rom the meal in which her medicines had been
packed, extracting with her own hand a bullet from the cheek of a
wounded soldier, tending the fallen all day, with her throat parched
and her face blackened by sulphurous smoke, and at night, when the
surgeons were dismayed at finding themselves left with only one
half-burnt candle, amid thousands of bleeding, dying men, illuming the
field with candles and lanterns her forethought had supplied. No
wonder they called her 'The Angel of the Battle Field'."

After the war, President Lincoln asked her to search for the thousands
of men who were missing. She at once visited the prisons, helped the
prisoners to regain their health, and get in touch with their
families. Besides this, she searched the National Cemeteries and had
grave stones put over many of the graves telling who were buried
there. This work took four years, and at the end of it she was so
broken in health that she went abroad for a long rest.

While she was in Switzerland she heard first of the Red Cross Society
and attended a meeting called to establish an International Society.
Twenty-four nations were represented at the meeting, but the United
States was not among that number. For some years it refused to join.
Miss Barton devoted herself to showing our government that in joining
the International Red Cross we would not be entangling ourselves in
European affairs but would be working for the good of all men. At
last, in 1887, she won her victory, and the United States signed the
agreement of the Red Cross Society. This is called the Treaty of
Geneva.

When the first meeting was held in Geneva, Switzerland, there were
persons present who found fault with the plan. They said the world
should do away with warfare instead of caring for those it injured.
But the Swiss President said it would take a long time for the world
to learn to do without warfare. He believed the Red Cross would help
to bring about the era of peace by caring for the afflicted and
relieving the horror of war. The terrible struggle in Europe is
showing us the truth of his words, for, when we hear about the
frightful happenings, all the glory and grandeur of warfare fade
away.

A man who sees far into the future, has written, "Some day the Red
Cross will triumph over the cannon. The future belongs to all helpful
powers, however humble, for two allies are theirs, suffering humanity
and merciful God."

Clara Barton, who also could look beyond