The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1920-01-20
BELGIUM SKETCHES
The Land Of the
Living md Dead
~ kasAarlas Rasisstsn nsbsraA

scspvsiykA Hsse. vuessS nsvuDD~ Usssss
TIE srS sss anh ssss . stsDp -.
fsrs Ne Aoss ~ Ne abri an1 rsses1 his
gay. ssubbisd eAta - ne handle -
his Diek. wsaSily hs gsse1 acrv0 he
dssslsts IanI Of lsstructloa. His hest
shoulders drespsd beneath the blue
mect.
Sometimes Il just seems impossible.
Marthe." He turned 70 the woman In
the doorway. "Ysu can't grow gar.
den In these vet shell-holes. Some OF
US tried to turn more ground today.
hut every time we swung . pick. up
came a skull or piece Of a shoe. or
something. II doesn't seem right"
Marines knotted fingers twisted at
her apron. mo; but it's all we have.
Jan. We can't waste all West Elan
ders. and--well. after all, IT'S home"
yes. yes" he sighed; we've come
back to the same place, but It Isn't
home any more. Look at those bare
trees. They lift their broken arms to
the sky and beg for pity. but they'll
never live. And those skulls-they
haunt me. What Is the usef Always
q struggle. The dead cannot live
again, and We live on q land Of
DEATH" He kicked Of his wooden ga.
bots and followed his wife through the
doorway into the one room that served
for parlor. bedroom and kitchen.
Marthe bent over the sheet-iron stove
and stirred the soup In battered ket-
tie. ~ secured up that empty s,ell
you found yesterday. II will do for a
coffee-pot. Try to get another. To
use the same one for everything Is
hard" She sighed. 81 do wish we had
Just few Of the old kitchen things.
But I suppose some German woman Is
using my copper kettles and spoons
now" Marthe welded the homemade
wooden ladle with vicious splash.
Jan laughed bitterly, as he settled
down by the table. Judging by what
they took from Belgium. picture Ger.
many os land paved with copper ket-
ties. carpeted with mattresses and fes-
TONED with brass door-knobs. Oh,
what's the use, Marthe? What's the
use Of trying TO live like this? An old
abri for house, because there's moth
ing with which to build. We make
our coffee In the shell of a spent obus.
Our furniture, everything Is makeshift.
T.ife's nothing but makeshift.
"Why do we cling to II? And the chill
dren that people are trying to raise
out here! They see only desolation;
their toys are broken guns and rusty
bayonets, What kind Of men and
women will they be? And stiIl we go
on working here. because we've no
where else to 90. and we think we
have TO live" His gray head sank In
his hands.
Marthe placed the pot of soup on
the table and gave him wooden
spoon. That's what Louisa was say.
ing this evening. That's the way ev-
erybody feels when the dark comes
on"
Slowly the night mist crept over
No Mans Land and shrouded the
stark. gray trees. One by one shapes
began 10 rise and wander over the pit
ted ground. They gathered into groups
and the murmur Of their voices was
like wind across the fields.
Said one II thought II hard TO die
out here, but when ! see these people
working. straIning to make their
h. Il tlinl ha srIa cttt
10 live"
My family has returned" another
spoke. 81 lived here once. II seems
so long ago. But when I came back
here to fight. my house was all de-
stroyed. my people gone. And then
fell there, In my own front yard
hat shell-hole. see Il. where the pop
pies grown My little girl came there
10 pick some flowers this afternoon.
kissed her hand; she laughed, AMI
thought poppy tickled her." lie
smiled. "If they could know"
"It must he nearly time" another
said. ",rhe lights are out. The peo'
Pile are asleep"
A bugle whispered somewhere In the
dark. The shapes 'el' into ranks; the
ghostly army marched. Before the
homes the spirits took their posts and
waited for the zero hour to come
From far they saw the menace creep
ing up-vaguely. until the moon broke
through the mist aud showed II grin
and hideous--the army Of Despair ant
fa!thless Doubt. that sought to drive
the people from the land.
The siege was hard. but through thu
long. blue night the shapes stood firm
till, Just before the dawn. the hour Of
full strength came. Then with rusi
the living spirits fought. and put tn,
armies OF Despair and Doubt to flight
The old man stood before the dool
Of the abri and watched the mornin,
turn from rose to gold. "Marthe." h,
cried. II was foolish last night. I
must have been that was tired. VIVA
better gift can we have than the Ian,
where our sons have fought7 What al
inspiration for our homes There's M
such thing as despair. Marthe. wal
wrong. very wrong last night. Toda.