The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1917-04-21
BATTLE STOPPED
BY LITTLE BABY
Mysterlously Appears Crawling
Between Lines Where Fierce
Fight Is Raging.
IS RESCUED BY A GERMAN
Soldiers Forget They Are Enemies and
cease Strengthening Each Other
While Prussian Carries In
fant to Safety.

New York.-Edgar Won Schmidt
faull, Prussian cavalry officer. who
IS on the western front, has written
Tor the German newspapers the fol-
lowing remarkable incident which he
ana his men witnessed recently:
Donnerwetter - what helliSh
noise About me shells are bursting
ana all around me is the rat-tat-tat of
machine guns.
1t is just before dawn, and the fog
Is so thick that one can scarcely see a
yard ahead. All we know is that our
troops during the night stormed and
captured the French village over yon-
der. l want to see how our left wing
is situated, and therefore ride TO the
village where the enemy's bullets are
falling as thick as hailstones during a
heavy thunderstorm. The fog contin-
ues thick, but it is not cold.
Il find a shelter where other cavalry
men are taking a little rest and at once
proceed to get some needed sleep my
self, ordering the lieutenant to rouse
me in case of necessity.
Suddenly l am awakened by pc
culiar, uncomfortable stillness-as is
the case often where sleeper is awak-
ened either by a sudden noise or the
cessation of noise.
Baby In Battlefield.
"AS / emerge from the dugout the
lieutenant winks at me somewhat mis-
chievously and points directly in front
of him. Carefully l raise my head
over the top of the trench to get a
view of things.
THE sun had risen and the fog had
disappeared. In front of us is a
meadow, and there, midway between
our trenches and those of the enemy,
is-God, it is impossible; it must be q
delusion "a Fata Morgana; but no
there in the middle of the field, crawl
ing on hands and knees, is little
child, a baby. 1t appears perfectly
happy and contented, and seems to be
enjoying itself. Not sound is to be
heard, not a shot is fired. Every man
has become dumb from amazement.
"a child has fallen from heaven
cries SOlQlcF near me.
"Well. that is about the case for
where else could that child have come
from?
Before my weary brain can summon
UP any convincing reasons how that
child got out there-whether some poor
mother lost it in the panic due to
| the battle of the night before-a Ger
man soldier jumps out of the trench
! and runs to where the child is crawl
/ ing about. Absolute stiffness prevails
| in the trenches, and only 20 our right
from which this extraordinary sight is
/ hidden by a clump of trees. is the sound
! of gunfire heard.
Like Peaceful Island.
"And this snot, which all through the
night had been a veritable inferno OF
shot and shell, is now like some peace
full island or a cool, friendly oasis il
| a burning desert.
cover there in the enemy's trenches
we can see the helmets of the French
men as they peer over the edges. NJ
one is any longer thinking of the en-
! envy or the war. or of danger. All eye
are on the tall soldier and the chii'
which he is approaching. As he pick
up that little frightened, helpless hi
of humanity and fondly takes it in hi
arms. d laugh. low. friendly Laugh
passes along our entire column Thu
| laugh is infectious. and We can fee
how it is going along the ranks owe
wonder. And suddenly-what, are the.
Going to shoot no, on the contrary
"a great wave of applause with shout
of Bravo" from thousands of FrencI
throats break he stiffness. Then. a
the soldier jumps back into our trenc'
with the child safely in his arms, on
ranks. TOO. burst into triumphan
shout which passes all along the line
Even for some time after not
shot is fired. It is as if we felt ahame
Of ourselves. and no one touched a gu
while that child was in our midst.
'When the firing did start again
was rather deSultory and Indifferent
and there was nothing dangerou
about IT, That little child had worke
"A wonderful change in the hearts c
both friend and foe that morning