The Jasper news. [volume] (Jasper, Missouri) 1898-1924, 1918-10-10
CHAPTER xll-Continued.

ground, but during the three weeks
! was In the trenches on the Gallipoli
peninsula we made four grand attacks
md many minor ores, so | know In a
general way what they are like. Each
wave Is organized like the others
First come three lines of what you
might call grenndiers. though they are
not picked for size as the old kings
grenadlers used to be. They are de-
ployed IL skirmish formation, which
means that every nan Is three yards
from the next. They were armed only
with grenades,' but, you can take 1t
from me. that is enough Behind them
come two lines, also in skirmish for
nation, md armed with machine guns
and grenade rifles. The first men on
the left-carry machine guns. then come
three rifle grenadierS, and then anoth-
er machine gun and so on down the
length of the line. After these come
two lines of ritlemcn with liked bay
onets.
Then come the trench cleaners. or
moppers-up, rs we call them. They
were some gang. believe ne. Imagine
n team of rugby players spread out in
two lines-only with hundreds of men
or the team instead of eleven. and
each man a husky capable of ham
ding baby grand piano single
handed. These fellows were armed
with everything you could think of,
and a whole lot more that you could
not dream about IN n nightmare. 1t
used to remind me of a trial | saw
In New York once, where the police
had raided a yeggmens fio,, and had
all their weapons in the courtroom as
exhibits.
The moppers-up were heeled with
sticks, clubs, shillelahs, black acks.
two-handed cleavers, axes, trench
knives, poniards, up-to-date tomn-
hawks, brass knucklcs, slung shots
anything that was ever invented for
crashing man with, guess, except
firearms. These knock down, drag-out
artists follow the ritlemen very closely.
Their job was to take care of ali the
Turks who could not escape and would
not surrender.
There are lots of men II. any army
who will not surrender, but | think
probably there were more Turks OF
that gumenass than men in most other
armies. | have heard that i, is part
of their religion that man, If he
dies fighting, goes 10 Il We. specially
fancy heaven, with plenty to eat and
smoke. And l suppose II he surren-
ders they believe he will be put in
the black gang, stocking for eternity
down below. 1t was awfully hot at the
Dardunelles and / guess the Turks
did not want it any hotter, fO. very
few of them ever surrendered, and the
trench cleaners haC lot to do. Their
Job Is really important, for it Is danger
BUS to have groups of the enemy alive
and kicking around in their trenches
after you have passed. Almost every
prisoner we took was wounded.
The one thing / do not like to have
people ask me is, "How does 1t feel to
kill a MANI" and ] think the other
boys feel the same way about it. 1t
is not a thing you like to talk about
or think about either. But this time,
at "V" beach, when we got past the
were ut work on the third, do not
mind saying that | was glad whenever
/ slipped my bayonet into Turk and
more glad when / saw another one
coming. | guess / saw red all right.
Each time | thought, "Naybe you are
the one who did poor old Murray"
And l could see Murray as he looked
when they took him down from the
storehouse wall. Then 1 would stick
another one.
Tie others from. the Cassard were
red-hot, too, and they went ut the
Turks in great style. There was
nothing to complain about in the way
they fought, but wished that we had
had few more boys from the Foreign
Legion with us. think we would have
gone clear on through to CONSTANT,
nople.
But the Turks were not as bad MS
Fritz They were just as good or bet.
ter as fighters, and whole lot winter
Often, when we were frying In the
trenches and not drop of water was
to be had, something would land or
the ground near us and there would be
water bottle, full. Sometimes they
almost bombarded us with bottles
Then, too, they would not fire on the
Red Cross, as the Germans do; they
would hold their fire many times wher
we were out picking up our wounded
Several times they dragged our wound
ed rs close as they could to the barbeC
wire that we might find them easier
After Murray died got to thinking
lot more than used to, and though
I did not have any bunch exactly. sill