The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1908-08-08
SOLDIERS IN BATTLE
How Men Feel and Act With
Death All About Them.
THE STORY OF A PRIVATE.


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 veteran survivor 70
Robert Shackleton appears In Har-
pers. II is, word for word, chapter
OF history as seen by a man in thu
ranks. Incidents which impressed him
are curious.
1--WE halted, and Tyrolese lying ON
abe ground cried out: I am dying.
Give me 70 drink. whereat my COM
panion stopped TO offer him a flask,
and as he stopped the Tyrolese struck
savagely nj him with his bayonet, but
my companion jumped back and IL
missed him. and he said, You Tyro-
lese, you said you wanted 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 ny.
THE lighting soon began again, and
1t was very fierce. IL was soon that
we came To- know that we were to cap
turo a little village and tho 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 COW
cred with mud and earth, but most OK
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 a battle n SOL
dier feels afraid. At the beginning or
, this battle felt afraid. and / know
e that other men felt afraid, though IL
e was not our first battle, and we knew
! what II was TO be under fire.
q $50 II was that at the beginning
we commended ourselves; we felt IKE
death, but soon that passed away, and
we thought no more OF. Death but only
of the killing OF the Austrians.
n "All around me men were Killed.
There were heads and arms blown on,
4 and men few into pieces like the
2 smashing OF a jug But we did not
\ care. We thought nothing OF H.
|. do not know that we even knew we
/. saw such things, but some OF them
:. come 10 me as / sit with you and talk
=. OF that long day. We did not notice
} and we did not think that at any mo
q ment we too might have our heads
4 blown OF or be smashed into little
Ie pieces ike the breaking Of n jug.
y "Once whom we rushed over the bii
10 anns and killed the men who stu
"a fought with us. we turned the gum
II 10 lire on the Austrians as they new
" away. but they had driven bits OF stee
4. into the touchholes, and 50 We coui'
. NOT fire them. They were OF couf
of age. those Austrians.
"only once IN all that battle did
~ think much Of what / saw or hearc
m and that was when there was IN
% terrible screaming OF a captain VIII
~ had his foot shot of lie twisted an
To turned as he cried out. and II was
"a very bad sound. But Il Is just as
10 chances. | saw many men who WEI
IN hurst worse than that captain an
IN many who were blown into little DIT
d. but did not trouble about them
OF is lust II Il chances SO
nt aIt Is very often that man do'
gn not know that be Is hurt. rememo'
ing that once there was man near
ma with a great hole In his forehead, ID
all no ran right on with us with his ba
ON onet. and thought. lie win fall deat
u mt inter that saw him no more, +
NJ there was always the lighting.
CIV .sThe storm aud the blackness. th'
made OF US a great mixing. Yes;
was a very great tangling. for all I'm
were lost, and | know that someum
yer Austrians struck at Austrians n
nan sometimes Italians struck at ltnliai
pole for we were in very great miAi
less and very fierce in the blackness OF n
storm.
into ave were told 20 lie down and sic
the So we lay down where we were, amo
he the dead and the wounded, among
nth. Italians and the Austrians.
the "And we slept Yes; we were tlr
rob for we had fought hard for all q
nave long. long day, and on that hill that
into last we had gained we slept, ana
the gave no heed 10 the dead men or
wounded.
For "The wounded they made very -
cries. and there were men sent 70
among them with lights. Some "
surgeons. and some were men TO ca
r 50 them TO the field hospitals. But
ollar most OF US we lay there and slept
.ocer we were very tired. and we knew
and with the morning there might be
lnge other fight"
-.,,r