Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1917-12-21

Saw Another Sign OF Gas.
me suddenly that 1t was the gas. The
officer who had left few minutes be.
fore poked him head down and shouted,
"Run like h; it's the gas!''
BY this time could hardly see, and
I was doing some tall old scrambllng
to get out Of that place would hold
my breath as long as l could, and then
I'd take another breath through my
khaki handkerchief. When l got out
side found that everything was GOV.
cred with greenish yellow haze, and
] couldn't see three feet In front Of me.
I ran I'm the direction Of the place
had left my car, and l struck 1t the
first shot. Perhaps l wasn't thankful
| had left the engine running! jump
ed in and started down that road for
all was worth. and before had gone
100 yards was off the road and stuck
In plowed field. was clear OF the
Pas, though. and that was all ] cared
about.
waited there for two hours before
any one appeared, and when a fatigue
party finally came along the road had
them help me get the car out They
got eight horses. and we hitched them
on to the back. raced my machine,
and the horses pulled, and after half
an hours work the car was back ON
the road again.
No sooner had they gone than my
officer showed up safe and sound and
we started back for camp.
II was n terrible experience, and we
were absolutely helpless, as we had
not been furnished with the respirators
and gas helmets at that time. We Sc
cured these things soon after, but all
the time | had mine | never saw an
other sign OF gas.
found ont afterward that those two
officers who had been In the dugout
were both killed 10y the gas.
The officer who was with me at the
time of the gas attack was one Of the
most remarkable men ever met. For
several years before the war he had
been In the British secret service In
Germany, so he spoke German almost
as well as he did English.
one day we stopped at hospital In
Baillcul. and one of the orderlles told
us that there were some German
wounded there The officer asked me
IL | would like to go In and see them
| said would like IL very much. 80 we
went In. There was one poor devil all
by himself among some English pa.
tients. The officer went over and sat
on the edge OF his bed and began to
talk to him.
II you could have seen that poor fell
lows face when he heard himself ad
dressed In his own language! His
whole countenance lighted up. and he
began to talk Pretty soon the tears
began to run down his cheeks. and
felt awfully sorry for the poor chap
who was away from all his own peo
pie, severely wounded.
lie said that he had Just been mar
ried before the beginning OF the war
and he and his wife had saved all they
could, and two days before he was
called up they had bought COW. He
was as worried as he could be for fear
something had happened to the COW.
The bombardment OF Ypres began the
night of the April day we experienced
the gas, and with the bombardment be-
gan the infantry attack. was up at a
little place called RRcninghlest, and
could hear the rifles and machine guns
at II for all they were worth. | was
thanking my lucky stars that | was on
my car instead OF motorcycle ma
chine gun, when an orderly rode up and
told me that | was to report at head
quarters at once.
All the way back TO camp had the
feeling that something was going to
happen. and when | arrived there
was told to report myself to the signal
company for duty with my motorcycle
Then | knew that was TO carry dis
patches through the coming battle.
wish to make particular note OF the
fact that at the beginning OF this bat.
tie, which lasted three weeks. we dis
patch riders numbered thirty-onc In all
for our corps, Half an hour later we
were fully equipped aud on our way to
the advanced report center which
would he the scene OF our activities
until the fight was over
We were about 500 yards 10 the rem
Of the first line OF trenches ard