Evening journal., 1915-05-31
BY WILLIAM G. SHEPHERD.

United Press StaH correspondent.
Copyright 1915. by the United Press
Copyright in Great Brtainl
HEADQUARTERS OF THE BRIT
ISH ARMY. NORTHERN FRANCE,
April 21.-(By Mail TO New York; -
Ploegstreet Wood, the Tommies call
it Plug street, is in Belgium. Some
day it will be great historical park,
like the field of Waterloo. Just now
its trees are SCARED by bullets and
shells. German bulltes whistle now
and then through the branches and
clip them off with a lightning snip;
from time to time the ambulance men
run to some corner of the forest to
pick up a British soldier who has
been shot by stray German missile,
and, taking IL altogether now is not
the time to see Ploegstreet Wood.
Just beyond the wood lie the Brit
ish trenches, and just beyond the
British trenches is the German line.
A rich brewer in Armentierres owns
Ploegstreet wood: it was his pheas-
ant ground. The pheasants arc gone
now; just before Christmas thB Brit
ish soldiers in the wood bagged %
of them for Christmas dinner and
that finished the lot.
In October, the Germans, sweeping
down toward Calais. tried to take the
Ploegstreet Wood Commander in
Chief Sir John French gave one of
his ironclad orders that II must be
held; the fighting for Ploegstreet
Wood went on for days The Ger
mans got into it-and died; the Brit
ishers fought them out of it-and died.
And when winter fell, the great for
est was dotted with graves and its
trees we're battered by bullets and
shells, but the British trenches cir
cled its outer edge and the German
trenches were dug four hundred feet
from the forests limit.
The forest is two miles long and a
mile wide. We came TO its border
after crossing ploughed fields, where
German shells fell daily. We found
Q sidewalk. two feet wide, made Of
sticks fastened together with wire,
corduroy footpath.
1T was unspeakable here in the
winter" explained the English ma
jor. who was acting as my guide. The
sootway led straight into the forest
THE men flOundered in mud up to
their waists until we built those foot
ways. It's rather ticklish living in
here. You see the trenches aren't far
away and the German bullets that
miss the tops of our trenches come in
here among the trees"
The banging of rife fire in the
trenches was incessant but not heavy.
A bullet sang above us and clipped
off a small twig which fell TO the
ground. Half a dozen bullets sang
their songs before we reached a dug
out which stood among heavy trees.
A fine wooden sidewalk passed in
front of this dugout and stretched
away down an avenue of trees. Be
tween the dugout and the sidewalk in
the front yard, as it we're, Of the
earthen residence was a beautiful
-den of wild spring flowers, which
lad been transplanted from various
corners of the forest.
There were all the signs of spring
in the forest except birds. They. have
learned to stay away from Ploegstreet
Grove.
There are two or three robins that
haven't gone" said an officer, who
lives in the dugout, "but they're es-
pecially foolhardy."
Violets and primroses and cowslips
almost bedded the forest floor in
places; a clump of violet roots, dug
up with tons Of earth by a German
shell. lay beside the great cavern
with its flowers healthy and strong
There's one spot in Ploegstreet
Wood that German shells ought never
to reach. It's a grave with a carefully
made wooden cross on it, and the
lettering says: Here lie two gallant
German officers"
That's rather unexpected" said a
civilian who was with us.
But they we're brave" said the
major. "The Germans aren't always
so brave. Five officers from my regi.
ment we're missing one time and VIC
never even expected 10 find their bod.
ies. But when we drove the Germans
back we found a grave on which was
marked: Here lie FIVE brave English
officers We identified them all anC
their bodies we're taken back to Eng.
land"
We followed another sidewalk anc
came to huge mound covered Will
yellow spring flowers which had beer
planted by the English soldiers. Or
a neatly made cross at the head oI
the mound an English soldier haC
patiently printed the words:
Here lie seventeen German sol
diers."
There wasn't an English grave in
Ploegstreet Wood that was better
tended or more heavily befiowereC
than those mounds OF fallen Germans
Knots of men passed along the mar,
row walks now and then going tC
and from the nearby trenches. Tbey
carried boards. jugs full of water
bags of food, trench stoves. boxe,
Of ammunition and all the great ar
ray of things that are needed in tn,
"big ditches." Now and then a cour
ier pedaled his bicycle over the cord
uroy footway. At one circular clus