Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1917-10-24

! DOudtu EdFI dllehlpttu W tolnApit
her with the assurance that their pc
siti0ns were so strong they could hold
out another "a hours, If required
by which time help must surely
have come to them from the regular
army and the National Guard which
had been modified for border duty.
| Against this argument there re-
manned the unquestionable fact that
repeated kilograms evoked no re-
Spouse from any quarter.
And re-enforcements at any time
would arrive too late to prevent hide
GUS mortality in the ranks of the de-
| tenders.
| Toward Woodworking a second series
of most violent assaults was launched
against the mainline trenches, and
though each in turn was thrown back
severely punished. each took its toll of
American lives and by so much lessen
ed the ability to present impregnable
resistance.
But by noon Hurokl seems to
have made up his mind that further eff
E
were futile. There fell lull in the
fury of the combat between the in
fantry forces, while a thanking move
ment on the part of the Mexican cav
airy was met and confronted by a
cloud of rough-riding plainsmen I'M
der the leadership of Rodman Pills.
bury.
Then again the artillery duel was
resumed; but there was in this some
thing strangely perfunctOry, as far
Mt least as the work Of the allied gun
ners were concerned. The suspicion
was warranted, and by subsequent
events was borne out, that Huroki was
sparring for time.
He was awaiting the arrival of heav-
Ter artillery whatever those circum-
stances were which delayed its COM
ing with effective range till dusk of
evening, they alone saved patr'a' ;
forces from annihilation-thoug much
credit Is due to the scouts Of Patria's
flying corps for the willingness and skill
with which they engaged the japanese
aviat0rs and drove them from the
sky above the American positions, pre-
venting their locating the hidden bat
teries.
The last traces Of light were dying
! from the sky when Huroki's heaviest
metal came into action.
/ simultaneously new and extraor-
/ dinarily vicious assaults were made
upon the trenches.
/ And still no word from Washing
ton or from any other quarter to
which appeals had been telegraphed
1t was not till midnight that a
scouting party dispatched by Donald
/ Parr brought in an explanation of this
! ostensible Indifference on the part Of
the authorities 10 the fate of Patria's
devoted little band.
Then 1t appeared that the wires had
been cut by japanese spies. who had
/ received-and suppressed-aH mes
sages dispatched by Patria's field head
! quarters. liz such manner as complete
! ~ to deceive her telegraph operators.
/ In short, it TRANSFERRED that not one
OF those many frantic cries for help
had been heard but by enemy ears.
/ Throughout a night OF hopeless hor-
ror the battle ragged. From the mo-
ment when Huroli's great guns en-
/ tered into the contest there was scarce
/ " a single perceptible break in the
succession of assaults upon the
trenches till dawn broke upon their
desperately thinned ranks.
4 And with the dawn came the final
I effort, charge in force that taxed to
I the utmost the courage, resource and
I ingenuity of the Americans. That
it broke and was swept back can be
counted as nothing short OF miracu-
I lous.
AS It did so Donald Parr fell. his
shoulder shattered by shrapnel.
When he recovered consciousness
( In her arms, End she knew that his
hurt was not mortal, Patria took into
her own hands the command which
she had resigned to his. Comforting
by telephone in person with her staff,
she ordered the effort of the last re-
sort. the forlorn hope which had been
. reserved for that lno.uent when the
day seemed lost and sacrifice of self
alone might stem the tide of defeat.
All defensive tactics We're abandoned
The men were ordered from the
trenches, to advance, to charge and
keep on charging till the last man fell.
To give them heart fleet of tanks
armored caterpillar tractors carrying
machinegu crews-were loosed upon
the enemy.
Looming through the gray, formless
/ light of the newborn day Ike mon
/ strous armadillOes vomiting fire and
death, they crossed their own trenches
AID met and broke a charge of Japa-
nese and Mexican infantry. scattering
/ 1t like chaff.
/ As the enemy turned and fed these
/ terrors the Americans forsOok the
shelter OF their trenches and pursued
At the same time masked batteries
came out of hiding and moved forward
to closer positions I'm the open.
A daring raid Uf cavalry captured q
42-centimeter howitzer and turned II
upon its own people.
Where the tanks were not, there was
hand-to-hand fighting characterized b!
~ ~~-~-~~~~~-~~>~-~~~~-~~~~
coming from ali quarters of the world.
He says:
''There exists in New York today n
/ thriving. powerful Jewish community.