The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1918-04-02

! lence. 1t hurt. Everyone looked up
to see what had happened, but not for
long. Sharp whistle blasts rang out
along the trench and with a cheer the
men scrambled up the ladders. The
bullets we're cracking overhead and
occasionally a machine gun would rim
and tear the top of the sandbag para
pet. How got up that ladder will
never know. The first ten feet out In
front was agony. Then we passed
through lanes In our barbed wire. I
knew ! was running, but could feel no
motion below the waist. Patches on
the ground seemed 10 float to the rear
as If / were on treadmill and seen
cry was rushing past me. The Ger
mans had put barrage of shrapnel
across No Mans Land, and you could
hear the pieces slap the ground about
you.
After l had passed our barbed wire
and gotten into No Mans Land a
Tommy about fifteen feet to my right
front turned around and looking in nv
direction, put his hand to his mouth
and yelled something which 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 ar ..Oout me. These were caused
by passing rifle bullets. Frequently.
to my right and left, little spurts of
dirt wo'ild rise into the air and rico.
chet t"llet would whine un its way.
If Tommy should Nsee one of these
little spurts in front of him, he would
tell the nurse about il 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 a
baShed-in trench about four feet wide.
Queer-looking forms like mud turtles
were s>.ambling up its wall One Of
these forms seemed To slip and then
rolled to the bottom of the trench. /
leaped across this Intervening space.
Ihe man to my left seemed to pause in
midair, then pitched head down into
the German trench. l laughed out loud
in my delirium. Upon alighting on the
other side of the trench / came to with
sudden Jolt. Right in front of me
loomed giant form with rifle which
looked about ten feet long, on the end
of which seemed seven hayonets. These
mashed 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 charge and run your bayonet
up to the hilt intosa German the Fritz
VIII fall. Perhaps your rifle will be
wrenched from your grasp. Do not
waste time, If the bayonet is fouled
In his equipment by putting your foot
on his stomach and tugging Mt the rifle
10 eXtricnte the bayonet. Simply
press the trigger and the bullet will
frce it In my present situation this
was the logic, but for the life of me
l could not remember how he had told
me to get my bayonet into the Ger
man. To me this was the paramount
Issue. l closed my eyes and lunged
forward. My rifle was torn from nv
handS. l must have gotten the Ger
man because he had Disappeared
About twenty feet To my left front
was huge PrusSlan nearly six feet
four inches in height. fine specimen
of physical manhood. The bayonet
from his rifle was missing. bur he
clutched the barrel In both hands and
was swinging the butt around his head.
L 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
the Prussian. The Tommy on the left
was gradually circling to the rear of
MS opponent. II was 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 the Germans rifle in a smashing
Diow below the right temple. 1t
smashed his head like an eggshell. He
pitched forward on his side and a 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. I will never forget the look
of blank astonishment that came over
his face.
Then something hit me in the left
shoulder and my left side went numb.
1t felt as If n hot poker was being
driven through me. felt no pain
just sort of nervous shock. A bay
onet had pierced me from the rear.
| fell backward on the ground, but was