The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1916-03-07
SAPPER TELLS STORY
OF BURIAL ALIVE
Doubts and Fears Amid Terrible Ex-
periences Under Ground with Two
French Comrades.

PARIS, March 6.-The story of the
three French sappers who were buried
alive for hours during the battle of
Verdun and finally dug their way out
to safety is told in detail by one of
them who has arrived in Paris on a
hospital train. He said:
q With my friends Bernard and
Jean + was posted in a trench at the
edge of the Vauche Woods. The che
my showed a disposition to attack
and, according to orders, the three of
US, with charge of powder, fuses
and tools started down a mine gal
lery to fill the mine chamber, lay the
wires and pack the gallery behind it,
We did this without difficulty and
were on our way back when heavy
explosion shook us.
4" Had our mine gone off already?
hear stones falling said one of ny
comrades. We rushed forward, the gal
lery was full of gravel. We realized
the horrible truth; we were walled up.
An enemy she'll had exploded above
the gallery, causing the roof to fall in.
We examined the walls in fever
ish haste. We are done for, said
Jean. We were not afraid Of DEATH
1t was all part of the game, but we
did not like to die there in the dark
ness.
i" How long can we stay here9'
Jean asked again.
There is plenty of air and the
gallery is roomy, but there is nothing
to eat, | replied.
g Well, what's the good of a few
hours more or less? he said. WHY
wait! l for one have already made up
my mind
- He took out his revolver, but /
stopped him and said. Don t be a
fool. Let US wait a while; we may hit
on some way out.
1.-THE first horror having passed
over, we began to discuss ways and
means.
LET us wait patiently for our mine
to explode. If it makes big enough
hole we can dig through into it, l
said. '.1
1--WE sat down in silence and could
hear all the sounds of battle above us,
| for the earth is a good conductor of
sound We tried. to distinguish the
character of the Various vibrations, 50
as not to miss the noise when our
mine exploded. Finally we heard it
and we rushed forward through a wave
of hot air. Hope strengthened our
arms and we piled our picks furiously
but our packing had been so well done
that it took us two hours before w
| got into the empty mine chamber.
| listened but the sound of firing
seemed so far off that | Judged there
was thick layer of earth between us
and the outer werld. Then drops fell
upon Us. Were we going to be flooded
So much the better said Jean
we shall die more quickly
Something trickled down on my
| lips and / recognized the taste 1t was
! blood, and l realized that if blood W.
coming through we could not be fan
from the surface. With renewed hope
we set to work again, but rather clum
silly. for we started a fall of eartt
which nearly buried us.
/ eve were all injured Bernard s
| leg being broken, Jean s head cut, and
my left arm broken. Despite our pain
we continued our efforts and after 8
while we came on a number of dead
/ bodies of Germans which had rolled t.
the bottom of the crater which thu
mine explosion had made.
After an hour of digging anC
crawling among these corpses We got
ont into the air. Both M comrade.
were so exhausted that they tainted
| watched over them, being sheltered
from shells and bullets by the steer
side of the craterside of the crater
After eight hours waiting ambulane,
attendants found us, and by that tim,
we had but little life left in us.