Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1914-10-30
BERTHS IN TRENCHES
FOR BRITISH SOLDIERS

London, England.-A descriptive ac-
count of recent developments IN
France, sent by an eye witness at
tached to the British general head
quarters, has been given out in Lon
don and is in part as follows:
"On the firing line the men sleep
and obtain shelter in dugouts they
have followed or cut under the SIDE
of the trenches. These refugees are
raised slightly above the bottom or
the trench, so as to remain dry 10
wet weather. The floor of the trench
also is sloped for purposes of drain
age.
Are Appropriately Named.
Some of the trenches are provided
with overhead cover, which gives pro-
lection from the weather as well as
from shrapnel balls and splinters or
shells. Considerable ingenuity has
been exercised by the men in naming
these shelters. Among the favorite
designations are the Hotel Cecil the
Ritz hotel the Billet Doux hotel and
the Rue Dormir.'
ION the road barbados also are to
be found boards bearing this notice:
This way to the Prussians.
obstacles of every kind abound
and at night each side can hear the
enemy driving pickets for entangle-
ments, digging trous-de-loup, or work
ing forward by sapping. In some
places, obstacles have been construct
ed by both sides so close together
that some wag suggested that each
side provide working parties to per-
form this fatiguing duty alternately,
inasmuch as the work of the enemy
is almost indistinguishable from ours
and serves the same purpose.
Quarries Make Spacious Halls.
"Quarries and caves, to which allu-
sion already has been made, provide
ample accommodation for whole bat
talions and most comfortable are the
shelters which have been constructed
in them. The northern slopes of the
Aisne valley fortunately are very
steep and this to a great extent pro-
tects us from the enemy's shells,
many of which pass harmlessly over
our heads to burst in the meadows
along the river bank
Bomb Dropped on Ammunition.
1T already has been mentioned
that, according to information OBJ
tanned from the enemy, Is Germans
were killed by a bomb dropped upon
the ammunition wagon of cavalry
column. It was thought at the time
that this might have been the work OF
one Of our airmen, who reported that
he had dropped hand grenade on
this convoy and had then got a birds
eye view of the finest display of fire.
works he had ever seen.
From corroboratiye evidence it ap-
pears that this was the case; that the
grenade thrown by him probably was
the cause of the destruction of a
small convoy carrying field gun and
howitzer ammunition, which now has
been found a total wreck. Along the
road lie Ia motor lorries, their iron
skeletons twisted and broken Every.
thing inflanmable has been burned, as
have the stripped trees-some with
split trunks-on both sides of the
road.
Only Clothing of Drivers Left.
''Of the drivers nothing remains ex-
cept tattered boots and charred scraps
of clothing, while the ground within.
a radius of so yards of the wagons ia
Uttered with pieces of iron, split brass
~, Ioo
and some fixed gun ammunition with
live shells.
If it were possible to reconstruct
this incident, if it was, in fact,
brought about as supposed, the gren-
ade from the aeroplane must have
detonated Oh the leading lorry on one
side of the road and caused the car.
tridges carried by it to explode. Three
vehicles Immediately in the rear must
then have been set on fire with a
similar result
IF this appalling destruction was
due to one hand grenade it is an IL
lustration of the potentialities of
small amount of high explosive de-
tonated in the right spot, while the
nature OF the place where the disaster
occurred narrow forest road be-
tween high trees-is a testimony to
the skill OF the airman
1T is only fair to odd that some
French newspapers claim this damage
to the enemy was caused by the ac-
ton of a detachment OF their dra-
goons."