The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1917-10-19

I
! Have you ever been buried alive?
! No? Well, it isn't a pleasant expert
ence. 1t is only by the mereSt luck
that l am able to tell You what it
/ feels like"
/ Lieutenant -, the British avia-
| tor, was talking. The experience he
related was one he had while he was
| still in the infantry.
| I'VE were rather hard-pressed up
| in the first line, and it was decided
| that some one must carry message
| through the communicating trenches
| to headquarters. All the officers vol
unteered for the service. Four of us
We're chosen by lot. The BOcheS were
Smelling the communicating trenches
with helliSh fire, so it looked like
dangerous business. The four of Us
were to take different routes through
the trenches on the chance that one
of us would get through; the others
well, good luck to them.
Take Different Routes.
1.-Two of us were to go TO certain
| point, where the communicating
trenches divided in q " There we
were to separate, one taking the
right-hand trench, and one the left.
Chick Dalrymple, boy from To-
ronto, went with me. He waved to
NE as We separated.
Il started off, crOuching low in the
trench. Before l had gone very far
: there was flash. Then l didn't know
anything for Il while. Dalrymple got
to headquarters; SO did one of the
other men. They saw that l WIS
missing and thought probably / had
! got it on the way.
"Dalrymple was ordered to take Il
| company of men up through the trench
| through which l had passed for the
relief of the men holding the front
! line. All the way he kept Il sharp eye
out for me. Near the point where we
had separated he came upon Il great
! pile of dirt in the trench. 1t was Il
matter of taking his men over the top
! of it, which would have been as dan
! gerous as taking them through an
| open field, or else having the mound
! removed.
/ HE set his men to work with SHOW
| els. At the bottom of the pile he came
| upon NY left foot. l had been buried
! by q shell that had burst just along
| side the trench as l was passing
| through il. | had been under there for
nearly two hours. They say couldn't
| have been, but l am ready to swear
WAS conscious most of the time.
ut was the trench mat at the bot
tom of the trench that saved my life.
The trench mat is a kind of boardwalk
| laid along the bottom of the trench,
| with few inches between the mat and
the ground.
Thought He Was Blinded.
81 had fallen face down on the mat
! and had breathed the air between the
boards and the water underneath.
, When l first regained consciousness /
| thought / was blind. l could family
hear the explosion of shells, but
couldn't see anything. Everything
was dark. 1 thought my eyes must
have been blown out.
81 lay there q few minutes think
ing what / would do. My idea was To
get up and wander about until
bumped into some one who could take
me to the hospital or call a stretchcr
bearer. That was an excellent idea
until l tried to put it into execution.
I tried to rise, hut found l was pinned
down. Then I realized what had hap
pened. I was buried alive! l began
recalling the stories of other men who
had been buried alive.
There was no one within mile
half as scared as l was at that mo-
ment. When they dug me out they
found me unconscious. l had re-
ceived three broken ribs, 4 broken
breast bone and broken nose. They
fastened couple of tunics across tw"
| rifles and We're carrying me to the
hospital on this imprOvised stretcher
when l stopped piece of shrapnel.
"That meant some time in the hos
| pital. They took me back to Eng
land. When I had been repaired
went back into the flying service.
Somehow it didn't seem half as danger.
GUS"