davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-05-02
AucGoneers

w 4. WILLIAMS
Auction sales and Commission Broker
Office phone 6sf. Residence phone $3.50
offices. Orndorff Cigar stand.
7 sell everything AT Auction or Private sale
El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-05-02
Rugs
Stove Repairing

RUGS made from old carpet Dusang
Wellboru. Phone geq9
El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-05-02

lash Registers
=-----~r--e-----~>~---~
BIG SAVING on cash registers p =
Commission Co. 800 HeraIa big. II p.
El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-05-02

DLNVI EAN ItllI N
-----~-~--~-~---~----~-~~
STOVE REPAIRING-New parts made
and carried for all makes Of stoves. j. j.
Peel6r. with D. & r. Iron works. cor. East
Flfth ana south Florence Phone 1895
The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1917-09-20

outside OF Ypres. ! was In the town
when the nrst shells landed, and the
panic they created was something ter
rible to witness.
Men, women and children seemed to
have but II idea, and that was to get
out as quickly as possible. Old women
would 60 staggering along with their
belongings tied in each end Of a bed
sheet and the whole thing slung around
their neck. The streets were crowded
with them. Men were driving pigs and
chickens before them and the women
leading and carrying children. The
roads were Uttered with dead and dy-
ing, wounded horses screaming their
horrible scream and kicking. The din
was terrible. Shells would burst in the
roads choked with people, but the mo.
mentary gap would Immediately fill
and the panic stricken people would
sweep over their W dead.
At the time I couldn't seem to real
lie what was happening. l felt numb
all over, but with an awful terror grip
ping me. and I longed to turn and fly.
The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1917-09-20
PREFACE.

Prior to my arvival IN Eng
land the idea OF participating IN
the great t00T had Hever entered
my head. ItOent abroad on bust
Hess, and I expected to return
to this country as soon as my
pork sods completed. 1t seemed,
though, that fate deoreed other
Aise. I had been IN ENGLAND a
good many times before, and IN
France and Belgium, too, for
that matter. MY father, .oos q
sea captain, and I pGs born
aboard his ship. In fact, / Nved
tho first sic years of my UTE on
shtpbodrd. This last trip across
the Atlantic made the taoenty-
third time for me, so I eoas quite
at home IN the British isles. Al
most before / kneso it I had TAX
en- the step that Uds responsible
for the most terrible get 4oo,,-
dertAl experience that ever came
to me.
In telling my story I haze tried
to take the important evemts and
set them doun in chronological
order. l haze endedvored also
to NMk them together so as to
make It possible for. the reader
to to1osD me through the princi-
pal happenings during my time
of service. Many of the more
sordtd details of this great Wor
I have been obliged to leaue out.
I haze dtoelt neither ON the hor-
rors of s0or nor yet on the glory,
but / haze tried to picture the
daily routine OF the fighting
mans Ute as 1t really Is.
The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1917-09-20

Of bis service had been done In India,
20 he knew the ropes pretty well.
As soon as we were OF duty we three
made for the nearest estaminet Tor
small cafe) in the Flemish town. We
were just putting away some bread
and eggs and coffee when the general
commanding the division walked in
with two Of his officers. OF course
we jumped to attention and were about
to withdraw. but he told us to finish
our meal.
We were the only British troops to
land at Ostend, and, being the first the
Belgians in that part had ever seen.
we attracted a great deal of attention.
Our horses and equipment seemed to
amaze them. They would come up
and handle the saddlery and ask, "ofi-
cier" When we would tell them that
1t was just a troopers equipment and
that all the others were the same they
could not to get over 1t.
Although it was after 4 o'clock in
the morning, everybody seemed to be
up and at work. The Belgian peasant
has no interest in the eight hour law.
He works from before daylight until
long after dark. The peasants seem to
be very poor, and a franc a more
to them than several dollars would to
u farmers.
We left Ostend about 8 o'clock in q
hurry. No one seemed to know where
we were going, and all sorts Of wild
rumors were flying. As a matter of
fact, we left at 8 and the Germans
were in there at 6 the same night, but
we didn't know this until long after
ward. The Belgians were most kind
to us. They would bring us bread,
eggs, wine, etc., and would not take
any pay for the things. They were
kindness itself and couldn't seem to
do enough for us.
We did most Of our travelling at
night, and it wasn't much fun. We
were not allowed to show a light of
any kind and were even forbidden to
smoke. As l said before, we hadn't
any idea where we were going, but We
were all sure we were on our way to
meet the Germans, and there was a
great deal Of speculation as to when
the meeting would come.
On the morning Of the third day we
came to the town of Roulers. A halt
was called, and we went about max
ing ourselves comfortable. The peo-
pie were extremely cordial, too, and
there was nothing that was too much
trouble for them to do for us. l got
into a house where the man spoke
English. He had been in the shipping
business in Antwerp and knew a great
many Of the firms my father had dealt
with. l really felt quite at home.
They asked me if I thought they had
better move or whether the Germans
would ever get as far as Roulers. I'll
never forget how l scorned the idea
and assured them that they we're as
safe there as they would be in Eng
land.
The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1917-09-20

We ~ss 0ssS NV
Found Other Things TO Call Me.
head and tail and legs and everything.
Why, l wouldn't trust you blighters to
drive my duck to water. There isn't
one Of you who could ride a table,"
etc. We were dismissed at 4:3O and
told that this was our routine for ev-
cry day until we had passed out and
earned our saddles.
I don't think l was ever so tired in
my life as l vas that night, and I de-
That shows how much I knew about a
barrack room. After supper all those
who couldn't get permission to 60 out
seemed to blame it on me, for ! was
battered around until they were tired
Of it, and when l finally got into my
bed I was in a pretty bad way.
I soon found out that it was futile
to try to get even. Such an attempt
only made matters worse, and the only
thing to do seemed to be to grin and
bear it. The next morning we went
down to riding school again and had
the same old drill all day, except that
in the afternoon they turned us around
so that u backs were toward the
horses heads and made us ride that
way the rest Of the day.
AS l was crossing the parade ground
in the evening q fellow who vas in
my room asked me how I felt. I told
him in two words.
"Well," he said, If you want to be
let alone you do as I tell you. Tonight
when you 60 into the room pick out
the biggest man you can find and don't
say anything, but just walk up and
paste him with all your might. You
may get licked, and you may not, but
you won't have much, trouble after
ward, whichever way it comes out"
Well, I didn't know whether I'd have
the nerve to do it or not, but the more
l thought about it the more l thought
he might be right. l hadn't passed
through the door to the barracks be-
fore the kidding started again. and !
knew what would follow.
So l screwed up all the courage ]
had, and, seeing a big chap who was
making a lot Of talk, ! swung as hard
as ! could and let him have 1t. l
won't say anything about what hap
pened to me, but the next afternoon
found I'd been unlucky, as usual. The
man I had picked was a heavyweight
champion of the British army in South
Africa during the Boer war! Things
were much better after that, though,
and I made some mighty good friends
among those fellows.
At first it amused me greatly to hear
the men talk about the regiments they
belonged to, but later I came to under
stand that their regiments meant 0
to them than anything else. In peace
time when a man joins the army he Is
obliged to learn the history Of the reg1-
ment he joins from the day II was
formed to the present day. Tradition
plays 4 great part In the life of Z reg
The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1917-09-20

could escape being sent back to Eng
land was to be transferred to the
army service corps. This corps, the
royal engineers and the royal army
medical corps, are the three largest
corps in the British army. When you
join the A. 8. G. you are never sure
just what you will be let in for, be-
cause as a rule an A. s. G. man Is ell
gible for general enlistment, and that
means that he may be used for any
branch Of the service when he Is
needed.
My luck had held good so far, and I
decided that / might as well push it a
little bit more, and so l got transferred.
I found that I was to be attached to
the staff OF the Fifth army corps, but
as that corps was not yet in the coun-
try l was Used for anything that turn
ed up.
It became known that l could ride q
motorcycle, and so l was temporarily
attached as a spare rides to motor ma
chine gun section No. g.. These ma
chimes are simply motorcycles with a
side car attached, but instead Of a nice
cushioned seat On the side car there Is
a little bucket seat for a gunner and a
machine gun. The gunner and rider
are entirely in the open. as It would be
impossible for so small a machine to
carry any protection. I went out on
several practice runs, and n night
about II o'clock we were called to take
four of the guns up to the trenches in
a hurry.
I thought ! had had some thrilling
rides in my time, but I imagined
anything to equal that one. We car
ried no lights and had to fly through
the inky blackness. guessing at the
road. Several times We got stuck and
my mate and I dragged the machine
out of the ditch and flew on again.
Eventually we reached the place on
the Menin road known as hell fire cor
ner," and I think the name must have
been given it from its condition that
night. AS the star shells went up the
whole place would be almost as light
as day. The Germans were Smelling
the road and the air was filed with
all kinds Of missiles.
That road was literally q death trap,
and how so many came III without be-
ing touched is one Of the mysteries that
v can be explained. We could hear
two Of the guns which had got there
before us in action further up the road.
We continued to feel our way along
until we came to where our officer was
waiting for us. He showed us our po-
sition and went back to look for the
machine that had not yet arrived.
Our position was in a ditch just by
a place where the road had been cut
by an old support trench. We eased
the machine into the ditch and got her
firmly fixed. Our officer came DASH
ing back and told us to cover the road
where it led out from the German
trenches. Then it was simply a case
Of wait until they started to advance
from that quarter.
We sat there for two hours before
we saw any signs Of activity. but
when it did come it came with a rush.
Hundreds Of Germans seemed to rise
from nowhere, and that Dad was lit
orally crammed with them.
Dick. the gunner. opened at the first
sign, and the machine guns from our
trenches were pouring it into them
too. They went down in hundreds,
and. while our fire checked them some
The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1917-09-20
CHAPTER !.
Sent to the 'front.'

HXACTLY one week from a certain
T. day when l landed in England
from the United States l was
notified that my job was gone, as the
company that I represented was in
the hands Of receivers.
i was disappointed, of course, but
tried to look at the thing philosophical
~ and to make the best Of 1t. 1 bought
my ticket for home, but as the boat
on which l intended sailing did not
leave for several days l proceeded to
enjoy the remainder of my stay in
England.
Things were certainly moving at that
time. Very soon I was as enthusiastic
as any Of them, and in London I made
inquiries as to whether I could join
the army.
l was told that l would have no diff
1culty at all, bat on second thought l
decide I to let well enough alone. The
day before l was to sail from Liver
pool / hesitated again and talked it
over with an army officer. He was so
nice about explaining everything to me
that / decided that I might do lots Of
worso things than to see a little Of
the biggest scrap the world had ever
known. aL- .->a~
That night l thought about the mat
ter some more and came to the conclu-
sion that If they would take me into
a cavalry regiment I would have a
try at 1t. The next morning l enlisted
and was made q trooper in the Fifth
Dragon guards. That same afternoon
! was on my way to Aldershot, but
had / known what I was going to go
through l don't think l would have
been so light hearted as l was. In the
evening l was fitted out with my en-
tire kit and informed that from now on
] was a soldier.
I was assigned to a bed In the bar
racks, and from that time my trou-
bles commenced. l was in with a
crowd Of old soldiers, men who had
served from two to twenty years in
the army, and, while they were very
decent chaps, they seemed to resent
the fact that a "civie' had been pushed
In on them. / was at once christened
"Yank," and / believe they found a
few other things to call mi too.
The next morning at 3 o'clock the
sergeant came around and dug me out.
He took me down to the stables and
put me In with q bunch Of rockies who
weren't any happier, than ] q We
were then instructed In the gentle art
of grooming a horse. i couldn't seem
to do anything right, and they didn't
hesitate to tell me so either.
Then we were marched down to a
breakfast Of bread, bacon and tea, but
we had as much as we wanted. ] felt
a whole lot better after eating. Break
fast over, we had room inspection, and
as soon as that was over We who were
rockies were marched down to the rid
ing, school and handed over to the IT,
rant who ruled there.
I had expected to find horses all sad.
died, and It certainly was quite q shock
to learn that we got q saddles only
when we had earned them. In other
The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1917-09-20

~ SO0V - wv 6IS0U00 SOU vnb~2O
This Windmill Started to Go.
what. they still came on. 1t was Ger
tainly a d%espairing feeling to be
streaming bullets into the Germans
and see them still advance. After
several minutes of this the whistles
blew for cease fire" and u infantry
jumped the parapet and went after
them with the bayonet. They broke
the attack right there, and, more than
that, they took two lines Of German
trenches. =.
A few days after this an incident
occurred that, to my way Of thinking,
was n of the most wonderful things
that ever happened. Volunteer dis
patch riders for dangerous work"
were called for. About eighteen Of
u chaps offered themselves, and Of
course all were accepted. A dispatch
was to be carried about two miles
along the road which follows the bank
of the User canal. This road was con-
stantly being swept by German ma
chine gun and rife fire. The dispatch
was to be handed to a French. com
mander who was waiting for it.
Continued next weekly
The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1917-09-20
II.
First Time Under Fire.


THAT afternoon about 4 o'clock
shells began to drop into the
town, and we made a quick exit.
It was my first time under fire, and it
was far from being agreeable. I~had
very often wondered whether l would
be scared or not. Well, l found out
then, and I certainly was scared. Since
then l have often wondered about that
family and what they would think of
me for advising them that they were
in no danger.
1t didn't take III long to move, and
it is a good thing it didn't, for as
we were leaving the town we could
see the Germans coming over the hill
about four miles away. We won
dered why we didn't 60 to meet them.
but apparently our time was not yet.
Ny duties were very light. Attached
to Captain Colvin, l had the care Of
his horse and saddlery and had to ride
behind him wherever he went when
mounted. That is about all l had to
do. OF course when the regiment went
into action my duty would be to fol-
low the captain.
Eventually we arrived at a little
place called Zillebeke, and it was here
that we Joined up with the Seventh
infantry division. There vas very lit
tie doing, and nobody seemed to know
just what we were going to do. Our
chaps went out on patrols every day,
and occasionally they would run into
a German patrol, and there would be
a scrap.
During our stay at Zillebeke it was
decided that all unframed men were
to be returned to England to finish
their training, and it looked very much
as If I was going to land back in that
riding school after all. While the mat
ter was still undecided the driver of
General Byng's car was killed, so l
went to the captain and told him I
could drive a car, and I offered my
services. He put in a word for me,
and I was given the car, but only until
a regular driver could be secured.
1t was while l was driving this car
that / saw the city Of Ypres for the
first time. There had not been a shell
in the place yet, and it certainly was
a fine old town.
One afternoon I was waiting in the
car for some staff officer in the Grand
place when I heard a lot Of shooting
and shouting. I looked w In the
direction Of the noise and saw that
some of our troops were all firing into
the air. And there, above, was the first
German taube I had ever seen. The
pilot was flying very low and within
easy rife range, SO I got excited and
dragged out my rifle and began firing
at him too. His machine, I heard aft
erward, was absolutely riddled with
bullets and he was wounded in three
places. That was my first shot at a
German. It vas in Ypres, too, that /
saw 700 Of the Prussian guard brought
in, and l must say that they were some
Of the finest looking soldiers l have
ever seen. They e all great big
fellows, and U infantry chaps looked
mighty small beside them.
It was 0 after this that the Ger
mans got their forces together and
made their first attack on p positions
The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1917-09-20

The Germans We're In There at 6 the
Same Night.
hard biscuits all the way over, so the
first place we sought when of duty
was q restaurant.
I had chummed up with a fellow
named Harry McGarrcw and also with
the heavyweight. The latter was an
old soldier and had served more than
twenty years in the army. Nine years
The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1917-09-20
ms
FOURTEEN
MONTHS
N AT II.
An American Boys
Baptism of Fire
By WILLIAM ]. ROBINSON
Copyright, Little. Brown & Co.

IOpyr1gnt, Little, Brown 4 Go.
The most graphic account Of the
great war that has yet been written
comes from the pen Of a t~wenty-two-
year-old Boston boy. who has just re-
turned from France, where as dragon
guardsman, dispatch rider and motor
car driver he served fourteen months
under the British flag. Out Of thirty
motorcycle dispatch riders he was
one Of o U survivors.
words, we had to pass the bareback
test before we ever felt a saddle.
There were no long explanations as to
how a thing should be done. We were
told once and in as few words as pos.
sible. Then We had to do 1t.
After we had mastered the art OF
vaulting on a horses back we got the
walk march," then the "trot march,
Then we had to drop the reins and ride
with folded arms, and so it went until
IL o'clock, when we got an hours rest
It was the same thing In the after.
noon.
All n could hear was the rid.
ing master singing his commands
"Walk, march. Trot, march! Halt!
And every ono in awhile he'd yell
Hollow your backs! Hollow YOU
backs! You're not driving a cab now
That's a horse you're on. He's got 8
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-10-28
Funston Disliked
The Nlumed Ear

II was when Funston was in COM
mand of troops at Texas City that |
chased the general for three days
There was a practice march from Gal
weston to Houston. Funston was
very sick man. He practically got out
of a sick bed to take charge Of the
march. 1t was up to me to get MS
picture at the head of his troops.
In my automobile | finally came up
with him and his staff on horseback at
the head of the column. The generals
head was bound up and he looked as
though he had just come wounded out
OF battle. He was suffering with ear
trouble. He could not ehdure being
photographed except when dressed for
picture.
On a practice march it is customary
to stop and rest every now and then.
The column moves or stops at the order
of the commanding officer. | watched
for the rest intervals. Five times the
column halted. Five times set up my
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-10-28

On the relation of the nervous sys-
tenn to the vote experts differ. One
neurologist thinks it a neurotic symp-
tom on the part of women to desire the
vote. can say that in my experience
several of the most neurotic patients |
ever had were militant anti-suffragists.
My distinguished colleague, DR.. Charles
L. Dana, with subtle humor, says that
he finds there is an acute controversy
as TO which party is the less intelli-
gent, the suffragists or anti-sutfra-
gists." This is published In leafiet by
the anti-suffragists as an argument for
their case!
DR.. Dana speaks of "the energies and
magnificent capacities Of women in
good causes which ought to be used, he
says, in matters pertaining to disease,
infant welfare. mental and moral de-
fectives, immigration, unemployment,
labor, housing, education and defence.
The doctor would surely not deny that
all these matters are inextricably inter-
woven with the interests of the home,
that haven Of the anti, yet at the same
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-10-28
We Must Send
Meat and Wheat

The Allies need wheat, meat, sugar
and fats. These must be saved as
much as possible for shipment TO Er
rope. Wherever possible substitutes
must be used for them.
Sentimental or uniformed people
may ask why these foods must be sent
10 Europe rather than the substitutes.
Why not ship the substitutes and let
Americans eat the foods they are ac-
customed TO eating?
The answer is that ships available
for cargo purposes are not numerous
enough. Their numbers will be further
reduced when the United States gov
eminent begins the task Of transport
ing the fighting men of the armies now
in training and their mountainous sup
plies. And these foods we are asked 10
save take up the smallest space; they
have the greatest concentrated food
value.
Shipments must be concentrated as
10 bulk: the food sent must be of the
highest nutritive value in proportion to
the shipping space needed TO transport
it, For instance, we are asked to use