South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-01-06
TELLS Of FOUR
DAYS JAUNT IN
BELGIAN FIELDS
All Feel English Are Friends in
Need-GermanS on One Side
of User While Smaller Foes
Occupy Other Side.
BY Count de Beaufort.

fcer returning with his men from a
week in the trenches along the User
was asked by one of his colleagues,
whom he met on the road from Nieu-
/ port TO FurneS, how things were go
| ing in front. oh he replied, all
right. but il isn't exactly a picnic,
you know" That is exactly the an
swer l felt like giving today when 1
/ returned from a few days gypsylng
/ in West Flanders. Ii is difficult to
! know where to start in relating my
/ impressions. 1t seems as if for four
! days L have sat in a huge moving
picture theater and watched one film
after another being reeled off, at the
same time listening to an extremely
! eloquent lecturer.
How and why / was able to wan
der from village to trench, and from
trench to village, or whatever is left
/ of them, is story which, perhaps,
/ with many others, Will be told later
after the war. They are a cour-
teous open-hearted, hospitable lot,
these Belgians, and anybody who
seems to be English either in APP
| pearance or accent, can have anything
| they own. "Ah, England" l hear
from all sides, why, they have GER
I tainly stood by US. Les Anglais sons,
chic" ("Chic'' in this sense of the
wore refers to character, not to APP
/ pearance).
Village Is Interesting.
The most interesting place in the
! line along the User these days has
/ been the village of Styuvekenskerke.
/ 1t lies on the side, j. e., on the left
bank OF the User. The main road
from DiXmude to Pervyse runs about
half a mile to the west of it, and the
railroad about another half mile fur
Their. Both lines are held by the Bel
our advanced patrols ventured close
to the village, and not seeing any lie
there went in. The Germans had re-
tired to the other side of the river
Promptly the village was 'retaken'
by the Belgians. But of what use is
a practically RACED village anyhow
1t would have taken a great number
of extra men to guard 1t at night
against surprise attacks, so the officer
in charge retired at sunset into his
own lines along the railroad.
On Wednesday morning the Ger
mans were occupying the village
again for the day, but this afternoon
tea there but for the sudden inter-
ruption of business of the only pats
serie. The English sign tea served
at all hours" was still intact We
took it down, and now it is heading
the entrance TO. one of the sleeping
trenches a mile back. At certain
points around this village the ad-
vance lines are not further than 1900
feet from each other, and L have
seen soldiers of both sides walk
about unconcerned without shot be-
ing fred on either side. But in the
distance, one hears from time TO time
the roar of the guns
Officer Offers 'POt Luck"
My wanderings landed me near
lonely Belgian field gun, one of the
"75's," in the neighborhood of Per
vyse. 1 knew the officer in charge,
and was promptly invited to stay, and
take pot luck, an invitation which,
needless to say, l accepted. Some
how one seems to be always hungry,
yet one eats more and oftener than
at any other time. His underground
dwelling had been made quite in
habitable. He insisted that l should
take the -'fauteuil' in the shape of
the only sOapbox present, while he
balanced himself on a one-legged
piano stool.
Our meal was simple enough, but
plentiful Dry biscuits, sardines, APP
pies and cold coffee. Fires of any
sort, either inside or outside, are
strictly forbidden in the lines.
smoking chimney is asking for shrap-
mel. Quite an amusing incident took
place here The lieutenant told me
during luncheon that every time he
fred a shot the Germans answered
him in kind, i. e., if ne sent a shrap-
mel they promptly sent a shrapnel
back: when he fired a shell, a shell
whistled back. After luncheon he Il
Illustrated his story and indeed the
Germans seemed to be in a Joking
mood He fired a shrapnel and a
shell in turn; few minutes later
shrapnel and a shell whistled over
our heads.
Finds Commandant in Cellar.
I asked for the commandant and
expected to find him also in one of
the underground dwellings. but 1 was
directed TO one of the houses on the
outskirts OF the village. His Offices
there ?" / asked, looking at the re-
mains of what had been little villa.
Certainly. monsieur Follow me"
said The little soldier.
on all sides we were surrounded
by blackened bricks and burnt wood,
fallen walls, and broken furniture.
Finally We arrived near a cellar door
and the mystery WAS soon solved.
The commandant met me with all
the ceremony and welcomed me as If
he had been in the library Of his
house in Brussels. Il am sorry" he
said IN excellent English, 'to have
to receive you in this improvised
fiat, but 'c'est la guerre.
curious picture. fourteen soldiers sat
around a make-shift table, at the
head of which-On a barbour Of
ficer had presided We had evident
Is interrupted a meal. An iron bed
stead. with pIanks and a few punches
of straw. took up one corner. "A tier
OF knapsacks and some straw lined
the opposite wall. An old-fashioned
gramOphone had been rescued from
the ruins. formed d conspicuous piece
of furniture, but the records had
been smashed Still one gets in
ventive when time IS long and
tediOus-and il has been very slow
around here these last days-sO some
of the records were pasted together
on a piece of cardboard, and with the
assistance Of a helping finger, bridg-
ing over the gaps and rents. the old
machine managed TO give Carmen.
La Boheme," and some popular
~. nT- -.sa-