The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1917-10-30
TOUCH
JOB FOR
our BOYS
France Vast Stretch OF Icy RIV-
uIetS and Mud -BOgS
Everywhere.
By ]. w. PEGLEE.

WITH THE AMERICAN ARMIES
SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE. Oct So
Under terrible conditions the Amsri-
can army is exchanging blow for blow
with the Poche, learning war by con
tact.
France today IS a vast stretch Of icy
rivelets and mud bogs. Rain and snow
are beating down day by day
Through it all the sammies are man
ming their guns, perfecting their marks
manship by shelling enemy emplace-
nents while the infantry in some places
actually stand knee deep in aim 9st
freezing water
The infantry stand their watches on
The front line and take their regular
turn at patrols into the bleak. deadly
waste that is no mans land L IS
desolate section where the Billiards
swirl Of snowflaEes or sheets Of rain
make it often impossible to see more
Than a few yards
Nearby American engineers, constant
IL alert, clustered around feeble fire
III half demolished farm house, await
ing hourly summons across an almost
impossible terrain 10 repair trenches,
Returns wet through, and stupifed with
exhaustion they throw themselves on
the floor wrapped in blankets and
snatch a wink-mostIy without an op-
portunity to change their clothing.
Accredited American correspondents
on sunday had heir hrst Qpnert4lnisv "a
visit the Sammies at the front-their
gun-pits. dugouts and trenches.
We staggered single file across val
le to see the gun that fred the first
shot OF the war. A young lieutenant
from Indiana told with boyish enthus-
iasm how that first shot came TO be
fred. He interspersed his running mar
rattve with cryptic command TO his gun
ners working underground
The French officers told US it was
Impossible to procure horses TO haul
that particular gun here until day
break" the lieutantnt explained. He
said If we wanted TO drag II up by
rnan-power, we might beat the others
and thus have the opportunity OF firing
the first shot.
Our men knew it would be a tough
lob, but they were anxious TO shoot
the frst shell. So they worked through
all that night in the rain and mud, and
they got the gun In position just be-
fore daybreak" With hardly a percept-
ible pause the lieutenant lifted his
voice abruptly here to shout:
Ready to fire."
1t must have been a command to the
Eunners in the subterranean chamber
for almost instantly gun crash fol-
lowed by swishing shel timed at the
enemy's entanglements.
The lieutenant did not stop for the
noise He resumed;
"Daybreak and myself watched from
an observation post when the gun was
fired. I saw the shell The first fired
b. an American gun-hrst near a party
of Germans. They flopped down like
prairie dogs into their holes. By George,
it was great"
Down below at this particular juno
ture there was another trembling earth
roar and another American shell went
swishing along. The same American ar
tilery sergeant who had pulled the Ian
yard for the first American shell was
yanking away busy at his Job today,
and firing the same gun.
An American lieutenant Of the sigual
corps who was working in a communica-
tion trench. was slightly wounded to-
day. He has the honor OF being the
first American soldier to be hit in ac-
tion.