The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1914-09-26
NO HOPE FOR SPEEDY PEACE
Continued from page |.

q nice little hole in my left shoulder,
the wounded man wrote. my shout
der feels much as If some playful joke
had touched il with a lighted cigar. =
Describing the fight in which h
was wounded, the Frenchman said
"Since some time the rafting of vol
leys is audible. Then at a distanc
a heavy defamation of a gun is heard
Arrived at the crest we drop our
selves, and there. right in front Of us
on the opposite hill. and making TO
the plain between them, are tn,
enemy. engaged in a fight with
division of the allied troops.
81 can distinctly see the German
artillerymen moving about the gun oil
the hilltops and slopes. / see a mighty
flash from one of the guns, the heavy
report il re-echoed by the s%urrounding
hills. 1t is strange, out in the face Of
death and destruction | catch myself
trying to make cut where the shell,
are falling, as if / am an interested
spectator. / am not the only one.
see many serious faces around me,
bearing expressions full of interest,
just as If the owners of the respective
faces formed the auditorium of q
highly. entertaining theatrical perfor.
nance, without having anything ia
do with the play itself :.
The human mind is a curious and
complicated thing. Now that we were
shooting at the enemy. and often after
wards in the midst Of a fierce battle, /
heard some remark made or some
funny expression which proved that
the speakers thoughts were far from
realizing the terrible facts around him.
IL has nothing to do with heartlessness
or anything like that. / don't know
what il is. Perhaps / snail have an
opportunity to philosophize on IL later.
"volley after volley we sent in the
direction of the enemy. The German
shells and bullets passed over our
heads. The Germans may be and are
our superiors In executing parade steps
but they are Internally bad shots.
"A rain of hostile bullets passed
our heads. ~Instinctively we
although when one hears the
bullet it has passed already. IL is a
queer sensation which comes over US
the FIRST time we are met with a hail
of bullets. We suddenly feel as If
attacked by fever. but this feeling
very soon leaves us.
The earth was shaken by the
incessant cannonading and the air was
torn by continuous rafting rife fire.
A comrsde on my right stumbled and
fell forward without uttering a sound,
killed by a shot in the breast. A man
in front of me threw his arms up, fell,
struggled to his feet and fell again.
"A shell exploded near us, followed
by a terrible cry. Five OF us were
lying dead in a little square. One
man had both legs blown away and
still alive. conscious and implor
ing us to kill him. An officer ran
past, stopped and after a short look
1t the man. shot him through The
heart. Ca Vaut Mieux,' he said.
Pauvre Diable.
The officer opened his mouth to utter
command, and at the same moment
got a bullet in the mouth. he turned
round twice and fell heavily on the
iyke, close to me.
"At a good distance behind Us Red
ross soldiers and Red Cross friars,
the Red Cross flag, were
over the wounded and
removing them to ambulance vans.
A shell exploded over their heads and
,nly a couple of the Red Cross men
we're left.
more hostile troops have been
advancing. They have suffered heavy
osses but on our side the number of
casualties Is very large and our
seems TO become critical. We
ire %retreating. Our men display a
remarkable II -control. Notwith-
standing the appalling scenes around
ne, /. too, feel perfectly calm now.
Terrible though IL may seem, | confess
hat without a moments tremble I
Tim at my living targets, shoot, and
watch the effects of my bullet.
The retreat was carried out
Iplsndidly. ! have just reached the
rest OF a hill when / felt q slight
hook in the left shoulder. 1 do not
reed 1t, hut some moments afterward
feel a burning pain and 1 perceive
hat / am wounded and the weight
II roy arm seems to increase. Some
line afterward I find myself neatly
Installed in a field hospital.