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Show tor tire i m t. I Soldiers Over- ;;;8f ' ' V" :' come With ' ' ;; I .: i-l Excitement !Wf .'f' n ler First ' There Is something in the hack recesses re-cesses of our brains which makes us want to live. Xo man In his right mind wants Lo die. and only when the back part of his brain is Impaired Im-paired through grief, worry, .sickness or some other profound cause, docs he go about regardless of peril. One of these profound influences is battle. It 1 said that men in battle bat-tle will hug the bottom of the trenches because they are taught by military experts to do so, but after the baptism of fire they care for nothing, and will risk their lives to gain comfort. There are stories going the rounds of fighters in Europe who have left the trenches and walked through a hail of bullets and shells after an overcoat or after food. These men knew nothing about death They did know a lot about discomfort They knew when they were thirsty they were terribly uncomfortable They knew when they were cold they suffered. When the German cruiser Koe-nlgsberg Koe-nlgsberg was driven into a river on the African coast and bottled up V ', . r JfelA! by a superior force of English ships, it is reported that the Ger- HESwl mans threw up trenches in the vi- wSffi cinity of the Koenlgsherc. from HEjw which they fought the British. From SgSui their place of security among the aB95 falm trees they kept any landing Mfcl force of marines from getting near gffijSj them Ps Although the were securely in- &$ trenched they could not leave the yHKffi trenches without great risk of life BpSM from the bullets of the British ma- HmH rines. Yet when the mosquitoes HbH made night miserable in the BHBal trenches one of the Germans left BsmW nls trench and walked coolly MB through the hail of bullets to a HBB? neighboring trench, where he oh- HRs talned Borne pennyroyal, with which HBKhI t fight the mosquitoes, BBbB Mcn under fiie do not think of BH the consuquences any more than HH nen in t he cities going to and from work. A story is told of men high ' ;, .' 35;.SLkl. JLLm That is particularly true In the En- on the top of a sky scraper. One JlXIj , v glish Army, whero the officers risk of the workmen felicitated with the HK '' - ' ' their lives needlessly. The Ger- Other on his good luck in having a ';.':'" ' T mans would be courtmartialed for safe job on a girder several hun- -;V ., ' ? . r '''. ;, risking their lives as much as tho dred feet above the street, while Mk J j ul ; -i , ' . V .: '"'"y ) - '-d'-h' English officers do. The English others had to risk their lives in Eu- .'' .,'Vf ' ,. )fv-' ; -', say they do It to steady their men rope. A, Si "v " ' i r ly-. 'r.' ' '- A and show they are not afraid The majority of the soldiers in 1 1 r''' .'" .v i The same fl true to a consldera- Europe would not have changed !"'; ' . 'Fa:;-' ; : lryrU-: ble extent in the American Army, places with the man on the girder. , , , Vfe ' Tho ,osse.s of ofHcers in the Span- -m. n working in the logging camps, , Ish-Amerlcan War was surprisingly where danger is constant, due to fr&& ' $m VS : . i- ;lt- Of course the Spanish- lack of inspection by State authorl- - ,mdB& ' ' W' W ""' ' American War was not on the pro- ties, f.ti snrn- for the men working ' ' ''yr0Smr ' ' ''""er flgul-e 1 n"v-d Tb" on shore pity the poor devils of the 1 'fl Bs''WlfSiF " - 7 ; . j b'-mt-d mitthc other day that most T, .. ... t. . , ' iMfe? JS5'' ' TfcMsKSB;'. ' ti.-n of bow soldiers fuht in mod- The recruit getting the baptism' of : , . . iin i,,,,, bntb Mhaa '" I ; m """ s mi "i ' " I ltoAporftton IatSck foe,6 and to the situation, and in horror he ' ' ' - !!!..). '''th. ""r.'aU- lutve'llttle hugs the bottom of th? trench while to d.. with the proceedings. There the recruit Tnme Tru n t'u WP' '5V '.l -'V- much noise, for one thing, that y' u.''.!.'.1'! h.lv'r'beJn ' '.':.stitu'. d' 'toi laughs with them as he fights. Ui;s PERMISSION TO DODGE BIG SHELLS. There was a Captain In a certain Northern army fighting in our Civil War who derided his company of recruits for dodging the bullets. He explained it was too late to dodg after they had heard the bulb's Whizz over their heads and besides they might dodge their heads into a second bullet The men were new to fighting, however, and they were not on the firing line. They had to sit idly back of the main firing line while the Southerners were attacking their lines Just then a big cannon shell burst above their heads. The captain dodged with th' reiit. bringing bring-ing cut a big lnugh from the re-crult8, re-crult8, most of whom wore not very well disciplined and had little re- spect for the greatness of their commanding officer. "Dodge the big oner.," the captain cap-tain shouted, as he admitted that even the seasoned men sometimes dodge at an unexpected shot It is the unexpoetedness of the shooting that causes the men to dodge. When they become used to the noise of battle they can sleep right through a bombardment without being troubled. They fight and sleep in a sort of a daze. Often they are on duty tor so long that thej cannot go to sleep when the fighting is over, but they sit In a stupor, not knowing what to do. Sometimes it requires more heroism hero-ism to stand under fire than at other times. The real heroes are the recruits, re-cruits, for they stay at the front even though they are tcared. Tho seasoned soldiers Jest as they fight Just as a gang of workmen jest and VARIOUS scenes along the tiring lines in France and Belgium, showing both calmness and excitement among soldiers under fire. talk with each other. Fighting Is occupation to them. It is told of a hero in the Spanish-American War who was commissioned com-missioned a major In tho American volunteer army, although he had no previous military experience except at a military school, that as ho was going into action at San Juan Hill one of the regular army officers noticed no-ticed the major's white face and chattering teeth. "Major, you are seared," the regular reg-ular said. "I know it," said the major. "If you were half as scared as I am you would be twenty miles from here." It is not only the soldiers who showed heroism under fire in Europe. Eu-rope. The civilians were heroes as well. In Belgium the farmers were in the midst of harvest when the 1'hlans crossed their frontier. The farmers continued harvesting their crops because they realized tho armies would trample them under foot. Their only hope was in completing com-pleting the harvest before the armies crossed the oountr. They worked amid shot and shell without regard to the enemy. They were just as safe in the field at work as they were running and Ihey bravely chose the wiser courae. War correspondents tell how they found French women knitting w'hlle the lighting was going on. There was nothing for them to do but - ; knit. Then why run? As they knitted they commented on tho shots whloh dropped around them. In Rhclms It is told how women near the cathedral counted tho shells as they struck that edifice. There is a tule of a soldier In the trenches who was known to everybody every-body as a coward. He always would hug the bottom of the trench. It seemed ho never could get over it. But ho was passionately passion-ately fond of cigarettes. One day while tho bullets were whistling above his trench a soldier in a neighboring trench held up cigarettes ciga-rettes to him. He jumped up, raced to tho other trench and came lack triumphantly with the cigarettes. He was unhurt. More ofHcers are killed in battle in proportion to their numbers than any other class of men That Is due to the risks they insist on taking. t bugles, because their shrill blast carries better than the heavier notes of the brass. Beyond giving the signal for the charge, tho officers can do little. The men. once they see the line of the enemy in front of them, know what is expected of them, and carry out their work with surprisingly few orders. Skirmish drills in times of peace have taught the troops how to act together, and it is amazing to see how quickly the men adapt themselves them-selves to the conditions of actual battle. It Js the corporals and sergeants ser-geants who aro the real steadying influences in a fight Thev know the characteristics of the individual Privates In a way that the commissioned commis-sioned officers can never know them and are prepared to give a calming calm-ing word to this or that one when the emergency arises. In my own experience, I have known a private who had served three enlistments to take charge of a company in a charge, and the officers and non-coms non-coms were very glad to leave it to hi m After the scrap was over he became a private once more, but while that row was on, so far as actual ac-tual influence with the men was concerned, con-cerned, he was of a great deal more Importance than his captain. The way that man would wriggle into cover was a revelation and he went through three campaigns without a scratch. His example in the regiment regi-ment was a big asset. "There has been much discussion of bravery- in battle since the war started. According to my experience it is very much a matter of tom-pcrament. tom-pcrament. Some men are carried along by a sort of ecstasy, others hold themselves to the work by sheer force of will, while others, and these are tho best, go through . liuhl v th ... sort of grim Interest as if It was a highly amusing though somewhat dangerous sport they were engaged In, like polo or football. foot-ball. I "I had an instance of thl3 in the Philippines In tho battle at which General Lawton was killed. That I m . m i I V . -; 7 llllllf was one of tho hottest fights I have ever seen. Our men had been ambushed am-bushed by the Filipinos, who were hidden in great force, whllo our men were oxposed to their fire in the Open. I had been sent to the rear for reinforcements and was passing along our column when I saw lying off to one sido an Irish private. He-was He-was loading and firing rapidly, but as calmly as If he was on the target rango. I stopped for a second or so to watch him. Isot a shot was wasted. He was devoting himself to picking off the good shots on the other side, and every time he fired he got a man. Furthermore, he was having the time ef his life, as you could seo plainly frem the expression expres-sion on his face. To him that fight brought more solid enjoyment than anything that had ever come his way." 4 I |