Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1916-08-04
A Singular
Find
1t Occurred on a Bat
tlefield I'm France.
By F. A. mitchell

George Elliott lived south of the Dor
der line separating Canada from the
state of Maine. George was desperate.
He was very poor, he was In love, and
the country about him was dead
and alive region wherein 1t was hard
enough for man to pick up n living
for himself, to say nothing of a posi-
BILE wife and II family of children.
1t is this kind OF man which, when
war breaks out, furnishes food for
powder When man sees only mis-
cry before him In life he looks upon
death as not altogether undesirable.
Besides, till 1t comes he has no re
sponsibility as to food and clothes.
The government takes care of him till
he is told to stand up before an enemy
and be shot down. His idea of being
shot is u bullet in vital part that will
end his misery ut once. He doesn't
consider being manned and turned
again on to the world In II far worse
fix than before.
One day George went to see his girl,
Ellen Barry, and told her that he was
going up into Canada to enlist. lie re
minded her that 1t was madness for
them to think of marrying and his go
ing to the war would be as good n way
as any TO end what was becoming tor
ture. The only response on Ellen's part
was tears. This made 1t all the harder
for George, and. taking her In his
arms, he kissed her, then, releasing
her, turned and walked away without
looking back. Ellen gazed mournful-
ly after him through her tears till he
had passed out of sight, then. sobbing
convulsively, went into the house.
A year later Private George Elliott
who had been enlisted In n Canadian
regiment of sharpshoOters, was con
cealed among the branches of tree
In northern France picking Off the
enemy with his rifle when shell
burst under his perch. When George
came to himself he was lying in the
crater or hole made by the explosion
He tried to draw up one leg and fail
ed. Then he tried to move his left
arm and failed at that His cheel,
was resting on something hard and
cold, and he managed to raise his head
sufficiently to see what his rigid pillow
was. 1t was iron, manufactured iron
and, Judging from what was uncov
cred by the earth, 1t was sheet iron.
One who covets death from Il dis
lance is not so anxious for 1t as IL ap
prOaches, Georges desire had been
for a sudden taking off without know
ing what was to happen. Now, lying
In a shell hole in the ground, neither
friend nor enemy about he was very
much concerned lest he die from in
attention. He knew that he had been
wounded, but how seriously he was
ignorant. He made another effort to
draw up his leg, and this time sue
ceeded. 1t had only been benumbed.
AS to his arm, that was In very bad
shape. II had been mangled, and arte-
rial blood was flowing from II. I'm
fortunately he had been unconscious
only few moments, and there was
yet time to stop the bleeding Making
a tourniquet Of his handkerchief, he
succeeded In compresslng the orlflce
through which he was bleeding.
Having lain quiet for some time and
feeling DESTROYS to do something for
his safety, he sat up and looked about
him. Being in hole, he could not
look far. Indeed, the only thing OF
any interest whatever was his metal
pillow. Only one or two square feet
were uncovered, and George, tapping
on It with the knuckle Of his right
hand, made up his mind that II was
thin and there was n hollow space be-
meath It.
Meanwhile shells were falling and
bursting about him. He had been
when dropped from the tree In advance
of the British line, and IL did not seem
to be any nearer him now. Nor did 1t
appear that the Germans were any
nearer He had some curiosity to
know what was under the iron Gov
ering, but, wounded as he was, this
was impracticable. Having nothing to
do, he looked up at the tree above him.
1t was peculiar shape, and he noticed
this particularly.
Presently shell burst 10 near him
that 1t shook down some earth from
the side Of the hole he was In ana GOV
cred the metal that had interested him.
He was sorry for this, because he had
been contemplating an effort to ex-
anime It more thoroughly. But he was
very weak and would not likely have
succeeded Soon after this he heard
men tramping, the word OF command,
and his comrades charged past him.
It was not long after this that the
Red Cross people came and, putting
George on a stretcher, took him to the
rear, where he was examined. His
arm had been 50 badly shattered by
a fragment Of the shell that the sur
geon attending him decided to ampu-
tate It. George sighed. He had come
to the war TO find release from misery
and misery had been added. He had
lost an arm, which would necessltate
his being discharged. Death was as
far from him as II had been before he
enlisted.
When George was discharged from
the hospital and the army he was told
that he would BIO sent back to Canada.