El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-09-18

OF The fighting IN France one OF them
Iho arrived II Naterlc" ,Uation today
said
We lay in our trenches and waited
At the break Of day, after sleeping with
our rifles beside US. a shell fired from
a battery Of German field artillery fell
short Of our position and burst with
terrific explosion some distance from
our lines
Overhead we heard the hum Of a
motor, and soon We saw a German aero
plane whose occupants were doubtless
signaling TO the enemy's artillery how
TO find the right range, for the shells
came nearer and nearer the aim be-
came better and better as the aero
plane circled- The projectile fired from
these guns makes a curiOusly weird
shrek as it rushes through the air on
its journey Of destruction, and soon
the shells were dropping right in our
lines Each one found its victims;
they fell dead and mangled, and we
were condemned to inactivity, for there
was no enemy within reach of our
weapons. So we waited and waited,
and this is the hardest test Of courage
Germans Have No Fear.
Fully an hour passed, and still we
We're being shelled by the enemy's ar
lllIery- Then, suddenly, the German
infantry appeared and poured success
sion Of yOlleys into our lines. They
came IN close formation, their gray
uniforms scarcely visible until cOmpar-
N~~-'--g --N-e+- Us OuL A4dELlLlE lA-AS
came into action, and We could see the
havoc they worked The German ranks
were literally mOwn down. but on they
came, always in increasing numbers,
apparently regardless Of the loss Of life
inflicted on them.
Nearer and nearer they came, un-
til, abandoning our trench, we fixed
bayOneIs and charged them After the
strain Of being human targets so Iong,
what a relief it was to be dashing at
them They stood their ground until
We reached them. pouring a hail OF
bullets into our ranks, which were ter
ribly thinned- But our blood was up,
and We slaughtered them at close quar-
ters-
Flee From BayOnets.
The ground was strewn with pros
trate Germans, killed or wounded by
bayOnet Jhrusts. They then fled Our
cavalry came up and pursued them,
killing them by dozens as they ran for
shelter. It was a fearful sight. yet in
the heat Of fighting, a soldier Glories IN
the destruction OF as many lives as
possible; we could not follow the cav
airy, but we watched them and cheered
each successful onslaught on the re-
treating Germans
Then a counter charge The enc
my had brought up reinfOrcements-
fresh troops, probably They Outnum-
bered US and we had to withdraw As
we moved TO the rear we were decl-
mated For four days fighting Of the
losses were severe, those Of the Ger
mans must have been appalling Again
and again I saw their corpses in
heaps"
Another picture The troops were
moving back TO avoid being surround
ed and we were ordered to hold a GER
tain position sufficiently long TO cover
The retreat of our regiment There
were 500 of US at the beginning. and
we sought shelter behind a hedge
which formed a natural trench The
enemy's cavalry approached and we
fired info them unhorsine many and
inflicting severe losses As the Uhians
rolled from their horses, We cheered IN
glee and went on shooting Then their
artillery found the range and shelled US
with wonderful accuracy. Our num-
bers decreased. and then their infantry
came and our losses grew serious StlH
We held the position
The 800 dwindled to 100 and that
100 became so, and then our task was
done, and we beat retreat to AVOID
being cut off. As we went. still IN
der a deadly fire. the ambulances came
I'd to collect the wounded, and the
they were English I suppose
Smoking Germans Out.
Another. Some of our troops were
badly harassed by some Germans con-
ceaIed in a wood We were ordered TO
set fire to the trees, which were quite
dry. owing to the long spell Of hot
weather. We did so, and soon the
whole wood was ablaze. As the flames
spread. the Germans, who only num-
bered a score or so, We're obliged to
run. We shot them all down
Another 7 saw a shell burst right
among our men. Eleven were killed
and IS wounded. Three others who
were in the middle Of that detachment {
escaped without a scratch The for
tunes Of war"
General 20 Miles Away, in Touch.
hind our front firing lines the field
telephone had been laid by the engi-
neers- An officer lay on the ground
describing to the headquarters staff I
the progress Of the action around US I
Though full 20 miles away, our gen Z
eral was thus Informed by word OF
mouth exactly how things were going 8
with US His orders were transmitted I
in the same way and passed on TO 3
our commanding officer. Suddenly the I
officer at the telephone lay still and
quiet A German bullet had struck :
him and he was dead, but another man
took his place
The Fortunes Of War.
Artillery is not always effective I
Our company was under the fire of the /
enemy's field batteries for fully two /
hours. The shells pitched before and I
behind US and there were many mar I
US was injured"
A French soldier said Between /
Maubeuge and Charleroi / found heap I
Of IS German corpses. A few feet away 4
I found IS French cOrpses- The coin 4
cidence was so strange that 1 laughed. !
War has a curious effect on the feel
ings"
LINER LUSITANIA BRINGS
AMERICANS FROM WAR ZONE .
New York, Sept. IS.-With a total .
Of 1852 passengers on board, the big
liner Lusitania reached New York from I
Liverpool Thursday Americans re
turning from the European war zone .
made up the majority Of the Lusi-
tania's passengers. but there was
liberal sprinkling Of eminent foreign
eTs in her cabins