Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1915-01-17

terranean passage from whose cell
ing the water ran in streams.
I'm the distance we finally saw
a light, very much as one does in
coming TO the end of a railroad
tunnel-we were in the trench clos
est to the enemy,
I'VE were cautioned not to speak.
But a scant 800 feet away from us
is the trench of the French. You
could see everything plainly with
out the aid of ield-glasses-among
the other objects a number of care
less French soldiers who moved
about. AS we looked through the
loopholes in the iron shields placed
along the fire side of the trench, we
saw an almost uninterrupted sue
cession of flashes from the French
trench. But the fire seemed to be
directed more upon the ruined
houses than upon our field position.
Now and then one OF the bullets
hit one of the shields, the ringing
metal reminding us of where we
were.
"a careful survey Of the country
without, through one Of the loop
holes, brought some Corpses into
view. The bodies were wrapped In
blue coats and the heads were COW
cred with black hair. our men
would have gladly buried the fallen
enemies, but it was impossible to
leave the trenches. one has but to
show the point of a helmet, or at
tempt to stretch the cramped and
stiff limbs to draw a hail OF iron.
"a yellow mud floated about in
the trench and ran down the sides.
And i'm this our soldiers stand day
and night. They are heroes. No
doubt, this term has often been
misapplled, but it certainly is due
the men in the cold and wet Of the
trench and after long and dreary
weeks of this still know how to
smile and crack a Joke.
For eight hours the men leaned
against the wet sides of the trench.
Then the relief force creeps along
to give the others a chance to live
for 16 hours i'm a damp cellar. To
guide the men at night white rib
bons and pieces of paper are fast
ened here and there. Like beings
of another world these men light no
fires and speak no word.
"As we returned l noticed a num-
Der Of broken chairs and other
pieces Of furniture and was told
that these were danger signals
marking points at walls whore the
enemy could see what passed he
yond. Death lurked everywhere.
Began To Shell.
$50 we went back through the
tunnel, through the houses and cell
lars and across the yards. and fl
nally came to the narrow street
which had to be crossed at a jump.
/ Evidently the French had seen us
slip across the open place, and hav-
ing probably observed the automo-
bile at Eessen, they must have con-
cluded hat some members of the
staff were making an inspection OF
the position at Dixmude. At 2
o'clock in the afternoon they began
to shell the place.
zone shell after another hit the
ruins about the market place n
reduced the debris to still smaller
dimensions. Standing in a doorway
close to the scene | was impressed
by the terrific noise OF the lombard
ment as a sort of sublime spectacle.
"A shell fell in our street, and the
major ordered us into his cellar.
But we found It hard to leave the
iron concrete which whistled and
sang, crashed and rolled through the
ruins I'm a thousand Keys.
"Of a sudden-I was thrown against
the corporal who had been standing
by my side, and the two of us flew
to the ground. A shell had struck
the ground 36 feet away from us
and the airwave OF the explosion
had knocked us over.
After hat we followed the mayor
willingly enough to his room in the
cellar. 1t was very still there and
the dreary Pickering flame of a
candle seemed to make It more so.
But above our heads the detonations
continued. Whenever n of the
shells hit close enough to the house
to shake It to its very foundation,
the major would say:
Now
For a while that was the only
sound among those who sat about
the homemade table in the cellar.
Later somebody tried to master the
peculiar excitement which held us
all in its grip by telling funny
stories. But In spite of the stories
and the cigarets. the excitement,
caused by the uncertainty where
rhe next shell would strike, held on.
when the bombardment had
subsidized the correspondents made
their way back to their automo-
biles. ~contending en- route with two
unfriendly elements-mud and nor
shells n shrapneL