The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1919-06-26

that he was short of shells. othel
wise why didn't he send over d o"i
rage or something! - ,;tte,
We were soon TO learn oy oiet.'
evnerience that Fritz had peen So
tinq together all the hell ne coui.
fin6 and waited only the hour 10 hui I,
- oyer in unslackened fury for man!
hours till he thought we wouiu nav nav
heen annihilated or would nave o0"
disorderly retreat. ssof
A little past II O'Clock we p%?Stt ,;,b,
hetween our own batteries OF hen
field artillery which, with the near. or
nt;I,erv nlaced farther in the rear
were sending over a defensive 'a ax
rage anticipating by an hour 'he eN
pected enemy barrage:
Big Barrage Begins. o
Tho night was ideal, just coo ',
onorsh and except for our own artil
lerv quite still. But soon tne M 9' tbt
were darkened by fog rising ifoiii ''
river. hottsries wa:
Go scinating. 1t was an almost coh'in
mons violent thunder, accompanieu y! ~
constantly leaping sheets OF lam lam tht M
We came closer we could near u.
crashes of our shells on the opposlt.
siSe u 40 Of the river. Not an enemy shei
was falling. IT,. :, tho Rois
just before mldnisn..
I'D hear the softly spoken com,
uoands U of the officers as they placed
.hair men in position in the thick un'
sauhrnsh sn The entire wagon tram
drew up along the road in the @oooi u
Nv medical cart was in the reai y, :
ths train. | had it placed under
oinmn @ of bushes, and looking at my
latch saw it was just II O'Clock.
stonned a moment to observe the ei'
feet of the artillery fire, Wnen tne a..
was filled suddenly with new VICIOUS
blood curdling shrieks anu
death dealing explosions OF incoming
shells. o
Tbere were thousands of shells II,
,,at first salov-with a bowling anu
81 S hr;eking of exploding shells, whiie
d;rt and stones and pieces of trees
were scattered everywhere. Grea'
holes opened up all around wnlle , tne
earth trembled under the force oi 'ne
mighty detonations, .o,rd
threw myself flat on the grouiu, :,
and I had never known before una.
could get so close to nature. ,ras as
tbere for an hour while the SKY Was
raining shells, expecting that every
minute would be my last.
At first I thought that it was only
renrisal fire, but as the time drag
ped on. and there was no abatement,
I became painfully convinced tnat 'he
expected attack was on. =. .
After a while became aware ol a
different song in the air, the pleasant :
whang and the dull thua u !
gas shells. A moment later anu !
eon,s smell the deadly poison.
reached for my trusted gas mask ana,
much as I dreaded to do so, puileo
- ON The mask is safe, but II is
tbe most uncomfortable thing l ever
wore. 49,,
Praying for Daylight.
If the civilian cares to know ho~ a
GAS mask feels, let him seize his nose
with a pair of fire tongs, oury nis
face in a hot feather pillow, then take
. GAS nine between his teeth ana
hreatha through it for a few hours
II is safe but like the deadly poison
which forced its invention, 1t Is not
sane. ,d
No man could get up and work ana
live in that hall of steel. BESIDES II
was totally, dark, and 1 could nave nWo W
,iobt NV own men would have shoI
me dead if 1 had made a light. Inc
woods were filled with deadly gas.
was sick and disgusted because
was there as an agent OF mercy 10
care for and relieve the suffering, ana
I could do nothing.
would have given half my life Tor
daylight. 1 slipped down the head OF
INV gas mask and looked at my IL
Illuminated watch. Only O'Clock. MY
God, l thought 1 would 60 mad!
1 heard some one cry out that ne
was wounded. got up and groped
my way through the underbrush, and
came on soldier who said he was
wounded in the shoulder. l felt fol
the wound and found that the arm
had been torn away. l dressed him in
the dark, using a first aid packet and
his shirt. He had lost his gas mask;
his comrade lay nearby dead. l took
the dead mans mask and adjusted
it on the living.
Action relieved the tense nervous
strain and from then on worked con
stantly among the wounded in the
woods. l got together what first aic
men l could find, and we worked un'
III