Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1917-12-20
An American Boys
Bapfissn of Fire
Copyright. Little. Brown 4 Co

WINE ohell3 Scfitinueu OGRE aiming cVeT
Us, They Were Bursting In the Town.
perior numbers against our contempt.
ible little army" In IL vain endeavor to
crush us by sheer weight. as 1t were.
The enemy seemed to rise out of the
ground and sweep toward us like a
great tidal wave. but our machine
guns poured steel into them ut the
rate Of coo shots per minute. and they'd
go down like grass before the scythe.
If they did reach our lines at all they
never went back to tell about it
1t is my honest opinion that man
in action goes temporarily insane, for
were it not SO how could any man con.
tinue to work Il gun that was sending
hundreds of his fellow creatures into a
heap Of groaning. squirming death?
That is exactly what was happening.
The Germans were climbing over heaps
Of their own dead only t" meet the
same fate themselves. Tie deeds Of
valor which have escaped notice around
the Tpres salient would fill at least one
large book.
With the end of the first battle Of
Ypres our division retired to village
called st. Jean Cnpelle. While the Bel
gian civilians had been 80 nice to US on
the way down from Ostcnd am sorry
to say that we found them exactly the
opposite here. We had not been in the
town three hours before we had three
Belgian peasants arrested and convict
Ell OF espionage
There was q windmill on q bill Just
back Of the village. and some one no
ticed that us soon as we entered the
village this windmill started to 20. al
though there wasn't q breath Of air
stirring. Investigation showed that
two Belsians were signaling to the
Germans in this way.
The other case was even worse. One
OF our police stopped an old Belgian
with bag under his arm and asked
him what wns in it. He replied that it
contained nothing but few vegetables
Somethin. aroused our chaps sl>pi
/ cion. and on examination lie found that
II contained two pigeons with messages
/ giving our exact strength attached to
! them. These men were taken to the
/! rear and shot. Things like this make
1t very unpleasant for all concerned
1t was about this time that new
driver was found for the generals car.
so that left me without any definite
work TO do. AT that time. too. we had
the first armored cars in action on our
part OF the line. They were beautiful
machines. sixty horsepower. mounted
with machine guns or three Founders.
While ! was waiting to find out what
vas to become Of me made one trip
In the armored car-that Is to say,
went into action with 1t once. OF
course the gun was worked by expert
gunners and was simply acting as a
spare driver in case anything serious
happened. The body OF the car was
covered with bullet proof steel. and 1t
vas bullet proof too.
We didn't get up as far as some of
the cars bad been. but we got quite far
enough to suit me. What with the
sacket our gun was making and the
noise Of the bullets bouncing of our
armor plate. 1t was no place for q
nervous man. The hard part for me
vas the inactivity. simply sitting there
and waiting in case ] should be
wanted
We didn't stay there 80 very long.
and ! was not sorry for It. either
That was my only trip in an armored
tar. and I'm no, particular about hav-
ing any more. thank you.
was advised that the only way
could escape being sent back to Eng.
land was to be transferred to the
!! army service corps. This corps. the
J royal engineers and the royal army
medical corps. are the three largest
corps in the British army. When you
{ tpin the a. g. C. yos are never sure
tnst what you WI Be Yet in for. -
esnse a rsse an A. g. c. man IL ell.
} Gsbse for general enlistment. and that
means that be nsy be used for any
branch OF the service when be n