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Show DANCE OF DEATH-WIHEWARZDNE DEATH-WIHEWARZDNE Paris, March 31. A grewsome spectacle spec-tacle which may be seen night or day at, Talou or on Pepper Height in tho Mouse loop west of Douaumont, is described de-scribed by an officer who Is posted at an advance block house beyond the Douaumont-Vaux defense lino. Both hills remain forbidden ground on which a hurricane of French and German shells of all calibres descend without cessation, literally mashing to iranments the bodies of the soldiers sol-diers who fell tjiere at the beginning of the battle of Verdun. The officer writes: "Through a loophole of the blockhouse block-house 1 sec clearly with the aid of field glasses what is happening upon the two hills known as Pepper and Talou hills. "The soil seems to swell and then sink under the terrific concussion of numberless shells. Now and then tbe projectiles gash huge boulders out of the ground, throwing up clouds of dirt. "There is no living soul on these hills. Neither the Germans nor the French can retain a foothold upon the slopes. The patrols which have tried to search the hills sleep their last sleep there And what a frightful sleep! Shells bursting near the bodies bod-ies throw them high in the air. As seen through -fold glasses they seem to bo perpetually suspended in the air oving to the indescribable palpitation of the hillside. Now and then limbs which have been torn off leap higher than before. Never uns there such a dance of death as this. "At tho foot of the hills the French end the Germans have dug themselves them-selves in, waiting till it is possible to storm the summits. nMw f'nvmonc cnvornl ttmOQ VinVft tried to turn the positions, but always have been thrown back with hand bombs. "The men occupying these dugouts appear to be in a porpetual trance due to the explosion of the never-endinc never-endinc cascade of shells. They are really" crazed and the officers have the greatest difficulties in preventing them from delivering an assault on the German lines on the other side of the hills, which would be bound to fail. "A week ago a sort of delirium seized everyone, and even the officers caught the contagion. By some freak the bombardment seemed to halt, but it was only a cruel illusion. The troops implored their officers to let them attack, and the latter finally allowed al-lowed the first assaulting wave" to go out. "Our men completely regained their comiosure once they were In action. Crawling like panthers .over the plowed ground, they zigzagged from crater to crater. About 100 yards wore covered In this way, when "they were forced to halt. A wall of flame and exploding iron faced them, and another wall appeared in back of them, for the Germans were determined de-termined to isolate them from their dugouts. "Thai- finer niPmsnlveK In and then tho German shelling ceased and the gray-clad Prussians charged with the bayonet on these isolated craters, but the French fire killed every one of them. "As usual they advanced in masses. At tho start they sang patriotic hymns. After covering ten yardB they began to howl like maddened demons, but when the remnants had covered 100 yards they fell into silence, stiffened stif-fened Avlth horror till the shells mer-cifullv mer-cifullv ended their Cnlvary- Now their "bodies have joined in tho frightful fright-ful death dance. "Our fellows remained in the craters crat-ers for three days and nights without food, until we were able to drive through a mine and bring them in." oo- |