i6 
LAND & WATER 
October 12, 1916 
The White Road to Verdun— II 
By Kathleen Burke 
\Miss Kathleen Burke, who is a great-greal-nicce of 
Edmund Burke, began this account of her visit to 
Verdun in last week's Land & Water. She was the 
first woman allowed into Verdun after the evacua- 
tion of the civil population before the great battle] 
August. 19 16. 
SOON after leaving Mailly we had the pri\ilege of 
beholding some of the 400 cm. guns of France, all 
prepared and ready to travel at a minute's notice 
along the railway lines* to the section where they 
might be needed. Some idea of their size may be 
obtained from the fact that there were' ten axles to 
the base on which they travel. They were all disguised 
by the system of camouflage employed by the b'ronch army, 
and at a"very short distance they blend with the landscape 
and become almost invisible. Each gun bears a different 
name " Alsace," " Lorraine," etc.. and with that strange 
irony and cynical wit of the French trooper, at the request 
of the men of one battery, one huge gun has been 
christened " Mosquito," " Because it stings." 
The French often use a bitter and biting humour in 
speaking of the enemy. For instance, amongst the many 
pets of the men, the strangest I saw was a small hawk 
sitting on the wrist of a soldier who had trained him. 
The bird was the personitication of evil. If anyone 
approached he snapped at them and endeavoured to bite 
them. I asked the man why he kept him, and he replied 
that they had quite good sport in the trenches when 
they allowed the hawk to hunt small birds, and field mice. 
Then his expression changing from jovial good humour 
to grimness, he added, " You know, I call him ' Zepp,' 
because he kills the little ones." (parcequ'il tue Ics 
tons petits.) 
Devotion to Animals 
In one small cantonment where 200 Poilus sang, 
shouted, ate, drank and danced together to the strain 
of a wheezy gramophone, or in one word were " resting," 
I started to investigate the various kinds of pets owned 
by the troopers. Cats, dogs and monkeys were common, 
whilst one Poilu was the proud possessor of a parrot 
which he had purchased from a refugee obliged to fly 
from his home. He hastened to assure us that the bird 
had learned his " vocabulary " from his former pro- 
prietor. A study in black and white was a group of 
three or four white mice, nestling against the neck of a 
Senegalais. 
■ The English Tommy is quite as devoted to animals as 
is his French brother. I remember crossing one bitter 
February day from Boulogne to Folkestone. Along- 
side the boat, on the quay at Boulogne, were hned up 
the men who had been granted leave. Arrayed in their 
shaggy fur coats they resembled little the smart British 
soldier of peace times. It was really wonderful how 
much the men managed to conceal under those fur coats, 
or else the eye of the officer inspecting them was in- 
tentionally not too keen. 
Up the gangway trooped the men, and I noticed that 
two of them walked slowly and cautiously. The boat 
safely out of liarbour one of them produced from his 
chest a large tabby cat, whilst the other placed a fine 
cock on the deck. It was a cock with the true (iallic 
spirit, before the cat had time to consider the situation it 
had sprung on its back. The cat beat a hasty retreat into 
the arms of its protector who replaced it under his coat. 
Once in safety it stuck out its head and swore at the cock, 
which, perched on a coil of rope, crowed victoriously. 
Both had been the companions of the men in the 
trenches, and they were bringing them home. 
A soldier standing near me began to grumble because 
he had not been able to bring his pet with him. I 
enciuired why he had left it behind since the others 
had brought theirs away with them, and elicited the 
information that " his pet was a cow, and therefore some- 
what difficult to transport." He seemed rather hurt 
that I should laugh, and assured me it was " a noble 
animal, brown with white spots, and had given himself 
and his comrades two quarts of milk a day." He looked 
disdainfullj' at the cock and cat. " They could have left 
them behind and no one would have pinched them, 
whereas I know I'll never sec ' Sarah ' again, she was far 
too useful." 
Entering Vitry-le-Francois we had a splendid example 
of the typical " motto " of the French trooper, " // ne 
faut pas s'en faire." One of the motor cars had broken 
down, and the officer-occupants, who were evidently not 
on an urgent mission, had gone to sleep on the banks by 
the side of the road whilst the chauffeur was making the 
necessary repairs. We offered him assistance, but he 
was progressing quite well alone. Later on another 
officer related to me his experience when his car broke 
down at midnight some twelve miles from a village. The 
chauffeur was making slow headway with the repairs. 
The officer enquired whether he really understood the 
job, and received the reply, " YeS) mon lieutenant, I 
think I do, but I am rather a novice, as before the war I 
was a lion-tamer ! " Apparently the gallant son of 
Gaul found it easier to tame lions than to repair motors. 
Hunting for Generals 
We left Vitry-le-Francois at 6 o'clock next morning, 
and started " the himt for Generals." It is by no means 
easy to discover where the actual Headquarters of the 
General of any particular sector is situated. 
We were not yet really on the "White Road " to 
Verdun, and there was still much to be seen that delighted 
the eyes. In one yellow, cornfield there appeared to be 
enormous poppies." On approaching we discovered a 
detachment of Tirailleurs from Algiers, sitting in groups, 
and the " poppies " were the red fezes of the men — a 
gorgeous blending of crimson and gold. We threw a 
large box of cigarettes to them and were greeted with 
shouts of joy and thanks. The Tirailleurs are the 
enfants terribles of the French Army. One noble son 
of Africa who was being treated in one of the hospitals 
once presented me with an aluminium ring made from a 
piece of German shell. I asked him to iriake one for one 
of my comrades who was working at home, and he 
informed me that nothing would have given greater 
nleasure but unfortunately he had no more aluminium. 
Later in the day, passing through the ward, I saw him 
surrounded by five or six Parisian ladies who were shower- 
ing sweets, cigarettes and flowers on him, whilst he was 
responding by presenting each of them with an aluminium 
ring. When they had left I went to him and told him 
" Mahmud, that was not kind. I asked you for a ring 
and you said you had not got any more aluminium." He 
smiled and his nurse, who was passing, added, " No, he 
had not got any more aluminium, but when he is better 
he will get 48 hours punishment ; he has been into the 
kitchen, stolen one of our best aluminium saucepans, 
and has been making souvenirs for the ladies." He made 
no attempt to justify his action beyond stating : " Moi, 
pas si mauvais, toi pas faux souvenir" (" I am not so 
bad, I did not try to give you a fake souvenir"). 
Another of our chocolate coloured patients found in the 
grounds of the hospital an old imibrella. Its ribs stuck 
out and it was full of holes, but it gave him the idea of 
royalty and daily he sat up in bed in the ward with the 
umbrella unfurled whilst he laid down the law to his 
comrades. The nurses endeavoured to persuade him 
to hand it over at night. He obstinately refused, insist- 
ing that " he knew his comrades," and he feared that 
one of them would certainly steal the treasure, so he 
preferred to keep it in the bed with him. 
At Villers-.e-Sec we came upon the headquarters of the 
cooks for that section of the front. The cook is one of 
the most important men in a French regiment ; he serves 
manv ends. When carrying the food through the com- 
municating trenches to the front line trenches he is al- 
.ways supposed to bring to the men the latest news, the 
latest talc which is going the round "of the camp, and any- 
thing that may happen to interest them. If he has not 
