Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1908-09-21
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 Eagerness For Killing.
Varying Effects Of Wounds.
A narrative OF the battle OF Solferi.
no as told by "A veteran survivor "a
Robert Shackleton appears IN liar
pers. 1t is. word for word chapter
of history rs seen by man i'm tn.
ranks Incidents which impressed him
are curious:
I'VE halted, and Tyrolcse lying on
the ground cried out: 4 am dying
Give me TO drink Whereat my com
panion stopped TO offer him a fasl,
and as he stopped the TyTolesc struck
savagely ut him with his bayonet. but
my companion jumped back. and il
missed him, and he said, You Tyro-
leSe. you said you wanted n drink be.
fore you died, and now you shall die
without the drink And he stuck his
bayonct through him rs n boy would
stick pin through fly.
The fighting soon began again. and
It 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 Austrlans
were very strong there.
The bursting of the shells was very
bad. Sometimes all of us close by
would be thrown down and he 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 the'
were wounded or dead.
AT the beginning OF battle sol.
der feels afraid. At the beginning OF
this battle / felt afraid, and know
that other men felt afraid. though II
was not our lrst battle. and we knew
what ii was 10 be under fire.
$50 it was that at 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
"All around me men were killed.
There were heads and arms blown off,
and men flew into pieces like the
smashing of jug. But we did not
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
and we did not think that at any mo-
ment we too might have our heads
blown of or be smashed into little
pieces like the breaking of jug
Once. when we rushed over the big
guns and killed the men who still
fought with us. we turned the guns
to tire on the Austrians Ms they few
away. but they had driven bits OF steel
into the touchhoes, and so we could
not fire them. They were of 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 n captain who
had his foot shot Off He twisted and
turned as IL cried ont. and it was n
very bad sound. But 1t Is just as i,
chances. | saw many men who were
hurst worse than that captain and
many who were blown into little bits
but | did not trouble about them II
is just If ii chances so
at Is very often that a man does
not know that lie Is hurt. remember
that once there was man near me
with Il great hole In his forehead. but
be ran right on with us with his bay.
onet. ana thought. He will fall dead
But after that saw him no more for
there was always the Sighting
The storm and the blackness. they
made OF us great mixing Yes: II
was a very great tangling for all lines
were lost, and | know that sometimes
Austrians struck at Ausnians and
sometimes Italians struck at ltuians
for we were In a very great mixing
and very fierce in the blackness OF that
storm.
I'VE were told to lie down and sleep
So we lay down where we were, anon.
the dead and the wounded among til,
Italians and the Austrians.
And we slept. Yes; we were tired
for we had fought hard for all tina
long, long day. and on that hill that a
last we had gained we slept. and w,
gave no heed TO the dead men or thr
wounded.
The wounded they made very grea
cries and there were men sent to g
among them with lights. Some werD
surgeons and some were men 70 carr!
them to the field hospitals. But thu
most OF Us we lay there and SLEPT. ant
we were very tired and we knew tina
with the morning there nigh: 5e an
other fight"