Ripley County democrat. (Doniphan, Mo.) 1905-1920, 1915-09-10
4 Shell THAT HIT.
Graphic Description Pennsd By
NJ. Frederick Palmer. w. |,
one eueosssful Shell Out os Q Th6t.
sandi the One Suppossd 10 Make \
WAsts Of Other ess Worth
81. While. sIs.
sy FREDERICK PALMER.
(intsrnati ationai News Gervjce.l

iii ~ VNa4AnsSA VfAM aW
International News Gsrvjce.)
British Headuuartsrs. trSnces-
There are points along the Britishl
front which zee nothing but desultoryl
shell Gre and sniping for weeks and
months on endj points whore neither
side has made an attack through tho
winter and spring. These are known
% quiet corners. A practical stale.
mate exists, Neither Briton nor Ger
man finds any object IN trying for Q
gain. Troops who have been IN the
thick Of II elsewhere are sometimes
sent 70 these regions for . rest and Q
change,
Other points--points which stiok
out % II were'--are known a. hot
coxners." where the guns and rifles
seem always busy. 6uch has been
the La Bassee region.
A visitor may see about % much o1
what is going on In La Basses a. an
ant can see Of the surrounding land
scape when promenadins in the grass.
The guns Of both sides seem en-
gagged In q kind Of savage. vindictives
blind mans bufi sparrins. OF course.
the gunners have 0 point on the map
ct which they are aiming. They have
information IN one way or another
that there 10 something at this point
worth shelling. 1t may be Q house,
and Of course, every house 10 down
on a large scale map. Troops may be
In the house; or II they are not, and
you destroy the house, you have de-
stroyed shelter for troops and made
the enemy nervous, At least, theo-
retically, you have made him so;
nothing seems TO be able to make the
British soldier actually 10, or the
French peasant either.
We had left our car to 60 forward
on foot. We were coming Into the
Gone where the inhabitants had been
ordered % vacate their homes. This
q an unfailing sign that whatever the
condition Of your health you are be-
coming q poorer risk every minute
for q life insurance company. -
shell rsay Sst . group ef soldiers ini
Q house or In o dugout Houses arc
not safe shelter in hot corners where
the visitor. instead Of looking for
houses which have been damaged BY
shell FIRE. looks for the anomalous ona
that has not
There was one such on an adjoining
road-an estaminet. which is Q pub
iio drinking place or cafe.
A stretcher was being borne intoi
the door Of this estaminet and absvei
the doorway Of the estaminet waaI
ohalksd some lettering which indicati
cd that Il was q first clearing ststionI
for the wounded. Lying on stretchera,
on the floor were some wounded men,
They looked Q little stunned, which
was only natural when you have BEEN
- CLOSE % they had to burst Of q
shell--a shell that made Q hit Tho
concussion was bound to have this
eject.
A third man was the best illustra-
tion Of shell destuctiseness. Bullets
make only holes. Shells make gouges.
fractures and pulp. He too had band
aged head. and had been hit In sev>
eral places; but the worst wound was
In the leg. where an artery had been
cut, causing Q loss Of blood. He was
weak with sort OF Q where am II"
look IN his eyes. II that fragment
which had hit bis leg had hit his head
or his neck or his abdomen he would
have been killed instantly. He was
an illustration OF how hard It is to
kiil man with several shell frag-
ments unless some Of them strike In
the right place. For he was going TO
live; the surgeon had whispered that
tact In his ear. that one important
tact.
And II was the one successful shell
| out Of the thousand; that one which
was supposed to make the waste Of
the other nine hundred and ninety
nine worth while.
/ Returning BY the same road ~
which we came. an automobile passed
swiftly by. We had glimpse Of the
big. painted red cross on an am
hulancs side and. at the rear where
the curtains were rolled up for ven-
| tilation, OF four pair Of soldier boot
soles at the end Of four stretchers
which had been slid noiselessiy into
place at the ssiaminss BY the sturdy,
kindly. experienced medical corps
men.
/ As we walked along. one Of our
guns Of a battery near By smoked again
In the course Of desultcry cannon,
ade. seeking to pay back In kind for
injuries which the four PROSTATE ng'
ures In the ambulance had received-