Jackson County journal. (Sylva, N.C.) 19??-19??, 1918-03-29
CHAPTER v.
Mud, Rats and Shells.


l must have slept for two or three
hours, not the refreshing kind that re
suits from clean sheets and soft pill
lows, but the sleep that comes from
cold, wet and sheer exhaustion.
Suddenly, the earth seemed to shake
and thunderclap burst in my ears.
opened my eyes-I was splashed al
over with sticky mud, and men were
picking themselves up from the bottom
OF the trench. The parapet on my left
mad toppled into the trench, completely
blocking 1T with wall Of tOssed-uI
earth. The man on my left lay still. ]
rubbed the mud from my face, and an
awful sight met my gaze-his head
was smashed to a pulp, and his steel
helmet was full of brains and blood
A German Minnie" (trench mortar)
mad exploded in the next traverse. Men
were digging into the soft mass of mud
IN a frenzy of haste. Stretcher-bear.
ers came up the trench on the double
After a few minutes of digging. three
still, muddy forms on ysretchers were
carried down the communication
trench to the rear. Soon they would
De resting somewhere in France" with
a little wooden cross over their heads
Iney mad done their bit for king and
country, had died without firing shot
but their services were appreciated
nevertheless.
Later on, found out their names
They belonged to our draft.
l was dazed and motionless. sind.
denly shovel was pushed into nv
nands, and a rough but kindly voice
said:
Here, my lad, lend hand clearing
the trench, but keep your head down
and look out for snipers. One of the
F'ritz's is daisy, and he'll get Won if
you're not careful"
Lying on my belly on the bottom of
the trench, filled sandbags with the
sticky mud, they were dragged to nv
rear by the other men, and the work Of
rebuilding the parapet was on. The
harder l worked, the better I felt. Al
tnough the weather was cold, I was
soaked with sweat.
Occasionally a bullet would crack
oveshead, and machine gun would
KICK up the mud on the bashed-in nara.
pet. AT each crack would duck and
shield my face with my arm. One of
tne older men noticed this action of
rHane, and whispered:
Don't duck at the crack of hn,.
ist' Yank; the danger has passed-you
never hear the one that wings Won.
Always remember that if you are going
10 get 1t, you'll get it, so never worry. y
Ihis made great impression on me
at the time, and from then on. I adont.
cd MS motto, IF you're going to get t.
you'll get it, ="
1t nelped me wonderfully. used II
so often afterwards that some of nv
mates dubbed me, IF you're going to
get 1t, you'll get it."
After an hours hard work. all NV
nervousness left me, and I was laugh.
Ing and joking with the rest.
AT one o'clock, dinner came nm in
the form of a dixie Of hot stew.
l looked for my canteen. II had
1allen on the fire step, and was half
Durled IN the mud. The man on NV
ielt notlced this, and told the cornoral
dishing out the rations, to mt nv
share in his mess tin. Then he wbis.
pered to me, always take care of vorr
mess tin, mate"
had 1oOrnol
trenches. 'no
Ihat stew tasted fine. I was as
hungry as bear. We had Seconds ,,
or another helping, because three ~
the men had "gone West" killed hn
the explosion of the German trench
mortar, and we ate their share Int
sui was hungry, so 1 filed in with
bully beef and biscuits. Then T drained
my water bottle. Later on learned
another maxim of the front line &C.
sparingly with your water" The hn11u
peer made me thirsty, and by tea time
! was dying for a drink, but nv nrida
would not allow me to ask NV mo.os
Tor water. was fast learnino 49,
ethics Of the trenches.
mat night I was put on guard with
an older man. We stood on tho f,ro
step with our hands over the top, peer
ing out into No Mans Land. II was
nervous work for me, but the othor 20.
low seemed to take it as part of the
nights routine. - 'ne
linen something shot past nv face
my neart stopped beating, and duckod
"'V mead below the parapet. A soft