The Kadoka press and Kadoka reporter. [volume] (Kadoka, S.D.) 1910-1923, 1918-10-11

drawn back and forth on the track by
little Belgian engines.
After | had been at my gun for sew
eral days | was ordered back to my
regiment, which was again In the
front-line trenches. My course was
past both the British and French lines
but quite distance behind the front
lines.
Everywhere there we're ambulances
and wagons going backward and for
ward. ] met one French ambulance
that was a long wagon full of pOilus
from field hospital near the firing
line and was driven by man whose
left arm was bandaged TO the shoul-
der. Two poilus who sat In the rear
on guard had each been wounded In
the leg and one had had big strip Of
his scalp torn off. There was not a
sound man In the bunch. You can
imagine what their cargo was like, If
the convoy was as used up as these
chaps. But all who could were sing
ing and talking and full of pep. That
is the French for you: they used no
more men than they could possibly
spare to take care Of the wounded. but
they were all cheerful about it
always.
Just after I passed this ambulance
the Germans began shelling a section
OF the road too near me to be comfort
able, so l beat II to shell crater
about twenty yards off the road, to the
rear. A shrapnel shell exploded pretty
near me just as l jumped into this
hole--I did not look around to see how
close It was-and l remember now
how the old minstrel joke had heard
on board ship came to my mind at the
time-something about a fellow feel
Ing so small he climbed into a hole
and pulled 1t after him-and wished
/ might do the same. I flattened my
self as close against the wall Of the
crater as I could and then / noticed
that somebody had made dugout In
the other wall Of the crater and /
started for 1t.
The shells were exploding so fast
by that time that you could not listen
for each explosion separately, and just
as jumped into the dugout a regular
hail Of shrapnel fell on the spot had
just passed. 1t was pretty dark In
the dugout and the first move / made
I bumped into somebody else and he
let out a yell that you could have
heard a mile. 1t was a Tommy who
had been wounded in the hand and
between curses he told me / had sat
, right on his wound when I moved.
asked him why he did not yell sooner
but he only swore more. He surely
. was a great cusser.
, The bombardment slackened up 9
bit about this time, and l thought
. would have a look around. l did not
: get out of the crater entirely, but
) moved around out of the dugout unit
. could see the road had been on
The first thing I saw was broken
down wagon that had Just been hit
In fact, 1t was toppling over when m!
eye caught II. The driver jumped
from his seat and while he was In th'
air his head was torn completely from
his shoulders by another she'll d.
not know what kind. This was enough
for me, SO back to the dugout.
How the Germans did 1t I do no
know, but they had found out abou
that road and opened fire at exactl
the moment when the road was GOV
cred with wagons and men. Yet ther
had not been balloon or airplane Il
the sky for some time.
After a while the bombardmen
moved away to the east, from whic
direction I had come. and knew ou
batteries were getting 1t. The Tomm
and I came out OF the dugout. As
, started climbing up the muddy side
saw there was man standing Q
the edge Of II, and could tell by hi
puttees that he was a Limey. / We
? having a hard Job of II, SO witho,
looking up hailed him.
"That was sure some shellin
wasn't it?" I said. There's a Ia
down here with wounded fin; bett,
give him a hand"
w what shelling do you mean," sa.
n the legs. without moving, "There
n been none In this sector for son
~ time. think"
re The Tommy was right at my he
It. by this time, and he let out stril
N Of language. was surprised. too. al
lie still scrambling around In the mud.
m Then the Tommy let "Gawd e
n us |" and I looked up and saw that q
q. legs belonged to Limey officer.
ID major, I think. And Aere we had be-
u cussing the eyes OF Of himi
II But he sized It up rightly and ga
ID US o hand, and only laughed wher =
tried to explain. got ratified ~
70 told him that al saw was his le