The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1917-06-23
Oyer There The Thrill and the He'll the Trenches Described by An American Boy

attack in tho worlds history. waags.
launched by the Germans and. althoushy
the French on the left and the BritisnS
on the right fell back. The CanadianS7
stayed where they were put.
Right here. I can mention something
which will give you an idea why DC. :
scriptions Of this war don't describe il.
During the first gas attack. the Cana"
dams, choking 10 death and falling over
each other in a hight against new ana
unhcard-of terror in warfare, round
way-lhc Lord only knows who FIRST dis
covered it and how he happened to do It
to stay through a gas cloud and come
out alive. 1t isn't pretty to think or and
it's like. many other things ~ TINS WIZ
which you can't ever. tell Of In print
because the simple description would I;
violate the nice ethics about reading !.
matter for the public eye which nave
grown up in long years OF peace and ira
ditlonal dccency. But this thing which
you can't describe meant just the dt1er-
encc between. life and death to many or
the Canadians. that first day OF the gas. .
Official orders now, tell every solaierS
what he Is to do with his handkerchief
ir q gus attack without his mask.
The nearest can come, In print 10 /.
e ling you what the soldier 10 ordered {:
to do in this emergency Is to remind you
that ammonia fumes oppose chlorine gas
rs neutralzing agent, and that certain
carnations ofthc body throw or am:
New, that I've told you how we got
from the Knickerbocker bar and other
places 10 O sitaution which was just 150"
German army in Belgium. I might ash
well add a couple OF details nbout thing.
which straightway put the fear or God
in our hearts. AT daybcrak, one OF our
Fourteenth platoon men, standing on the
hring step, pushed back his trench he'll
met and remarked that he thought II
was about time for coffee. He didn't get
any German sharpshooters. firing
the first time that day. got him unde;
the rim Of his helmet. and his career
with the Canadian forces avs over right
there. And then. as the dawn broke. We
made out bis painted sign raised !
above the German front trench II read:
Welcome Eighty Seventh Canadians
We were a new battalion. We had
been less than scventy-two hours on
the continent OF Europe and the Ger
mans were not supposed TO know any
thing that was going on behind our
lines!
We learned. attcrward. that con-
ccslcd telephones in the houses Of the
belgian hurGomastcrS OF the villages
OF DinkIe busch and RenninGhelst. near
our position gave communication with :
the German headquarters opposite uH.
One Of the duties OF Il detail OF our
men. soon after that. was TO stand these
two burgumasters up against a wall and
Shn1t thcm 4
In concluding this first article. I,
want To say frankly that any man who
claims he is not afraid when. for tho
first time. he goes into that hell Of nreIi
III the Western Front IS a liar. and I'll
tell him 40 To his face. Later We be-
came inpcrvious. but that first day l
prayed and ] would have bent down and
prayed only my knees shook so.
Copyright, 1917. By The Bell eyndi-
cate. Incl
Tha second article in this remarkable
series will appear Monday. It 10 "x10
Bomb Rad"