davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1917-11-15
XII.
Last Day at the Front.

T\HE last engagement Of any I'M
p%ortance that l was In was the
big attack at Loos in September.
In a big attack like this no n knows
but the commanders just where the
real thrust is coming. Several attacks
are made, and for all we knew our
might be the real one, or the real one
might be twenty miles away from US.
1t happened that at the time of the
last attack we were almost sure that
the big drive was coming through us.
We were ordered to be ready to move
at a moments notice, and all prep
arations were made for a big shift.
When the attack came we thought that
We were on Il way at last, and every
body was counting chickens"
There certainly was some terrible
fighting, and if all we were supposed
to do was to keep the Germans inter-
ested on our front we were very sue
cessful. Several things in this engage
ment deserve mention, and among the
first is the famous charge of the Lon
don Irish.
They had not been heard of very
much up to this time, but l don't think
there are many who don't know Of
them now. They received orders to
take certain trenches at a certain time.
and on the face Of it the thing looked
impossible. The odds were all against
them, and they knew it, but there was
nothing for it but to obey their orders.
Nearly all the regiments have foot
balls with which they amuse them
selves while in rest camp, and when
they 60 into action these footballs are
taken right along with them. When
the whistle blew for the London Irish
to charge they threw their footballs
owe the parapet and made their charge
dribbling the footballs in front Of them.
1t was the most reckless, daredevil
thing I ever saw, and 1t accomplished
the impossible for them. As l said,
by all rights the entire regiment should
have been wiped out, as the odds were
against them and they were running
right into a death trap. The fact that
they went at it In such a devil may
care way as to joke and play with
footballs In the very face OF certain
death broke the Germans nerve, and
they gave way with practically NO re-
sistance at all. Instead Of the regi-
ment being wiped out, as it should have
been. the men took the trenches with
losses Of under 100. It was wonderful.
I have referred to the work Of OF
aeroplanes in various parts Of this sto-
~, but l think that noncombatants
sometimes fail to realize what an i'm
portant and effective part the Royal
Flying corps Is playing in this war.
Aeroplanes themselves are still pretty
dangerous modes Of l0comott0n, and
when It comes to running other risks
for the sake Of gaining information or
doing material damage it needs . man
who does not know what the slightest
qualin Of fear ID and who IL cool and
ready for action In the cas- Of emer-
gency 70 make I good military aviator.
We have several aviators IN o
sQuadrons who have made big names
Tor ~themselveA Among them : Cap
thin stxanga. D. {. O.: LAeutenant
Hawker. Y. G., .. 3. @, y. @, and
- Robeet LaGFalna, ~ popular ae-
The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1917-11-15

lows threw. their hats into the air and
Yet out . mighty cheer. When THE
happened every horse ON the ground,
including my own, stood right up on
his hind legs and reached for the blue
skies above.
The king was thrown In some way
and sustained injuries that were rather
serious. The accident acted as a
damper to the enthusiasm, and the
kings visit ended much differently
than was expected.
The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1917-11-15

shell came Though and laid the build
ing to the ground.
All day Monday the Smelling con-
tinued, and still no orders came for
us to move. Things were beginning to
look serious now, and we wondered
how much longer we would have to
stick 1t out. 1t was the most unsat-
isfactory duty n could imagine.
There we were doing absolutely moth
ing and the Germans throwing shell
after shell into us. We had no chance
to hit back, and there was nothing ex-
cept to stand by and take our chances.
When the order did come to move the
field cashier was the last n to be noti-
fed, but v though we were the last
to get the order we were the first ones
out, and l was happy to say goodby to
that place. We went about six kilo-
meters down the road and took over
temporary headquarters In a little VII
lage.
It was just after we moved down to
this village that ] got the only scratch
l had during the whole campaign. l
was on the Dickebusch road with .
staff colonel, and we had been visiting
some regiments that were out Of action
at the time. While we we're there the
Germans started Smelling, and we de-
cided 1t would be better for us II we
moved to q healthier locality. The
colonel was sitting In the tonneau Of
the car, while I. of course, was In the
driving seat.
As we swung out into the main road
We heard a shell coming, and automat-
lcally l put on more speed. The shell
burst right on the side Of the road.
One piece Of It lew through the bottom
Of the car and tore the footboard right
from under the colonels feet. It didn't
bother him the least bit. He simply
swung his feet right up on to the seat
and advised me to crowd on a little
more speed.
Another little piece Of the shell graz.
ed my right Leg just above the knee.
It was q mere scratch, but It scared
MI as nothing ever has since. and I
guess I thought my whole leg was
gone.
The same shell that came so close to
rs caught another poor fellow and
wounded him in the back in twenty
nine different places, and with all this
he walked a quarter Of q mile to a
dressing station.
The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1917-11-15
CHAPTER XII.

peeSoeroo fletn0 Line TO 6oSpoeAj.
COON after this l reported sick for
- the first time since l had been In
the British army. l had a growth
In my throat, and they sent me to q
hospital in Armentieres. There they
removed the growth and put me to
bed OF q stretcher.
! was in the hospital only three days,
and during my stay there the Germans
shelled the town the entire time. ]
felt awfully sorry for the poor fellows
there who were helpless and didn't
know at what moment a shell might
come through and wipe them of the
face of the earth.
l stood it for three days, and when
l saw that they had made nc move to
discharge me from hospital l asked
the orderly in my ward when | would
be likely to get out.
"Oh," he said, you won't be u Of
here for a week yetv
EI3tsWOn't II" l asked. "Well, you just
go down to the other end of the ward
and turn your back for a few moments
and see whether l will get u or not"
He said he couldn't do a thing like
that. but the next time he was down
there | simply got up and walked out.
In these hospitals so near the firing
line there are no such things as beds.
and n simply lies on q stretcher with
his. clothes all on.
When l reached the gate of the hos.
pital l found aSpoliceman on duty
there. but l simply said the magic
word Duty and walked right by him.
I got a lift on a motor lorry for four
teen miles. and i walked the 'Nother
eight back to camp.
When l returned and reported my
self they asked me for my discharge
sheet, but l said l had lost it, so there
was nothing they could do about it.
In the spring of 1915 the kaiser paid
a visit to the German trenches. Iguess
he came very quietly, for the first we
knew of it was when the Germans in
the trenches opposite us raised a big
board above their parapet. on which
was printed something like this:
THE EMPEROR WAS HERE YEsTER-
DAY.
HAD you ONLY KNOWN!
THE ENGLISH WEIRD EVER SLOW!
] Our chaps printed a board which
vent them one better. It said:
IT1E KING HAS BEEN HERE TWICE
TOMORROW THE PRESIDENT
I OF FRANCE COMES.
WE ARE NOT AFRAID TO TELL YoU
: E&&E J1sEh N#&4 l&GN% AY0uy #&
FRITZ, YoU ARE HARMLESS!
TO carry the joke to the end, some
body dug up a silk hat from some
! where, and about ! o'clock all the Eel.
lows began to cheer. They stuck the
hat on the end Of a stick and carried
It along the trench 9 that 1t could be
(seen.
That hat al absolutely riddled with
bullets, but they carried 1t clear to the
end Of the trench, and then they threw
both hat and stick over the parapet, SO
that the Germans could see how they
had been fooled And how our fellows
howled!
The Germans were 30 mad l think
they would have done Us violence had
they had the opportunity. A little
thing like that means 4 lot to the boys
N the trenches, and It Is the subject
Of conversation for days and days
afterward
Later W began TO have more trouble
with spies. We caught punches Of
them, but there always seemed to be
more about. Occasionally there would
The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1917-11-15
An American Boys
Baptis,,a Of Fire
Copyright, Little. Brown 1 CO.

On Saturday morning. April "A, ]
had taken my "a down to the corps
supply column to I'll up with petrol
when a shell came over and landed
In the field just beside the column. II
was the first shell we had had In
P~operinghe, and, believe me, l didn't
want to see whether there were any
more on the way. had been detailed
to go to Boulogne. and I got started
quickly.
No sooner had that shell landed than
the civilians commenced to move. II
was the same old story-panic every.
where among the women and children,
and the road was choked with them.
The second shell landed about ten min
utes later. 20 l judged they were only
using one gun, and it was q small one
ct that. There was nothing, therefore.
to get excited about.
I picked up a priest and two old
women and gave them a lift as far
az Cassel, where they could get q
train later In the day for Calais OF
Boulogne. I reached Boulogne short.
" after 10 o'clock, and at l O'clock !
was on my way back. When ! arriv.
ed In P~operinghe everything seemed
as quiet as usual, and I was very much
surprised, as l had expected to find
shells pouring into the place from all
directions.
It seems that the Germans had run
an armored train through and had be-
gun Smelling the town from the train.
Our artillery went into action right
away, and instead of hitting the train
first they shelled the tracks behind the
train and tore the road all up so that
the train could not get back. Then
they took their time and blew the train
OF the map.
Sunday morning the shells began to
fall In the town again, and they were
big ones this time-twelve inch. !
heard later. We knew that 1t was no
armored train this time, and we knew
that we were in for a hot time.
I was detailed with my ear for the
field cashier, which meant that If the
order came to move l would have an
officer, armed escort and all the money
belonging to the headquarters, amount
ing to $4,000. All l had to do at the
time was to stand by and wait for or
ders. Sss-
They kept up the shell fire all das.
but at night they quit. There were
quite q few of our chaps killed and
many civilians too.
The chaplain Of No. 3 casualty clear
ing station had taken over a building
and started a soldiers home. 1t was
q place where a fellow could go when
he was off duty, and there we're books.
magazines, cake. tea, ETC., to he had
for the asking. 1t was a fine thing.
and it was always crowded, for the
fellows enjoyed it immensely.
This was the first building to be hit.
and it was full of fellows at the time.
A twelve inch shell crashed through the
roof and exploded on the second floor.
The building caved in like a house built
Of cards. The marvellous part Of it was
that, although there must have been
AuAAy AVV mCu ~ tACAC q SA0 SAAncs NV
q single one was killed. A few had
some scratches and other minor in
juries, and one had his arm broken.
but these were the only casualties from
this shell.
/ lost all my belongings during the
bombardment. ! had been keeping my
lit bag In the loft Of Z stable, and .
The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1917-11-15

everything was ready our boys enticed
the Germans into it, and then the work
OF destruction started. I was sitting
on horseback behind some staff officers.
W. were about half a mile from the
place, but we had our ears stuffed
with cotton to prevent the explosion
from fnjuring our hearing. +
When the mines were set OF We saw
q sight such as one observes only once
In q lifetime. The earth trembled. q
low, growing rumble ensued, then a
mighty crash, and the air was filed
with smoke, flame, bricks, dust, flying
bodies, heads, legs and arms. Our fell
lows let out q mighty cheer and charg-
ed across the crater formed BY the ex-
plosion. The Germans seemed stunned
By the awful sight they had witnessed,
and we took several lines Of trenches
from them with very little trouble. The
losses on the German side were terri
BILE and We lost heavily ourselves The
chateau at Hooge win always be re-
membered By those who saw II.
His majesty the king paid his armies
Z Visit In the fall, and AZ l had ~
seen King George ! was much inter
ested. had seen the king Of Belgi.
nm and also President POinea1e Of
France, but up to this time I had new
e ZEN the king Tor whom ] va fight
ing.
We we're warned the lay before.
ana every One had 3 10 bE1gh and
shining Tor the ~ svenA. - king
lroye up = = ear bearing ~ regal
sean1ard - & - - nay - -
Arizona republican., 1917-11-14
TROY TRAILER
 IN ALL PARTS
 PROVES WORTH

The motor truck trailer has come into the business world as a result of the introduction of the motor truck. The motor truck came as a natural result of the combustion engine, through the automobile, taking the place of the horse.
 The motor truck, it was found could do many times the work of a horse driven vehicle, no matter how many animals were attached thereto. So much power was created, in fact. that it was found that the motor truck had power to spare, that therefore much of the power created was going to waste.
 What to do with this wasted energy? That question led to the idea of rail- road transportation, the principle of an engine, or locomotive, and a string of cars. It was not long after this idea found lodgment in the minds of the engineers that the motor truck trailer made it's appearance.
 At first the trailer was a sort of a wagon attachment, poorly constructed. or at best, constructed to withstand only the wear of an ordinary wagon drawn by horses. These trailers could not stand up under the strain. It was found that a vehicle capable of trail ing huge motor truck, and doing its share of the hauling must be of en- tirely different construction than the old style horse wagon,
 It was then that companies began to
Arizona republican., 1917-11-14
CHAMP IONSHIP
 JAR BUILDERS
 NEVER CHANGE

The Stutz car. which was recently added to the lines of automobiles sold by the Babbitt- Poison company has a creed of its own. This creed starts off with i've believe in truth in advertis- ing" The creed also says that i've believe that official records of consist ent performance in races and daily service are more truthful than smooth selling talk
 Following this statement about truth and action is, we believe winning of important races and events means noth- ing to manufacturers or purchasers unless backed by the same engineering ability, material and workmanship in every day production, as produced by Stutz"
 Which means that every car is sini- lar to the car that won the race There fore, honesty is added to truth and ac- tion- Then the creed adds: We be- lieve in the honesty of our materials, the thoroughness of our workmanship, the harmony of our design and the high quality of our finish and equip ment" All this makes a mighty strong creed. We believe" the creed continues, 'the proven strength and stamina of our product is a better guarantee of lasting satisfaction than a clever assembly of words or a pretty picture" After that there isn't much to be said, so the creed closes with, "we believe in the honest value of the Stutz"
 Babbitt-Polson company added this car to its list, first, because the firm was fortunate enough to get the agency and. second, because there was, and is, a big demand for the Stutz in this country of mountains and deserts and where people want to go.
 The Stutz is a strong, sturdy car It has a reputation as a fighter It has never known knocko6t, and sell dom felt the sting of defeat. The race course has been its cradle. Racing has accelerated the development of the au- tomobile.
 Four models are the result of five years careful study and practical en- gineering. "We are not" say the Stutz people. marketing a new, un- tried design built to stimulate trade" It is the one thought of the Stutz Mo- tor Car company of America Onc.) to produce a high grade car, using alloy steel and such other materials as are suited to withstand every conceivable strain and shock incident to the rough est use.
 Championship Cars
 Tn making such a car it is necessary Q incorporate ideas and designs proven satisfactory under conditions more than ordinarily severe. This de- sign now holds the 1915 road and speedway championships. The only design of car that ever won first and second in four consecutive long dis tance races is the four cylinder chassis of sturdy Stutz construction.
 There are no novelties about the Stutz motor. It has not been changed every so often. This company an nounces it has never done anything sake of advertising. Stutz motors are now about the same as they always were. with a few minor improvements.
 Tt is a great satisfaction to know,' say the builders, that your motor car has a lot of reserve energy on tap. Then you do not fear any emergency. You know you can go anywhere you want to go- And the reserve power in the Stutz means that it will be a good
Arizona republican., 1917-11-14

lowed passing fads in body design, but it has made itself and stayed itself.
 The stutz is very comfortable. Big emi-elliptic springs, unusually long in the rear, absorb every road shock. The upholstery is deep and soft. There is an abundance of leg room in the front compartment and in the tonneau. Even the auxiliary seats are made com fortable
 Sixteen valve Stutz
 The 16-valve 4-cylinder Stutz motor is the result of several years practi- cal and successful racing experience under the company's own personal management, having met all compe- tition on all specially constructed speedways and rough roads. This mo- tor is announced as not a one nights dream, but rather the result of ex- haustive tests for low and high speed, as well as for general economy.
 The sturdiness of construction, the careful workmanship, the best quality of material, insuring dependability and efficiency, is evident in this motor, and is characteristic of Stutz design.
 The T-head type motor is used, as the company's best experience has taught that while the valve in the head construction is slightly more powerful, it has number of objectionable fea- lures which favor T-head construction.
 The valves in the 16-valve, 4-cylin- der motor are of smaller size, eliminat- ing the possibility of warping and crystalizing from high speed service. The wear on the cams and valve me- chanism is reduced very materially. The valve area is greater, however. af- fording long duration of maximum gas flow and cleaner scavenging. valve ef-
Arizona republican., 1917-11-14
Stuz Automobile Engineers Have Greed Of Their Own

of the world, behind every good make of truck, and carry every commodity known to trade. On city streets or country roads wherever motor trucks are being used, Troy trailers are operating economically.
 Owing to its automatic steering me chanism the Troy trailer will follow in the exact track of the truck, around any corner or into any opening. The reversible type can also be backed in a straight line, around corner or up to loading platform, just as easily as it can be pulled ahead. By reversible is meant a two way trailer-bOth ends are alike and the truck can be attached to either end, without the necessity of turning the trailer around The two way trailer can be reversed simply by giving two small levers quarter turn.
Arizona republican., 1917-11-14

specialize in the manufacture of trail- CTS. This business was developed and it was not long before it became sep arate industry.
 More Power Than Needed
 Every standard truck has a very im- nortant factor in addition to its carry ing capacity. and that is the drawbar pull developed in its motor On aver age roads and grades the excess power developed by the motor truck goes to waste unless a trailer is attached. r Under ordinary road conditions the average truck has plenty of reserve mower or drawbar pull to enable it to null a trailer of at least equal carry ing capacity. The load is doubled, or more. with but very slight difference of the operating expense. As a rule this does not exceed ten per cent and
Arizona republican., 1917-11-14

The Babbitt- Poison company does not recommend the non-reversible or one way trailer except where the haul is long and where there is no necess sity of backing or turning in & mars row roadway.
 Any type of drawbar pulling the trailer from its front axle is wrong. The Troy drawbar pulls through a resilient frame. By resilient frame is meant that the springs which sup port the frame are fastened to it by means of swinging shaclles. No matt ter in which direction the trailer is running, these swinging shaclIles per- init the springs to virtually float under the frame, and allow the axle motion
 (Continued on Page Nineteen)
Arizona republican., 1917-11-14

covers extra gasoline used and extra wear and tear of tires, etc. A truck that is profitable by itself becomes doubly so with Troy trailer.
 The Babbitt-Polso people who sell the Troy trailers in this territory go farther and say that many a truck which shows a loss operating alone, be- comes a profitah2e investment by put ting a Troy trailer behind it.
 In operating trucks the item of time spent in loading and unloading is often a most expensive one. By the addition of trailers the truck can be kept un- der pay load practically all the time. Trailers are thus substituted for the more expensive truck, as loading plat forms.
 Used Everywhere
 Troy trailers are used in every part
Arizona republican., 1917-11-14

car for many years. There is nothing feeble in 1t to give away"
 The Stutz has a distinguished ap- pearance. Its lines are strong and bold but dignified, and are dictated by the strength of the mechanical parts. They suggest a car that has done some thing, has proven itself on many race courses, which means nothing to the manufacturer and the purchaser unless backed up by the same engineering ability, material and workmanship in every day production, as is produced in the Stutz. The Stutz has not fol-
Arizona republican., 1917-11-14
c. ". WOODBURY Assistant Manager, Babbitt- Poison Go.

ficieney being of more importance than increased number of cylinders.
 The Stutz motor affords high power, speed, flexibility, simplicity and espe- cially smoothness and economy in operation, and is capable of perform ing every demand of motor car users