The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1918-01-23
I'm organization IS
belng trained in the
Sfience Of ambush
at AMet1can Uni.
ver5lty :: It's their
BUSINESS t0Mdeguns
andMater7a/ofzyar
from our enemies

"ashlngton.-Of the novel units
winch are being organized for the first
''n'e IN the military history of the
United States, probably the conpanv
OF "camoutleurs" now in training a+
camp American University will create
.he greatest popular interest: partly
because 1t Is composed of the leading
artists, sculptors and architects in the
country but more from the unique task
Whlch the ''camoufleurs" have set
themselves. Camoutlage Is not a new
military term developed by the war.
oh the contrary, 1t is an old slang
WORD OF the French stage, intended to
be descriptive of the makeup of the
actors. In its military sense, In which
II IS now popularity known, the term
refers to the art of 50 concealiug or
disgusting an object that the enemy
cannot recognize it for what it is. A
peaceful rock is discovered when too
late to be a deathdealing gun. A
mound of earth heaped above a trench
shows no sign Of human occupancy
when the incautious enemy learns to
his cost that the seeming mound was
Il row of invisible helmets with n rifle
man behind each. A hedge conceals
a regiment, and the onrushing German
finds death lurking behind the cleverly
contrived nest of shrubbery whose Sc
cret even his airplanes and his cameras
had failed to reveal.
IT is not surprising that the fasci-
nation of outwirting the enemy by
means of brush. color and ingenious
design should appeal to the artistic
sense of our painters, sculptors and
engineers. 1t was this appeal which
caused Barry Faulkner, the artist, and
Sherry f. Fry. the sculptor, on an
evening some months ago, to call to-
gether in New York as many of their
artist friends us they could assemble
with the idea of organizing and offer
ing to the government the services
of the artists Of America to aid the
American troops In France to ambush
the Germans. Camouflage. by the way,
is only another name for ambush. It
was first employed by the American
Indian; perhaps not consciously, but
with such instructive naturslness, that
the Indian of history always appears
to have been merged with the rock and
the forest In which he fought. Opln-
ion Is divided as to whether the In
dian realized the effectiveness Of his
own scheme of costume cOlOrs. How
ever that may be, ambush always has
been more than half the art OF the
fighting Indian. and the modern ca
mOuflage was his natural resort. When
the white man came with the shotgun
the Indian at first had the advantage
for he so blended with the landscape
that the superior marksman could not
distinguish him. and the bow and ar
row won many bloody triumphs over
the gun. In the day of the short-rnnge
musket with which our early armies
were equipped the necessity OF con-
cealment was as great as Ii the days
of the pioneer, and the woOdsmen who
fought in the Continental army and
who picked off the British in lSl2 had
learned better than expose themselves
to the enemy In red coats. Then came
the long-range rifle. and the art or
and disguise became less
With the invention OF the
airplane, however. the need OF lnge-
NOUS devices for hiding troops and
equipment from the enemy again be-
came vital, and the French developed
II until 1t ranks with the best of their
achievements.
1t was knowledge of this need ana
Of the new problems injected int" the
science of war by the airplane that
drew these artists together III New
York. Nineteen responded to the nrs'