Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1914-12-21

III tue lffIfUfN silf Wv llN llfllIfl III
y story written ~ an English soldier who
il on the Belgian frontier. He enlisted
~ 4 private. hnt later was raised 10 IN
officer. Thus he has had an opportunity
Ia sec the war from different angles. His
story follows:
II isn't The danger that affects one III
the trenches. but the harhship> Of cold
and damp. Bullets from Snipcrs-thc
Germans have lots Vt these out night and
,lay- whizz about your ears continually.
aud occasionally >%hrapncl makes one tuck
ones head down. hut one gets So used 10
the III 10 that although il may sound
Incredible il soon becomes FAR less no
ticeable than city traffic. for instance.
At night sometimes an ouhurSt Of NJ.
tillcry ar a Wild rattle IL musketry ~ IN
imaginary night attack wakcns on. Stifl.
sore. frozen and full of strong language
from ftful dreams. viii h mainly con
Germ Themselves with steak puddine> aud
huge fires AZ home.
The cold il really horrible. One never
ceases shivcring. Al night the >olcS of
ones boots frrcrz: aud one g. awakened
by icy feet and forced 10 get mp and
stamp till the blood consents To- circulate
once more. DAYLIGHT brings >omc respite.
hut the whole time one IL forced to mufilc
To the ewes. aud such things aS Ralaclava
helmets. thick gloves. romfurtcrS. cardi
gans aud woody waiStcnatS anne he too
numerous. can scarcely hutton my coat
over my numerous raiment and still |
perish.
Washing and paving are practically i'm
possible. Officers AMI men leave the
trenches like miners coming mp from a
pit. hut somehow that does not worry rs.
the idea of washing IN such odd IL too
awful. for il il impossible to restore the
circulation hv exercise IN 4 narrow
crowded trench aud in the dug outs there
is Just room Ia H. down. They are Now
beginning 90 serve out coal and cuk,.
lust i'm time. There would have been
Wholesale frostbitc otherwise.
The wafer in the machine guns f~rerzcs
and they have "a h. nrr>cd back a. action
in front ~ fires. Rifles Get frost bitten
and sometimes an ruptnrcd hV The sud
den shock consequent 81 being fired. This
il rather welcome. however. for the wood
from a dcrrlict rifle burns beautifully.
The water hotties freeze. too. aud have
a. be- thnwrl uui. Water j. a nuisance.
II has 10 bc fetched hv night by %fatieu,
parties from farms aud Villages W. the
rear. a process whirh takes sometimes
Two or three hours.
II j. extraordinary how irgrniuS the
men are in contrivine things Tor their
comfort. They cut little tirtp!arr> 10 the
side Of The trench. line them with tin from
ammunition boxes. and top them neatly
with chimnryS made of hull, beef iin>
They build elaborate rifle rack and w H.
themselves snug cnbhNhnlr~ NJ sleep iu.
roofing them with material from nrIrhv
ruined farmhunSc>. piled over with earth.
The food j. plentiful and eo"l. The
CRYING need j. for mill lnd fruit rlrut,
of tobacco and cigarcti"~ are To- lr hai.
There il a dcarth of things IN read and
il is considered rank treason To- light =
fire with apiece of newspaper.
The trenches stretch in 4 practically
mnhrokcn line from the sea Ia the east
frontier. not in groups If isolated rifle
pits. hut in what are rrally series of
small towns linked together IN narrow
communicating trenches. each h1ttal on
occupying its own little town. which may
H. ANYTHING from half 2 mile ~ two
miles long. and \ hundred wards or ~
deep.
From l~hiud thc firm" tt,uchr> there
il 4 Wild lahrrinih ~ mtrt>cclng conn
muniratine trenches. support trenches
dug outs for ~tar and unirrr> kitchens.
and - forth though NJ course some arc
more elaborate than Others.
IL takes about mn hnur and = halt 10
90 from one end al our present battalion
pnSi,inn a. thu other. Lust week the
trouble was mud. WI Vi>rid mud. tour
or i've inches drrp. thar >uurlcht-l round
ones boot tops and got pla>trrrd over
everything az ~ ones hat Nv hnnt>
weighed tons. This week the frost has
laid the mud and the cold j. orr enemy
We spend \ Few DAYS in thc trenches
aud then 4 few DAYS ~ reserve IN thr
villages ia the rear. The relieving. ~
course. has "a IT, dome ~ night. IL J. 80
cvrir lob You march along a. noi>rlc~>ly
rs possible to within half a mile IT the
rear. WHERE vun are met IN y guide aud
taken in single tie through an intermin
ahle winding communication trench. full
at roots and mud never more than three
feet wide ~ the top ana about eighteen
inches 40 The bottom. Thin ~ 4 sort ~
Piccadillv Circus IN the rrlr ~ The fchi
ing line. the companies branch "a their
various posts and are Shcphcricd in until
each man ~ the relieving force stands he
hind another of that Ia h. relieved. The
waiting j a dreadful business II seldom
takes less than three Ia five hours ~ II
feet the complete change. Everything j.
dead still cNcrnt fnr an occasional sang
hang Ia show Won the Shippers are awake
Na one paws the 4 icitrSt attention "a
th"m.
The men exchange ~pleasantries in