down at the nearest of our aerodromes went all the way
back to his own base, where he executed a perfect landing and made his
report. He died in hospital not long afterward.

[Sidenote: Steadiness of the Canadians.]

The outstanding feature of the action of the past week has been the
steadiness of our troops on the extreme left; but of the deeds of
individual gallantry and devotion which have been performed it would be
impossible to narrate one-hundredth part. At one place in this quarter a
machine gun was stationed in the angle of a trench when the German rush
took place. One man after another of the detachment was shot, but the
gun still continued in action, through five bodies lay around it. When
the sixth man took the place of his fallen comrades, of whom one was his
brother, the Germans were still pressing on. He waited until they were
only a few yards away, and then poured a stream of bullets on to the
advancing ranks, which broke and fell back, leaving rows of dead. He was
then wounded himself.

[Sidenote: Telephone wires cut.]

Under the hot fire to which our batteries were subjected in the early
part of the engagement telephone wires were repeatedly cut. The wire
connecting one battery with its observing officer was severed on nine
separate occasions, and on each occasion repaired by a Sergeant, who did
the work out in the open under a perfect hail of shells.

About 5 P. M. a dense cloud of suffocating vapors was launched from
their trenches along the whole front held by the French right and by our
left from the Ypres-Langemarck road to a considerable distance east of
St. Julien. The fumes did not carry much beyond our front trenches. But
these were to a great extent rendered untenable, and a retirement from
them was ordered.

[Sidenote: Strange appearance of gas battle.]

No sooner had this started than the enemy opened a violent bombardment
with asphyxiating shells and shrapnel on our trenches and on our
infantry as they were withdrawing. Meanwhile our guns had not been idle.
From a distance, perhaps owing to some peculiarity of the light, the gas
on this occasion looked like a great reddish cloud, and the moment it
was seen our batteries poured a concentrated fire on the German
trenches.

Curious situations then arose between us and the enemy. The poison belt,
the upper part shredding into thick wreaths of vapor as it was shaken by
the wind, and the lower and denser part sinking into all inequaliti