The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1908-08-20
SOLDIERS IN BATTLE.
How Men Feel and Act With
Death All About Them.
THE STORY OF A PRIVATE.
With the Beginning Of the Fight
Comes Fear, but That Soon Passes
Away In the Easerness For Killing.
Varying Effects Of Wounds.

Away In the Easerness For Killing.
Varying Effects Of Wounds.
A narrative of the battle of Solferi.
no as told by veteran survivor to
Robert Shackleton appears In Har
per's. 1t is, word for word, q chapter
Of history as seen by a man in the
ranks. Incidents which impressed him
are curious:
I'VE halted, and Tyrolese lying on
the ground cried out: I am dying
Give me to drink Whereat my com
panion stopped to offer him a flask,
and as he stopped the Tyrolese struck
savagely at him with his bayonet, bu,
my companion Jumped back, and 1t
missed him, and he said, You Tyro-
lese. you said you wanted a drink be.
fore you died, and now you shall die
without the drink And he stuck his
bayonet through him as a boy would
stick pin through fly.
1.-THE fighting soon began again, and
1t was very fierce. 1t was soon that
we came to know that We were to cap
ture little village and the hills about
the village. The village was named
San Maritime, and there were walled
barns and gardens, and the Austrians
were very strong there.
''The bursting of the shells was very
bad. Sometimes all of us close by
would be thrown down and be GOV.
cred with mud and earth, but most of
us would jump up again, not wounded,
but always there were some who
would not jump up again, because they
were wounded or dead.
"At the beginning of battle sol.
der feels afraid. At the beginning OF
this battle I felt afraid, and I know
that other men felt afraid. though il
was not our first battle. and we knew
what it was to be under fire.
$50 1t was that Mt the beginning
we commended ourselves; we felt like
death. but soon that passed away, and
we thought no more of death. but only
of the killing of the Austrians.
call around me men were killed
There We're heads and arms blown of
and men few into pieces like the
smashing Of jug. But we did moi
care. We thought nothing of 1t.
do not know that we even knew we
saw such things, but some of them
come to me as sit with you and talk
of that long day. We did not notice
and We did not think that at any mo-
ment we too might have our heads
blown off or be smashed into little
pieces like the breaking Of jug.
"Once, when we rushed over the biz
guns and killed the men who still
fought with US. we turned the guns
to fire on the Austrians as they few
away. but they had driven bits of stee
into the touchholes, and SO we could
not fire them. They were of a cour
age. those Austrians.
"Only once in all that battle did ]
think much Of what I saw or heard
and that was when there was the
terrible screaming of captain WHO
had his foot shot off. He twisted and
turned as he cried out, and it was 8
very bad sound. But it is just as II
chances. saw many men who were
hurst worse than that captain and
many who We're blown into little bits
but did not trouble about them. 1,
is just IL 1t chances SO.
"1t is very often that man doe.
not know that he is hurt. I remember
that once there was man near me
with great hole III his forehead. but
he ran right on with us with his bay.
onet. and thought, He will fall dead
But after that saw him no more, for
there was always the fighting.
1.-THE storm and the blackness, they
made Of us great mixing. Yes: II
was very great tangling. for all lines
We're lost, and know that sometimes
Austrians struck at Austrians and
sometimes Italians struck at Italians
for we were in very great mixing
and very fierce in the blackness Of that
storm.
1--WE were told to lie down and sleep
So we lay down where we were, among
the dead and the wounded, among the
Italians and the Austrians.
'And we slept. Yes; we were tired
fof we had fought hard for all thai
long. long day. and on that hill that a
last we had gained we slept. and We
gave no heed to the dead men or thu
wounded.
'"The wounded they made very grea,
cries. and there were men sent to &C
among them with lights. Some vert