Carrizozo outlook. [volume] (Carrizozo, N.M.) 1910-1945, 1919-02-14


always wnnt to tell you how good some
other show Is. and that was the way
with the sergeant.
"You should see what they did TO
us NJ 81. Elol." he said. "They just
baptized US with the big fellows. They
did not know wncn to stop. When you
see Smelling that Is Smelling, you Will
know II, my SON.
"Well, II this IN not Smelling. what
the devil II ~ Are they trying 10
kid US or are you. mon vl,uxY' which
Is n French expression that means
something like "old timer"
my son, when you see dugouts
caved In. ronds pushed all over the
map. guns wrecked, bodies twisted up
In knots and forty men killed by n
shell-then you will know you are
seeing shelllng."
Then one Of our men sat up straight
against the par2pet and stared NJ us
and begin 20 shnke nll over. but We
could not get him 20 say anything or
move. So we knew he had shell shock.
And another nun watched him for II
while, and then he began to shake,
too. The sergeant said that II we
stayed there much longer we would
not be III TO repel I'm attack. so he
ordered us into the two dugouts We
had made In the hole, and only himself
and another man stayed outside on
watch.
The men In the dugout kept nsklng
each other when the bOmbardment
would end. and why we were not rein
forced. and whnt was happening. and
whether the Turks would attack MS. II
was easy to see why we were not rein
~forccd-no body OF men could have
got to us from the reserve trenches.
The communication trenches were
quite a distance from us mud were
battered up ut That. Some OF the men
said we had been forgottch and that
the rest OF our troops had either re-
tired or advanced ana that we and
the men In the trench who had tried
to signal us were the only detachments
left there.
Pretty soon another man and I
relieved the two men who were out
side on watch, ana MS he went down
into the dugout the sergeant shouted
10 us that he thought the Turks we're
afraid to attack. lie also ordered one
of us TO keep n live eye toward orr
rem In case any OF our troops should
try to signal us. When | looked
through n little gully ut the top of
the hole, toward the other trench, Ill
! could see was bnrbed wire and
smoke and two or three corpses. l
] hnnan 30 ukluaw an nNtIa wstH xpoa
afraid I would get shell shock, too.
So ! began TO think about Murray and
how he looked when they took him
OF the wall. But that did not stop the
shlyerlng, 80 / thought about my grand
mother and how she looked the last
time saw her. | was thinking about
her. ! guess. and not keeping II very
good lookout, when n man rolled over
the edge and almost fell on me. He
was from the other trenches. l carried
him into the dugout and then went out
again and stood my watch until the
relief came. We were doing half-hour
shifts.
When | got into the dugout again
the n vas coming TO. He was Just
about ms nea shell shock as | had
been-by this time | was shiverlng
only once In n while, when ! did not
watch myself. He said four men had
been sliced up trying to get to us be-
fore he came; that they had lost
IL men out OF their BE. including the
sergennt-major In command aud two
corporals; that they were almost out
Of ammunition: that the trenches on
both sides OF them had been blown In
and that they were likely 10 go to
pieces at any moment. He said they
all thought the Turks would attack
behind their bnrrage, for he said the
curtain OF fire did not extend more
than n hundred yards In front Of their
trench. What they wanted US to do
was TO relay "A man back with the
news and either get the word to nd
vance or retire or await reinforce
ments, they did not care whlch-only
TO be ordered to do something. There
was NOT n commissioned officer left
with either OF the detachments, you
see, and you might say we were up
In the air-only Wa were really as far
IN the ground as we could get.
The man thought there were other
OF our lines not far behind us, but we
knew better; so then he said he did
not see how any n could get back
} from there 10 our nearest lines. ]
did not see either. Then we all fig
ured we were forgotten and would not
come out of there alive, and you can
: believe me or not, but I did not much
/ carA ANYTHING would he better than