Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-06-22

dCIly dCTOSS JnG trench, ana lmmOVd-
BILE in its barrier of twisted wire.
Every few feet the clay wall of the
trench showed large black hole-the
entrance to the subterranean pits
where the men sleep and eat and live
General Hellouin wanted the party to
see everything-th real living condi-
ton Of the men-so down one of these
black holes the guests went. Soon the
daylight disappeared and there was
darkness Of tunnel, and the damp
earthly smell of being underground
There was a call for candles, and then
suddenly this cavern was brightly il
Illuminated as the electric current was
turned on for the general and his par
ty. Now the men could be seen plain
ly, some in the narrow hunks ranged
against the clay walls. others at a
table with a lantern. At the further
end was a small separate hole in the
earth-the quarters of the officer COM
handing the trench. He had put up
photographs on the clay sides, one of
them a picture of General JoffTe, and
his little table had several books and
trinkets.
1T is not so bad" he said, with
pride, as he showed his things, "and
it is very practical, and even comfort
able, when you get used to it."
A telephone stood handy to the COM
mander of the section, and the tele-
phone wire, encased in a wire-wound
rubber hoe, could be seen leading off
TO all the ramifications of the trench,
nicate with any part of his section. 1t
was a fighting section, and the COM
mander pointed out his poilus coming
and going to the guns. Two hours is
the allotted time for man to work
the guns under fire. Then another
man takes his place, and then another,
with as much regularity as the force
and the urgencies of the fighting per-
nit
A squad Of these men, in a tremci
battery, were maneuvring their guns
so as to get a good aim. The opening
through which the muzzle Of the gun
projected was only five inches wide,
sweeping the field east and west. Steel
rails had been UTILIZED for the protect
i've arm0r, and the muzzle Of the gun
swung between an upper and lower
rail Of steel The pit was low, requir-
ing the men to bend double and in
creasing the weariness Of their task
There were hundreds of these guns at
intervals, each giving off its bark and
adding to the carnage and devastation
ahead.
In heavily wooded ravine stood
one of the big guns. inactive for the
moment and covered With tarpaulin.
Dense shrubbery in front and above
kept the places screened from the OBJ
servation of enemy field-glasses or
everything aviators. Nearby in high
tree, an encircling ladder ran up to an
observation platform, like the steel OBJ
servation masts on American war
ships, but all screened in the thick fo-
liage Of the tree. The gunners stood
about the big gun ready for an attack,
and General Hellouin had them take
off the tarpaulin and put the huge
monster through its courses. The
great muzzle poked its nose through
the foliage, seeking out this point and
that along the German front, stretch
ing off the other side of the ravine,
Visits were now made to the first
aid surgeons in the trenches, posted
at handy intervals along the line.
There is no effort here to have all the
equipment Of hospital; only the more
necessities for urgent action are at
hand, when some wound needs heroic
treatment at once to staunch the flow
of blood from a severed artery until
the wounded man can be carried back
to the field hospital for fuller treat
ment.
Colonel Desfontaines joined the par
ty at one point, to explain the details
Of the rows of barracks rising tier on
tier, six stories high, along the side
Of steep hill. AS he left, one of the
officers said:
That man had a remarkable expe-
rienCe which saved the day at bloody
stage Of the fighting some time ago.
The struggle had been desperate late
into the day, until both sides were ut
terly exhausted. The men fairly
dropped in their tracks, and neither
side had the physical energy left to
strike the final blow that would be
decisive Colonel Desfontaines real
lied the situation, and going to the
head of his exhausted men he coolly
threw aside his revolver, took out his
pipe, lit it, and then pipe in mouth
called to his men to make a last
charge. The audacity OF the act at a
moment of such exhaustion, heartened
the WORKOUT men; they struggled to
their feet and made the rush which
the crisis needed. II saved the day
the Germans we're swept from the
field; and Colonel Desfontaines Is
wearing the 'Croix de Guerre.
returning The party passed the head