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About The Coquille Valley sentinel and the Coquille herald. (Coquille, Coos County, Or.) 1917-1921 | View Entire Issue (March 22, 1918)
throwing « miscellaneous an I. AN A M D M SfflLWER 'WHO WENT * * AHÌlllIìfiUYMY MAOIlrtE (WlflER.JOWWGW FRANCE------- - CHAPfER L Prom Mufti to KhritL It was In an office In Jersey City. I was sitting at my desk talking to a lieutenant o f the Jersey National Guard. On the wall waa a Mg war map decorated with variously colored little flag* showing the.position o f the opposing armies on the western front In France. In front o f me on the desk lay a New Y"l*fT T ~ r " Tttfl trig Sflling headlines: LUSITANIA SUNK! AMERICAN LIVES LOST) The windows were open and a fuel ing of spring pervaded the air. Through the open windows came the ■trains of a hurdy-gurdy playing In the street—“ I Didn’t Raise M y Boy to Be a Soldier.” “ Lusitania Sunk I American L ives Lost!“— " I Didn’t Brine M y Boy to Be a Soldier.” T o us those did not seem to Jibe, The lieutenant In rilanc of the lower drawers o f hls took from It an American flag which he solemnly draped over the war map on the walL Then, turning to me with a grim face, arid: “ How about I t sergeant? Ten had better get out the muster roll o f the Mounted Scouts, as I think they will be needed In the course o f a few days.” We busied ourselves till late in the evening writing out emergency tele grams for the men to report when the call should come from Washington. Then we went borne. I crossed over to New Tork, and ns I went up Fulton street to take the subway to Brooklyn, the lights In the tall bulldlnge o f New York seemed to be burning brighter than usual, as If they, too, bad read “ Lusitania Sunk I American Llvea Loot I” They seemed to be glowing with anger and righteous Indignation, and their rays wigwagged the message, “ Repay I" Months passed, the telegrams lying handy, but covered with dust Then, one momentous morning the lieutenant with a sigh o f disgust removed the flag from the war map and i •ring populace, but everything was normal. People were calmly proceed ing to their work. Crossing the nreet, I accosted n Bobble with: “ Can you direct me to the place o f damage P* H e asked me, "W hat damage r In surprise, I answered, "Why, the damage caused by the Zaps.” With g wtn| ha replied! Coming down the street I new a young dandy, top hat and atl, with a fashionably dreaeed girl walking be side him. I mattered, "Ton are my meat,** and when he came abreast of me I stepped directly In his path and stopped him with my swagger stick, saying: "Ton would look line In khaki; why not change that top bat fo r a steel helmet T Aren’t yen ashamed o f your self, a husky young chap like yon In mufti when men are needed la the trenches? Here I am, an American, ----- A fter several fruitless Inquiries of the paaseraby, I dsdded to go on my own la search o f ruined buildings and scenes at destruction. I boarded a boa which carried me through Tottenham Oonrt road. Recruiting posters were everywhere. The one that Impressed I me most was a Ufe-slze picture o f Lord Kitchener with hteitgjger point ing directly at me, iM dw 'th e caption of "Tou r King and Country Need Ton." No matter which way 1 turned, the accusing Unger followed me. 1 was an American, In mufti, and had a little American flag In rite lapel o f my coat I had do king, and my country had seen lit not to need me, hut still that pointing Anger made me feel small and U1 at ease. I got off the bus to try to dissipate this feeling by mixing with the throng o f the sidewalks. Presently I came to n recruiting of- flee. Inside, sitting at a desk was a lonely Tommy Atkina.' I decided te In terview him In regard to Joining the British army. I opened the door. He looked up end greeted me with “ I s’y, myta, want to tyke o o f" I looked at him and answered, "W ell, •wearing In a Recruit S - whatever that Is, n i taka a chance • f came four thousand miles from Ogden, at I t " Without the aid o f an Interpreter, I Utah, Just outside o f New York, to found out that Tommy wanted to know fight fo r your king and country. Don’t If I cared to Join the British army. He be a slacker, buck up and get Into uni asked m e: "Did yoa ever beer o f the form ; come over to the recruiting of Royal Fusiliers ?*’ Well, la London, fice and I ’ll havt you-enlisted.” H e yawned and answered, " I don’t you know. Tanka are supposed to know care If you came forty thousand miles, everything, so I was not going to ap no one naked yog to,” and he walked pear Ignorant and answered, "Bure.” on. The girl gave am a sneering look; A fter listening fo r one half-hour to I was speechless. Tommy’s tale o f their exploits on the I recruited fo r three-weeks and near Bring Una, I decided to Join. Tommy ly got one recruit took me to the recruiting headquarters, This perhaps was not the greatest where I met a typical English captain. stunt In the world, but It got back at He asked my nationality. I im medi the officer who had told me, “ Tea, are ately palled out my American passport take anything over here." I had been and showed It to him. I t was signed spending a good lot o f my recruiting by Lansing. A fter looking at the time In the saloon bar o f the Wheat passport, he Informed me that he was Sheaf pub (there was a very attractive sorry but could not enlist me, as It i blonde barmaid, who helped Mil time— would be a breach o f neutrality. I ; I was not as serious In those days as Insisted that I was not neutral, be- : I was a little later when 1 reached cause to me It Beamed that a real ; the fron t)—-wall. It was the sixth day American ccrald not be neutral when and my recruiting report was blank. captain would not enlist me. With disgust In my heart I went out In the street. I had gone about a block when a recruiting sergeant who had followed me ont o f the office tapped me on the shoulder with hls swagger stick and said: "S ’y. I can get you In the army. W e have a *lef- 1 en ant* down at the other office who can do anything. H e has Just come out o f the O. T. C. (Officers’ Training corps) and does not know what neu trality Is." I decided to take a chance, and accepted hla Invitation fo r an In troduction to the lieutenant. I entered the office and went up to him, opened up my passport and said : "B efore going further I wish to-atate that I am aa American, not too proud Guy Empay. to fight, and want to Join your army." to hi* desk. I immediately followed He looked at me In a nonchalant this action by throwing the telegrams manner, and answered, “ That's all Into the wastebasket Then w e looked right ; wa take anything over here." at each other In silence. H e was I looked at him kind o f hard and re «qnlnnlng In hls chair and I fe lt de plied, "So I notice," hut It went over pressed and uneasy. The telephone rang and I answered H e get ont an enlistment blank, and It. It was a business call fo r me, re placing hie Anger on a blank Une said, questing my services fo r an out-of- “ 8lgn here." town assignment Business waa not I answered, “ Not on your tintype.” ' very good, so this was very welcome. " I beg your pardon?" After listening to the proposition I Then I explained to him that I would seemed to be swayed by a peculiarly not sign It without first reading I t I strong force within me, and answered, read It over and signed fo r duration o f "I am sorry that I cannot accept your war. Some o f the recruits were lucky. offer, but I am leaving fo r England They signed fo r seven years only! Than he naked me my birthplace. I next week,” and hung up the receiver. The lieutenant swung around In hla answered, "Ogden. Utah." He said, -Oh, yea. Just outride o f chair, and stared at me In blank aston ishment. A sinking sensation came over me, but I defiantly answerad hla N W lthnVm lle. I replied, “ W ell, tfa up look with, “ Well, It’s so. r m going." die state a ltttln " _ „ Then I waa taken before the doctor And I went The trip across waa uneventful. I and passed as physically fit. and was landed at Tilbury, England, then got Issued n uniform. Whan I " » w t e d Into a string o f matchbox cure and beck to tt»e lieutenant he suggested proceeded to London, arriving there th at being aa American, I go an re about 10 p. m. I took a room in a hotel cruiting service end toy to toame tome near St. Pancras station fo r “ five and o f the slacker* Into -Joining the army." "A ll you have to do.” he arid, “ In to fix—lire extra." The room was minus the fire, but the “ extra" seemed to ge ont on the street «»¿ w h e n yen see keep me warm. That night there was n young fellow la m afd who looks a Zeppelin raid, but I didn’t see much phyricsHy S t of It. because the silt In the curtains was too small and I had no desire to make It larger. Next morning the te l ephone bell rang, and someone asked, “ Are von there?" I was, hardly. Any way, I learned that the Saps had re turned to their fatherland, eo I went out Into the street expecting to see scenes o f awful dengM tton w t f a cow- I was getting low In the pocket—bar maids haven't much use for anyone who cannot boy drinks— so I looked around fo r recruiting material. Ton know a man on recruiting service gets a “ bob” or shilling fo r every recruit he entices into Joining the army, the recruit la supposed to get this, but he would not be a recruit I f he were wise to this fa c t would he? Down at the end o f the bar waa a young fellow In mufti who was very patriotic— he had about four “Old Six” ales aboard. He asked me If be could Join, showed me bis left hand, two fingers were missing, but I said that did not matter as "w e take any thing over here.” The left hand Is the rifle hand as the piece Is carried at the slope on the left shoulder. Near ly everything in England la "by the left,” even general traffic hasps to the port side. I took the applicant over to head quarters, where he was hurriedly ex amined. Recruiting surgeons were busy In those days snd did not havs much time for thorough physical exam inations. My recruit waa passed aa “ fit” by the doctor and turned over to a corporal to make note o f bis scars. I was mystified. Suddenly the corpo ral burst out with, “ Bllme me, two of his fingers are gone.” Turning to me he said, “Ton certainly hava your nerve with you. not *alf yoa ain’t,, to bring this beggar In.” The doctor came over and exploded, "W hat do you mean by bringing In a man In this condition ?" Looking out o f the corner o f my eye I noticed that the officer who bad re cruited me bad Joined the group, and I could not help answering, "W ell, sir, I was told that yon took anything ever The Anther's Identlfleetlen Disk. methods used In attack and defense, wiring parties, mass formation, and Jecting from each end. On a lanyard the procedure fo r polson-gaa attacks. On the tenth day we again met our around my waist hung a hnge Jack knife with a can-opener attachment. friends Tlommea 00, Cheveeux 8." The pack contained my overcoat an Thirty-six hours more o f misery, and extra pair o f socks, change o f under we strived at the town o f F----- , wear, hold all (containing knife, fork, A fter unloading our rations and spoon, comb, toothbrush, lather brush, equipment we lined up on the soed In shaving soap, and a razor made o f tin, columns o f fours waiting fo r the order with "H ade in England'’ stamped on the blade; when trying to shave with A dull rambling could be hoard. The this It made yon wish that yon were sun was shining. I tamed to the man at war with Patagonia, so that you on my left and asked. “ What’s the could have a "hollow ground" stamped noise. B ill?" H e did not know, bat hi* "Made In G erm any"); then your house fhee was o f a pea-green color. Jim, wife, button-cleaning outfit consisting on my right, also did not know, bat o f a brass button stick, two stiff suggested that I “ awsk” the sergeant brashes, and n box o f "Soldiers’ Coming towards us waa aa old griz Friend” paste; then e shoe brush and zled sergeant properly fed up with a box o f dubbin, a writing pad, Indel the war, no I “ awaked” him. ible pencil, envelopes, and pay book, “ Think I f e going to rain, sergeant?” and personal belongings, such as a H e looked at p e In contempt and small mirror, a decent raaor and a grunted, " ’Ow’e It a-goln' ter rain with sheaf o f unanswered letters, and fags. the bloomin’ tun n-shlnlnT I looked In your haversack you carry your Iron guilty. rations, meaning a tla o f bully beef, “ Them’s the guns up the line, me four biscuits and n can containing tea, lad, and you’ll get enough o f ’em be sugar and Oxo cubes; a couple of fore you gets beck to Blighty." pipes and a pack o f shag, a tin o f rifle My knees seemed to wilt, and I oil, and a pall-through. Tommy gen eqneaked out n week "Ok I” erally carries the ell with his rations; Then w e started our march up to the It gives the cheese a sort of sardine Une la ten-kilo treks. A fter the first taste. day’s march we arrived at our rest Add to this a flrst-ald pouch and a billets. In France they cell them rest long, ungainly rifle patterned after the billets, because while In them Tommy Daniel Boone period, and you have an works sevsn days n week and on the Idea o f a British soldier In Blighty. eighth day * f the week he Is given Before leaving fo r France, this rifle twenty-four boors "on hls own.” Is taksn from him and he la Issued Our billet was a spacious affair, a large barn on the left side of the road, and a ration bag. which had one hundred entrances, ninety-nine fo r shells, rats, wind and ateta, g sheepskin coat, rubber mack rain, and the hundredth one for Tom intosh, steal helmet, two blankets, tear- my. I was tired eotr and using my shell goggles, a balaclava helmet, shrapnel-proof helmet (shrapnel proof gloves and a tin o f aatlfrostblt* grease until n piece o f shrapnel bits -It), or which la a w i l l W fo r greasing the tin hat, fo r a pillow, lay down In the boots. Add to this the weight o f hls straw, and was aeon fast asleep. I rations, and can you Mams Tommy for must have slept about two hours, when growling at a twenty-kilo route march? I awoka with a prickling sensation all Having served as sergeant major In over me. Aa I thought, the straw had the United 8tates cavalry, I tried to Worked through my uniform. I woke tell the English drill sergeants their up the fellow lying on my left, who had business, but It did not work. They been up the line before, end asked Immediately put me os batman In their mesa. Many a greasy dish o f stew was accidentally spilled over them. 1 would sooner light than be a waiter, so when the order came through from headquarters calling fo r a draft of 260 re-enforcements fo r France, I vol unteered. Then we went before the M. O. (medical officer) for another physical examination. This was very brief. He asked our names and numbers and said " F i t ” and we went out to figh t We were put Into troop trains and tent to Southampton, where we de trained, and had our trench rifle* Is sued to us. Then In columns a f twos we went up the gangplank o f a little steamer lying alongside the dock. I think they called It "Tanks# Im pudence,” anyhow It ended my letralt- major, two o f them were exploring their shirts, paying no attention to the occasional shells which passed over head. The major was writing a letter; every now and then he would lay aside hls writing-pad. search hls shirt for a few minutes, get an Inspiration, and then resume writing. A t last he fin ished hls letter and gave It to hls “run- I waa curious to see whether be was writing to an Insect firm, so when the runner passed me I engaged him In conversation and got a glimpse at the address on toe envelope. It was addressed to Miss Alice Somebody, in London. The "runner” Informed me that Mias Somebody was toe major’s sweetheart and that ha wrote to her every day. Juat Imagine It. writing a love letter during a "cootie” bunt; but such la the creed o f the trenches. CHAPTER III. I Ge to Church. Upon enlistment we had Identity disks loaned to us. These were small disks o f red liber worn around the neck by means o f s string. Moat o f the Tom mies also used a little metal diik which they wore around the left wrist by means o f s chain. They had previous ly figured It out that If their heads were blown off, the disk on the left wrist would Identify them. I f they lost their left arm toe disk around toe neck would serve the purpose, but If their head and left arm were blown off, no one would care who they were, so it did not matter. On one side o f the disk was Inscribed your rank, name, number and battalion, while on toe other waa stamped your religion. O. o f E., meaning Church o f Eng land ; R. CL, Roman Catholic; W , Wes leyan; P , Presbyterian; hut I f you happened to be an atheist they left It blank, and Just banded you e pick and shovel. On my disk was stamped C. o f B. This Is how I got I t : The lieuten ant who enlisted me asked my religion. I was not sure o f the religion o f the British army, so I answered, “Oh.' any old thing,” end he promptly put down C. o f B. Now, Just Imagine my herd luck. Out e f five religions I was unlucky enough to pick the only one where church parade was compulsory I T o be continued. A The The cold, damp weather o f March ems to be the most favorable fo r the pneumonia germ. N ow is the time to be careful. Pneumonia often results from a cold. The quicker n cold is gotten rid o f the lose the dan ger. Aa soofi as the first indication e f a cold appears take Chamberlain’s Csngh Remedy. Aa to the value o f this ■ H S » turnsd In fo r the r ig h t The next i _ lag my tolrt would he full o f them. It ie a common right to see eight or ten soldiers rittiag under e tree with their shirts over their knees engaging In n “ shirt hunt“ A t right about h alf an hour before "Ughta o u t" you can see the Tommies ~ a candle, trying, la Its to rid their underwear o f A popular and very quick method Is to trie* your shirt and draw- era, and ran the seems back and for ward In ths flame from a candle and bum them ou t This practice Is dan gerous, because you are liable to burn boles In toe garments I f yoa are not careful. Recruits generally sent to Blighty fo r a brand o f lqpect powder adver tised ns “Good for body lice." The ad vertisement la quite right; toe powder Is good fo r “ cooties;” they simply thrive on I t The older men o f our battalion were wiser and made scratch#ra out o f wood. These were rubbed smooth with a Mt o f stone or send to prevent splin ters. They were about eighteen Inches long, and Tommy guarantees that a scratcher o f this length will reach any p u t o f toe body which may be at tacked. Some o f the fellows were lazy and only made their scratchera twelve Inches, but many a night when on guard, looking over toe top from the lire step o f toe front-Une trench, they would have given a thousand “ quid” for the other six Inches. Once while we were in rest billets an Irish Hussar regiment camped la an open field opposite oar W llet A fter they had picketed and fed their horses, a general shirt hunt took place. The troopers Ignored the call “ Dinner up end kept on with their eaareft fo r big They bed a curious method of procedure. They bung their shirt* over e hedge and boat them with their en trenching tool handles. I asked one o f them why they didn’t pick them off by hand, and he an swered, “ W e haven’t had a bath fo r nine weeks pr a change o f clabber. I f I tried to pick the 'cooties’ off my shirt, I would be' here for duration o f war.” A fter taking a close look at hls shirt I agreed with him ; It was alive. The greatest shock a recruit gets ben he arrives st hls battalion in France la to see the men engaging in n “ cootie" hunt With an air o f con tempt and disgust he avoids toe com pany o f the older men, until a couple o f days later, in n torment of*Itching, he also has to resort to a shirt hunt, or spend many a sleepless right o f misery. During these hunts there are lots o f pertinent remarks bandied beck end forth among the explorers, such as, "Say, BUI, I’ll swap you two little ones fo r a big one," or, *Tve get a black on# hern that looks like Kalaer BllL" One sunny day to the front-Une trkuch, I aaw three officer* sitting out ride o f their dugout ("cooties” are no respecters o f rank; I have even noticed a suspicious uneasiness about a certain well-known general), one o f them waa m ffr ii *V. •■"-. j B rtrfcyj'j- : - a ' • r ~ " '..JJ ? ! " , **&•■£*£?*- . f " , U ; , ■ i - -_____ ' *, i i A S Ì L . . ./& .... v.-JXÜ 1 i k . L