Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1914-10-01
WHITENING DEATH
RIDES IN WAKE OF
EXPLODING SHELL
New Chemical of French, Burst
inc, Exudes Fumes That Kill
PainlessIy All Living
Things.
SUCCUMB BY
No Shelter Is Proof Against
Death Dealing Turpinite-
Process of Manufacture
Is Profound Secret.
succUMB BY REGIMENTS

is FrOlOunQ 0eCreI.
San Francisco. Sept. 2S.-Con-
firmation of the deadly effect Of
turpinite, the new French ex-
plosive, is contained in q letter re-
ceived here by Miss Ethel Croker,
from her cousin, Casimir Ponia-
towski, who is fighting with the
French.
Sixteen hundred Germans, whose
hearts had been instantly stopped
by the action of a turpinite shell
that fell in a trench they were
holding. We're found dead on their
feet, M. Poniatowski writes, their
rifles in their hands, in the atti-
tude of taking aim.
London. Sept. 2S.-Remarkable tales
Of engines of var are appearing In all
parts of Europe, but nothing has
equalled the reports circulated concern
ing new runs used by the French which
fire turpinite, a substance said to pro-
duce instantaneous and painless death
for every living thing within its reach.
Although 1t is SO deadly in its work.,
turpinite cannot be objected to on the
ground that it violates humane prin-
ciples OF war. In fact. it is so humane
that it must now be confused with
lyddite and other explosives which have
deadly fumes.
English correspondents have reported
that entire lines of German soldiers
stood dead in their trenche as a re-
suit of the fumes from the mysterious
t%urpinite, discharged by the French in
engagements along the Marine. The
dead Germans are reported to have
maintained a standing posture and. re-
tanned their rifles in their hands. SO
sudden and nusua vas he effect of
the new weapon. Instantaneous para
lySis is said to be caused by turpinite.
Zeppelins Could Use It.
The French gun for the use of tur-
pinite is shrouded III as great mystery
as turpinite itself. Experts are required,
1t is said, for the use of the new am
munitien and the manipulation of the
strange gun so recently introduced into
warfare.
Military experts are now specializing
whether turpinite will lend itself to use
In aeroplanes. Lyddite, it is said, can
be successfully employed by military
aeroplanes and, Zeppelins. AS Zeppelinss
are capable of carrying guns of consid-
cradle size. 1t is conceivable they might
utilize turpinite. However, in the pres
emit war. military experts do not expect
to see any OF Frances enemies discover
enough about turpinite to produce it's
gas or it's fumes.
Correspondents. who have witnessed
battles il which the French artillery
took q part in the last two weeks, have
cabled long stories about the mystic
r1ous deaths from explosions of shells.
None attempted to give a reason. Typi-
cal of the descriptions Of the results
Is a dispatch from the correspondent of
the London Standard. which was sub
sequently cabled TO newspapers here
today:
"A visit to the field of battle of
the Marine shows the devastating
power CT the French 3-inch field
gun to be something of which we
hitherto a not dreamed. Entire
sections and companies of Germans
nave been struck as II by stimuli
taneous thunderbolts, reminding one of
nothing so much as the wholesale x
tincsion of the populations of Hercu-
laneum and Pompeii.
"On the borders Of one Of the forests
q company Of Prussian infantry at
bivouac is laid gu as 1T was surprised
by the fire. Two sentinels are still
grasping their rifles and a little way
off q signal messenger lies by himself.
Further on, an officer IN guard lies q
few yards from his men, with loosened
belts and lying in their blankets. Two
of them still hold playing cards In their
hands. Those sleeping and those wax
Ing were swept out of life together,
without apparently having had time to
move.
Sixty Dead About Haystack.
more extraordinary is another
group OF 60 dead lying about a small
haystack, as IL in sleep, their rifles
stacked and their knapsacks arranged
IN orderly heaps.
s"1n the outer ring the path Of the
shells can be traced in a direct line by
heaps of bodies, but the particular shell
that killed these so struck them In
front, from behind and at the sides with
the same sudden death, and yet none
of them bears any Outward wound.
There they are, stretched face down
ward or staring up at the sky, seeming
ly paralyzed by the mere force OF the
explosion.
Trenches Filled With Dead.
THE sarne mysterious results were
seen in many of the trenches, where
Germans We're piled in rows. The Ger
man army. to the east and north of
Rheims. was stated to be strongly in
~trenched in deep cuttings, with bomb
proof shelters and rest houses UNDER
ground, and Very similar ones were
found at Betz, behind the Ourcq. One
of these was a mile n a quarter long,
with tunnels in all directions, yet It
was filled with dead.
along the whole length OF the bat
tie line, according 70 all the stories Of
French artillery men, Gernlan never
~ oNo1AA
the French guns whenever it found
them out: u latterly. as soon as a
French battery opened, a hasty retire.
ment was quickly followed by, heavy
bonbardment by big caliber German
artillery far out Of range.
Germans Are Discouraged.
THAT the Germans are beginning to
feel discouraged is gathered from let
tiers seized and statements made by Of
ficer prisoners. "A. lieutenant of the
Twenty sixth artillery regiment writes:
The. Tenth CORPS has been fighting sin-,
cessantly since the beginning of the
campaign. Almost all our horses were
gone. We had been under fire every
, day from 5 4. m. tosS pm, without food
or drink. Tho French Eighth artillery
fire was terrific am SO worn out that
I hardly sit on a horse ven atm
walk. Even at right our men capnct
rest AIsrench airfnan last ntghtthrew
four bombs, threeo OF which Killed lnds
wounded ~ glaorsess ard foAr ixan.