Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1915-01-13
.,uprcE gARREs of the French
p Academy.

-
1'll- - nress the hands of cur sol
'sY-' .brongh the shelters flanking the
aSi' more they came every three days
w. =. And then, after l had seen a
~ .0asiug of the Prussians, was
D'II ,rto a little wood, 300 meters dis
from their line. One of them
Stationed in advance. standing be-
..n TWO apple trees. We looked
him He gazed back at us. And
:, ono On either side moved.
Twilight was descending. Between
s.t man and US lay the bodies of dead
-.r which could not be gathered up.
I,bsu never forget the sinister spot,
nd tbe harmony between living be-
+,s and landscape. Is it possible that
=, ricb Mains have come to such
isolation: that the best, morally and
.sr,ioallv of France, are hidden in
nose kennels of beasts. and that ideas
4 hate and of death alone occupy the
minds of the millions of individuals
,5o face each other along this i'm
norse line of battle? Of what dreams
hat Prussian before me, as he
PATCHES me through the mist of eve
rDg? He thinks of annihilating me,
and L in the same way, think of de-
apyiug him. These are circum-
aaDces in which the most particular
nirit loses it's identity in all the
abers. in which no soul is kept apart.
That duty is evident, certain. But
how deep do its roots strike down into
darkness.
Facts and Mysteries.
In vain did my companion-no one
better experienced in the affairs of
ibis war-continue to give me interest
Ing details by the thousand. Behind
the facts there raises itself barrier
Of mystery. And while we went back
through the stretch of country to
which this campaign has come. | new
r ceased to ponder upon it.
From time to time we came upon
people OF our side, cooking in the lit
lie hOllows of the plain. They were
laughing, chatting among themselves.
Then We went on again into the ST.
lelee and into the Uhickening night.
That ending of our visit to the ad-
vance posts resemble a return of
late hunters in autumn, but mingled
With it was an extraordinary disQuiet
Of heart. Never have | known such
VIZ feeling of brotherhood as on
TIA. Journey; never a more profound
sense of the mystery in which our ex-
lstence is bathed.
All around US now there reigned I'M
Imaginable silence, and one distin-
yulshed objects so PAGES away with
difficulty.
BE CAREFUL" said my companion
to me. You have the river on your
left"
We arrived finally at point where
the plain is cut away abruptly into
sdeep valley, and leaning over, saw
lar below me, at the foot Of the cliff
On which we stood, little pools still
beneath tall poplars. Their waters
shOne with sinister light through
Tie riffs of shroud of fog. Mournful
'apOrs rose and grouped themselves
10 great moving masses.
There l said, lis the kingdom of
dsOlation."
Wounded Man on the Marshes.
During FIVE days we had seen and
mad listened to a wounded German,
Thom no one could relieve. He was
ole OF patrol upon which we fired.
MS comrades had saved themselves
"llnout a thought of carrying him
WIN them. The poor devil lay there
WIN broken thigh. AS you can see,
II was not easy to go hunting for him
those ravines and concealed
marshes. At last, on the fifth day, we
we're able to carry him TO our ambu-
ance' where he died, thanking us.
lou will be interested, 1 believe, in
lUe emotions which animated that Ger
~an, wounded and abandoned.
What emotions?
very subtle and quite beautiful.
Une hour afterward, when we had
~'I'ed at our quarters, and, before
5'eF!tnlng else, even before l had rid
I!seH of my uniform and of the
Huu Which stained me to the shout
esIS' l asked my friendly guide to
AlaFh our course for me on a chart,
%u then to give me the last message
- 'As russian of the marshes.
The Letter of Farewell.
mere is the page upon which are
a-nsied' in startling manner, the
I'S'S OF Germany and of the French
.aIiey' which he with his companions
t t"l1e 10 desolate. l have changed moth
have transcribed exactly the
la la written pages of the little note
' "a winch he carried in his pocket:
g., Il mat be the will of the All-Power-
r let this be my last farewell. A
!. .1cn pail struck me while on patrol.
- |ouhded me in the right knee in
T. TaIn a way that I can no longer walk.
:. - now i've days that / have been
,NiS OBSCURE forest. / can no longer
baI @u'e my hunger, which up to now !
ba a,e 2Dpeased with water. Often /
~, e implored God to send me aid.
M, Ms oas coEIe TO this hour. Mean
tbs .,-''' rest resigned; / am not impa-
- =. because it is not for long. Then
sualL be again in mn IratL ,rland of