The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1918-03-07
3Mud. Rats ana Shells.
CHATTER v.

hot FIT 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. tNe earth seemed 20 shnlsc
and thunderciap burst in my ears. n
opened my eyrs-T was spiashcd all
over with sticky mud. and men were
picking themselves un from the bottom
OF the trench. The parnpet ON my left
hnd toppied Into the trench. completely
blocking II with a wall of tossed-npI
earth. The man on my left lay still. I
! rubbed the mud from my face. and an
awful sight met my gnze--his head
gas smashed TO q pulp. and his steel
helmet wns full Of brains and blood.
A German '-sfinnie- (trench morfar)
had exploded la the next traverse. Men
we're digging into the soft mass OF mud
in frenzy OF haste, Stretchcr-bcnr-
ers came up the trench on the double.
After q few minutes Of digging. three
still. muddy forms on strefchers were
carried down the communication
trench to the rear. Soon they would
be resting Somewhere In France With
n little wooden cross over their heads
They had done their bit for king and
country. had died without firing q shot.
hut their services were appreciated.
nevertheless.
Later on. ! found out their names.
They belonged TO our drnft.
j was daxed and motionless. Sud-
deuiy q shovel was pushed into my
hands. and rough but kindly voice
said:
Here. my lad. lend a hand clearing
fhe trench. but keep your head down
and look out for snIpers. One Of the
Frftx's II a daisy. and he'll get ycu II
you're not careful"
Lying on my belly on the bottom Of
the trench. filled sandbass with the
sticky mud. they were dragged to my
rear by the other men. and the work Of
rebuilding the psrapet was on. The
harder worked. the better felt. Al
though the weather was cold. I was
soaked with sweat.
Occasionally 4 bullet would cruck
overhead. and machine gun would
kick Up the mud on the bashed-in parn-
pet. At each crack would duck and
shield my face with r,y nrm.' One OF
the older men noticed this action of
mine. and whispered:
'fDou's duck at the crack OF hal
let. Yank: the danger has passed-you
never hear the one that wings you.
Alwnys remember that n you are going
10 get Il. you'll get II. so never worry"
This made great Impression on me
nj the time. and from then on. adopt /,
cd his motto. IF you're going to get Il. |
you'll get it,
II helped me wonderfully. I used q,
80 often afterwards that some OF my
mates dubbed me. "If you're going to
get Il, youTl get IT.
After an hours hard work. all my
nervousness left me, and I was laurh-
3nE and joking with the rest.
At one O'Clock. dinner came up In
the form Of a dixie of hot stew.
looked for my cantecn. II hnd
fallen OF the nre step, and wns hnif
buried in the mud. The man on my
left noticed this. and told the corporal.
dishing out the rntons. TO put my
share In hIs mess tin. Then he whis-
pcrcd TO me. always take care OF your
mess tin, mate"
had learned another maxim Of the
trenches.
That stew tnstcd ene. was M
hungry as a bear. We had "rcconds." :"
or another helping. because three Of
the men had 'gono West" killed by
the explosion Of the German trench
mortar. and we ate their share. but
lstiIi was hungry. no I filled In with
bully beef and biscuits. Then drnlncd
my water bottle. Later on learned
another maxim OF the front line. go
sparinsiy with your water.- The bully
beef made me thirsty. and By tea time
! was dying for . drink. but my pride
would not allow me to ask my mates
for water. was fast learning the
ethics OF the trenches.
i That night was put ON guard with
an older man We stood ON the Gro
satep with our hands over the top. peer.
ing out Into No Mans. Land. II was
nervous work for me, but the other fell
low seemed to take Il ~ part OF the
lniRht's routine.
Then something shot past my facc.I
MY heart stopped beating. and dncked
bmy head below the pnrnpct- A soft
chuckle from my mate broueht mo 70
my senssa. and faebly asked. ~For
heavens sake. what was thatf"
He answered. Only rat taking =
promenade along the sandbags." Il
hseit very shecpish.
About every twenty minutes the SEN
try In the next traverse would IRE =
star shell from his fiare pistol. The
sep,opr would give me 1 stnrt OF fright
4 never got used to this noise daring
my eervico In the trenche9- 4