American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1917-11-16

Trench pools used to be very popular
About ten fellows got together. and
each put 10 francs in a pool just be-
fore they went into action. They left
this money with some one behind the
lines. for they would be in action any
where from six days to three weeks.
The idea of the pool was this: Those
who lived to get back would take the
money and split it evenly among them
selves. If only one lived he would
have the whole lot. Sometimes the
pools would be fairly big and some
times the reverse, but whatever they
had went in.
1t was the only gamble l eve saw
where you couldn't lose. If you came
out safely you were bound to get your
wi money back at least.
The Tommies are strong for carrying
| pets with them too. They keep ana
ries, rats, mice. dogs. cats, goats and
even pigs, and they will go hungry
themselves rather than see the object
Of their affections want for anything.
On the march If they get tired they
may throw their equipment away, but
I never heard of one yet who would
give up his mascot.
During the winter there was a lot of
talk about the mad major" He was
an artillery officer who was just about
the biggest daredevil / ever heard Of.
He kept an aeroplane himself, and If
he wanted to correct a range he would
go and drop smoke bombs over the
point he wanted to get. He was absO-
lutely fearless and would fly so low
that they would be potting at him with
revolvers, but It didn't seem to bother
him.
I have heard that he did more dam
age with his battery than a whole bri-
gade Of ordinary artillery could under
ordinary circumstances. I don't know
what became of him in the end, but the
last Of his stunts that l heard about
was this: There was a big seventeen
inch howitzer doing US an awful lot of
damage. 1t was out Of range Of u
guns, and We We're much put about as
to how to get it Il of action.
The mad major went out alone in
his aeroplane and took with him just
one bomb, a hundred FOUNDER. He To-
Gated the gun he wanted while flying
at an altitude of 5000 feet. He got
right over the position and stopped his
engine. He did a nose dive to within
400 feet of the gun. Then he dropped
his bomb and blew the thing to atoms.
He got back safely, but the planes Of
his machine were riddled with bullets.
Soon after this we We're on the move,
and, as it happened. we went from bad
to worse. The first day we entered a
little place that was unOccupied by
troops, and we decided to spend the
night there. The Germans must have
heard of our arrival promptly, for be-
fore we had been there an hour shells
began to drop in on US.
q, The officer l was driving was with
me at the time the first one burst. II
[ landed in the back yard of the house
We were in. and the force Of the explO
t sion sent US all in a heap on the floor
The officer decided that we would gei
t out Of the place and find some nice
quiet spot to spend the night. We left
2 at once and went about FIVE miles dOwI
the road until we came to a field am
b%ulance. We found that they had som
squire SlItlintISs ~ We utAlltn ~ stay
there. The officers servant carried
l stretchers in for all of us, and after
having something to eat we went RICH
to sleep. as we were tired out.
I l don't believe we had been asleeI
more than an hour when a shell landed
I in that field ambulance, 1t tore through
: the roof and burst in the room next t
us. killing and wOunding eighteen mel
h who had already been wounded once
| got up in a hurry. but found that thu
T. officer was before me. and when
5 reached the car he was making himsel
comfortable in the tOnneau. | took m.
e waterproof sheet and blankets an,
made myself a bed ON the cobblestOne
d under the car. l slept like a log unit
It it began to rain. and hen l got up il
II disgust and sat up the rest of the nigh
r in the driving seat.
e The next day we stopped in a littl
D village called Pradelles. the plac
where the Germans had stood a prizes
4 up against the wall of his own churc
ii and shot him because he wouldn't Civ
them the information they wanted.
Across from this church was a littl
"estaminet." where l went to buy
81 bottle of wine to have with my dinner
You can imagine my surprise when tn
Frenchwoman in charge called me a
Eli English pig and said that she woul
81 sell nothing TO the English. l told he
I'll what l thought of her. and she told m
what she thought of me.
She said the English were thieves
%murderers and other nice things an
informed me also that the only tru
gentlemen in the world We're the Pru.
slams. She certainly had me aroused
4 and | was going to arrest every n
could find in the house until her daugl
ter came i'm.
She saw at once how things were an
s led the Old lady upstairs and then e