Evening star., 1917-11-02

see head on 1t capped with German
helmet and arms at its sides until yol
are just sure it is a German. and there
Is nothing to do but take a shot at II"
Make Smoking Possible.
to smoke and talk in the front-line
trenches. At night the talk Is lowered
to whispers. There Is much ingenious
maneuvering to make smoking possible
after dark. Slickers are pulled over the
heads and the steel helmets are held in
front of the faces The helmet serves
to cover the glow and the rain shield
protects the cigarette. Back in the dug
outs there are no restrictions. The men
sing Lead. Kindly Light" and other
smoke to their hearts content.
The men have opportunities for rest.
The machine gun companies are on two
hours and of two hours. The others
The officers lead a more strenuous life.
Two are on duty constantly. and all are
on during certain hours daily. They
have little time for resting even when
OF duty.
'T don't mind mice, but the rats in the
frent trenches are pretty bad" said an
officer. 'sThey serve one good purpose,
however. They give the men bayonet
practice. It affords considerable sport
to stick rats larger than ordinary cats. !"
Enemy Aero Came Near.
over the lines. Over one event the men
still cherish bitter crouch. 1t was on
a Sunday evening. and 1t was wet and
muddy as usual.
The men. who were tired and hungry,
had Just been served mess when rock
cts scared in the air, signaling gas and
indicating that the Germans were firing
poison shells. According to training
rules, everything was dropped and gas
masks were adjusted. but it was a
false alarm.
The fact that mistake had been
made did not lessen the disgust Of the
men. Most important of all the beef
stew and all the rest of the food heap
mingle with the mud and there was no
time to cook any more that night. They
made up for 1t the next day.
The Young Mems Christian .Associa-
tfon has brought to the front supply.
of chocolate and magazines. which are
much appreciated. The 7. NJ. C. A. sec
retary. having finished the distribution,
was given rife and, stationed as a
Americans make everybody work when
the front line trenches are reached.
Stories Told at the Bi1lets.
By the Associated Press
WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY IN
FRANCE, November 2@Some of the
American soldiers who have Just been
relieved after serving in the trenches
had thrilling stories to tell on return
ing to the billets. On. clear days es-
pecially German snipers became active
Bullets went singing harmlessly over
head. American infantrymen were told
OF to attend to any sniper who became
active, and more than one Of them will
snipe Americans no more.
This game Of sniping the sniper was
highly popular. The only complaint
enough rife shooting to satisfy the in
fantrymen. Several Of the soldiers said
they went out to fight, but did not get
enough There Is no scarcity Of expert
rthemen when a sniper starts in.
A colonel had an exciting experience
when the Germans nearly got the range
of an observation post in which he and
his aid were. They lost no time in TAX
Ing temporary cover.
Fierce Artillery Fire.
The artillery on both sides was rather
more active during the last few days in
which the first contingent Of Americans
| was in the trenches. The Germans
| shelled the back areas and approaches,
putting shrapnel and high explosive
shells IN the direction OF the trenches
and battery positions. Aside from
livening up things for a while nothing
was accomplished by the enemy.
Tho infantry in one section had quite
| 4 lively time for two nights. The Ger
| mans. thinking a hostile patrol was
| near them, opened hre with their rifles
at the point where the opposing
trenches are nearest. The Americans
let the Germans fire for time and
| then they began firing.
| Several German airplanes which dew
| over the trenches were targets for
rifles and machine guns.
Morale Of Americans Pleases.
The morale Of the Americans IL dis.
tinctly pleasing to the French. The
troops marched out Of the trenches in
the dark. their wet and muddy clothes
clinging to them. Az soon a. they
were out Of hearing Of the Germans
the mon swung along whistling or
singing. -
| omcers Of all the groups commented
on the remarkably small. amount Of
4 sickness which developed. There are
some bad colds. but. as far as reported.
| there are less than half dozen cases.
| including trench feet and pneumonia,
An officer said the splendid physical
| condition Of the men was RESPONSIBLE
| for this showing.
The battalions sent in to relieve the
men who have just left the trenches
found the ground frozen when they
came up. Tho sector remains normal.
according to the latest reports availa-
BILE.