The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1918-01-03
TROOPS IN BATTLE
Trained Soldiers Are Wholly In.
different to Danger.
FACE DEATH WITHOUT FEAR.

Thought Of Calamity eothsrs Them
Not, and They May Be Severely
Wounded Without Feeling Pain.
Unique Analogy From Railroad Life.
The thought of not coming out Of a
battle alive rarely enters the mind Of q
seasoned soldier, and he goes into the
conflict fired only with the sense OF a
patriotic duty to be well and faithfully
performed, with perhaps a vague hope
Of promotion for a deed Of bravery or
daring. Very few people are afraid Of
a natural death, but violent death is
different, and yet hundreds Of thou
sands Of men have gone to meet practi-
cally certain destruction without Civ
ing sign Of terror"
Concerning the absolute indifference
Of the trained soldier to death In the
midst Of battle and the reasons there
for, DR.. MacKenna employs unique
and graphic illustration from the rail-
road world.
LET us imagine" he says, that the
brain, the organ that links up the body
with the sources Of thought and action,
Is a railway terminus into which run
lines from all parts of the country.
There are lines to and from the eyes,
the ears, the feet, the hands and every
muscle In the body.
'.In the heat of battle trains loaded
with messages are racing on the down
line to every muscle. On well or
dered railway system certain trains
have priority. while others are held
back until congestion Is relieved and
some of the tracks are cleared.
"a wise train dispatcher will see that
slow freight train does not get in the
way and block the progress of a pas
senger express, and the mind acting in
this role takes care that no train laden
with fear finds its way out OF the
terminus to throw the other traffic into
confusion. There are no tracks to spare
for such cargo, the whole railway
system is occupied with the supply OF
more urgent necessities.
by similar observation one can ex-
plain the frequently repeated statement
that in the heat Of battle a soldier may
sustain formidable wound and feel no
pain whatever and even be unaware
that he has been hit.
"The injured limb or organ dispatches
an express train along the line Of some
sensory nerve to the railway terminus
In the brain, but on drawing near the
terminus the signals are found to be
against It, and It cannot force its way
through the press Of traffic into the
station. 1t is therefore sidetracked.
"But Just as an ordinary train will
try to call the attention Of the signal
man by blowing its whistle when the
signal Is against II, so sensation OF
pain may succeed in calling the atten-
ton of the brain to its existence by
sending on message not Of pain, but
Of heaviness or pressure.
"This may have the effect Of opening
path for the whole train to run
through, and the wounded man begins
to discover that he has been hit or
hurt. But in most cases long inter-
val elapses between the infection OF
the wound and the realization Of the
soldier that he has been wounded.
II have been informed by a soldier
who had large piece blown out OF his
thigh that he was quite unaware OF his
injury for several minutes. His atten-
was attracted by hearing his foot
'squelch' every time he moved It On
looking down he saw that his boot was
full of blood; then almost. Immediately
he felt dull ache In the thigh, follow
ed very shortly by a sensation of acute
pain.
''In this case, to return to our Illus
tration, the messages Of pain from the
wounded thigh had been held up by con-
gestion Of traffic near the terminus.
We may imagine that the impeded train
tried to call the attention Of the signal
man, but failed to do so until mes
sage sent from the suburban station Of
sight, not far from the terminus, got
through and informed the station mas
ter that very important train from q
remote part Of the country was being
held up. The levers were then at once
drawn, and the sensation Of pain pass
ed on to the sensorium." St Louis
Post DiSpa tch