166 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



Copyright by Underwood cs' Underwood, N. Y. 



A Big Gun in the Woods at Argonne. 



SURROUNDED BY TREES, COVERED BY BRANCHES AND SHOOTING DOWN ONE OF THE LANES CUT THROUGH THE FOREST 

 THIS BIG FRENCH GUN IS WELL SHELTERED FROM OBSERVATION. 



large branches cut from the trees, 

 which they cautiously deplo^^ed in front 

 of their bodies. 



It is on the road of Rayon I'Etape 

 that one sees the first pines and that one 

 begins to climb the first foot-hills of the 

 Vosges. The forests of La Chipotte, 

 which command the valleys below, 

 there begin. Slowdy approaching the 

 summit of the mountain, one begins to 

 remark the traces of one of the most 

 heartrending combats that it is possible 

 to imagine. In the woods, on the slopes, 

 in the ravines, there is scarcely any- 

 thing to be seen save fractured trees, 

 shell holes, and countless graves. The 

 ground is strewn with a chaos of 

 withered branches, shorn away by shrap- 

 nel fire. 



The forests of La Chipotte, w4th these 

 old pines which lent such grandeur to 

 the severe slopes of the mountain, held 

 extensive trenches covered with w^attlcs 

 and fascines. Today, nothing is more 

 moving than the sight of this ancient 

 forest, haunted with legends which 

 peopled it with gracious fairies. It has 

 now been sown with the dead. Their 



tombs, marked with crosses, lie among 

 the branches which were swept down 

 like chaff. Scattered here and there 

 are uniforms, cartridge boxes, broken 

 guns, empty knapsacks, helmets, and 

 caps, soiled with mud. The somber 

 remnants of the pines throw melancholy 

 shadows across this tragic landscape. 

 The trunks bear terrible evidences of 

 the fierceness of the battle. Mutilated, 

 even though not wholly destroyed, they 

 are eloquent — these silent defenders of 

 the country. 



THIRTY YEARS FOR REGROWTH. 



In conclusion it is fair to asstune that 

 the woods which have been the scene 

 of almost daily artillery fire, are wholly 

 destroyed. Thousands of acres wall 

 practically require reforestation. Those 

 trees w'hich have been mutilated by 

 shell fire will have to be cut down and 

 new ones set out. For at least thirty 

 years, these forests may be considered 

 as non-existent, so far as the production 

 of revenue is concerned. 



As to the forests of the North and 

 those situated about Paris, there will 



