Williston graphic., 1918-07-04

form which seemed ike USB VI OASS
hanging over the wire. In the dim
iirht I could see that its hands were
hlackened. and knew It was the body
Of one Of my mates. I put my hand
m his head the top Of which had been
blown of by bomb. NV myers sank
into the hole. pulled my hand back
fnll Of blood and brains. then went
craxv with fear and horror and rushed
.lone the wire until came to our
ione had Just turned down this lane
.,hen something inside of me seemed
to sav. "Look around" ! did 20; bull
let caught me on the LETT shoulder. It
d,d not hurt much, Just felt 40 Il some
one had punched me In the back. and
thon nv left side went numb. Ny arm
wos dangling like rag. fell forward
IN a sitting position. But all the fear
Ind left me and was consumed with
rape and cursed the German trenches.
with nv right hand felt IN my tunic
ror NV f,rst-aid or shell dressing. In
eee,ine over my tunic my hand came
IN contac ct with one Of the bombs which
carried. Gripping it, pulled the pin
mt with nv teeth and blindly threw It
towards the German trench. I must
have been out Of my head, because I
wos onlv ten feet from the trench and
took q chance of being mangled. II
tho bomb had failed to 60 into the
trench I would have been blown to
bits by the explosion of my own bomb.
Rv the flare of the explosion Of the,
bomb, which luckily landed In their.
trench. I saw one big Boche throw up
his arms and fall backwards, while his
rifle flew into the air. Another one
wilted and fell forward across the
sandbags-then blackness. :
Realizing what foolhardy and risky
thing I had done, I was again seized
with a horrible fear. dragged myself
to nv feet and ran madly down the
lane through the barbed wire, STUN
bling over cut wires, tearing my uni
form, and lacerating my hands and
legs. Just as I was about to reach
No Mans Land again, that same voice
seemed to say, 'Turn around" I.did
so, when, 'crack." another bullet
caught me, this time In the left shoul-
der about one-half inch away from the
other wound. Then it was taps for me.
The lights went out.
When l came to I was crouching in
a hole In No Mans Land. This shell
hole was about three feet deep, 80 that
1t brought my head few inches below
the level of the ground. How I reached
this hole will never know. German
"typewriters" were traversing back
and forth in No Mans Land, the bull
lets biting the edge of my shell hole
and throwing dirt all over me.
Overhead shrapnel was bursting.
I could hear the fragments slap the
ground. Then I went out once more.
When l came to everything was silence
and darkness in No Mans Land. I
was soaked with blood and q big flap
from the wound in my cheek was hang
ing over my mouth. The blood rum
ming from this flap choked me. Out Of
the corner of my mouth would try
and blow 1t back, but 1t would not
move. reached for my shell dressing
and tried, with one hand, to bandage
my face to prevent the flow. had
IN awful horror Of bleeding to death
and wps getting very faint. You would
have laughed If you had seen my
ludicrous attempts ut bandaging with
one hand. The pains In my wounded
shoulder were awful and I was getting
sick at the stomach. I gave up the
bandaging stunt as bad job, and then
tainted. l.
When came to, hell was let loose.
An intense bOmbardment was on, and
on the whole my position was decided
~ unpleasant. Then, suddenly, our
barrage ceased. The silence almost
hurt, but not for long. because Frits
turned loose with shrapnel, machine
guns, and rifle fire. Then all along our
line came cheer and our boys came
over the top in charge. The first
wave was composed Of "Jocks." They
were magnificent sight. kilts, Tapping
In the wind, bare knees showing. and
their bayOnets glistenfng. In the nrst
wave that passed my shell hole, one OF
the "Jocks," an immense fellow, about
six feet two inches in height Jumped
right over me. On the right and LETT
Of me several soldiers In c0l0red kits
were huddled on the ground. then oveI
came the second wave, also "Jocks."
One young Scottie, when he came
abreast Of my shell hole. leaped into
the air, his rife shooting; out Of his
hands, landing about six feet In front
Of him, bayonet FIRST. and stuck IN the
ground. the butt trembling. This I'M
pressed me greatly.
Right now I can see the butt Of that
gun trembling. The Scottie made .
complete turn in the air, hit the
ground, rolling over twice, each time
clawing at the earth, and then re-
mained still. about four feet from me.
In sort Of sitting position. called to
him, Are you hurt badly, Jock? but
no answer. He was dead. A dark RED
smudge was coming through his tunic
right under the heart. The blood ran
down his bare knees, making horrible
sight. On his right side he carried his