The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1917-08-28

CINE will not run. II my engine died.
knew the gas was verse; If it did
not l was safe ! couldn't see enough
through tie celluloid goggles of the
mask OF drive. and so / waited. After
perhaps five minutes. / lifted my mask
a little. and as the air didn't seem
very bad. / took my mask of and
went on At the poste I told the Of
flcer in charge OF my experience in ny
broken French. He thought I must
be mistaken about the gas. and I was
beginning to think that I was. when
two French drivers came in who had
encountered gas near where I had
been. 1t was a great experience, that
running through German gas and you
can thank your stars. or your GOO.
if you choose. that I came through
ii with nothing more than a dull head
ache 10 remind me Of that long i've
minutes Of waiting when expected
the engine to die at any minute.
When the daylight came we were
told to go to another poste. two miles
farther back This place where we
| had worked during the night was only
1900 yards from the German lines)
This safer receiving station" was on
a canal. and the blesses were brought
down to US in motor boats. 1t was
from one of these boats that I got
my wounded German. Re Rad been
captured uninjured. but rhsn later
German shell had come. Killing one
of his captors and injuring several
Frenchmen and this Boche The
Observation-Disclosures handled himI as
gently as if he had been one of their
own men. He was given a drink and
put into my car, next to a wounded
French soldier. The stretcher-bearers
jokingly asked me If 1 would carry
the German. In what must have been
mighty broken French ] told them that
I would but that I would wash my car
as soon as I got the Boche out of it,
This pleased them immensely.
The two wounded-the Boche and
the Frene hman-Iay there in my car
side by side. and somehow. although
/ fought back the feeling. as 1 looked
at the Boche while 1 adjusted his blan-
ket, my hate for him softened--after
all. he wasn't so unlike the man who
lay next to him. He was on the wrong
side. but perhaps he thought he was
right
I brought him down to the dis
tributing hospital and then saw no
more of him. The men in rhe trenches
had kept his rife and equipment. and
much as I wanted a souvenir theirs
was nothing I could take from this
Boche without hurting his wounds. In
the matter of taking souvenirs from
the injured Germans the French show
their eonsiderateness for others. In
the sase Of this fellow. mis- cap re-
NAMED untouched and all the neves-
sary buttons on the front OF his coat
were still. in place. Although several
of the French had handled him. nc
one would take anything that this
enemy of theirs needed for his com
fort.
On other trips I carried men whom
the priest administered the last rites
TO before I started down with them.
Not a very pleasant feeling. that Of
mot knowing whether you are driving
a hearse or an ambulance on your
runs from the poste down to hos
pitaI.
| At $50 p. m our relief cars ar
rived and home we came. tired to
death I with headache and a taste
of carbide in my mouth. AS soon as I
had eaten, I jumped into bed and.
after nine hours of good sleep. I feel
as fit as ever today.
There is no end of things to write
the stories some of our fellows tell OF
sliding of the road into shel1-holes,
my experience with an army mule let
| ting go with his kickers at my car;
of how difficult it is to drive ct night
without lights over roads crowded with
supply trains; of how considerste and
appreciative the French are. etc. but
for a time I'll let all those things 60
unwritten and will close.
With love.