Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-08-25
"GASMAN" TELLS
GRAPHIC STORY
British Permit Account of Spe-
cial Corps Which Admins
tiers Deadly Gas

now n taboo has been Nfted ana q
z British "gasman" has been allowed to
write a graphic ccoun of the work of
his W special corps whose business it
is. he says, Ito doctor the Germans
with their own medicine
Behind our lines" ne writes, the
sun set in a blaZ of glory. \ glance
over the parapet shows n green ana
scarlet of the popped No-Man land
already merging into the gray mlsts OF
twilight; but l5U yards away, ike q
brown earth shadow among the graNs,
hangs the rusty barbed wire or the
enemy and Just beyond a white, chalky
upthrow marks his front line trench.
The gasmen stare across the silent
shadows at that white line and for a
moment they think of the choky,
gurgling cough of the men VINO ole
by gas. 1t is not pleasant to die o.
gas.
down the line from one bay of the
trenc to another, and the gasmen I'M
mediately get busy. The front rows
of neatly piled sandbags OF when
fre-step is apparently solidly built are
pulled out and disclose a cavity IN
which show, black and ominous. the
cowled heads Of a row of iron cylln-
ders. They are sunk in pits well
'bagged up to protect them from pos
sible crack or puncture by fyinS frag-
ment or ~ricochetting bullet. Each
cylinder weighs about $50 pounds, and
contain sufficient compressed gas, II
it could be used without waste, TO put
an entire company out of action.
"On top of the cylinders lies a tangle
of flexible connecting pipes, three and
fou way joints, spigots, and screw
jets, and upon these, with spanner M
key, the gasmen start work. The cyl
inders are all connected in series, and
nothing remains but to throw the
iafS oyar fha ton of the naranet and
open the valves in order to release
the deadly fumes.
Need Favoring Breeze.
But somethIns is required to carry
the gas over to the German lines-a
favoring breeze-and never did sailor
scar the sky more intently than the
gaSmen watch their little, inconspicu-
Gus wind gauges, fixed to the edge Of
a trench. They must have a wind OF a
certain direction, and they prefer it
of a certain strength. on this occa-
sion, the direction is satisfactory
enough. but the breeze shows sign of
weakness. and occasionally falls TO a
mere. almost inperceptible zephyr.
When not watchins the wind, the
gasmen are watching their pipes; re-
peatedly feeling and testing every inch
of tube and joint; for none know bet
ter than they the danger of leakage
and of the escape OF gas into their
own trenches. Persistently an officer
passes uONA Inv llIlCt GdSN4lAS 49p4N
though keen glances as he goes at
each set Of cylinders n their con-
Meeting pipes. And in every a he
pauses and whispers two words TO the
corporal in charge: Eleven o'clock.
But the wind, without which the gas
will not reach the enemy's trench and
do its deadly work among its occu-
pants, begins u peter out.
ten-ffty the sasmen don their
special respirators, which in the dim
light, give the wearers a strange, al
most inhuman appearance. Masked
and goggled, with weird, trunk-like
, pieces OF hose running from the
mouth-piece to the box of air-puri-
flying chemicals strapped to their
chests, they look like some of the
~unearthly beings who people the books
of H. G. Wells.
But not a breath disturbs the still
air. The feeble breeze has died COM
pletely. Hurried the order runs down
the line: Cancel. and stand by Be
hind their masks the gasmen grunt
disgustedly. But suddenly-crack.
crack, rat-a-tat rat-a-tat-tat, The
orders TO the infantry nave not been
countermanded, and the quiet of the
night is roughly shattered by a long
line Of v~iciously cracking rifles and
Lewis guns to which the Germans
Cylinders Are Exposed.
The gasmen move about ~uneasily.
II is not for themselves they fear, but
for those pipes n cylinder heads
lying bare and exposed to the hail of
flying fragments. Well they know the
danger of bursts and of trenches filled
with gas ana no wind 70 remove il.
But they cannot bag up without
orders. and so they detail n of their
number in each bay to watch the CYL
inders while the rest gather behind
the traverse, as being a slightly safer
spot.
When day breaks a fair wind is
blowing, straight towards the German
trenches. But.of course, it is now
broad daylight, n the gas will be
visible as soon as il leaves the pipes.
The gasmen know what to expect.
They know as soon as the greenish-
gray cloud appear outside their para
pet there will be running messengers
and hurried teicphoning in the Ger
man ines. They know hat within a
few minutes the word will have
reached the German big guns at the
back, and that every piece capable of
fattening out a parapet and burying
them, mangled and broken, among
their own cylinders will be concen-
trated upon the front line trench in
which they tai
Time! Over the top the jet-pipes
are flung, and then, simultaneously
along two miles of trench, there arises
a sibilant hiss. as if some monstrous
and Venomous snake suddenly aroused
from slumber. Now the gasmen are
working frantically with wheel and
spanner and key, and the hiss in
creases in shrillness and volume. Out
side the parapeJ the green poison fog
is already spreading like a foul blanket
over No-Man's land. Carried cease
lessly forward its outer edge is rap
idly approaching the German trenches,
into which it will presently sink.
spreading agony and death among
those who cannot escape.
NO rife or machine gun fire has
been ordered this time, and from
either line scarcely a sound is heard
except the deadly hiss of the escaping
fumes. The minutes pass in tense,
ominous quiet. Nature herself seems
to pause aghast to watch this latest
deviltry is practiced by her children
upon one another.
Behind their masks the gasmen be-
gin to breathe more freely. n then
suddenly. to the left, Crash And
crash again. and yet again. This time
on the right. somewhere close at
q hand. The men crouch lower over
their cylinders; the explosions follow
one another almost too rapidly to
count. and in any case their minds
are no longer fitted to counter care.
Only the valves must be turned. and
the pipes must be watched, and the
sudden squirt of vapor which marks
a leak must be checked by the applica-