The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-01-02
Earth Has Consistency and
Quality of Thick Paint.
Dugouts Collapse Under Thaw-
ing of Frosted Ground.
USING THE SAME LO0Ph0lES
Story of Germans and And1ans
at Close Quarters.
Experiences Of Life Along the
Battle Front in France.

London. Jan. 1.-The following ac-
count of life at the front is from q
correspondent who volunteered 1or
service at the beginning of the war,
and has since been promoted TO the
rank of officer:
During the latter part OF Novem-
Der the army in the trenches was
well-nigh perishing with cold; since
early December it has been the victim
Of persistent rain and flood. Night
after night. whole companies are
flooded out of their trenches, while a
rearrangement OF the forces has made
it impossible TO give the men their
former weekly three days Of rest IN
the villages behind the lines. All the
advanced forces will remain in their
trenches now for eighteen days: then
they hope to have a brief relief.
at is difficult to give IN idea of
what rain means in the trenches.
The lines under frosty conditions seem
such an orderly. permanent. ana
town-like series of cubby-hOles that
when they all start to melt away and
cave in under the influence OF thaW
and rain. it is as if one were trying to
travel through a pitchdark London in
ruins. Officers who were glorying in
fine new dug-outs equipped with all
the trench comforts. suddenly found
themselves buried in a mass OF col
lapsed earth of the consistency and
quality Of thick paint.
Fought at Close Quarters.
1.-The latest gossip here is that the
Indian division and the Germans were
so close to each other day or two
ago that they used the same parapet
for their trenches and took turns at
firing through thei-' mutual loopholes.
<,F i- rot o6
but serves to illustrate the manner in
which the two armies keep continual
ly getting closer and closer. Hand
grenades and homemade bombs fash
toned out of biscuit tins can be used
simultaneously at many points.
Generally, however, the front
trenches are about two hundred yards
sharp-shooters plenty of chance to get
in their fine work. and it is danger
Gus to push ones head above a trench
even to sight a rifle. Many of the
sharp-shOOters are using periscOpes
much like those of the submarines,
and with these they can sight and
shoot accurately without coming any
where near the top Of the trench. The
opposing shcrp-shooters of course de-
light in efforts to hit the tube of the
periscope. and frequently succeed. =
Trenches OOze Away.
'.Since the rains and floods came,
the communication trenches have
largely oozed away. Some of them
are like rivers: others are knee deep
with pasty mud of exactly the same
consistency as bakers dough. regi-
trench day or two ago left three men
behind and had to send q relief party
back to dig them out.
Under such circumstances. the la
Dor of bringing up ammunition and
rations from the rear is terrific, and
the men assigned to this labor reach
their destination in a state of utter
fatigue: nevertheless. they have to
take their turn at sentry duty later in
the night.
Daring Tommy Atkins.
The enemy is very busi--esslike and
misses no chance to shoot any man
who exposes himself Today, for in
a willow tree cutting withes. A shot
passed him. and he sportively sig
nailed, A miss: left A second shot
came. and he signalled, a miss:
right The enemy profited by his
advice. and the third shot passed
straight through his head.
There are the strictest orders
against men exposing themselves; but
some OF the careless one are surpris-
ingly disregardful OF their safety. Yes
terday a private who was dragging a
sack Of coal walked slowly along the
top of a communicating trench for a
considerable distance in full view OF
the enemy. merely because the bot.
tom of the trench was muddy and
travelling down there in safety would
have been more laborious than on the
firm soil above. A hail Of bullets
missed him. but he even stopped tC
light his pipe behind an eighteen inch
willow before he deliberately climbed
back down into the trench with his
load.
Tired OF Willows and PoDlars.
The whole army is very tired OF will.
low trees and poplars. 1t would be a
relief to know that We would never
have to see them again Willow
stumps are particularly annoying be.
cause in the dark they lool. exactl,
like a crouching soldier, with perhaps
n stray limb resembling a leveled gun
Il was out scouting two night ago
and went farther ahead than I had in.
tended. I had no rifle with me- Abou,
forty yards from the enemys trench
suddenly saw what I thought was 8
German crouching down with leveIet
gun. MY heart stopped. and 1 hastil,
signaled for the rifle of a man behini