The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1898-08-12
Experience of Edward Mar
shall War Correspondent.
SHOT BY THE SPANISH
Proof That the Mauser Is a
Merciful Missile.

will endeavor to tell how it feels TO
be hit by Mauser bullet, my own OK.
perience having been gained from one
that shot away part of my back bone.
When the Rough Ridere ran into a
Spanish ambuscade at La Quasina, l
fret empted my revolver at the enemy.
Then began to look around. / was
standing under royal palm tree max
ing notes when felt the tree shiver. |
looked up and saw three or four bullet
holes in it. The FIRE was getting thicEer
and thicker. went over to some wound.
ed mon to sse what could do for them.
Suddenly felt blow in the back. 1t
was not very hard or at ali painful. II
was as If somebody had given me a
light punch. l fell down, and to my
surprise / was unable to get mp. l had
stopped Mauser bullet. The air was
full of the sounds OF Mauser bullets and
Of rapid firing guns Brought from the
warships.
The Mauser makes strange Kissing
sound quite unlike that Of the old bull
let's. As near as l can describe the
sound, it is as three Z's and then EW
thus, Z-Z-Z-EW. You feel as If
you could dodge the bullets. The sound
Of the rapid-fre guns is .errifying--far
more go than that Of the Mausers. 1t is
continuous "pr-r.r.r." There is not
time for any one shot to make a complete
report. One runs into the other.
The Red Crops people came to me first
and bandagsd mo, After Chat surgeon
examined me and told mo had only n
few moments to live, ae my wound was
mortal. | believed him. | tainted once,
and then found myself lying under
some trees with other wounded men.
0ne Of them said, "Let's sing song to
show those fellows We AREN'T dead" So
we sang "The Star spangled Banner
and "Rally Round the Flag, Boys
rather out Of tune,
At this stage felt absolutely nb pain
Isimply lay in the long grass without
any unpleasant sensation. | aheYward
found many men who had had similar
experiences. The surgeons statement
that my wound was mortal produced
as little impression OH mo mentally as thI
wound had physically. This Indifference
mental and physical, can only be attrib
uted to the tremendous shock produce(
by the Mauser bullet. Later, when be-
gan to regain sensation, | felt as If red
hot needles we're being stuck into IN.
spine all the way from the bottom OF N.
back to my brain. This | have zinc
found was due to the splinters OF bon
sticking in the spinal cord.
My observations in the field and on til
hospital boat 0livette, where were PA q
the wounded, incline me to the stron
belief that the Mauser bullet is mos
merciful implement OF warfare, II an
bullet can be ssid to be merciful, Say
many men wounded and probably half
dozen killed in one case group q
eight men, not more than dozen yard
from me, went down within go seconds
They fell in Il quiet heap. There wa
no jumping in the air, no throwing u
Of arms, not one scream. l heard on
chap quietly remark: "Whew! I'm
hitp' Tho others said nothing, | wen
over and pulled them apart and sue
ceeded in separating them without fore
ing groan. None of the wounds wa
mortal.
1t seems to be q peculiarly of tn
Mauser that every man struck by it, n
matter how slightly, dropped instant
to the ground Trumpeter CASA, VIII
was wounded in tie hand so slightl
that after l was shot ne helped 10 carr
me a couple of miles over rough road
to the field hospital, dropped like a 10
when he was shot.
Major BFody--and finer soldie
never stopped a bullet--was hit in tn
forearm. he went down instantly in
lump. The surgeons on the 0livett
assured me that at least one.third Of tn
wounded G,en they brought home t
New York wonld have died or suiiere,
amputation ii they had been struck b
bullets like thoee used in the civil wal
II my wound had been made by such
bullet, the doctors tell mo should hav
been instantly killed.
The three men whose brains were &C
tually pierced by Mauser bullets an,
were brought back on the 0livett
would, OF course, have been instantl,
killed il they had been struck by bul
lets Of lareer caiber. | owe my life t,
the skilltul operating and care OF Majo
Appel Of the olivetts, assisted BY DR.
W. Il. Parker and Lieutenants d. O
Howard, L. P. Smith and H. L. Brown
Edward Marshal ia New York Jour
nal.