The Detroit times., 1914-12-02


Is indescribale. have my pencil
and paper In hand, but don't know
what 70 write. All about the yard,
lying on straw under the trees,
through which the sunshine filters,
are inanimate men, sick OF cholera.
Here Is a soldier priest wearing
army shoes, Red Cross band on his
arm, and a heavy overcoat He wears
gold cloth apron over his coat 4
soldier rises weakly from the stray
TO his knees. He folds his hands be
fore him. and the army priest bends
over aim. This is absolution for the
dying that this priest Is granting.
This muttering soldier. who is still
strong enough TO kneel upright. and To
cross himself. will probably be dead
, by night. surely by morning. And. ar
, ter the priest goes. the soldier falls
back weakly on the straw, pulls d
, dirty blue handkerchief from his
pocket and sobs out his misery. But
the Asiatic cholera will have its way
with him before many hours, The
priest goes 10 another man and
tarouses him, This man seems strong
er than the first. He gets TO his feet
!, and falls on his knees and raises his
face expectantly and hopefully TO the
churchman and takes his absolution
= without a sign OF weakness. But the
Red Cross doctors know when 10 call
, the priest. Four hours usually see
the finish of the Asiatic cholera vic
! tim and the priest can be called none
too soon after the first unfailing symp
tom is discovered This symptom Is
life and death sentence. and these
Ix.ln ha In
shine, their faces greenish In hue.
their eyes closed. are dying, even
though some Of them have strength
enough left TO kneel upright as the
lpriest blesses them. have seen
men killed: I've seen men hanged
I've seen men executed at the wall, but
this sight that have happened upon
by accident In Galicia Is one OF the
most piteous that the sun could ever
shine upon or that human being could
ever behold. | got the picture with
my camera, but II is burned into my
mind more clearly than any Aim can
ever show il. I'm going 10 put down
the exact words as | wrote them al
the moment. while trying 10 force my
stunned mind to grasp what l was
seeing. They will show how weak
words can be.
Army priest goes TO side OF little
white shack where three men lie IN
straw in sunshine. They struggle 10
their knees, fold their hands as he
bends over to hear one confess. 9th
er two wait with heads bowed. Their
faces are terribly drawn, and CHASTITY
! green. They'll be dead by morning.
J or the priest would not have been
called. There is misery unspeakable
about the yard. Twelve men are dying
under the trees. Sunshine dripping
on them. With almost their last
strength they crawl to their knees
: one after the other as priest arouses
them, and humble weakly into his
: ear. They fall back weakly as the
: priest Strengthens up and raises his
hands in blessing over them"
That's the best | can do. I've never
learned any words that would tell
such a story as that and Adams, who
has painted emperors and kings, says
there's no brush or paint that can tell
the story on canvas.
"At last there's q picture | cant
paint" he said.
And as for me. I've found a story
lcouldn't write.
And above all this, the artillery is
booming and all around soldiers are
working, cooking. cleaning horses.
building f1res. chopping wood, for the
living must live, and fight, as well
as the dying must die.
One figure under a blanket, an I'M
shaved soldier whom the priest had
been unable to arouse. writhed and
tossed about. The priest hurried over
h. "a ~
with outstretched hands and uplifted
face, with a Red Cross doctor stand
ing helplessly by his side, until the
writhing ceased with a sudden jerk
and the soldier of Austria came TO his
end.
!, 3:4O-We are having our own ex.
perience with Russian shells Col.
John and Capt. Miakich had gone with
US TO the first battery, where we In
tended TO say goodbye TO the com
mandant, when suddenly shell burst
on hill 200 PAGES from US. We could
see the bits OF broken shells plough
their way over the ground. Then came
salvos Of shells. The Russians, 1t
seemed, had felt out and found the
Austrian battery. The shells dropped
in the courtyard OF farm house. 300
IIeet away. ACTOSS tue TOdu lTULu 10
was a camp OF hundreds OF wagons.
horses and men. The sight was in
describable as they dashed OF toward
hill which had safe leeway. For
20 minutes shells fell In our area.
First we would hear the very distant
burr OF a Russian battery: then
would come the growing shrek OF
the shells, and, by my watch, 10 sec
onds later, somewhere around us
there would be terrific explosion
which produced clouds OF intensely
black smoke.
Our battery returned salvo after
salvo. The man at the telephone In
the hole yelled his orders TO the COM
mandant, who, In turn, yelled TO the
i60 men at the guns. Whether our
:. firing did II or not, or whether the
RI ssians lost the range, no one could
decide. but as suddenly as IL had be-
gun the Russian firing ceased in our
direction, and we ventured out TO see
what holes the Russian shells had
made In tho country round about. We
found Ave holes as large as cellars
aud some wounded horses, but no one
!, had been killed, that We could dis
Icover.
y At 5 o'clock il was pitch dark. We
. went back 10 the creek and climbed
: into our wagon for the return to
przeuysl The reserve men had come