The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1918-11-14

after three years at the front on the
border of Alsace had come back tt
New York invalidated that told me
the following anecdote while slipping
an absinthe at Mouquin:
What a terrible war that was on
the summit of the Vosge at an alti
tude of three thousand feet and what
it will be yet; till our soldiers fight
their way to the valley of the Rhine
The fighting is in the woods, waist
deep In snow and freezing weather
In four years Of fighting We have on.
ly advanced mile then pushed back
mile regaining it the next day; at
no other part of the battleline with
, the exception of Verdun and Arras
are the trenches so close together,
on each side of a small valley the
size of a pocket handkerchief, when
we stare at each other and watch.
Il was located at with an
Alpine battalion occupying a small
ambulance; obscure, and two-thirds
buried in the ground, rooted over by
saplings and covered with dirt. Ev-
cry day they brought two or three
men torn up by shrapnel or pierced
by ball. One morning, or rather
one night, for those affairs generally
happened just before day break, the
Boches attacked. The battle was as
usual bloody but without results.
They came to the edge of our small
valley, demolished some of our barbed
wire then rolled back by our machine
guns to their trenches after losing
a great many men. They had left
one hanging on the barbed wire,
which had tangled up on post-.a
poor devil of soldier who was des.
perately calling for sometimes
In German, other times in very good
French without accent, which made
me think he was student or at any
rate some kind of an intellectual, and
very young. He was so near we
could hear everything he said
We at first thought that \ his com.
pany would come to his rescue, and
If he had been an officer or at least
Feldwebel, | am sure they would
have done 1t and we would not have
objected, for his cries broke our
hearts. But he was nothing but a
Feldgrau; just human material anu
4 Boche commander does not care
much for such material. To them its
Ike money to be spent when needed. |
The Boche officer | suppose looked at |
t this way: If we try to save him the
French will pot us; we might lose
wo or three men to save one, so he
DOOR fellow stayed there all day, all
light, and all of the next day. That
light our Alpine boys unlocked him
nd carried him back. Our soldiers
re made of different stuff than those
'oches, and their officer would have
een ashamed to interdict the act.
hose groans, those appeals kept
hem from sleeping; yes we have
lore nerve than the Germans but
ur hearts are softer.
They brought the unfortunate to
lie. He had ball in his intestines ,
nd just few more hours to live. He j.,
AK unconscious so pricked some ,
affeine in him and he came to- then ,
e looked at me, he gave me a look
shall never forget. full of anguish ,
nd gratitude, In pure French he +,
lid; | am going to die but don't
bandon me-" He took one OF my
ands and. held on to it while he re.
Gated: do not abandon me-"
| understood then that he was re-
gned to his fate but what had made
i'm suffer the most in those forty
ght hours of agony hanging on
lose wires was that he was alone. '
man dying can stand almost any.
ling but that; the condemned Grim.
al has at least human around him
the last moments. If he could re.
ect he would say to the hangman, =,
Brother, thanks for being near"
However, | could not always stay
; the poor fellow; there were others,