The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1917-11-29
'Pershinu's Professionals Soon
Learn to Distinguish Various
Types Of Shells by Their Sound
No After Vibration Felt.
By GEORGE I. Bye

BY GEORGE T. BYE.
What are the sounds that "Pershing's
Professionals" are hearing at the front?
l have read 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 .aveS-'ShlverS would
have been better word. ] emerged
from this technical jungle with only the
eighth and ninth lines, reading: There
Is preliminary crack, very distressing
to the ear, followed by a deep booming,
not unpleasant, that is the true sound
/ pf the explosion"
last few days along the firing line. nor
listening or recording apparatus OF any
kind save 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-rooms" Of big guns 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
tance permitted one 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 said that an Ameri-
4 can bends proud knee nor fattens q
+ naughty stomach to the unspeakable
| kaiser yet may we PROSTATE ourselves
l. with suitable dignity, and with no les
SEEMING of our loathing for the master
| wretch, when one Of his shells comes
1 our way. For you can hear them COM
ing. rushing toward you with louder
and louder hum, skewering through the
! air with asound like "z-Z-Z-zin n N ing. "
| 1t is no wonder that you can hear them
| for they have the weight of seven
passenger automobile and spin or re-
volve as they flash through the air.
Failures are "Duds."
They are called "duds" if they do not
explode; and "dud" very well describes
| the sound of their falling. If you are
near q live one when it crashes open,
the report is mighty "glung." Some
distance away the sound has the reso-
nant "n left out and is only fiat
"glug" 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 9
huge anvil in an auditorium would give
| q SNAN
front The sounds are SO great tEa'
they really make a vaulted hall OF the
trench area. The heavens are brought
down to the status Of a ceiling. Bu1
when this figurative mallet smltes the
anvil there is no after vibration; the
trees on the front are cracked stumps
the houses no longer standing, ant
there is nothing TO carry vibrating
after sound The only after effect is {
sharp, and sometimes distressing, shlv
ering in the air due to the vacuum o
the explosion.
The other sounds of the front are
more commonplace. probably should
except the siren that notifies of gas
attack or bursting Of gas shells. Thi:
is of the type of walllng horn that oul
fire chiefs use on their automobiles
In some trenches the call for ga:
= masks is given on gong maze IRON
shell case
Then you can hear at any time O
the day or night the dumping Of heav,
shoes on the trench duck boards. eithe
of the feet Of your friends or enemies
This sound. of course. doesn't conn
from the saps Which are padded VIII
burlap.
Blast Out Spies.
heard ripping detonation one da.
quite far back from the first line.
wondered if a Bosche long range shell
were following us. Egyptians wer
l.blowing up dug outs on old battle field
that looked suspicious. Several of thes
dug outs had been found to contain
spies supplied with rations for severa
months and underground telephon
wires. This explosion had an ordinar
blasting sound.
On another dav I had an unusua
fright. The motor car I was in wa
racing from the front and approache
cross roads that would take u
quickly from the hot area" All a
once we heard ripping rumble, an
I turned cold
Germans make a speciality of shell
ing cross roads when they're expect
ing an attack Two American neWspe
per men had escaped being subdivide
into smithereens by only two second
the day before at a cross road.
The rumbling became louder and
remembered my facetious first de!
cription of shell burst; that
sounded exactly as il some one ha
picked up the Rome hotel in Oman
and thrown 1t at Pixies peak.
corner and saw an American steal
i, 5roller crushing down rock. A labor ba
TALON was repairing destruction dor
to that road by the German shells o
the day previous.
American War Bread.
From the Springfield Republican.
The United States is to have we
bread. and Mr.. Hoover and his assoc
ates are studying lust how it shall I