The Washington times., 1915-07-29
Weird Songs of Death
Stir Men in Trenches

hasten to make the urgent repairs and
to accomplish the prescribed work.
Those who remnin inside the trenches
actively handle the shovel and pick.
while very carefully avoiding the lcas:
revealing sound. But. in spite of all
precautions, the calm with which the
night began does not last.
''Brusauely cast from tho German
trench. without anything to forecast its
coming a luminant fueee breaks with n
soft sibilant note. arises Into the air.
curves around and makes great lur.
inous arrow. leaving behind It trail
Of fire: then 1t suddenly spreads out aud
floats gently. slowly In the pure air for
a few seconds. q monstrous star OF
dazzling hShi' d Whicn ns reveals s ne earn earn
out all the little folds in the ground.
Eliminates the dark corners and i'm
placably reveals everything that Is there
hidden.
Flatten Themselves on Ground.
Surprised by Its sudden appearance.
the workers have fiattened themselves
out with their nose to the ground and
as long as it burns they remain stretch
ed, without a movement. holding their
breath. undistinguishable from the rigid
bodies of the dead which dot the plain.
But despite the immoblity Of the body.
their hearts are beating tumultuously
under tunics soileo with earth. Have
they been seen or have they not7
Their anguish does not last. for II
the Germans suspect their presence.
table waterspout of them. digging up
the ground, tearing up the posts on
whiCn the wired defenses are strung
or burying themselves into the earth
with soft thud. a 1isagreeable and
sinister sound. Then all the workers
can do is to creep back as quickly
as possible, fortunate II none Of them
has been touched by this first dis
charge. For. once the enemys atten-
tion is aroused. they Will sprinkle
to their habit and all night long. the
suspected corner. Whether the work
was accomplished or not. 1t Is now
over for the night Often the soldiers
have scarcely left the danger zone
when a curtain OF shrapnel. whistling
and smashing. comes down in rage,
blowing up the ground with its steel
fragments and making the stones
and pebbles fly In the air under its
hail of bullets.
And now the concert that is to be
heard every evening begins, the habit
ual nocturne. From our trenches the
howitzers answer the hre OF the Ger
mans; their projectiles. with an
roar, explode on the enemy's position.
which they illuminate with brief. daz-
zling light. The reply is not long to
be awaited; we are soon sprinkled
as from a watering can Win the
debris thrown by shells that pour
down seemingly from heaven and
whose binding explosions shake the
ground and tear the tops OF the para
| pets to pieces. Once this exchange
Of politeness has started 1t lasts till
dangerous, punctuated with incessant
rifle shots. assisted sometimes by a
shell from the artillery. Notified by
| telephone, generous attention Is paid
!
which, as a result of incessant effort.
| 1t has been found are most vulnerable.
Men Dream of Home.
| Under this rain OF iron and fire, in
the midst Of this internal music. before
these fairy fireworks. Of which the lu-
minknt fuses are the roman candles.
| and. with shells and grenades added re-
ga rdless of economy. the troops. pressed
motionless against the parapet in order
to avoid the missiles. gradually become
joys Of home. of the dear ones who
were left behind SO long ago. and of
the luxury of bed. Some relying on
| the vigilance of neighbor to wake
them up in case of alarm, standing up
| and with head leaning on the stock Of
is interrupted every now and then very
disa greeably by an explosion too close
or by spattering from the parapet
| Slowly the hours pass away-now in
| noisy monotones: little by little the
stars pale. the night becomes less black
| A yellow band comes up on the horizon
| behind the German trenches announc-
ing the sun. The day begins to break.
| promising repose to those whose turn
| has come to go back to the second line
| "One by one, as If shamed by the
| light, tired of having made So much
| noise the mortars and bomb throwers
| become silent. There is a space between
detonations and they become more and
! more rare With a common and tacit
/ accord a certain calm settles down on
| the trenches as IL caused by strain
| OF Il night of nervous wstchfulnss and
, then. coming through the trenches be-
| hind, mems forms appear Each has
two pals In his hand 1t is the coffee.
The night 10 ended