davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1917-07-27

relieved from the big tent show up ut
the Somme and sent 10 our side show
in Belgium for rest Also II was sus-
pected that artillery was being with
drawn for the Somme. Especially we
were anxious 10 bring back prisoners
In civilized war prisoner can be
compelled TO tell only his name, rank
and religion. But this is not civilized
war, and there are ways OF making
prisoners talk. One OF the most eff
fective ways-quite humane-is TO tie
a prisoner fast, head and foot, and
then tickle his bare feet with a feather
More severe measures hive frequently
been used-the water cure, for in
stance-but I'm bound to say that
nearly all the German prisoners | saw
were quite loquacious and willing to
talk, and the accuracy of their infor-
nation. when later confirmed by raids,
was surprising. The iron discipline
which turns them into mere children
In the presence OF their officers seemed
to make them subservient and obedlent
to the officers. who. commanded U.S.
mean, of course, the privates. In this
way the system worked against the
fatherland. Captured German officers.
especially Prussians were nasty lot
We never tried to get information from
them, for we knew they would lie hap
PLY and very intelligently- in
structed In the art
At last came the night when we were
10 go cover the top" across No Mans
Land, and have frolic with Fritz in
his own happy home am endeavor-
ing TO be as accurate and truthful as
possible In these stories OF my soldier
ing, and am therefore compelled to
say that there wasn't man in the
sixty who didn't show the strain in his
pallor and nervousness Under orders.
We discarded our trench helmets and
substituted knitted skullcaps or empty
mess tins Then we blackened our
hands and faces with ashes from n
camp fire so as 10 avoid being seen as
long az possible. After this they lond..
ed us into motor trucks and took US up
to "Shrapnel Corner" from which
point we went in on foot Just before
we left STAFF captain came along ana
knyo us little talk.
"This Is the first time you men have
been tested" he said. You're Cana
dlans needn't say anything more TO
you. They're going to be popping them
The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1917-07-27
a Bonebead

There ara many things dropped In
the subway ticket chopper by absent.
minded riders besides the little piece
OF pasteboard which entities them TO n
ride An eccentric looking young mnn
and his particularly eccentric looking
wife hurried up TO the door Of a Broad
way theater last night The man
reached into his pocket handed the
doorman some tickets and. assisting
his wife before him. turned 10 receive
the stubs. These are subway tickets .
said tho doorman Al the rate OF two
pockets per second the young man
searched himself Then he clapped hIs
hand ON his forehead. Good heavens
Annie" he gasped. ~ put the seats In
the subway Aud whit Annie said
about boneheads was only heard by
herself'-New York Cor. Pittsburgh
Dispatch.
The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1917-07-27
The Prince of Wales.

A few days after this a very young
officer passed me In trench while |
was sitting on fire step writing a
letter noticed that he had the red
tabs Of a stafr officer on his uniform,
but paid no more attention to him
than that No compliments, such as
salutes to officers, are paid in the
trenches After he had passed one OF
the men asked me II l didn't know
who he was I said didn't.
why, you d. fool" he said. ''that's
the Prince Of Walesl'
When the little prince came back |
stood 10 salute him. He returned the
salute with grave smile and passed
on. He was quite alone, and was
told afterward that he made these
trips through the trenches just to show
the men that he did not consider him
self better than any other soldier The
heir OF England was certainly taking
nearly the same chance OF losing his
Inheritance that we were.
After we had been on the front line
fifteen days we received orders to
make a bombing raid. Sixty volun-
teers were asked for. and the whole
The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1917-07-27

during their two hour spell" OF duty.
Hanging on string, at the elbow Of
each sentry on the fire step was
siren whistle or an empty shell case
and bit of iron with which TO ham
mer on IL. This, whichever 1t might
be, was for the purpose OF spreading
the alarm in case OF a gas attack.
Also we had sentries In listening
posts" at various points from twenty
to fifty yards out in NO Mans Land
These men blackened their faces be
fore they Went over the top and then
lay in shell holes or natural hollows.
There was always two OF them, a bay
onet man and bomber, From the
listening post a wire ran back to the
fire trench to be used in signaling. In
the trench a man sat with this wire
wrapped around his hand One pull
meant "All o. H." two pulls, I'm
coming ill.," three pulls, Enemy In
The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1917-07-27

sight" and four pulls, Sound gas
alarm" The fire step In trench is a
shelf on which soldiers stand to look
out and shoot between the sand bags
on top.
In addition to these men, we had pa
trolls and scouts out In "No Mans
Land" the greater part of the night,
with orders to gain any information
possible which might be Of value to
battalion, brigade, division or general
headquarters. They reported on the
condition of the Germans barbed wire,
the location of machine guns and 9th
er little things like that which might
be of interest to some commanding
officer twenty miles back. Also they
were ordered to make every effort to.
capture any Of the enemy's scouts or
patrols, so that we could get informa-
ton from them. One of the interesting
moments In this work came when a
star shell caught you out in an open
spot II you moved you were gone
I've seen men stand on one foot for
the thirty seconds during which a star
shell will burn. Then when scouts or
patrols met in mo Mans Land" they
always had to fight 1t out with bayo-
nets. One single shot would be the
signal for artillery fire and would
mean the almost instant humiliation
Of the men on both sides of the fight.
Under the necessities of this war many
of our men have been killed by our
own shell fire. n
The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1917-07-27

rear for weeks instruction practice.
Having only a slight idea OF what We
were going to try to do. we felt very
jolly about the whole enterprise start
Ing OF. We were camped In an old
barn. with several special instruction
officers In charge. We had oral In.
struction the first day. while sappers
dug and built an exact duplicate OF the
section OF the German trenches which
We were to rnid-that is. II was exact
except for few details. Certain
skeleton trenches" In the practice sec.
ton were dug simply TO fool the Ger.
man aviators. II a photograph taken
back TO German headquarters hnd
shown an exact duplicate OF German
trench section suspicion might have
been aroused and our plans revealed
We were constantly warned about the
skeleton trenches and told to remem.
Der that they did not exist In the Ger.
man section where we were TO operate
Meanwhile our practice section was
changed little several times. because
serial photographs showed that the
Germans had been renovating and
making some additions TO the trenches
In which we were 10 have our froitc
with them
We had oral Instruction, mostly dur
ing the day, because we didn't dare Lex
the German ayiators see us practicing
bomb raid. All night long, sometimes
until or 3 O'Clock In the morning. we
rehearsed that raid. just as carefully
as n company OF star actors would no
hearse play. At first there was dis
position TO have sport out or II.
WELL" some chap would say. roll
ing into the hay all tired out. ~ got
killed six times tonight Spose itll
be eight times tomorrow night"
One man insisted that he had dlscov-
cred In one OF our aerial photographs
German burying money. and he care
fully examined each new picture, so
that he could be sure Of finding the
dough and digging II up. The grave
and serious manner Of our officers,
however. the exhaustive care with
which we were drilled and. more than
all. the approach OF the time when we
were 10 'gu over the top" drove all
sport out OF our minds, and can say
for myself that the very thought OF
the undertaking as the fatal night
drew near sent shivers up and down
my spine.
A bombing raid, something original
ed IN warfare by the Canadians, IL not
intended for the purpose OF holding
ground. but TO gain information, to do
as much damage as possible and TO
keep the enemy In state " nervous
ness In this particular raid the chief
object was to gain information. Our
high command wanted TO know what
troops were opposite u and what
troops had been there. We were ex-
pected to get this Information from
prisoners and from buttons and papers
or OF the Germans we might kill II
was believed that troops were being
The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1917-07-27
The Daylight Hour.

At a little before daybreak came
"stand-to," when everybody got but
toned up and ready for business be-
cause at that hour most attacks begin,
and also that was the regular time for
a dose Of morning and evening hate"
otherwise good. lively fifteen minutes
of shell fire. We had some casualties
every morning and evening, and the
stretcher bearers used to get ready for
them as a regular matter of course
For fifteen minutes at dawn and dusk
the Germans used to send over 'whiz-
bangs coal boxes" and "minenwer.
fer (shells from trench mortars) In
such a generous way that it looked is
Il they liked to shoot 'em Off. whether
they hit anything or not You could
always hear the heavy STUFF coming,
and we paid little attention TO 1t, as 1t
was used In efforts to reach the bat
tertes back of our lines. The poor old
town Of Dinkiebusch got the full ben.
eft Of 1t. When shell would shrek
its way over, some one would say.
There goes the express for Dinkie-'
busch" and a couple of seconds later,
when some prominent landmark of
Dlnkiebusch would disintegrate with
loud detonation. some one else would
remark
Trains arrived !"
About the only amusement we had
during our long stay in the front
trenches was to sit with our backs
against the rear wall and shoot at the
rats running along the parapet- Poor
Macfarlane with a fash OF the old hui
NOR which he had before the war, told
a rookie" that the trench rats were
80 big that he saw one of them trying
ON his greatcoat. They used to run
over our faces when we were sleeping
in our dugouts, and I've seen them IN
rayenous swarms burrowing into the
The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1917-07-27

battalion offered was lucky--or I'M
lucky-enough TO be among the sixty
who were chosen. | want to tell you
In detail about this bombing raid. so
that you can understand what thing
may really amount to that gets only
three lines or perhaps nothing at all
In the official dispatches, and. besides
that 1t may help some of the young
men who read this to know something
little later about bombing.
The sixty Of US chosen to execute the
raid we're taken twenty miles 70 the
The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1917-07-27

or at a great rate while you're on your
way across. Remember that you'd BET
ter not stand up straight, because our
shells will be going over just six and a
half feet from the ground where IFS
level II you stand up straight you're
likely to be hit In the head. but don't
let that worry you, because II you do
get hit in the head you won't know II
SO why IN. h worry about itl' That
was his farewell lie jumped on his
horse and rDde OF
The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1917-07-27

shallow graves OF the dead. Most Of
the soldiers legs are SCARED to the
knees with bites
The one thing OF which we constant
iy lived In fear was gas attack. I
used to wake In the middle OF the night
IN cold sweat dreaming that | heard
the clatter and whistle blowing all
along the line which meant that the
gas was coming. And finally really
did hear the terrifying sound, just at
a moment when 1t couldn't have sound
ed worse was In charge OF the daily
ration detail, sent back about ten miles
to the point of nearest approach OF the
transport lorries to carry in rations,
ammunition and sand bags to the front
trenches. We had a lot of trouble re
turning with our loads. Passing a
point which was called Shrapnel Cor
ner because the Germans had precise
range OF 1t. we were caught In ma
chine gun fire and had to lie on our
stomachs for twenty minutes, during
which we lost one man, wounded.
sent him back and went on with my
party, only to run.into another machine
gun shower half mile farther on.
While we were lying down to escape
this concealed British battery OF
i've inch guns, about which we knew
nothing, opened up right over our
heads, 1t shook us up and scared us 30
that some OF our party were now worse
Off than the man who had been hit and
carried to the rear. We finally got to
gether and went on When we were
about mile behind the reserve trench,
stumbling in the dark through the last
aid most dangerous path overland, we
heard a lone siren whistle, followed by
a wave of metallic hammerlng and wild
footing which seemed TO spread over
all OF Belgium mile ahead OF us All
any OF us could say was;
'Gasl"
AL you could see In the dark was
collection of white and frightened
faces. Every trembling finger seemed
awkward as thumb as We got out our
gas masks and helmets and put them
ON, following directions as nearly az
we could. ordered the men 10 sit
still and sent two forward to notify
me from headquarters when the gas
alarm was over They host their way
and were not found for two days. We
sat there for an hour, and then ven
tured to take my mask Off. As nothing
happened, | ordered the men TO do tho
m WhnF, yrsa fraN. h., no..
with our packs we found that the gas
alarm had been one OF Fritzs Jokes.
The first sirens had been sounded In
the German lines. and there hadn't
been any gas
Our men evened things up with the
Germans, however, the next night
Some OF our scouts crawled clear up
to the German barbed wire, ten yards
in front OF the enemy fire trench, tied
empty jam tins TO the barricade and
then, after attaching small telephone
wires to the barbed strands, crawled
back to our trenches When they start
ed pulling the telephone wires the
empty tins made a clatter right under
Fritz's nose. Immediately the Germans
opened up with all their machine gun
and rifle tlre, began bombing the spot
from which the noise came and sent
up IS o S" signals for artillery fire
along a mile OF their line They fired
a $4,000 salute and lost a nights sleep
over the noise made by the discarded
containers OF 8 shillings' worth OF jam.
It was a good tonic for the TommieA
The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1917-07-27
over THERE
The Thrill and the He'll Of
the Trenches, Described
by an American Boy.

Sergeant Alexander McClintock Of Lex.
ington, KY, and the Canadian Army has
Gripping Tale That Every American VIII
Read, For He Tells the Facts-Unadorn-
ed. Wounded, Distinguished Conduct
Medal Man, he Was Invalided Home,
but Is Going "0ut There" Again to Fight
For Uncle Sam and His Allies. An In
spring, Interesting, Personal Narrative,
Full of the Spirit and Atmosphere d the
Trenches.
The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1917-07-27
NV N6ij1Ik&WssBr
ea.e,Iy. Nov. q. isiA
Lv. Fort Gay Central TINA,

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No. l6-i;o5 y. m. Daliy-For colura-
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1868 p. M. paiiy-For williamson.
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RICHMOND. Pullman Sleeper TO Nor
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Train leaves Kenova s:7s n m.-
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For nun information apply 20
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The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1917-07-27
The p01b rid.


The point We were 20 attack had been
selected long before 10y our scouts II
was not. as you might suppose the
weakest point In The German line u
was, OH the contrary. the strongest u
was considered that the moral eject vi
cleaning up weuk point would bs
comparatively small, whereas TO break
In at the strongest point would bt
something really worth while. And II
We were ~ take chance II really
wouldn't pay 10 hesitate about degrees
The section VIZ were to raid had q
frontage u $50 yards md depth OF
200 yards, II had been explained 90 u
that we were To be supported by a
BOX barrage" OF curtain fire. froEi
our artillery to last exactly twenty-siI
minutes that b, for twenty-six min
utes from the time when we started
-oyer the top our artillery. severn
miles back, wonld drop curtain" OF
shells all around the edges OF that i5C
yard by 200 yard section. We wero to
have fifteen minutes In which TO d
our work Any man not out at the
end OF the fifteen minutes would heccs
sarily be caught In our own Dire. as our
artillery would then change from a
box" tn pour a straight curtain hre
covering all u the spot u our oyera
lions.
Our officers set then watches very
carefully with those OF the artillery cf.
dcers before we went forward TO the
front trenches We reached the front
at II u m. and not until our arrival
there werc we informed Of the -Lero
hour--the time when the attack wns
10 be made The hour Of i2l had
been selected. The waiting from II
o'clock until that time was simply an
agony Some OF our men sat stupid
and inert. Others kept talking Gun
stnntly about the most lnconsagucntial
matters one man undertook 10 tell a
funny story. No one listened TO IL, and
the laugh at the end was emaciated
and CHASTITY The inhctlon was driving
US all into a state Of funk | could ac
tually feel my nerve oozing out az my
finger tips. and II We had had 20 wait
afteon minutes longer wouldn't have
been able 10 climb out OF the trench
About half IN hour bcfur WI were
to go over every man had his eye up
the trench, for We know ''the rummics'
were coming that way The rum gang
serves out a stifi shot Of jamaica Just
before an attack, and Il would be
real test OF temperance TO sec man
refuse There were no prohibitionists
in our set Whether OF not we got our
fun ration depended on whether the
sergeant IN charge was drunk or sober
After the shot began 10 work one man
next me pounded my Ieg and hollercd
I'm my ear:
7 say why all this rui tapci Let's
20 over now
That noggin Of rum IL life saver
When the hour approached for us e.
start the artillery Dire was 10 heavy
that orders had 10 10 shouted into ears
from man TO man The bombarimcnt
was, OF course. along n couple OF miles
of front so that the Germans would not
know where 10 expect US. At ~ O'Clock
exactly they began pulling down a sec
ion Of the parhpet so that we wouldn't
have to climb over ii and We were on.
There are siI articles IN this remark
lble series by Sergeant McClintock.
Two have already been printed. and
he third will appear soon. # Is the
most interesting one OF the series thus
'ar and Is entitled:
The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1917-07-27
No.. The Bomb
Raid
By Sergeant Alexander MccIlntock,
D. c. NJ. S7th Overseas Batt.,
Canadian Gren. Guards.
Copyright. 1871. by the Bell Syn
dictate. Inc

Sergeant McChntock Is an American
boy Of Lexington, Ky, tcho has seen
service in France, tods decorated for
bravery, toounded, inpdRded home and
Aoio Is returning to accept commis-
sion This Is the second article IN the
series In the first article he descTtb-
ed his trainin0 up to the point tohere
he reached the front line trenches.
The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1917-07-27

relatives at this place.
J d. Ball and C. C. Hays nnde a
business trip 10 Louisa recently.
Mrs Joe Moore spent sunday after.
noon with Mrs. Jay Moore.
Att Moore OF Ohio. Is viAting his
parents at this place
The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1917-07-27
AUGUSTUS SNYDER
EoR aALE.

a Iarm OF over 1900 acrss. frontinn
on Tug river for nearly two miIoa n
LAwrence county. KY. opposite webb
ho,.", n on ~. q W. r. r. Fine river
~, ceek an hill lands. including
~ mineral Large amount easily
o's.reo and cuitivntabis Title Guod
A1orsss FIRED W. WALKER, Woods
~" or Il. 7. BURNS. Louisa, -. I-sl
The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1917-07-27

There are siI articles IN this remark
able series by Sergeant McClintock.
Two have already been printed. and
the third will appear soon. # Is the
most interesting one OF the series thus
far and Is entitled
The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1917-07-27
.ovsr tho Top and oivo EN- Ham

The English Tommy'e battle cry, as he
breaks from his trench The bomb rid
and what hnpponod OF sixty that start
ed forty-six failed 10 return because the
Germans had prepared surprise for
them- Graphic description OF Sergeant
McClinsoct's terrible experience
The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1917-07-27
FIRE insurance

] am prepared to write insurance on
any insurablo property in Louisa ana
on all good DWELLINGS AND BARNS
IN THE COUNTRY and limited mum
Der OF stores not too far from Louisa
have tho agency for the following
companies:
HENRY CLAY co. OF KY.
North AMERICA OF NEW YORK.
WESTMINSTER OF NEW YORK.
WIN appreciate any buriness you
may give me-
Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1917-07-22
THANKS OF BELGIUM
CONVEYED TO TULSA
CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE


ton of ladies of the local Belgian Re
lief Fund and took part in an informal
reception. Hundreds of Tulsans, from
nonenities. swarmed into the hotel to
greet the delegates.
At II o'clock the party was distri-
buted into automobiles and led in n
procession on an hours tour OF the
city. At the end of this feature. the
mission was taken to the Tulsa Coun-
try Club for luncheon. which
amounted in reality to a regal ban
quet, given by the country club thru
II. Y. Arnold. president and Sam II.
Kelsey About thirty special invited
guests took dinner with the members
Of the mission.
As suggested by Frank Greer. toast
master. 1t was around the banquet
table that the hearts of guests and
hosts alike were opened 1t was the
first occasion for speaking on the
part of the Belgians, aId those who
were privileged to hear were imme-
diately impressed by the sincerity and
earnestness of the party.
Governor Wns Earnest.
In three minute talk. Governor
II. L. Williams delivered an earnest,
personal welcome to the visitors,
presaging his fuller sentiments which
were to be expressed at the afternoon
meeting.
I'VE are the friends of Belgium" 4"
said the Governor as an opening re-
mark. I'VE stand for this world demo-
cracy-this brotherhood OF nations"
THE conditions that bring Belgium
to our attention in this struggle only
show how we feel toward people that