The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1917-11-21
American Battalions Stationed
Where They Can Send Rifle
Bullets Into Boche
Camp.
EXCHANGE OF SHELLS
Khaki Chad samnies Stand on the
Firing Step and Watch for a
Chance to Blaze
Away.

rBy J. w. Pegler, United Press STAIR
Correspondent
WITH THE AMERICAN BAT
TALrONS IN THE FRONT LlNb
TRENCHES, FRANCE, Nov. 21-A
ziezagging ditch, walled In with
/ hand-woven twigs, khah-clad sam
mics standing on tho firing step-this
Is Americas first line.
| Il winds like brown scar across
the face Of the hill. Sammies peerina
cautiously over the parapet, have an
i unobstructed view across q valley 70
4 where the Boche 10 snllsing In his owl
| front line trenches.
Americas front line in the land
branch of the battle for democracy
isn't Just plain ditch To the un-
Initiated It is labyrinth Of twists and
turns and holes and mounds. But to
sammy, It Is as simple as Madn street.
back home. He knows every dugout,
every traverse. every listening post.
Standing on the fire step at ono
| place in the trench beside a Nebraska
soldier, strained my eyes across
death valley to where the enemy holds
forth. It was 4 dank, tangled tarn.
Weeds, run wild for three years, lux
urtated there. A battered village
stands midway, awaiting the day of
reclamation. In front Of smashed
, farm house one could see rusted
plough.
It was still. Not sign OF move
ment showed anywhere. Nothing
moved over where the German
trenches were.
Suddenly an American gun cracked
twice. Shells shuffled instantaneous
" over us and detonated "over there"
in wriggly puff-ball fashion. Perhaps
unseen Boctes we're sent scurryins
underground by its wicked fragments.
A crow wheeling in mid-air was
struck by a bit of this shrapnel. He
dropped to the earth like plummet.
There amt any use writing about
that to the home folks said the tall
Nebraska soldier "They wouldn't
believe me If told it to EN-"
At that moment the NebraslSan OBJ
served a movement in the rank grass
and weeds among the American en-
tanglements. He hadn't taken his
eyes off No Mans Land. His rifle
steAdied, his figure tensed and then
relaxed. The grass parted and yel-
low dog-just plain dog-emerged.
paused inquiringly, his forefoot lifted
with the graceful gesture that some
pointer forebear's blood had be-
uueathed him and then loped from
Germany to the United States.
He dropped into the American lines
his tail wagging the signal "kame-
rade.''
He was adopted on the spot
We passed on down the trench.
Memphis (Tenn) machine gunner was
our next acquaintance
"There are plenty Of ducks in death
valley" he volunteered, after some
one had mentioned the crow incident.
"There's a small lake midway over
No Mans land and they gather around
there
From somewhere an American snip
er's rifle cracked the deep stiffness
and then quiet settled down again. In
growing shadows we passed on down
the trench AS we stopped there
came abruptly the unmistakable
whistIing Of shells, then instantly
three bangs as the three shots struck
a hundred yards away, near the first
line. There were no casualties.
Immediately the American guns
took up the challenge, measure for
measure. Then it was quiet again.
That brief Interchange suggested in
Huuiry as to what took place in the
first lines when shells came over. A
Wyoming boy proudly showed his dug
out.
J"It accommodates thirty eight of us,
also a million rats" he remarked,
with a grin "And I forgot the dozen
or so Of cats"
We passed still farther along-and
got by a machine gun post just In