Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1893-04-07
HOW A NAN FEELS UNDER rlnr.

HOW A MAN FEELS UNDER FIRE.
Mental Impressions of the Soldier whe,
Bullets Fly About.
Junius Henri Brown in Worthing.
tons: l was wandering on foo,
through void trying to see how the
battle was going. There was a con.
tinuous firing to the left and frequent
whizzing Of bullets over our heads.
Abruptly the Confederates opened
on us from an adjacent battery with
grape and canister. The shot ratified
all around us, cutting down the bare
twigs and b0ughs above and blowing
up the ground in our immediate vicin-
ity. 1t was SO abrupt and the source
was so invisible that was fairly
startled at first, but was exhilarated
also. 1t seemed like real war. The
sensation was genuine and not un-
pleasurablc, because, perhaps, l saw
nobody struck.
1t makes deal of difference with
ones feeling, under fire, when one is
an eye witness OF casualties in the
immediate neighborhood. The sense
of danger isgreatly increased, as we'll
as the likelihood of death, if men are
falling around one-if somebody
at ones side receives a CHASTITY or a
mortal wound. Wounds and death
in the concrete appear very different
from what they do in the abstract.
Time and experience are needed not
to be deeply moved by the inevitable
horrors of war. Usage makes us to
certain extent callous to our sur
roIndings, however painful. In bat
tie, every soldier is under obligation
to bc firm, to obey orders, to be faith
f"l tn his cause. If he falters or flies,
ne is disgraced, Punished. irrevocably
ruined. On the other had, e he
does what he should do, he is es-
tccmed, honored, promoted. AS a
matter Of policy, of self-interest,
therefore, is it not strange that any
soldier should shirk or finch under
any circumstances. A soldier in his
first engagement is inclined to pre-
sentiment of death and is often sur
prised when it is over to find that he
is still alive. In his 10Th or 10th en-
gagcmcnt his presentimcnts have dis
appeared with his nervousness and he
is cool in the presence of peril.
What is known as courage is, in 80
cases out of 100, a matter of discipline.
y man is alarmed at danger in the
beginning, not SO much because he is
timid as because danger is new to him.
The tritc proverb that familiarity
breeds contempt is measurably true
of war. The coward of today may be
the hero of tomorrow. The nerves
that tremble at the outset may be
strong as steel at the termination.
Everything comes by education,
intrcpidity included. Raw troops
are always untrustworthy, simply be-
cause of their rawness. The same
troops rs veterans do not blanch in
the face of death. 1t may be hard
to count on a mans courage, but it
would be madness to count on his
cowardice. Almost any human being
will be fearless with certain provoca-
tion, from certain motives. Much
depends on the cause and his attach
ment to 1T. He may be craven in one
thing and dauntless in another. Men.
feel very differently under fire at
first, but much alike at last. They
can all be made to endure it becom-
ingly, creditably, after repeated trials.
The incurable coward is almost as
exceptional as the congenital idiot.
William Johnson, winter watch-
man at Ocean View, Va, near the
mouth of Chesapeake bay, picked up
on the beach at that place a cham
payne bottle with several corks tied
about it's neck, and with a letter
inclosed, giving alleged information
of the White Star steamship Naronic.
1t reads; 1910 a. M. Feb. 19-S. S.
Naronic, White Star line, at sea:
To who picks this up: Report when
you find this to our agents, if not
heard of before, that our ship is fast
sinking beneath the waves, and it is
such storm we can never live in
small boats. One boat has already
gone down with her human cargo
below. God, let all of us live
through this. We were struck by an
iceberg in binding snow st,rm and
have floated for two hours. Now it
is 3:20 a. m. by my watch, and the
great ships deck is level with the
sea. Report to the agents at Broad
way, New York, NJ. Kerscy & Co.
Good bye all, "John Olson, Cattle
man."
The National Fraternity Building