Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1915-11-03


a vestige of greenery left, bar the
beastly green fungus-like patches
where the H. E. shells have burst.
Even the rain water. and mud goes
bright green from this cause. Talk
about the blasted heath of Macbeth
it isn't in it with the ruin and desola-
ton of this part of the world.
II don't know if I've managed to
convey to you any idea of the part I've
been existing in lately, but it's been
like horrible nightmare to me-and
I've seen few horrors this last year.
Shelled All Day Long.
"All day long we have been shelled
up there, and they've also had several
trench mortars at work throwing 90
pound bombs by compressed air. This
particular brute Is called a minenwerf-
er, and you can see the bomb coming.
1t goes up miles in the air, turns a
somersault and then begins to drop.
One gets an idea after a time as to
where it will fall, and then there's a
rush for cover. The beastly thing
lies on the ground for about two Sec
onds before bursting, and altogether
it's thoroughly nerve-racking brute.
The infantry loathe them and keep
perpetual lookout for the "soissidge,
as they call it. It's also called the
aerial torpedo. The effect is terrific,
and | believe it does more harm than
most shells Glad to say we have got
onto several of these things recently.
Every hour or so all the German
guns would open a prearranged bonn
bardment of this position, and then
we get it with vengeance. You can't
imagine how rotten it is. You crouch
down In the very bottom of the trench,
and it seems as il it's impossible to
come through it alive. The air is full
of a colossal and deafening rushing
sound, the whole earth trenibles. para
pets and sandbags fall in, and showers
of splinters and smashedup things fly
shrieking all over the shop. Every in
slant the explosions seem to come
nearer to you. and finally when you
have made up your mind that it's all
I'D with you, the row dies away, and
you go back to the ordinary intermit-
tent Smelling and bombarding which,
then, seems almost peaceful.
Dead Are Everywhere.
"Of course we had plenty of casual.
ties and the gunners didn't escape.
The last day was up there our wire
got blown to bits somewhere out in
the open behind the trenches for about
the hundredth time, so l went out
with one of my telephonists to try
to repair it. I We were in the midst
of registering our targets for the at
tack. and we had to go over some aw-
full places-dead Deutschers every
where. Suddenly as we crept along
a hedge there was terrific bang,
cloud of smoke, and my man, about
fifty yards ahead of me, disappeared
entirely. Of course, / f1attened out
at once. thought the poor chap had
been completely blown to bits, as the
shell had burst right at his feet How
ever. l heard yell after few Sec
onds and made a rush for the spot,
taking what cover | could, because 1t
looked as if we'd been seen and the
Dent schers had fired one of their for
ward guns at us. l found the poor
beggar still alive and conscious, put
horribly cut. l made him as comfor-
table as 1 could; told him to lie still,
because he could be seen. and would
very likely be shot at again, and then
bunked off to try to find a stretcner
party.
"We were some way from our
trenches and in part that's strictly
avoided on account of the attention
paid to it by the Deutschers-i sup
nose because there are some OF tnelr
old trenches there that we took with
the bayonet. Luckily / hadn't gone far
before met sergeant and two men
So / collared him and, sending Oh one
man for the stretcher bearers, the
rest of us went back and got my CHAP
out of it. We tied him up as best we
could. and then had to carry him pig
..back to the fire trenches, where tne
:: xsretcher bearers dressed his WOUNDS