Albuquerque morning journal., 1915-06-17

II has been my good fortune to en-
JOY many opportunities of talking with
soldiers who have been wounded In
action. | have visited Belgian, French
and British hospitals at various per-
iods. and as a medical man have been
afforded special facilities for study.
These opportunities have convinced
me that no two men feel quite the
same sensations whilst under fire for
the first time and also that a man
IN capable of experiencing quite differ
ont emotions at different periods of
the same day, though his clreum-
stances have not changed.
For example, from the statement of
a man who experienced shell fire for
the first time In his life In the neigh
borhood of Arras | gathered that his
first feeling had been one OF great In
terest and curiosity, A BLACK Maria"
fell some hundreds of yards away and
sent up great column Of smoke, and
at the same time shrapnel was burst
ing at no long distance. But suddenly
there came home the realization that
these shells were Intended to work
havoc, and that, IN fact, the position
occupied was full OF danger. Then
felt exactly as anybody would feel
he was In a field with an angry bun.
Every instinct of mind and body
prompted flight
The Terror OF Anticipation.
A second man told me that from the
moment he came under fire-in q
trenoh-he experienced the most live
ly terror But the feeling passed
away after while, leaving me rather
tired and only little anxious A
third declared that he had been so
nervous before going into action that
the event put anticipations OF IL to
shame. He had regarded himself az q
dead man, and woke up under fire TO
the realization that his chances Of
coming through safely were really
very good,
Each OF these men acquitted HIM
self bravely, two of them We're wound
ed. Clearly when physical Instinct
played the coward q use the word in
no oensorlous sense). moral restraint
effected victory There came second
courage, a courage open eyed and OF
clear vision, which. while not despis-
ing danger was able to discount It,
Under fire these men found a self
hitherto unsuspected, that elusive
quality which for want OF a better title
i
Is called manhood
The achievement of second eour-
age is OF course well recognized
stage in the seasoning process of war
| heard little story from the lips Of
a British officer which seems to me
to Illustrate the genesis of 1t very
lcOnvlnelngly--and the story Is worth
telling for It's own sake At a certain
period Of the present war some new
troops were sent to hold particular
trench. They suffered a really terri
Bile bombardment with shells and
shrapnel, and at last about 100 of
them evacuated the position and re-
tired Presently they met Il senior of
ficer, who stopped them ana inquired
what had happened.
On being informed the officer
looked grave and told the men that he
would be very sorry to have to Use
any ooerciye measures with men
whom he knew to be brave fellows.
fle spoke TO them for short time
ont that the way of duty lay back
wards towards the position they had
left "ln walk back part of the
way with you" He did SO. The men
returned 90 their post and gave a good
account OF themselves. In the words
OF my informant they were all right
after that"
The Triumph of Experience.
An officer who had himself seen
much service told me before the be-
ginning OF the present war that the
soldier who said he was Indifferent to
fire was merely hraggart. That IL
generally true. though / personally
know OF a few exceptions. But equal
ly true is IL that a man develops GER
tain callousness, or rather inditfer-
ence He learns first to control then
to measure his fear. He learns TO dis
count possibilities just as the ordinary
railway traveller does. And the work
in hand gradually engages and holds
more and more Of his attention. There
comes time when, in the words of
an army doctor who was wounded
near Ypres. You want TO so back,
not because Il is pleasant there, but