The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1916-08-24

the most terrible thing that I have evei
known in my life. The German mine
4 went off!
l had no time to be afraid. I felt
my self rising, rising, amid din OF the
internal regions, and l wondered
whether I should travel as high rs the
moon. Up 1 went-and then / mus,
have lost consciousness, for I opened
my eyes to find myself lying in a huge
crater, amid perfect silence.
The lieutenant and my companions
were nowhere to be seen. l lay in q
pool of what I thought was my blood.
But after a while l discovered that II
vas only water. I was absolutely un.
harmed.
Ny hopes went up. Now I could
surrey Ter. I should become a pris.
oner until the war was over. An.
nette, Jean Pierre, Marie, Antoine,
Louis, Philippe, Auguste would see me
again. l listened. All about me ]
heard the Boches talking in their gut.
tural tongue. In front Of me, behind
me, and on each side of me we're the
enemy. To which, then, should I sur.
render?
1t puzzled me. If 1 went right, those
on the left might be indignant and fire
on me. But I must certainly surren.
der to some party of them, for there
was not a Frenchman left in the
trench which they had blown up.
Oro u1n1 nr,f IF tho orator on6 nnu
hand touched something round and
smooth which made me recoil in terror.
1t was a skull, the grisly skull of q
dead man? So I thought for a few mo.
ments. But no! 1t vas a bomb-one
of the bombs which we had brought
with us. The pins not having been re-
moved, they had not been discharged
when the mine went off, though tons
of earth were flung all about us
I touched it more easily and then its
%neighbor. Then q sort of curiosity
overcame me, and l counted the bombs
There were just eighteen of them-my
six, and the six of each of my com
panions, the brave fellows who now
lay buried under the great heap of de-
bris that formed the sides of the era.
ter.
My blood began to rise. Assassins
l shook my fists at the Boches. Did
they stop to think what they had done
before they massacred a brave lieu.
tenant and two soldiers of Francei
The little lieutenant had looked like
ny, ,,r, IDor Dnrhnnc ho hnI a moth.
er somewhere, waiting for his return
"~Rendez-vous! !" shouted a harsh
voice at my side.
The invitation to surrender, spoken
In an eXecrable information, brought me
hack to myself. ! started, and "a
three Boches with fixed bayonets lev.
eled at me. l heard a cry on my other
side. 1 looked around. Six BOches
TODD there. And they we're coming up
before me and behind me. l was
trapped. I dived into the crater, and
as l did so the whole eighteen bombs
rolled down after me like skulls.
[ trembled, l shook with fear. Their
suddenly a hideous sentiment took pos
session of me. ], a Frenchman, the
father of seven children, to surrender
to a pack of cowardly Boches? l saw
red. STOPPING, l gathered up a bomb
removed the pin, and hurled it with al
my might in the faces of the nearest
party.
1t exploded with a terrific crash, anC
the whole six took to flight. But or
| nav nthnr SiIn thu nnrtu Of thpnn 1ynr6
already topping the crater. l saw theil
bayonets cleaning, and / picked uI
another bomb and flung it at them.
laughed at the detonation. When the
smoke cleared away nothing was seen
I heard the shouts and groans of the
wounded Boches, but they did not move
my heart. I hurled bomb after bomb
before, behind me. l gathered uI
the remainder and ran into the Boches
trench. l saw the frightened pack re-
treat, and | rushed after them, bomb
ing them. With my right hand
hurled the deadly missiles, while with
my left I withdrew the pins. In ar
incredibly short space of time l haG
cleared the trench. I paced it like 8
victorious lion.
And then suddenly the realization OF
my folly came to me. 1, who haG
wished to yield, had permanently
alienated my friends the enemy. 1 be
came frantic.
q" surrender! I am Kamarad !" ]
shouted. But there was none to an
swer me. I was alone, like Crusoe, in
the hostile trench. / thought of An
nette, of Jean, Pierre, Marie, Antoine
Louis, Philippe, Auguste. I sat dowI
and hid my face in my hands and wept
bitterly.
Suddenly the air above me hisseG
with bullets. I covered in terror al
the bottom Of the trench. The battle
had begun again. I heard an earth
shaking tread. A company advanced
at the double, with bayonets fixed
The foremost man leaped. into the
trench. I looked down. One bomb re
NAMED. I raised it to remove the pin
Then I saw that the blue uniforms
were Of u Frenchmen, and that thu
| man with tho sword roiSod tn ont MI