OUR FIRST PRISONER IN ITALY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LII, Issue 54, 4 March 1918, Page 7

OUR FIRST PRISONER IN ITALY.

BRITISH SOLDIER'S SPRINT AFTER THE. ENEMY.

British.. Headquarters, ITALY, December 23. The British troops in Italy have taken their first prisoner. This may not sound at the first blush a very striking achievement (states one.of the British Press correspondents), but when the No Man's Land which separates you 'from the enemy contains a double-channelled river from four to five feet deep, with one of its streams SO yards across and a current flowing in some . places at 1A miles an hour, it' is a feat that takes some doing. In fact, our men had to go across the Piave to get him. The patrol which went over the river last night had sent on ahead an advanced party of three, or four, which w-as groping its way across the fields on the Austrian side when it ran suddenly into a body of the enemy . It was a dark v r et night, and all that the little advanced guard oould see was that there were many mpre of ■ their adversaries than of themselves. They accordingly opened fire at once, for with a deep river at their backs the only safe policy was one of determined aggression. A yell of alarm went up, and then came the sound of stampeding feet, for the whole of the enemy patrol took to flight immediately without waiting to find out what was in front of them.

But one of the little party of Englishmen in this encounter, who was a keen fellow, saw his chance. He dropped his rifle and went after them at the best epeed. There was a sprint- of 100 yards, with the Englishman gaining .all the time, and then he caught up with the last of the enemy, flung his arms about him, and brought liim down . One may pay a tribute of admiration to the pluck of the men who crossed the icy waters of the stream, which comes straight down from the mountain snows. They waded about-until at last thev found the fords. The tallest and strongest men had to be chosen for the work, and even they were swept off their feet again and again by the strong current. So bitterly cold was it that a .man's hand would be . covered with iee a few minutes after he took it out of. the: water. Their drenched clothes frozen stiff as a board, and even when the patrol got home to its lines there was no fire to warm them back to life, for, the. smoke might have attracted shelling from the enemy beyond the river. Yet in thia Arctic river the men; would wade about chest deep for three midf .ight hours on end.