Wichita eagle., 1886-12-03
the mouth Is dry; the r1re barrels burn the

the mouth is dry; the rifle barrels burn the
hands.
Now tho fire IS EXCHANGED at less than SOC
meters. The enemy does not recoil, and under
! his rapid and deadly fire it seems impossible
TO abandon this last position and advance
further. At several points in the counter at
| tacl, our troops rccoil before demonstrations
| OF the cavalry. An eccentric turning move
nlo.lt nlcnaces our flank. Our tactics arc Tn
| equal to all these combinations. There J.,
nothing now u count On but the InGauntcd
! spirit Of our soldiers.
Now. for Il moment, the fire Of cur artillery
Is precipitatod. The batteries fire at VIII.
Reports succeed each other without applc-
ciable Interruption ii one continuous roar
Then falls . great silence, broken only by g
few di5cha--,j from Inc enemy. a trclnor
RUS through every rank. Each man feels
that tie decisive moment has arrived. and
without knowing who has given the order,
nor how il hes been transmitted, "the charge"
suddenly sounds ~ n point on the field, slowly
given By fu,y bu@lcs, and faint il distance.
Tho sound is accelerated, it approaches, it
wide-s. i IS echoed from drums and tIumpets
all along the line Of battle.
The char-e,7 cry chiefs Of lines and col
u,nns to their buglers And they command:
Fix bayoless, logward!'
Fix bayoncts! Forward" repeat the
officers.
FORWARD, Forward shout the soldiers.
And Oh al SIDES rings the charge, brisk and
souorous, sounded by a hundred clalions,
beaten Iy & hundred drums
The soldiers rush forward with agile steps,
head advanced, bayonet fixed, knapsack
swinging or the back, scabbard beating the
thigh. cartridge COX, Eaver5ack and cauteen
naupiug against the sides. Following the ad-
vance NJ the field to the assault, re-enforced
by al the reserves Of the first line, come other
troops deployed III line of battle o. scIried
into columns. IS far IS the view extends
there is . succession Of long ranges and deep
masses OF foot soldiers, who rush forward
with great velocity. Each presses forward as
il eager for his part Of the drop to drink"
And tho charge continues, more ardent
and more RAPID, ut each repetition accclCTat-
ing the measure. And clambCr!ng over the
csaaIpmcnt5, travcfsiag the underground,
crossing the rice fields, scaling the raIllartS
OF the trenches, the soldiers sweep along under
the shell, the shIanncl, the grape and i'll the
fearful s.olIn Of bullets
And the buglcs and the drums, those sound
ing the chant ard those making the bass, re-
peat tie t.ro unique phrases Of Tho charge"
tao ono li-tiag as by an effort, tho other eX
uIting a. ii triumph.
Il.5 Ga.uo4iuc az be- ;ns to rouse me com
ba,a3.t ID tAcy strain forward Under its
movement This approaches q. I..a.a,e amino.
II alr.uln cor..&!
After some rc0etit.0ns tie eject On the
soldiers becomes purely physical. They ad-
vance TO tl.3g sound automatically. Fatigue
disappears a. tcc,c5 are eEaccd, the idea of
dcata-possibia, nay probabio-yanishes 1t
seems as if they had neither reason nor sensa-
ton. Thgy dream Of nothing, ihCy see moth
liz, bat they rua, moved BY 2n irresistible
iiupulsioH They are drunk, drunk to mad
re.s, uithou- motive, with only confusion for
thought Eillcs are lowered, bayonots git.
tn, balls Whsle, and, striking their mark,
mon lali with hillou5 wounds IL their heads;
they run On, they run 10 Iacct the bullets,
they run against the baycEcts. They are ike
the Whrln., deryisLCs o. Scttdri. The charge,
which giyc5 - tle corps an impetuOus elan,
ut the Same time throws tho spirit into that
fort Of torpor chat may bo iiEencd to the
oriental mel .cia produced By the cultural
chants and c,-citIng nUl0,0ncS Ut Che rCbec
ulls, G-1ouri-a.
And tic charge sUeils, increasing The
rhythm more and moro. BraZel tlplnpcts
tlal are 10 ioi.-.. blown rattle in the onset,
tie GrlmneIS, Lo.lp.tud 10y their instru-
meut~, beat tA.--l, - Clcy run, with 4 single
hand. And the louahcr grows the sound the
more j. au~m.n.5 Tie spirit.