Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1914-12-04

~>>~s
Germans pretty busy we'd never do it.
While we we're collecting our gear a
funny thing happened. An aeroplane
rose over the brow of the enemy's hill
full mile high and scared almost d.
rectly over nv head. II he had wanted
to. he could have dropped a bomb.
guess. and blown me to bits; but he
was q scout, not fighter. I took q
shot at him for luck. Maybe l put q
hole In one of his wings. but the
chances are 1 fell short.
And then the little lieutenant said.
Go. get 'em. boys. hiff. biff." just as /
knew he would. and we scrambled over
our little redoubt, me and my pal and
the whole line of us, and a whole lot
more fellows who had been gathering
In the rear, and rushed, lickerty-split,
down to those bushes. 1t must have
surprised them that we were ready to
come back at them 80 quickly, because
l think that almost every one of us
made the shelter of the bushes in safe
ty; but It was hot enough there.
ing shot, and now and then a shell
would burst and I would imagine it
had me, SO we were glad enough when
they told us to 60 on again. Anything
was better than crouching there in
those bushes. hardly able to see
thing.
No charge-Just Getting On.
We forded the stream-it wasn't
more than six feet wide-and started
to climb the hill just as their cavalry
had done. Only our gunners had the
range, and there wasn't anything like
the reception for US that they had got.
My pal and and the little lieutenant
seemed to make a little group. We
just went on; sometimes he would
take the lead and sometimes we would
give him lift. We pulled, and maybe
staggered, because it was very ex-
hausting, not only the climb, but the
jag that our nerves were on. Some
how we got there.
The lieutenant had his revolver in
his hand. and he finished a round-head-
ed German who aimed at me with his
rifle dubbed. l reckon that German
must have been the only live one in
the vicinity, for didn't see any more.
The main body seemed to have been
driven out before we got there, so we
just squatted down in the trenches
they had made to catch our breath,
and the funny part of 1t was that as
far as we could see there were hun
dreds Of us fellows squatting in those
trenches, painting. The lieutenant was
the first to collect himself I'VE are a
lot of FOOLS" he said, sitting here
without cover. Don't you fellows
realize that they can pick US OF as
easy as not?"
1t was time we realized 1t, because
they were picking US off-not me and
my pal. you understand. or the lieu
tenant-but a dozen other fellows all
along the line.
Used Basins for shoveIs.
Get to work there and dig" he
said. And we dug as we had never
dug before. We knew we couldn't go
any further that day, and we wanted
to make cover for ourselves that
would last the night out, so with ba-
sins we shoveled the earth they had
up until 1t gave US protection from
their rifle fire. It would make a nice
story right here II l could tell you
that our little lieutenant had been
killed or badly wounded in trying to
save one Of our lives, but he was no
fool. He got behind the first pile of
earth we raised and told us what to
do next, and that, you will admit, was
much wiser thing for him to do than
any tomfool bravery would have been.
We had our position clinched. They
were bringing guns down into the lit
tie valley by roads / hadn't noticed
before and hauling them up to the top
Of the hill near our position. When l
saw that knew that as far as we
were concerned we had done our work
All this. and 1t was only two o'clock
in the afternoon. The rest of the day
we spent digging. They brought up
shovels from the supply wagons and
we made a real breastworks, q whole
lot better than any we had had since
we left the Aisne. 1t was funny to
see engineers, with levels and transits,
working where only an hour before
there had been more dead men than
living. but these poor fellows were
gone now, and from brave soldiers we
became mere diggers in the soil. Speed
was necessary, for the German doesn't
know when he is licked, and his fire
upon our position was getting warm
er all the time.
Trench Digging 10 prudsery.
Digging trenches sounds like sim
pie thing; and so 1t is for the first
hour, but after you have been working
for two hours or more without any hot
grub and nothing to smoke 1t becomes
more like drudgery. would rather
charge with only half chance of COM
ing out alive than dig trenches for
two hours. II you could think of the
danger, il you could keep the noble
part of 1t in the front Of your mind,
it wouldn't be SO bad; but just to dig
like an ordinary drainman with a lit
tie lieutenant yapping about is
frightful bore. He is a good fellow,
that lieutenant, and he shot my Ger
man friend, but he knew no more
about getting work out Of a lot of
Paris clerks than he does about farm
ing; and that Is precious little.