The herald., 1918-05-02

cartridges into our rifles. Prepare to
fre"-the men In the first row knelt
down and the second row took their
places. Our guns were now held so
that the barrels were forward and
the butts were hip high. "Aim"-and
slowly we aimed. holding our guns
tightly with the butts against our
shoulders and our fingers on the trig-
gers.
The sergeant paused a half minute
and then ordered US to fire. I do not
know to this day whether our victim
died at once, nor was there ever an
opportunity to learn how many Of the
six bullets found their mark. All day
I went around like a man in q trance,
reproaching myself bitterly for having
acted the part Of eIecutioner. For a
long time / could not bear to speak
about it to my comrades, for / felt
guilty, and yet what could we soldiers
do other than execute the orders given
us2
In the evening we went into camp
in an open field, pitching tents, and the
next day continued our march.
The country through which we
passed was uninteresting and offered
nothing in the way of variety. The
few tiny villages through which we
passed had all been abandoned. and
the poor-looking houses mostly de-
stroyed. Long trains of fugitives
passed US continually. These people
were as rule those who had escaped
when the French army retreated and
were returning now to find their
homes destroyed by the rough hand Of
war.
After long march, interrupted only
by halts and short bivouacs, we ap-
preached the large Belgian-French bor-
der town Of Sugny. located on the Bel
gian side Of the border. 1t was about
noon, and as the thunder Of cannon
constantly grew stronger, which indi-
Gated that a new battle was develop
ing, we hoped to be able to remain in
the town overnight. About one o'clock
we entered and were billeted in a big
barn. Most Of the soldiers refused to
eat from the field kitchens, and requi-
sitioned eggs, chickens, geese and
young pigs. Soon everybody was
cooking. am sorry to say that most
Of those who foraged had refused to
pay for what they had taken.
Several soldiers now arrived with
barrels Of wine and also many bottles,
which were instantly opened and emp
tied. The obvious resulted, and soon
many noncommissioned officers and
men were helplessly drunk. The owner
Of our barn had possessed three large
hogs. One Of the drunken noncom-
missioned officers tried to kill one Of
these hogs with q dull pocket knife.
He had tortured the poor beast almost
to death when the animal was nerci-
fully killed by q bullet. A few min
utes afterward the officer went to
sleep. This was only an example and
not the worst, for the Inhabitants Of
the town had to endure much from
our men who had become drunk. There
were open and secret robberies Of
gardens, stables and houses here and
no restrictions whatever were put on
the soldiers. There was no improve
ment In their general conduct, despite
many complaints. One family report
ed that the French had treated them
very well, but that our highly trained
soldiers plundered and stole. II was
therefore not surprising that the pop
ulation suffered want and hunger I
often shared my bread with these SUI
fering people. With two comrades.
one day, gave my portion Of meat
vegetables and preserves and also Q
bag Of onions 70 Q woman with eight
Ghildran. HAcapaa IA I'm va Mis-