Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 19??-1918, 1918-07-16

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fellas." We counted fourteen prison
crs in the bunch. Pat sure thought he
was rolling In wealth.
After We were rested Up we we're
Issued rifles, shrapnel helmets and
belts. and then started down the com.
munication trench. These trenches
are entrances to the fghting trenches
and run at varying angles and vary.
ing distances apart. They are sell
dom Wide enough 10 hold more than
one man. so SOU have to march single
file In them. They wind In and out,
according 10 the lay Of the land, some
parts OF them being more dangerous
than others. When you come 10
dangerous spot you have to crawl
sometimes.
There are so many cross trenches
md blind alleys that you have to have
u suldc for long time. because with
out one you are apt to walk through
an embrnsure In fire trench and
right out into the open. between the
German front line and your own.
Which is hardly worth whilel
II any part Of the line is under fire.
the guide at the head Of the line IL on
the lookout for shells. and when he
hears one coming he gives the signal
and you drop to the ground and wait
until II bursts. You never get all the
time you want. but at that you have
plenty Of time to think about things
while you are lying there with your
face In the mud, waiting to hear the
sound Of the explosion. When you
hear It, you know you have got at least
one more to dodge. II you do not hear
it-well. most likely yvI are worrying
more about tuning your thousand.
string harp than anything else.
In the communication trench you
have to keep your distance from the
man ahead Of you. This Is done 20
that you will have plenty Of room to
fall down In. and because II q shell
should hnd the trench, there would be
fewer casualties In an opsn formation
than In . closed. The German artil-
lery IL keen on communication
trenches, and whenever they spot one
they stay with II q long time. Most
Of them are camouflaged along the top
and sides, 20 that enemy aviators can
not see anything but the earth or
bushes, when they throw an eye down
on our lines. ~ N s.ae h7.s sxna
We took over cur section Of, the
front line trenches from a French line
regiment that had been on the Job for
"A days. That was the longest time
! have heard Of any troops remaining
on the firing line. 1881
Conditions at the front and ways Of
hghting are changing oil the time. -
each side invents new methods Of
butchering. so when l try to describe
the Dixmude trenches, you must real
be that Il u probably 3dst history by
now. II they are still using trenches
there they probably look entirely az.
ferent ,tsill n7niiil
But when ! was at Dixmude they
were something like thiss
Behind the series Of front-line
trenches are the reserve trenches; In
this case five to seven miles away, and
still farther back are the billets. These
may be houses or barns or ruined
churches--any place that can possibly
be used for quartering troops when
on duty. M ststs tai
Troops were usually in the front.
line trenches six to eight days, and
fourteen to sixteen days In the reserve
trenches Then back to the billets for
six or eight days.
We were not allowed to change our
clothing in the front-line trenches
not even to remove socks, unless for
inspection. Nor would they let you
as much as unbutton your shirt, unless
there was an inspection Of identifica-
ton disks. We wore disk ut the
wrist and another around the neck.
You know the gag ebout the disks, Of
course: II your arm is blown OF they
can tell who you are by the neck dlsk |;
II your head is blown of, they do not
care who you are. M
In the reserve trenches you can
make yourself more comfortable, but
You cannot 60 to such extreme lengths
Of luxury as changing your clothes en-
tirely. That Is for billets, where you