Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1918-05-09
CHAPTER XIII.
Gas Attacks and Spies.

Three days after we had silenced
Fritz, the Germans sent over gas. It
did not catch us unawares, because the
wind had been made to order, that Is,
1t was blowing from the German
trenches toward ours at the rate OF
about five miles per hour.
Warnings had been passed down the
trench to keep a sharp lookout for gas.
We had a new man at the periscope,
on this afternoon in question; was
sitting on the fire step, cleaning my
rife, when he called out to me:
"There's a sort of greenish, yellow
cloud rolling along the ground out in
front, it's coming"
But l waited for no more, grabbing
my bayonet, which was detached from
the rifle, gave the alarm by banging
an empty shell case, which was hang
ing near the periscope. At the same
instant, gongs started ringing down the
trench, the signal for Tommy to don
his respirator, or smoke helmet, as we
call it.
Gas travels quickly, so you must not
lose any time; you generally have
about eighteen or twenty seconds in
which to adjust your gas helmet.
A gas helmet is made of cloth, treat
ed with chemicals. There are two win
dows, or glass eyes, in 1t, through which
you can see. Inside there is a rubber
covered tube which goes in the mouth.
You breathe through your nose; the
gas, passing through the cloth helmet,
is neutralized by the action of the
chemicals. The foul air is exhaled
through the tube in the mouth, this
tube being so constructed that it pre-
vents the inhaling of the outside air or
gas. One helmet is good for five hours
of the strongest gas. Each Tommy
carries two of them slung around his
shoulder in a waterproof canvas bag.
He must wear this bag at all times,
even while sleeping. To change a de-
fective helmet, you take out the new
one, hold your breath, pull the old one
off, placing the new one over your
head, tucking in the loose ends under
the collar of your tunic.
VI q AliAhhlCy itlkntu
in our trench-Tommies adjusting
their helmets. bombers running here
and there, and men turning out of the
dugouts with fixed bayonets, to man
the fire step.
Requirements were pouring out of
the communication trenches.
Our guns crew were busy mounting
the machine gun on the parapet and
bringing up extra ammunition from
the dugout
German gas is heavier than air and
soon fills the trenches and dugouts,
where it has been known to lurk for
two or three days, until the air is puri-
fled by means of large chemical spray
ers.
We had to work quickly, as Fritz
generally follows the gas with an in
fantry attack.
A company man on our right was
too slow in getting on his helmet; he
sank to the ground, clutching at his
throat, and after a few spasmodic
twistings went West (died). 1t was
horrible to see him die, but we were
powerless to help him. In the corner
of traverse, little, muddy cur dog,
one of the company's pets, was lying
dead, with his paws over his nose.
It's the animals that suffer the most
the horses, mules, cattle, dogs. cats
and rats-they having no helmets to
save them. Tommy does not sympa-
thize with rats in a gas attack.
AT times gas has been known to
travel, with dire results, fifteen miles
behind the lines.
A gas, or smoke helmet, as ii Is
called, at the best is vile-smelling
thing, and it is not long before one gets
a violent headache from wearing it.
Our eighteen-pounders were burst
ing in No Mans Land, in an effort, by
the artillery, to dispense the gas
clouds.
The fire step was lined with crouch
ing men, bayonets fixed, and bombs
near at hand to repel the expected at
tack.
Our artillery had put barrage of |
curtain fire on the German lines, to try |
and break up their attack and keep |
back re-enforcements.
/ trained my machine gun on their |
trench and its bullets were raking the