McNairy County independent. (Selmer, McNairy County, Tenn.) 1902-1969, 1914-09-11
ADVANCE OF GERMANS LIKE
MOVING FORWARD OF NATION

AS matter of fact, after a bad
quarter of an hour | was put on the
last train to escape from this threat
ened town, and left 1t with the sound
of German guns in my ears, followed
by dull explosion when the bridge
behind me was blown up.
Escape Narrowly.
My train, in which there were only
four other men, skirted the German
army and by twist In the line almost
ran into the enemy's country, but we
rushed through the night, and the en-
CINE driver laughed and put his oily
hand up to salute when / stepped out
to the platform of an unknown sta
ton.
THE Germans won't get US, after
all" he said. 1T was a little risky,
all the same"
The station was crowded with
French soldiers, and they were soon
telling me their experiences Of the
hard fighting in which they had been
engaged They were dirty, unshaven,
dusty from head to foot, scorched by
the August sun, in tattered uniforms
and broken boots; but they were beau
tiful men for all their dirt, and the
laughing courage, quiet confidence and
unbragging simplicity with which they
assured me that the Germans would
soon be caught In a death trap and
sent to their destruction filled me with
admiration which cannot express in
words.
All the odds we're against them.
They had fought the hardest of all ac-
tions-the retirement from the fight
ing line-but they had absolute faith
In the ultimate success Of the allied
arms.
Germans Are Reckless.
London.--A Chronicle correspondent
writing from an unarmed town says:
THE Germans are displaying ex-
traordinary recklessness, fiinging away
thousands of lives in the hope Of ulti-
mately gaining their end. No doubt
the rapid advance Of the Russians in
eastern Prussia has something to do
with this, and is responsible for the
frantic End insane haste which char
acterizes the German attempt in north
ern France to smash the thin khaki
line which so valiantly bars the road
toward Compeigne, Scissors and Paris.
THAT stories of German atrocities
are not one whit exaggerated may be
gathered from the story told me by a
sergeant who was wounded in the ac-
ton near Mons Sunday week ago.
"As he lay helpless on the ground
and the German infantry swept by he
could hear, from the imploring cries
of the wounded in his front, that they
were being ruthlessly put to death by
their foes
Ordeal ls Terrible.
CLOSING his eyes and Stimulating
death, the wounded sergeant lay per-
fectly still. AS the Germans passed
him he received violent blow in the
chest from the butt end Of rife
which broke one of his ribs. He bore
the pain unfiinchingly and never
moved a muscle. Another Prussian
stabbed q wounded man with his bay
onet as he went past.
THE sergeant's ordeal was a terri
BILE one and he expected every mo-
met to be his last. Ultimately the
German advance was broken and their
infantry came rolling back, shattered
and disordered, leaving behind trail
of dead and wounded. The wounded
sergeant was picked up by British
stretcher bearers and conveyed to the
base hospital, where he is now fast
recovering.
English Are Cheerful.
Freshly arrived troops from Eng
land, who had been pushed forward,
arrived in time to participate In the
battle. These British re-enforcements
had been carrying out strategic move
ments in troops trains for several
days, and in the expressive phraseol-
ogy Of Tommy Atkins, they were fed
up with the whole thing and were all
eagerness for brush with the enemy.
Their chance came yesterday. Many
were reserves with South African ex-
perience, and they marched to the
front cheering, the French and growl-
ing for William the Weed somehow
confusing the emperor with William
(of Wied) of Albania. French and
English flags were borne at the head
of each company.
"They were in fine fettle. Are we
downhearted? would shout some one
from the ranks, no, but William the
Weed will be down-hearted by the
time we finish with him.