The Bridgeport times and evening farmer. (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1918-1924, 1918-03-30


at his terrible work Oh, he go
all right, but how many of
the enemy he accounted for nobody
knows
For my part was soon too busily
engaged to watch him.
We had a terrific fight for the wood,
but We managed to do just what the
Huns tried desperately to prevent us
doing-that was driving them to-
wards the swamp part. After that, it
was a case of "Kamerad, Kamerad!"
The poor devils boots filled with mud
and water; they couldn't move; they
were completely at our mercy; and so
the battle was won and the wood was
ours. Some of the Huns escaped, and
# they are still alive 1 imagine they
won't have any desire to meet the
Highlanders again, more especially of
the type of giant who slew six in his
first furious onslaught.
If anyone were to ask me what it
is about the Highlander that makes
him so formidable a fighter, would
say it is his earnestness. I must say
that, watching these men in and out
of a battle, one is struck with the
intense thoroughness with which they
do everything. Out of battle they
take their sports earnestly, they even
take their concerts earnestly. In bat
tie, grimmer, more resolute men the
world has never seen.
A thing has been set them to do
They do it, and neither Hun nor hell
will keep them from their appointed
task.
That's the Highlander.
"Sniped"
How did I come out of it?
Well, that's rather a curious and
a tragic story. got tilt from a sniper
while in our own trenches. 1t was
during the time we were near M
Wood. So near were we in fact, that
some of the trees actually overlooked
our trenches The German snipers
took advantage of their proximity to
us, and one or two of them hiding be-
hind stumps or lying along branches,
used to try to pick us off actually as
we were going about our business in
our own lines. And that was the fate
that was reserved for me on this oc-
casion.
One day was proceeding along the
trench when suddenly bullet sang,
felt twinge, then, spinning around
involuntarily, I collapsed. I knew
what had happened. And so did a
chum who was coming behind. He
rushed up to my assistance, got out
his first aid bandages, and was just
on the point of binding up my wounds
when another bullet sang, and the
poor fellow pitched right across me.
The sniper had got him clean through
the breast. That was all, but a pitt
full enough tragedy it was, to think
that he should be killed while doing
the Good Samaritan.
| 1t was a great task after that get
ting the snipers out of the wood, but
the Highlanders were just the very
men for such a job. Some of them
if they had not the actual experience
of tracing and trapping men, at least
had the gift of it from their fore
fathers, and it only required such an
opportunity as this to bring out their
latent talent. And any rate, that
how 1 figure it out, and think I am
right, judging from ~enat happened.
Laying for the Shippers
The snipers only put IN their dirty
work during the day, but as 1t was
impossible to locate them from oul
trenches, and equally impossible tc
get near them in daylight, one or two
of our boys determined to go out II
the darkness, stay out all night and
do a little sniping on their own Wher
the opportunity presented Itself.
It must have been a ticklish an6
an cerie job for them, but they go
to the spot they wanted, and settled
down for the night. One of them tolC
me afterwards that the most trying
time of all was the coming of the
morning. They did not know whether
or not the Germans might discover
them before they discovered the Ger
mans. But luck was with them.
Not long after daybreak they saw
4 two or three figures crawling stealthil!
along towards the edge of the Woo
nearest our trenches. They could hav'
shot them but there was posi-
bility that the main body of the Ger
mans who were not far off would
have suspected that their shipping
comrades were rather early on thu
job, and would have made inquiries
So until the snipers had got into thet
perches, the highlanders waited eve
so patiently. In fact, they waited
longer.
They waited until they saw the frs
of the snipers raise his rifle and TAX
aim. Long ere this, of course, the!
had all the snipers, three of them
covered, and the moment the first on
seemed about to draw" bead OF
someone in our trench, three shot
lrang out, and three bodies fell like rip
fruit from the trees.
Did the other Germans know?
: Not till long after the Highlander
got clean away.
The three shots they probably re
; garded as sounding the knell of thre'
kBritishers.
Anyway, we were not molested tina
way during the remainder of the brie
time that wood remained in German
hands. The clearing Of it, may add
was another reminder to the Hun
: that the Highlanders are holy ter
ror when they get in amongst them.
CTo Be Continued.)
(The International News Bureau, Inc.
- NJ