The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1918-07-18
DRANK HORSES URINE

The most stirring address ever de-
livered in Mercer County, by any wo-
man was delivered by Mrs. Clara
Steichen, of Springfield at our cele-
bration July 4th. Mrs. Steichen has
lived the last twenty years in France.
For the past three years she has
scarcely been without hearing or sight
of cannon shot. Her home has been
taken by the German army, her friends
and neighbors, made into refugees
and paupers overnight. All this she
tells in the most earnest and natural
way yet with rare dramatic force
which her knowledge and experience
of the war has burned into her very
soul. She forcibly brings home to all
red-blooded Americans that this war
must be fought unit! outraged Belgium
and France have been avenged. until
the thing known as German militarism
has been crushed from earth. In part
she said, -Four years ago this summer
my home was in Northern France.
lived in u country village inhabited
by people much the same as you; just
as pure; just as sweet; just as edu-
Gated as yourselves and people who
had worked AS hard for their homes
as you. The German army swept
across the Belgium frontier toward
France. The village drummer gave the
long roll and in twenty minutes my
friends of the village who were of
military age marched over the hill to
their regimental mobilization. We
knew that war had begun, for every
young man had gone to hold back the
invaders and protect his home land
from the ruthless of the German.
The next morning we were awakened
by an unusual sound and in the distant
we beheld vast numbers approaching,
which we thought to be the army, but
which we soon were to know as an
endless string of refugees who had
been already driven from their homes
! in northern France and who were flee
ing for their very lives, there were
men pushing wheel barrows, oxcarts
piled high with furniture, children
carrying a doll from their homes, low
ing herds driven in haste, old men
weariiy plodding, pregnant women
half dressed, all these leaving as they
were glad to escape, with their lives
the approaching storm. The battle
Bursting shells in the distant and
the retreating army, assisted by that
brave, courageous, friend of humanity
the English Tommy were in our midst
pulling and tugging at their heavy
cannon to again place them to fire
on the on-coming enemy. We people
of the village supplied these English
soldiers with drink and food. They
had been four days on the battle
front without food and without drink
except the urine from the horses.
The artillery horses were literally
dying in harness, their wounds full OF
maggots, and as the saddles of these
horses were removed great patches
of putrid flesh and skin came with
them. OF course the English army
it was in at the first cannon shot and
will remain until the last. Such heroic
conduct in the face of odds from ! to
and 10 has won the admiration OF
the world and never again will any
one speak in my presence of the Eng.
lish Army except with reverence.
Soon we too were with this vast
army of refugees. Trains filled with
wounded were passing thru the village
and we were fortunate in being assign
ed to cattle car bedded with straw
and which was already occupied with
some 40 people and we were glad to
make this home speeding to place
of safety for the next forty hours. My
lot was far better than that of the
average refugee, yet | have lived in
u house for months where it has not
been warmer than AZ degrees, plowed
hoed and dug my own garden, pulled
the coal to my own door with my owr
strength and glad of the chance to gel
the coal.
All of the railroads in Germany are