DOINGS OP THE V A N LOONS
The Confeti
ofaGer
Deserter
Written by a Prussian Officer
Who Participated in the Pavag'-.
jng and Pillaging of Belgium..
Copyright by Detroit Free heat j j j e m
(Continued from Friday.)
*
eaten with ravenous appetites. Corn
ing mattered how our stomachs were
filled If only our hunger might be ap
The enemy’s shelling to reduce our peased.
Night now came, yet no sleep nor
position gradually grew stronger, but
without effeet. Some houses caught rest was in sight. No one knew how
Are. Enemy cavalry patrols In strong much farther we would have to retire
before there would be a respite. The
force appeared and disappeared again.
Everything became quiet. Within ten unfamiliar surroundings Indicated to
minutes matters again became lively, us that we were not returning over the
road which we had traversed when, as
as large hostile columns approached.
victors, we marched to the Marne.
W e retired some distance without fir With this and similar thoughts, hour
ing a shot. The artillery took a posi after hour passed. Some of us ran
tion behind a village and began shell along, others actually walked In their
ing the approaching enemy. A cavalry
sleep. Our boots were filled with wa
patrol galloped across an open field,
ter, yet we had to keep on. Thus the
the horses covered with foam. We
night passed.
heard the commander of the patrol tell
The next morning troops of the
a cavalry officer that the enemy were
main army were placed In the rear
approaching from a'l aides. AVe quick guard.
They formed long columns
ly left the village. The artillery re which they opened to let us pass
mained and the cavalry detachments through, after which they closed
occupied a position while the cannon ranks. W e gave a sigh o f relief, for
were trained on the enemy. Toward we were at last free of hostile artil
noon shrapnel shells* again began lery fire. A fter marching about five
bursting over our heads, but they ex more hours, we joined a company of
ploded too high In the air to do us any Infantry which fortunately had saved
damage. Yet this served as a serious Its field kitchen. It was not quite
reminder to us that tha enemy kept' dark when we reached the village.
Here we were billeted in order to
right on our heels, a realization of
which caused our retreat to become a get as much rest as possible. But we
rout. The numbers who dropped ex- all knew that we could rest only as
hausted constantly increased. It was j long as the rear guard was able to
impossible to render them unji assist- keep back the enemy. AA’ e were placed
ance, for there were no more wagons. 1 In the village school. Because of the
Many soldiers used their last atom shortage o f provision* we were al-
o f strength to drag themselves to the i lowed to use our tinned supplies, but
side of the road. Others fell where J none of us bad any left. This consist
they were marching to be crushed soon ed o f some meat and hardtack. It had
afterward under the horses' hoofs or long since been eaten up and so we
were compelled to lie down with our
the wheels of any vehicle that might
hunger still unsatisfied.
pass.
The road was strewn with
equipment thrown away by the sol
diers. Our detachments had long since
CH APTER XI.
cast aside all unnecessary impedi
menta.
We were once more aroused at
eleven o'clock that night, and with the
In this way we proceeded until we
utmost haste made ready to resume
reached a forest which was filled with
our march. The night was pitch dark
fugitives. Many of these had stretched
and the rain continued. At daybreak
some sort o f cloth from tree to tree
we passed the city of St. Menehould.
as a protection from the rain. There
This had not been harmed. From here
they lay, men. women and childreu
and old men, some in unspeakable mis we turned to the east, closely pressed
by the French and in the afternoon we
ery. This fugitives’ camp was spread
Once
over the forests to the edge of the reached Clermont-en-Argonne.
more we managed to get a rest o f sev
road and as we passed we could see
eral hours. Toward evening we pro
the furroArs woven Into their faces by
ceeded again and maintained a forced
the terrible sufferings they had been
march through the whole night. AVe
through. They looked at us with weary
were now more exhausted than ever,
and saddened eyes.
The children
yet could not halt.
begged for bread, but we had none
The rain had stopped before ten
fo r ourselves, even though we were
tortured by hunger.
The enemy’s o’clock in the morning at which hour
we left the road and made camp.
shrapnel continued to accompany us.
There was a general sigh of relief, for
Scarcely had we passed through the
this long-continued, wearing retreat
forest when shrapnel burst In It. As a
consequence a camp of fugitives, now
had brought our troops Into a state
now become unendurable. AVe began
exposed to trench fire, was abandoned
and Its numbers sought safety In the
to dig ourselves In.
Before our
open fields. Many tried to accompany
t-enches were even half completed a
us until the order came forbidding
literal hailstorm of shrapnel fell
them the road, as their advance hin
among us. Our losses were so great
dered troop movements. The fugitives,
that ft be-nme Irr,possible to remain.
therefore, were forced Into the rain-
AA’ e received on) rs to ri lire at once.
soaked fields.
We marched over the fields until dark,
Toward evening we reached a vil when we began once more to dig In.
lage which had previously been sacked
AA’e were now near the village of Cer-
and here we found some rest. The
nay-en-Dormois. It was pitch dark and
mayor and two citizens o f this village
a heavy fog lay over everything. Of
had been seized by the Germans and
the enemy we knew nothing. AA’ ith the
taken away under cavalry escort. Just utmost silence and speed we dug our
why this had been done we were un selves In deeply, stopping frequently
able to find out. AVe did know, how to listen as hostile raiding parties ap
ever, that almost every town was
proached, only to disappear quickly.
obliged to give hostages. Most o f the
Here we received our first re-
cattle were taken along and large
herds were transported to the rear by enforcements. They arrived In long
columns In the darkness.
All were
cavalry.
fresh troops— most of them reserves.
We belonged to the rear guards,
which explained why we were unable The majority wore blue uniforms. This
as well as the nature o f their equip
to find anything to eat. There was ab
solutely nothing to the village where ment, Indicated to u* that they had
we were now quartered. After half been hastily fitted out and transported.
an hour with our hunger still unap None of them had ever heard the
peased we resumed our inarch. After whistle of a bullet and many asked
weMiad marched about three kilome anxiously whether It was dangerous
They brought numerous ma
ter* we arrived at a spot which had here.
formerly been a bivouac. Advancing chine guns, and In an Instant we had
armies had camped here perhaps eight everything prepared for defense*
At daylight the French began the at
days before. Bread, which had been
plentiful then, lay strewn around on Che tack. They made several onslaughts
ground. In spite of Its water-soaked throughout the day hut without sue-
cats, for our re-eaforcemeats were
condition It had been gathered up
la m .
CH APTER X.
and
It lo«ks as
BUY W. W. S.
No one realized at this stage o f the
| battle that It was the beginning o f a
murderous, exhausting struggle fo r po
sitions.
We were to fight here from the same
trench, month after month, without
gaining territory. The wounded, who
lay in No Man’s Band between the
trenches, were left to perish.
The French tried to' rescue them un
der the protection o f the Geneva flag,
the emblem o f the Red Cross, but we
only sneered at them and shot It to
bits. The Impulse to shoot down the
enemy surpassed every human feeling.
The Red Cross flag had lost all its
value for us when it was raised by the
French. Mistrust was nurtured among
us. We were told that the enemy mis
used the flag and that we must shoot
down the men that bore it.
W e repulsed all attacks until they
gradually ceased. We were now able
to fortify our position, which we did
with the greatest care, making it as
strong us possible. H a lf the men re
mained on guard while the other half
deenened and widened the trenches. A
lively fire was maintained continuous
ly by both sides. The losses were very
large. Most o f the men killed were
shot through the head, the trench pro
tecting the remainder o f their bodies.
Firing Increased in Intensity as
night fell. Although nothing could be
seen we continued firing all the time
because we thought this would prevent
the enemy from making any attacks.
Through the nights munitions and ma
terial were brought up and new men
arrived. Great quantities of sandbags
The Red Cross Flag Had Lost All Its
Value.
were sent us, which were filled and
used as a protection against bullets.
The ploueers were relieved toward
morning and gathered In a farmyard
| behind the firing line. The farm had
been spared by the cannon, and even
all the stock remained. This booty
was soon to be consumed.
Several
hundred soldiers came and a wild hunt
ensued for ducks, chickens, geese, pig
eons, etc. About five hundred of these
were caught, after which everybody
began cooking. Not far away 80 cows
and heifers were seized and turned
over to the field kitchens. Hay and
grain were carried away, even the
strawstacka and harns were torn down
and the lumber used for firewood. In
a few hours a beautiful farm had be
come a ruin and the proprietor a beg
gar. I had seen the owner in the
morning, but he had suddenly disap
peared with his w ife and (ffilldren, and
nobody knew where he waa.
The next night we were sent Into
the trenches again. There was little
to do, so we talked with the men who
had re-enforced us from the Interior
of Germany. They knew absolutely
nothing of our retreat from the Marne
and were astonished when we pictured
to them the events o f the last few
days.
The following morning we left the
trench before daybreak and went Into
quarter* at Cemay-en-Dormols.
AVe
were billeted In the middle of the vil
lage I d an abandoned houae. Our flald
kitchens failed to arrive, ao w * pre
pared oureelvee a meal o f fow l aad
whatever else w e discovered. When
ever anyone espied a chick ao there
w^re twenty men racing for It. Toward
evening long provision truins arrived,
as well as fresh troops. They went
to the front In long columns and re
lieved the exhausted men.
Soon the whole village was crowded
with soldiers. A fter a rest of two days
the regular nightly pioneer service was
resumed. Every night we wers sent
to the front-line trenches to build wire
obstacles. The French found us out
by the noise required to set up the
posts, so that we had fresh losses
almost every night. AVe completed the
task o f setting up barbed wire entan
glements In the sector assigned to us
in about fourteen days. During this
period we rested by day, but at night
we went out regularly. But our rest
had many interruptions, for the enemy
artillery bombarded the village regu
larly. This always happened at cer
tain hours, for Instance, In the begin
ning, every noon from twelve to two
o’clock, fifty to eighty shells fell In the
| village. Sometimes they were shrap-
I nel, sent over by the field artillery. AVe
soon grew accustomed to this, despite
the fact that soldiers o f other detach-
ments were killed or wounded dally.
Once or twice during this noon bom
bardment a shrapnel shell fell into our
room and burst without doing much
damage. The room would be filled
with dust and smoke, yet no one would
think o f leaving. This firing was re
pented dally with ever-increasing vio
lence.
C H APTE R X II.
The Inhabitants o f Cernay who had
remained, mostly old people, were all
! gathered In a barn because o f the fear
i of spies. Here they were guarded by
Í soldiers. As the enemy bombardment
; si ways occurred at a certain hour, our
I commander thought that somebody In
; the village was In communication with
the enemy by means o f a concealed
telephone.
It was even discovered
that the hands o f the church clock had
been turned and at one time stood at
six and shortly after at five o’clock.
The spy who signaled the enemy by
means o f this clock was not dlscov-
! cred, neither anyone using a concealed
telephone Instrument.
In order to
catch the right one all the civilians
were interned In the barn.
These
civilian prisoners were supplied In the
mme wny the soldiers were, with food
tnd drink, but were also exposed, like
the soldiers, to the daily bombard
ments, which In time destroyed the
whole village. Tw o women and one
child had been killed In this manner
ind yet the people were not removed.
Almost dally houses caught fire in the
village and -burned down. The shells
.vere now falling regularly at eight
J’clock in the evening. They were o f
teavy caliber. At eight o’clock prompt-
y, when the first shell arrived, we left
he town. There followed. In short In
erváis, fourteen to fifteen shells, the
‘Iron ration.”
AA’ e believed that the
-’ rench cannon sending these shells
were brought up somewhere at night
AVhen we returned from our prorae-
íade, as we called the nightly excur
sion, we were sent to our places In the
renches. There we were used for ev-
>ry kind of duty. One evening w#
were called up to fortify a farm taken
'rom the French the previous day. AV*
íad to build machine guns and place
hem.
an open-air concert every day. Tha ofl*>
cers often reoelved women visitor*
from Germany.
A fter a hard march we arrived at
the front positions.
In a veritable
labyrinth of trenches, filled with water,
we had the utmost difficulty finding
our way about. Finally we arrived at
the very front. The French were only
ten meters away and before wq had
been there two days we took part In a
hand grenade encounter.
Some distance hack we established a
ploueer depot. Twenty-five o f our mas
did nothing but assemble hand gre
nades. AVe were soon settled and ready
fo r an emergency.
In camp we were divided among
various troops. They showed us how
C H APTER X III.
the wnrfnre waged at this front re
quired every Imaginable kind o f fight
After a march of 15 kilometers we
ing. There was mining, sapping, hand
reached the town of Jametz. Here
grenade throwing, mine throwing and
j everything was offered us by the In
light patrol battles. This went on day
habitants. AA’e were treated with cof
after day and night after night, with
fee, milk uud meat. AA’ e went on early
48 hours In the trench and a 12-hour
the next morning and In the evening
reet. The shortage of men made a
arrived at Damvlllers, where we heard
less strenuous schedule Impossible.
that we were about five kilometers be
(Continued Fridhy.)
hind the firing line. The same evening
we advanced to the little village of
W avrille, which wns our destination. Notice of Certain Street Improve
ment Bonds Will Be Taken Up.
AVe took up our quarters in a house
i which had been abandoned by Its In Notice is hereby given that there
habitants. AVe were attached to the
are sufficient'funds in the street
Ninth reserve division and the nc t
! morning went to our position. Fifteen paving fund of the City of Independ
j o f us were assigned to duty with an ence, Oregon, to tuke up for pay
j infantry company. On the entire line, ment and cancellation Bonds No.
us far as we could see, there was no 8, 9, 10 and 11 hearing date July 1st,
musketry fire. Only the artillery on 1914.
both sides kept up a weak action. We
That on July 1st, 1918, each of
were aot accustomed to this quietude said bonds w ill be taken up and
i in the trenches, but the men who had
cancelled and paid in full, principal
been there for some time told us that
frequently not; u single shot wus fired and interest to said date and there
| for days and that no activity was after said bonds w ill cease to bear
interest.
shown.
Dated and first published May 31,
Enormous forces o f artillery were
being mobilized. New guns continued 1918.
AV. S. KURRE,
to arrive every day and were Installed
City Treasurer.
without going Into action. The trans
portation of munitions and material
Wood Sawing Prices
was also very brisk. W e did not sus
Hereafter the following prices will
pect at this time that this was the first
be charged for cutting wood.
preparation for a great offensive.
Ash, Maple and Fur, one cut 60c.,
A fter four weeks In this vicinity we
were sent to another part o f the front, 2 cuts 75c., 3 cuts $1 ¡Slabs and Oak,
once more without being told our des 1 cut 60c., 2 cuts 85c., 3 cuts $1; By
tination. We marched away and In the the hour $2.
afternoon we arrived at Dun-sur
P. O. BLACK.
Meuse.
Hardly had we entered the town
when the German crown prince, accom
panied by severul officers and a large
pack o f hunting dogs rode by.
“ Good morning, pioneers I” he called
out to us.
i
Then he Inspected our unit closely.
HIDES
H e spoke to our captain, after which
PELTS
one o f the officers of his staff took us
gathered here. Added to tnts tnere
was the army field post institute and
the executive offices of the railways as
well as a number of hospitals.
It was very lively in Montmedy.
Many wounded men were seen strol
ling through the city and an especially
large number of officers all at home
were attached to single etapes.
In
faultless uniform, carrying riding
whips, they strolled around.
This
point waa about thirty-five kilometers
behind A’ erilun and one hundred kilo
meters from our former position. As
we marched away shortly after noon
| we suspected that we were being
taken to the neighborhood o f Verdun.
Max Goldman
Deals in
WOOL
FURS
MOHAIR
CASCARA BARK
VEAL
PORK
BEEF
POULTRY
BUTTER
EGGS
FARM PRODUCE
WOOD
WOOD
GROCERIES
SHOES
FURNISHINGS
DRY GOODS
Our camp at Cernay-ep-Dermols waa
' -ontlnually under heavy bombardment.
’’Inally rest became Impossible. The
íeavy-callber shells struck the roofs
>f the houses and penetrated to the
•ellars. The civilians were taken away
ifter several had been killed by shells.
After about ten weeks In this country
we were sent to another part of the
’ rent. Our destination was kept from
CASH OR TRADE
l* .
At the depot at Challerange we en
tered a train waiting for us. It con
sisted o f second and third class
■oaches.
The train rolled slowly
hrough the beautiful country, and for
-he first time since the war began we
<aw the light behind the front. All the
iepots, crossings and bridges were oc
cupied by the military. Everywhere
waa activity. Bong trains loaded with
agricultural machinery of every vari
ety stood at the larger stations. The
crew o f our train consisted of officials
of the Prussian state railways. They
had traversed this country often and
told ua that there waa no agricultural
machine In all occupied territory. The
same thing happened with all machin
ery ■* industry that could be spaaed.
Everywhere we saw the finest klad
o f machinery en routs to Germany.
In the evening we passed Sedan.
Early the next morning we arrived at
Montmedy. Here we had to leave the
train and were permitted to go to the
city fo r several hour*. Montmedy la
the principal base o f the Fifth army,
commanded by the crown prince. Enor
mous stores o f war materials war*
SWOPE & SWOPE
LAWYERS
I. O. O. F. Building
Independence,
Oregon
Only the Artillery Kept Up a Weak
Action.
to a Red Cross establishment where
we were banqueted and given wine.
The headquarters of the Hohtnzol-
lara heir were located at I>un-sur-
Meuse. The ladles of the Red Cross
treated us cordially. AVe asked them
if all passing troops were as well treat
ed as we had been.
“Oh, yes," a young woman answered,
“ but only a few come here. The crown
prince, however, has an especial at
| tachment for the pioneers.”
W e ware quartered over nlghL Sol
diers told us that Dun-aur-Meuse waa
| t M headquarter* o f the r ifth army.
T ie r s ware gay times in the town, with