The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1916-08-05
BRITISH GASMAN
WRITES OF WORK

lying bare and exposed to tho hail Of
flying fragments, Well they know
tho danger Of bursts and OF trenches
Nlled with 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 while the rest gather
behind the traverse, as being slight
ly safer spot
When day breaks fair wind is
blowing, straight towards the Ger
man trenches But, Of course, 1t is
now broad daylight, and the gas Will
be visible as soon as II leaves the
pipes The gasmont know what ia
expect. They know that as soon as
the grcenish-gray clouds appear out
side their parapet. They know thut
within few minutes the word will
have reached the German big guns at
the back, and that every piece Capa-
Bile OF Aattoning out parapot and
hurying them. manElod and broken,
among their own cylinders will be
concentrated upon the front line
trpnph I'm which hpV stand
SibiI,nt Hiss
Time! over the top the jet-pipes
are flung. and then, simultaneously
along almost two miles of trench,
there arise n sibilant hiss, as of some
monstrous and vcnomous snake sud
denly aroused from stumbled Now
the gasmen are working rrantically
with whoo, and snonner and kew and
tho nice incroasns In shrilIness and
.oIrn,o Ontside tho naraDet the
Green nelson rog is already spreading
Tho -, ronI hlanl,et over No-Mon's
land Carried censelessIy forward its
ontor cdgo Is rnnidlv opnroachiH1, the
Ccrmon trenches into which II win
nresentlv sink snreodInr agony and
death among those who cannot es-
cane
"No rifle or machine gun fire has
baen ordered iris fine and from
either Iino scarcely n sound Is heard
oxcent Tho dnodlv Liss NJ tho oscopIng
fumes Tho minutes mass in tense,
ominous nuict Nature horself ecoms
to noisc arhast 70 watch this Latest
deviItry nroctiscd bv her children nm
nm one another
Men Crouch low.
Behind thor masks the gasmen
begin TO breathe more freely, and
then suddenly on the left, Crash
And crash. again. and yet again. This
time on right, somewhere close at
hand, The men crouch lower over
their cylinders the explosions fol-
low one another almost too rapidly
to count, and in any case their minds
are no longer fitted to count--or
care Only the valves must be turn
ed, and the pipes must be watched,
and the sudden squirt of vapor which
marks leak must be checked by the
application OF n handful OF mud'
which the gas immediately freezes
INTO an lroh-haru ana lmpenetraDle
mass
IN one OF inc pays Iho par@peI
rocks suuuehly ana ans IV ,iI
ourylhg lne men ana Lnolr cy'lnuerS'
AIInoSl l.nII i''..y 'lg Inen sc'"n,a
PIC ou' UNI I ~ Dut IH' a pP"n a." a."
y. ohIn' % uiIt, tno ga" 20 "a ' ,J t th
french, ''n Sp"HN'i u''u , ,auu w. Wv,
lhe lnIhs Is Stoppeu, new G 70 ''. 10
are HsSeu up anu tho ueat" l., V% iDSt 70
again directed ouLslue WA iI, ID LoiI VI
thc tLencn' puL que " ~ tno l.on IaS
nau lle lnou'n I VI n'S ies i,.t,. :,
broken, anu alI It;, no ,I - 'ous" ,.,s
anu choNlne painluliy = w. ~ ~ ~, ;
nc saSl's tlo'i soiy' anu soos neilnu . tIo
traverse 10 SUCK I'LL ""i'i'O"i" u'ipu''
ana ule SUM- NIL
'loS'"E'up Inv m, u
CIoSlnB-uP 'Isno. napialy sno