Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1915-06-03
IS BIG FACTOR
IN LIFE OF SOLDIER
Officer Describes Troops Be.
lief In Mysterious In
fluence.

Paris Correspondence of the Asso-
ciated Press).-"Many OF us. soldiers
and officers" says an officer who has
OF the war, have faith in a mysterious
power aaalagoas to antique fatality
which disposes Of our sort. Those tina
Vt favors we say are in luck The
greatest i~rnprudence does not affect
she1r invulnerability. Others seem
tated to sacrifice; if they escape from
a pitched battle. a spent ball or a frag-
nent of shell will get them the fol-
lowing day, miles behind the trenches,
while they are in apparent security.
'Ihls instructive belief brings a GER
tain tranquility not only to those who
thlnk they are in luck but to those
also VINO are in doubt whether they
possess a lucky star. No one escapes
his fate they say. If one is SLATED for
death. what the good Of taking pre-
cautions; the bullet that's intended for
me will find me-
Certain cases seem to bear out this
superstition. One of them was related
by an officer of the general staff, tall,
cool. Amos as p~hleglnatic as an Eng
lishman behind his eye glasses, and so
careful to ~exaggerate nothing that he
seems to contemplate the most tragic
events with the wrong end of his spy
glass.
81 ought to nave been killed 100
times he told me. AT the momen of
the general mobilization I was in the
stan of the general of division, to
whom | was personally attached after
years of very close collaboration. he
treated me somewhat as his personal
aide de camp. I went everywhere with
him. A few days after the declara-
ton Of war he was informed of the
death of his wife, whom l knew he
adored. He concealed his pain, but l
understood at once that the blow had
mortally crushed him and that he had
made up his mind to get himself
killed. He took me with him where
the bullets We're thickest. The division
was on the eastern frontier, and along
side the storms of shrapnel that burst
above our heads the German lombard
ment of today are small incidents.
Every other day we went to the first
line and while the men lying round
us fired at the Germans, we remained
erect to encourage them.
One afternoon we had passed our
tour hours under the enemy's shells.
From time to tim l said to myself:
IN ~ minutes or even in five minutes.
perhaps it'll be my turn" But we were
neither of us touched. Another day.
after a very violent engagement in
which we had been obliged to give
way. one Of our batteries remained
stuck between the two armies. 1 pro-
posed to reconnoiter the position to
see If 1t was possible to bring it back.
intended to go alone and to come
back quickly. But the general de-
clared he would go along. 1t was vain
to remark that it was not his place;
he replied with some feeling that he
had no orders to receive from me.
Everything went well and we
reached the position of the battery
without n trouble. There remained
only two men. a major and a private
soldier, guarding the battery, firing
with all their energy to make the en-
envy believe that the position was still
occupied in force. We succeeded in get
ting the pieces into shape and dragging
them out Of danger. bu instead of fol-
lowing the direct route toward our
lines. the general proposed that we
max a little detour, in order he said.
that the men may not have the i'm
preston that we are retreating.' We
followed a route on the side of a hill,
which during several hundred yards
passed over a space Of absolutely I'M
covered ground between the two firing
lines. If | had been alone I should have
covered that space at double quick.
The general, though, declared that this
precipitation would nave produced a
bad effect upon the troops, as it was al
a walk that we crossed this exposed
ground Offering ourselves as targets to
the German infantry.
1.-The balls whistled around us in
cessantly-so tllickly that the leaves on
the trees along the route fell as in ar
autumn storm. Neither of us received
q scratch. neither were our horses
touched. I asked the general If he die
not think it marvellous that we should
have passed ~unscathed through this
storm Of bullets. He shook his head
sadly and said: The bullets don't seer
to want me- AS for me, since thai
trial there is nothing that surprises
me. I sincerely believe I'm in luck
and am quite sure that tile Germans
will never get me-"