El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-08-05
GIVING GERMANS
OWN MEDICINE
IS DANGEROUS
British Gas Attack in Day
light is Tragic Incident
of Great War.
MIST OF DEATH
FLOATS TO ENEMY

big squeeze" began, discussion Of
- British gas attacks was strictly
prohibited, but now the taboo has beer
lifted. and a British "gasman" has beer
allowed TO write graphic account OF
the work OF his own special corps
whose business it is. he says, ~to doc
tor the Germans with their own medi-
cine"
Behind our lines" ne writes. ''the
sun set in a blaze OF glory. A glance
over the parapet shows the green and
scarlet of the POPPED No Mans land
already merging into the gray mists OF
twilight. but I5e yards away. like a
brown earth shadow among the grays,
hangs the rusty barbed wire Of the en-
emy. and Just beyond a white, chalky
upthrow marks his front line trench
The EaSmen stare across the silent
shadows at that white line and for a
moment they think of the choky.
a-urgling cough OF the men who die
by gas. II is not pleasant TO die by
e Connect upr The order comes down
the line from one bay Of the trench TO
another. and the gasmen Immediately
get busy. The front rows OF neatly
piled sandbags. OF which each fire step
IS apparently solidly built, are pulled
out and disclose g cavity in which show
of a row Of iron cylinders They are
sunk in pits well 'bagged up to pro-
tect them from possI bic crack or pune
ture by flying fragment or ricochetting
bullet Each cylinder weighs about $50
pounds and contains sufficient com
pressed gas. II II could be used without
waste. TO put an entire company out OF
action.
Wind Needed. Is Lacking.
But something is required TO carry
the gas over to the German lines-a
favoring breeZe-and never did sailor
scan the sky more intently than the
ga smen watch their little. inconspicu-
Gus wind cages fixed to the edge OF
d trench. They must have q wind OF
certain direction. and they prefer il OF
a certain strength On this occasion.
the direction is satisfactory enough but
the breeze shows signs Of weakness.
and ccasiOnally falls TO a mere, almost
impercepuble zephyr.
At 1889 the gasmen don their spe-
cial reSplrators, which in the dim light.
give the WearerS strange. almost in
human appearance Masked and Cog
gled. with weird, trunk like pieces of
hose running from the mouthpiece TO
the box Of air-purifying chemicals
to their chests, they look like
some Of the unearthly beings who peo-
pie the books Of H G. Wells.
But not n breath disturbs the still
air The feeble breeze has died com
pletely. Hurriedly the order runs down
the line; Cancel, and stand by Be
hind their masks the gasmen grunt dis
gustedly. But suddenly crack crack
rat tat, rat a tat-tati The orders TO
the infantry have not been counter
handed, and the quiet of the night is
roughly shattered by a long lire OF
cracking rifles and Lewis
guns to which the Germans reply.
The sasmen move about uneasilv
II Is not for themselves they fear. but
Tor those pipes and cylinder heads "
ing bare and exposed to the hail of fly
ing fragments. Well they know the
danger OF bursts and of trenches filled
" ith gas and no wind TO move It, But
they cannot bag up without orders
and so they detail one Of their number
in each bay to watch the cylinders J.
, wliie tne rest gather behind the ira (
verse, as being slightly safer spot.
Daylight Attack Ordered.
Mhen day breaks q fair wind is !
straight towards the German .
lrehches- But, Of course. it is now /
broad daylight. and the gas will he y-is
IDie as soon as II leaves the pipes The
sasmen know what to expect They
Know mat as soon as the greenish-grav /
ilouus appear outside their parapet /
mere VIII be running messengers and /
~ i1eu telephonlng In the German !
ines They know that within q few
minutes the word will have reached tho /
rerinan big guns at the back. and that J
very piece capable Of flatteuiny out a ]
IdptL ana DulNlng them. mangled ]
md broken, among their own cylinders !
VII be concentrated upon the front I
me trench in which they stand
me over the top the jet pipes 1
re hung. and then. simultaneously D
long almost two miles of trench. there I
rises d sibilant hiss. As of some mon /
trous and venomous snake suddenly
reused from slumber. Now the gas
1en are working frantically with wheel J
nd spanner and key and the hiss in /
reases IN shrillness and volume. Out
lde the parapet the green poison FOX
$ already spreading like a foul blanket
yer No Mans land. Carried ceaseless-
y forward its outer edge is rapidly ap-
'roaching the German trenches. into !
which it will presently sink. spreading
gony and death among those who can
.ot escape.
Only the Deadly Hiss
No rifle or machine gun fire has
cen ordered this time. and from either
inc scarcely n sound is heard evceDt
he deadly hiss Of the escaping fumes
he minutes pass in tense. ominous
uiet. Nature herself seems to pause
ghast TO watch this latest devfltry
ractised by her children upon one an
ther.
Behind their masks the gasmen he
in to breathe more freely. and then !
uddenly. on the left, Crash and |
rash again. and yet again. This time I
n the right. somewhere close at hand I
he men crouch lower over their cvlin- |
ers: the explosions follow one anoth-
r almost too rapidly to count. and in
ny case their minds are no longer
tilted to counter care Only the |
alves must be turned. and the pipes