Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-02-08
DARES DEATH ON BATTLEFIELD
WITH BRAVE FRENCH AUMONIER
correspondent Crawls to Mouth of German Guns
With Unarmed Soldier-Priest on
Mission of Mercy
BY HENRY BAZIN
Special Correspondence Evening L,do.,

Special Correspond,
PARIS, Jan. 10.--This story Of a recent
PERSONAL experience In France must. for
OBVIOUS reasons. contain neither the names
OF places nor the names cf men.
had spent the entire day with an ambu-
lance corps behind the front. Al 1880 in
the evening | obtained Permission TO ride
with an automobile driver to a point where
MS sunering load would be transfer ed to
ms care, AT this given point left him to
roe iarther In horse ambulance with
| destination closer behind the first line
You may have to walk back" said the
driver. provided my load needs all the
room, including your seat"
AS he turned to his worl, at the end Of
our destination, l saw standing before me
one OF the admirable types IN the admirable
french army-an aumonier-the unarmed
soidler priest. OF all the brave men In the
valiant army of France. he aumonicr and
tne Drancandier or ambulance bearer are In
the front rank. For they work unarmed.
uhder f1re, sometimes n fire of he'll, succor-
ing the wounded. bearing them on back or
IN stretcher from where tney have fallen TO
the poste de secour, often falling them
serves IN the act of their noble work.
THE FRENCH AuMoNIER
My aumoner, fine figure Of a man."
was ABOUT to go to the front-line trenches.
obtaining his permission, | excha nged my
nat Tor the helmet Of the poilu ''the best
umbrella ever made" and followed
Upon our walk through the communicating
trenches In the faint light of the moons
hrst digit we were Joined by two officers
in rev moments we were In an unceasng
fire from the Boclfe lines Now and then
we crouched In the trench TO escape frag-
ments from shell breaking close by
Every few minutes three ;.mes in three or
once In five, a $50" or "22O" sang its
death song as 1t passed high over our
heads.
From the front-lne trench we clambered
TO the shell-cratered muddy ground above
| standing in a group for a moment ere ad-
vancing TO the nearby observation post
| that was our destination. 1t was fifty feet
| away and about 900 from the invaders
front line. suddenly, out of the near black
distance behind II came sweeping light
swinging from the northeast in a slow.
steady circular movement to the west. II
was German searchlight.
The range was too high and would escape
US But suddenly It lowered and struck us
| fair. stopping instantly. My three COM
| panions yelled to me to follow and covered
the rev feet TO the trench to scramble
down its side before l started But real
| izins on the instant, I followed, too. neither
walking nor running for just threw my
self in heap through the air to land In
the mud of the trench's bottom as a
wicked fire Of mItrailIeuse spat harmlessly
over me.
SAVED BY A HAIR
The light had not moved since landing
| upon the spot where we had stood The
shots, in total of perhaps 800, had begun
withln thirty seconds afte. we bad left its
tuil glare, Since we were an perhaps
| twenty-eight seconds in reaching the cover
OIL the trench depression. =. was the miss
| that was as good as q mile We crouched
and waited for the fire to cease For full
| space OF three minutes its cracking rain OF
lead sang over our trench, then the fire
| ceased as suddenly as it had begun, and the
searchlisht continued its slow journey to-
ward the west
After cigarette in an underground
| shelter for no one smokes at night in tho
| open at the front, we began our tourney
back, with always an intermittent fire pass
| ing over our heads. We were quite safe.
Tor 1t was heavy shell. We were always
WITHIN 1000 feet of the Boche line. and at
| times 700 Now and then we left the COM
municating trench for by trenches leading
| in and out covering thus a distance per-
| haps four times the straight journey. only
! 1t is never a straight journey. only more
direct one.
About one-thlrd the way we had TO pass
through the absolute ruin Of that which had
been the village of - on reconquered
| territory. The trench wound through its
| black, desolate destruction, mostly a mass
| of crumbed stone. was here and there a
piece of Jagged standing wall oven three
| enormous shell craters filled with muddy
water. within the village ruin, a footbridge
| had been built.
They have this range" said my soldier
| priest companion. but it's short cut and
| we take a chance. as II saves a bit of dis
tance. So, when they destroy 1t. we rebuild
| it, Be careful We are close to them"
AS he spoke, the faint moon had drifted
under a cloud and II grew very dark. But