Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1920-09-17

Inch which had ended by bringing Us
here on the plains of Belgium as
cockshot for two hundred and fifty
cannon.
During all this time the roaring OF
those guns had been something dread
full to listen to, but now they suddenly
died away, though Il was like the lull
In thunderstorm when one feels
that worse crash is coming hard at
the fringe Of II. There was still
| mighty noise on the distant wing,
where the Prussians were pushing
their way onward, but that was tive
miles away. The other batteries. both
French and English, were silent, and
the smoke cleared so that the armies
could see little Of each other. II was
a dreary sight along our ridge, for
there seemed to be just a few scat
tered knots Of red, and the lines OF
green where the German legion stood,
while the masses of the French APP
peared to be as thick as ever, though,
| OF course, we knew that they must
have lost many thousands in these at
| tacks. We heard a great cheering and
shouting from among them, and then
suddenly all their batteries opened to-
gether with roar which made the din
of the earlier part seem nothing In
comparison. 1t might well be twice as
loud, for every battery was twice as
near, being moved right up to point
blank range, with huge masses of horse
between and behind them to guard
them from attack.
| When that devils roar burst upon
our ears there was not a man down
to the drummer-boys who did not un-
derstand what II meant. 1t was Ma
poleon's last great effort to crush us.
There were but two more hours OF
light, and IL we could hold our own
for those, all would be well. Starved
and weary and spent, we prayed that
we might have strength to load and
stab and fire while man of us stood
upon his feet.
His cannon could do us no great
harm now, for we were on our faces,
and in an instant we could turn into a
huddle of bayonets II his horse came
| uONH ukulll. out Dtilnu tliC
Of the guns there arose sharper,
shriller noise, whirring and rafting,
the widest. jauntlest, most stirring
kind of sound
ITS the pas-de-charge cried an
officer. "They mean business this
time"
And as he spoke we saw a strange
thing. A Frenchman, dressed as an
officer of hussars, came galloping to-
ward us on a little bay horse. He
was screeching "Vive lie Roll Vive lie
Roll" Mt the pitch of his lungs, which
was as much as to say that he was
a deserter, since we were for the king
and they for the emperor. AS he
passed us he roared out In English !:
"The Guard is coming The Guard
is coming" and so vanished away to
the rear like leaf blown before n
storm. At the same instant up there
rode an aide-de-camp with the reddest
face that ever I saw upon mortal man,
"You must stop 'em, or we are
DONE" he cried to General Adams, sc
that all our company could hear him
"How is 1t going2" asked the gen
eral.
"Two weak squadrons left out Of six
regiments of heavies." said he, and be
gan to laugh like man whose nerves
are overstrung.
"Perhaps you would care to join
in our advance. Pray consider your
self quite one Of u.s." said the.general
bowling and smiling as II he were ask
ing him to dish Of tea.
"I shall have much pleasure" said
the other. taking Off his hat, and q
moment afterward our three regiments
closed up and the brigade advanced In
four lines over the hollow where we
had lain in square, and out beyond
the point whence We had seen the
French army.
There was little of II to be seer
now, only the red belching of the guns
flashing quickly out of the cloud-bank
and the black figures, STOPPING. strain
ing, hopping, sponging working like
devils and at devilish work. But
through the cloud that rattle and whil
rose louder and louder, with a deep
mouthed shouting and the stamping OF
thousands OF feet. Then there came q
broad black blur through the haze
which darkened and darkened, unit
we could see that II was hundred
men abreast. marching swiftly toward
us, with high fur hats upon their head.
and CLEAN OF brasswork over thell
brows. And behind that hundred cam,
another hundred, and behind that an
other, and so on, coiling and writing
out of the cannon-smoke, like a mon
strous snake. until there seemed to be
no end to the mighty column. In front
ran a spray of skirmlshers and be
hind them the drummers, and up they
all came together at kind of trip
ping step, with the officers clustering
thlckly at the sides and waving their
swords and cheering. There were a
dozen mounted men, too, at their 'front.'
all shouting together, and one with his
hat held aloft upon his sword-pOlnt.
say again that no men upon this earth
could have fought more manfully than