The Hayti herald. (Hayti, Mo.) 1908-1922, 1914-10-15

hind the hospital showed that the Ger
man range was getting nearer. Some
| OF our party naturally became
alarmed Then we all crouched down
behind our autos as another shell
whistled close to us and dropped in
garden. Two OF the spent pieces ac-
tually fell at our feet and few sec
ond afterwards another spent piece Of
shell, still hot. struck one of our
party on the leg.
1t was evident that we were in
great danger. Some one said, "stanl
My the cars"
1t was a good job we did not take
this advice; but we might have done
1t If at that moment woman at tho
door Of the village wine shop across
the street had not shouted: Come
inside, for Gods sake!"
| Flee Into a Cellar.
| We did not need twice asking
hardly had we got across the thrcsh
Old when "a tremendous noise like
million rawhde whips cracking at the
same moment, followed by the noise
or falling masonry, showed that we
| were in for Il regular bombardment
Everybody rushed for the cellar.
AS soon as the dust and smoke had
cleared away someone crept up the
steps TO look out and returned say
ing one OF the turrets on each side OF
the entrance gates to the castle had
been completely demolished by the
last shell. And still they came, and
there we huddled looking into each
| others eyes, as we'll as the dim light
would admit. in that little wine cellar
with It's solid vaulted roof that we
prayed might not give way should
the house be struck. | shall never
forget the time spent in that cellar.
There We're twenty-three of us, in
Guiding about seven women of the
village and a little boy. We were
there from 10:30 a. m. until a little
after noon, with shells dropping all
around us. One dropped five yards
from the door, the shock breaking
every pane of glass in the house and
making an enormous hole in the road.
Another shell struck the ground about
twelve feet in front of our cars, just
grazing and mashing portion OF
the village cross.
Everything has an end, and VIC
could hear the shells bursting farther
and farther away. Still it was deemed
prudent to lie low for bit.
Eat as Shells Scream.
After a time one of the villagers
went out at a rear door and brought
back a big dish of fried Clipped po-
tatoas.e and bread, so that with the
wine in the cellar we made hearty
,Dl, ~,
were very hungry, as we had eaten
nothing since the previous evening.
When 1t was safe to get out we
found that the shell that dropped near
the cars had burst two tires on the
car / rode in, had smashed all three
of the wind shields, and filled the car
bodies and covers full Of holes. The
cars looked as If they had been pep
pered with machine guns. Luckily
the engines were not damaged in the
least.
The Germans, being deeply in
trenched in old chalk quarries, a sort
of natural fortress in the hillsdes
overlooking Soissons, continued to
reply to the numerous French guns
with impunity and occasionally to
| DOISSOIo anu NduADulH- Sp
to the time of my leaving this same
thing had been going on for over .
week.
Soissons is in pitiable state. The
Germans have not spared it's old ca
thedraI with it's two Gothic spires.
From the rear of the hospital at
VauXbuin we had fine view of this
grand old landmark. One of the
steeples is broken off about half way,
and the other has big hole in the
side, plainly seen three miles Off
| passed about four days here.
The artillery firing was terrific from
morning to night. The battle ranges
over an enormously extended front
l saw some shockingly wounded
men while at Vauxbuin. The night
, before left five men were brought in
with fearful injuries in different parts
J of the body A German shell had
, dropped among eight artillerymen
= serving one of the French guns. The
3 other three men were killed on the
: spot. This is just an incident among
hundreds that are happening every day.
: At one village / passed through,
: where the Germans had left 100
: wounded, most of whom were brought
e in under cover two days after the
s battle by the French, the doctors
n asked me, implored me, to try and get
!, some milk for the wounded Nearly
o all the cattle have been driven out
o of the country to safer places or have
been requisitioned either by the Ger
Q man or the French forces. Many
& lives are lost on both sides through
y exposure and lack Of attention after
e being wounded. Cases of gangreEe
| and tetanus are not infrequent The
e doctors and nurses are doing heroic
work but 1t often happens that they
o are very much overcrowded before
e they have chapce to remove those
q wounded who are able to be sent to