Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1915-11-05
SAIPEh'S GRIN WORK
ShasDshooter's Bullet Has Spe-
eSa! FNMdabensss.
Fef Hours tse srfSsr Patiently Wats
fo~ tie Opening e. LooShels
Ct tire Sfsst Of
a Csa.

British HsaasGarters.--Et would be
tsrestfng. If s1eh calculation were
possible, 10 classify the agencies to
which the total daily casualties are
Due. Whatever the statistics might
prove, the most scrmida lie agency 10
ss.3g tie saiper's buffet.
II fs possible, perhaps even proba'
bic, that the majority Of British cas-
uagties would be found to be attributed
10 shell fire. 10 might be found that
along particular line Of trench ths
bulk OF the men are knocked out By
hand Erenades. But the sharpshoot.
er's bullet has q special formidable,
ness OF its own such a. is enjoyed BY
no other weapon,
The she'll, the rife grenade, the
trench mortar at least give some
warning to the ear, the bomb and the
aerial torpedo are visible as they come
through the air IN daytime, and may
frequently be lodged. The listen
ers'' are generally able TO give some
warning as 10 the operations and prog
Tsss Of hostile miners. The bullet
alone Is absolutely 1nobtrusive, instan-
taneons, and unceasfng.
One may take certain amount Of
liberties, ~ It were, with shell fire.
A single man, or even two men, pro
vidsd that they are not obviously peo
pie Of Importance. may risk walk
aiong a stretch OF ground in view OF
the enemy's guns, simply because II
Is not worth gunner's while to shoot
at every individual enemy he sees.
No such familiarity fs safe with .
sniper He il always ON the lookout
for unconsidered trffles, and all the
more ready to fire that his ammuni
tion IL 80 cheap and plentiful.
This static trench warfare has large
~ curtailed the activities OF the old
type Of sniper--of the sniper, that is
to say. who concealed himself In some
neat piece OF cover and thence, with
the aid OF telescope sights, picked of
individuals at a long range. And this,
for two reasons. T..
In the first place, as soon as the
two armies realized that trench war.
fare was likely to last for months.
they set to work very naturally to
elaborate their defenses. and have
largely defeated the sniper proper by
the very elaboration and multiplicity
OF their communication trenches. And,
secondly. the immobility OF the front
, has meant that very many Of the
sniper'B haunts have gradually become
found out and are SO carefully
watched as 10 be almost untenable.
The old slipper has thus been forced
more and more into the background.
and finds II increasingly difficult to
get anything like good days bag.
The other afternoon was witt,
two Shippers when they at last spotted
| q German summing himself In held.
! The defiance was mado out to be Just
over 1000 yards. Each OF my com.
panions was weIl-known big game
| shot, and they each fired a couple II
! rounds al the enemy. ....
The bullets must have gone utcom.
fortabiy near the mark. for, after zach
shot the man stared about him with a
\ puzzled movement. but he stalked or
4 unhit. This was. OF course. an ex
/, IRENE range. but the marksmen were
exceptionally good. and their failure
1 10 Ind anything but 30 unpromlsins
y ! target shows clearly enough that
i the only possible marks are frequently
!! set u virtually impossible ranges.
I,5 nut. with the temporary extinction
\ of the sniper proper. Their, has grown
!, W 4 host or trench snipers. men who