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About The Bend bulletin. (Bend, Or.) 1903-1931 | View Entire Issue (March 7, 1918)
JPAOR TEN nRlTO BUM.KTIN, HANI), ORINION, THUIIHDAY, MAltClt 7, 101H vr .11 ill m H IPW l I'. 1? SI J! , CHAPTER II. Blighty to Rett Billet. The next morning the captntn sent tor mo and Informed me: "Empey, ns a recruiting sergeant you nrc n wash out," nnd sent me to n training depot After arriving nt this place, I was hustled to the qunrtermnster stores and received an awful shock. The quartermaster sergeant spread a wa- tctsroof .sheet on the ground and com- menced throwing a miscellaneous ns sortment of straps, buckles nnd other Bald "Fit." nud we went out to tight, paraphernalia Into It. I thought ho Wc were put Into troop trains and would never stop, but when the pile cent to Southampton, where we de reached to my knees he paused long trained, nnd had our trench rlttes Is enough to say, "Next, No. 0217, 'Arris, sued to us. Then In columns of twos B company." I gazed In bewilderment we went up the gangplnuk of n llttlo nt tho pile of Junk In front of me, nnd ' steamer lying alongside the dock, then my eyes wandered nround looking j At tho hcad of lho pmKpiunu ti,cro for the wagon which was to carry It j wns nn oUl FerKW1nt. who directed that to barracks. I was rudely brought to , ... iin n,,rspK-ps nloni? both mtu nf earth by the "quarter" exclaiming, " 'Ere, you, 'op It : tyke It nw'y ; blind my eyes, 'c's looking for 'Is batman to 'elp 'lm carry It." Struggling under the load, with fre quent pauses for rest, I reached our barracks (large car barns), and my platoon leader enmc to the rescue.' It was n marvel to me how quickly ho assembled the equipment. After he hnd completed the task, he showed mo how to adjust It on my person. Pretty soon I stood before him n proper Tom my Atkins In heavy marching order, feeling like an overloaded camel. On my feet were heavy-soled boots. studded with hobnails, the toes and heels of which were re-enforced by0ftheroia About sir tho next morn steel half-raoons. My legs were in-,, wo wcrc onlem to entrnn j cased In woolen puttees, olive drab In .j., nroun( for tho color, with my trousers overlapping c but nl, j ,,, sce on the ,,. them at the top. Then a woolen khaki , wcro mmc ; We cMnbc! ,Dt0 tnnic. under which was a bluish grny;thcsc 0n the gIlo of ench cnr wns I? C?.1h,t, m,?US t "?rS n!th a sign reading "Homines 40. Chcvenur this shirt a woolen belly band about & cn we t nMdc of tho Mx Inches wide, held In place by tlo'wo ,h ,)t thnt he strings of white tape. On my head pnlntcr nnil rcvcrsC(1 the oru-cr of was a heavy woolen trench cap, with , thInps Af,er S hon ,n t,Cse trucka huge earlaps buttoned over the top. ,,. ,.,,.,, nt T,nn. ., thl- , Then the equipment: A canvas belt. with ammunition pockets, and two ii . . . '; - , . ll UZ ,A called "D" straps, fastened to the belt in front, passing over each shoulder. crossing In the middle of my back, and attached by buckles to the rear of tho belt. On the right side of the belt hung a wuter bottle, covered with felt; on the left side was my bayonet and scabbard, and Intrenching tool handle, this handle strapped to the bayonet scabbard. In the renr wns my In trenching tool, carried In n canvas case. This tool was a combination pick and spade. A canvas haversack was strapped to the left side of the belt, while on my back was the pack, nlsn . of canvas, held In place by two canvas Ktraps over tho shoulders; suspended on the bottom of the pack was my mess tin or canteen In n neat little canvas case. My waterproof sheet, looking like a Jelly roll, wns strapped on top of the pack, with n wooden stick for cleaning the breach of the rifle pro jecting from each end. On a lanyard around my waist hung a huge Jack knife with a can-opener attachment The pack contained my overcoat, nn extra pair of socks, change of under wear, hold all (containing knife, fork, spoon, comb, toothbrush, lather brush, shaving soap, and n razor made of tin, with "Mndo tn England" stnmped on the blndo; when trying to shave with this It made jou wish that you were at war with Patagonia, so that you could have n "hollow ground" Humped "Made In Germany") ; then your house wife, button-cleaning outfit, consisting of n brass button stick, two stiff brushes, nnd a box of "Soldiers' Friend" pnsto; then n shoe brush and a box of dubbin, it writing pad, indel ible pencil, envelopes, and pay book, and personal belongings, such as a wnnll mirror, a decent razor nnd a wheat of unanswered letters, nnd fags. Tn your haversack yon carry your Iron rations', meaning n tin of bully beef, four biscuits and a can containing ten, sugar nnd Oxo cubes; u couple of pipes and a pack of shag, a tin of rifle oil, and u pull-through. Tommy gen erally carries tho oil with his rations; it gives tho cheese a sort of sardine taste. Add to this a flrst-nld pouch nnd a Jong, ungainly rillo patterned after tho , Daniel ltoono period, and you hnvo an idea of a llrltlsh soldier In Mighty. Before icavlug for France, this rlflo Is taken from him nnd ho Is Issued with a Lee-Enfleld short trench rlflo and a ration bag. In Franco ho rocelves two gas hel mets, a sheopskln coat, rubber mack intosh, stool helmet, two blankots, tearalioll goggI&3, a balaclava holmet, gloves and tin of antlfroatblto greaso which Is excellent for greasing tho boots, Add to this tho weight of his rations can you blame Tommy for growl'.neatatwenty-klloroutojnarch? Having sorvod as a sergeant in .the U. 6. Cavalry, I tried to tell , ihe English drill sergeants their mmmcMMMm WHO VENT AOTfllTCfWY MACHINE GUMNERERYlKGWfRANCE- ' K)lS7 OY ABfHtlfftnIY bulnc, hut It did not work. They Immediately put me as batman In their mess. Many n greasy dish of stew was accidentally spilled over them. I would sooner fight than hen waiter, so when the order camo through from headquarters calling for n draft of 250 re-enforcements for France, I vol unteered. Then we went heforo the M. O. (medical olllcer) for another physical examination. This was very brief. He i asked our names nnd numbers and the ship. Then he ordered us to tnko life belts from the racks overhead niul put them on. I havu crossed the ocean several times nnd knew I was not sea sick, hut when I buckled on that life belt I had a sensation of sickness. After we got out Into the stream nil I could think of was that there were a million German submarines with n tor pedo on each, across the warhead of which was Inscribed my name and nil dress. After five hours wc cntno nlongsldo n pier nnd disembarked. I hnd at tained another one of my ambitions. I was "somewhere In France." We slept In tho open that night on tho side wc went through nn Intensive training tor en ,jny8 Tno training consisted of tho nidi- mcnta of trcnch wnrfare- TrencllM hni, ,, ,, .h tinr,in .,,. nn ( tnnfilcnicntSi bonibng RapS, dUR0Ut. observation posts nnd machine gun em placements. We were given n smat tering of trench cooking, sanitation, bomb throwing, reconnolterlng, listen ing posts, constructing nnd repairing barbed wire, "carrying In" parties, The Author's Identification Disk. methods used In attack nud dofense, wiring parties, mass formation, nnd tho procedure for poison-gnu attacks. On the tenth day we again met our friends "Ilommes 40, Chovcnux 8." Thlrty-slx hours more of misery, mid wo arrived ut tho town of F . After unloading our rations nnd equipment, we lined up on the road In columns of foura waiting for tho order to mnrcli. A dull rumbling could ho heard. Tho sun was shining, I turned to tho man on my left uid asked, "Whut's tho noise, Hill?" IIo did not know, but his fuco wus of u pea-green color. Jim, on my right, also did not know, but suggested that I "awsk" tho sergeant. Coming towards us wns an old griz zled sergeant, properly fed up with tho wur, so I "nwsked" him. "Think It's going to rnln, sergeant?" Ho looked ut mo In contempt, nnd grunted, '"Ow's It u-goln' tcr ruin with the bloomln' sun a-shlnln'?" I looked guilty. "Them's tho guns up tho lino, mo lad, and you'll get enough of 'em be ro you gets back to Ullghty." fy knees seemed to wilt, and I aktd out a weak "Oh 1" Then wo started our march up to the lino In ton-kilo treks. After tho first day's mnrcli wo arrived nt our rest billets. In Franco they cnll them rest billets, because while In them Tommy works seven days n week nnd on the eighth day of the week ho Ir given twenty-four hours "on his own." Our billet was n spacious nflfnlr, n large barn on the left side of tho road, which had one- hundred entrances, nlnety-nlnc for shells, rats, wind ami rain, nud tho hundredth one for Tom my. I wns tired out, nnd using my shrapnel-proof helmet (shrapnel proof until n piece of shrapnel hits It), or tin hat, for n pillow, lay down In the straw, nnd was soon fnat usleop. I must hnvo slept about two hours, when I awoke with u prickling sensation nil over me. As I thought, the straw hnd worked through my uniform. I woke up the fellow lying on my left, who had been up tho lino before, nud usked him: "Does tho straw bother you, mntoT It's worked through my uniform nnd I can't sleep." In n sleepy voice ho nnswered, "That ain't straw, them's cooties." From that time on my friends the "cooties" were constantly with me. "Cooties," or body lice, are tho bano of Tommy's existence. The nrlstocrncy of the trenches, very seldom call them "cooties," they speak of them ns fleas. To nn American tten means u small Insect armed with u bayonet, who Is wont to Jab It Into you and then hop- skip nud Jump to the next place to he attacked. There Is uu advantage In liming fleas on you Instead of "cnottes" In that tn one of his extended Jumps said Ilea Is liable to laud on the fel low next to you; he has the typical energy and push of the American, while the "cootie" has the bullring tenacity of the Englishman; he holds on nnd consolidates or digs lu until his meal Is finished. There Is no way to get rid of them permanently. No matter how often you bathe, nnd thnt Is not very often, or how many times you change your underwear, your friends the "cootle.s" are always lu evidence. Tin billets lire tnfested with them, especially so If there ts straw ou the floor. I have taken a bnth anil put on brand-new underwear; In fact, u com plete change of uniform, and then turned In for the night. The next morn ing my shirt would bo full of them. It Is n common sight to see eight or ten soldiers sitting under u tree with their shirts over their knees enguglug In u "shirt hunt." At night about half an hour before "lights out," you can see the Tommies grouped nround n candle, trying. In Its dim light, to rid their underwear of the vermin. A popular and very quick method Is to take your shirt nnd draw ers, and run the seams hack nnd for ward In the flame from u candle and burn them out. This practice Is dan gerous, becnuso you nre liable to burn holes in tho gannents if you nro not careful. Jtecrults generally sent to Mighty for n brand of lnBcct powder adver tised ns "Good for body lice." Tho ad vertisement Is quite right; tho powder Is good for "cooties;" they simply thrive on It The older men of our bnttnllon wero wiser and mado scriitehers nut of wood. Thiso were rubbed smooth with a bit of stone or sand to prevent splin ters. They were nbout eighteen Inches long, nnd Tommy guarantees that a scratcher of this length will reach any part of the body which tuny bo at tacked. Some of tho fellows wero lnzy ami only mude their scrntchers twelve Inches, hut many n night when nn guurri, looking over tho top from the tiro step of the front-line trench, they would linvo given n thousand "quid" for tho other frlx Inches. Onco while wo wcro In rest billets nn Irish Ilussur regiment camped In an open field opposlto our billet. After they had picketed and fed their horses, u general shirt hunt took ptnec. Tho troopers Ignored tho cnll "Dinner up," and kept on with their search for big game. They had n curious method of procedure. They hung their shirts over n hedge nnd beat them with their en trenching tool handles. I asked ono of them why they didn't pick them off by hand, nnd ho an swered, "Wo haven't had a bath for nluo weeks or n change nf clabber. If I tried to pick tho 'cooties' off my shirt, I would he hero for duration of war." After taking a close look at his shirt, I ugreeri with him; it wns nllve. The greatest shock n recruit gets when ho arrives at his battalion In France Is to see the men engaging In u "cootlo" hunt. With nn ulr of con tempt and disgust ho uvolris tho com pany of the older men, until u couple of days litter, In a torment of Itching, this general Old Pepper, nnd ho cor ho also has to resort to it Milrt hunt, i Inlnly earned tho sobriquet. I wus us- or spend many a sleepless night of ' misery. During these hunts thero are lots of pertinent remarks bandied hack and forth among the explorers, such ns, "Say, Mil, I'll swup you two llttlo ones for a big one," or, "I've got n black one here that looks llko Kaiser Mil." Ono sunny day In tho fmnt-llno trench, I snw three officers sitting out sldo of their dugout ("cooties" are no respecters of rank ; I liavo oven noticed n suspicious uneasiness about u certain well-known general), ono of them wus a major, two of thorn wero exploring their shirts paying no attention to tho occasional shells which passed over head, Tho major was writing a lottor; nvorynowand then ho would lay asldo his writing-pad, soarch his stiirt for a fow minutes, got an Inspiration, and then resuino writing. At lust ho fin ished and gave It to his "runnor," I was curious to seo whothor ho was writing to an Insect firm, so when tho runnor passed mo I engaged him In conversation and got a gllmpso at tho address on tho envelope. It wns addressed to Mlsa Alice Homebody, In London. The "runner" Informed mo that Miss Somebody wiih tho major's sweetheart and that ho wroto to her every day. Just Imagine It, writing u lovo letter during n "cootlo" hunt; hut such Is the creed of tho trenches. CHAPTER III. I Qo to Church. Upon enlistment we had Identity disks Issued to us. These were smalt disks of red fiber worn nrouild tho neck by means of u string. Most of the Tom mies also used u little metal disk which they wore around the left wrist by means of n chain. They had previous ly figured It out that If their heads were blown off, the disk op the left wrist would Identify them. If they lost their left arm tin; disk around tho neck would serve the purpos, but If their head and left arm were blown off, no one would euro who thy were, so It SlffP Diagram Showing Typical Front-Lino did not matter. On one side of the disk wus Inscribed your rank, inline, number nnd battalion, while on tho other was stumped your religion. ('. of E meaning Church of Eng land; it. C Unman Catholic; W., Wes leyan; P., Presbyterian ; but If you happened tn he an nthelst they left It blnnk. and Just handed you n pick nnd shovel. On my disk wns stamped C. of 11 This Is how I got It: Tho lieuten ant who enlisted mo asked my religion. I wns not sure of tho religion of tho Ilrltlsh nrmy, so I nnswered, "Oh, uny old thing," and he promptly put down 0. of II Now, Just Imnglne my hard luck. Out of live religions I wns unlucky enough to pick the only ono where church parade wns compulsory I , The next morning was Sunday. I was sitting In the billet writing homo to my sister telling her of my wonder ful exploits while under tire all re cruits do this. The sergenut major put his head In tho door of tho billet and shouted: "C. of E. outside for church parade I" I kept on writing. Turning to me. In. u loud voice, ho usked, "Empey, aren't you C. of nr I nnswered, "Vep." In an angry tone, ho commanded, "Don't you 'yep' me. Kny, 'Ves, ser geant major.'" "I did so. Somewhat mollified, he ordered, "Outsldo for church parade." I looked up nnd answered, "I um not going tn church this morning." ne snld, "Oh, yes, you nro I" I nnswered, "Oh, no, I'm not l" Hut I went. Wo lined up outsldo with rifles nnd bayonets, 120 rounds of ammunition, wearing our tin huts, nnd the march to church begun. After marching about five kilos, wo turned off the road Into an open field. At ono end of this field tho chaplain was standing lu it limber. We formed u semicircle around him. Overhead thero wns it black speck cir cling round and round In tin sky. This wan u German Fokker. The chaplain had it book In his left hand -left eyo on the hook right eyo on tho nlrplani. Wo Tommies wero lucky, wo had no books, so hud both eyes on tho air plane. After church parnrio we wero marched back to our billets, nnd played football ull afternoon. CHAPTER IV. "Into the Trench." Tho next morning the draft was In spected by our general, nnd wo wero usslgued to different companies, Tho boys in tho hrlgndo hud iilcknumed signed to II company with another American mimed Stewart For the next ten days wo "rested," repairing roads for tho Frcnchlcs, drill ing, and digging bombing trenches. Ono morning wo wero Informed that wo wero going up tho line, and our march begun. It took us thrco days to reach re servo billets each day's march bring ing tho sound of the gnus nearer and nearer. At night, way off In tho dis tance wo could seo their flushes, which lighted up tho sky with u red glare. Against tho horizon wo could seo numerous observation balloons or "sau sages" us they nro called. On tho afternoon of tho third day's march I witnessed fny first ulrpluno belng.shclled, A thrill run through mo and I gnzed In awe. Tho ulrpluno was making wide circles In tho ulr, while llttlo puffs of white smoko wcro burst ing all nround It. These puffs appeared llko tiny balls of cotton whllo after each burst could bo heard a dull "ol.vj." Tim fuirireurt of my plutoon Informed us that It was a German air plane and I wondered how ho could tell from such a distance hecnitso the piano seemed like u little black speck In the sky. I expressed my doubt as to I whether It waft English, French or Gor man. With a look of contempt ho fur ther Informed us that the allied anti aircraft shells when exploiting emitted white smoko while the German shells gave forth black smoke, ami, as ho ex pressed It, "It iuiiM he, nn Allemaud be cause our pom-poms are shelling, nud I know our batteries nre not off their bally nnppers and nro certainly not strnfclui? our ouu planes, and another piece of advice don't chuck your weight about until you're been up tho line nnd learnt something." I Immediately quit "chucking my weight about" from thu,t time oji. Just before reaching reserve billets we wi're marvhrng tilling, laughing, and, singing one of Tommy's trench ditties; and Communication Trenches. t wnnt to ko htiK t wsnt to co hom I itoii'l want In Ki In Hi Ironcliv mi more Wtiera aup.iKc unil wlilii-titiK nro lorn Tnjio inn over tho rra, Wlmra tho Alio- ' nmixt rnn't Krt ut ma, Oh. tny, J don't wnnt lo tile, I want to bo homo" when overhead camo n "swish" through the nlr. rapidly followed by three oth ers. Then about two hundred yards to our left lu n Inrge Held, four columns of btnek earth nnd smoko rose Into tho nlr, and tho ground trembled from tho report the explosion of four German five-nine's, or "coalhoxes." A sharp whistle blast, Immediately followed by two short ones, rang out from the head of our column. This was to take up "artillery formntlon." We divided Into small squalls nnil went Into tho fields on the right and left of the road, and crouched on tho ground. Nn other shells followed this salvo. It wits our first baptism by shell lire. From tho waist lift I was alt enthusiasm, hut from there down, everything was missing. I thought I should die with fright. After awhile, we reformed Into col umns of fours, nnd proceeded on our way. About five thnt night, we ranched tho ruined vllluge of II, and I got my first sight of tho nwful destruction caused by German Kulttir. .Marching down the main street wo camo to the heart of the village, and took up quarters In shullprisif cellars (shellproof until hit by u shell). Shells wero constantly whistling over tho vil lage nnd bursting In our rear, search ing for our artillery. Theso collars wcro cold, damp nnd smelly, nnd overrun with largo rats big black fellows. Most of tho Tom mies slept with their overt-outs over their fuces. I did not In tho middle of tho night I wnko up In terror. Tho cold, clammy feet of u rut had passed over my fuco. I Immeillutoly smoth ered myself In my overcoat, but could not sleep for tho rest of that night Next evening, wo took over our see tor of tho lino. In single filo wo wend ed our way through n zigzag com munication troneh. sir lncheH deep with mud. This trench was culled "Whisky streot" On our way up to tho front lino nn occasional lluro of bursting shrapnel would light up tho sky and wo could hear tho fragments slapping tho ground abovo us on our right and loft Then a Frits would .I'M .X.L . ' ... - J." ,--' !"." i H trim tmrn, A Bomb Proof. traverse buck and f6rth with his "lypo wrltor" or iiinchltin gun. Tho bullotM mndo n sharp cracking nolso overhead. Tho boy In front of mo named Pren tice crumpled up without n word, A piece of shell hud gone through IiIm shrupuct-proof helmet I felt sick nnd weak. in about thirty minutes wo reached tho front line, It was dark as pitch. Every now uttd then it German star shell would pierce tho blackness out In front with Its silvery light. I was trembling ull over, and felt very lonely and afraid, All orders wero given lu whispers. The company wo relieved filed past us nnd dlNiippeared Into the blackness of lho communication trench leading to tho rear. Ah they passed us, they whispered, "Tho best o' luck mates." I sat on the (Ire step of tho trench with tint rest of tho men, In each traverse to of tho older men hail been put on guard with their heads sticking over the top, and with their eyes Irv ing to pierce tho blackness lu "No Man's Land." In this trench thero wero only two dugouts, and thesu wero used by Lewis nnd Vlckcra machine gunners, so It wns the lire step foe ours. Pretty soon It stalled to rain. Wo put on our "macks," but they were not much protection, The rain trickled down our backs, and It was not long before wo were wet and cold. I low 1 passed that night I wilt never know, but without winy uuustinl occurrence, dawn arrived, Tho word "stand down" wus passed along tho line, nud the sentries got down off tho tiro step. Pretty soon the rum Issue came along, and It was n Godsend. It wanned our chilled hotllcr and put new life Into us. Then from the communication trenches came dixies or Iron (tots, filled with steam ing ten, which hnd two wooden stake thrntifch their handles, and wero car ried by two men. I lilted my canteeiv and drank tho hot ten without taking It from my lips. It wits not long be fore I wus asleep lu tho mud on the tiro step. My ambition hud hern attained I 1 was In u front-line trench ou tho west ern front, nud oh, how 1 wished I wero buck lu Jersey City. (To IIo Continued,) WORK IN Y. W. C. A. FUND IS PRAISED' (From Monday's Dally.) Mrs. C, P. Nlswougor, local chair man of tho National V. W, C. A. drlvt wns tho recipient of a letter of con gratulation this morning from Mrs, Currlo Mc.Mnstor, chairman of the statu division of tho women's sectlott of tho National War Work Council. Tho letter Is ns follows: "My Dear Mrs. NUwougor: I have boon nwoy from homo ami am sorry thnt I linvo nut boon nhli to wrlto before to cougrntuluto you on tho splendid success thnt you nud tho ladles that worked with you for tho V. W. C. A. rnportod. On be half or tho War Work Council. I wish to thank you nil and ox press my doop appreciation for your effort. Itespwtfully yours, . Mrs. Carrlo MrMustor.' RAYMOND MARTIN IS TAKEN TO PORTLAND (From Friday's Dally.) Raymond Martin, tho I. W. W. who arrived lu llnuil Tuesday night nud wns arrested by Chief of Pollco Nixon,, was taken to Portland last night to appear heforo fori oral nuthorltlns. Mlko Kllzlo, his companion, hat gotiiv back to Prluuvlllu. Something to sell? Advertise la Tho Ilullntln's claislfled column, MAKE YOUR HOME COMFORTABLE Spring and Iloiiscclcan ing Time is Here. Drujlitcn up your liome with a new piece nf furniture here and there to aid to iti clicerftilncii and to add to iti comfort. Wo Have Just What You Need on Easy Payments We have everything that you might needjffor thii houiekeep ing teuton, in New and Second Hand Furniture that can he (ecttred at the right price and on very eaty payments. Buy Now and Pay as ponvenient Standard Furniture Company til