The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1918-02-07
limo Mans
Trapped by Huns

Lieutenant Coningsby Lawson tells
the following personal experience in
"No Mans Land" in the current Good
housekeeping:
MY major teld me that I was to be
ready at $3.50 next morning to accom-
pany him up front to register the guns.
In registering guns you take a tele-
phonist and linesmen with you. They
lay in a line from the battery to any
point you may select as the best from
which to observe the enemy's coun-
try. This point may be two miles
or more in advance of your battery.
Your battery is always hidden and out
OF sight. for fear the enemy should see
the flash of the firing; consequently
the officer in charge of the battery lays
the guns automatically, but can not
observe the effect of his shots. The
officer who goes forward can see the
target; by telephoning back his cor
rections. he makes himself the eyes of
the officer at the guns.
TT had been raining when we crept
out of our kennels to go forward.
Everything was dim. and clammy, and
spectral. At the hour of dawn one
isn't at his tbravest.
we entered a trench. Holes were
scooped out in the side of it just large
enough to shelter man crouching.
Each hole contained a sleeping soldier
who looked as dead as the occupant of
catacomb. Some Of the holes had
been blown in; all you saw of the late
occupant was a protruding arm or leg.
At best there was a horrid similarity
between the dead and the living. 1t
seemed that the walls of the trenches
had been built out of corpses, for one
recognized the uniforms of Frenchninn
and Huns. They We're built out OF
them. though whether by design or &C
cident it was impossibl, TO tell. We
came to n group of men doing some
repairing; that part OF the trench had
evidently been strafed last right. They
didn't know where they We're. or how
far it was to the front line. We wan
'ered on. still laying in our wire. The
colonel of our brigade Joined us, and
we waded on together.
"The enemy Smelling was growing
moro intense. as was always the way
on the Somme when we were bringing
out our wounded. A good many of
our trenches We're directly enfiladed
shells burst just behind the parapet,
when they didn't burst on it. 1t was
at about this point In my breaking in
that / received a blow on the head
and thanked God for the man who in
vented the steel helmet.
"All of a sudden We halted. making
as small as could be. In
the rapidly thinning mist ahead of us
men were moving. They were stretch
er-bearers. The odd thing was that |
they were carrying their wounded |
away from. instead of toward us. Then |
II flashed on us that they were Huns. |
We had wandered into No Mans Land.
Almost at that momen We must have |
been spotted. for shell commenced |
falling at the end of the trench by
which We had entered. spreading |
out, so as not to attract attention. we
to crawl toward the other
md. Instantly that also was closed
10 us. and a curtain Of shells started
dropping behind US. We were trapped.
With perfect coolness-a GOODNESS
which. whatever l looked. l did not
'hare-we went Gown on our hands
Ind knees, wriggiing our way through
he corpses and she'll holes in the di-
'ection of where our front-linc ought
o be. After what seemed an age. we
got back. Later we registered the
runs, and one Of our offlccre who had