The Bridgeport times and evening farmer. (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1918-1924, 1918-02-08

DOAAONA ~ IVY ~ ' 80 W.
French guns became indistinct.
One shell over us and one below;
the Boches batteries got their
bracket and then opened up on US.
The smoky, banging inferno be-
low US, we no longer watched. One
glance was enough to indelibly i'm
press it on any ones memory.
Races Against Shells.
over the shell-rutted, debris covered
road, while shell after shell smashed
into the soft earth of the side and
onto the frozen road. We shot full
speed into the cleared space in front
of the old house used as a dressing
station; shot into the place in burst
of smoke and flying mud and bricks
pulled up with a grinding of brakes
and all ducked into the wine cellar
of the old house.
H, one of the drivers, shot in
soon after u.s. The body Of his cal
was rather badly shattered by a shell
exploding directly behind him; he
was carrying thee hief surgeon of the
division, and the old doctor was quite
shaken up, a shell fragment having
cleared his head by only a few inches
We were forced to remain in the eel
lar for more than an hour. Time after
time shells crashed through the walls
of the house above, and the old place
shook crafty. 1 stood in the cellar
entrance and watched shells explod-
ing in cemetery about 100 yards
away.
In space of only SO yards the!
were banging in at the rate of 40 ;
minute, as spouting snow and dir
shot into the air.
Windshield Shot Away.
When we finally got out to star
back the windshield Of the car wa!
shot away and the body was quite full
of shrapnel holes, while the tonneaJ
was filled with bricks, mortar anC
dirt. Outside the car stuck tight il
a large ice, snow and water pool; anC
we would be heard swearing an(
, praying above the noise of the battle
Jumping out we all feverishly push
ed the thing out of the hole, whil'
the icy water poured into our boots
Every one of us. at that time, fel
strong enough to push a motor-lorr.
out Of a shell crater single-handed.
Racing madly back through th
boiler factory noise the cOmmandan
shrieked out, watch the roads
you're coming right back on duty!
What a cheerful prospect.
Last year, when we were doing from
line work in the Argonne, we wer
carried govt tidy line dressing sta
lions. The first one on the road wa
once an abbey building, about 60
yards behind the trenches; the secon
was up the road half a mile on
route running parallel to the trenche:
This station, 800 yards from tn
trenches, was only a hole in tn
ground and the dumping place for a
powder, grenades, bombs, etc So
was quite a warm spot at times.
At the barricaded entrance to tn
tunnels was a soup kitchen, proppe
up with timbers and sand bags.
Three kitchens and three cook
were reported missing while we wer
working this place. There was a 1arg
dugout there also for our cars whe
it was necessary for US to wait. TIL
was the second built for US.
Rats OvePrun Kitchen.
The kitchen entrance dugout wa
one of the hottest, smelIiest place
imaginable, and the rats! Larg
damp, noisy beasts, who were cor
stantly running, fighting and squea
ing.
One day as I was at the dugoI
entrance the Boche threw in a lot {
shells, some of which broke quiz
close. Of course, falling fiat at IL
scream of a shell is more or less autt
matte at the front, and as I droppe
behind a huge pile of boxes I fe
comparatively safe. Cr-ramph
p-s-st, bang! Bang!! One fell in
the stream below and a great spo
of water shot into the air. When Il
Smelling was over I stood up al
very nearly passed out at sight of Il
boxes.
Every one of them was marked
French.
DANGER EXPLOSIVES!
A nice safe place I chose!
Another morning at daybreak
was down in this dugout just as Il
same time huge mine was explode
up at the tT6nCIleS. 1dle SdTln SuON
and rumbled in such a funny mann
that 1 was quite scared silly for
moment until I found out the eau
of the commotion.
Often used to stand in the dugo
entrance and watch the shells brea
ing around the abbey poste down t
road and chuckle because "som
body else was getting his right whe
I got mine"
Shells FIJI the Air.
The air above me would be cho
full of the humming and hissi1
sound of the rushing shells: down
the abbey puffs of brown, dirty smo
would leap up from the ground, tn
large cotton-like puffs of white smo
from the shrapnel shells "a few sc
onds later the dull detonations of t
explosions would echo across t
valley.
Several ofheers used to eat In a