New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-04-09


ponderous boom, as it burst. 1t seemed
as if half the world was thrown into tn,
air, and for what seemed minutes stone:
and mud continued to descend. Anc
through it the gleeful faces Of the Cana
dians-happy at our amazement.
"Some bust" one of them commented, a:
he wiped the dirt from his lips. Ever ir
/ Vancouver"
Eyes"
"Well, wouldn't that raise hell in Gran.
vile Street,"
Further conversation was cut off by the
bursting of shrapnel above and the SHARP
"rat-tat-tat" of a machine gun just down
the trench, as the operator tried to annihi'
late the crew of Minnie.
Again and again the "sausages" were
lobbed over until it seemed as if the face OF
the map must be changed by the great ex'
plosions The Canadian mortars kept W
their roar and every shell dropped fairly
upon the German trench.
Evidently the British did some telephon.
ing about that time, for the noise of distant
artillery suddenly increased and perfect
storm of heavy calibre shells came Shrek.
ing over our heads and burst among the
Germans.
1t was startling. The British guns were
miles in the rear, throwing shells calcu-
lated to burst upon the enemy-withir
thirty-fve yards of the British lines
Isn't that taking chance | asked
the major.
"Not a chance in the world he said
They never vary more than six yards in
this kind of work.
For almost two hours we stood there
falling flat on our faces at hasty word
from the major or captain, as missile
came our way, and trusting to luck when
the shrapnel broke over the lines. We alb
orbed considerable knowledge about "whiz-
hangers" and "pip-squeaks" and divers
other brands Of shell, and felt quite mill
tary.
( If any shells burst in Broadway they
NAV be identified by this table: High ex-
plosive, black; shrapnel, white; lyddite,
yellow, and gas shells, pink.
1t was "little strafe," the colonel said.
A bit liveler than the daily exchange; one
Of the sort that occur about once a month.
And the Canadians actually seemed to en-
iov every minute Of it, They laughed most
of the time, and took advantage of every
lull TO ask questions about Montreal, To-
Ironto, Winnipeg, Calgary or Victoria. One
in a rather hopeless tone, to be sure-pa-
thetically inquired about Mission Junction.
We started the long walk to the rear
The communication trenches seemed in
terminable. 1t came close to being our
last walk, too, for as we passed an exposed
portion of the route an enterprising Ger
man gunner spied US and let go a 6-inch
explosive shell.
The missile came screeching at US with
volume of sound quite foreign to those
which sail overhead. 1t had assumed ex-
press train proportions before the captain
yelled, Duck" But he never was obeyed
more quickly.
The she'll struck the earth at the side
Of the trench. waited, my nose comfort
ably settled into the mud and the captain
breathing in my ear. Then he took long
breath. "It's dud," he said. "Get up"
Sure enough, it was "dud.' There it
Law half buried in the ground, about eight
feet away. Perhaps some peaceful peasant
will run his plough afoul Of it after the
war is over. The land is dotted with such
souvenirs, and they are forgotten, in the
mad scramble to win. Peasant or no peas
anti am glad the thing did not explode.
So that is what the Canadians are doing.
Never have seen a finer looking lot OF
men. Their faces are brown and healthy
from the outdoor life. They are splendidly
fed and warmly clothed. They keep the
enemy busy every minute, and are fighters
TO the backbone. At general headquarters
the men who are directing the army are
well pleased with Canada's contribution TO
the Kings forces.