The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-27
CANADIANS HAUNT
 ENEMY WITH DRUM Men of West Gathered Band
 Played Russian Hymn DRUM WAS LACKING
So They Went Out and Captured One From Germans and Used it in Their Band-Teutons Rained Bombs
 on Them, But Without Avail

London. December 16- (Special.) Wearying of life of comparative idle ness far back of the actual fighting line. away from the trenches and around divisional headquarters, a battalion of Canadian soldiers, mostly men from the western prairies, men of outdoors and accustomed to life of freedom and ac- tivity, sought amusement. Cowpunchers, many of them were, with the cowman's mischievousness and simplicity Life palled. They were within the sound of the guns, but they were not firing them selves nor were they having the thrill of being fired on So idle hands manufac- tured trouble. This particular battalion was without a band, although it had musicians, and so a band was considered essential Mouth organs there were, but these were not enough, band was the only thing that would do. But in that shell swept area, where shops of any sort were few, no instruments were to be had. And the soldier forages for food so started a campaign for musical instruments
 Once upon a time the community of Nieppe had a town band, but that was in the old days and the members of the band long since have gone to the front with the French forces. But their instruments remained behind in the town hall. This alluring fact was dis covered by the men of Saskatchewan and Alberta and one morning the bat talion had the nucleus for a splendid band, eight instruments all told. The night before there was not a trace of the makings" of a band the next morning there was. That's all there is to it, and even the official investiga ton that followed has not served to prove anything more.
 NEEDED A DRUM
 The eight instruments, however, were not enough. There was, for instance, no big bass drum and for many a martial air a big bass drum is essential. Es- pecially necessary is it to the playing of the Russian national anthem which has an importance which afterwards de- veloped. The Canadians inDthe rear sent word to their comrades al the firing line. They wanted a bass drum. They needed a bass drum. The firing line is about the last place to seek one of these instruments of melody, but it was known that the Germans across the way possessed not only a bass drum, but all sorts of other instruments. So the Canadians determined to make the mat ter one of national honor and supply their needs from the enemy tranches. In September came the big British effort to break the German lines. Trench after trench was taken from the Kaiser's soldiers, and on one trench in particu- lar, where it was known there existed a band the assault was especially viz orous and the capture speedy. Thus the bass drum and the other instruments essential to complete band were found and quickly sent to the rear to the men from the west. It was not long before the battalion hsn splendid musical organization.
 Finally this battalion moved up to take its turn in the trenches. At that moment there came news of Russian victory in the east. The Canadians, well entrenched in trenches that once were German, found German scholar who, in German, painted a great sign telling of the victory of the Russians and hoisted it over the trench. The. Ger mans. only a few yards away, saw it through their periscopes and cry of Teutonic rage went up, emphasized by shower of hand grenades and bombs.
 STORM OF BOMBS
 Then the Saskatchewan band struck up the Russian national air. From deep down in the trenches, where the musi- clans sat on the ground and blew for all they were worth, the magnificent strains of the grand and holy air came upwards. The untitled hymn. storm of bombs was the German response, making so much noise that the band de- sisted, the Canadians sitting tight, in perfect safety, 10 feet below the surface. When the Germans tired of bombing, and there came lull in the conversa- ton, the band instantly struck up again:
 God, the All Terrible,
 Him who ordainest--
 Swift winds Thy chariot
 The lightning Thy sword.'
 And again the Germans, who saw no humor in it, furiously bombed their enemies.
 Throughout a whole day the thing was kept up. The Canadians, sitting with their backs to the trench side, their feet straight out and instruments pointed toward the sky, took up the Czars majestic hymn whenever there was moments silence, and that night, with the Germans worn out by the ex- hausing work of the day, the Canadians, who had been resting through the whole day. ceased their music, and made life for their enemies miserable through the night by a constant bombardment
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