davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1918-08-13

.6ETROit' COS Nice cool southeast
room close in
DETROIT s.. 100 Nicely furnished bed
room With Kitchen privileges Phone
EiHIN s tl7- sietppr room iolRjnF
bath. re1temen or couple close in'
ELWOOp g 7g7 -Desirbals slsepine
room ,'ots in' southeast exposure Phone
YIGlN s. so2 Nicely mrnishsd sleeping
art hou'rtcepinE rooms
FIRST W aitx -For rent liEht house
ksrpirr room phone ital ----.
FIFTH y 22a EHtu nice sleeping room
Phone o22 -
lun RrNT-Room Tor genuemsu, ne''
rourthouse s. Chsyenne Phone puS-
FnR RFNT Nicely furnished sleeping room rss@
win modern ceovcn'cnees fhone l4''-
FOI'prH " 20o-Frout ''eeping roohh'
prly,te entrance connected WITH batN-
b.u block from Y NJ G. a. Prone
2s7i. ..-.-
rorRvu ~ atn-oue nicely furnished
room Tor nrht Housekeeping
GUTHRIE s 7is-1hree heauuiuly lu
ni,hed bedrcors; southeast ehpo'u'''
watirr distance ,-..
,,irtt,pug $40 Nicely furnished
,'.spinr roora close IN. south and wea'
,,po.ure hot and cold water In rooms.
Phone 2li ----
ot,rtrRrE s. 7o7 Sleeping room.
hlosks from Third and Main modern
Phone 2oss
TursrON y s07--ous lsrrs front asep
i,y MON with larrr closet nieNy WV
,i-Nrd tn modern home
,1ACKSON " Furnished room ana
sleeping poroh I'M private home wiz ~. @
t,r "a ~. week % man and wife Or two
ladies Phone as76j
/ tiR0p attractive bedroom. modern. io'
or revtlemen, private home, close 10.
Phone Aieo .-.-
wAtN Y Q77 -isrre souih room. WIN ~
yate bath WIN make 'u-mer rsie'' oas'
srsr'mr0fs
MARY pPoCKNAN kpTS Ao2 son,
t .i.rninf room connecting haiht Tor
4 gentleman. Phone 5iia
lNKty R0a--Lar~e cool sleeping room
I -'sss ir. phone ASA
INATN g Tt5--LRrre front room win
/ 49, Grs, avH Second Voos south rr
,n,or, reception hail and rorchq, ron
rs~isot to good boarding place Phone
! A6ia.R
|GTfN y Ris-rvo modern rooms Tor
u-ht horsspeenirr electric lights, good
water. south, ryposnre.
gNYPrfLt n an Nicely furDished room
for llrht housekeeping
SNaAtFs n t07 Two rooms fNr irht
i horssfrsrir~; sleeping porch and COED
veil Of water.
Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-03-21

on the ground to the point where we
der that we would not get lost in the
darkness. The proposed trench was
also laid out with tape.
The covering party went out first.
After short wait, two scouts came
back with information that the work.
Ing party was to follow and "carry on
with their work.
In extended order, two yards apart,
we noiselessly crept across No Mans
Land. 1t was nervous work; every
minute we expected machine gun to
open fire on us. Stray bullets Cracked"
around us, or ricochet sang over
head.
Arriving at the tapped diagram Of
the trench, rifles slung around our
shoulders, we lost no time in getting
to work. We dug as quietly as pos
sfble but every now and then the noise
Of pick or shovel striking a stone
would send the cold shivers down our
backs. Under our breaths we heartily
cursed the offending Tommy.
At intervals star shell would 60 up
from the German lines and we would
remain motionless until the glare Of Its
white light died out.
When the trench had reached q
depth of two feet we felt safer, be-
cause 1t would afford us cover in case
we were discovered and fred on.
The digginG had been in progress
Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-03-21
CHAPTER XIII.
My First Official Bath.

my FIST OFFICIAL Bath.
Right behind our rest billet was 81
large creek about ten feet deep and
twenty feet across, and it was a habit
OF the company to avail themselves Of
m opportunity to take swim and att
the same time thoroughly wash them
selves and their underwear when on
their own. We were having spell Of
hot weather, and these baths to us
were luxury. The Tommies would
splash around in the water and then
come out and sit In the sun and have
what they termed a "shirt hunt" At
drst we tried to drown the 'cootes,"I
but they also seemed to enjoy the BATH
One Sunday morning the whole sec
ton was in the creek and we were hav-I
ing gay time, when the sergeant ma
5or appeared on the scene. He came
to the edge of the creek and ordered:
Come out Of 1t. Get your equipment
on, drill order and fall in for bath
parade. Look lively, my hearties. You
have only got fifteen minutes" A howl
Of indignation from the creek greeted
this order, but out we came. Disci-
pline is discipline. We lined up in.
front Of our billet with rifles and bay.
onets (why you need rifles and bayo-
nets to take bath gets me), full
quota Of ammunition, and our tin hats.
Each man had piece of soap and
towel. After an eight-kilo march along
dusty road, with an occasional shell.
whistling overhead, We arrived at a
little squat frame building upon the.
hank q . creek. Nailed over the door
Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-03-21

AS soon as It was dark, wheeler and
crawled to our post which was about
halfway between the lines. It was
raining bucketfuls, the ground was
sea Of sticky mud and chung to US like
glue.
We took turns in listening with our
ears to the ground. I would listen for
twenty minutes while Wheeler would
be on the qui vive for German patrols.
We each wore a wristwatch, and be-
lieve me, neither one Of US did over
to the skin and our ears were full Of
mud.
Every few minutes bullet would
crack overhead or machine gun would
traverse back and forth.
Then all firing suddenly ceased. I
whispered to Wheeler, keep your eye
skinned, mate; most likely Fritz has
patrol out-that's why the Boches
have stopped firing"
We were each armed with rife and
bayonet and three Mills bombs to be
used for defense only.
l.
q sudden I heard faint, dull thuds.
In low but excited voice whispered
to Wheeler II think they are mining,
listen"
He put his ear to the ground and
In an unsteady voice spoke into my
ear:
"Yank, that's q patrol and it's head
ing our way. For Gods sake keep
STILL"
I was as still as mouse and was
scared stiff.
Hardly breathing and with eyes try
ing to pierce the inky blackness, we
waited. would have given a thou
sand pounds to have been safely in
my dugout.
Then we plainly heard footsteps and
our hearts stood still.
A dark form suddenly doomed up In
front of me; 1t looked as big as the
Woolworth building. could hear
the blood rushing through my veins
and 1t sounded as loud us Niagara
falls.
Forms seemed to emerge from the
darkness. There were seven Of them
In all. tried to wish them away.
never wished harder In my life. They
muttered few words in German and
melted into the blackness. I didn't
stop wishing either.
All Of sudden we heard stumble
muddy splash, and muttered don
ner und Blitzen." One Of the Boches
had tumbled into shell hole. Neither
of us laughed. At that time-it didn't
strike US as funny.
About twenty minutes after the Ger
mans had disappeared something from
the rear grabbed me by the foot.
nearly tainted with fright. Then {
welcome whisper in cockney accent
Il sly, myte, we've come to relieve
YOU"
Wheeler and l crawled back to oul
trench; we looked like wet hens ant
felt worse. After swig Of rum W.
were soon fast asleep on the fire steI
In our wet clothes.
The next morning ! was as stiff as {
poker and every Joint ached like .
bad tooth, but l was still alive, SO 1
did. not matter.
Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-03-21

in rest billets, digging roads, drilling,
and other fatigues, and then back into
the front-line trench.
Nothing happened that night, but the
next afternoon found out that q
bomber Is general utility man In a. Sec
1i0n.
IA About five o'clock in the afternoon
our lieutenant came down the trench
AMI stopping in front Of bunch Of US
on the fire step, with broad grin on
his face, asked:
4 "Who is going to volunteer for listen
ing post tonight? need two men,"
1t Is needless to say no one volun.
teered, because 1T Is anything but q
cushy job. began to feel uncomfort-
able as knew it was getting around
for my turn. Sure enough, with another
grim he kaid:
"Empey, you and Wheeler are due,
so come down into my dugout for In
.structions at six o'clock"
Just as he left and was going around
"a traverse, Fritz turned loose with q
machine gun and the bullets ripped the
'sandbags right over his head. 1t gave
me great pleasure to see him duck
against the parapet. He was getting a
taste of what we would get later out
lin front.
Then, of course, 1t began to rain. !
knew 1t was the forerunner of mis-
cradle night for us. Every time had
to go out in front, it just naturally
lrained. Old Jupiter Pluvius must have
had 1t in for me.
I AT six we reported for instructions.
They were simple and easy. All we
had to do was to crawl out into No
Mans Land, lie on our bellies with our
ears to the ground and listen for the
tap, tap of the German engineers or
sappers who might be tunneling under
No Mans Land to establish mine
head beneath our trench.
or course, in our orders we were told
not TO be captured by German patrols
or accommodating parties. Lots of
breath, Is wasted on the western front
giving silly cautions.
Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-03-21
CHAPTER XVI. =
Battery d Pcs.


The day after this I received the
glad tidings that would occupy the
machine gunners' dugout right near
the advanced artillery observation
post. This dugout was a roomy affair,
dry as finder, and real cots in it.
These cots had been made by tha
r. Els who had previously occupied
the dugout. I was the first to enter
and promptly made a signboard with
my name and number on 1t and sus-
pended 1t from the foot of the most
comfortable cot therein.
In the trenches 1t Is always "first
come, first served" and this Is lived
up to by all.
Two r. #. A. men (Royal Field ar
tillery) from the nearby observation
post were allowed the privilege Of
stopping In this dugout when off duty.
One Of these men, Bombardier Will
son by name, who belonged to Bat
terry d 23S, seemed to take liking
to me, and I returned this feeling.
In two days. time we were pretty
chummy, and he told me how his bat
terry In the early days Of the war had
put over stunt on Old Pepper, and,
had gotten away with 1t.
will endeaver to give the story as
far as memory will permit in his own
words:
II came out with the first expedi-
tionary force, and. like all the rest,
thought we would have the enemy
licked in Jig time, and be able to eat
Christmas dinner Mt home. WE'LL so
far have eaten two Christmas dim
ners in the trenches, and am liable to
eat two more, the way things are
pointing. That is, If Fritz don't drop
withholding on me, and send me to
BNghty. Sometimes / wish I would
get hit, because it's no great picnic
out here, and twenty-five months Of 1t
makes you fed up.
'It's fairly cushy now compared to
what 1t used to be, although admit
this trench is a tr1fe rough. Now,
we send over five shells to their one.
We are getting our own back, but in
the early days 1t was different. Then
you had to take everything without
reply. In fact, we would get twenty
shells in return for every one we sent
over. Fritz seemed to enjoy 1t, but
we British didn't; we were the suf-
ferers. Just one casualty after an
other. Sometimes whole platoons
would disappear, especially when a
Jack Johnson plunked into their
middle. 1t got so bad that fellow,
| when writing home, wouldn't ask for
any cigarettes to be sent out, because
he was afraid he wouldn't be there to
receive them.
after the drive to Paris was turned
back, trench warfare started. Our
general grabbed map, drew pencil
across 1t, and said, Dig here. Then
Ito be Coutinuad)
Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-03-21

stopped as the odor was very faint,
but If necessary he would allow us our
gas helmets while digging. He would
stay and see the thing through, but he
had to report back to brigade head
quarters Immediately. We wished that
we were captains and also had date
ut brigade headquarters. With our gas
helmets on we again attacked that hole
and uncovered the decomposed body Of
German !, the pick was sticking in his
chest. One of the men tainted. was
that one. Upon this our lieutenant
halted proceedings and sent word back
to headquarters and word came back
that after we filled in the hole we could
knock off for the night. This was well
come tidings to us, because
Next day the general changed tho
dot on his map and another emplace-
ment was completed the following
night.
The odor from the dug-up, decom-
posed human body has an effect which
is hard to describe. 1t first produces
nauseating feeling, which, especially
after eating, causes vomiting. This re-
lieves you temporarily, but soon a
weakening sensation follows, which
leaves you limp as dishrag. Your
spirits are ut their lowest ebb and you
feel sort of hopelessness and a mad
desire to escape it all, to get to the
open fields and the perfume of the flow
ers in eighty. There is sharp,
prickling sensation in the nostrlls.
which reminds one of breathing coal
gas through a radiator in the floor, and
you want to sneeze, but cannot. This
was the effect on me, surmounted by a
vague horror of the awfulness of the
thing and IN ever-recurrlng reflection
that, perhaps I, sooner or later, would
be in such state and be brought to
light by the blow of a pick in the hands
of some Tommy on n digging party.
Several times have experienced this
odor, but never could get used to It;
the enervating sensation was always
present. 1t made me hate war and
| wonder why such things were counte-
nanced by civilization, and all the spice
and glory of the conflict would disap-
pear, leaving the grim reality. But
| nfter leaving the spot and filling your
! lungs with deep breaths of pure, fresh
4 air, YOU forget and once again want to
| be "up and ut them.'
Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-03-21

| voice of the sergeant Informed that
mo. I section had clicked for another
blinking digging party" smiled to
myself with deep satisfaction. I had
been promoted from mere digger to
a member of the Suicide club, and was
exempt from all fatigues. Then came
an awful shock. The sergeant looked
over in my direction and said:
4Don't you bomb throwers think you
are wearing top hats out here. Cord
In to orders you've been taken up on
the strength of this section, and will
have to do your bit with the pick and
shovel, same as the rest of u.s."
I put up howl on my way to get
my shovel, but the only thing that re-
suited was loss of good humor on
my part.
We fell in at eight o'clock, outside
of our billets, sort of masquerade
party. 1 was disguised as a common
laborer, had pick and shovel, and
about one hundred empty sandbags.
The rest, about two hundred in all,
were equipped likewise: picks, shovels,
sandbags, rifles and ammunition.
The party moved out in column Of
| fours, taking the road leading to the
trenches. Several times we had to
string out in the ditch to let long col
umns of limbers, artillery and supplies
get past.
The marching, under these condi-
tons, was necessarily slow. Upon ar
rival at the entrance to the commune
cation trench, 1 looked ut my illumi-
mated wrist watch-it was eleven
! o'clock.
Before entering this trench, word
was passed down the line, mo talking
or smoking, lead off in single file, COW
ering party first
This covering party consisted of 30
men, armed with rifles, bayonets,
| bombs, and two Lewis machine guns.
They were to protect us and guard
against surprise attack while dig
! ging in No Mans Land.
The communication trench was
about half a mile long, zigzagging
ditch, eight feet deep and three feet
! wide.
| Now and again, German shrapnel
would whistle overhead and burst in
our vicinity. We would crouch against
the earthen walls while the shell frag-
ments slapped" the ground above US.
Once Fritz turned loose with ma
chine gun, the bullets from which
Cracked" through the air and kicked
up the dirt on the top, scattering sand
and pebbles, which, hitting our steel
helmets, sounded like hailstones.
Upon arrival in the fire trench an
officer of the Royal Engineers gave us
/ our instructions and acted as guide.
We were to dig an advanced trench
two hundred yards from the Germans
(the trenches ut this point were six
hundred yards apart).
| Two winding lanes, five feet wide,
, had been cut through our barbed wire,
for the passage of the diggers. From
these lines white tape had been laid
Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-03-21

IF this building was a large sign which
'ead divisional Baths" In Il wooden
she'd in the reur we could hear a
wheezy old engine pumping water.
We lined up in front of the baths,
soaked with perspiration, and piled
our rifles into stacks. A sergeant of
the r. A. NJ. G. with yellow band
around his left arm on which was
IS. p" (sanitary police) in black LETT
ters, took charge, ordering us to take
on our equipment, unroll our putsees
and unlace boots. Then, starting from
the right of the line, he divided us
into squads of fifteen. 1 happened to
be in the first squad
We entered small room, where we
we're given five minutes to undress,
then filed into the bathroom. In here
Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-03-21

there were fifteen tubs (barrels sawed
In two) half full of water. Each tub
contained piece of laundry soap The
sergeant Informed us that we had just
twelve minutes in which to take our
baths. Soaping ourselves all over, we
took turns in rubbing each others
backs, then by means of a garden hose,
washed the soap off. The water was
Ice cold, but felt fine.
Pretty soon bell rang and the wa
ter was turned off. Some of the slower
ones were covered with soap but this
made no difference to the sergeant,
who chased us into another room,
where we lined up in front of little
window, resembling the box office in a
theater, and received clean underwear
and towels. From here we went into
the room where we had first undressed.
Ten minutes were allowed in which to
get into our "clabber.''
My pair of drawers came up to my
chin and the shirt barely reached my
diaphragm, but they We're clean-no
strangers on them, so l was satisfied.
At the expiration of the time allot-
ted we We're turned out and finished
our dressing on the grass.
When all Of the company had bathed
1t was case Of march back to billets.
That march was the most uncongeniai
one imagined, just cussing and blind
Ing all the way. We were covered with
white dust and felt greasy from sweat.
The wooden underwear issued was
itching like the mischief.
After eating our dinner Of stew,
which had been kept for us-it was
now four o'clock-we went into the
creek and had another bath.
If "Holy Joe" could have heard our
remarks about the divisional baths
and army red tape he would have
tainted at our wickedness. But Tom.
my is only human after all.
| just mentioned "Holy Joe" or the
chaplain in an irreverent sort cs way,
but no offense was meant as there
were some very brave men among
them.
There are so many instances of he
roic deeds performed under fire in res
cuing the wounded that it would take
several books to chronicle them, but
have to mention one instance per-
formed by chaplain, Captain Hall by
name, in the brigade on our left, be-
cause it particularly appealed to me.
A chaplain is not q fighting man; he
Is recognized as noncombatant and
carries no arms. In charge or trench
raid the soldier gets a feeling of con-
fdence from contact with his rifle, re-
volver, or bomb he is carrying. He has
something to protect himself with,
something with which he can inflict
harm on the enemy-in other words,
he is able to get his own back.
But the chaplain is empty-handed,
and is at the mercy of the enemy IL
he encounters them, so it is doubly
brave for him to go over the top, under
fire, and bring in wounded. Also q
chaplain is not required by the kings
regulations to go over in charge, but
this one did, made three trips under
the hottest kind of fire, each time re-
turning with wounded man on his
back. On the third trip he received
q bullet through his left arm, but never
reported the matter to the doctor until
late that night-just spent his time adj
ministering to the wants of the wound
ed lying on stretchers.
The chaplains of the British army
are q fine manly set of men, and ar.
greatly respected by Tommy.
c.-erE1 Wy.
Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-03-21

these layers separate without rough
edges or are not as apt to soak when
the berries are added II liked as in
dtvidual cakes cut out with large bis
cult cutter. These may be prepared
as the larger ones were, or split and
spread with butter and berries.
A good recipe for shortcakes is the
following: Take two cupfuls of -four,
one-half teaspoonful of salt, three tea
spoonfuls of baking powder, three ta-
blespoonfuls of lard and three of but
ter, half cupful of cold milk. Mix
! and sift the dry ingredients, then with
two kieFe cut in the lard and butter,
then add the milk and roll out.
lightly.
Any fruit mixture makes good fill
ing. Crush few Strawberries.
enough to make good layer ON top
and between the crusts, then put
few whole or halved berries for gar
nish on top. Serve with whipped
cream.
For q change sometime crush cup
full of berries and mix them with
cupful OF cream, sWeetened we'll; put
on as usual and garnish with sliced
berries.
Pineapple shortcake.-Cut the pine
apple in small cubes and stew until
tender, with sugar to taste. Cool and
chill on ice. Strain off the Juice to
use in pudding sauce, and to the fruit
add whipped cream. Pile between and
on the top Of the cakes and garnish
with candied cherry or cranberry.
Raspberry and currant Shortcake.-
These may be made of the canned va
rieg, but are not nearly as good as
the fresh. Mix with the berries, if fresh,
a cupful of strained currant juice to a
quart Of the berries. If canned ber-
ries are used add little currant juice
or jelly to give flavor. Garnish with
whipped cream
Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-03-21
CHAPTER XIV.
Listening Post.


1t was six in the morning when we
arrived at our rest billets and we were
allowed to sleep until noon; that is,,
II we wanted to go without our break
fast. For sixteen days we remained!
Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-03-21

dough should be handled
as little and as lightly as
possible. II made in one
large cake they are split
much easier If they are
patted thin, brushed with
melted butter and an
other thin layer placed
nm ION Whon hakad
Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-03-21
K,4TtaH7tn b
CABINET ~
sHoRTcAkEs WE LIKE.

Learn to consume your own smoke.
II you have misfortunes, pains, dis
eases. losses, keep them to yourself
Bury them. Those who know you havo
them. will love and admire you inf
nitely more for your suppression. n
stout heart and persistent cheerfulness
will be more than match for all your
troubles.-Orison SWEET Marden.
Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-03-21
N1.s hl4 p,see.
Want Something :?
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for it in
these columns
TIRE REPAIRING

TIRE Repairing
We are prepared to give first
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tire repairing and solicit a share
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castings. q. III. BtASCH
PA
DECORATION DAY
Place yor" orders early. for
cemetery work If you wish work
completed for Decoration day.
Call at Monument. Works, Ell
Erie. Phone 268W. We will call
on you. B. C. STARLlN.
EOD-W
Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-03-21

The best shortcakes are made with
out sweetening and without eggs. The
Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-03-21

Or. hlese Physician In charo 9.
osteopaths Sixth 81.
Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-03-21
cE-nrE1 WV

Picks and ShoveIs.
had not slept long before the sweet
Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-03-21
DECORATION DAY

Drs. Gamble and Gample.
Missouri Valley Hospital.
Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-03-21

As soon as it was dark, Wheeler and
I crawled to our post which was about
halfway between the lines. It was
raining bucketfuls, the ground was
sea Of sticky mud and chung to US like