The bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1916-10-27

trenches one had view of the many
ceaseless activities in carrying on TIM:
great battle. At one point soldiers il
| shirt sleeves were digging graves in ar
| improvised cemetery along the forest
| path. The cemetery was very large
and had been given name. 'MaiSon
| grave had wooden cross above it will
the name and regiment of the dead sol
der.
The shells kept whZZing and burst
ing as the party moved along, and il
got to be a pleasant pastilne to note
| the long s-z-z-z as the shells flew over
head. One of them struck few hun
! dred feet away, throwing up trees,
earth and clouds of smoke.
To those who wanted souvenirs there
were big fragments Of shrapnel lying
at every turn. 1t was pleasant at first
to pick them up, but after three or four
| of these heavy chunks of steel were
carried half a mile the task was abun-
doned.
The ingenuity of some of the trench
quarters along the way is shown in
the use of empty glass bottles for win
dows. One officer pointed with pride
to the very artistic effect he had Sc
cured with these empty wine bottles.
A triple row extended all across the
front Of his log shack, giving light
within and having rather a cathedral
window effect without. The bottles
are of white glass. used for bottling
the white wine Of Bordeaux.
Lives Outside City.
The headquarters of General Nj
velle, in command of the operations at
Verdun, are quite way outside the
city, at little crossroad hamlet,
which cannot be named for military
reasons. The generals offices are in
the town courthouse, two-story stone
structure. 1t was in this same build
ing that General Petain, who preceded
Nivelle, and General de Castelnau
quickly made the plans at the first on
rush Of the Germans, which held them
until re-enforcements could be brought
up. ...z T.
General Nivelle goes to Verdun and
along the trench front frequently. But
most of his time is; ut headquarters,
in telegraph and telephone commune
cation with the, whole circle of de-
lenses, and in touch, too, with the
other army corps and masses of sup
plies ready to be moved forward to fill
any gap the Germans may make.
AS we were ut General Nivelle's
headquarters party Of German pris-
oners came by. They marched two
and two, their gray uniforms and round
caps contrasting with the French blue
and casQue. Already they were be-
each German carried spade over his
shoulder. At Verdun there is no ci-
william life whatever, but around Cen
eral Nivelle's headquarters there were
peasant women and girls mingling with
the poilus, indicating civilian life still
existed thus near to the bombarded
town. ,.~t
The roads back of Verdun present
the most varied scenes of activity. On
one side Is q vast. ueroplane camp, with
some twenty enormous hangers of bas-
ket steel construction covered with
canvas. Across the road is a riding
course running for miles, where officers
can exercise their, mounts and cavalry
can push forward in emergency with
out blocking the highroad. Every now
and then one sees big vehicle shoot
by bearing the sign American Am
bulance Corps" -...
Mules in Good Shape.
The thousands Of horses and mules
along the road are In good condition.
Many of the horses came from Amer
lea and were run down BY sea voyage,
but after a months feeding they
proved very serviceable. On seeing
the mules one of the officers said:
"The rehabilitation of the Greek
army had one very important result for
the allles-it released 10000 mules
which the Greeks had been using, and
now these mules are proving invalua-
BILE to the allies" i-.~f f1 -
While the fields back of Verdun are
rich with yellow grain, yet there is
one melancholy evidence of the war in
the burning of manure, usually the
very life blood Of the soil. The grain
can be gathered by. the soldiers and the
women who remain, but there is no
time to distribute the manure over the
land, and so it is burned. ? y: Z
The last glimpse of Verdun came as
the party passed detachment. of
French soldiers just out Of the treacsles
and going to the rear for rest. They
were tired and heavily laden, but hap
py and cheerful as they swung along
in irregular ranks, laughing and smok-
ing as though they came from some
agreeable occupation. They were all
fine looking young fellows, and they
typitied that calm and invincible spirit
which the young French soldiers are
putting into their service. I'D,
The dog. was pursuing fox across
tho hr.iflra when the train cnme r0nidlv