The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-11-18
Grating New Faces
on Wounded Tomnnies
Missoula Boy Writes of Trip
Through French Military
Hospital.

have been injured in battle was one
of the startling things Brice Toolc. q
Missoula hoy who Is serving in tho
French ambulance corps on the west
cru front saw when he made n visit
IL a French military hospital near the
trenches.
MIR. rnole. who has seen some of the
hottest fighting on the western front,
has written home To his mother. Mrs.
John X. Taolc of Missoula. telling OF
his experiences Of the past month
along the battle line.
The following extracts from recent
letters contain somc vivid pictures
of the great artillery duels. Mr.. Toole
tells OF climbing 4 hill and Witness
ing i botnharincnt If the Tcuton
trenches ~ the French and also Of
the DARING raids on tho German lines
by French aviators.
Here is what tho Missoula boy
writes:
II wish ! HAD the power To describe
the artillery attack ! saw the other
night | believe | told YOU we go on
duty for II hours Ut a time. | was sent
out at uuou made two trips back.
which is about six miles with wound
cd men and Eot back To my post about
an hour hefar" shutdown,
My post fs "a the bottom ~ 4 small
| hin about i tnir from the German lines.
! pniln told me- ~ th" intended attack
land ! went t. tho top Of this hill To
watch THINGS were fairly quiet. The
| l|rcuch were keeping up a desultory
| fire and Fritz was contcntng himself
with ltttl" shrapuel aud now and then
IA large shell. ny the way shrapncl
gives one queer feeling, When You
see it bursting IN black cotton pulp it
! looks harmless and your tin hat weighs
! II tom aud is as big AS a half mile track.
! But when YOU hear a piece of 1t whis-
tie by aud spat on the ground it Ger
tainlN sounds vicious and you try to
contract your shoulders under your tin
hat and feel that it Is only about the
size of postage stamp after ALL
But as ! said, Things were quiet
when all al once All the batteries
opened up 1t once, They We're all
laround me aud the very earth seemed
Ia shake. They made steady roar
with tie whistlinE of the shells as "A
sort Of a high light on the background
of The noise.
Fritz did not reply at all One could
follow the line of his trenches as far
us Your eye could reach by IA limo of
SMOKE and dust rising hundred and
two hundred feet In the air.
After about an hour the guns Quit
| as suddenly Hn they had begun. Most
Of the planes that had been circling
about over the lines directing the fire
came back and except for an occasional
duh boom YOU would imagine that it
was til" end of perfect fail day and
that the sinister cloud OF dust was the
wind blowing over a long aud dusty
| roud
''Then 10 or L fighting planes came
down very low After gaining tremeu-
deus speed they would swoop along the
TOPS Of the Bocho trenches and fire
down with machine guns. While this
doesn't often kill FRITZ, II worries him
a lot aud makes him 80 under ground
III hurry and tho morale effect Oh the
French troops Il wonderful They Will
stand up aud cheer u plane, totally for
getting that they are making d much
better Target Of Themselves than the
man going u hundred or more niles
an hour
Il made a special trip today back
about Il nileA with n man who had
fbttn Fazsed and shot three. times
thlnggh the stomach. | tnok the poor
fellow hael, to one Of the big base hos
ipltlls. found that all the nurses
were Americans and persuaded one of
them Ia take me al through the place.
II ii reals marvrrous what thcg can
do. I saw mon win new faces and
arms ana legs butlt UP gradually by
grating. Then SHE took me into one
! of the unerattnl rooms where / saw
some IF the work actually going on.
II was quite different from The muddy
field stations. The inter are usually
dugnutH and to ho i'm one aud see some
Of the poor fellows brought in covered
with dirt and mud aud blood and watch
= the doctors give him first aid by the
b light of n few apu,tcrug candles and
lanterns il 10 take an the glitter and
) glory away from war ana to reveal war
! for what il IS HclI
- 1T Is antlns dusk and can So. the