The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1914-09-30
BY n. j. PHILLIPS


PARIS. Sept. Is. 1s14.-By
Mall have just returned from
the country of the Marne-from
the rear of the allies lines.
l have been among the battle
field wounded-those sturdy fell
: lows who, though severely in
jured. hope to be back on the
fighting front in a few days or
weeks.
HAVE THE INSIDE STORY
OF THE WAR.
After the intensely interesting
things l have heard to write
about advances, retreats and
storming positions would be ride
ulous. l have a better story TO
tell-the experience of the ordin-
airy man, the writer, bookkeeper.
clerk or carpenter like you and
/, when called to the most dan
gerous occupation In the world.
But | am going to let them tell
ii. Here they are just as they
were told to me. Multiply each
story by thousands and you have
the real story of a battle:
'Our men rushed into battle
singing and shouting. While we
were in the trenches and shells
and bullets were dropping round
two men played marbles with bull
let's from a shrapnel she'll"
This Is one of the vivid pictures
drawn by Sapper II. Mugridge of
the Royal Engineers:
ION the Sunday" he said, 1--WE
were in action all day-fifteen
hours of it. We blew up barges
lying mp a canal. While we were
laying the charges we were un-
der fire all the time, but the Ger
mans could do anything but hit
us. The shells were flying all
around
ONE GUNNER KILLS
1000 GERMANS.
''One of our fellows, a lance
corporal of the DOrsets, killed
1000 Germans IL he killed one.
He was using a Maxim and was
at IL all day. He was supposed TO
he the crack shot of the army.
There were so many Germans all
around that we didn't know
whether we were shooting dead
men or not.
AT night we had barbed' wire
to put across the road. We got
up pretty close to the German
lines for we could hear them talk
ing. It was so dark we could
not see our fellows in the
trenches. and we kept treading on
their fingers.
I'VE saw a German aeroplane
coming along. 1t followed the
column for some distance, and
then two French aeroplanes ar
rived. One flew above the Ger
man and the other below it.
They fought in the air and the
German was brought down.
81 thought we should get a bit
of a rest on Tuesday night. We
had only about two hours. But
we had to lie down in a plowed
field and 1t was raining hard.
81 would have given anything
for a drink then. All | could find
was some water lying on the top
of some paraffin barrels. And it
went down good, tool
SHELL KILLS DYING
WOMAN OF 80
at one place we found an oil
farmer, whose wife, about eighty
years old, was dying. The old
man was crying. His horse and
donkey had been placed I'm one of
the rooms so as TO be saved from
the Germans. but, of course. the
place was sheIled, and the old
people killed.
I'VE left there, and then had
to go and do some trenching.
About five o'clock we had the
order to retire. An aercplane
Fell
mans were taking the range from
the machine. We could see some
of the poor chaps being shot
down.
when we retreated I was hit
in the ankle. IL was nothing
mueh-a stray bullet, I think. l
expect some dirt got into the
wound. as my leg swelled.
81 walked about fifteen miles
like that. l could have got up
on a cart, but there were other
chaps worse off than was.
There were men bringing in com
rades on their arms, and others
we're carrying them along the
road.
ION the Thursday we came
across two men of the West
Kents. They had been taken
prisoners by the Germans. who
had stripped them of everything.
They told us they were to be
shot at eight O'Clock last Thurs
day morning
"We fixed them mn with
clothes as best we could. but they
looked very eomicsI. All one had
ON was a hard hat and a mackin-
tosh. Some fellow asked them
n they wanted a taxi, but they re-
piled that they preferred TO walk.
They were jolly glad 20 be with
u.s."
WOMEN AND chill
UREN STARVING
Sapper Mugridge said that one
e hn. ..aa.lh.. h.. "A