Bridgeton pioneer., 1917-05-31
Woman S Courage
A Story Of 1920
By OSCAR COX

some years been taking over the Grkr
ties Of men surprised every one Em-
assuming a variety of work, which rsa-
lieved their brothers and husbands zn>
that they could be spared for fghtRE
at the front. Besides this, woruxg-a
drilled in the manual of arms for hexmx=
defense.
Toward the close of the war a regsE-
hent of Englishwomen who we're ra.sz-
content with defending their country
protected by the English channel, tSE.-
manded to be sent to France to Err
battle beside the men. Their appfScls--
ton was refused, whereupon thexv
stormed parliament and compelled thrx-
body to pass a bill for a womazgFE
corps.
Regiment A Of infantry-it was dz,-
cided to classify the women's corps fw
the letters of the alphabet-reached fEsss-
front during a retreat of the Germ2xE
that was supposed by the allies to- Sxs
made with the intention Of shortening-
their lines. A portion of the BritfSxa
army, including Regiment A, was fasR-
lowing the Germans, whose trenches
had been made untenable by the Rrie.-
ish heavy artillery, and there occurr1dS
some Of that open fighting which wzss.
rarely seen during the war.
The women's regiment being raw re-
cruits it was not expected that tfxE-
would show the bravery of veteraEa4
Their colonel. Mrs. Lillian vayasms--
anxious that her troops should give O.
good account Of themselves N tfeE
first fight, had made provisions againsS1
any sudden panic that might seize upUxp
them. AS the line advanced the brigaGzxs
commander noticed a number OF ngkft
vehicles following Regiment A anhE
asked Colonel Vavasour what they werzse
for. The colonel whispered her rersG
in the generals ear, who seemed - taa.
perfectly satisfied with it.
1t is no disparagement to the couragA
Of the women to say that the openiGzK
Of a cannonade all along the line az
fected them seriously. 1t was NOT thHE
missiles that frightened them. for tfb<e
German shells fell far behind thenS
while a British curtain of fire oFsE-
their heads fell at safe distance fN
front Of them. 1t was the frfghtfEH
noise that caused their faces To- pn2fE-
And incidentally to this pallor It mng
be mentioned that on the cheeks aE
nearly two-thirds Of the officers arzG
soldiers appeared dark patches. wf6t4a
was to be accounted for by the roueE-
which lost its natural hue In CONTRAST
with bloodless skin.
Colonel Vavasour, watching her
troops and seeing that they were anpxk
to break and run, called her buEzE
and bade him sound certain ortla=r-
He did so, and the wagons I'm the reac
of the regiment drew up in line andE2
an attendant entered each wHguE.
Just then the din became so great tfmae
the women could no longer endure H.
The line wavered, then broke
At another signal from the colonefE
bugler minute animals were seem or
pour from the vehicles towarG wti3eL
the women were fleeing. There v1E
shrieks from the women and halffnE
all along the line.
"a mouser' was the cry I'm the eezs-
ter. "a mOuse!' was the cry On TIN
flanks. From the whole line shrie&zes
were mingled with the cries OF ~fa.
mouse" "A mousew' A tfioUs1nE
mice were scattered, running wfIdZg
here and there, stopping the way Ezs>
fore the regiment.
Soldiers cried the colonel, "chooSs-
between the enemy who stops your Ez,A
treat and that which checks your afE
vance! The one is a tiny four foofeSx
animal but couple of inches long, ttszs
other is man armed with rifles, cars,s
non, streams of fire and poisonous gnck
By turning upon such an enemy yssz
will show the world that woman Is exs-
dowed with all the courage that hax
for ages been claimed by men Rsr-
form"
So great was the women's fear <sF
the little mouse, which was itself axe-
terrified that it was racing In every
direction, that not woman soldfss
heard one word the colonel said NexE..-
ertheless every woman turned from xEzxs
frightened mouse to the terrible Gsz~
mans. The colonel, seeing them nfoySfE
forward and believing that her spirik@E.
words had rallied them, seized stHzsEA-
ard and, placing herself at theiss heszzs
led them on to victory.
In vain the Germans poured KQuSn
fire and poisonous gas and tear szx
at the regiment. Occasionally cyg<s-;
come by the storm before them, tkar
were halted, but the greater fear GE
what was behind them prevented khexr
breaking into flight. The GerYnzzzss
supposing there was a more deternzsE4-,-
ed body of men before them than tfx~y
had ever yet met. gave way. ana thss-i
portion Of the battlefield was ws3I@l
The general commanding sent an aiE.
de-camp to Colonel Vavasour with tfA,'
following message:
''Your regiment has today pryyssG
that. while woman may shrink frsxEE