New-York tribune., 1900-07-08
CORRESPONDENTS IN BATTLE
FIRED AT MANY TINES IN A DAY Pr
NEVER HIT
Illan Ralph. in The London Mail

NEVER HIT
Julian Ralph. in The London Mail
5.il' There Is a place in battle where it is mora
Is the zone where the bullets strike he 49,
heads Of ihe foe befST r4-D6 5ol zoe 4Fn',er tha
be in the front than in the middle rear To ,ss
middle rear ran the correspondeIts. and then ~
down They fell when they found The air =
IT,a. me- WITH @ oHletS as ever pudding was win
PluHnS-and Wnen. Wherever they put down a f5o-
there was sDUrt Of sand from a falling sbo'
ram WIN water gushing from the holes In hi5
boots The sand fountains reminded raern 4
laugh 91s BON 'e' 'sn''' a" ant heap and began to
There was no other way to run" they said p,
on 0ne "a an3theT i[ G ii looked as if the Beers would
''Putt-put;-putr-putt' sounded the awful y-ioks-,
shells raked the air over their heads VIZ
seven screaming missiles at time Z.zzz.
let's like magniGed bees in swarms. The air ~
thick with flying lead Bits OF the friendly ant
JnTown up by bullets fell softly on the hands o.
hail for TIE Hoer shareholders had seen rne w.
men run and drop. and We're sending a cr0ssars
W1eTe they lay They buried their noses in the
red sand and talked and thought
told me and fiV havt IU15 notes Of Is nave
81 SSiyn somethi9s sonnet funny s2t me younger aa
Wow but that was close. It famed my ear.'
Hang the horses. What 7 wonder is how thar
mule can stand there one hundred yards ahead n
US; where the bullets ar like drops I'm slantns
rain. IN bet the brute is fun of holes and doesn't
Hello! here's that Guards doctor Doctor! Doc
tor; Come and ten US what's going. on" Ths
the correspondents. and i'm doing So aHak5-s new
fury Of rifle and machine gun fire.
many wounded u3 there. and 1 must look strs-
them How's the fight going It's simply going on,
bullets are thick here Watch me go forward. aHi
WHen E4I y9I see me drop you may know us q bit
come in solid streaks like telegraph wires Wei
ta-ta! I must make dash for it,
fountains spurt up in frCnc OF. beside and behind
him At last he drops and for half an hour les
For hour and half the correspondents kzzo
hill Every now and again there comes a I1L ant
they tnink they Will make bolt for safety and on
factory opens again for business, and Ieadea
resign themselves and watch other men in Ike p5-
They see a Coldstream Tommy run 10 tiny
sage brush that wouldn't stop pea-shOOter and
gratefully take its shelter
They see another Tommy lying fat as aaptack
ana reaching stealthliy, bhndly, over the ground
egg He gets hSe or six Of these and and bail5s
lnc9es nigh He presses his face in the sand
with this ridiculous, microscopic wall in front 0t
IS content: He IS content unLil-ten minutes later
an explosive bullet hits his foot and smashes II
DISTRESS OF THE WOUNDED
He calls 70 the correspondents = to bring tss
stretcher bearers to him Two OF them have been
hiding behind an anthil for very long while
To them the correspondents ytI, anu tne ne oeTIe.S
dragging a shattered leg. hopping along before
correspondents For Heavens sake. gentlemen ger
me to an ambulance- I've been wounded IKE ms @
selves and their danger. and telling MIN Win tns
shattered leg to &C and hs by MN wiz S] I5o
They forget themselves and their danger though
there is death every step-just as every n.@l
who is any good forgets self and danger on ne
If ne has the jumps give him riie and see how
interested he will become. Send hlm gaIioslnS gI
as if the bullets had shot it away
HIS COMPANY NOT WANTED.
\ word of command to those streLeher bearers
brought them quickly 70 theiT LesL I[4 4 ~, ~
bullets plugged beside them and buzzet about
them and they dropped hat on the vel1t-Eith ~
bullet touched the hair of one; another few p
tween their heads, not eighteen inShes S'@s1 @s1
toward them. bringing cloud OF shot Win thea
Keep away, Keep away! You FOOLS Jne culds l,s
as YOU like. but don't direct the IRE on US -
profanity revealed TO the corresponaents NO" si'--
had been the tension on their nerves ho,4-
soulA one vet am not conscious of being afraid
There's no room for fear, said the other, a1S
that's all there is about IT, I'm sick OF my r.
juice and water. Give me drink OF your pam
Next buliet-headed Tommy darted up from BE-
Tiis It IIo b nv s vas sworn AT and abused
a new hail OF bullets showered around the {aIse -
Ioosened BY his dash across the veltI IL yD- %
would pull in that blooming Tin pail and put ~ y,
der your stomach. YOU wouldn't Sit 50 mucut
the blooming bullets II shOiueS loike ns-
graph He was right He referred 10 a Two QL.ss-,
bright. new tin water bottle which the e-1er HN-
had left beside him on the ground -.
or all the sUblimated fools in any army -
Tommy the worst He next asked Tor 2 dtl--aass
and. taking covered bottle, raised liu~eil on -
elbows. put up his head lifted the boJtle hlsa; -
began quaf A thousand rifle balls ana =
minutes play of the putt putt showed tn9t ~
had been accepted as a challenge. AS;lu Lo-lI-s
sworn at for an idiot-aDd what was ms Iesss5
II know II. When Was Toying hover there oe ~
hant i'll. I 'eld I'D me blooming 'eiueJ an 81
ole put through It before could git it down asS-
He queted Cy the impressive assurance ~, -
he would get a pistol ball through his skull az -
next provOCation, and for another hall hour hs -
quiet. Then. suddenly. he said Gents. m olias
tired OF planting me nose in the sand and Nt, ;- II
for il to SprOut What say is lets run ~ -
each in different direckshin, SO the b-oofn"s
Beers won't know which 10 peg at -
You're general Tommy said the correspon1
entS. We're with YOU 80
He gave the word. All three ran Ike mad IN q.
ferent ways. and the Beers directed all thelr =
the young and handsome correspondent ~
Ill