The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1916-03-04

town. We saw some OF the Wiltshire
boys darting around among the build
ings, and asked them If the allies had
II. They didn't know, but they said
they had seen more Germans around
shooting than should be permitted in
a well captured town. They suggested
that it was a good idea to sneak
around for a while until we found out
who the deuce had the town, anyway.
We had an idea that the allied forces
had the upper hand.
I'VE were concealed at the side of a
deserted building when a big, tall Ger
man private came slowly along, look
ing about carefully and with gun ready
for action. We we're going to shoot
him, but he saw us just as we saw
him, and he stood still undecidedly.
We captured him and then were not
sure what we had better do with him.
He seemed to be altogether too decent
a chap to kill somehow. We asked him
who had the town, and he said he
thought the Germans, but that he
wouldn't bet on it. He spoke perfect
English, and after a bit said that he
vas sick of the war, but hated to be
captured.
Anyhow, he allowed that he was
the hungriest man in the German
army. We gave him some jelly and
some bread and then decided to go
back to our lines with him. He was
Arthur Knecht of Elberfeld, a railway
clerk and a mighty decent fellow. He
talked of the German outrages and told
us he had nothing to do with the act
of any individuals and that the Ger
man army was as a whole a Cracker
jack and the best he had seen, bar
none. He made us laugh. He surely
thought little of the allied forces but
less of war itself.
Indian Troops Arrive.
"On November 3 the Ghurkas Sikhs
arrived and although they were the
oldest looking set of soldiers | ever
laid yes on, they were welcome
enough and showed up mighty well in
action.
When we moved up to HODGE we
had our first experience with trench
mortars and hand grenades. | was a
bomb man and it was here | received
my worst wounds. We we're advanc.
ing during a trench action and |, will
a bomb carrier behind me, was follow
ing two men with %bayonets, who indi
Gated where the bombs were to be
thrown. | had just thrown one over a
trench side when a shell burst neal
me and killed two men. 1t opened
great hole in my side and tore a striI
out of my leg. | lay there for eight
hours and woke up in the Lister in
~stitute, at Bethune, where | had beer
for two days. l stayed there a montt
and then returned to London for al
Der and did not get back into actor
until the following March.
But when | did get back | saw
some of the most terrible warfare
ever hope to know of. We first wen
to KENNEL, and after a brief, but al
most pleasant, rest we took part in tn,
fighting at Hill No. 60, and let m,
state that it was terrible fighting
When we got to KENNEL, though, W,
found our first trench was less thai
, thirty yards away from the German
trenches, and the German lads KEEP
throwing things over at us. The
were Saxons, and they frequently il
quired why Anglo-SaXons and Saxon
should fight. Then they would shou
over and tell us not to get fresh
They never took the initiative i
throwing grenades, but when one wa
a thrown over from our trenches the
would throw back about ten to answe
it.
I at was a gruesome place to be, 70
i there had been many charges and hur
e dreds of the dead lay out between tn
!. lines"