New Britain herald., 1916-10-20
Lawyer Under Fire.

l the visiting party knocked their steel 1 casques on the roof. and plunged 1 through water ankle-deep. Paul Cra- ] vath, the New York lawyer, a man 1 of large build, feet inches tall,
 was bent double in the, struggle ! through the tunnel. Along the way l they passed an electric plant, throb- ping with energy, and pumping the fresh air which keeps the tunnel ha- l bitable Further on, in 9 large clay hole, kitchen was in full operation, with soldiers eating bowls of noodles. Let me introduce you to our chef,' said the commandant, as young sol dier-cook came forward. He is now the cook for this tunnel-and he ought to be a good cook. for before the war he was chef to the French ambassador at Rome." Emerging from the tunnel into the front line French trenches, the German trenches were plainly visible on the crest only 300 yards away The intervening space was swept clear as though by a cyclone. Instead of the
 beautiful green of the forest, that was left at the other end of the tunnel, here the whole outlook was gray and
 desolate; the ground jagged and torn as by eccentric ploughs; not a vestige E trunks of trees stripped of their last leaf and looking like so many scare crows.
 ''This has been a rather quiet day only two mine explosions" said the commandant-"tW men injured one in the shoulder the other in the leg. That is little. for often we have 40 to 60 men killed or injured in these mine explosions, which go on con- tinually as the Germans try to mine under our trenches and we try to
 mine under theirs.''
 Even beyond the front line French trenches, the French soldiers had pushed their observation posts into the fire-swept dividing line, 300 yards wide Some of these daring men could be seen almost up to the crest where the German line ran. They were crouched behind heaps of boul- ders, rifles ready.
 Those men are only ten yards from the Germans said the com- mandant.
 As he spoke, MT. Cravath of New York said:
 1T see a German: there he is on the crest; you can see his uniform with the round cap"
 And he sees you. too said the commaEdant. You have been under ire," he added as he led MT. Cra- vath and the others to a more SC cure position.
 It's good that German didn't fire" remarked Cravath. "It might have been an international incident. Think of it-killing an American visitor to the French trenches
 Coming back from the front line trenches, one had a view of the many ceaseless activities in carrying on this
 great battle At one point soldiers in shirt-sleeves were digging graves in an improvised cemetery along the forest path. The cemetery was very large, and had been given name: "Maison Forrestier,'' or Forest Home. Every grave had a wooden cross above it, with the name and regiment of the
 dead soldier
 Shells Furnish Pleasant Pastime.
 The shells kept whizzing and
 bursting as the party moved along, and it got to be a pleasant pastlmc to note the long s-z-z-z as the shells flew overhead. One of them struck a few hundred feet away, throwing up trees, earth and clouds of smoke.
 To those who wanted souvenirs there were big fragments of shrapnel
 lying at every turn. It was pleasant
 at first to pick them up, but after
 three or four of these heavy chunks of steels were carried half a mile, the task was abandoned.
 The ingenuity Of some of the trench quarters along the way is shown in the use of empty glass bot
 ties for windows. One officer poln-- ed with pride to the very artistic ef- ] wine bottles. A triple row extended all across the front of his log shack, giving light within and having rather a cathedral window effect without. The bottles are of white glass, used 1 for bottling the white wine of Bor- l deaux
 1 The headquarters of General Me- l vile, in command of the operations at Verdun, are quite a way outside 1 the city, at a little cross-road hamler, which cannot be named for military reasons. The generals offices are in the town court house, a two-story stone structure. It was in this same l building that General Petain who preceded Neville, and General de Cas- l telnau, quickly made the plans on the 1 first onrush of the Germans which held them until endorsements could 1 be brought up.
 1 General Neville goes to Verdun and 1 along the trench front frequently. i But most of his time is at head 1 quarters, in telegraph and telephone | with the whole circle of defenses. and 1 in touch, too, with the other army 1 corps and masses of supplies ready | to be moved to fill any gap the Ger l mans may make.
 | No Civilian Life As were at General NeVille'S : Headquarters, party of German