hole till the "whistling Willies" fell and sent showers of mud and
flying steel over my head. I observed that sometimes these "crump"
holes were very small, and found that after all in this war a small
man had some advantage over me. I made my way back to the village,
carefully reconnoitering all the trenches on the way, for I had a
premonition that we might want to use them some time soon.

After dusk I returned again to commandant headquarters and went into
the front line of trenches along with the ration party. There was lots
of work to be done to strengthen our position if we were to hold our
trenches as we had been ordered to do.

We started down the old disused mill road in the twilight of a lovely
spring evening. Behind us the moon hung a silver bow almost on the
horizon. It was going to be one of those nights, clear, but with
objects not distinguishable at any great distance. Major Osborne met
me at his dugout, which was on the east bank of the creek, and
together we went on to the left of our line where his men were busy
digging fire trenches in the rear of the half moons. Here I saw for
the first time a line of French trenches. The French lines were held
entirely different to ours. We usually built solid parapets of clay
and sandbags high enough and strong to protect a man standing up, but
the French usually do not allow this to be done. They had adopted
their favorite method of entrenchment here, namely, a series of low
parapets built in the form of half moons. My battalion held seventeen
of these half moons and our brigade, I understood from our Brigade
Major Lieut. Col. Hughes, held far more of the line than it was
intended we should hold. About three hundred yards of our right line,
some seven half moons, were to be turned over to the Second Brigade on
the next relief.

I went over his section carefully with Major Osborne. All the young
officers were hard at work bracing up the parapets, joining them
together and rapidly erecting formidable defences. I consulted with
them all as I passed along the line from left to right, Macdonald,
Fessenden, Daniels, Taylor, Bath and Smith, and all were of one
opinion, viz., that the half moons should be turned into small
redoubts, and a line of parapets built as quickly as possible
connecting them.

The French parapets were not built to be held, as we were ordered to
hold our line. They build low parapets so the men will have to crouch
behind them, and they will wa