Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1914-10-22
SHELL FIRE RACKS
NERVES OF MEN
Entire Regiment Of wslshmen in
Trenches Under Fire Prey to
Sleeplessness.
COLLAPSE WHEN SENT TO REAR
soldiers Cool ssd Collected Under
strain OF weeks Go &c Pieces
AFTER Their Removal fron
DANCER zene.

Copyright. 1914. by Press Pubiishine Coz
NEW YORK. Oct. a.-CSpeciai Tcle-
gram TO The Omaha Bella remarkable
story OF a World STAFF Correspondent. who
got TO the British firing line in France
was received today after having been
held by the oensors in London IL was
permitted TO pass the censors under an
agreement that no naules OF places. mill
tsry commands OF individuals should be
mentioned. so the identity OF the revi-
ment cannot be given. II is impossible
also for censorship reasons. 10 give the
name Of the correspondent. The story
follows:
PaytnE Price of Bravery.
LONDON. oct. 1s-tspecisl cablegrarn
to New York Word and Omaha Bes)-
The English regiment that cannot sleep
the men with nerves so raeked by the
terrific struggle in the trenches on the
Aisne that they cannot bring themselves
to 10 TO bed-is the grimmest spectacle I
have met In this war. l spent night and
day with these men. and left them rather
hysterical myself. only few hours ago.
We parted company and still 1t seems
20 me like a bad dreaal. FROM which Il
Is hard 20 wake. This regiment is made
up almost entirely OF welshmen and has
one OF the finest records II was visited
and congratulated by Field Marshal
French 1t has been mentioned in official
dispatches for bravery. and now it 81
paying the price
Men did not begin to break until after
the tenseness had passed. So long as
they were under fire they were cool
-.
position they held was 40 exposed to fire
that they never had a moments rest.
and after a month. when they we're
ordered back they went to pieces
had spent the night before within
mile Of them. and there were other men
there nearly as badly, off. but they had
held an advanced position and, had
blocked the German advance. When
turned south from the Aisne after a
night in the trenches. took refuge for
the night at farm on a rich plateau
that borders the Aisne. II is big estab-
lishment. employing dozens OF men at
ordinary times. and the house itself is
built on a quadrangle go b. 800 feet. It
was almost big enough TO shelter regi-
ment
Seek BiEIets for Regiment.
The owner and his son are in the army
and the only persons there are two old
women. an old man and a girl. They
took me in, gave me a good dinenr. and
We were sitting around an open fire talk
ing, when q bell on the great door 70
the court yard rang. We went out, to
find a tall English captain and six SER
geants.
The captain explained that he had been
sent ahead to find billets for his reKi-
ment. which had been relieved by French
troops. He spoke in a rapid, nervous
way. and the six sergeants seemed
strangely fidgety. / acted as Interpreter,
and assured them that the farm could
shelter three companies, aud a farm two
kilometers farther on could take care of
the rest.
Men BundIe1 OF Nerves.
Leaving three sergeants. the captain
and the other three. went on to the farm
and arranged for blIlets. There two SER
geants remained. One returned with us
and took the road back into the lines. TO
show the approaching regiment the way
All this time 1 kept noticing how nervous
all these mn were, but it was not until
] went into the comfortable hall of the
farm house again that noticed how bad
II was I had arranged for them TO go
to bed. but could not induce them to
do so. The sergeants prepared for 600
men, but all night they-kept knocking
about with lantern. There were beds
for all; they admitted they had not seen
beds for six weeks. and professed de-
sire to get into them. but did not.
Impossible to sleep.
The captain was the worst instance I
have ever seen Of a strong man going 50
completely to pieces. He stood six feet
three inches and weighed about 900 in
bone and sinew-obe OF the best types of
Englishmen. / knew by his type that
he by habit and training was reserved.