New Britain herald., 1919-02-17

beams, ponds of muddy water in the
Shell-holes and trenches old shells
uneXploded everywhere, one lone
dead German in a pool of water in
a shell-hole with gas mask still on
his face, graves with wooden crosses,
graves of Germans, graves of Eng
lish, and this extended for miles and
miles as far as the eye could reach
in all directions. How the Huns were
ever stopped is more than human
mind can tell, how they were ever
blasted out of the Messines Ridge is
the eighth wonder Of the ages.
The road to Messines is a repeti-
ton of the road we had just ira
Versed, and on to Wytschaetes is the
same thing, the last named town
being another sign post, not a trace
of building or cellar-hOle to be
seen, and from now on for miles the
road is over plank, the old paved
road having been blasted from ex-
istenCe, and the only method of cross
ing the country is by laying down
plank like q floor. but n very I'M
even floor to say the least.
THE next sign post says Voor-
mezeele, not a trace of a dwelling,
and then on to Ypres. Along here
we saw abandoned tanks, crashed
airplanes, ammunition dumps of ire
mendous SIZE big forests left a wilder
ness of stumps, cemeteries, millions
of shells, and debris like the rocks
at Seawall.
Big gangs of German prisoners
and Chinese coolies were mending the
poor old highways and salvaging the
abandoned war materials. Just out
side of Ypres we met a regiment of
Coolies, baggage and all, on the
march to the folds of Messnes Ridge.
''Off to the west of the road from
Wytschacte to Voormezeele we could
see Paschendaele Ridge and Mt. KIM
mel where the Canadians gave up so
many lives and where they gave the
Germans the worst beating of the
war. In fact the whole region for
several hundred of miles is a vast,
treeless, wilderness. Every town is
wiped off the face of the EARTH every
tree is gone, every bush is gone,
every fence is gone, every country
road is gone. only weeds and junk to
be seen, with, of course, the graves
Of the dead showing everywhere in
little groups and in single spots along
side the main roads, buried where
they were found.
I'VE struck the main road to Lille
just outside and to the west of Ypres
and along side the canal. which is
we'll checked and abandoned, were a
few lonely trees left standing and tho
most remarkable line of zig-zag
trenches and barbed-Wire entangle-
ments that we saw during the trip.
cypress is a sight to see. We could
make out the ruins long before we
entered the town, the tower of the
Cloth hall dominating the landscape.
and marking the place where the
Huns tried for four long years to
get the Canadians on the run. But
the Canadians, being a species of
American, do not run worth a damn,
which fact. the Hun found out to
his everlasting rage and sorrow.
I'VE ate our basket lunch in the
main square at Ypres, under the
shadow Of what is left Of one of the
most beautiful examples of the
builders art in tho world. Your
blood would boil if you could see the
ruins Of this city, and your heart
would ache if you could see the GEM
eterles which are everywhere scat
tered about its fallen walls. The Huns
were all around this place in great
force with all the engines of war
Whlch forty years OF preparation and
study could devise, and they heaped
all sorts of attack upon attack, they
shelled with every known kind Of gun
Whlch they possessed, they tried every
hlho or shell and gas and flame at
TACK which they could command, to
drive their lines through this city, but