Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-12-02

It. Very few were rejected From this
ring of chalk they were led into q port
able stall and branded. You could hear
the sing-song voice Of the brander
shouting out what sounded like Bat
try Loo" AS he yelled this, a French
which had been branded and lead it
away. / got in conversation with an
interpreter and he informed me that
the average life of these horses In the
French army was three days, SO these
poor horses had only left that hell ship
to go into a worse hell Of bursting
shells and cracking bullets.
/, after passing a rigid examination
as to my nationality. and being issued
a cattlemans passport, inquired my way
to the prefecture of police. I delivered
to him a sealed envelope which had
received in New York. Upon opening
1t, he was very gracious to me and
went into a rear room, where an In
terpreter put me through n grilling ex-
animation. From there ! was taken to
hotel. and the next morning, In the
company of a sergeant and a private
got into a little matchbox compartment
on the funniest looking train ever
saw The track seemed to be about
three feet wide; the wheels of the carr
looked like huge cogwheels on an en-
CINE minus the cogs. AFTER pumping
stopping and sometimes sliding back
ward, in thirty-six hours we reached
little town. Supplies were piled up az
high as houses. Officers and enlisted
men were hurrying to and fro. ana
could see long trains Of supply wagons
and artillery limbers. always moving
in the same direction
was ushered into the presence OF .
French officer. who, / later founo OUT
was a brigadier general OF the quarter.
master corps. / could hear oistant
booming. and upon inquiring found out
that it was the guns of France striving
to hold back the German invaders. 1
trembled all over with excitement, ana
a feeling that I cannot describe rushed
over me- 1 was listening to my hrst
sound of the guns on the western front.
I Two days afterward 1 again reached
Bordeaux, and shipped to New YORK on
the French liner Rochambeau- Upon
arriving in New York j reported to the
Frenchman who had sent me over. he
was very courteous. and as reacheo
out to shake hands with him, he placed
both hands on my shoulders ana KISSED
me on the right and left cheek. I was
dumfounded, blushed all over, and after
receiving the pay that was due me, i
left.
/ think I could have borne another
trip across with horses. but that being
kissed upon my return completely got
my goat.
I went back to the routine OF my of
flee, but everything had lost color ana
appeared monotonous. 1 believe I heo
left my heart in France and felt
mean and small, eating three square
meals a day and sleeping on soft bed
when the armies on the other side were
making the worlds history.
Sometimes when sleeping / would
have a horrible nightmare: / could Sc
those horses being boiled alive in steam.
Several times later / passed that sign
on Greenwich street, Horses for
France, Men Wanted" and the picture
of the second foreman dropping the
pasty-faced doctor would loom before
my eyes. / do not know to this day
what became of that nervy wreck OF
humanity who had the temerity to tell
our foreman where he got on. I
know he did not make the passage with
us.
Copyright, 1917. by the Mcclure Newspsp1s
Syndicate.)