Norwich bulletin., 1916-05-03
THRILLING TALES FROM
 THE BATTLE LINE Lewis GabeI Interests Norwich Peo- pie With Account of His War Ex- periences.


 Lewis Gabel of New Haven, who for many months has served King George and the cause of humanity at the wheel of motor ambulance, dash ing between the field hospital of the First Canadian Field ambulance and the dangerous regimental dressing stations behind the trenches, was in Norwich on Tuesday and interested many local people with thrilling tales of the battle line. MT. GabeI visited the Bulletin office on Tuesday after noon and gave an interesting account of his experiences in the war zone.
 MT. Gabel, who is twenty four years of age, is on this side of the ocean to- day because the ambulance he was driving was blown to pieces with it's burden of wounded by a German shell. The young American chauffeur was l torn by fragments of the shell.
 Of the grim fighter, French, whose sudden change from the important post at the head of the kings armies in Flanders still remains a puzzle to many close observers of the war, young Gabel spoke in glowing terms. He told how the soldiers idolized their commander and how the commander treated his men. Even the wounded men, hurried in agony from the trenches to the field hospitals, from the field hospitals to the base hospi- | tals, let their regret at the favorite
 
 much as their own pain, Gabel report l ed.
 The chauffeur recounted an interest l ing personal experience ilIu4tratirg the qualities which won for General French the admiration of his fighting men.
 T was driving my heavy motor am bulance, filled with wounded men, along a very narrow and dangerous road in northern France one day" he ' "a dxHvIn T hi | preaching at great speed. I slowed down, and, getting as near the edge l of the road as could, stopped. The automobile approached to within few yards of me, where it also was obliged to stop. It was the car of General French, who sat in the back seat
 "On each side of the narrow road was deep ditch. The chauffeur of l the generals car saw the peril of the passage and yelled to me to pull over more to the side. I replied that was l afraid my heavy ambulance would go over in the ditch with the founded men. Urging the necessity of getting A staff officer on the front seat join l ed him.
 'The argument was stopped by Gen eral French who leaned forward and ordered his chauffeur to risk a quick dash along the edge of the ditch. It l. the outer wheels spun partly over the edge. Just when it seemed the car was doomed to go over, perhaps to cause the death of our leader, the wheels caught grip on a projection ] on the edge of the road and the gen. eraI was carried to safety. Those of my charges not too badly wounded to appreciate the situation cheered Gen. eral French as his car darted from sight in the dust behind us.''
 | PTinnd n cafd ds
 q frequently saw him driving his 1 high powered car. He is attached to the general staff, and is ever busy dashing from one point of the battle line to another. I don't believe he knows any but one speed on his car | high gear. He has chauffeur, but never saw that chauffeur doing any thing but sitting in the front seat with his arms folded, looking like he hoped everyone would take him for the prince-who was at the wheel.
 While on a furlough to London, MT. 1 Gabel saw a Zeppelin bomb raid. l Speaking of the raid he said:
 After passing before a medical board and being discharged as unfit for further service, I went to London for my furlough, and while there re- ceived another t;Iste of war. It seem ed to me that the kaiser was not through with me yet. While walking l over Waterloo bridge one night at about o'clock, when the Zeppelins l arrived over London on their murder ous errand and a few bombs landed just at the head of the road near the Lyceum theatre. Of course it was not what one would call near, but after my xperience-quite near enough. So sure was glad when heard that the 1 Metagaina was sailing on November 5 from Liverpool and after an event. less trip across the Atlantic, arrived back in Quebec on Nov. IA, and after a short stay there came to Montreal and now am back among my old friends in the old U. S. A. fortunate to be here.
 MT. Gabel has resided in New Ha- ven since he was six years of age and is well known there.
 He is exhibiting to his friends sev- era1 cartridges taken from a cartridge carrier on a dead German soldier.