Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-10-03
PREFERRED DEATH
TO RETREAT FROM
FLOODED DITCHES
Germans Refused to Flee,
Says American Lawyer,
Who Tells Also of Turcos
Charge.
PARIS. Oct. 3.

PARIS, Oct. g.
Because Scotsman loved lasse left
behind in the fighting zone, and because
an American out of pure love of adven-
ture, agreed to accompany him in the
search for her the world may learn
something today concerning the manner
in which the French troops entered AL
SAGE for the third time.
The story was told yesterday by Jonas
NJ Chretien an attorney OF San Fran
cisco. The Scotsman, accompanying him
was Dunlop Ferguson, of Glasgow. The
two met by chance here at a hotel and
proceeded to the eastern frontier of
France to search for the girl where the
war correspondents failed to penetrate
The two. after divers adventures, made
their way to where they saw the French
pushing on against the German hordes
Near st. Die they beheld all that re-
mained of the valiant Turcos-a mere Il
out of the original GOO-returning after an
assault at the heights OF st. Marie, which
heroic effort gave the French admission
once more 10 their beloved Alsace, so
Chretien sits today in his rooms at the
hotel surrounded by trophies of the bat
tleield-shells, helmets, bayonets-and de-
scribes the scene amid haystacks, in the
open fieids, with the German shells
screaming overhead and bursting into
pillars of flame short distance from
where he stood
''NE1 poT11 than an al 1,t.D /. c
could tell where they were going to fall"
said Chretien. The firing was virtually
without effect The French officers
laughed at it.
THE firing lasted more than two days.
Al 1.-The time the artillery duel was going
on the rattle of musketry from the
trenches was incessant.
THE Germans, at a place called Leon
ard, had been offering particularly stub
born resistance to repeated French at
tacks. The weather was awful \ drench-
ing rain storm fell all the time until
nghtfall. Then, one evening, the firing
| i'll the German trenches cased at the
height of the storm. When morning came
the French advanced against the enemy S
! lines. No resistance was offered. When
| they reached the earth works the mys-
terry was explained. The trenches were
full of water in which We're lying bodies
of drowned German soldiers.
For more than two days this partcu-
|. lar body of Germans had been lighting
without relief. Tho French had given
| them no rest at night. If any of those
still living ceased firing, it was only
to cool his rifle barrel in the flood water
| in the trenches.
"One can picture the soldiers of the
/ Kaiser, gradually overcome with exhaus-
| tion, with the water rising around them.
| There were tears in the eyes of the
| Frenchmen when they regarded the bod
| les Of their gallant foemen."
! Describing the taking of the heights Of
| St Marie by the TurcOs, Chrcten says:
| ION hill commanding the town Ger
| man battery had taken its position. Many
/ charges by the French had failed 10 si-
| lence it.
/ Eventually the Turcos rushed against
| it, They charged furiously uphill, cor
strong. At what cost the position was
| taken is shown by the fact that only
u answered rollcau as the tricolor tloated
over the town. Eleven of them were more
| or less badly wounded
"'What matter If all perishcd.' said tho
| survivors, so long as France IS back in
! Alsace?"
After seeing the fighting Chretien and
| his companion We're arrested as spies,
! They We're released however, with apollo
| gies. They found the object Of their
search and brought her back to Paris,