Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1915-07-14
trench Won see to YOUR front

siderable extent 10 natural AiSIOAy
pursuits which had carried me into
the wilderness on many occasions,
said that l thought ] knew little
something of the forest and of signs
and seasons" Then the officer asked
me to let him know If / discovered
anything that looked unusual as we
walked through the lights and shades
of the birch forest.
/ put all my senses to work and
tried to detect some symptom that
everything was not just as it should
be in an ordinary wood. | sensed
nothing out of the ordinary, and was
just about to say so when my knee
struck something hard and / looked
down. was staring straight into the
muzzle of a huge naval gun emplaced
at an angle Of about thirty degrees.
A WeIl-concealed Gun.
This gun was in an underground
house" For a distance of at least
two feet back of the muzzle the gun
was shrouded with green growth
which completely concealed 1t. The
house had roof, but green things
were growing upon it and there was
absolutely nothing to tell that under
the cover was gun pit. We entered
the house by means of some concealed
steps and there we found detach-
ment of men ready to make the gun
speak when a returning air scout
should give the gunners directions as
to just where to let shell drop.
1t was while | was in this gun pit
that rapid firing was heard at the ex-
IRENE edge of the wood. The can
nonading was from French battery
engaged in driving off German aero
plane which unquestionably was seek
ing to locate this big gun which had
caused trouble in the German lines,
but whose position the enemy had
been unable exactly to determine.
The next day from rock rising al
most sheer to height of nearly seven
hundred feet / looked through the
clear air toward Metz, the capital or
German Lorraine, which with its cir
cling fortresses is the prize most COW
eted by the French. The artillery or
the republic efnplaced on ridge to
the right and little in advance or
this position has succeeded in reach
ing with it's shells one of the most
formidable forts standing guard over
Metz. When the French break down,
if they can break down, the defenses
of Metz, an army will spring from the
ground and advance toward the Ger
man goal of it's ambition. Metz now
ever, while really only few miles
away, is a long ways off, because De-
tween the outermost French lines and
the city of desire lies German army,
and right here on this line Withlni
the next few days or weeks, or per-
haps even months, there is sure to
come fighting of quality so fierce as
to put all other fighting along this
50O-mile line into the class with things
tame.
Views the Battlefield.
From where l stood there is BIRDS 8
eye view Of great battlefield. we
made an early start in order to be
able to climb this needle-like rock be-
fore the sun was high. This hill Is
called Mousson, and on its crown
there is chapel built in the eleventh
century and which anords a fair and
commanding mark for the enemys ar
tillery The Germans for some rea-
son or other have left this pinnacle
alone for the main part. On occasions
they send shells over it, and today
was one of the occasions. A she'll
passed over my head while | was
climbing the rock. l heard its whiz-
zing distinctly, ard instinctively
crouched, much to the amusement of
the French army officer who stood at
my side. ''The thing you hear" he
said, never hits you. It's half
mile past you before you hear the
sound"
In climbing the hill of Mousson
there are many places where one is
out from under cover. Walking up the
hill was difficult, but running was more
than difficult, and yet had to run be-
tween the covered points. On this
hill we were within range, not only OF
shell fire but of small rife fire, and
the journey up and down had its un-
pleasant moments.
When halfway down this Rock OF
Mousson the cannonading grew louder.
The truth was that new battery had
opened, one much nearer to us than
the guns which had been laundering
before. We looked down from the hill
side to the village of Pont-a-Mousson
which lay nesting at our feet. Into
the village the shells were pounding.
All that we could see was clouds of
dust and smoke mingled as we knew
with mortar, stone fragments, and
the ground powder of plaster
Short Breathing Space.
We reached the foot of the hill, en-
tered a military automobile, and were
whirled into Pont-a-Mousson. The
cannonading had ceased and the vii
layers, men, women and children,
again going about the streets. No
one knew, however, when the fusilIade
would begin again. 1t did begin
again, not long after we left the town.
and 20 people met their death inside
of an hour from the time the first
gun spoke.
Bonita Monsoon iS NOT far from Metz