Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1915-06-16
Death Throws Dice in.
Stately Gambling Hall
Rows of War-Broken Men Fill Room Where Fashions Over
Dressed Dolls and Scented Dandies Formerly Squand-
cred the Wealth of Europe.

icould catch now and then the bobbing
OF Il white headdress above the screen
as the nurse worked to ease the pass
ing soul.
When the Red Screens Stand.
Poor bye, / thought he'd go said
4 voice behind roe in a half whisper.
turned. Two soldiers, looking al
most healthy by contrast with the 9TH
ers sat up in bed, their backs braced
against a gilded mirror frame, and
watched the screen with curious eyes.
rs soon as the first one opened his
mouth knew that he was Irish. just as
the first words of the second betrayed
the fact that ne was Scotch. One was
of the Dublin Fusiieers and the other
served in the Ninth Royal Scots-the
DANDY Ninth" of Edinburgh. AS Don
as my eye caught theirs l knew they
wanted to talk. 1t is a monotonous
business. this lying in a hospital. with
most visitors barred by the army rules.
When Il man has energy to spare from
the task of just keeping alive he vel
comes company. l have had them call
to me from across the ward. begging
for a. FEW moments of conversation
Now the next thing you will not UNI
derstand unless you nave lived in a
state of war. With a man dying over
there, the Scot. the Irishman and 4
found ourselves in a minute conNersing
softly. but Intimately n cheerfully,
over those matters which most concern
Il wounded man-firs his wound and
second how he got it. That is the way
OF war, the only possible way. Don't
recognize hard facts unless you must.
That is why the men in the trenches
are just now the most cheerful people
in Europe.
They We're both leg cases" The
Scots was a flesh wound. 1t would
nave been slight. one: upon a time.
But those German bullets cut queer
capers. AT least half the flesh wounds
nowadays are clean drilled little holes
at the point of entrance and wicked
gaps at the point OF departure. 1 imag-
inc that these bullets. shot from worn
rifles. are "keyhoiing," although the
British soldier often has less charita-
BILE theories. The Scot had only a pass
ing mild story to tell. He had got
ms wound on the way to the trenches.
in one of those avenues of approach
which the Germans sprinkle nightly
from rifles fixed in a wise and trained
on a spot like a cannOn. Thence the
dressing station. the transfer to the
field ambulance, the train journey down |
to the base hospital-and finally this |
haven.
II slept II hours when l came in he |
SAID; "eh. but sheets were gude..'"
Fighting in the Chlorine.
AS for the Irishman. he had much to
teil-a story which he brought out in
his own original fashion. with many
Obligations and philosophical comments
on things military. He "got his"--that
Is the conventional phrase-in a charge,
just after the French broke from the
gas Tunes. He put in here a pretty
piece of description of a group OF
ZouaVes seen here and there by their
bright uniforms which glanced through |
the g"reeniSh-yellow haze of chlorine
gas. Each time ne saw them they were
f11vf hnp, I,r nj - ,n<1 1rr h. ~ \
fewer men in the group. A bullet caught
MIN as he charged. and down he went.
He described the sensation as most
men do-a blow, a momentary |
blur. a burning, and then the pain. The
r.. "A. NJ: e. men. who follow in and
In his charity and pride in the army. he
stopped to defend them for that. The |
work that day was too hot for any am
bulance corps.
They cudn't see us ALL" he said.
Thence, with the %shrapnel peppering
singing overhead, he had dragged him.
self back to a pile of brush and man
aged to put on his first aid dressing. !
Here he digressed. He had found a
dead German n had looked trough
ms pack. That pack seemed to fasci-
about the battle. He kept returning to
1T. The dom thing was black, and it
opened from the bottom. He never saw |
Il pack like that before. There were
many letters in 1t. but they were ..all in
Dootch." He kept them n gave them
orders to turn in all writings found on
oierman corpses or prisoners. Also.
there was q ration; and since he had
not eaten since morning, he took that. !
SIsne biscuits was bigger than ours, sir,
Y sort. They was aisier chawin'."
.UYI2f nrhon h{0 kN,n,v ~--l>- - ----.
climax he would return to that inter-
eting pack. ! made out that he de-
SPARED at last of being found and that
ne made his own way back on his shat |
tered leg to the field ambulance. But
ne had not reached his turn with the
the roof. Then came another-they
were marked and doomed. The ambu-
lance force. loaded up the wounded
hurried to a barn further back
from the lines. It was late at night by
now. h he woke in the morning he
dead Thence they got him to the
train, and there was nc more to his
but hospital routine. Did
We ever see wan Of thin German
packs?:' ne asked in conclusion. This
rely q some little wads like COON.
y don't know what they was for"
Germans Behind Every Tree.
The Scot broke in from time to time
with his slow. wholesome accent. His
hobby appeared to be German spies, |
winch he had seen behind every tree.
q ne was running the army like Sir
john. he said. he wouldn't leave q civil
ian within 10 miles OF the lines. Also
2 That started the Dublin Fusileer
again. First begging my pardon, they
uescrlDed Its effects. strOphe mi anti
stropne II language quite unfit.