Evening Republican, Volume 59, Number 63, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 April 1917 — STOP TO WATCH BAYONET DUEL [ARTICLE]

STOP TO WATCH BAYONET DUEL

American Who Fought in France Describes Ghastly Incident of the War. DUELISTS KILL EACH OTHER Former Harvard Student Who Enlisted in Canadian Regiment and Lost an Eye in Service Tells of Thrilling Experiences. Cambridge, Mass.—A.vivid war diary by Aimer Auzias de Turenne, a student at the Harvard Law School now living in Seattle, who lost his right eye fighting with the First Canadian contingent at Ypres, is published in the Harvard Alumni Bulletin, extracts of which follow: “I had completed my first year at says de Turenne, “and was spending my holidays in Canada when the war broke out; and I, an A ’ terieau, decided to enlist. “It was on September 4, 1014, at Valcartier, near Quebec, one of the training camps of Canada, that I enlisted in the Fifth battery, Second brigade, Canadian Field Artillery. After remaining a short time in camp we left Canada for England, a forc«, of 86,000 men, as members of the First and thence we went to France to the firing line. It was not until the grst German gas attack that we got a real idea of warfare in all its horrors.” After a short account of the battle of Neuve Chappelle and the first use at gas byth e Ger mans, De Turen n e describes the battle of Ypres:

Describes Fateful Battle. “Ahead of us lay a long field, and then a row of tall trees bordering the Yzer canal, then further on another plain and a little hill. At my point of vantage I picked tip a pair of field glasses and, looking along the Yzer canal, I could see black lines moving up a hill. The Infantry was charging. Occasionally the black lines would stop and then continue again, leaving every.time black, dots behind them—these were the dead and wounded. At night time it was also possible to see our own shells explode. “One morning about 10;30 the gunners were all sitting by <helr guns awaiting the order to fire, some smoking, others chatting. Shells were flying by, but far Off, and nobody was paying attention, we got so used to them. I happened to be fixing the bridle of my horse, about 20 feet from the nearest gun, when I heard a shell come. It seemed to come straight for where,l was, judging by the sound; I turned around to see it explode. It explodeilabove my head nt about the height of 30 or 40 feet. I saw the explosion. A large piece of the outside

of the casing "of the shell, about a quarter of an inch thick and one inch and a half long, struck me flush in the right eye, smashing the orbit, penetrating clean through the face, causing a bulging of the hard palate of the mouth, whence it was extracted. I stiH have the piece, which I treasure as a souvenir. For a moment I was stunned hs though hit by a sledge -hammer; then cam e a nasty sensation, not exactly very painful. Putting my hand to my face, I managed to reach a little fence by the nearest gun, and there the loss of blood caused me to sit down; My companions 1 tying to my aid, I was laid on an old-fashioned Flemish farm wagon drawn by the shadow of a once decent horse. During all that time I was fußy-couscious, and I distinctly remember my trip from the place of the wound to England.” —Ghastly Bayonet Duel. — Mr. de Turenne describes the following incident, of which he was an eye witness: “It was in the early times of this terrific struggle. Somewhere in Flanders the trenches stood only 200 yards I apart. On one side were the French, on the other the Germans. The Germans had attempted ft counter-attack,

and as it was getting dark they were forced to retire, with great losses, leav* ing the dead and wounded on the field. Amid this awful carnage two men only remained, a Frenchman and a German. They were engaged in a bayonet duel, one trying to kill the other. They were both dancing around in circled like demons, thrusting and stabbing right and left. One had to go, and they fought. It was practically dark by this time. The pale moon shone a sickly reflection on these two human beings. Their features*were drawn and haggard, their eyes flashed and bulged out of their orbits,the expression on th etr fa cos' was ghastly—that of utmost despair. And still they danced, each fighting for his existence, when all of a sudden this uncanny Performance came, to an abrupt stop. There was a sharp click, a thrust and a muffled sound. Both bayonets wend home, both men stood transfixed, both .felLdead-tothegivmnd.' 1 '