THE YELLOW DEATH.

Gisborne Times, Volume XLV, Issue 3978, 10 July 1915, Page 8

THE YELLOW DEATH.

A CLOUD OF POISON

SOLDIER’S STORY Ok GAS ATTACK.

Few more striking indictments of German methods have been penned than this, by a British sergeant in a letter describing an attack —fumes and all —on his section of the line. He writes: —

“Wo have been, and still are, engaged in a most bloody battlo, and, early in my letter, I take tlie opportunity of telling you that all the terrible charges made against the Germans in regard to the way they conduct their warfare are true. I know you are in touch with social workers; tell them all.

“They are using, for instance, a fish-bone bayonet—an inhuman weapon, fairly broad, with one edge sharpened and the other jagg**d doubly, so that it should make a tearing wound. Then, again, they are using explosive bullets, which make a small wound on entry and blow out a groat piece on leaving the flesh. A SWEET, SICKLY ODOUR.

“The asphyxiating gas which they use hangs over the ground, smeLs sweet and sickly, and has most disastrous effects upon the lungs and eyes. From personal knowledge, I assure you that these charges are true, and, in addition, they practise the white flag treachery dodge freely.' > “l used to regard reports of such things as so much ink-slinging, but it is not. It is all true, and I have seen terrible "evidence of it. I have seen soldiers who have distinguished themselves during this war weeping for comrades whom they have had to leave suffocating in the trenches. And it is an awful thing to sec a man cry.

“There are fighting men of arl nations here, but, however brave a man might be, from the Britisher to the Tureo, liis bravery is of no avail against the poisoner and the assassin.” Describing the attack, the writer says:— “About 3 o’clock there commonci-d the most fiendish din I have ever heard. Imagine one <|f the good oid ‘Jack-in-the-Green’ processions, a. royal salute, and an annual Brock's benefit all rolled into one and carried on without pause from the moment it commenced MEN OVERCOME. “It was obviously a heavy attack on the part of the enemy, and we all rolled out to watch the fireworks! Without intermission the ‘Kr-n-npp' ‘Kr-u-upp!’ of the great German guns pounded away. Observation balloons could he seen swaying in the breeze. “Since I was a child my eyes have been good, but quickly affected by anything abnormal, which will account for the fact that of all of us matchers I suddenly put my handkerchief to my eyes, which had commenced to and smart terribly. Then I noticed a sickly weak smell in. the air, and made the remark that ‘they are using some chemical muck for blinding our troops. 1 “At first this was treated as a huge joke, but whqn I had reached the stage when my head was burning and aching and my eyes streaming, othersoldiers began to complain of similar symptoms, and. , also, retired ‘There, was a stampede for the pump bv some, and others were compelled to lie down indoors. “Personally, I felt so convinced tiTat my deduction was the correct one that I constructed a sort of protector out of a handkerchief and a piece of window glass. I hound this round my head and was then able to watch the artillery fighting with a minimum of discomfort, while others wore applying handkerchiefs, etc., to their eves.

“Within a couple of hours some of the —— came down the road. They were sorry-looking savages, for somo of them were walking like drunken men, and others were blood-stained and weary. Soldiers of various nationalities were on the road, being picked up by motor ambulances from time to time. ROLLING MASSES OF GAS. “The air reeked of sulphur or vitriol or some such terrible chemical, which an inhuman enemy had let loose. The dozen or so children still left in the village were weeping and screaming with pain, and their fathers and mothers stood in a silent knot with handkerchiefs to their eyes, waiting

“Our cottage commanded a good view of the surrounding country,’ and, from back and front, one could see huge masses of smoko, wicked-looking yellow in tint, rolling slowly towards us, while here and there the golden rays of the sunlight were splashed and spoiled by the black bursts of ‘Jack Johnsons,’ while the rifle'fire, and outburst of crackling .spitefulness from les mitrailleuses contributed to the general uproar. “Men staggered along with clothstuffed mouths and streaming eyes, endeavoring to escape this new ‘weapon’ of the enemy. Dispatch riders clumsily got off their motor (prcles and sought refuge indoors. Women and men bathed their eyes beneath the pump, and the children, because they were children, made a great and protesting uproar. “Julia, the elder of the two gins in our cottage, was occupied in an endeavor to quieten the screaming children. She said she was not afraid, but ther was her mother, who was very much frightened. “To calm them a little a number ot us ordered coffee, which gave them something to do, and T. cut the tart which you sent me in halves, and gave one half to the youngsters.”