The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1917-11-15

-SSAJ way ~ was Lu0 S0kl6 VIO
routine-up to the firing line in the
morning and back down again at
night. Once In awhile we would let
ourselves In for q young b~ombardment
or would have rather a hot session In
the trenches when we would happen to
get there at the right time, but - far
as any important happenings theirs was
none.
will forget the last day I
spent at the front. It seemed t. me
that the Germans must have put up u
job on me, and just at the moment
was sure that ! vas coming out OF 1t
all right and that the war was over
for me they were trying to get me.
l was ordered to report With my car
to n Of our new officers. did so,
and we left for the firing line. When
we reached the divisional signal Office
we left the car and mounted our horses
to finish the journey. We got to a
place called Krustadt and stayed there
about half an hour. I hitched my
horse to the gate of an old deserted
house and went over to one of our
ammunition columns to see IL I could
get some hot tea. When l came back
about fifteen minutes later l found my
poor horse down with his front leg
gone. A shell had exploded in the yard
OF this house and had blown his leg
clear OF. There was nothing for me
to do but to shoot him and put the poor
beast out Of his misery.
| hunted around among the different
units in the vicinity until l found an
other horse, and then I went up and
reported to my officer. We visited
some Of u batteries and came back
to Krustadt. The officer told me that
he would not need me during the after
noon, but to meet him at s o'clock that
evening. We hitched our horses to a
tree, and the officer went of. Very
0 20 after he had gone some more off,
GERS came along and hitched their
horses to the same tree. Altogether
there were six tied to the one tree.
/ went over to the Royal Engineers
place and proceeded to make myself at
home. l was feeling happy, for l knew
that this was my last day at the front.
and l was hoping to be home for
Christmas. OF curse l told everybody
I met all about my good luck. and we
were having a regular little farewell
dinner. only we had tea instead Of
champagne. After it was all over some
of the boys went away, and | proceed
ed to make myself comfortable on a
ro,oh thu <O1lo~v0 hO1 h,,s1k 80 ~ Tho
corner
I had been there about fifteen min
utes when for some reason or other /
got up and went over and sat down, by
the braZier. I hadn't been off that
couch three minutes when a shrapnel
shell burst directly over the hut. and l
should say fully twenty pieces came
through the roof. They went through
the floor as IL it had been 80 much pa
per, and about half a dozen pieces pen
etrated the couch l had been lying on
not five minutes before. There We're
three Of us in the hut at the time, and
not one of us was Sc much as scratched.
The shells were coming over pretty
tlEASA IACAk, 81 we WCAC LUZ SAC AuSOutS
on the dead run. AS l passed the tree
where our horses were tethered a high
explosive shell burst In the middle Of
them and buttered them all over the
landscape.
Believe me. l didn't pause one Sec
ond. I just kept on going. entered .
dugout that had about q foot and q
half Of water In it, but l lay right
down In it and was only too glad to.
stay there. The Germans were keep
ing up a sweeping fire, trying to locate
our batteries, and they continued I'M
til nearly Z o'clock that evening.
When 3 O'Clock came and l was sup
posed to meet my officers l stayed
right where l was. for l knew that l
would not be expected to go out and
wait by that tree when the shells were
falling the way they were then. At
Z o'clock the fire had pretty nearly
ceased. so l ambled out to the tree to
e what had become Of the officer. He
was sitting on the ground with his
back against the tree. I told him what
had happened. and he asked me IL l
knew where we could find some more
horses.
l said l did and that 1t was right on
our way back, so We walked about q
half mile until we came to the trans
port camp, and there WI got two other
horses and proceeded to the place
where we had left the car.
Here the officer decided we would
have some tea. SO I went into a tent
where there were some fellows I knew
and begged some grub. l had just
commenced to eat when q shell scream
| ed over and went into the ground about
twenty or thirty feet from the corner
Of the tent. It didn't explode. SO we
! were all right. but ! decided that right
here was where ! quit, and ! went out
and sat In the car until the officer was
ready.
But my troubles were not over yet.
On the way back to camp n Of the
back wheels came Off the car and near
" dumped us into the ditch. The OH
Ger got a lift down in another car. and
| set to work to try to put back the