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About The Polk County post. (Independence, Or.) 1918-19?? | View Entire Issue (June 8, 1918)
DOINGS OP THE VAN LOONS . <V4«T TO W ell, F a th e r m ight a s w ell guess th a t a s an y th in g /C * A IR , NOTHIN«! T H A T O N S . O P -T W t’ U A T B iT iTVl_i?_ PHONOGRAPHS.' . c'fVMR. <Nueeo/- 4MOW fOu SOHO «>? osj K B a m n F K i. "«Kw . ruHNI TUR.S., *>/». 1 ^ -j S ' "THAT' a ' a . V___ I LOVE L-V CHAI*. ' l 0F=- NOv£i_ DEiii^N1 ^ 7 * ------------------------ (°”D T H E ^A H A G ST1 ¡PA R S. e & O VOW I h U t j a , 'S ^ L E N P IO M USIC CAbiKIST avG R -SAW • 7 ¿M N D M A , t m e u e I .S u p p o s e . ,' , Y ouV e C ^ O N E A N E> BOUGHT >5 < j (R A N D P ia n o ¿ 3 M u s i c ¿ a b i n e t O •J ~*V -THE iP&A y—' ■i r 7 <// V- □nag rFH IF □ DDO »¿1 i—e r i n r ' n ¡The Gonfessi of a Germa: .Deserter XcSv>- -*> Written by a Prussian O fficer>. Who Participated in the Ravag big and Pillaging o f Belgium 5 Copjngt/ by DrtroU t m h o i ........... (C ontinued from Tuesday) The distance between us ana tne re treating French became greater. Our soldiers became happier over the out come of the battle and seemed to for get their past hardships. The corpses which filled the roads and ditches weie forgotten amid the jokes and songs on every aide. The men were already accustomed to the horrors of war to such an extent that they unconcerned ly walked aver the corpses, not even considering It necessary to make a slight detour. At noon we nalfed and were served with dinner from the field kitchens. Wa were surely hungry enough and our canned soup was eaten with the utmost relish. Many soldiers set their dishes on the bodies of dead horses lying about and ate as gayly as If they were at home at their own tables. The few human corpses near our camp failed to disturb us. Only water was lacking, and after the dinner our thirst became very acife, even torturous. We soon marched on, under a burn ing mtd-d v sun, the dust of the high way lying thick on our uniforms and skin. Now, no more cheerfulness was evident anywhere. Our thirst became more unbearable and we grew weaker from minute to minute. Many In our ranks fell, unable to go further. Noth ing remained for our commander ex cept to halt, ag he did not wish to ex haust us all. As a result of this halt we were left considerably In the rear and lost our place among those pursu ing the French. About four o’clock we finally saw before us a village. In the certain ex- pectation of getting water there we quickened our pace. Fugitives and empty munition columns passed us. Among them th ere w as a farm wagon upon which w ere several civilian p r's oners, ap p aren tly frnne-tlreurs. ^ Catholic p riest w as am ong them. He, like the others, had his hands tied he- hind him with a rope. To o ur curious questions us to what he had done, we were told that he hud incited the termers to poison the w ater In tn e village. Soon we reached th e village and at the first well at which we might have sa tis fied our th irst we found a sentinel posted. He drove us aw ay w ith a w arning th a t th e w ater w as poisoned. D isappointed and te rrib ly em bit tered, the soldiers cursed and gnashed next wen, but everywhere sentinels forbade our taking refreshment. In an open space In the center of the village was a big well from which there came water clear as crystal that emptied Into a big trough. Five sol diers stood guard here to see that no one drank. I was Just about to pro ceed with my comrades when a large part t»f my company threw themselves like men possessed onto the well. The guards were completely overcome and, greedy as animals, all the men drank. They quenched their thirst, but not one became 111. The priest, as we learned later, was punished because, the officers said, the water in every village had been poisoned, and we were told that only by a happy chance had the lives of our soldiers been spared. The God of the Germans had kept true guard. It appeared, but the God of the Belgians was not there to protect his. In most of the places we passed we were warned not to use the water. This, of course, had the effect of mak ing the soldiers bate the people from whom they conld expect only death. In this way the vicious Instincts of our men ware aroused. The water, of course, was nowhere poisoned. These lies were told to arouse hatred of the Belgians among our soldiers. In the evening, at dusk, we reached a village east of the Bertrlx. There we found poisoned water also. In the middle of the village we halted and I could see through a front window of a bouse before which I stood. In a mis erable home cf a laborer we saw a woman. She clung to her children as If afraid they would be torn away from her. Suddenly a stone as large as a fist was thrown through the window Inrn th e room end a little girl was w ounded on the right hand In this village we w ere billeted In a barn. W ith some com rades, I w ent to th e village to buy food. We obtained ham. bread anil v ine a t it farm house, but th e people refused any paym ent because they considered 11 « guests. They only asked th a t we should not h u rt them . We paid them neverthe less for everything. In G erm an money. T here, as everyw here else we went, we found the population In mortal te rro r of us. The people trem bled w henever a G erm an soldier entered th eir home. iicu to r m is purpose. T h is h ap p en ea most frequently w henever the guns had to be tak en off a highw ay and brought into a firing position. Soon we arrived a t th e city of B er trlx. We found m any houses a t the right and left o f us burning brightly. They had been set afire, we learned, because persons In them had fired on passing soldiers. In fro n t of one of these houses w as a half-burned m an and woman w ith th e ir fifteen o r six teen-year-old son. All w ere covered w ith straw . A little w ay fa rth e r on, th ree m ore civilians w ere lying dead In th e sam e street. As we w ere m arching we suddenly received an o rd er to su rrb u n d a certain house a t th e left o f us. O ur cap ta in declared th a t a shot fired from th a t house had killed a soldier. None of us had heard anything, how ever. T he house from which the shot w as alleged to have been fired w as soon su rro u n d ed and hand grenades throw n Into It through th e windows. In a m inute all th e room s w ere aflame. T h e a ir prea- ■ure from th e exploding grenades waa so g re a t th a t doors In th e house flew from th e ir hinges and th e w alls of sev eral room s w ere crushed. F o u r of us had form ed a close friendship. We had prom ised to keep to g eth er and help one an o th e r in every danger. So we often visited the homes of citizens together and did our best to q uiet th e harassed people we m et and talk them o u t of fear of our forces. W ithout exception we found th ese people friendly and quick to feel confidence In ns when they learned th a t we really w ere th e ir friends. If we w rote on th e ir doors w ith chalk, “H ere live good, honest people, please sp are them ,” th eir g ra titu d e knew no bounds. If so much had blood existed and If so many things which led to the m ilitary execution of Innum erable Bel gians, it w as because of th e m istru st system atically nourished on th e p art of th e G erm an officers. T h a t night we m arched on a fte r be ing Joined by a 21-centim eter m o rtar b a tte ry of th e foot artille ry regim ent No. 0 recently arrived. Not only were we to act a* an au x iliary for th is bat tery, but we w ere also expected to help T M r Ts bring these Immense cannon Into ac tion. These guns were In two sections, sech transported on a wagon pulled by six horaes. These horses, th e only ones used by foot artillery, a re aup- poaed to bo the finest and most power ful la the German army. Tat these animals wars seldom up to expectations, an that It was a com- BMa thing ta detail from TO to BO mea | | j Several soldiers npw arrived with barrels of wine and also many bottles, which were Instantly opened and emp tied. The obvious resulted, and soon : many noncommissioned officers and men were helplessly drunk. The owner of our barn had possessed three large hogs. Ona of the drunken noncom missioned officers tried to kill one of Almost at the same time five civil these hogs with a dull pocket knife. ians ran Into the streets with raised He had tortured the poor beast almost hands. They were seised at once and to death when the animal was merci led before the officers, who constituted fully killed by a bullet. A few min themselves Immediately Into a court- utes afterward the officer went to ■aM kL T m aalaatee later sentence sleep. This was only an example and had bees executed, and five men lay not the worst, for the Inhabitants of on the ground with eyes bandaged, the town had to endure much from riddled with bullets. our men who had become drunk. There Ia each case six of our men were were open and secret robberies of always called upon ta ’execute one gardens, stables and houses hers and man's sentence. I am sorry to say no restrictions whatever were put on that I waa one of the thirty celled the soldiers. There was no improve upon at this occasion. The condemned ment In their general conduct, despita man who It was our duty to shoot waa many complaints. One family report about forty yaers eld, tall mad straight ed that the French had treated them He never blinked as the bsndage wea very well, but that our highly trained put on. He waa led to the garden of soldiers plundered and etole. It was the house near by and bla back placed therefore not surprising that the pop to the house. After our captain said ulation suffered want and hunger. I to ua that It was our duty to aim true often shared my bread with these suf ana ena tne tragedy quicaiy. we toon fering people. With two comrades, our positions six paces In front of the one'day, I gave my portion of meat, condemned men. The sergeant com vegetables and preserves and also a manding ua previously gave us Instruc bag of onions to a woman with eight tions that we were to shoot the con children. Because the Iron was miss demned men through the breast. \ ing In our blood, we three were sen Now we formed into two rows, one tenced to extra watch duty for a week behind the other. The order sounded for the offense of displaying a love of to load and aim and we each put five humanity. Our leader. Lieutenant of Reserve Elm, declared th a t such a thing as pity was Insanity. He said if the woman had eight children that was her busi ness. Then he concluded by saying with great emphasis: “In war every body looks out for themselves, even If everything around him perishes.” J Q m . CHAPTER III. £> ! .♦c-ix- u> i uie m use no nuU esscupcu when the French arm y re tre a te d and were returning now to find th eir homes destroyed by the rough hand of war. A fter a long m arch, in terru p ted only hy halts and sh o rt bivouacs, we ap proached the large B elgian-French bor- d er town of Bugay, located on th e B el gian side of th e border. It w as about noon, and a s the th u n d er of cannon constantly grew stronger, which Indi cated th a t a new b a ttle w as develop ing, we hoped to he able to rem ain In the town overnight. About one o’clock we entered and w ere billeted in a big bam . Most of th e soldiers refused to e a t from the field kitchens, and requi sitioned eggs, chickens, geese and young pigs. Soon everybody w as cooking. I am sorry to say th a t moat of those who foraged had refused to pay fo r w hat they had taken. Riddled With Bulleta cartrid g es into o u r rifles. "P rep are to fire”—th e men In th e first row knelt down and th e second row took th eir places. O ur guns w ere now held so th a t th e b a rre ls w ere forw ard and th e b u tts w ere hip high. “Aim”—and slowly we aim ed, holding our guns tightly w ith th e b u tts ag a in st our shoulders and o u r fingers on the trig gers. T he serg ean t paused a h a lf m inute and then ordered us to fire. I do not know to th is day w h eth er o u r victim died a t once, nor waa th e re ever an o p portunity to learn how many of the six b u llets found th e ir m ark. All day I w ent around like a m an In a trance, reproaching m yself b itte rly fo r having acted th e p a rt of exeouttnner. F o r a long tim e I could not b e a r to speak about It to my comrades, fo r I felt guilty, and y et w hat could we soldiers do o th er th an execute th e orders given usT In the evening we w ent into camp In an open field, pitching tents, and the next day continued our march. The country through which we passed was uninteresting and offered nothing In the way of variety. The few tiny T illag e s through which we ptaeed had ail beau abandoned, and tile poor looking houses mostly do- etroyed. Doug tralas of fugitives A nother soldier w as sentenced to serve 14 dnys a t hard labor. H e w as bringing bread to a hungry fam ily and had six sm all loaves In his arm s, which he had gathered from am ong the sol diers. T he sam e lieu ten an t m et him. accom panied by several noncomm is sioned officers. To the question as to where he w as going, he replied th a t he was on his way to assist a poor fam ily which had actually suffered hunger. The lieutenant a t once ordered him to return the bread to Ills company. Then he raged and raged a t the soldier, call ing him fool, Idiot, H ottentot, etc. But the aoldler nevertheless did not obey and when the lieutenant thundered a second command to halt, th e soldier turned around and threw th e bread before the lieu ten an t’s feet. T hen he said quietly. “I do not wish anybody any harm , but If you and your au to cratic fam ily, und the whole G erm an nation had to endure w hat the poor Belgians a re obliged to suffer, It would be a b itte r but Just lesson.” T his man was sentenced to serve 14 days for talking back to his superior officer. It surprised us all th a t he was let off so easily. B ut bittern ess In the ran k s grew, and a t last the many hard punishm ents th at w ere pronounced created so much feeling th a t the soldiers refused to tie any of th e ir com rades. We left Sugny the next m orning and one hour la te r crossed the Franco-Bel- glan border. H ere again we w ere o r dered to give th ree cheers a s we did when o u r troops first crossed G erm any Into Belgium. At noon we arrived at Vlvler-Au-Oourt. We rem ained In the village until evening and w ere per mitted to go about w ithout re s tric tion*. In the afternoon nine men of my company w ere arrested for assault Tow ard evening we m arched off and brought th e how itzers to u new posi tion. front w here the enem y’s defenses on the Meuse could be houdmrded. A fter a sh o rt m arch we encountered aud fought a French arm y northeast of Donchery. Only th e enem y's rear guard w as on our side of the Meuse To It was given the duty of covering th e grossing of the m ain body o f the French arm ies over the Meuse, which was done n ear D onchery. T he few bridges !“ft stan d in g were not sufficient for th e enem y to cross as sjteedlly as he should have. As a result th ere developed In D onchery a terrible fight. T he French m ade an enorm ous effort. T h ere w as a terrible slaughter as man tough* ag ain st man It w as one of the most fearfu l battles I have ever w itnessed. No one knew afterw ards how many he had killed. Som etim es stro n g e r men, then weaker ones attacked. T he glare from burn ing houses tu rn ed Into red th e white* of the fighters' eyes and revealed men b attlin g one an o th er fro th in g at the mouth. W ithout any headgear, unkem pt hair, uniform s open o r m ostly torn. It wa* bayonettlng, hitting, scratch in g and plunging like wild b easts fo r Ilf* o r (Jeath. E verybody fought fo r hie life. T h ere w as no q u a rte r. O nly m oaning and gasping could be heard. Each man thought only of his own life, of death or his home. Old memo ries raced through the mind, pursuing ons another feverishly and yet men grew wilder, for they now battled a new enemy—exhaustion. But there could not yet be any let up. Again and again there !e nothing to do but strike, stab. bit*, fighting without guns or other weapons except those provided by nature for life or death. The exertion becomes more ta p e r human. Tou bite and you are a victor. But victor only for a second, for the next antagonist Is already upon you. He haa Just killed on* of your com rades. Tou suddenly remember that you still bav* a dagger. After a hasty search you find It In Its regular place. One. two, three and It links to the hilt In the breast of your enemy. On, on. where there are new enemies. Tou suddenly see your next antagonist be fore you. He Is after your lift. He bites, stabs, scratches, to get you down, to pierce your heart with hla dagger and again yap use yours. Thank God, he lies on the ground; you are saved. But 8top;*you must havs that dagger back. Tou pull it from the breast of your 1st* enemy. A stream of warm blood shoots from the open wound In your face. Human blood, warm hu man blood. You shudder, terrified only for a few seconds, for there Is an o th er adversary. It Is again neces sary for you to defend yourself. Again and again the m urder commences anew. Always, and always again, through the whole night. At lest, tow ard fo u r o'clock In tha m orning, the F rench retire d across the M euse w ith th e G erm ans storm ing a fte r them . W hen th e bridge w as full of G erm an soldiers. It w as blown up by the French aud hundreds of Germans found th e ir d eath In the Meuse. ' C H A P T ER IV. The scene of the slaughter could now he surveyed at leisure. Dead and wounded were strewn all around, and over them clouds of smoke and flame* made tha, sir fhlckt But we were al ready too hardened to feel much pity. Humanity was thrown to the winds and the cries nnd begging of the , wounded left everybody cold. Home Catholic sisters lay dead tn front of their convent. The only build ing that was spared in Donchery was the armory of the Twenty-third French dragoons. T h ere was not much time In which to do anything, for at seven o’clock th e F rench began to hurl sheila Into the village. W e fortified ourselves be hind a thick garden wall directly in front of the Meuse. The river bank a t this point w as flat, h a t on the oppo site side It wa* steep. Here the French Infantry had dug Itself In and estab lished three lines, one above the other. The artillery firing was too far. Wa did not come within Its range, so that we were able to observe the effect of the shelling of our own artillery oa the ing a woman but were soon released. enemy infantry positions before ns. At this time there waa a great scar The 21-centimeter shells raced by city of tobacco among onr soldiers and above our heads and burst with a fear I knew that a mark or more was paid ful noise In the enemy’s trenches. The French could not resist this hall for a cigarette whenever one. was of fered for sale. Here. In Vlvler-Au* of shot very long. They soon aban Court there waa but on* government doned all the heights on the river tobacco atall. I have aeen • ow aien bank. They abandoned Soudan with were forced by noncommlaaloned offi out a fight and It waa left Intact which cer* at the point of p i > to give up had aot been the eaa* with Donchery. toetr entire supply of tobacco for Hardlv a house had suffered. wirtoMaa requisition papers. Thee* (The next Installment will appear “gentlemen” later eoM their tobacco at heU a mark far small paaketa. KINGS VALLEY Mr. M urphy killed u black hem* in the valley Monday. Mrs. 1). K. Moore arrived in tho \alley Tuesday evening to visit with friends Mr. and Mrs. H erm an Ayers w ent to Salem S aturday evening by ant'o. Mrs. Ann Dunn is visiting w ith her son and fam ily, T. .1. Allen. Andy Ayers returned home S atu r day from P ortland w here he h a s been the past week. His grandson from Oregon City accom panied him home. Mrs. H. C. H arter and Mrs. H arry Sullivan visited w ith Mrs. Della Miller Sunday. 1 here will he a C hildren’s Day program at the church S unday, June 9. Mr. and Mrs. M arlin C hristianson visited S unday w ith her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Maxfleld. Mrs. Fred YVoodsido and Mrs. H er m an Ayers w ent to Independence Monday. I lie Red Cross of D allas gave a show at the Odd F ellow s flail S at urday evening and the Airlie Red Cross sold a quilt and ice cream. Horn, to Mr. and Mrs. Ju lian T horn a daughter, Ju n e 1. Mr. and Mrs. David Ayers visited at the home of Andy Ayers Monday m orqing. .Mrs. D. E. Moore visited S atu rd a y w ith Mrs. Fred Woodside. The Christenson fam ily were Sa lem visitors Saturday. Jack Sm ith visited M onday after noon w ith F. V. Miller. Mr. and Mrs. Hud Alchorn of Cor vallis were valley visitors T h u rs day. WIGRICH ITEMS Mrs. Ralph Porterfield and fam ily spent Decoration Day with her p ar ents, Mr. nnd Mrs. H artm an, n e a r independence. Mr. and Mrs. D. A. H art and fam i ly of Newherg were visiting at tho home of Mr. and Mis. F. !,. C.hown on Decoration Day. Mr. and Mrs. \ \ ’. E. Hcvcns were week end visitors with his brother and wife, Mr. and Mrs. YV. R. B«>v- ens in Portland. Mr. and Mrs. YVulter P lan t aro sailing around these days in a new Ford. Mr. and Mrs. Ala* P orter moved the first of (lie week to Huenn Visln. Jesse Tumi, late of Salem , and Janies Taiin of G rants Pass visited tliir parents, Mr. nnd Mrs. Jess T an n and th eir sister, Mrs. George De- Forest on Sunday. Mr. and Mrs. YVill Robert accom panied by Mr. and Mrs. McComas and YV ill Rooney are spending sev eral days sight seeing in P ortland. Mr. and 'M rs. Ralph Porterfield and fam ily w ere Sunday guests a t the hqpie of Mr. aud Mrs. F ra n k Turner. No m ore week-end rates, so bo good and stay a t home. This will he ra th e r tough on you who have Hu* city habit, hut after you get out of it, just think how you are getting even w ith P o rtland by saving this periodical car fare und keeping your money at home. 'P u t this car fare into th rift slainps.-Henton County Courier. TWICE A WEEK Post-31.50 OHLY ONE IN COUNTY