New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1918-10-11

i came 10 an Underground wire.
knew enough about electricity to real
lie that this wire could not be charged
as 1t was In contact with the ground
hut still there was not room between
the live wire and this underground
wire for me to crawl through. and
ether had to 60 back or dig deep
enough under this wire to crawl under
1t or else pull 1t up.
This underground wire was about
rs big around as a lead pencil and
there was no chance of breaking IT.
The jack-knife | had had at the start
of my travels l had long since lost
and ever If l had had something to
hammer with, the noise would have
made the method impracticable.
| went on digging. When the total
distance between the live wire and the
bottom Of the hole l had dug was
thirty inches, l took hold of the ground
wire and pulled on 1t with all my
strength.
1t wouldn't bulge. 1t was stretched
taut across the narrow ditch l had
dug-abOut fourteen inches vide
and all the Juggling didn't serve to
loosen II.
| vas just about to give up in de.
snair when a staple gave way In the
nearest post. That enabled me to pull
the wire through the ground a little
and l renewed my efforts. After a
moment or two Of pulling as l had
never pulled in my life before. a
staple on the next post gave way.
and my work became easier. l had
more leeway now and pulled and
pulled again until in all eight staples
had given way.
Every time n staple gave way. 1t
sounded In my ears like the report Of
a gun, although | suppose it didn't
really make very much noise. Never
'heless, each time | would put my ear
to the ground to listen for the guard.
If I heard him l would stop working
and lie perfectly still in til" dark till
he had gone by.
by pulling on the wire. I was now
able to drag it through the ground
enough to place 1t back from the
fence and go On digging.
The deeper l went the harder be-
came the work, because by this time
my finger nails were broken and l
was nervOus-afrnid every moment
That | would touch the charged wire.
kept at 1t. however, with my mind
on,knptIv ON Tho hntn 7 u.uc Ituutnu
and the liberty which was almost with
in my reach.
Finally I figured that I had enough
space to crawl through and still leave
a couple of inches between my back
and the live wire.
Before I went under that wire I no
ticed that the lace which the Belgian
had given me as a souvenir
made my pocket bulge, and lest 1t
might be the innocent means Of cleo
trocuting me by touching the live wire,
I took 1t out, rolled it up and threw 1t
Owe the barrier first.
Then l lay down on my stomach and
crawled or rather writhed under the
wire like a snake. with my feet first.
and there wasn't any question Of my
hugging mother earth as closely as
possible because l realized that even
to touch the wire above me with my
back meant instant death.
Anxious MS l was to get on the other
side. l didn't hurry this operation. l
feared that there might be some little
detail that l had overlooked and ex-
ercised the greatest possible care In
going under, taking nothing for
granted.
When ! finally got through and
Strengthened up. there were still sew
eral feet of Belgium between me and
liberty. represented by the six feet
which separated the electric barrier
from the last barbed wire fence, but
before / went another step | went
down on my knees and thanked God
for my long series of escapes and es-
pecially for this last achievement.
which seemed to me to he about all
that was necessary to bring me free
dom.
Then l crawled under the barbed
wire fence and breathed the free air Of
Holland. l had no clear Idea just
where l was and l didn't care much.
! vas out of the power Of the Germans
and that was enough. / had walked
perhaps a hundred yards, when l re-
membered the lace / had thrown over
the barrier, and dangerous as I real
lied the undertaking to be. l deter
mined to walk back and get II. This
necessitated my going back onto Bel
gian soil again, but 1t seemed a shame
to leave the lace there. and by exer-
cising a little care l figured I could
get 1t easily enough.
When l came to the spot at which l
had made my way under the barbed
wire. l put my a to the ground and
listened for the sentry. I heard him
coming and lay prone on the ground
till he had passed. The fact that he
might observe the hole in the ground
or the ladder occurred to me as I lay
there. and 1t seemed like an age be-
fore he finally marched out Of ear
shot. Then 1 went under the barbed
wire again. retrieved the lace and once
again made my way to Dutch terri
tory.
1t does not take long to describe the
events just referred to. but the incl
dents themselves consumed several
hours in all. To dig the hole must
have taken me more than two hours
and I had to stop frequently to hide
while the sentry passed. Many times.
indeed, 1 thought l heard him coming
and stopped my work and then dis