The free press. (Southern Pines, N.C.) 1898-19??, 1900-03-17
WAR PEN PICTURES
WHAT A BATTLE is LIKE UNDER
- MODERN CONDITIONS.


Grim Realities and Shocking Scenes
Nothing is Seen, No Men, No smoke
The Noise Is Internationally
Sights and Awful SJund5.
Cne of our war correspondents, lin
the course of a priv ate letter to
friend, gives some vivid pictures OF
tie realities of war under modern
conditions:
AS regards my own feelings in a
fight it is very hard to describe;
know when the thing is all over and
AN all right feel much happier. ANY
man who has been in modern fight,
where men are being knocAel ovel all
around, and says he likes it, is liar.
In fo.mer days it muse have been dlf-
felent. The enemy could be seen, the
smoke could be seen, and rites had
to be reloaded after every shot. At
1000 yards you were in comparative
SAFETY The infantry, after receiving
one volley, could charge, knowing
that until the enemy had loaded
again each man was practically safe.
Nowadays that is all changed.
Nothing is seen, no man, no smoke.
The only thing seen is the dust
thrown up by the bullets, like a rain
storm on the surface of a lake, the
artillery throwing shells, and the
shells bursting. In contrast to this is
the noise, which is infel nal; with Oc-
casonal luis it sounds as if a million
kettledrums were being played-a CON
slant tra-ra-ra, with the Loom, boom
of the big guns and the harsher s'uAd
of the pumping of the MaXims, Max
im-NO1 n el(lis, and machine guns in
general The discord is appalling, as
every gun has different sound, and
each shell g ing il ouch the air huns
or whistles according to it's breed. At
ter Il tine You can tell what is com
irg, or, if it is one of your own, what
is going
''1he mos terri "ying of the enemy's
guns is sort OF Hotchkiss, which
fires about five rounds at time and
throws ona-pocnd shell, which
bursts You are safe nowhere, as a
bullet, fired at an object at 800 yards,
which missed hits and kills at 200
OF 5000. it practically means with
these rifles that a bullet is never
spent until it bits something an re-
mains there Wien bullet strikes,
you lear roth:ng; it goes right
through 4 nam and probably travels
On another 2Go0. yards. You hear
glnnt or a gtIrg7c, and the man col
Iapees and doubles up; sometimes it
Lit in the arm or leg he spins around
and falls, and probably ge.s up again
as ii il only the shock which knOt ks
him down, and lie hardly feels the
bullet At ModGer river / went down
with three guns OF the Eighteenth
Iattery to within 1900 yards, and
saw five men 90 over, one at ,er the
other, but only one killed.
1.-The worst thing is bullet wound
in the stomach lie CIV the navel w lich |
is mortal THE pain is eXcruciating,
and they howl Ii G a shot hare; it
sounds Ike a child screaming, and is |
horrible. But you see such a lot Of
hcastiy SIGHTS and hear such q OF Ct |
heartrt nding soun s chat you become
accustomed to them and callous / |
found wounded Botr at Magersfon- |
tein who was shot evidently VIII lie |
lying down. h"orgh the top of the |
head above tie right ear: the bullet |
had travelled Trough his headand out |
at the back Of is jaw on the left side.
1t had then broken his collar bone end |
taken turn, travelled round his ribs,
and out at his side. He was net pretty
to look at, but did rot seem much the
worse, and while I gave him water
he explained to me the course of the
bullet Some Of the recoyer'es are per-
fectly marvellous. / suppose after the
thing is over the doctors will publish
some of the ext anr1;nary cases which
have passed through their hands. -
London News.