Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-07-30
the mine n closed door. | pulled il
towards myself and il opened. re-
leasing an odor of mushrooms and
mould and n swarm Of mosquitoes.
A Scene Of Horror.

towards myself and it opened. re-
leasing an odor of mushrooms ant
mould and swarm of mosquitoes.
| A Scene Of Horror.
| The pale and smoky candle reveal
I'd horrible sight. Before me Ia!
the bodies OF soldiers in every imagi.
nablc pose in which death had over
taken them with such suddcnncss
They had lain there since August
1877, some leaning against each 9TH
or. some on the back, some on the
face. some seated. others leaning on
their guns. many lying side by side
J seemed asleep. 1t would seem as if the
humidity and lack OF light and air
had preserved the hodics-thc flesh
was still on the hands except in GER
tain places. where II had fallen OH
and the bones were exposed.
The heads were still covered with
hair under the helmets. while the
eyes, wide open. were like great
rmpty black holes. which seemed Ia
Il
The spectacle was Internal and one
had TO summon all the force ot his
soul 10 preserve his cquanimlty and
see what he wished To see. How had
they died? What must bc done 10 pre-
vent our own men from similar
fate" These thoughts wcr" strong
enough To conquer the horrible re-
pulsion ! experienced against contin-
ung the exploration.
The corpse Of an enemy always
smells good" says an old provcrh of
the savagcs. hut at the samo time |
realized that soldier who has died
for his country is always worthy OF
respect. even when it is the case OF Il
country like Germany. which has
treated us with the most ahominahlc
cruelty wished to pass among the
dead with reverence and To accom-
rlish this 1 prayed to the god of bat =
ties that he would accord TO these
warriors the pardon Of their faults
towards us. and that their souls IN
rcposc might show their compa-
triots. still living, the folly OF the
war and of their own misdccds.
Trying Moments.
\ muddy and blackish water stood
over the surface OF the soil in the
middle of which one found groups OF
corpscs forming little islands. You
can imH; ;sinr the pain and horror with
which | passed from one Of these lit
tie islands TO another assisting my
self with ends OF old rails and mOuldy
blanks. To cross here il was neccs-
sary TO step across head. or an arm.
or n cross formed by leg and an
arm-at one point thought ] had
arrived at solid ground formed of
sacks of earth. II proved to br backs
or loins. Pcrspiration poured down
my face. my hands were covered with
the mould and filth OF the walls, my
clothes had touched everywhere the
horrors which surrounded me. In
spite of all my prccaution my feet had
sunk in the mud and water where
Tor nine months the decomposition OF
these corpscs had been In progress.
Victims of Their Own Device.
At last l arrived at the end OF M
tunnel. only to 1pd~r a cul-de-sac. II
had been completely closed by tho
| explosion Of one of our largest pro-
jcctilcs. This projectilc had pcn"trat
I'd the earth to great depth, burst
| tho tunnel and spread on all sides Il
mass of oxide of carbon. which had
IasphyXiatcd in the most terrific man
ncr all those who had taken shelter
in the tunnel. Those who had been
at the end through which ! had
made my entrance were entirely cut
off from the outer air by the little
door. carefully closed. OF which
have spoken. and must have been in.
stantly killed. This door had beer
used ms n protection from the gas
which they anticipated. What they
had looked upon rs safety device
proved the cause Of instant death
They were victims of an invention
which they and their kaiser had sc
much admired.
| Seeking an Exit.
| had been told that the tunn"
contained surgical operating room.
and that would find n surgeon ir
the act OF taking off leg. etc. | OK
amincd thoroughly every outlet ant
passage without success. You ma!
imagine with what relief | left thi'
| chamber OF horrors and found my
| self once more in the fresh air. Th'
| light of thr morning was bccOmint
strong and there was considerable
danger Of being discovered by TIT
enemy | was not willing to leave
however. without extending my rc
search as far as possible. ha'
heard that there was another en-
trance at the side OF the first on
by which one could discover the in
hrmary. I felt that | must find 1t
\ poilu in charge OF n mctraelleus'
was stationed at little distance
with his aid discovered the entrance
which | wished, hut this time II wa:
absolutely the unknown. The en-
trance was nothing but manhol'
without steps, about eight or ten me
tcrs in depth and filled with water
II saw how one might descrnd-sim
ply let oneself fall in. but the .Gucs
ton was how to get out. The chimnc.
sweep to go up the chimney help
himself with feet and the hands ol
tho sidos which is perfcctly solid