American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1917-10-26

Us, They Were Bursting In the own.
l remember seeing my officer coming,
so l got out and started the engine.
There were two horses standing just
behind the car, and as the officer went
to step in a piece of shell cut one of
these horses in two.
As soon as we were clear OF the
town we were all right, for, while the
shells continued screaming over US,
they were still bursting in the town.
This was the beginning of the first
battle Of Ypres, in which the little
Seventh division did the seemingly i'm
possible. Day and night the Germans
poured shells into US, and still We held
on. Then their artillery fire would
slacken, and they would hurl their SUI
perior numbers against our contempt
ible little army in a vain endeavor to
crush us by sheer weight, as it 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 at 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 a man
in action goes temporarily insane, for
were it not so how could any man con
tinue to work a gun that was sending
hundreds of his fellow creatures into a
heap of grooming, squirming death?
] nIoA l. 0~nafI- whnN UuE hQnnpnfnU
The Germans were climbing over heaps
of their own dead only to meet the
same fate themselves. The deeds Of
valor which have escaped notice around
the Ypres salient would fill at least one
large book.
With the end of the first battle Of
Ypres u division retired to "A village
called st. Jean Capelle. While the Bel
gian civilians had been so nice to US on
the way down from Ostend 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
ed of espionage.
There was a windmill on a hill just
back Of the village, and some n no.
ticed that as soon as we entered the
village this windmill started to go, al
though there wasn't a breath Of all
stirring. Investigation showed thai
two Belgians were signaling to the
Germans in this way.
The other case was even worse. On'
of our police stopped IN old Belgian
with a bag under his arm and asked
him what was I'm 1t. He replied that
contained nothing but a few vegetables
Something aroused our chaps suspi
cion, and on examination he found tina
it contained two pigeons with message
giving our exact strength attached {
them. These men were taken to tn
rear and shot. Things like this max
it very unpleasant for all concerned.
1t was about this time that a ney
driver was found for the generals ca
so that LETT me without any de6nit
, work to do. At that time, too, we ha
/, the first armored cars in action on on
part of the line. They were beautifr
machines, sixty horsepower, mounte
with machine guns or three pounder'
FAh 4 was NdAGh6 " uAlu QuN WIN
was to become of me | made one tri
! in the armored car-that is to say,
, went into action with it once. o
course the gun was worked by expeI
/ gunners and l was simply acting as
spare driver I'm case anything seriOu
happened. The body Of the car wa
covered with bullet proof steel. and
2 was hullet prOOf roo
We didn't get up as far as some Q
the cars had been. but we got quite ia
enough to suit me. What with tn
racket our gun vas making and tn
noise of the bullets bouncing of GU
armor plate, it vas no place for
nervous man. The hard part for m
5 was the inactivity. simply sitting Their
= and waiting in case l should b
wanted.
We didn't stay there so very Ions
and / was not sorry for it, eithel
That was my only trip in an armOre
car. and I'm not particular about hay
: ing any more, thank you.
4 l was advised that the only way