The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-10-15
GUIDED MACHINE SAFELY THROUGH
 HAIL OF SHELLS
New York Recruit Decorat- ed With Croix de Gerre
 For His Bravery.

y
 New York. Oct 15-More of the ! thrilling experiences through which i drivers for the American Ambulance ter received from James H. White, l whose home is at 970 Park avenue. His brother is Victor White, the artist The fact that MT. White had been decorated with the Croix de Guerre was reported in the cable despatches
 His letter follows:
 So many things have happened since my last letter that I hardly know where to begin- Also, am pretty tired out, so please excuse this letter if 1t is rather incoherent. We have been working our present posts now for three weeks and often it has meant forty-eight hours steady. Not only has it been hard work but it has been most exciting. One of the boys who has been always with the section says that never has he seen such all round hard and exciting work. It is practically over now and we will all be very glad to go en repos.
 "You have seen by the papers of around this date what successful attack the French have made. Out of the numerous sections of the am bulance we had the honor of doing the hardest work, and it has been we'll appreciated, for letters have been written to the General about 1t. That probably will mean citation for us.
 'This Work Is No Play.
 When wrote you about what we have gone through do 1t, not for personal reasons, but because I want you to know that this work is no play, and far from being an occupa- tion of the 'semi-heroic rich.' I have seen more of war in five minutes in this sector than in months in the other places we have been. Nine of our twelve cars have been hit, but luckily only one chap has been wounded, and that not very seriously. I really think there is a divine Providence watching over us, for you would hardly believe some miraculous escapes that have taken place.
 "I have seen demonstrated some thing which I had heard but never believed. namely that shell can land So close that it's proximity saves one, the eclatsG going over ones head. Shells play queer tricks at times Three cars were standing in row, one with two wounded. A shell landed near and the concussion blew whole panels out of each car and killed the two men. The remarkable part is that neither the cars nor men were actually hit by anything but dirt
 Germans Have New Gas.
 Nowadays the Germans seldom send over waves of gas. They seem to prefer to send in hundreds of gas shells These have the same whistle as the high explosive but do not ex- plode with a loud noise.. It is more like the opening of a gigantic ginger ale bottle. They do a lot of damage, for they often catch one unawares. They will pick out hollow and just | drench it with gas shells; some smell | like garlic and others like mustard. We have found it impossible to drive at night with masks on, especially those of us who wear glasses, for they immediately fog up. All of us dread | these shells, much preferring to take our chance with the high explosive A soldier was telling me of a new gas that they send in by shells. Wherever | there is a precipitation on the body it forms an acid which gives a. very bad burn. The men suffer most around the necks, under the arms and on the | hands.
 l Altogether, this has been tremen- | dously interesting period. The aerial 1 activity has been intense, there being lots of flights and numerous captive balloons brought down. The Germans have a nasty habit of coming over at night, flying low and turning their mitrailleuse on the roads which they know are crowded with wagons car frying material.
 | Munitions Depot Hit.
 By lucky shot the other day the Germans started fire in small mu- nitions depot quite close to us. I have seen displays of fireworks. but this had them all beaten with a four hours display. Some of the abrfs up front are perfects marvels of safety and comfort and I shall try and give you an idea of one. One side of a solid stone hill had been used before the Mar as a quarry. This particular side happened to be away from the Boche.
 It has been so tunnelled that one walks through cave after cave with | plenty of head room and spacious rooms. Everywhere there Is plenty of light supplied by an electric gener- -ator and one finds a wonderfully com elete and clean operating room. Re-
 member this is all within a mile and a half of the front line trenches, which
 in modern warfare Is a short distance
 1.-The wounded get splendid treat ment; but of course stretchers take the place of bed. for it is by no means a hospital. They can comfortably take