Evening star., 1918-06-16
Twenty Different Kinds Poison Gases Used ON Fields Of Battle

lduHCHeu HlS Gas dltoSh- ~ aS
rank treachery on the part of the
tnea breach in 'a the lighting lines Of the
French. At that time the Germans
used a chlorine gas. The French OBJ
served this nisn monstrons IONS low,sollins ns n
dered. But on it came in the very
midst of awful confusion, terrific
fighting. and there was no time to
pause and discuss it. 1t began its
journey as greenish- grey cloud. and
as it spread and moved slowly. stead
lily, fatally forward it turned Yesiow-
ish.
Everything in its path Is said to
have shriveled up and died. The little
vegetation left withered, crumpled
and perished as If a devastating
flame had swept it. French officers
who were witnessing the battle from
some distance behind the firing line
could scarcely credit their eyes when
they saw the French line hesitate.
stagger. break and then race madly
for the rear. But run swiftly as they
could, the soldiers were unable to
escape the destroying gas.
The sturdy French soldier was
blinded. his face was purple, he
coughed stranglingly. and his chest
heaved laboriously. He was suffering
such torture that speech was quite
beyond his power. Hundreds of dying
were reported They had been left in
the trenches This ruinous break In
the French line extended full four
miles and for a short while the
dauntIess French felt that they had
indeed been stricken.
But the stanch Canadians came 20
the rescue that day and filled the
breach with magnificent courage,
Their turn also came and they were
subjected to the mercilesspess OK
bombs and poison gases. ON tns
second day of May the allies realised
that they were in truth facing Hun
the bone of contention, and 1t was
proving a difhcult piece OF territory
for the Germans to capture. They 70.
solved to win 1t, IL not fairly ana
squarely. then trickiIy.
Countless numbers OF asphyxlAtin4
gas bombs and shells were hurieG
against the Canadians. The capricioue
wind had not veered and 80 the gas
attack left soldiers dying IN tn9
trenches. They were found in houses
shacks, stables, yards and garoenS
Their appeals for help were mute az
futile, for at that time the armfes
of the allied nations had no means OF
protecting themselves.
-.
1t was in such fashion that tho
Hun gained Hill so. Soldiers on every
hand declared to their onhcers tneir
entire willingness to fight, but tneir
detestation of the gas-poisoning wnicn
seemed to them SO horrible and sV
stea1thy a weapon "to Kill u Iihe
trapped rats" Some Of these men
were not such sufferers as others,
Some, being stronger, could resist
even a gas attack better: others wers
less susceptible to gas poisoning, an9
still others had not received the gas
in as concentrated q form as many
Of their comrades
Nevertheless, as result OF TINS ats
tack 1900 men were reported In the
hospitals, 100 died in dressing stas
tions, and in one regiment alone there
were approximately 100 deaths oi>
rectly due to gas.
In the fourth gas battle which tne
allies endured the cavalry LOOK
suffered severely. In a dozen hours
500 cases passed through the hands OF
the medical men. Not only men were
in an agony Of suffering, but oumo
beasts were also victims OF tnese
hideous gas attacks But tne a,r,en aen
die like flies. because Of German gas:
Expert chemists had been consulted
and went swiftly to work. and thus
the first crude gas mask OF the aiileo
forces came into being. .
The so-called 'rotten-egg gas fs
most dangerous and severe. To get
a strong Whit Of 1t means sure
death. and one of the things that have
made it SO priceless to the Hun 10
the very fact that the soldier Is en-.
tirely unaware Of taking whin OF
II. for II is quite odoriess- Even Its
color is so slight as to be practically
fmperceptibIe. The victims first
warning is the peculiar sweetisn
taste in his mouth.
Dr A. e. Mellon, an italian military
physfcian, noticed one day that an
enemy shell fell among some sand
bags with a soft plop. The doctor
concluded that IT was an fmperfect
shell which refused to explode. IL
proved to be q "rotten-egg" gas shell
and the physician was taken violently
i'll.
But the real surpriseof 1917. and one
of the latest known, was the mustard
gas. In one night the Huns fired 5o.-
600 of these shells into the enemys
territory The German broom OF nre
is another innovation. This broom -
in two sizes and its cylinders contain
compressed thermite. It belches for
sixty seconds a soaring fame for q
distance of two good yards and is
used mainly in clearing or sweeping
One of the latest methods of COM
batting the heavy poisonous gases Is
being diligently practiced by the
United States soldiers. The heavier
the yapor, the more readily it finds
the bottom of trenches. To make
these trenches livable again the gas
must be driven forth and fresh air
in