so see the doar little Riddles, some of them with frightful gashes. There was no complaint from anyone. This is all the more remarkable when you toxe into account the fact that lots of these people had lost their homes and overy— thing they possessed and were the only survivors of their families. I could go on and on and tell you of caso after case, each one more pitiful than the last, bat T qises Tim giving you-enouch to weary -yor ast ts. T thought nothing would ever "phase" me again. But I can't got over the horrors dow there. 4nd I tell you we'll never be able to say enourh about tho wondor- ful help the States have sont. The response was so spontaneous and everything done even before it was asked for. It brought tears to all our eyes when they cane and told us a little of what had beon done by the U.S. on Friday nicht. You know we have always boon a trifle contemptous of the U.S. since the war on account of their prolonged delay in entering the var. But never againd Tey oam ave anything I've got. And I don't think I feel any differentiy from sayone com here either.i i Well, this 1sntt much of a Christmas letter, is itt We don't foe) particularly Milaricus at the present time, I tell you. There is only oue goog result thit I can see in the awful accident. it may make people realize that there is a war om. It had been awfully hard to bring it hone to a great mony even yet. We aro ali well here and everything going as well as can be expected. I am feeling much better and am so thankful that I have been able to help along. I was amfully diss»pointed at missing my visit to you. However, I felt that wien I hed a chanoe to help along as I have been doing that was not the tine to be going off visiting. However, if you people sre going to be home after the first of the year I am looking forward to paying you a visit ~ if it will be convenient to you. I realize that you are vory busy and I've taken up a lot of your time, Af youtake it to read this epistle. However, I'm not generally so vorbose and I promise not to offend again this way. I thought that what I hed to tell might Interest you. If you think it sufficiently so you micht send it on to Aunt Mary Burton. Your affectionate nephew J. Ernest Bares.