The Oklahoma City times. [volume] (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 1908-1984, 1915-06-05

The little black fellow Is busy THIS
morning" one soldier said as we
passed.
II appears there Is curious fellow
ship among these dwellers In hate.
These trenches ure three months old,
and the men have learned to know
some Of the more active OF their enc
mics The little black Englishman
has been especially pernicious, lie
never. wearies of firing. When there
Is a charge he is In the front OF II,
yelling like mad man,
He Is never killed said the Ger
man who had pointed him out. lie
seemed to take an odd pride In the
little black mans exploits.
When Officers Are Overruled.
Sometimes the men oyerrule their
officers In this matter of friendship.
No truce IL ever permitted In this war
there have been few truces granted
| on either front In the eight slhugh-
ferrous months but the men tire or
killing and being killed. They talk 1t
over among themselves II all agree
one holds shovel up above the EN-
bankment. This is the recognized
sign of parley II the other side
agrees shovel IS holsted. Then an
Engishman aud German leap upon
the earthen pRrapets
"No firing until o'clock tOmOr
! row. one viii shout The opposing
trenches are su very near each other
that the voices carry easily. When
| they are more distant the men meet
un common ground II the proposition
Is assented 10 the men happily put
down theie arms, and 60 about what
peaceful enjoyment they may find
Neither side ever violates such a
truce
THE Officers never give their con
sent said an officer who confirmed
this story But they wink"
After all--eNccpt for the fact that
death IL always very near-the men
live rather comfortably In the trench
cs now that winter has passed once
each day the Kitchen wugOns-"the
guulash Cannons' as the soldiers call
| them-rumble up tu the entrance 10
the approach trenches The cooks and
their helpers sling the big steamlng
kettles on srrlrhrrs and tramp
through the grcut bitches to the com
punles they serve Each man Is given
all he wants Of the particular sayOry
mess that Is the prlncipa piece OF the
days menu This Is always appetiz.
lug speak from personal knowledge
and well cooked Coffee Is carried
to them IN buckets Tea Is brewed on
the premises. 40 one thinks of drink
ing the water of these backgrounds
No alcohol Is given the men except
upon II doctors order said II staff
captain.
Even then, II appears, II comes In
the form Of rum mixed In tea Some
times the weather is very bad aud the
men get soaked through and suffer
Sometimes an individual needs stlm
ulant Hut he gets II In the one
form-a tot Of rum mixed with tea
There are few WHO would select that
combination as beverage Once a
day the surgeon, come through the
trenches with their stretcher bearers
! The wounded have been given first
aid 10y their comrades us soon as they
are hurt At might they are carried
tu the rear II there are dead they
also are buried hrhnd the trenches
Sometimes that is not possible A lev
lel sheet NJ fire may be- flaming over
the eScarpments Then not often
the dead are buried under foot, Of
IN tombs cut IN the clay walls OF tht
trenches In which their mates i've
THE Listening Patrols"
Aud always they keep watch Re
member that In their lines before l.f
Bassee fighting has been continual fol
four months No one knows how
many lives have been taken. That be
tweenth Ines rumOr which ls 40 Gu
riuus thing In war holds that m,
English lost 1000 men In captnrinl
the village " Neuve Chapelle, n patel
perhaps three miles long by a mIlD
wide II Is equally certain that III,
Germans lost heavily To the non
military mind that exploit seems Il
prove that This war can never be end
ed through the capture " lntrcnche(
positions aud all positions on the ives
tern line arc intrenched. military
men say II proves that--now and thel
-intrcuched positions can he taken. 4
the price is puid. The price must al
, ways be heavy
Where Il is possible they watcl
through the ports. Elsewhere the,
elevate great pcrlscopes over the EN-
hankments and watch the foe IN IN
tcll-tnlc mirrors. At night sentrle
creep out over the clay banks-creel
upon their ,tomachs where the trench
es most closely approach each othc
nnd under the four lines " barbe,
1, wire which guards each trench front
They cannot be- detected, for the who'll
space between the trenches Is dotte,
, with N dead The duty " these mel
Is told m the name given them--th
listening patrols" At n suspicion
sound from the other side they hurr
back 10 report Usually they are sta
j. toned IN groups OF half a dozen.
. Certain NJ the dangers NJ trenCh IN
are obvious There ls the shell FIR,
and the rifles aud the machine gun,
WI the hand grenades mostly use
only In charges and the mine throw