The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-07-28

\ Americans soon VIII learn 10 dletlngult
the individual songs Of the various shell
for there is not the slightest doubt this
the moment he discovers they are in III
line" the German viii turn every avail
able calbre of weapon against them
flourish OF Introductory hate The
will come over in order-these shriekinj
grumbling missiles-ranging in size an
noise all the way from the nasty littl
.squeaks or hiz-bangs, up throug
the four .point-twos, the fve.point nine
and then on TO what the British Tom
mics lsconically call "the big STUFF
the eight and eleven. inch howitzer shell
and the projectiles from heavy calibrec
long range naval guns, known withou
affection as "Whistling Percys.'
There will be little opportunity t.
hear big Bertha for those famous
old 42-centmctre howitzers are seldom
used nowadays 1t is believed that the
Germans planned TO lombard Arras with
them, using prussc acid shells, but the
British advance on Easter Monday last
put stop to that particularly nefariou:
scheme against the already sadly bat.
tered little Artois cathedral city.
There is also awaiting the new Amer
lean army bounteous baptism of bombs
and hand grenades and the still more
dismaying introduction to the CHASTITY
rattle of the machine gun and its sin.
lister swish of spraying bullets--sounds
well calculated to stab with moment
of fear the heart of the bravest man.
But above all the American soldiers
must equip themselves to endure the Ie-
thai gas that will be sent over against
them in poisonous, yaporish clouds, or
showered upon them in deluge of heav-
lily charged cylinders and shells. They
must prepare to deal also with the
treaeherous lachrymatory gas, which
while not dangerous to life irritates the
tearducts until one cries with blinded,
smarting eyes for hours, The surprise of
both these gases is their altogether
PLEASANT smell, the lethal variety suggest
ing the clean odor of sanitary hospital
ward, while the so-called tear gas has the
scent OF crushed ripe apples,
or cider.
There is also the demonstrating ter.
ror of the "famenwerfer" with its roar
ing stream OF liquid fire faring with the
velocity of a high pressure fire nozzle
and with an ofpouring of smoke rising
like black cyclone cloud to the heavens
The first day of their stay in battle
trenches the Americans viii make the
acquaintance of a very old, but scarcely |
cherished, friend of the Tommies and |
Poilus-another member of the Werfer |
family known as Minnie" This is the
jerman mine thrower or minenwerfer,
which filings over at short range great
,eayy projectiles known as flying pigs"
of their wabbly, ungainly fight.
They go off with a deafening roar, ex-
bending more energy on noise, however,
han on material damage.
A notable development of the war has
'een the dread with which the Germans
ave seen weapons of their own inven-
ion turned against them, and turned
With steadily increasing intensity. +
heir prisoners speak of the terror these
Weapons have caused and declare the
ierman higher command is realizing all
90 late the Frankensteins it brought
1to being. While the entente allies are {
multiplying these terrors on the lines I
lid down by Emperor William himself, {
he Germans, isolated so long from the t
'ork, find their resources and materials
failing both as to means of 1
srrying on this style of warfare and,
hat is more important TO them, combat
* the retributiye measures undertaken
Y British and French.
Asphyxiating gas may be taken as !
riking example. The whole world was !,
locked when Germany first released =
lose poison clouds during their second
tack on Ypres, when the allies, little
Ispecting such weapon, had no protec
on whatever against it. The horror of
ose days when men engulfed by the
thai waves died agonizing deaths will 8
yer be forgotten. But the manner in v
hich the Canadian troops rallied and g
evented the Germans breaking through b
what they hoped would be victori- P
8 march to Calais and Boulogne, will 60
er be one of the most thrilling stories
the world war. Nowadays the British
irly battle the Germans in every form
gas whenever the slightest opportu-
ty offers, and prisoners all say their
ses in these attacks have been alarm
lily heavy. Gas is sent over in creep
I banks of fog, is shot over in bombs
at suddenly explode in trenches and
entrances to dugouts, while no billets
sleeping quarters for troops in rest
les back of the fighting line are safe
IN the gas shells which are ever
ocking at their doors.
The bitterness of it all to the Ger
ms, however, is the fact that daily
" find they have less and less rubber
h which to construct their gas masks,
ny of which are very inferior and
n but poor protection to the fighting
n against gases that constantly are
oming more powerful.
boiling and blazing oil drums which
Y find exploding about them in scald-
and ineendiary fury, heavy shells
ch break over them squirting streams
melted lead, are other species of the
I'D chickens of frightfulness that are
v flying home to the German roost
Il small xvonder that half fufahad