The Holly chieftain., 1914-10-16

soldiers had been onering 25 centA
apiece for cigars and were unable to
get them. l had brought a consider
able supply along. which gave away.
At first the soldiers helped them
selves sparingly with unwilling po
lteness.
Go ahead and take lot" said.
With trembling hands they filled
their pockets.
For our comrades. too?" they
asked.
When my comrades see these"
said one. they will leap SO high"
indicating Q jump high overhead.
have never before seen such Joy a.
these soldiers displayed.
Great Cry fee Newspapers.
The second great cry was for news
papers. All along the trip from Ger.
many by automobile we were every.
where asked for newspapers, the sol
diers crying out for them after the
speeding car. This need is under
standabie, ~ the army at the front
knows practically nothing of what is
going on In the world.
Wherever We halted we were sur.
rounded by men asking for news and
we had the pleasure of telling MANY
hundreds OF soldiers the first infor.
nation of the heroic deed of the Ger.
man submarine Us. which sank three
British cruisers.
One Of the diversions at the front lie
shooting at French aeroplanes. For
the first time since the beginning Of
the war ! obtained reliable informa-
tion about the activities of the French
and British flyers. AT this point the
aeroplanes are particularly plentiful
and one of these hostile machines
flies every morning about eleven
o'clock. SO regularly that its pilot is
called the lunch flyer" When he
appears he is greeted by the airship
guns.
had the unique experience Of see.
ing French flyer under fire. The
first intimation that he was near was
loud explosion from a cannon near
by. Far and high up In the sky saw
suddenly q round ball of white smoke
where the shrspnel had exploded.
Near by was the fyer looking like a
black speck.
Files Away Uhder Fire.
Another explosion, another white
ball and the aeroplane close by. A
third, fourth and NTH boom came
each followed by the appearance OF a
white ball Of smoke, but each time the
flyer was still there. After ten shots
had been fired there was a row of
great round clouds of smoke stretched
half way across the sky with the
black speck Of the aeroplane in the
lead, and gradually mounting higher,
away from the dangerous fire.
In ten minutes $4,000 worth of ex,
plosiyes had been shot away without
bringing down the air scout.
Special Shrapnei for Air Shots.
The shrapnel fired at flyers is con-
structed differently from ordinary
shrapnel, which describes parabola,
and is timed to explode over the
enemy and send down shower OF
shot from above. These aeroplane
shrapuel send the shot straight ahead
and 80 probably every one Of the
shells saw exploding sent some bul.
let's through the wings of the aero.
plane.
II one of these shots skaters the
motors or wounds the flyer or the OBJ.
server the shell has accomplished its
purpose, for since the Germans have
taken their position here no flyer OF
either army has been shot down.
though practically no machine has re.
turned from a reconnaissance trir
without Its wings being punctured.
Hate But Respect British.
Throughout the army wherever
talked with officers and men, found
bitter hatred for the English, but
warm praise for their fighting capa.
bilities.
Especially effective has been the
English artillery. which the Germans
say astonfshed them by its accuracy.
One reason for this Is that the region
OF France where we are has been
used for maneuvers and the enemy
knows the exact range. Nevertheless
there ID no sparing of praise for the
good craftsmanship. The English
here have some naval guns which
have done great damage.
English soldiers have also astonish.
ed the Germans by their powers OF
resistance and accurate rife IRE, but
the Germans say that the English
strength lies mostly in the defensive
As much as the English are hated
so much are the French respected