Evening journal., 1914-10-06
Shepherd, on Battle Front,
Tells Of Wars CmeIfies
ny WILLIAM 4. SHEPHERD,

United Press stan Correspondent
ON THE BATTLEFIELD NEAR
soIssON, Sept 10, (By Courier to
Paris and BY Mail to New York -
For five days Jimmy" Hare,
master photographer. ana myself
have sat in this little town waiting.
We are at the battle front because
we stumbled on to it. We did not
know that we wero at the front un-
I'll | was informed by a French Of
iicer."
We'll go back" we explained, I'VE
don't want to so to the front"
You are at the front now" the Of
iicer explained "You can't go back
now. You have TO stay here until
the tactical situation has changed"
And here we must stay. pledged
not TO reveal the name of the town or
any details of the fighting. Day after
day hour after hour, automobiles of
All sorts have been passing the little
mouse where | live, en- route to one
quarter of the battlefield or another.
Ihey carry soldiers to the front and
bring back dead and wounded They
transport supplies, food and ammuni-
ton. And above all this noise and
distraction, the piuless. persistent
roar OF cannon continues. always
without intermission
When the facts are known about
this battle.' said an officer 10 me, "it
will go down in history as the most
terrific and costly artillery duel that
human beings have ever fought
The scenes here almost defy de-
scripton. A priest has just led four
men, caught pilforing from dead bod
les on the battlefield. to the place
where they are to be shot. A huge
German, a magnificent speciment Of
manhood, who came into the rreuch
lines as a spy, because his officers
we're desperately in need of informa-
tion as TO the position the French
troops, has Just beer arrested How
he ever expected TO set this informa-
iiOn back 20 his chiefs / cannot inn
agine. AS ] looked at him, / realized
how much more brave a spy must be
than an ordinary soldier. think he
must have resigned himself 10
syp's death before hs left the German
lines, because. when he was held up at
street corner, he looked over the
heads Of his captors as if he were
only an onlooker.
Hell cuddle up at the foot of a
stone wall, pretty soon,' said a sol
der. ! suppose he did
The little boys of the town fight
battles themselves, using chestnuts as
ammunition. They throw the big nuts
with all Of their strength, and have
seen them throw stones in their ex-
citoment One little fellow fought
with his scalp laid open. The war
game has hypnotized them. Their
idols are the black Sengalese troops.
They know that the Sengalese would
rather die in battle than in bed, be-
cause he believes that the best cor
nor OF Heaven is saved for the men
who are killed in action The French
officers agree with the boys in their
likings.
81 wish that could believe in
Heaven as they do" said one to me.
Stumbling onto the front is really
no fun. It makes everyone angry. al
though you see nothing. But the Of
/ ficers tell you that you are going to
run away and tell the Germans what
1 you have seen ! don't know any
! Germans at all over here. The OIL
GERS told me that there was a military
movement on and ! saw troops NOV
ing. But if I did get hold Of a German
who would listen 10 me all / could
tell him would be that / had seen
some soldiers and I'm sure that the
/ Germans know by this time that
there is such thing as French and
English soldiers.