Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-07-12

ton The question which brought the
u1os disquieting answers was, How
are your connections? The colonel
OF the left reported that his line was
penetrated at more than one point but
was holding out The right wing tele-
phone gave no ansver at all Life there
was unIiveahIe: and heard from sol
dIers a report that they had seen the
Austrians Ia the Russian trenches.
Shells and shrapnel were crashing
all round Us, especially in our rear; a
hut that I had passed on the way down
broke cut In full fame. Nearer down
there fell four black explosives at
regular distances OF 50 yards, @the
four packets" as one officer called It.
Our cover would all have gone with
single shot, and the men crouched TO
avoid the falling spiinters from each
shell
In this most depressing atmosphere
went on the conversation between the
/ colonel and the divisional staff. I can
get no track of the right wing. Cav
airy is reported on both Of my tanks.
The right has had to retreat" The
answer was al order to retire at
nightfall Three hours at least TO
wait.
The orders were communicated in
| French over each battalion telephone.
/ The colonel apologized for his ele-
mentary French; It was anyhow the
/ French of a brave man.
AS disquietude increased, permits
/ sion came to retire at once; but the
! colonel answered that this could not
/ be done: he was in hot defensive &C
ton, and the enemy would follow on
{ his heels; at present he was holding
/ his own
My hosts argued me to go. The sit
/ uation was getting too serious for a
/ non-combatant. II was with an ill
/ feeling that / turned for the slope, AS
/ I began to reach shelter, I suddenly
saw on the hills 10 the west men run
/ ming down the slope towards US Per
! haps ours. perhaps the enemy" said
/ nay CDssack escort. But we reached
I the crest unmoIested and were now in
( comparative safety; for we were out
/ Of the line Of fire, and the valley TO the
north of us was full of our own people
Here there was a long train Of
/ wounded and we found our automobile
/ IN the midst Of u. we packed In the
I men #lth the worst wounds that we
/ noticed they lay without d grOan, and
! one said Thanks be to the Lord and
/ eternal gratitude to YOU 4 young
/ soldier told US that no living man
[ could have driven the troops on the
I right wing from THAR r,osi+Fcre- h,ff
( that the whole area was covered with
/ shells till trenches and men were lev
/ cled out of existence. The companies
/ left comparatively intact had all
/ joined the center OF this section Of
/ the line we could only hear vague
funoFs.
Late IN the day we reached the de-
serted schooihouse to which the stan
had retreated
BY morning the lines lay just out
side the town, and the Germans and
/ Austrians were making a tremendous
/ attack on them, pounding them with
the heaviest artillery and advancing in
/ close column again and again,
| The leader of this division is a fight
/ ing general, robust and active. The
/ staff was very close up to the front,
/ and from the balcony Of the school
house the general viewed the lines and
/ gave orders. Many parts of the lines
were now NONRESIDENT having been
/ reduced to a series Of shell-pits By the
Z German artillery.
Making my way to the advanced
lines. I found a brigadier general and
/ got leave to accompany an attempted
/ advance. 1t was the first regiment OF
the famous Caucasian corps just ar
rived after an all night march, and
going up TO the attack. A battalion
/ commander stood Just below the hut
putting his men in position. He was
a quiet little man, already elderly and
with an old voice, that sounded Wig
/ orousIy, however, across the slope.
| The men made their way by compan-
! les up the different clefts in the hol-
! low and soon lined the ridge beyond
| The commander moved about among
them at an easy walk, directing some,
/ huTying on others