davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1918-09-05
News of Jackman Boys "0Ver There
From Letters Home

Clifford Young has arrived safely
overseas.
Herbert Wilson reported July 18th
seriously wounded writes that he and
a companion. Albert Tanguay were
"gassed' but expect to return u their
company soon.
William Achey who was reported
wounded the same date. writes that he
is not permitted by the censor to state
the exact nature of his wounds He
has two brothers in the service. Colby
called in April. 1918. and Fred. who
registered June >. 1918. and left for
Camp Deyens August 2Sth William
Achcy enlisted in June, 1917
No word has been received from
Arno Hughey who was reported seri-
ously wounded on July 18th and
great anxiety on his behalf Is felt
by his mother. Mrs Annie Hughey
Moore of Jackman.
The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1918-09-05
: liens OF INTEREST
COLES CORNER ATHENS
From Our Correspondents


hdfI Mdfn anu WIZ @ha "r..
A'1nuI "9ouiIdH "eh1 - y. a."a'"r
On i-dpoi DAY q" Speha NJ aas ann
Drihg hoiae 'He'i 'holhef. aif req
j." aiu, WI. @n9 "e5 'e zen .p ,l..s "
Ee1n9 5,'f5s "''' '"''' 1aaf.'s'' ''
~ .al ~. r,.,,.4.,., -. e.5l,-...
mi hs.,.a .,'.......I', 54@,l..h
1t'..ht,s,,..=. t..,,.'t..,. - 49,.
- ..,....'i.,,,, 80 ~. -.
* .sameg.bere in Er,, 60 '''
rg.,...fd HI, ,na.r s,b.,.. ..,r
dior - ~ 10. ir .te sefsti@., .,r
yica h.. t..r h,,.,, -, . ,an a..
IT, - ..t.s.,.,, '.,,I r,t,,rrod -, ,.,.r,,,.
Ntord5,. .tb,, ,.5...I,. 80 inr,it.
nrand - MI, ..a8 ~ 81 ~ 49,
necial in,lres, ia, s.s. -. bn 49, -
,,,..,.. r.. ..... ~. 49, -. -
sira -. u, ,.....t....4... - ~ r.
,a'ro,,,5,fr .5 ~ - III. 49,
- - oanar., ,, ,,...a ha 7'i1 o. =
l.,t...fFfz.fa
- a.. .l1.,..'I..
49,. pa r' s-'l',e 49, 5 "
W.. ia - i'''. .zd - a..
H. 1ar.la,a ia'. - ...;.t ~.
~. -. ,,h"r, wa
dan,'t,s NV g'2.,,' " I a. :, on wa
uepu.3 s'ieii ~ vi I va .ialia -,
~ az, ,'e ,. W. a." a IN. I'm q III.
,,ian nv "a, "''n M ~ fs1 W.,
- ,''.s NV '"e ~ - - "
oliNihs dPoit ~ HlIe5 an Houi' - On
ca mo ihe rear OF 1he I'd, ma ~ Il. :
Dolh rear ~heeI9 ana the odeh - 'n'
Gar Ai. buIlheI uiuh ! VIZ - ia ' :
Inc ieiio" %EresVeu as ~ Ane" A'7
parents, ana after paying Tor me
DAMAGE ne started on MS Nay or!'-
ing like mad man. In Dexter ne
ran over chlld' kllling instant
~ The Maine authorities mad tax
en- away his license IN TINS state, but
ne mad gone to New Hampshire and
bought car ana mad \. II. license
his career win AUTOMOBILES Is now
probably ended.
The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1918-09-05
OVER THE TOP
ARTHUR GUY EMPEY

We saluted as the general passed US.
The Irlshman had broad grin on bis
face and we could scarcely believe our
eyes-the general was under arrest.
After passing a few feet beyond us, the
general turned, and said In wrathful
voice to Atwell:
"Tell this d-n fool who / am. He's
arrested me as spy"
Atwell was speechless. The sentry
butted In with:
"None o. that gassin' out o. you.
Back to headquarters you goes, Mr..
Fritz. Open that face O. yours again,
an I'll dent in your NAPIER with the
butt O. me rifle"
The generals face was q sight to be-
hold. He was fairly boiling over with
rage, but he shut up,
Atwell tried to get IN front of the
sentry to explain to him that it really
was the general he had under arrest,
but the sentry threatened to run his
bayonet through him, and would have
done it, too. SO Atwell stepped aside,
and remained silent. / was nearly
bursting with suppressed laughter. One
word, and I would have exploded. 1t
Is nor exas!ly diplomatic to laugh at
your general In Such q predIcament.
The sentry and his prisoner arrived
at brigade headquarters with disas-
trous results to the sentry. ,,,.-ss-..-
The joke was that the general had
personally issued the order for the
spy's arrest. 1t was habit of the gen.
eral to walk through the trenches on
rounds of inspection, unattended by
any of his staff. The Irshman, being
new in the regiment, had never seen
the general before, so when he came
across him alone In a communication
trench, he promptly put him under ar
rest. Brgadier generals wear red
band around their caps.
Next day we passed the Irishman
tied to the wheel of Timber the be-
ginning of his sentence of twenty-one
days, field punishment No. 1. Meier
before have | seen such woebegone
expression on mans face.
For several days, Atwell and made
ourselves scarce around brigade head
quarters. We did not want to meet
the general.
The spy was never caught.
The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1918-09-05

The following letter has been re-
ceived from an up river subscriber Of
this paper and should prove interest
ing to the farmer who has some more
hay to be cut:
Mr. Editor: AS have taken this
paper 50 years, it has changed name
and owners many times, | have still
takep it. Now | think il IS not out
OF the way for me to ask a favor as
l am done haying and would like to
work a few days. | have cut two
farms of hay (some 40 acres) all
alone. Now if you know of any one
that wants a man, please let me know.
| Will work cheap and won't be fussy
about the living | would like coffee
in the morning and if there is no SUI
gar, a little maple syrup will do as
you know sugar is scarce Don't
refer me to the Poor Farm for | al
ways had a dread for that | won't
spend the money going 10 movies or
any such foolshness but would like
to buy stamp and pay for this paper
another year | want to do my bit 10
help Uncle Sam down the Huns
will work for SIS day and if | can't
do as much as any two fellows that
ask 50. / Will eat my seythe and
snath and 70 home So you see il
would be cheaper to hire me as one
would save boarding one man and
then I wouldn't find fault either II
any one asks YOU who he is or where
he lives. you tell them il is
LEN GATES
The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1918-09-05
DESERVES A GOLD
MEDAL FOR THIS
Cincinnati authority tells how to dry
up any corn or CallnS so II
lifts right oil

You corn pestered men and women
need suffer no longer Wear the shoes
that nearly killed You before, says this
Cincinnati authority, because a few
drops of freezone applied directly on a
tender. aching corn stops soreness at
once and soon the corn loosens so il
can be lifted ont. root and all, without
a bit of pain
a quarter Of an ounce of freezone
costs very little at any drug store. but
is sufficient to take off every hard or
soft corn or callus This should be
tried, as it is inexpensive and is said
not to nfame or even irritate the sur
rounding tissue or skin
II your wife wears high heels she
will be glad to know of this
The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1918-09-05
Candidate for Register OF Deeds

Harry 3. Harris Of Canaan. who
has been nominated by Somerset Dem
ocrats as their candidate for register
OF deeds, was born in the town which
has since been his home. November
3, 1876, the son Of William and Au-
gusta Prescott Harris Besides at
tending the schools Of his native town,
he had the advantages Of a business
college training, graduating from
Shaw's in Portland in 1887 He was
elected superintendent Of school in
Canaan in 1888 and unanimously re-
elected for the two succeeding years
The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1918-09-05
Friendly Comment

Athens, Sept. 8, 1918.
Please find enclosed one dollar and
fifty cents for the Reporter another
year. couldn't get along without it.
Don't get out much and like to know
what friends and neighbors are doing
around also the boys in France.
Yours truly,
p B. WILEY,
Athens, Maine, r. D. l
The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1918-09-05

Fox Hill is in Athens
There is Goodwin Hill in Canaan
also a Goodwin Hill in Hartland
Grant Hill is in Harmony
Hilton Hill is in Cornville
Hurd Hill Is in Harmony
The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1918-09-05

Chase Hill is in Canaan.
Carson Hill is in Harmony.
The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1918-09-05

toms. L j. p ut eco
nomical HOME BE&EDY;
a cent a dose d. a pas-.c
aud blood pWiAer. " l
gave money and Prev.
sickness by using it. Z )
only tie TRUE IL. ? IN
large bottle 50 cents, made
BY the L. T. Medicine Co,
Portland, Me.
The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1918-09-05

Eaton Mountain is in Skowhegan
Foster Hill is in SkoWhegan
Gunnison news-champion., 1918-02-22

rtAC-NE CNNE2 JE2IN3N FRNiCE-
Gunnison news-champion., 1918-02-22

"nme four thousand miles from Ogden,
Utah. just outside of Ncrv York. to
fight for your king and country. Don't
be n Stacker. buck up and get Into uni
form: come over to III. recruiting of.
flee and ri have you enlisted"
He yawned and answered, II don't
care II you came forty thousand miles.
no one asked you to-" and he walked
on. The girl gave me sneering look
| was specrhless.
recruited for three weeks and near
ly got one recruit.
This perhaps was not the greatest
stunt in the world. but II got back ut
The officer who had told me. Yes. we
take anything over here" | had been
spending good lot of my recruiting
time in the saloon bar OF the Wheat
Shcaf pub jthere was a very attractive
blonde barmaid. who helped XIII time
was not as serious In those days as
was little later when ! reached
and my recruiting report was blank.
I was getting low in the pocset-bnr-
maids haven't much use for anyone
who cannot buy drinEs-so | looked
around for recruiting material. You
know Il man on recruiting service gets
bob or shilling for every recruit
ie entices into joining the army. the
-ocruit is supposed 10 get this. but he
vnuld not be recruit II he were wise
o this fact. would he?
Down Mt the end Of the bar was a
;oung fellow In mufti who was very
Jatriotic-he had about four "Old
Six" ales aboard. He asked me II he
,ould join, showed me his left hand.
wo fingers were missing but I said
hat did not matter as 1--WE take any
hing over here" The left hand is
the rifle hand as the piece is carried
ut the slope on the left shoulder. Near
ly everything in England is "by the
eft" even general traffic keeps to the
port side.
took the applicant over TO head
quarters. where he was hurriedly ex-
mined. Recruiting surgeons were
busy in those days and did not have
much time for thorough physical exam.
nations. My recruit was passed rs
fit" by the doctor and turned over to
corporal to make note of his scars.
| was mystified. Suddenly the corpo-
cal burst out with. "Blime me, two of
his fingers are gone" Turning to me
he said, "You certainly have your
nerve with you. not 'alf you amt, to
bring this beggar in"
The doctor came over and exploded,
What do you mean by bringing in a
man In this conditioa?"
Looking out of the corner Of my eye
l noticed that the officer who had re-
cruited me had Joined the group, and
| could not help answering, "Well, sir,
was told that you took anything over
here"
think they called II Yankee inn
pudence," anyhow 1t ended my recruit
ng.
Gunnison news-champion., 1918-02-22

pier and disemharked. had at
tnined another one Of my ambitions.
] was Somewhere In France" We
slept in the open that night on the side
Of the road About six the next morn
ing We were ordered to entrain-
looked around for the passenger
coaches. but all could see on the sid
ing were cattle cars. We climbed into
these. On the side Of each car was
a sign reading -Homrnes 20. CheveauI
s. When we got inside of the cars.
we thought Ihat perhaps the sign
painter had reversed the order of
things. After IS hours In these trucks
we detrained nt Rouen. Al this place
We went through an intensive trimming
for ten days
The trimming consisted OF the rudi-
ments of trench warfare. Trenches
had been dug. with barbed wire en-
tanglements. bombing saps. dusouts.
observation posts and machine gun EN-
placements W.. were given a smaI-
tering Of trench cooking. sanitation.
bomb throwing. accommodating. listen
Ing posts. constructing and repairing
barbed wire. carrying in parties.
Gunnison news-champion., 1918-02-22

to his desk. l Immediately followed
this action by throwing the kilograms
into the wastebasket. Then we looked
at each other in silence. He was
squirming in his chair and I felt de-
pressed and uneasy.
The telephone rang and I answered
II. 1t was business call for me, re-
Questng my services for an out-of-
town assignment. Business was not
very good. so this was very welcome
After listening to the proposition I
seemed to be swayed by peculiarly
strong force within me, and answered.
II am sorry that cannot accept your
oner. but l am leaving for England
next week" and hung up the receiver.
The lieutenant swung around In his
chair, and stared at me in blank aston
ishment- A sinking sensation came
over me, but l detiantly answered his
look with, well. it's SO. I'm going"
And / went.
The trip across was uneventful
landed ut Tilbury, England. then got
into string of matchbox cars and
proceeded to London. arriving there
about 10 p. IN. / took room In hotel
near st. Pancras station for five and
six-fire extra" The room was minus
the fire. but the extra" seemed to
keep me warm. That night there was
q Zeppelin raid, but didn't see much
Of 1t. because the slit In the curtains
wss too small and I had no desire to
make 1t larger. Next morning the tel
ephone bell rang. and someone asked.
"Are you theref" I was. hardly. Any
way. I learned that the Zeps had re-
turned to their fatherland. SO went
out Into the street expecting to see
scenes Of awful devastation and . cow
Gunnison news-champion., 1918-02-22

lcsatizasd q Page ssvea)
Gunnison news-champion., 1918-02-22

tied sergeant, properly fed up with
the war, 30 "awsked" him.
Think it's going to rain, sergeantl"
He looked at me In contempt, and
yrunted, "'Ow's 1t a-goin' ter rain with
the bloomin' sun a-shlnin'r' I looked
guilty.
"Them's the guns up the line, me
lad. and you'll get enough of 'em be-
fore you gets back to Blighty."
Ny knees seemed to wilt, and I
squeaked out a weak "Ohv"
Then we started our march up to the
line In ten-kilo trekA After the first
days march we arrived at our rest
billets. In France they call them rest
billets, because while In them Tommy
works seven days q week and on the
eighth day Of the week he Is given
twenty-four hours ION his own.
Our billet was q spacious affair. q
large barn on the left side Of the road,
which had one hundred entrances,
ninety-nine for shells. rats. wind and
rain. and the hundredth one for Tom
my. I was tired out, and using my
shrapnel-proof helmet (shrapnel proof
until q piece Of shrapnel hits it), or
tin hat. for Q pillow. lay down in the
straw. and was soon fast aaleep. I
must have slept about two hours. when
! awoke with q prickling sensatioo al
over me. A. thousht the straw had
Worked through ny uniform. I woke
mp the fellow lying % NJ lea. who bad
been up the line before. and aaked
Gunnison news-champion., 1918-02-22
n NEWS

aI~Sc,i- Why don't you Io.l: No,
IN. time
This argument ought to get maIy
-rruIrs Empey, ~ 20 out and sc
ha' yug can do
-. then =. ys me a small roS-'t- OF
8. white md blue rihhOn, with rhre.
'le .lr-a'ua-s hanging down Tai
rs the recruiting Insignia and was
, be- worn on the '.'i sd. ~ the cru
Nod WITH 90 sra-rrr slick and my
rrrurlc ro-r'fa went ont Into Tot
lrm Cuurr road Iu quest Of canuo.
I5---
Two nr th--a poorly dressed civil
.. ra--.,I NO arH although th"y ap-
--f rhv1,HIv f'. I said 20 myself
r..~ d.r-' uru' 70 'uU the army I.
-rnr.S they have someone dspenden;
.h-u for support" 50 I did not ac-
% rr.rn.
'.rr.r- down ~. street I saw z
az GrrIy. top hat and all, with a
..nI big dressed GlrI walking be
"a, him | nur'ur"d. You are Tny
at" and when re came abreast OF
.. -'r-red directly In his path and
prred him with my swagger stick.
lug.
YOU would look hne In khaki; why
= change that top ha' for q steel
rm~tf Aren't you ashamed Of your
u husky young chap Ike you in
aEI when men are needed in the
inches: Here am. an American.
Gunnison news-champion., 1918-02-22

methods used in attack and defense.
wiring parties. mass formation. and
he procedure for poison-gas attacks.
On the tenth day we again met our
friends ''Hommes 40. ChcveauN S.
rhirty-six hours more OF misery, and
We arrived at the town of r.
After unloading our rations and
equipment, we lined up on the road in
columns Of fours waiting for the order
to march.
A duh rumbling could be heard. The
sun was shining. turned to the man
IN my left and asked. whats the
noise, BilIT" He did not know. but Ia
lace was of pea-green color. Jim.
IN my right, also did not know. biH
suggested that / "awsk" the sergeant
Coming towards us was an old griz
Gunnison news-champion., 1918-02-22

MN:
-Does the straw bother you. matet
IT'S worked through my uniform and
can't sleep"
In a sleepy voice he answered.
THAT amt straw, thern's coolies
From that time on my friends the
-coo,ies" were constantly with me-
.-Cooties." or body lice. are the bane
Of Tommy's existence.
The aristocracy Of the trenches very
seldom call them -cooties, they SPEAK
Of them as fleas.
To an American flea means small
insect armed with bayonet- who Is
wont to jab IL into you and then hop
skip and jump 10 the next place 10 De
attacked. There Is an advantage IN
having fieas on you instead OF coolies
In that I'm one Of his extended jumps
said flea IS liable to land on the fel-
low next to you; he has the typical
energy and push OF the American
while the "cootie" has the bulldog
tenacity Of the Engllshman; he holds
on and consolldates or digs In until
his meal is finished.
There is no way TO get rid of them
permanently. No matter how often
you battle. and that is not very often.
or how msny times you change your
underwear. your friends the .'cooties"
are always In evidence. The billets are
infested with them, especially SO II
there is straw on the floor
have taken bath and put on
brand-new underwear; In fact, COM
pIete change of uniform, and then
turned in for the night. The next morn
ing my shirt would be full of them. It
is a common sight to see eight or ten
soldiers sitting under n tree with their
shirts over their knees engaging In q
"shirt hunt"
AT night about half an hour before
"llghts out you can see the Tommies
grouped around candle, trying. In its
dim light. to rid their underwear Of
the vermin. A popular and very quick
method is to take your shirt and draw
ers, and run the seams back and for
ward In the fame from n candle and
burn them out. This practice is dam
gerous. because you are liable to burn
holes In the garments If you are not
careful.
Recruits generally sent to Blighty
for brand of insect powder adver-
tised as "Good for body lice" The ad-
vertisement is quite right the powder
is good for "cooties;" they simply
thrive on ii.
The older men Of our battalion were
wiser and made scratchers out Of
wood. These were rubbed smooth with
bit of stone or sand to prevent splin-
ters. They were about eighteen inches
long. and Tommy guarantees that q
scratcher OF this length will reach
any part of the body which may be at
tackled. Some of the fellows were lazy
and only made their scratchers twelve
inches, but many a night when ON
guard. looking over the top from the
fire step of the front-line trench. they
would have given a thousand "Quid"
for the other six inches. . ---~tl.
Once while We were In rest billets an
Irish Hussar regiment camped in an
open field opposite our billet. After
they had picketed and fed their horses,
II general shirt hunt took place. The
trooDers ignored the call ''Dinner uD."
Gunnison news-champion., 1918-02-22

and kept on with their search for big
game. They had curious method Of
procedure. They hung their shirts over
hedge and beat them with their en-
trenching tool handles.
asked one Of them why they didn't
pick them on by hand. and he nm
swered. "We haven't had a bath for
nine weeks or a change of clabber. II
l tried to pick the coolies OF my shirt.
l would be here for duration Of war"
After taking close look at his shirt, I
agreed with him; It was alive.
The greatest shock a recruit gets
when he arrives at his battalion in
France is to see the men engaging in
"cootie" hunt. With an air Of con-
tempt and disgust he avoids the COM
pany Of the older men. until couple
Of days later, In a torment of itching,
he also has to resort to a shirt hunt,
or spend many sleepless night Of
misery. During these hunts there are
lots of pertinent remarks banded back
and forth among the explorers, such
as, "Say, Bill, I'll swap you two little
ones for big one" or, ''Tve got \
black one here that looks like Kaiser
Bill"
One sunny day in the front-line
trench. ! saw three officers sitting ont
side Of their dusout Goodies" are no
respectefs Of rank Ihave even noticed
suspicious uneasiness about certain
weiLknown generall, one Of them was
2 major. two a them were exploring
thsar shirts. paying No attentioa to the
occaalonal shells which passed over.
had IAs na5oe wns wSltinx Z lsttex,
(Csntinasd q Page ssvea)
Gunnison news-champion., 1918-02-22
CHAPTER II.
eIiahty 10 Rest niIIe.s,

The next morning the captain sent
Ior me and Informed me: "Empey. as
recruiting sergeant you are wash
out" and sent me to training depot
After arriving at this place. I VII
hustled to the quartermaster stOr,
and received an awful shock. t.
Quartermaster sergeant spread ":
terproof sheet On the ground and com-
Gunnison news-champion., 1918-02-22
LUSITEl.lE SUNK! AMERICAN
LIVES LOST.

tn" ".r. .... uT. u and r..,.l-
Ing "r -r- p Iwr4ad ra" air.
Th-u-. rt.. -n g. s.a.a4 raw- tho
srrn..-.s. n , -g-5 PLAYING In rhe
stree II l'..r L...,. Ny Boy To- f."
Sur..-"
~. o Sm1' American Lives
Lost ~ Irur Ra-" Ny Boy 10
T." a ~,...t II U.s. th.-,. dla not
seem 'n ,.t.
I'll" n,..s.r' 90 .llrnc" oT"rr.d one
Of 'h. "H.~ .,.r.-- - hIs DIX and
t,"k lru .' su A-rr,an ting whlrh
b" -"hu.'. ar.5nl urr 'h" "nr mnp
on ,hr arI Then. turning To ur with
grin. -... -.ul.
"II"N ...H' .' ,"rrraut? You had
h"rfrr r.r uur rnr muster roll 81 the
MuIu'vl S.rE'- 81, / think they VIII
b.. u,rr... 8 3. r..,. ,,,r~s" of frw days"
w ha....l ."--.ll,s Ill TAT" I'm the
evening "r'.u- uIi "m"rG~uoy tcl"-
grams l,r the a.,, To report when the
cull should rmur from Washington.
Then ~" went home
crossed uNrl 20 New York. and as
went up FGItoI street to tax" the
subway to BT""klyn the lights in the
tall buildings 0f New York seemed to
be burning brigL than usual. AZ II
they. too, had RAT "LuSitunIu Sunk
American Lives Lost" They seemed
to be glowing with anger and righteous
Indignation. and their rays wigwagged
the message, "Rr-.""."
Months passed, the kilograms lying
handy. but covered with dust. Then.
one momeutous morning the lieutenant
with II sigh OF disgust removed the
flag from the war mup and returned
Gunnison news-champion., 1918-02-22
Erem No. o KhskI.

It WIZ ... an ." % 10 Jrr-~y cry
! w.. -f'.as 30 . 5 3-h 'a.sIns 20
u u'...u.a' ~ 'a~ J,r-.y Nar.,a'
GuarL 60. PIE. 50 90 a.- hG war
uar an.r..I ..'. Ea-."a-Is r"l"r.I
lI"... " s- -. HIg-. ''. Ir.-.'..rn "c 'A"
or1..r- a,. ..s "a rn~ vr~',-u front
in fr.r. I. '-.,' nt m" "u 'h,. '.--E
La' Sc. ~ l.-. l.i.~r ".'A h.- har.as
Evening star., 1918-04-16

Crepe de NhlneS, Etc. L
KARvELoUS Blouses both as to their
Vl materials-heavy Georgette, crepe de
Chine, satin or taffeta-and as to
their styles, which include dozens Of the
newest models.
There are stripes. checks, dots plaids:
there are plain colors and stripes OF al!
widths There are, also, Blouses made of
combinations of the materials mentioned
above.
Limit. two to a customer.
Second Floor, Main Building