Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1914-12-04

up 10 our ankles In the soft red earth.
They sensed the Charge.
Some of our fellows were coming
down the hill as we came up. Others,
stretched at full length at its brow.
were firing from behind miserable lit
tie mounds Of earth that they had cast
up before we arrived. We knew what
was expected Of us, and II there were
any orders given didn't hear them.
We just went up quietly. kicked those
other fellows out and lay down in the
red earth that bore the imprint of
their bodies.
And then something hit the ground
in front of me with a noise like a slap
on pillow with the palm of ones
hand and Lay down. you fool" said
my pal. Cant you see they've got the
range"
That shot reused my ire. My rife
was loaded. slipped 1t over the top
OF my little parapet and took a shot
at the first pun of haze that saw rise
from the hill across the way. l hadn't
been ordered to shoot, but l felt l had
to get back at that fellow who took q
shot at me. How he saw me I don't
know, for I hadn't seen a sign of a
man over there yet.
Like a Great Wave.
Somehow we got the idea there was
something doing. Hold 'em, boys!"
said the lieutenant, who was kneeling
just a few feet behind me, and sure
enough down the side of the other hill,
almost in an instant, there rushed q
whole troop Of cavalry-uhlans. may
be. but more probably just regular
horsemen. AS far down the little val.
ley as / could see they broke over the
edge OF that opposite hill like a great
wave and swept down into the little
valley where the brook flowed.
shot wildly two or three times. and
then l realized must make good, so l
took careful aim at a fellow who had
almost reached the brook. and so was
about a quarter of a mile away, and
fired. / put two more into him be-
fore he stopped, and then his horse
no. he didn't rear up as L hoped he
would. but just crumpled and threw
him headlong.
His Pal Also Claimed Credit.
Il got that one" said to my pal.
He turned the funniest looking face
have ever seen toward me. THE devil
you did. l got him myself" he said.
AS a matter of fact. think we both
got him. believe got him twice.
But they came on all the same, but
there weren't so many of them as
there had been. The machine guns
and our little Lebels were doing the
work, and coming up that hill through
the bushes wasn't an easy task for
their horses, though we could see that
by this time they were urging them
on with might and main. Funny men,
those Germans! They seemed to like
to get killed. wondered IL they
would get up the hill, and turned
over to load my rife again. When
looked out they were almost there, a
pitiful few Of them. and those few were
only half dozen when they reached
our lines: None came near me, but
saw some other fellows driving their
bayonets. held in their hands, into the
bellies of the horses.
Days Fighting to Be Done.
And then there weren't any of them.
Only q few horses galloped madly
about. Some of these horses were
killed, l am sure, by their own shrap-
mel fire, for I had just become con.
scious that little iron balls were rain
ing all about US, and then, as soon AZ
dared. / looked around and saw that
there weren't as many of us as there
had been. l thought they would give
US a rest; but 1t was still morning,
and there was a days fighting to be
done. SO we lay down in our trenches
and began to take pot shots at the
trenches on the other side.
To the north and the south of us
they were getting guns in position, and
! saw that 1t was soon going to be up
to us to try to do just what they had
done. They wanted our hill and we
wanted theirs. but our methods were
not quite so reckless.
was getting little hungry. Funny
l should think of such a thing at such
a time, but was hungry, and my pal
was. too; SO we took down our haver-
sacks and gnawed little food. That
made US thirsty, but the fellows in the
rear were prepared, so we slipped back
and took great swigs of water from a
pail they had there, and smoked a Gig
arctic before going back to our posi-
tons. This sounds little unlikely to
you, maybe, and little irregular; but,
as a matter of fact, we all came about
the same time. There was water for
all of us, and we an went back to our
places in unison. You don't need or
ders for such things as that. The in
stinct seems to hit everybody about
the same time.
Ordered to Take Other Hill.
They weren't doing much across the
way. Our gunners had gotten their
range apparently, and they were kept
pretty busy preparing cover for them
selves; SO for an hour or two we lust
lay there and smoked and talked.
chiefly smoked, and waited for some
thing to happen.
1t wasn't long before something did
happen. That little lieutenant got his
orders from somewhere, and he told US
we were to take that other hill. It was
of chaparral he was attacked by the