Condon globe. (Condon, Gilliam Co., Or.) 189?-1919, 1918-05-03


post, This dugout was roomy affair,
dry as tinder aud real cots In 1t.
These cots had been made by the
r. rs who had previously occupied
the dugout, I was the first TO enter
and promptly made q slgnboard with
my name and number on Il and sus.
pended II from the foot Of the most
comfortable cot therein.
In the trenches Il is always "flrst
come. first served" and this Is lived
up to by all.
Two r. +. A. men (Royal Field ar
tilleryl from the nearby observation
post were allowed the privilege OF
stopping In this dugout when or duty.
One OF these men. Rombardler VII.
son by name, who belonged 10 Bat.
terry d 2Ss. seemed to take liking
TO me, and returned this feeling.
In two days time we were pretty
chummy, and he told me how his bat.
terry In the early days Of the war had
put over q stunt on Old Pepper. aud
had gotten away with II.
I will endeaver TO give the story as
far as memory will permit In his own
words:
~ came out with the first expedi.
tionary force. and. like all the rest
thought we would have the enemy
licked in Jig time, and be Nble TO eat
| Christmas dinner at home. Well, so
far. have eaten two Christmas din.
ners In the trenches. and am liable TO
eat two more. the way things are
pointing. That is, II Fritz don't drop
q 'whiEz-bang' on me. and send me to
Blighty. Sometimes I wish l would
get hit, because It's no great picnic
out here. and twenty-five months OF II
makes you fed up.
'It's fairly cushy now compared to
what II used to be, although admit
this trench Is trifie rough. Now.
We send over five shells to their one.
We are getting our own back. but In
the early days II was different. Then
you had to take everything without
reply. In fact. we would get twenty
shells In return for every one we sent
over. Fritz seemed TO enjoy It. but
we British didn't: we were the SUI.
ferers. Just one casualty after an
other. Sometimes whole platoons
would disappear, especially when a
Jack Johnson plunked into their
middle. II got so bad that fellow,
when writing home. wouldn't ask for
any cigarettes To be sent out, because
he was afraid he wouldn't be there to
receive them.
"After the drive TO Paris was turned
back. trench warfare started. Our
general grabbed map, drew a pencil
across 1t. and said. Dig here Then
he went hack to his tea. and Tommy
armed himself with q pick and shovel
and started digging. He's been dig
ging ever since.
'of course we dug those trenches al
night, but II was hot work. what with
the rife and machine-gun fire. The
stretcher bearers worked harder than
the dlggers.
Those trenches, bloomln' bitches,
call them. were nightmares. They were
only about five feet deep. and you used
TO get the backache from bending
down. 1t wasn't exactly safe to stand
upright, either. because as soon as
your napper showed over the top a
bullet would bounce on It. or else come
so close II would make your hair stand.
uVVa mead IN All oo m ndho oa n nd aftak
them on top Of the parapet to make II
higher. but no use; they would be
there about an hour and then FRITZ
would turn loose and blow them to
bits. My neck used to be sore from
ducking shells and bullets.
"Where my battery was stationed a
hasty trench had been dug. which
the boys nicknamed Suicide ditch,
and believe me- Yank fhia waa the