The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1899-01-24

vinces came to Eng
land rather tn II
swear allegiance to the Emperor Will
lam. Among them was an old soldier,
who told me the following story in
broken English that will not attempt
to transcribe.
You are mistaken" said he, with
some vexation. 81 am not a German.
Because L speak German, that does
not make German my heart. 1t is all
French. I'm an Alsatian. We Alsa.
Gans are more French than the French
themselves, because FROM France we
Ions had brotherhood and equality and
freedom.
I'm the great war I was in the
French army. Did fight in many
battles? No, did not fight at ali.
But for all that / was in six battles
under fire, and sometimes in worse
danger than the men who fought. In
the balloon corps was twice wounded.
/" You think that w&s strange? You
think there was no danger in the re-
connaissaacc with balloons, ell? But
II You saw how fast the Germans
shetled our balloons as soon as thew
stopped in the air!
"Stopped-how stopped? Why,
stopped at the,end of tho rope. You
don't suppose war balloons go loose,
do you?
t~"Weli, if you saw how the Germans
fred at them, aud how they brought
their long-rangc guns to bear on the
ground where the end of the balloon
lope was, then you would know whether
there was danger for the men of the
balloon corps.
Il do not speak of the officers that
went up IN our balloons to view The
enemy's lines. ANY one may under
stand the risks they ran, when rifle
balls and shells were screaming TO
pierce the balloon and bring its car
tumbilng down. No, speak more OF
the risks we priyates had from the
German fire on our standing ground.
Could they see rs? No; but they
coald see the balloon. They're not
fools, the Germans. When they could
see the balloon, they could quickly
calculate about where itsropes touched
the ground. Oh, that terrible Ger
man artillery Skrei-i-i-il / think T
hear the shells shriekIng again. Often
wo had to stay in one place for an
hour, two, three hours. losing moro
by death AMI wounds than the same
number of soldiers on outpost duty
but the most terrible of all was what
happened to me at Inc end.
1T was toward the latter part Of
August, ten days after the traitor.
Bazainc, lad cooped us up in the for.
tihcation of Metz. The order came
from my squad to go out far, far toward
the German lines, sendup our balloon.
ana get look at what the enemy werc
doing.
For ten minutes after we had sent
up the balloon, there was no firing ot
It, There it floated thousand feet
nigh. 1t was pressed toward the Ger
man lines by the breeze. which
seemed stronger above.
stood near the cylinder, or drum
from which we had let out nearly oIl
the rope that held the balloon from
rising and blowing away. This rome
slanted toward the Germans as if
went up.
~ had hold Of this rome nv two
hands were above my head grasping tho
rope. wesresting like this, when all of
sudden tho German artillery opened
fire.
They had not calculated fin, hal
looms position very perfectly. but
they got ours well. First. five shells
hew over the woods at the baIloo,
These were all iimod 60 burst. as fbev
did, almostto2ether. But uone'of tboir
fragments Init tho balloon. they had
burst too far behind and below IL.
While J Was watching these OK
plosiona q far bigger shell came curv
ing over the wood, az if flung from
mortar II fairly struck tho windIast
trum on which the rope was wound
burst the same moment. and seemad ~
iii or wound every member of fine
squad except me.
Though ! was not Init. waq holt
stunned by the coueusaioD and ~
course / should have been thrown TO
The ground if had not held ON by tae
rope. j did not know j was boidinq
on, you understand was too rucl
dazed 20 know what had Happened ON
Nhot J was doing fhncw wasali.c.
ID that was about alI. And cluu-
70 rope rs If Do was 60 save mo from
drowning.
When my fulI senses came back.
felt that my feet were OF the ground
j looked down. The earth was nun
fdred feet below INC. Ncyt moment r.
Igeemed nearer, and ! saw why. The
bai boon, carried swiftly by tho wind.
tea already lifted me over the wood.
ttwas drifting toward the German
Hnp.
All this occurred so quickly that i
Us more surprised than scared. Some.
tow, perhaps because j was lifted so
vastly, I had sort Of confidence that