The Washington herald., 1915-07-25
WOMAN WRITER
VISITS TRENCHES
Big Shells Fired at French
Lines Burst Over Her
Head.
TELLS OF EXPERIENCES
Distinctly Hears Voices of the German
Soldiers Only One Hundred
Meters Distant.
BY LA RACONTEUSE.

Meters Distant.
By LA RACONTECSE.
Paris, July Al have Just visited part
Of the front on the left wing of the long
French line. nearly 800 miles of trenches
mat r'p ell The way rom Flanders to
the Swiss frontier. French officers of the
general stan continually watched owe,
me as If I were a royal princess. rather
than an ordinary American woman Jour.
nalist.
left Paris by train. going north una
We were about fifteen mills from the
front at small station where ons q,
the powerful automobiles Of the general
stan awaited me. and. seated behind two
French officers. lieutenant colonel ano
captain. l was ,whisked toward the
front. '
About an hour after sunrise we reached
a small village barely one kilometer from
the firing line. 1t had been raining the
day before and now a heavy fog covered
everything.
II at first we saw nothing. w. heard
everything so much more distinctly. In
the fog We could hear the deep growing
OF the German heavy guns. Now and
then she'll from a French SEVENTY
five whizzed through the air above
emitting sharp. high sound which rsads
me think OF Caruso at his best. Very
soon We also heard the voices of the
tnitraiheuses grinding out their endless
stream of projectiles.
Now and then there was a beavv ex
plosion Of an aerial torpedo. which filled
the air with a sweet but disagreeabIe
smell, which tickled your throat and
made you cough. and through all these
confused noises came the barking of the
German ''minenwerfers," or bomb.
throwers. small. squatty apparatus which.
placed in the bottom of a trench. throw
bombs into the trenches of the enemy
opposite. saw several of these which
mad been captured by the French.
As we waded through the muddy fields
shell fell into a school which had been
made into tearoom for French soldiers
who have taken a strong liking tn this
English beverage. The shell killed two
men and wounded five.
Ground Full Of Ruts.
The ground we had to cover Unit, vs
reached the sheltering earthen walIs ~
the trenches was full OF deep ruts. made
oy the wheels Of the heavy automobiles
that during the night supply the firing
line with fresh supplies Of amn,unition'
trampled down by the feet of the soldiers
carrying food. water and lumber. or
stretcner bearers who collect the dead
oooies and OF the infentry men going
pack and forth between the firing line
and the villages where they spend their
intervals Of rest
The ploughed fields were almost i'm,
passaole and so deep was the mud that
l went down many times to the knees
and inwardly thanked the handsome
Young lieutenant Of cavalry who had
kindly lent me pair of high boots
somewhat too big for me in spite OF a
filling Of cotton in the toes.
Everywhere I saw holes in the ground
rom exploding shells. Some of them,
made by the "marmites," or lack
Johnsons" as the English soldiers call
them. were more than six feet deep and
many feet in circumference Time and
again We had to make a "detour'' be-
cause the way straight ahead was barr
% ny oaroed wire. The posts had been
upset and the wire cut. rolling itself into
maze of wires and thorns Spiked
helmets and boots lay scattered eyery-
where. showing that this ground had
recently been occupied by the enemy.
My guide told me that they had been
occupied by the enemy who were fighting
,ere about two weeks ago. now the
iench lines hdd been advanced a few
hundred metres.
Other posts are still standing in lon.
ows connected by smooth wires. thess
ire the telephone lines from headouar.
ers TO the foremost trenches
Names Given to Trenches.
We stop in front Of a wooden sirn
earring the inscription "Boyan pes.
'agne. a trench named after a French
fficer who fell here. AS the system of
renches grew big and intricate. the
renches were given names just like the
treets In city. Here at this place, on
front Of only Is kilometers, there are
more than $50 kilometers Of trenches, and
he Germans have built a similar town
pposite.
We walk in single file now. follow.
ng Boyan Despa gne for about a kilo-
meter. Then ten or twelve steps down,
round a corner and find ourselves in
he next subterranean street. Cover
ng a distance of five kilometers We
valk thus, always in q zigzag line,
getting closer to the enemy,
whose trenches at last are only 100
meters away. This promenade would
ave been monotonous but for the ele-
1ent OF danger. Rifle bullets are con-
inually whistling through the air
bove our heads, burying themselves
n the earthen walls.
i find myself continually bowling my
cad at each whistling sound and my
ompanion smiles and tells me that
II recruits do the same thing during
he first days. Firing continues to in
rease. a fact which rather surprises
~ guide, who says that the enemy
as been rather inactive here for sew.
raj days. Otherwise. ] should never
ave been permitted in these trenches
oday.
At this moment we hear overhead a
Disc resembling the whirr of an aero
lane.
rs that a Taube?" I ask.
NO" my companion answers 1T
a big she'll Listen how uneven
ne sound is. 1t shows that the quail
y Of the German shells 10 deterior-
ting. They are not at all like those
hey used to send US . few months
CO."
The she'll falls into q field behind.
ut fails to explode and my com.
anion's face IL beaming.
Sure sign of weakening.
shells like that one" he says, are
surer sign of Germany's exhaustion
IAN all the stories Of starvation and
.ck of bread you read in the papera
hey are messengers Of approachins
sace"
At this point could hear voice,
the German soldiers In the trench
pposite. 1t sounded a. II they were
but then German always
FUNDS that way to me.
A mighty explosion shook the
round and I found myself covered
18th mud all over. Nv rorrn. utou