Bryan daily eagle and pilot. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1909-1918, 1915-01-04
SCENES DESCRIBED
ON FIRING LINE
Soldier Gives Interesting Account OF
Thrillers Along Fighting
Froni.
(By Associated Press

Der the army in the trenches was
well.nigh perishing with cold; since
early December II has been the victim
Of rain and food. Night after night
whole companies are flooded out OF |
their trenches, while Encouragement
of the forces has made II impossible |
TO give the men their former weekly |
three days Of rest in the villages be
hind the lines. All the advanced |
forces will remain in their trenches
now for eighteen days, when they
hope to have brief relief
1T IS difficult to give an idea OF
what rain means in the trenches, Tho
lines under frosty conditions seem
such an orderly, permanent and town
like series OF cubby-holes that when
they all start to melt away and cave
in under the influence Of thaw and
rain. It is as II one were trying to
travel through a pitch dark London
I'm ruins. Officers who were glorying
I'm fine new dugouts equipped with
| all the trench comforts, suddenly
found themselves buried in a mass OF
collapsed earth Of the consistency and
quality OF thick paint
The latest gossip here is that the
Indian division and the Germans were
so close TO each other a day or two
ago that they used the same parapet
for their trenches and took turns IN
firing through their mutual loopholes.
That Of course Is little exaggerated
but serves to illustrate the manner
in which the two armies keep con
stantly getting closer and closer
Hand grenades and homemade bombs
fashioned ont of biscuit tins can be
used advantageously go many points.
Generally. however the front
trenches are about two hundred yards
apart In this section. That gives the
sharpshooters plenty OF chance TO GO.
In their fine work, and il Is danger
Gus TO push ones head above a trench
even TO sight a rifle Many Of the
sharpshooters are using periscopes
/ much like those Of the submarine,
} and with these they can sight and
. shoot accurately without coming any
where near the top Of the trench. The
5 opposing sharpshooters. of course, de-
, light in efforts to hit the tube OF the
p periscope. and frequently succeed.
since the rains and floods came
p the communication trenches have
D largely oozed away Some OF them
are like rivers; others are knee-deep
t with pasty mud Of exactly the same
F.. consistency of bakers dough. \
r regimen; which passed through one
D such trench a day or two ago le!'
r three men behind and had to send a
J. relief party back to dig them out.
0 Under such circumstances, the ia
z Dor of bringing up ammunition and
S rations from the rear is terrific and
the men assigned to this labor reach
e their destination in a state Of u.te'
i fatigue: nevertheless they have to
$ take their turn at sentry duty later
in the night.
s THE enemy is very businesslik'
. and misses no chance to shoot any
e man who exposes himself, Today, ioi
,. instance, an English soldier was NJ
" in a willow tree cutting withes. ,
y shot passed him, and he sportivel'
D. signaled A miss; left A second
o shot came, and he signaled A miss
IT right. The enemy prohted by hi
It advice, and the third shot passe'
If straight through his head.
d There are the strictest order
Ie against men exposing themselves
but some of the careless ones ar
ID surprisingly dsregardful of thei
N safety. Yesterday private who wa
Is dragging a sack Of coal, walked slowl
m along the top Of a communicative
1t trench for a considerable distance !
lie full view of the enemy,t merely b'
,e cause the bottom of the trench wa
20 muddy and travelling down there
rs safety would have been so much NOR
IS. laborious than on the firm soil aboy
Il A hail of bullets missed him, but h
st even stopped to light his pipe benin
nj an eighteen-inch willow before he d.
,ir liberately climbed back down int
he the trench with his load.
OF "The whole army is very tired
I'm willow trees and poplars 1t wouI
Is, be relief to know that We wouI
I'd. never have to see them again. WI
n. low stumps are particularly annoym
because in the dark they look exact
nd like a crouching soldier, with perhal
es a stray limb resembling a levele
ret gun.
TX. 81 was out scouting two nights az
to and went farther ahead than ! hi
m. intended. I had no rife with m
MS About forty yards from the enemy
trench suddenly saw what ! thong
ITO was German crouching down wi
ar leveled gun. MY heart stopped al