St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1918-07-20

ordars He afterwards said that the
order he received was hard to make
ont and that he had lost his presence
~ mind and threw in the switch,
thereby killing thousands on the bridge
and leaving many other thousands to
the mercy of the enemy.
Before there was time for more i'm
nressions our entire unit was ordered
TO yitry to be assembled in front Of
the cathedral. With a sigh Of relief
we hurried away, for the French ar
+ifIerv began once more to send shells
with much accuracy over the entire
countryside. Wounded men from other
attachments whom we passed on the
road told US that the French had al
ready crossed the Marine in several
different places. Everyone among US
voiced the same opinion. We had al
ready sustained great losses on Bel
gian soil and each day brought new
sacrifices. Our lines became thinner
and thinner. Many companies were
entirely destroyed and all units suf-
fered heavily. These companies whose
forces had been reduced to a minimum
and with the survivors half starved
were opposed by an army well
equipped with supplies and arms. The
enemy constantly brought up fresh
troops while our forces became fewer
from hour to hour. We realized that
It was impossible to make a stand
here. We were constantly learning
from soldiers of other c~ontingents that
their losses In men and materials were
enormous.
l thought of the God of the Ger
mans. Had he forsaken them?
1 thought It so loud that the others
could hear.
yes" said another, whom the
Lord wishes to punish is first stricken
with blindness. Probably he thought
Cf Belgium, Donchery, Sommepy and
Suippes. and still many other places
and let us run into this perdition like
flying fends."
We reached vitry. Here the misery
seemed to be still greater than ever
before, for In the entire town there
was not a single house that was not
o~vercrowded with wounded. In the
midst of all this misery robbery -four
fshed. All residences had been emp
tied of their furnishings and every
thing vas thrown into the streets 20
make room for the wounded.
The sanitary squads went over the
town and took everything Of any value.
The munition and railroad columns
followed the same practice. They had
plenty of room for plumber. This was
amply proven by numerous seizures
afterward Of parcels put in the mail,
which contained gold rings, watches,
precious stones. etc. The business OF
the marauders fiourished here in Yitry.
The soldiers In the supply columns en-
eountered very little actual danger;
had an easy time as compared
with soldiers fighting at the front.
We soon reached the cathedral and
reported to Lieutenant Elm. He also
had defended his fatherland at d safe
distance and here In the city, freshly
shaved and In immaculate attire he
looked very presentable.
The contrast was vivid as he stood
before us who were torn, dirty and Gov
cred with blood. with unkempt hair,
with boards grown and caked with
mud and dirt.
We were obliged to wait so we sat
down and looked around us. The
was full of wounded; many
died under the hands of the doctors.
They were carried out to make room
for others. The dead were carried to
one side, where whole rows of corpses
.ay. We counted more than sixty.
On II way to Vitry we had begged
some bread, but we were still hungry
md our field kitchens were nowhere in
sight. The crews of our field kitchens
well as u forage officers and non
commissioned officers prefer to defend
heir fatherland many kilometers be-
lind the battle fronts. They did not
are about us as long as they We're
lot obliged to go within range Of the
fire. C~omradeship has its
with them.
Other field kitchens were near by.
they had prepared more food than
heir companies needed. Many for
whom they had cooked will never eat
gain. We were invited to come and
.et whatever we wanted.
We had scarcely flashed eating
Then we had to march on. Presently
We were joined by more members of
ur company. Our captain appeared.
)ae of our officers reported to him the
lumber missing. He stepped in front
f the company and said cheerfully.
Good morning, men," although it was
even o'clock in the evening. A growl
'as the only response. We were then
rdered to go to the wagons standing
t the north side of the town, where
ach mar was to supply himself with
artridges and three hand grenades.
Fe gathered at the wagons at $50
clock and each man took 500 car
his three grenades and matches
light them. On the way to the wag
as we saw everywhere formations be-
lg hastily organized from stray sol
.ers and we received the impression
some great activity in preparation.
The rain had begun to fall in tor
,nts. AS we took our places we saw
le streets filled with troops wearing
,ecial uniforms to protect them
yainst the weather. These uniforms
insisted of a suit of weatherproof
a cap. such baggage as must
taken on a march, a tent cloth. tent