Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1917-11-29
'Pershinq's Professionals Soon
Learn to Distinguish Various
Types of Shells by Their Sound
Mo After Vibration Felt.
BY GEORGE T. BYE.

BY GEORGE 7. BYE.
What are the sounds that "Pershing's
Professionals are hearing at the front?
1 have read a scientific treatise on the
subject of cannon language, running
into several thousand words and haV-
ing a number of Illustrations that
seemed to be free-handed drawings of
dull saws, described |as diagrams of
howitser sound waves-"shivers' would
have been a better wore. | emerged
from this technical jungle with only the
eighth and ninth lines. reading: There
is a preliminary crack, very distressing
TO the ear, followed by IL deep booming,
not unpleasant, that is the true sound
of the explosion"
/ had no S~elsmographs with me these
last few days along the firing line, nor
listening or recording apparatus Of any
kind save a pair of diligent but fatigued
ears. From their testimony it is my
purpose TO argue with the scientific
treatise as quoted above.
have heard nothing but the
"gr-r-room's" of big CUR and the
"%gl-luds's' of their shell explosions,
with no preliminary distressful cracks;
and the deep notes only became pleas
ant when distance lent favor. when dis
lance permitted n to rise ~unabashed
from his stomach, coolly survey the
spout of dirt and smoke. and to make
merry in a very steady voice. ''Fritz is
sneezing badly this morning."
Never shall it be aid that an Aneri-
can bends a proud knee nor flattens a
naughty stomach to the unspeakable
| kaiser, yet may we PROSTATE ourselves
| with suitable dignity, and with no les
sening of our loathing for h master
wretch, when one of his shells comes
our way. For o can hear them COM
Ing. rushing toward you with a louder
and louder hum. skewering through the
air with asound like "Z-Z-z-Zin-n-n-ng."
1t is no wonder that you car ear them
for they have the weight of a seven
volve as they flash through the air.
Failures are "Duds."
They are called "duds' if they do not
explode: and "dud" very we'll describes
the sound of their falling. If you are
near a live one when 1T c" : open,
the report is a mighty "glu Some
distance away the sound has me reso-
nant IN" left out md is only a fat
"glus' or "glud." There is no tonal
effect of putting and blowing that
would make the noise 'plud' or "blug."
but it does so with all teeth showing,
and one gets the "nolar "gr-r-rm" first
and every time. My fatigued ears insist
upon this.
A tremendous mallet falling upon a
huge anvil in an auditorium would give
a suggestion of the big noises on the
front. The sounds are so great that
they really make a vaulted hall of the
trench area. The heavens are brought
down to the status of a ceiling. But
when this fgurative mallet smites the
anvil, there is no after vibrations; the
trees on the front are cracked stumps,
the houses no longer standing, and
there is nothing to carry a vibrating
after sound. The only after effect is a
sharp, and sometimes distressing, shiv-
ering in the air due to the of
the explosion.
The other sounds of the front are
more commonplace. 1 probably should
except the siren that notifies of a gas
attack or bursting of gas shells. This
is of the type of wailing horn that our
fire chiefs use on their automobiles.
In some trenches the call for gas
masks is given on a gong made from
a shell case.
Then you can near at any time of
the day or night the dumping of heavy
shoes OF the trench duck boards. either
of the feet of your friends or enemies.
This sound. of course. doesn't come
from the saps which are padded with
burlap.
Blast Out Spies.
i heard a ripping ~detonation day
quite far back from the first line. 1
wondered If a Bosche long range shell
were following us. Egyptians were
blowing up dug outs on old battle fields
that looked suspicious. Several of these
dug outs had been found to contain
spies supplied with rations for several
months and underground telephone
wires. This explosion had an ordinary
blasting sound.
On another day I had an unusual
fright. The motor car I was in was
racing from the front and approached
a cross roads that would take us
quickly from the hot area" All at
once we heard a ripping rumble. and
/ turned cold.
Germans make a speciality of shell.
ing cross roads when they're expect.
ing an attack. Two American newspa.
per men had escaped being subdivided
into smithereens by only two seconds
the day before at q cross road.
The rumbling became louder and
remembered my facetious first des
cription of a shell burst; that II
sounded exactly as IL some one hat
picked UP the Rome hotel in Omaha
n thrown it at Pixies peak.
Louder then we were at the
orne and saw an American steam
roller crushing down rock. A labor bat
TALON was repairing destruction done
to that road by the German shells or
the day previous.
American War Bread.
From the Springfield Republican.