Ripley County democrat., 1918-05-24

\ What Is regarded as one Of the MOI
i astounding stories Of the war is tol
BY Private J. Taylor, Of the Londo
regiment, who has received a distiI
guished conduct medal. Private Tay
ior's own story. as told In the Londo
Express, is as follows:
1T was during one Of the attacks Of
part Of the Hindenburg line on Jun
10 last year" be said. eve had gon
over the top two companies together
following up successful attack mad,
In the same direction on the previous
day. This time we were met by I
terrific enemy Are and our fellow
were dropping like ninepins. ! was Q
stretcher bearer, and I was trying II
patch up one Of our men who was
down, when l was knocked out myself
by the bullet which fractured my
thigh.
Behind Enemys Trench.
after that I remembered nothing
for some hours. II may have been q
day or It may have been two when |
recovered consciousness, with a parch
Ing thirst and great sense of weart
ness and pain. II
II discovered afterward that we
must have passed beyond our objec.
tive. and we were therefore behind the
enemy's trench and support trench at
this point. His front trench had been
taken on the previous day, and these
be now occupied were not backed mp
by others, but had open country be.
hind them. did not know at the time,
however, that I was behind the co.
emy's line at all. managed to crawl
Into large shell hole near at hand,
and lay there another day and night.
"Then comrade. man named Pc
tiers, Joined me. He also had been
wounded, but could move more freely.
He had found shelter In another hole
near By.
I'VE could tell the position Of our |
own trenches fairly accurately BY
watching the fire Of the trench NOR.
tars, which seemed about q thousand
yards away. I was In too much pain
end too weak to move We lay to-
sether all day In the hole expecting
every minute almost to be hit, and at
night Peters crept out and foraged
among the dead for scraps Of bully
beat and iron rations' and water from
thVr bottles. After q few days, merci-
fully II began to rain, and By spread
Ing our caps and a sheet we collected
dreps Of muddy water. which Just kept
N alive.
Lived In Hiding for Five Weska
'This sort Of existence lasted for
absut Ave weeks. Then one night
Peters went out and did not return. II
have learned since that he was taken
prisoner.
1T was the following night that the
Germans, evidently rendered suspicious
by me capture Of Peters, came OUT
three Of them TO the hole where II
was lying. ! hay perfectly still. One
Of thsm lifted my leg. luckily not tho
ono that was broken, or I should prob
ably have orisd out. They seemed
satisfied and went away.
4 was now left without help in ret.
ling foed or drink. During the ncxt I
fortnight eked out the mall remains
u bully beef; then for two days l had I
aething. II was then, feeling that
aotmns worse could happen to ma
hat ] resolved to crawl toward our
,wn lines. /
1T was an inlry' black night when I I
Itarted. I had gone some distance .
vhen Unexpectedly ! came on the 0er. .
pan trench. ] could have put out my .
and and touched the men, The
rench, deep. narrow one, was MINT.
hsld, and II would have been i'm q
'ossible for me with my broken leg 20 Q
ave climbed out Of It again. even had .
not bean seen and seized. man. u
sed to crawl q little distance along p
0 quiet point, and then, summonine G
2 all the strength could, dung my g
slf across. The Boches neither saw p
or heard. d
Rsachss Dsltish Advanes posltlcn.
The uext thing I knew / was In
heir wire and how I scrambled Ia
trough ! do not know. was 4 mass al
cuts and blood and rags when II q
- over. I cfawled On across No 10
Ians Land. and presently was aeainat at
Iore wire. II did not occur to me At
70 time that It was British wire. ana
was dead beat inst then a very
mt shot up besids me, and In its =
Aah ! saw an unmistakabls British a
- the othsr side Of the wire.
louted Don't ahoot: I'm Tommy i. ~
sergeant called ont to know Who i n A
-; then thrss of them lifted mel "a,
'er the wire. - -
Il must hnve been siQht. No
otheA starved almost 10 the bone, pa
'arded. f1lthy; but me men wers n
nased 70 see me at al. They were "a
advanced machine gun post ana ~
z been watching me crawling ~,
ENfd them. ready 70 pick me on AZ oD,
right moment
They told me Il was 4 bank hoii- vis
= should remember. and from that ma
earnt that Il was August. ] had lost Nj
count Of ne days" IL
Private Tayior u I single man. about an