Bridgeton pioneer., 1917-07-05

large Jorrc ~ american mJGHtVmc:l
for Fra. and has been held under col
antdry rr3sorahip pending announce
ment of facir Suf drriudl ia FrGnce.]
n \ Atlantic Port. -, 1917.-In
the ccid. before dawn sea driz-
zle tic" stole away this morn
ing. n fleet of great transports. bear
ing the flower of Americas boys i'll
blue to join General Pershiug at the
French front, slipped silently from
their docks and disappeared seaward
'Ofshore Il great convoy Of battleships
and destrOyerS waited in the darkness
to bear them company in the long trip
across the Atlantic to foreign shores
Aboard. cralnmed in every corner.
under hatches in close hung hammocks
above decks. were the soldiers COM
prising many regiments. Reports show
that units came from every quarter of
the United States. All are sunburned.
seasoned regulars-picked men-not a
single rookie in the ranks. and veter-
ans of Mexican campaigns.
Men chung from decks and rigging
like a swarm of khaki clad flies, Sail
ors and marines took the black gang
ways on the run in the urgent busi-
ness of casting OF. Field guns lay in
the holds; aeroplanes were packed on
upper decks: automobiles and motor
trucks formed another item; some
where beneath matches a great con-
signment of coffins completed the list.
The president has ordained that Amer
ican dead shall be brought home ten
,derly.
No warning signs betrayed the de-
lparture to sinister watchers. Ghostly
tugs dashed in from the navy yard.
Flying Dutchmen cutters. loaded with
spectral guards. appeared from no.
where and as ineXplicably vanished
Red fare lights made the waters about
the piers charmed circle in which
magical craft were seen for passing
moment. A searchlight fickered. a
hawser splashed, and the ships were
gone.
One by one they fell in line in mid
channel. while protecting boats circled
about like excited terriers Only one
lonely green lamp in the masthead of
each ship betrayed her presence. Fog
tinted war paint blended with river
and night sky. Here a signal light
flashed internationally; there a snatch
of subdued song was heard across the
summer waters from a crowded deck
plaintive farewell to the homeland.
Ships Names Painted Out.
The last transport-names were care
FULLY painted out and lines disguised
by false rigging-joined the procession
For moment her outlines were clear
against the pail of light and smoke
that hung above the piers as over the
mouth of some titan furnace. Then
she became an indistinct mass in the
Shadows of midstream
Propellers thrashed with rhythmic
JOY. the thrill that. every ship must
feel after three weary years of river
tides and chatting docks and war sad
dened sailors or a longer period of pro-
sale commerce. Now it is the sea. the
open sea, with winds and cold, cold
waves and perhaps a mad flight from
Z boat The foremost of the fleet
passing out to sea forgot her stealthy
role. Suddenly she raised her voice in
a great. hoarse, throaty roar.
The braZeD note died away, echoed
pack from some distant skyscraper
invaded the rooms of sleeping millions
sleeping while the army called last
.arewe!l-and vanished. So did the
ships.
hoo ta ,h ,.o
AS If struck over the head vast army
or stevedores and commissariat troops
dropped to the nearest corner in a dead
sleep from thirty hour stretch Of
nnal preparations. Blackened mechan
les snored in sweaty jeans. Drowsy
Officers staggered into waiting automo
>oiles.
1T is days since romance and mys.
terry and the war came TO the point OF
embarkation. In those DAYS troon
trains began to pour into the railroad
yards. Men in khaki swarmed owe,
the town
who they were and where bound
could not be learned. Vast crowds of
ttownspeople collected where the new
'rainioadS arrived daily. In the yards
"A few of the boys pitched tents and
settled down to comfortable camr
life. Less fortunate regiments spent
z1rom seven to ten days in the railroad
yards
No Fires Ia the Yards.
For six days the soldiers lay about
the sweltering cars. playing cards Or
lying on the aisle floor Negro porters
rose to the occasion by organizing a
minstrel band with guitars and ban
JOS. certain southern regiment re-
s.garded this company as their private
property, but generously lent the serv-
ices OF Pullman Pete" Soggerty and
mis- "black banjo band' to other troops.
at night the men descended from
the cars to sit about the cinder patches
between the tracks. No fires may be
built in the yards. Nevertheless a