davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1915-12-26

The officer in the steel .casque paused
to listen, fixed their position and
named them. How he knew where
they were, how he knew where he was
himself, was all part Of. the mystery.
Rats, jet black in the moonlight, sour
ried across the. open places, scrambled
over our feet, ran boldly between them
We scared them. perhaps. but not halt
SO badly as they scared me.
Motionless in Moonlight.
We pushed on past sentinels, mo-
tionless. silent, fatefully awake. The
moonlight had turned their blue uni
forms white and flashed on their steel
helmets. They were like men in armor.
and SO still that only when you brush
ed against them, cautiously, as men
change places in a canoe. did you feel
they were alive. At times, one Of them,
thinking something in the gardens OF
barb wire had moved, would loosen his
flare of red, and then again silence. the
silence of the hunter stalking wild
beast, of the officer of the law, gun In
hand, waiting for the breathing Of the
burglar to betray his presence.
The next morning called to make
was a splendid person. AS alert as a
steel lance. He demanded what 1 had
seen.
"Nothing!" he protested. You have
seen nothing? When you return from
Serbia, come to Champagne again, and
/, myself, will show you something OF
interest"
I am curious to see what he calls
something of interest"
"I wonder what's happening in Buff
falo?"r
Copyright 1851
Evening star., 1915-12-26
The First Grenadiers.
From the Manchester Guardian.

From the Manchester Guardian.
Hand grenades, which are playing a
prominent part in the present war.
were revived in modern times by Gen.
Baden Powell during the siege of Ma
feking. They were afterward used with
dire effect against the. Russians by the
slim" Japanese. But they first ap-
peared among the equipment Of the
British army in the summer OF 1878.
when John Evelyn records: Now were
brought into service a new kind of SOL
diers called grenadiers. who were dex-
ferrous In fiinstng hand grenades They
had furred caps with coped crowns.
which made them look very fierce" !"
These primitive grenadiers. after huri-
ing their. missile, charged the enemy
with hatchets.. and were, frequently
killed by their own frework. Besides
grenades in pouches and battle axes
they were armed with muskets. sings
(D. swords and daggers: and bayonets.
when first invented, were appropriated
to the grenadiers. So they must have
been walking arsenals.
Evening star., 1915-12-26

came. was one of those the priests
could not save and who was burned
alive. Marks in the gray surface OF
pillar against which he reciined ano
grease spots on the stones OF the moor
are supposed to be evidences Of his end.
a torture brought upon him by ine
shells of his own people. MI. hlpnhs
has written that there are many "ho
"houe and pray these signs Will be re-
spected by our children's children. In
warfare there is nothing so savageiy
implacable as the middle-class clviilan
Englishman who advocates reprisais
Enplishmen to recruit. Mr.. kipling'
hope shows an imperfect conception 'oI
the purposes of cathedral IL rs
house dedicated to God. and, on eartn.
to peace and good will among men. II
ia not erected to teach generations OF
little children to gloat over the Iac'
that an enemy-even a German ofncer-
was by accident burnt alive.
who introduced "frightfulness to
France Belgium and neutral seas. are
hunted down and destroyed tne pet'e. :
But the stonemason should get 70
the Rheims Cathedral. Instead. for our
children's children. would not tapie.
to Edith Cavell be better. or one to
the French priest. Able Thinot, wno
carried the wounded Germans from .ne
burning cathedral, and who iater
while carrying French wounded from
the field Of battle. was himself hit
three times and of his wounds died:
I hinted to the lieutenant that the
cathedral would remain for some time
but that the trenches would soon De
plowed into turnip beds.
In Trenches at Last.
So we moved toward the trenches
The officer commanding them lived in
what he described as the deck or a
battleship sunk underground. 1t was
happy simile. He had his coming
tower, in which. with a telescope
through a slit in a steel plate. he could
sweep the countryside.
| He had a ffre-control station. execu-
tive Offices. wardroom. cooks galley
| his own cabin. equipped with tele-
phones, electric lights and running
water. There was a carpet on the moor
| a gay coverlet on four-poster oeo
photographs OH his dressing tapie ano
underground. \ puzzling detail was
perfectly good brass lock and Key or
his door l asked II it were 10 keeI
out shells or burglars And ne ,a, eI.
intact had been blown of its hinges II
! a house of which no part was now
standing. He had borrowed II. as M
had borrowed everything else IN tht
isuoterranean WaFship' ho"i e"0
ruins
He was an extremely light-heartet
and courteous host. but he froWnee
lsuspiciously when he asked II knew
a correspondent named Beveridge.
hastily repudiated Beveridge. ! knew
him not. said as a correspondent. bu
as a politician who possibly had higl
hopes of the German vote. He dinef
wrote against France" I suggested
lit was at their own risk il they wei
coined those who already had beer
with the Germans. and who had beel
Evening star., 1915-12-26
! NEW PHASE OF THE CONFLICT.


she o
In
often at
failed
military political
had
ehe
a
in
Evening star., 1915-12-26
BELL1GERENTs' IDEAS FAIL.


failure Of
weigh far
i'm when the warbe
possible
will absolutely her
defeated Russia had lost her
be L 8
measure
Evening star., 1915-12-26
received by the German emperor. ani
that this is no war for neutrals.
Walls Of Hard Chalk.

Then began a walk Of more than a
mile through an open drain. The walls
were of chalk as hard as flint. Unlike
the mud trenches in Artois. there. were
no slides to block the miniature canal.
1t was as firm and compact as white
washed stone cell. From the main
dram on either side ran other drains,
cul de sacs. cellars. trapdoors and am
bushes Overhead hung balls of barb
| withdraw. could be dropped and SO
block the trench behind them. II
you raised your head they playfully
snatched off your cap. 1t was like
duckinR under innumerable bridges OF
live wires.
! The drain opened at last into a
wrecked town. Its ruins were complete
It made Pompeii look like furnished
| fiat. The officer of the day Joined us
here. and to him the lieutenant re-
signed the post Of guide. My new host
wore a steel helmet, and at his belt
dangled a mask against gas: He led
US to the end OF what had been a
street. and which was now barricaded
with huge timbers. steel doors, like
those to a gambling house, Intricate
cats cradles Of wire and solid steel
plates.
To go back seemed the only way open
But the officer in the steel cap dived
through slit in the iron girders. and
as he disappeared, beckoned. I fol-
lowed down well that dropped
straight into the very bowels of the
earth. It was very dark, and only cross
pieces of wood offered slippery foot
ling. Into the darkness, with hands
pressed against the well and with feet
cropping for the log steps, we tobog-
gained down. down, down. We turned
Into a tunnel, and by the slant Of the
ground knew we were now mounting
There was a square of sunshine, ano
we walked out and into a graveyard
lit was like a dark change in the the
alter, The last scene had been the
ruins of a town, a gate like. those Of
the middle ages. studded with bolts. re:
Enforced with steel plates, guarded by
men at arms In steel casques, and ther
the dark change into a graveyard
with grass and growing flowers. grave
walks and hedges. :
The graves were old, the monuments
and urns above them moss covered; bu'
one was quite new. and the cross above
lit said that 1t was the grave Of Ger
man aviator. AS they passed it tht
French officers saluted. We entered q
trench as straight as the letter q. AND
at each twist and turn we were covered
by an eye In steel door. An attack,
ling party advancing: would have haf
eye as in bath tub. One man witt
his magazine rife could have halted Z
dozen, And when in the newspaper,
you read that one man has capturet
twenty prisoners he probably wal
looking at them through the peep hol'
In one Of those steel doors.
| Trench Leads Under House.
We zigzagscd into cellar, and below
the threshold of some ones front door
The trench led directly under It. Th'
Evening star., 1915-12-26
VISITS FIRST LINE TRENCHES
IN THE CHAMPAGNE DISTRICT

and to spend the night there. The chief
OF stan waved wand in the shape of
a second piece Of paper. and we were in
Rheims. To a colonel we presented the
what was wanted. A year before ] had
seen the cathedral when it was being
bombarded. when it was still burning. i
asked IL ] might revisit it.
And after that" said the colonel.
II was much too good to be real.
] would wake and find myself again in
Cherche- Midi prison.
Outside the sounds of the guns were
just around the corner, on the roof of
the next house.
'Of course, what / really want is to
visit the first trench"
1t was like asking a Mason to reveal
the mysteries of his order; a priest to
tell the secrets of the confessional. The
colonel commanded the presence of
Lieut. Blank: With alarm I awaited his
coming. Did military prison yawn.
and was be toract as my escort? I had
been too bold. l should have asked to
see only the third trench.
shrugs Oh Responsibility.
At the order the colonel gave Lieut..
Blank expressed surprise. But, with a
shrug, as though ridding himself of
all responsibility. his superior officer
showed the blue slip. 1t was a panto-
mime, WITH winch. Dy TepetltlOn. we
became familiar. In turn each officer
would express surprise: the other ofti-
Ger would shrug. point to the blue slip
and we would pass forward.
The cathedral did not long detain US.
Outside. for protection. IL was boarded
up. packed tightly in sand bags: in
| side II had been swept of broken glass
and the paintings, tapestries and the
| carved images on the altars had been
| removed. professional 'sacristan
spoke a set speech. telling me of things
| ] had seen with my own eyes: of burn-
ing rafters that spared the Gobeiin
pied under foot. of the dead and
wounded Germans lying in the straw
| that had given the floor of the ca
4 thedral the look of a barn. Now it Ia
| as empty of decoration as the Penn
| sylvania railroad station in New York
! 1t Is beautiful shell waiting for the
| day to come when the candles will be
| relit, the incense toss before the altar
| the gray walls glow again with the
| colors OF tapestries and paintings. The
/ windows only will not bloom as before
ed all the kings horses and all the
kings men cannot restore.
Where German 0dicer Burned.
The professional guide. who is al.
ready SO professional that he is ex-
changing German cartridges for tips
supplied a morbid detail of impossible
bad taste. Among the German wound
ed there was a major Il remember de.
a college professor) who, when the nrt
Evening star., 1915-12-26

officers and soldiers lived on picked
pork and ate their evening meals by
the light of candles stuck in wine bot
ties. Eventually an electric light plant
shows an inclination to go out of COM
mission frequently.
New Outer Fortifcations.
Two days before the evacuation of
Brest-Litovsk Grand Duke Nicholas. r.
reported to have declared that the
fortress never would be taken. The
Germans themselves it is said. did not
believe they could hope to take il un-
der two months. Aside from it's re-
markable strength, it was tremendously
important because the center of a
number of railroad lines.
Originally the fortifcation consisted
of a ring of old forts built about 1870.
With the invention of modern artillAry
these became of slight value, and SO
new outer ring was begun in. 1900, and
In 1912 series of ten new and abso
lutely up-to-date and modern FORTS.
with a periphery of eighty-six kilo-
meters, was completed. -. So.
The city was additionally strength.
ened by set of infantry positions be-
tween tie forts. which the German milf
tary experts declare are ideal and
models of their kind. -
When the Russians decided to leave
Brest-Litovsk they systematically de-
stroyed all but one Of their forts. The
one still intact is one of the old inner
ring and valueless. With the forts de-
stroyed the Russians apparently went
from house to house, squirting petro-
leum and gasoline over everything and
then setting 1t afire. -
The higher Russian officers had lived
in the so-called citadel, a mile or SO re-
moved from the center of the city. This
they did not destroy, nor some 400
cannon and hundreds of thousands Of
however. are of an old model. The new
and up-to-date pieces seem all to have
been carted away.
While Graf W, a major general,
took charge Of the purely military OPP
erations Of Brest-Litovsk, Capt Gfsev-
ius, in peace times professor of. eco.
nomics in the University Of Giessen,
was installed in the city as head Of the
so-called "etappen district" "a section
that includes not only most of Brest-
Litovsk but also the surrounding country
Harvests Rotting Crops.
He first banished all civilians from
Brest and started little colonies. whose
members were soon engaged in thrash-
ing out the grain and harvesting the
potatoes that were all but rottinR In
the ground A partial food supply for
been supplied in this way.
Under Capt. Gtsevius' direction the
houses of Brest have been in meas
ure straightened up and the streets have
again been made as nearly pasaable as
their impossible pavements and mud
holes allow.
Among the interesting finds OF Brest-
Litovsk are a number OF maps. appar-
emily of a military nature. which the
Germans have discovered wore inten-.
tionaIly falsified and left behind, ap-
parently in the hope that the pursuing
Germans would try to be guided by
them ...-.~.s =, - =
Evening star., 1915-12-26
CRUSHING GERMANY"

call
to
come o
adopted Napoleon in h
of the
mind.
It snotn to o
the emotest cha to
$ to tn wh
war;
ence
Evening star., 1915-12-26
ALLIED OFFENSIVE coLLApsEs.

At the beginning
uonab the allied
of
id failure in the determined by complete breakdown
n
in mater from
of
fsh
Evening star., 1915-12-26

of
raegca In
being thrown but
being swept
before the in
hold Ru. until Gman
the leaving
Of s
while ing n
1919 failed
there
Of
the
to- what she accomplish
Evening star., 1915-12-26
WHAT. CAMPAIGNS MEAN.

of
military
which through binds London with
Napoleon European coalition which
Breaking Boulogns which he left
enor that won
Evening star., 1915-12-26
GERMANY FAILS AGAIN.


failed
crushed Austria
a
On II
n
fixed
in
he ermans.
Aus
lief herGa
In ntoff
changed
occupied of Poland
sussian armies that had
had efofa
Evening star., 1915-12-26
RUSSIANS DESTROY
AND THEN RETREAT
Damage From 'Dynamiting al
/, Brest-Litovsk Estimated at
s1oo,ooo,o0
Correspondence of the Associated Press.

Correspondence Of the Associated Press.
BREST-LITOvSK, Poland, November
25.-On August 26 the Russians evacu-
ated Brest-Litovsk, after causing dam
age estimated conservatively at $780,
000, 900 with dynamite that probably
cost many hundreds Of thousands of
rubles
While three-quarters of the houses
Of the city still burned. the Germans
moved in across pontoon bridges flung
over the Bug river, and one week later
Graf W. arrived with the German
emperors commission as military gov
ernor.
He and his subordinates have since
that time been working approximately
eighteen hours a day to bring or9er
out. of the chaos that they found. Oroer
years to rebuild and reconstruct the
city, probably the strongest and most
important fortress which the Russians
possessed.
Population Taken Along.
As was almost universally the case
in Poland. the civil population had
been taken along Russiaward by the
retreating army. But almost before
the Germans could commence work OF
reconstruction forlorn detachments OF
the former population began TO stras
gle back into the city. The refugees
for the most part were Jews. who had
been hiding in swamps. Many OF them
were sick, and before order had peen
restored thousands of them died OF
malignant diseases.
Graf W proceeded with an iron
hand. The robber bands that iurkeo
in the allays of the city were gradually
cleaned out. The returning inhabitants,
II healthy, were put into camps IN the
surrounding country and sternly de-
MED access to the city. ''
Thousands Sent Into Germany.
Many thousands Of men. women and
children were sent westward, accom-
panied by small detachments Of SOL
diers and invariably with a German
field kitchen. on which to cook their
meals. To remain in Brest-Litovsk
spelled starvation, for every bit of food
had been carried away~or burned.
For four weeks Graf W and his
Evening star., 1915-12-26
THE PROBLEMS OF ENDURANCE

Thus the
evacuation
be
April before this
a
Of
failing hardshps
soldiers
in Of
8
|
itwllno add to
sreng o t. o t~ ~
8 be
Evening star., 1915-12-26
COMPLETE SUCCESS IN BALKANS.

field
allied forces landed
complete
time obstacle overwhelmed in
diplomacy succeeded In
mpere whole In the
akan ana a
of
failed
possible
the war;
Evening star., 1915-12-26
WAR One OF EXHAUSTION,
TIME WEIGHING AGAINST
CAUSE OF THE TEUT0NS
By FRANK H. SIMONDS.
Copyright, 1913.)

essential
the Vu
to
Of
of
resembles the
with
will military sense
powerful Viewed from TINS angie
Napoeonc
IN rnan is of
nsuchfa i has
forming the coalition
strength In the
crush one or
would permanently
crippled tina is,
foman of what
have
against her Has
periodo of thew
Evening star., 1915-12-26
The Difference.

From Judge.
The gourmet wines and dines, And
the dyspeptic dimes ana whines.
Evening star., 1915-12-26
GERMANY'S THIRD BID.


campaigns to the present
with fullest military
win the
to
a
permit
lie she 1914
unless
will
abandon the o by exha
Kongo being
OF
o
in the would be assured IN the Lur1n
Evening star., 1915-12-26
he Years End-Lookinp at the Past and Into the Future


the effects which all
accurate not be
addition
e the world Her neas ana ner
but Britain fighting aSp ana sg moe
an
the
she holds Belgium northern these not Of greater value 70
Of
completeness of the navalism
Evening star., 1915-12-26

house into which the door had opened
was destroyed; possibly those who
once had entered by it also were de-
stroyed, and it now swung in air with
men crawling like rats below II, 1ts
half doors banging and groanfng; the
wind, with ghostly fingers, opening
them to no noe, closing them on nothing
and we could see flung across the narrow
sthip of sky above us the branch OF an
apple tree and with one shoulder brushed
the severed roots of the same tree. Inen
the trench led outward and we passed be-
meath a railroad track. the ties repos.
ing on air. and supported by, lnsteaa
of supporting. the iron rails.
We had been moving between garden
walls. cellar walls: sometimes hidden
by ruins, sometimes diving like moies
into tunnels. We remained on no one
level. or for any time continued in any
one direction. 1t was entirely fantas-
tic entirely unreal. 1t was like visit
ing new race of beings. who turned
day into night, who, like bats. Nor
locks, wolves, hide In caves anu shuh-
mad the sunlight.
Nv the ray of an electric torch we saw
where these underground people store
their food. Where, against SIEGE are
great casks of water, dungeons packed
with ammunition. more dungeons. more
ammunition. We saw, always by the
shifting, pointing finger of the electric
torch. sleeping quarters underground.
dressing stations for the wounded un-
derground. In inches at every turn
were gas extinguishers. They were as
many. as much a matter of course. as
Are extinguishers in a modern hotel.
They were exactly like those machines
advertised in seed catalogues for spray
ing fruit trees. They are worn on the
back like knapsack. Through short
rubber hose a fluid attacks and dissi-
pates the poison gases. 80.
Evening star., 1915-12-26
WHAT THE ALLIES EXPECT.

all that
convinced
OF 1t
have a
the shall progresses
DO that the
envisage ultimate
the total OF the
affects Russians
e o
Evening star., 1915-12-26
Richard Harding Davis De-
scribes Conditions on Fir
ing Line in France.
Weird Journey. Partly by
Moonlight, to Where Men
Stand Like Ghosts.
BY RICHARD HARDING DAVIS.

In ArtoiS we were "perSOnally conduct
ed There were two charming French
officers who acted our hosts. guides
and guardians four American newspaper
men a Dutch journalist and Spanish
uoet In "A way we were the guests OF
the war department in any case. we trieo
10 behave as such. II was no more proper
for US to see what we were not invited
10 gee than TO bring our own wine TO
aaC:her mans dinner.
What We saw increased our admiration
for the marvellous efficiency and organi-
z.tion OF the French army. but We did
no, get very near the first trench. For
purposes OF description. not a bit farther
than wher we were in New York. The
official explanation was that there were
too many Of US, that We offered tzrset
to the enemy. We valan,iy protested We
were paid TO be targets. but our polite
l,osts would not permit US to earn our
wages.
In Champagne IL was entirely different
] was aiCne with car and chaupeur
sn1 blue slip of paper II permitted
me 10 remain in certain place inside
the war zone for ten days. l did not be-
leVe IL was true. recalled other trips
over the same road a year before. which
finally led to the Cherche-Mldi prison,
and each time l showed the blue slip to
the gendarmes 1 shivered But the
gendarmes seemed satisfied. and as they
~perrnitted us TO pass further and further
into The forbidden land. the chauffeur
began to treat me almost as an equal.
And So with as little incident as one
taxis from Madison Square to Central
Park. We motored from Paris into the
sound of the guns.
Staff Chief Waves Wand.
AT the certain place the general was
absent in the trenches. but the chief of
staff asked what 1 most wanted TO see.
II was as though the fairy godnother
had given you one wish. chose Rheims
Evening star., 1915-12-26
Journey Becomes Nightmare.

The sun set and we proceeded in the
light of full moon. 1t needed only
this to give to our journey the unreal
ity Of nightmare. Long since had
lost all sense of direction. 1t was not
only a maze and labyrinth. but it held
to no level At times, concealed by
walls of chalk. we walked erect, and
then, like woodchucks. dived into
earthen burrows. For a long distance
Fwe crawled, bending double. through a
tunnel. At intervals lamps, as yet un-
lit, protruded from either side, and to
warn us of these from the darkness a
voice would call, Attention gauche,"
Attention a droite." The air grew foul
and the pressure on the ear drums like
that, of the subway under the North
river. We came out and drew deep
breaths. as though we had been long
under water.
We were in the first trench. 1t WAS,
at places. from 800 to 400 yards dis
tant from the Germans. No one spoke,
or only in whispers. The moonlight
turned the men-at-arms into ghosts
Their silence added to their unreaiity.
1 felt like Rip Van Wrinkle hemmed In
by the goblin crew of Henrik Hudson.
From somewhere near US, above or be-
low. to the right or left. the seventy
nves," as though aroused by the moon,
began like terriers to bark viciously.
Evening star., 1915-12-26
GERMANY HAS FAILED H.
IN PLAN TO CRUSH one
FOE AND Then ANOTHER


.
period before deprived Of all profits
Evening star., 1915-12-26
Trench Leads Under. House.

We zigzaggcd into a cellar, and below
the threshold of some ones front door.
The trench led directly under It. The
Evening star., 1915-06-23
SOUTHWEST STORM DOES
GREAT DAMAGE TO CROPS
One Man Killed in Mississippi When
Hurricane Demolishes House.
Wire Service Disrupted.

MEMPHIS. Tenn. June 23.-wire
communication with the sections of
Mississippi and Arkansas swept by a
severe wind and rainstorm late yes
terday was badly disrupted today, but
meager reports received here indicated
the greatest damage done was to
crops. Practically all wires along the
Illinois Central railroad were down,
while winona, Durant. Jackson. Friars
Point and other towns were almost
isolated.
Standing corn and cotton throughout
the section was seriously damaged.
At Wabash. Ark, near Helena, a
number of houses and a hotel were
unroofed by the wind.
FORT SMITH. Ark, June 23.-Mrs
Lige Gipson was killed and four persons
injured in a cyclone which struck Cans,
Okla, last night.