Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1918-04-17

| through lanes in our barbed wire.
| knew | was running, but could feel no
| motion below the waist. Patches on
the ground seemed to float to the rear
as if / were on a treadmill and seen
cry was rushing past me. The Ger
mans had put a barrage of shrapnel
across No Mans Land, and you could
hear the pieces slap the ground about
you.
After l had passed our barbed wire
and gotten into No Mans Land
Tommy about fifteen feet to my right
front turned around and looking in my
direction, put his hand to his mouth
and yelled something which could not
make out on account of the noise from
the bursting shells. Then he coughed,
stumbled, pitched forward and lay still.
His body seemed to float to the rear
of me. I could hear sharp cracks in
the air about me. These were caused
by passing rifle bullets. Frequently,
to my right and left, little spurts Of
dirt would rise into the air and rico
Chef bullet would whine on its way.
Ii Tommy should see one of these
little spurts in front of him, he would
tell the nurse about it later. The
crossing Of No Mans Land remains
blank to me.
Men on my right and left would
stumble and fall. Some would try to
get up, while others remained huddled
and motionless. Then smashed-up
barbed wire came into view and
seemed carried on a tide to the rear.
Suddenly, in front of me doomed a
bashed-in trench about four feet wide.
Queer-looling forms like mud turtles
were scrambling N, its wall. One of
Six years ago, n
a group picture -. IS KiIiin'I
(which was teke Bean and,
setters bonditions IN ouv destroy,
Travelling. of valuable b
o,os 70 form of bel
,+;on of old roads seems ~ atoroqe-haa
:. mysterious or uncanns saronta gess
= +oxnayers that the Pehh, ~, u,ho expect,
,bwav department mas nav successfully,
,,,odel made to sho" con ;,,,mediateE,
80, model measures SIX Wy noS+ed Oh,
a was made by sp1Si" IN used. Pla1
II, at Washington. II - SIS 90 container,
!, roads. fields, houses trees hin and K
.oatures of the landscape - amount OF,
. correct scale. On IL az nounds tof
re types of poorly io 1 he fun
will fall. Perhaps your rife will be
wrenched from your grasp. Do MT
waste time, if the bayonet is fouleA
! in his equipment, by putting your foot
on his stomach and tugging at the rifle
. to extricate the bayonet. Simply
press the trigger and the bullet will
free it." In my present situation this
was the logic, but for the life Of me
could not remember how he had told
, me to get my bayonet into the Ger
man. To me this was the paramount
issue. 1 closed my eyes and lunged
forward. My rifle was torn from my
hands. I must have gotten the Ger
man because he had disappeared.
About twenty feet to my left front
was a huge Prussian nearly six feet
four inches in height, a fine specimen
of physical manhood. The bayonet
from his rifle was missing, but he
clutched the barrel in both hands and
was swinging the butt around his head.
I could almost hear the swish of the
butt passing through the air. Three
little Tommies were engaged with him.
They looked like pigmies alongside of
the Prussian. The Tommy on the left
was gradually circling to the rear of
2 his opponent. 1t was a funny sight to
see them duck the swinging butt and
try to lab him at the same time. The
. Tommy nearest me received the butt
5 of the Germans rifle il a smashing
blow below the right temple. 1t
4 smashed his head like an eggshell. He
r pitched forward on his side and con-
e vulsive shudder ran through his body.
: Meanwhile the other Tommy had
: gained the rear of the Prussian. Sud
. denly about four inches of bayOnet
$ protruded from the throat of the PruS-
:. sian soldier, who staggered forward
y and fell. / will never forget the look
t of blank establishment that came over
: his face.
Then something hit me in the left
: shoulder and my left side went numb
: 1t felt as if a hot poker was being
e driven through me. / felt no pain
e lust a sort of nervous shock. bay
d onet had pierced me from the rear.
d fell backward on the ground, but was
!. not unconscious, because / could see
S dim objects moving around me. Then
e a flash of light in front of my eyes and
r Inconsistencies. Something had hit
e me on the head. / have never found
I out what it was.
e / dreamed I was being tossed about
{ in an open boat on heaving sea and
e opened my eyes. The moon was shin
q ing. I was on q stretcher being car
ried down one of our communication
l. trenches. At the advanced first-aid
y post my wounds were dressed, and
a then I was put into an ambulance and
d sent to one of the base hospitals. The
l. | eI,1 nd hQa6 vyprc