The Monmouth herald., June 21, 1918, Image 2

i
fat.
To disguise ti flare of his gnu at
nlgbt when firing, Tommy uses what Is
railed a flare protector. This U a stove
pipe arrangement which fita over the
barrel casing of the gun and screens
the sparks from the right and left, but
not from the front So Tommy, always
resourceful, adopts this scheme: About
three feet or less In front of the gun he
Showing How Frits la Fooled.
drives two stakes Into the ground,
abou five feet apart Across these
stakes he stretches a curtain made out
of empty sandbags ripped open. He
soaks this curtain In water and fires
through It The water prevents It
catching fire and effectively screens
the flare of the firing gun from the
enemy.
Sound Is valuable asset In locating
a machine gun, but Tommy surmounts
this obstacle by placing two machine
guns about one hundred to one hun
dred and fifty yards apart The gun
on the right to cover with Its fire the
sector of the left gun and the gun on
the left to cover that of the right
gun. This makes their fire cross; they
are fired simultaneously.
By this method It sounds like one
gun firing and gives the Germans the
Impression that the gun la firing from
a point midway between the guns
' which are actually firing, and they ac
cordingly shell that particular spot
The machine gunners chuckle and say,
"Frits Is a brainy boy, not 'alf he
ain't"
But the men In our lines at the spot
being shelled curse Friti for bis Igno
rance and pass a few pert remarks
down the line In reference to the ma
chine gunners being "windy" and
afraid to take their medicine.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Gas Attacks and 8plea.
Three days after we had silenced
Frits, the Germans sent over gas. It
did not catch us unawares, because the
w ind had been made to order, that Is,
It was blowing frqm the German
trenches toward ours at the rate of
about five miles per hour.
Warnings, had been passed down the
trench to keep a sharp lookout for gas.
AVe had a new man at the periscope,
on this afternoon In question; I was
sitting on the fire step, cleaning my
rifle, when he called out to me:
"There's a sort of greenish, yellow
cloud rolling along the ground out In
front It's coming", ,
But I waited for no more, grabbing
my bayonet which was detached from
the rifle, I gave the alarm by banging
an empty shell case, which was hang
ing near the periscope. At the same
Instant gongs started ringing down the
trench, the signal for Tommy to don
his respirator, or smoke helmet as we
call It
Gas travels quickly, so you must not
lose any time; you generally have
about eighteen or twenty seconds In
which to adjust your gas helmet
A gas helmet Is made of cloth, treat
ed with chemicals. There are two win
dows, or glass eyes, In it through which
you can see. Inside there Is a rubber
covered tube, which goes in the mouth.
You breathe through your nose; the
gas, passing through the cloth helmet
Is neutralized by the action of the
chemicals. The foul air is exhaled
through the tube In the mouth, this
tube being so constructed that It pre
vents the Inhaling of the outside air or
gas. One helmet is good for five hours
of the strongest gas. Each Tommy
carries two of them slung around his
shoulder In a waterproof canvas bag.
He must wear this bag at all times,
even while sleeping. To change a de
fective helmet you take out the new
one, hold your breath, pull the old one
off, placing the new one over your
head, tucking in the loose ends under
the collar of your tunic.
For a minute.. DandemflnUim xeirayi
i
j
x L ioowj
unem mcntum
mil
ANiMOION50IMR
win WENT
MACHINE OTORVMGWfRABCE
. vut irencn Tommies'1 aamstin
their helmets, bombers running her 1
and there, and men turning out of the !
augouts with fixed bayonets, to man
the fire step.
Re-enforcementa were pouring out of
the communication trenches.
Our gun's crew were busy mounting
the machine gun on the parapet and
bringing up extra ammunition from
the dugout
German gas la barter than air and
soon fills the trenches and dugouts,
where It has been known to lurk for
two or three days, until the air Is puri
fied by means of Urge chemical spray
ers. We had to work quickly, as Frits
generally follows the gas with an In
fantry attack.
A company man on our right was
too alow In getting on his helmet; he
sank to the ground, clutching at his
th.wt and after a few spasmodic
twlstlngs went West (died). It was
horrible to see him die, but we were
powerless to help him. In the corner
of a traverse, a little, muddy cur dog,
one of the company's pets, was lying
dead, with his paws over his nose.
It's the animals that suffer the most
the horses, mules, cattle, dogs, cats
and rats they having no helmets to
save them. Tommy does not sympa
thize with rats In a gai attack.
At times gas has been known to
travel, with dire results, fifteen miles
behind the lines.
A gas, or smoke helmet as It Is
called, at the best Is a vile-smelling
thing, and it la not long before one gets
a violent headache from wearing It
Our elghteen-poundera were burst
ing In No Man's Land, In an effort by
the artillery, to disperse the gal
clouds.
The fire step was lined with crouch
ing men, bayonets fixed, and bombs
near at hand to repel the expected at
tack. Our artillery bad put barrage of
curtain fire on the German lines, to try
and break up their attack and keep
back re-enforcements.
I trained my machine gun on their
trench and Its bullets were raking the
parapet
Then over they came, bayonets glis
tening. In their respirators, which
have a large snout In front, they look
ed like some horrible nightmare
All along our trench, rifles and ma
chine guns spoke, our shrapnel was
bursting over their heads. They went
down in heaps, but new ones took the
places of the fallen. Nothing could
stop that mad rush. The Germans
reached our barbed wire, which had
previously been demolished by their
shells, then It waa bomb against bomb,
and the devil for all
Suddenly my head seemed to burst
from a loud "crack" In my ear. Then
my head began to swim, throat gut
lry, and a heavy pressure on the lungs
warned me that my helmet was leak
ing. Turning by gun over to No. 2, I
changed helmets.
The trench sturM to wind like a
.make, and sandbags appeared to be
floating in the air. The noise was hor
rible; I sank onto the fire step, needles
seemed to be pricking my flesh, then
blackness.
I was awakened by one of my mates
removing my smoke helmet How de
Hcious that cool, fresh air felt In my
lungs. . j
A strong wind had arisen and dls-l
persed the gas.
They told me that I had been "out"
for three hours; they thought I was
dead.
The attack had been repulsed after
a hard fight Twice the Germans had
gained 'a foothold In our trench, but
had been driven out by counter-attacks.
The trench was filled with their
dead and ours. Through a periscope
I counted eighteen dead Germans In
our wire ; tbey were a ghastly sight in
their horrible-looking respirators.
I examined my first smoke helmet
A bullet bad gone through It on the
left side, just grazing my ear. The
gas had penetrated through the hole
made In the cloth.
Out of our crew of six we lost two
killed and two wounded. .
That night we buried all of the dead,
excepting those in No Man's Land. In
death there is not much distinction;
friend and foe are treated alike.
After the wind had dispersed the
mil the B A.M. CLeolhusx with, their.
chemical sprayers, sprayiilg out tne
dugouts and low parts of the trenches
to dissipate any fumes of the German
gaa which may have been lurking In
same.
Two days after the gas attack I was
sent to division headquarters. In an
swer to an order requesting that cap
tains of units ahould detail a man
whom they thought capable of passing
an examination for the divisional In
telligence department
Before leaving for this assignment
I went along the front-line trench say
ing good-by to my mates and lording It
over them, telling thera that I had
ill wl
cmmi
A Qaa Helmet.
clicked cushy Job behind the lines,
and how sorry I felt that they bad to
stay In the front line and argue out the
war with Frits. They were envious
but still good-natured, and aa I left the
trench to go to the rear they ahouted
after me: .
"Good luck, Tank, old boy; dont
forget to send up a few fags to your
old mates."
I promised to do this and left
I reported at headquarters with six
teen others and passed the required ex
amination. Out of the sixteen appli
cants four were selected.
I was highly elated because I was, I
thought in for t cushy Job back at the
base.
The next morning the four reported"
to division headquarters for Instruc
tions. Two of the men were sent to
large towns in the rear of the lines
with an easy Job. When It came our
turn the officer told us we were good
men sod bad passed a very creditable
examination.
My tin hat began to get too small
for me, and I noted that the other man,
Atwell by name, was sticking bis chest
out more than usual
The officer continued: "I think I can
use you two men to great advantage
In the front line. Here are your orders
and Instructions, also The pass which
gives you full authority is special M.
P. detailed oo Intelligence work. Re
port at the front line according to your
Instructions. . It Is risky work and I
wish you both the best of luck."
My herrt dropped to sero and At
well's face was a study. We saluted
and left ' ,
That wishing ua the "best of luck"
sounded very ominous In our ears; If
be had said "I wish you both a swift
and painless death" It would have been
more to the point
When we bad read our Instructions
we knew we were In for It good and
plenty.
What Atwell said Is not fit for pub
lication, but I strongly seconded bis
opinion of the war, army and divisional
headquarters In general
After a bit our spirits rose. We were
full-fledged spy-cntchers, because our
Instructions and orders, said so.
We Immediately reported to the
nearest French estamlnet and had sev
eral glasses of muddy water, which
tbey called beer. After drinking our
beer we left tl estamlnet and hailed
an empty ambulance.
After showing the driver our passes
we got In. The driver was going to the
part of the line where we had to re
port How the wounded ever survived a
ride in that ambulance was Inexplica
ble to me. It was worse than riding on
a gun carriage over a rock road.
The driver of the ambulance was a
corporal of the It. A. M. C, and he
hud the "wind up," that Is, be bad an
aversion to being under fire.
I was riding on the seat with blm
while Atwell was sitting in the ambu
lance, wltL his legs hanging out of the
back.
As we passed through a shell-destroyed
village a mounted military po
liceman stopped us and Informed the
driver to be very careful when we got
out on the open road, as It was very
dangerous, because the Germans lately,
had acquired the bablt of shelling It.
The corporal asked the trooper If there
was any other way around, and was
Informed that there was not Upon
this he got very nervous and wanted to
turn back, but we Insisted that be pro
ceed and explained to him that he
would get into serious trouble with his
commanding officer If be returned
without orders; we wanted to ride,
not walk.
From bis convention we learned
that he had recently come from Eng-
ir.nti i-rrri a urnrt ana naa never oeen
under fire, hence his nervousness.
We convinced blm that there wns not
much danger, and he appeared greatly
relieved.
When w at last turned Into the open
road w were not so confident On
each aide there had been line of
trees, but now, all that waa left of
them were torn and battered stumps.
The fields on each side of the road
were dotted with recent shell holes,
and we passed several In the roud It
'self. We hud gone about half a mile
when a shell came whistling through
the air and burst In a field sbout three
hundred yurds to our right Anothtr
soon followed this one and burst on
the edge of the road about four huu
dred yards In front of us.
I told the driver to throw In bis
speed clutch, as we must be In alght
of the Germans. I knew fhe signs;
that battery waa ranging for us, and
the quicker we got out of Its sons of
fire the better. The driver waa trem
bling Ilka a leaf, and every minute !
expected him to pile us up In the ditch.
I preferred the German Ore.
Iu the back Atwell waa holding onto
the straps for dear Ufa, aud was sing
ing at the top of hla voice:
W but you at lh Mama,
W bMt you the Alan.
W gave you hall at Nauve Chapatle,
And hare wa are if iln.
Just then we hit a small shell hole
and nearly capslsed. Upon a loud
yell from the rear I looked behind, and
there was Atwell silting In the middle
of the road Blinking his fiat at ua. Ills
equipment) which he bad taken off
Mn getting Into the ambulance, was
strung out on the ground, and hla rifle
was In the ditch.
I shouted to the driver to atop, and
In hla nervousness he put on the
brakes. We nearly pitched out head
first. But the applying of those brakes
saved our Uvea. The next Instant
there was a blinding flash and a deaf
ening report Alt that I remember la
that I was flying through the air, and
wondering If I would land In a toft
spot Then the lights went out
When I came to, Atwll waa pouring
water on my head out of his bottle.
On the other side of the road the cor
poral was sitting, rubbing a lump oo
bis forehead with hla left band, while
bis right arm waa bound up in a blood
soaked bandage. He was mosnlng
very loudly. I had an awful headache
ti th akin no the loft airia at mv
Trains into Monmouth
L've Portland 71.5. a m, Cerlinger 10:20, Independ-'ce 10.32, Monm'th 10:50
" Salem 9.K5, " " " " " '
" " 1.40, pm, Dallas 2:45 " 3:10
" " 8.45, " Cerlinger 4:24, Independent 4:37, Monmouth 4 :B5
" " 6.00, " 6:45, 6:57, " 7:10
" Portland 3.30, Connects with above '
" Corvallis 6.45, a m Independence 7:35.... Arrive Monmouth 7:45
" 1-15, p m " 2:14 " 2:30
" Dallas 7.00, s m, Arrive Monmouth 7:25
' Airlie 8.30, a m and 8:45, pm. Arrives Monmouth 9:05 am and 4:13 p m
Leave Independence, 6.50 am, 7.85, 8.45, 10.35, 12.20, 1.30, p m, 2.20, 3 50.
4.40, 7.00
Trains out of Monmouth
L've Monmouth 7:05. a m. Independence 7:3a, Cerlinger 7:49, Ar Salem 8:30
" Same as above Portland 11.10
" Monmouth 1:45, pm, " 2.14, " 2:27, Salem 3:10
" Same aa above Portland 5:60
" Monmouth 4.05, " 4:40, " 4:55, Salem 6:30
" " 9.D5, am Dallas 10:00 " llSJO
" " 4;30, p m " 4:45, " 5:35
" " 9;05, a m, Independence 10:32, Corvallis 11:20
" " 4;55. pm, " 6:57, " 7:45
" " 7;25 a m and 8;10 p m. Arrives Airlie 8 a m and 8;40 pm
Leave Monmouth 7.05, a m, 8.15" 9,05, 10.60, 12.30, M, 1.45, p m, 2.35, 4.15,
4.55, 7.13
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ira wrt full or gra'el and the blood
was trickling from my nose.
But that ambulance was turned over
In the ditch and waa perforated with
holes from fragments of the shell. One
of the front wheels waa slowly revolv
ing, so I could not have been "out" for
a king period.
Tbe shells were still screaming over
head, but the battery had raised Ita
fire and they were bursting In a little
wood about half a mile from us.
Atwell spoke up, "I wish that offi
cer hadn't wished us the best o' luck."
Then be commenced swearing. I
couldn't help laughing, though my
head waa high to bursting.
Slowly rising to my feet I felt myself
all over to make sure that there were
no broken bones. But outalde of a few
bruises and scratches I was all right.
The corporal waa still moaning, but
more from shock than puln. A shelf
splinter had gone through the flesh of
hla right forearm. Atwell and I, from
our first-aid pouches, put a tourniquet
on his arm to stop the bleeding and
then guthered np our equipment
We realised that we were In a dan
genius spot. At any minute a shell
might drop on the road and finish ua
off. The village we had left was not
very fur, so we told tbe corporal he
htid better go back to It and get his
arm dressed, and then report the fact
of the destruction of the ambulance to
the military police. He was well abla
to wall, so he set off In the direction
of the village, while Atwell and I con
tinued our way on foot
! Without further mishap arrlvetf
j at our destination, and reunited to brt-
gadirtieadquarters for rations and bll
' lets.
That night we slept In the battalion
sergennt major's dugout The next
morning I went to a Orst-sld post and
hnd the gravel picked out of my face.
The Instructions we received from
division headquarters rend that we
were out to catch spies, patrol trenches,
search German dead, renmnolter In No
Man's Land, and take part In trench
raids and prevent the nibbing of the
dead.
I had a pass which would allow me
to go anywhere at any time In the sec
tor of the line held by our division. It
gave me authority to stop and search
imbuluncea, motor lorries, wagons and
ven officers and soldiers, whenever
my suspicions deemed It neccaaary.
.
- .
President
Vice-Pres
Asst-Cashier
reoon,
6