The Elk Mountain pilot., 1916-11-09

| success. II was certain tndt no tldu
climbed out of the enemy's trench.
for he helped to pull up the last man
of his party, and the only assumption
was that he had been either killed OF
captured on returning there.
Next days battalion orders con-
tained this fitting tribute to Baxteri
1T was largely owing to this officers
| pluck, determination, coolnLss and
resource that the raid was successful.
Dead or missing. he Is a great loss to
the battalion"
That is the story of the Forty
] Thieves"
Kid Kills Giants.
| Private Albert Hill was Lam
cashire lad engaged in a hat works
when the war broke out-of small
stature, still in his teens. He won
the V. G. ut the Somme and his platoon
sergeant, just invalided home, tells
for the first time the full story of how
he did it:
| "On the night of July 10 we moved
up to the advanced line of attack 1t
was three o'clock in the morning when
we got to the bottom, 10 yards away
from the German trenches. Hill and
myself were alone. Suddenly two Ger
mans, both about six feet tall, sur
prised US. They were making for us
when Hill, as coolly as If he had been
| going to meet a boxing opponent.
sprang at them and as quick as light
ming bayoneted them both. 1t was one
of the finest pieces of pluck l have
ever seen or read about, this little fell
low, only five feet three, accounting
for two big, burly Huns. He returned
to me us If nothing had happened; and
the next thing we found that we were
surrounded by some twenty to twenty
geant, we look like being taken pris-
oners.' 1 replied: They will not take
us alive. We will fight for it No
sooner said than done. We both got
our bombs and Hill flung two bombs
with surprising accuracy straight in
the midst of them. He killed about
eighteen and wounded and scattered
the rest.
Proud of His Bag"
"Still he did not think he had done
anything big, and when 1 suggested he
should go to the right and try to find
some of our company he was ready in
stantly. He went and reported to the
sergeant, and heard while there that
Captain Scales and a scout were lying
out dangerously wounded. Hill at once
volunteered to fetch them in. He sue
ceeded in bringing the captain to safe
ty, but the officer died soon after.
"Hill then started to return to me,
but on the way he found two Germans
in shell hole. How he found them is
n puzzle, for it was dark. He leveled
his rifle at them and the Huns put up
both hands before this little man and,
as they always do, pleaded Mercy,
kamerad.' Hill then took his prisoners
down the line and that was the only
time he thought he had done any
thing big. He was proud of his bag
He performed all these feats in less
than half an hour"
One particular incident stirred Eng
land deeply. 1t was the death of John
Travers Cornwell in the battle of Jut.
land. A boy of sixteen on II. NJ. S.
Chester, he was mortally wounded
early in the fight. Nevertheless he re.
| ~ u luOst ga
posed post to the end of the action.
with the guns crew dead and wound
ed all around him. He said simply,
when asked why he had remained
there he thought that he might be
wanted. The boys body was brought
back to England and buried by his
parents in London cemetery. The
British people had not then heard the
story of his death, but when Sir John
Jellicoe's dispatch was published tell
ing about young Cornwell's heroism q
wave of emotion swept over the coun.
try.
| Two months afterward the coffin
was disinterred and buried with hon.
ors In new grave.
Wins v. c. Twice.
One man has won the Y. c. twice In
the present war. He was still alive
when last heard from and may yet win
the medal again. Lieut.. John Jacks
of the Fourteenth battalion of Aus.
tralian infantry is the man. He won
the V. c. first in the fighting at Gal
| lipOli. He was then n corporal. On
May IS, 1915, the Turks made fierce
attack on the position held by the Aus
| tralians. The onslaught was one of
| the most furious of the disastrous
series of battles that marked the Gal
| lipoli campaign. 1t was necessary to
| capture certain part of Turkish
| trench and Jacka undertook to accom-
plish that job alone. He got in be-
hind the trench. With his rifle Jncka
shot down five Turks, with his bayo-
net he killed two more, and the three
who remained to oppose him he cap
tured. His achievement saved part
of the allied line.