The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-04-28
FRANCE
CONTINUED from page ~

! Arras is surrounded on three sides
by the Germans. The French hold
one side and the city itself. Our
| suburb is on the east. The eastern
half Of 1t is In the hands Of the Ger
mans, the French hold the left. This
is small suburb like any American
village. Some homes, a factory or
two, and some stores. Then there Is
the "hnest home in town. where the
richest man lives. You enter deep
communicating trench that zig-zaSs
across the front yard Of this finest
home" The house, in this case. the
chateau rouge, Is completely In ruins.
You keep on towards the east. Now
and then you reach point where you
are told to run, as trees overlook 1t
that contain German sharpshooters.
On you go through the piles Of
bricks that used to be cottages. They
were once held by Germans, but the
French mined and blew them up. You
start to say something, but the guide
warns for silence. You are too near
the Germans and a word would mean
a hand grenade
BY and by you come to brick
wall, another ruined house, but this
wall is reinforced by many bricks.
diers. They pay no attention to you
You have watched a fisherman AMI
noted the expectatfve look on his face
as he holds his pole just after getting
bite. Well. that is the look on eve,y
soldiers face. Nobody makes a sound.
You wonder how close the Germans
are. Then your guide touches you-
elbow. You can have a look. The
soldier steps aside. There they are,
the Germans, within short thirty
feet of you. You don't see them but
you sense them and their trench is
misunderstanding.
The German trench IL cut through
the flower garden OF French working
man. The back door Of his cottage Is
seen forty feet away. A pitiful little
lopsided dishrag is f1uttering on the
porch. Between the wall which she'-
ters you and the German trenches is
row Of yellow jonquils noddins
their heads in the sunshine. A brol.-
en- water pitcher, battered old hat
and some tin cans are near the flow.
ers, while blue and white bandana
has been spread across the top OF the
German trench to dry.
To the left and right of you there is
the occasional crack of lebel and
about as often you hear the Germans
replying. At the base OF the brick
wall, under the 1oop-hole you look
through, many fragments of brick
have been snapped off by hostile bull
lets. The line of battle as you follow
1t, extends through brick cottages,
across streets, past vacant lots, fac
tories. stores, pretty homes, vegetable
gardens and what not. Through the
sides of one little cottage the soldiers
are firing at loop-holes in the wall Of
another only twenty-five feet away.
Sometimes they use cannon at close
range. Guns capable Of hurting shells
many miles, lombard houses only the
streets width away.
And all this time subterranean war
fare Is being waged. From the cellar
Of cottages or factories the French are
tunneling toward the German lines,
the Germans toward them. When the
tunnel reaches the proper place. al
heavy charge Of dynamite is exploded
and a new slight gain IS made. You
see now the reason for these little
yard gains boosted OF in the COM
munique. At Vermelle, in this same
region, q gain of only few yards de.
termined the abandonment Of the
whole town ~ the Germans after fift--
Ave days Of fighting and the digging
Of about four miles of tunnels.
Now you know about the situation
near Arras Watch the communicate
for what happens there.
ENGLAND