Iditarod pioneer., 1917-01-06
WOUNDED SOLDIER WRITES
 TO OLD-TIME ALASKAN
 ABOUT WAR EXPERIENCES

! their Northern friends, and those that have | been received have been of the most frag- l mentsry nature. Evidently the censorship | on soldiers letters from the front is still
 most rigid, and the correspondence of the
 soldiers is not very Illuminating. The cen
 sorship seems to be relaxed somewhat in the case of soldiers in hospital in England, as the following letter from one of them will show It was received by J. w. Hill better known throughout Alaska ss "Jim' Hill, ! and copy of it was forwarded to lditarod 1 friends. The writer, D. Q. McGregor, for me.ly resided in the Iditarod district and bis many friends here will be interested in reading his rather thrilling account of his experiences:
 North Evington War Hospital,
 Leicester. England. Sept. 30, 1916.
 Dear Friend Jim: Just line to let you know that am very we'll considering WAS wounded on the l5th close to Courcelette. Amer and Somme. On your maps it may not be shown, but it is north of Albert, on the road to Baupamne The American term certainly applies to the fighting of that day it certainly was fierce l got my souvenir early in the morning. We had gone over the top at half-past 5, and had gone through the German first line with very little difficulty. Of course l am speaking of our bit as matter of fact their sentry was asleep. He was bayonetted and we swarmed into their trench and set up our machine guns in their communication trench. This brought them out of their dugouts, and in the dark crowded up to the very muzzie ot the guns They took no notice at first of our call to surrender, but after a few sprays from the III. z. had filled the trench with dead they thought better of 1t and surrendered ss quickly as they could walk past l dare say you have read all of this 30 will not waste time giving you stale news However, to give you some idea of the bon- bardment as l saw 1t.
 After clearing all in sight we went on about half mile under the fire of our guns and started to dig ourselves in in front of their second line. We were quite safe for nothing alive could show about their trench while the bombardment was on; to see it one cannot think that hell itself let loose could be any worse.
 "We worked in twos, one digging and the other holding and tying the filled sand bags. We had to go back (some of us) for the sand bags; each man hsd fifty in bundle. had made three trips, and was sent back for some shovelS. On my way as l was crossing their lately-vacsted trench and looking into dugout, l thought l heard voices, so determined to interview with e bomb On my return, just as was on tire point of starting on again, one ct thelr 02 high-power shells dropped into the trench about five yards from where l stood it went clean through into the dugout and exploded. I was knocked down by the force of the explosion, but was up in time to yet clear of the falling debris, which con sisted of great sticks and beams eight or nine inches wide, iron bedsteads, tables ch airs, rifles, machine guns and anmunl- ton, snd several whole corpses oi men just killed besides several fragments; enc head dropped at my feet as l watched, doinS my best to stand from under. l, will glve you some idea of the force of this shell when tell you that the chalk shower WAS thrown fifty feet into the air (the country here Is all chalk. with from one to three feet ot 8 c}ay loam on the surfacel. It left hole twelve feet deep and eighteen feet across. After looking along the trench for any live ones, l spotted one-he was beating It TOT our lines so hailed him. He looked around, threw up his hands and came to- ward me, talking German l9 to the dozen. do not speak 1t. but said in my best Ger man, Get behind me Satan. He under stood so well that he went to go behind me but when called, Here, Fritz, you savvy this (pointing to the point of the bayones and making lunge at him. pointed m the direction of our lines. He saw that ne had misunderstood me at hrst, so ne salo' Yah, yah.' and off he went, about fifteen wards in front of me. We had hardly gone fifty wards when one of their shells burst in the sir about fifty feet above me. l was not hit, but big splinter struck hlm m the back of the neck, splitting his head ana onening him right down through the chest to the navel. l went on-dead 'uns don count here. Any of these fields look like an old gold hld-say like French or Gold hill
 "Weu I went on and got half dozen shovel, and delivered them, and was about half way back for another load ot sand bags when was plugged by sniper from some where on my right. The bullet went through my thigh in front of my hlp |oint, passing through and into my abdomen about one-third of the distance between the nght groin and navel was very lucky, as It didn't touch the bone or break the insloe lining of the abdomen At the point ot en- trance it is already healed, leaving only snot the size of the end of pencil. At the point of emergence there was a ragged wound about three inches long. will De as good as new in fortnight. was hi'
 about 7 o'clock and was in Etapies 'na' evening, in Boulogne next evenins across CT !, the channel into England and here al l o'clock the next morning "Oh, they're not so slow here as some Q. oi 1 onr .nroud friends would have us think. ol course the job over there is one that canno. be done in a hurry We are not dolng It 1 like Won kluck on his rush march on fafls
 he forgot the German proverb, Langsam
 aber sicher' (slow but sure), That IS me
 way we are doing it. Of course we are are
 paving terrible price, but nothing like they