The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1918-07-31


'Don't you want a drink OF wnterf"
His hand was over the sore spot in his
lungs. "Are you in pain?"
"No. You know what those Boches
do, don't your" That Is just about as
much of the personal in conversation
you will ever get out Of any of them.
He continued with his narrative. "Of
course you're not supposed to shoot
when you see a Red Cross on a mans
arm and he Is bearing a stretcher.
Well, we saw a lot of them one day
and let up until all of a sudden 1t oc-
Cured to n of us that those stretch
ers had awful queer shapes. One of
our boys just took the tip of his bayo-
net and tipped back the gray blanket
covering 1t. There vas q whole noun
tain of cartridges. We uncovered an
other and what do you think showed
up? A machine gunl
Those were regular soldiers, but
you ought to have seen them take to
their heels In the scrap that followed.
Ws used to say at home that my little
sister would cry If you pointed your
finger at her. Well. let me tell you,
those Germans will fly If you point a
bayonet at them. 1t was q machine
gun that got me over In the woods
under cover. We were going over the
top"
Mo Need of Brandy There.
did they give you brandy before
you started"
The boys eyes opened In surprise.
The Germans give their men ether be-
fore they send them out into the open.
mo. Americans don't seem to want
anything. You don't feel afraid when
the time comes. Americans haven't
sense enough to be afraid" grinned a
man who lay SO fiat and heavy and
lifeless on his cot that he had not at
tracted attention before.
One of his companions whispered to
me that this was Alva Ketchum of
Tennessee, and that he was something
of a hero.
"where are you woundedT' I de-
manded.
"In the back" he answered. IL got
the bayonet in the back. i was taken
prisoner and / went along with them
for a ways and then I figured 1t that
I'd rather be dead than a prisoner to
those people, so I started a scrap. I
didn't have anything but my hands,
but I knocked two of them down. Then
the third stuck the bayonet into me-"
That was all he volunteered about him.
self.
John Maier was an engineer from
Rochester, N. Y, who had fought out
In the open and had gone over the
top, he said, and it was very unusual
that one in his branch OF the service
did so. He was complaining that he
had never been in bed for a day be-
fore, and he simply could not stand 1t.
His wound was In his arm.
"Oh, WELL" I said, they'll let you be
up In a day or two. and they will send
you home presently. Your contribu-
ton TO your country Is made"
Don't tell me a thing like that. At
time home would be a nice place
for me !"
That is the spirit of all of them.
All Eager to Get Back.
Presently / moved to a different
quarter In the corridor and a boy from
Dakota beckoned me. Confiden-
TALLY. he was worried about his leg.
He feared 1t would have to go, and Ii
did he would never reach the front
again.
His neighbor wanted me to write a
letter for him. His name was Mike
Sullivan and he lived In Wyoming. He
wanted his father and mother told
that their letter to him had come,
but he had not been able to read 1t
because 1t was handed to him before
daylight just previous to his starting
for the attack, and just a little after
daylight he was wounded and the let
ter got blotted with his blood.
But they were not to worry. for 1t
was nothing and he would be back at
work In a few days. Back at work
meant his Job in the trenches and
nAA &~~Is-~ n-AAY~ =. yTy~-----