QUEER TALES FROM THE FRONT.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 6, Issue 274, 11 May 1917, Page 1 (Supplement)

QUEER TALES FROM THE FRONT.

BOMK SUPERSTITIONS OF THE TRENCHES.

(By H. Smalloy Sarson.) V„-6seJdxa „) When oue looks back over more than a year's experience in Frauce, it is surprising how great a part coincidence plays in the life of the soldier, and astonishing how often it appears as it destiny were playing tricks on one. When walking along a road just behind the lines, you suddenly decide, for no apparent reason, to inspect a grave in an adjoining field. You have seen many thousand such graves, and there is nothing about this particular one that strikes your attention or arouses your interest: still, over the ditch you go to see who lies buried there. Thirty yards from the road you flop and over come a couple of " Willie* landing just where you would have been had you walked straight on. AVhen I was in hospital, I heard a rather interesting case from a young Red Cross man. Their dressing station was being shelled, so that everybody had to clear out. It was just where the British and French lines adjoined, so he took a French private who was wounded in the leg, and, putting his arm round the man's shoulders, managed to get along, thereby leaving the few stretchers for the more badly hurt men. . „...„ CHANCE OR I-AIL.' At the back of the dressing station wais a low-lying meadow with a small, marshy stream running through it, crossed at one place by a plank bridge, or fifty yards further down by bric-Ks and boulders thrown m as steppingstones. Instead of going over the plank, bridge which would have been nearest and easiest, they went lower down, chancing their ability to navigate the stone. Just then a "eoalbox' came over making a direct hit on the planks and sending them sky-nigh. He told me they would have been actually on the bridge had they gone straight on. As it was, no one was hurt, though, the only reason he could give for diverging was to avoid a small pile 0! straw. The net result of a host ot minor incidents such as these, is that soldiers are rapidly becoming superstitious. " I wonder they don't shell this place, say* the draft man just out.

'Shut up, you tool, and touch. wood," quickly retorts tho old-timer. Small medallions and charms arc ai grwit lavour, and when men reacn bospital they very often have one or twoon tbe string of their identification, disc. Many of these are given by the peasants and farmers, who, whenever they take a fancy to you, present you. with some sort, of luck-token on your departure from the neighbou'iicca. "We are moving to-morrow, madrime," you say, as you enter your/iav-oiu-ito estainmet. SOUVENIRS. 'You parti," in tbe hybrid French ol the front. "An, e'e-st tristol Uut, wait; 1 gif you one little souvenir. Voila! You wear it lor me, nest to pa»? " So you nro presented with a littiu aluminium disc, having tho effigy <•* some saint stamped on one side, with probably a Latin text on the otber. lou gather from your modest French that U will firing you luck (''soft Blighty" ■ or stop you getting killeu. or something to that effect. Tommy usually takes it as a great joke yet lie invariably wears tho thing, and nothin" will induce him to pan with it. The oldest of the purely war superstitutions is the one that the man who carries tho rum-jar is suro to be hit. though there is always a daring spirit who will take the risk, and so far tbe belief has not gained sufficient hold to stop the ration. It is, 1 think, the most widely distributed, though every part of the line, it not every trench, bas its own particular crop of portents and omens. A series of coincidences is all that is needed. A ration party is threading its tortuous way to the front line. Private A is carrying the rum ration, buddetly a ricocuet bullet strikes him in the shoulder. Private B. picks up the rum jar. At Stink Farm shrapnel places Private B. out ot the running with a "natty one" in the head, so Private C. picks up the jar. Ju o t as tttey enter the trench, a trench mortar sends Private C. ten feet in the air, completely demolishing the ran. ><sue as well. That is all that is needed to breed * " ne ucaltl, J »»l"' r; - tltlon - Thence onwards, it is unlucky to carry rum to trench BZGG. 1 have heard many ill omens applied to certain towns or villages. Ihere is ono on the tower of Albert, for instance: while certain dug-outs are alwals unlucky. It is a bad omen in somo parts of tbe line to (tumble over a "rave. HAUNTFO KIFLK. During the recent offensive a ortain voung officer found in a captured trench a German sniper's rifle, with two smart ivory discs let into the stock. He kept it in his dug-out, intending to tike it hack to billets when they vacated the trench. One morning he brought it out in the trench to clean, and rritz thereupon started strafing, so that hehad to retire again to Ins dug-out. Next day tho same thing happened, and wheucver ho brought the rifle out of the dug-out, shells would begin to como over. Finally tho thing so got on his nerves that he refused to let any one touch tho rifle. It is probably still in tho dug-out, for it is certain that the legend was handed ou to the next occupants. During the same offensive the occup- ! ants ol a certain trench had to go back ■ tome distance to get their water passI ing on the way a tank temporarily out i of action. As soon as they parsed tho tank shells would come over, although tlicv could not be seen from the German trenches, and they were forced to seeK refuge inside the tank. Ibis happened co often that finally they made straight tor the tank, waited in it fur a time, i and then went on; and when after ! weeks of fighting they w.-nt hack lor a rest nina out of ten touched the ■ tank "for luck." It only needed some | man who had not touched it, to get 1 hit to produce a magnificent superst-

I All the fine old family rcliqut-i are ! fomms to life, including black cats and .pidcrs; Int. it is tho n,w war Mipcr- ! stitutions that are interesting. Nobody ' believes them, everybody laughs at them, some even sneer at them—out lof the trenches: but ask any soldier I from the front if "he carries anything for luck." and you will tmd thai tue "occult" is very much ah?«.