El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-12-26
FRENCH LOSE
SPRUCE LOOK
IN TRENCHES
Mud and Crime of Battle
Destroy Debonair Ap-
pearance of Troops.
LIFE IN TRENCHES
Is NOT ALL MISERY
a. WILLIAaI nIAXWELL.

TENTRAL FRANCE, Dec. 26.-Are
these the spruce, debonair soldiers
Of France-these long haired,
bearded, dirty men, with mufflers
rund their necks and l1itted Balaclava
helmets on their heads? Their own
proud mothers would not know them
The French are vain Of their uniform
the red trousers and long blue coat,
so artistic" in form and color. But
in the dark all cats are gray, and
few days in a muddy trench makes all
uniforms the same color.
Is War Of Trenches.
This is war Of trenches. There are
hundreds and hundreds Of miles OF
them from Switzerland to the sea
These are the homes and the battle
fields Of the soldiers, and they are
safer than ay fortress in these DAYS,
when heavy guns have taken to proWl-
ing about the land. Namur stood three
days bombardment. The trenches u
the Aisne have survived nearly thres
months cannonade and are intact.
If you want TO see what war really
is you must get to the trenches The
road is not easy, and there are some
trenches it is prudent to aVOid-those,
for instance, that owe their origin to
accident or daring.
One dark night a certain battalion
and silently towards the enemy's posi-
ton At dawn they found themselves
enfiladed by rifle and machine gun from
a wood on the flank, and had to retire
with a heavy casualty list. But they
are back again and in possession OF the
wood. This is a trench whose acquainL-
ance it is just as well to make through
a pair Of good field glasses You can
see it plainly-a long, dark line, drawn
across the snow beyond the river. 1t
trench for herOaE-nOr for E1En1-
seers.
Some Trenches Safe.
There are safer trenches which you
can enter from a distance without at
tracing the attention Of the enemy
Two or three miles to the rear is a
ditch six or seven feet deep. Drop into
it, and you feel as if you were in
rabbit warren. This is the subter-
ranean passage that leads to the sub
terranean city Of the bearded, long
haired, and begrimed soldiers who are
the pride Of France. Halfway you
scent an appetizing odOr, and hear
CHEEKY voices laughing. They come
from the kitchens-great chambers ex-
cavated out of the earth and rooted
with timber. Here are the real mar
mites calling the hungry soldiers TO
the trenches; their meals-when they
have time for them-are hot and pleu-
tifuI: they have wine, and cOgnacs and
coffee, and tobacco
W e are OlQQen 70 snare LLAEAL -AA1l-f
but our guide is eager TO get 10 the
front. and hurries US once more into
the passage Ten minutes and we
reach the first line Of trenches Whicn
run east and west, almost at right an
giles These are the trenches OF tins
reserves-men who were in the front
line two days ago. and are having
rest before they return
Wonderful Ingenuity shown.
1t is wonderful what ingenuity anc
IL onrn-rar,Tfeh OF the most
unpromising material. 1 used to think
that the Japanese were the only peo-
pie who knew how to convert dltch
into home. But the French are quite
as clever. Here is a trench, with head
cover formed Of cross beams overlaid
with branches and earth-a sure pro-
lection against shrapuel if not against
the ponderous "marmite- It has
long bench Of telegraph poles there
are little cupbOards for cartridges and
kit: picture postcards are fastened 10
the walls: there are ramps for reciin-
ing chairs or couches, and drains 10
carry off the rain.
You need only central heating, 4
remarked. mindful of the ingenious
plan adopted by the Japanese in Man
churia-
Come into our parlor." said a SOL
der, and I was ushered into q suhter-
ranean chamber warmed by IRE n
an old perforated petroleum tin.
The business end OF the line OF
trenches is not so elaborate, though it
is something more than a ditch, Tor
here, too, are cupbOards and ramps and
drains and tiny embrasures through
which stick the muzzles Of rifles. Here
at least one bretheS the true atmOs-
phere Of war. The faces of the men
who fill the trenches bear the impress
of battle-that tense look which comes
from long vigilance and constant dam
ger.
Today. fortunately for our comfort
the enemy seemed to be taking a hOli-
day Only at intervals were heard the
sound of his cannon and the pitpat OF
been miles away instead Of only a few
hundred yards in front. Would you
like to see if they are there2" asked a
friendly soldier. He raised the KEPT
cautiously above the trench. and zip
zap came a bullet. It does not do 70
take much for granted in this line OF
trenches.
Sometimes They Are Friendly.
1--WE are not always on such IN
friendly terms" remarked the soldier
Occasionally we have international RI
file competitions, and signal the scores
to each other. And we are always
ready to applaud their concerts. soma
of them have gramOphones, which we
suspect have been stolen; but we FOR
give them because they let US share the
harmony. In exchange We try to throw
them copies of our newspapers for we
find that the Germans never hear OF
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