Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1914-12-04

r. the qu.wer n IS only from the
- ~ 70 .sars To his wife or his sweet
Ddvetss We can get an insight into the
~ - the man whose sole duty IL 10 70
heen crders. The following arucie is an
ssssrupt to RECONSTRUCT, S Su. ~ Of letters
ts1el ~ the English and French news
p she hattie as the private sees IL.
DepeIH % ,be picture is a composite one.
uenns, ncidents are authentic, every
80 =: "'
rnpdon. - Yesterday morning
-.r.bed with my regiment from the
s,..s of Roye in a northeasterly d.
-.t,on. not being exactly aware OF my
s.s.,.stion. We knew, however, that
:. vere going to the front to relieve
..~,meut which for q week had been
s,eins the shrapnel fire from the Ger
-, howitzers. The march was not a
-, one. which pleased us nightly,
=, vhen there is fighting to be done
= IKE to get it over with as quickly
= possible. All the way we could
- the booming of great guns, and
~ lesser but no less ominous rattle
a what they used to call musketry.
ThIs roaring and rafting grew in vol
rnsso steadily and at last became SO
Ierri6c Though It was little more than
AMI that we realized we we're ap
reaching the big muss.
Furnished With Days Ration.
I should say, Of course. that we were
4 reality . part Of a great detachment
4 whose numbers / have no definite
knovIedge. At a guess, there must
haye been $4,000 of US marching for
v,rd on this morning. We were fur
rluhed, each of us, with days ration
4 addition to the emergency ration,
vith which we were each provided on
Insving Paris. and upon which we
M had as yet no occasion to make
6onand.
3 IAN the ground over which we
1nrched had been fought over in the
ut week and there we're many burned
- ruined houses. Great trees had
IN cut down by shells and now and
IN IN the open fields we could see
immense caverns made by exploding
ahsIls, some of which we're wide
onough and deep enough to hold
hKse and wagon. In other places we
m the beginnings of trenches which
Nd probably been evacuated before
lhey we're half completed. Now and
thsn We would pass q scared peasant,
Ut whether woman or man, they
nhowed little animation. The horror
4 the Germans was too fresh in their
Kinds. II was funny now and then to
~ tiny little house surrounded by
lpses with autumn flowers blooming in
~ garden all about 1t. and no sign of
MT about the place. except the utter
lbsence Of life. The fields were bare
y cattle. No dog rushed out to bark
v the passing troops and defy their
only now and then a cat
Iunned herself In the embrasure Of
he desolate window. .
Wounded Men Gay.
We passed for q while heavily laden
ammunition trains and chugging mo-
|or-drawn field guns, big ones, even II
hey are not the 16-inchers they say
be Germans are using. They looked
lufte big enough to US as we passed
hem.
Then We passed ambulance trains
Iolng In the other direction with poor
rounded fellows. and some dead ones,
-, probably, stretched out inside.
we were ordered to halt while passing
- Of these trains. and the fellow sta
o1ned next to me and myself peeked
nder the cover. A young fellow lying
nei1e raised his hand to us. Go. get
~ boys, bin, biff," he said. "Biff,
q b. the way, is as much of a sio-
- = We have yet conceived. It
oent sound like much in telling, but
: neans . whole lot when a wounded
nlGlsr says It.
sunny enough, the sight Of that fel-
- Cd not brighten me or my pal in
- slightest degree. We just wanted
, p out there and "biff, biff," as he
~ Il wasn't long after this that we
- " we're very nearly in the midst
! - Engagement. Dusty fellows who
- I'm In the trenches all night
- b going toward the rear.
ySyed some Of them were, but
- we're 30 cocky and jubilant you
- have thought them drunk. All
une. remember, that same rattle
Suar was in progress, and now f.
y We could smell the powder, and
. shell that must have contained
~ burst In a little clump of
. our right and the shot kicked
eeust In the road not far ahead of
I'M Torn BY Exploding Shells.
nm poor shooting, that" said
~. but he was wrong, because,
4 y moving 1t, we swere almost at
eekte front. A fellow dashed by
horse. an adjutant he must
eeen. for almost Immediately
lter we we're ordered to deploy. |
IN the road, and our company
eo over a front probably fifty
vide. There was a hill right in
= y y us-not a steep hill. but a gen.
Its whole surface was torn |
s9a trenches and great caverns
.e9 have been made by explod- |
aels In the fighting of the day |
uls moment it began to rain.
been expecting it all the morn
& had hoped that the storm
NOW over, but there was no
81 The vii ncAr,e pElr,