American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1918-12-13

ed old hill could easily shelter.
Yet in the early morning OF Septem-
Der ~ the Yankee troops, sweeping
nonchalantly past the hill. learned
from their equally n%onchalant French
friends on the left that a r~econnoiter-
lng squad had mounted Montsec with
c~arelessly slung Rosalies.
II had found the u pile deserted,
tho tunnels echoing HOLLOWAY. the OBJ
seryation posts abandoned. II had
found no living creature on all Mont
sec, save one affable internationalist
setter. now %variously known as Fritz
and Monisec. and four blinking rab-
bits. penned against a shortage In
rations.
Tunnels. Tunnels Everywhere
A d~isembowled hill There Ia no
other word for such a human anthili
as the Germans made OF the famous
Lorraine mountain.
Everywhere within the hill run tun-
nels. some we'll paved and shored.
sOme followed out In slovenly fash
ion depending on the caliber Of the
resident troops who did the work.
Tunnels entering from the bottom and
meeting tunnels from the top. Tun-
nels opening out into underground
chambers. some fitted up as barracks.
some as kitchens, some as mess halls.
some as pantries, some as arsenals.
Tunnels connecting the various ma
chine gun posts. OF which 10 pointed
towards the Allied line. Tunnels
screened against the chance observer.
You might walk quite a way mp the
AN .aItl...t ..m..tl.. aA~ a.LfAr
ranean life unless you happened to
spot a arnokestack protrudlng unex-
pectedly from the ground.
Equipped with shell-proof quarters.
with ammunition, guns and food sup
plies. boasting. besides its signal
points. a fine wireless station, sur
plied with water and electric light
brought from afar Montsec was al
self-supporting and %impregnable a
fortress as one often sees In these
days OF sandbag ~fortincations.
Comfort the Watchword
Also. Il was comfortable. Each oh
servation point and each machine gun
post within the hill has It's platform.
~ chair. and It's speaking tube for
easy communication with ITS next
door neighbor. Comfort beyond words
are the officers quarters. the row of
little cottages on the German side OF
tho hill. a hill so abrupt that no she'll
could he droDped on that side. II II
missed screaming the ton. Il would In
evitably fall far over IN the valley be-
yond.
These quarters were fitted out with
weil-stocked pantries. cosy stoves,
well-tended kitchen gardens. whore
cahbares Misunderstanding cal
cuiated 10 warm the heart OF a mess
sergeant. There was only one form
Of discomfort. This form Of dlscom-
fort could be found hopping about
every bed In the row.
The observation posts command a
wide. sweep OF Lorraine. From them
the Germans could study the Allied
hack areas. watching every daylight
move. the conveys creeping along the
roads looking from Montscc like beads
strung on winding ribbons OF yellow.
Fine glasses they had. OF course. some
OF them so large that they could nc
tualiv be seen from American O P.'s
in the valley below.
The Germans. OF course. know all
there q 10 know about Montsec-ex-
ccpt perhaps one trivial paragraph
I'm is history rhev do not know that
one night last winter a sergeant OF an
American division went forth on a
little private reconnaissance tour OF
Germany" and lust to be able 70
say he had dom a. tiptoed and creDt
hie way 10 Montsec. and there laid
him down 20 sleep an the approach
% dawn