Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1918-03-20

never know. The first ten feet out In
front was agony. Then we passed
through lanes in our barbed wire.
knew I was running, but could feel no
motion below the waist. Patches on
the ground seemed to float to the rear
as If I were on a tread1nill and seen
cry was rushing past me. The Ger
mans had put a barrage Of shrapnel
across No Mans Land, and you could
near the pieces slap the ground about
you.
After had passed our barbed wire
and gotten into No Mans Land q
Tommy about fifteen feet to my right
front turned around and looking in my
direction, put his hand to his mouth
and yelled something which I could not
make out on account Of the noise from
the bursting shells. Then he cOughed,
stumbled pitched forward and lay still.
His body seemed to float TO the rear
of me. l could hear sharp cracks in
the air about me. These were caused
| by passing rifle bullets. Frequently.
TO my right and left, little spurts of
dirt would rise into the air and rico
Chef bullet would whine on it's way.
| If q Tommy should see one of these
little spurts in front Of him, he would
! tell the nurse about it later. The
crossing OF No Mans Land remains
blank to me.
+ Men on my right and left would
stumble and fall. Some would try to
get up, while others remained huddled
and motiOnless. Then smashed-up
barbed wire came into view and
seemed carried on tide to the rear
| Suddenly, in front Of me lOomed
bashed-in trench about four feet wide
| Queer-lOoking forms like mud turtles
were s-,ambling up it's wall One of
these forms seemed to slip and then
rolled to the bottom Of the trench.
leaped across this intervening space
| The man to my left seemed to pause il
midair, then pitched head down into
the German trench. I laughed out loud
in my delirium. Upon alighting on the
other side Of the trench [ came to with
q sudden jolt. Right in front of me
doomed giant form with a rifle which
looked about ten feet long, on the end
OF which seemed seven bayonets These
flashed in the air in front of me. Then
through my mind flashed the admOni-
! ton OF our bayOnet instructor back in
| BliGhty. He had said, whenever you
get in q charge and run your bayonet
up to the hilt intOsa German the Fritz
will fall. Perhaps your rifle will be
| wrenched from your grasp. Do not
waste time, if the bayonet is fOuIed
in his equipment, by putting your foot
| on his stomach and Juggling at the rifle
to eXtricate the bayOnet. Simply
press the trigger and the bullet will
free it." In my present situation this
was the logic, but for the life Of me
[ could not remember how he had told
me to get my bayOnet into the Ger
man. TO me this was the paramount
| issue. [ closed my eyes and lunged
forward. My rifle was torn from my
| hands. I must have gotten the Ger
| man because he had disappeared.
About twenty feet to my left front
was q huge Prussian nearly six feet
four inches in height, fine specimen
Of physical manhood. The bayOnet
from his rife was missing but he
| clutched the barrel in both hands and
was swinging the butt around his head.
[ could almost hear the swish of the
butt passing through the air. Three
| little TOmmies were engaged with him.
They looked like pigmies alongside of
I the Prussian. The Tommy on the left
was gradually circling to the rear Of
his opponent. It was a funny sight to
see them duck the swinging butt and
| try to jab him at the same time The
| Tommy nearest me received the butt
of hn ~ or,sc nj flo ~,
blow below the right temple. 1t
smashed his head like an eggshell. He
pitched forward on his side and con-
vulsive shudder ran through his body
| Meanwhile the other Tommy had
gained the rear Of the Prussian. Sud-
denly about four inches of bayOnet
protruded from the throat Of the Prus-
| sian soldier, who staggered forward
and fell. / will never forget the look
Of blank establishment that came over
his face.
Then something hit me in the left
shoulder and my left side went numb.
It felt as if hot poker was being
driven through &me. I felt no pain
| just sort of nervous shock. A bay
Onet had pierced me from the rear l
Ieli DdckWaru Oh Tile GROUND, DuC was
not unconscious, because I could see
dim objects moving around me. Then
a flash Of light in front Of my eyes and
Inconsistencies. Something had hit
me on the head. I have never found
out what it was.
l dreamed I was being tossed about
in an open boat on a heaving sea and
| opened my eyes. The moon was shin
ing. 1 was on stretcher being car
ried down one Of our communicate
trenches. At the advanced frst-aid
post my wounds were dressed, and
then was put into an ambulance and
sent to one OF. the base hospitals. The
wounds in my shoulder and head were