The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1915-01-21
THE BIG WAR
TRIED IN BAT Tie L.
Picturesque and Dramatic
Side Lights and Unu-
SuaI Incidents.

floating in the river in hundreds look
ed like long, endless raft
The banks of the Wepre are Uttered
with countless corpses silently telling
the awful tale that at it's bottom is
colossal grave. On the road there are
thousands Of Austrian rifles and KNAPP
sacks scattered on the blood stained
soil. The fields are sown with guns and
cartridges.
Effect Of Land Mine.
The story of a lance corporal of the
Lincolnshire regiment who was wound
ed on the Marne almost takes one into
the trenches:
1T is not only on sea that the Ger
mans make use of mines. They do it
on land. Nearly all approaches to their
trenches are mined for about 200 yards
and even 1000 yards.
Zone day an infantry battalion of
ours, supported by French infantry and
cavalry, fought their way right up to
the enemy's trenches and were form
ed up for the last rush when suddenly
the earth under them gave way with
terrific explosion, and the air was
thick with bodies blown sky high.
'Our own men seemed to get very
little damage. though many of them
were stunned for the time being by
the awful explosion.
"-After a time they were reformed
and swept across the intervening space
with ringing cheer that told it's own
story. The Germans were ready for
them, and they had hard tussle to
clear the trenches, but they succeeded
in the end" -.
Girl Among Bursting Shells.
To-day 1 have been out about a mile
and have returned with some carrots.
onions and potatoes" writes an Eng
lish soldier home. ''These have been
peeled, cut up and are now boiling in
a pail, with six tins of corned beef
added.
eve are all looking forward to Il pro
found gorge, and for one have moist
lips at the thought Of the meal within
q commandment pail.
Il pity the people who live in the
villages about the warpath. With red
dened eyes they look to us in mute APP
peal. We do what we can for them,
and they do what they can for us.
They give us anything they have, and
there is a solemn respect for all that
is theirs from the bluff Tommies that
we all are.
MAY God spare our country from
such sights as I have seen. I say it
as one who has with others broken
into a house that we might fire at an
advancing enemy through the upstairs
windows.
Imagine terrified young woman
and an elderly man sitting in dark
ened room, horror stricken, while shells
screamed about their home and bullets
whizzed and whined through windows
and upon walls! Blood was left upon
their bedroom floors when, with three
wounded, we left that home just as
the roof was blown clean Off.
1T was consolation to know those
two sought refuge in a cellar. We re-
tired, shot at with shells and bullets.
How many we lost in that engagement
we do not know
Wonderful Searchlight.
One of the most useful articles of
the German war equipment is a sky
rocket which gives a powerful illumi-
nation, lasting forty seconds, above the
ranks of the enemy, enabling the Ger
man artillery officers to obtain an ac-
curate range of the trenches.
Mass on Battlefield.
At the request of many French
wounded military chaplain celebrat-,
ed mass on the battlefield. He impro-
vtsed an altar from surgical dress
ing table, which was raised upon a
box containing splints and was COW
cred with sheet from the hospital
Bunches of flowers were placed in
vases made from the bases of German
shells.
A soldier priest, serving as cor
poral in the ambulance corps, assisted
the chaplain. The mass was said to
grim music. Shells shrieked above the
worshipers and exploded with ter
rifle detonations less than 100 meters
away. All about was the c1amor of
battle. Priests and congregation were
near to death every moment, but the
service continued until its close calm
ly and uninterruptedly.
Spy Directs Batteries Fire.
OF the skill of the German spies this
is related:
Near Berry-au-Bac reserve battal-
ion was skillfully concealed, waiting
for the word to move to support the.
first line A shepherd with flock of
sheep wandered unnoticed to within a
few hundred yards Of the rear of the
hidden battalion. A very little later
these troops were subjected to a heavy
accurate artillery fire from the Ger
mans. The shepherd was suspected,
caught and forced to confess that he
had notified the Germans of the exact
position of the battalion
Foe Amused Kaiser.