Weekly journal-miner., 1917-11-28
(By First Lieutenant Lyle Abbott

as though discussing the next club dance with some nice girl.
 The third salvo was' fired and the students cheered as they saw the white puffs break out directly over the target, and picked up with the naked eye, the whirlwind of yellow dust indicating that the target had i been sprinkled with the deadly balls.
 They were told that shrapncl is nothing but a shot gun, transported to the target and fired some 100 feet above it. The result is a beaten zone" 20 yards wide and POO yards long, Lucky is the man who lives in the burst of shrapncl
 ' There was pause, and the battery resumed firing, sending in all its shots at oncc-in other words, all four guns were turned loose at the same in stant The new target was line of infantry In three trials the gunners got their pieces on the target and then fired for effect, tearing the paste board silhoucttcs to tatters.
 Another pause. and the audience be- gan to believe the show was over. Then, with noise that shook the hill. came the voice of battery of Four Point-Scvcns' the largest field pieces the United States army has. This battery was emplaccd directly behind the hill, so that the shells flew overhead, giving the students an ink ling of what a. real battlefield sounds like. This time, there were bigger white puifs and the yellow dust was hurled hundreds of yards into the air. ] Small trees, gravel and brush went flying through the air under the fury of the blast. This battery fired faster than the smaller oncs Its shots moancd and whistlcd over the hills and ravines and its effect on the far away landscapes was appalling. The enemy battery was messed up fear fully, and the infantry lines were spread over acres of ground.
 The sun was getting low when the lilNtl tINAOA dItOAhNNd lllN ND4iA pAN tACAi of the problem and the long lines of infantrym formed to march back to camp. They passed the station Of the big guns, where sweaty dusty students in fatigue clothes were un- coupling the monsters, wiping out the barrels and preparing the delicate mechanism for transport to the park.
 A Thrill in No Mans Land
 Low hanging clouds that threaten cd 2 rain or a cold spell that forum atcly never came. made observation of the enemy trenches difficult dur ing the carly evening hours of Nov embcr l3 IL was the night for the Big Show and fully 5000 civilians, men, women and children, had motor cd from San Antonio, 2l miles away, to witness a night battle. The wind mp of trench training for the student officers was designed to impress them with the actualitics of combat in that grim zone claimed by neither friend nor foe, but fought for with the ut most vigor by each.
 We of the First Company deemed ourselves specially fortunate at hay ing been assigned to the right flank of the front line trenches. Our prep arations had been made most com plctc. Criticism of the lcisurcly or careless manner in which we had practiccd assaults during the prcccd- ing stretch of trench life had put , every man on his nerve. 4 whole battalion was occupying the front llnc, and we knew that we had at least as many men opposing Us. Behind our ditchcs were the supports and re battle, in the event the aSSaulting first waves cleared the enemy positions. Preparations had included the isSu- ancc Of extra blank ammunition, the storing of star shells and trench flares dummy hand grcnadcs and all the other accessories of trench warfare, . The asSauting units had been care fully trained in their respective duties dIu every lidll litu d iiSHtdl piNtNiN of his objective.
 At , o'clock an excellent supper was served in the trcuchcs-mcu dc tailed to the task carried large cans of meat, potatoes, bread. jam and coffee through the trenches, aud each soldier received his portion and turn cd back 10 his post, munchln".
 As darkness settled. we could hear the hum of many voices, but could sec none of our audience, for the Big Papa had said: Woe is the man who exposes his bean. Not only shall Inc receive many bullets in it, but he may give away our position and our in tCntionS.
 The darkness increased until il seemed it could be cut into slabs with bayonct All was quiet in the zone. Not a man spoke, for the word had gone through the trcnchcs-pass- d from man 10 man after the system peculiar 10 this mode of warfare that no one was to cacl>lc In the front line trenches. only the scntrics stood up. pccriuu over the top or uS-