davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1918-04-21
SOLDIER died in New York
last week who probably knew
as much about No Mans Land

as any soldier in the war. This
was Captain R. H. Knyvett, of the 18th
Australian Infantry, who bas been lect-
urng in this country. Nearly year ago
ne was wounded by German bomb in a
night encounter among the bogs and
she'll holes of the desert between the
lines. Now he is dead, of tuberculosis of
the blood; but the record he has left as
scout in No Mans Land is almost un-
exampled.
This familiarity Of Captain Knyvett's
with the dread land between the lines
came as the result of his being made a
front line scout and intelligence officer.
de did his most distinguished work in
the region of the Somme, his duties gen.
orally taking him into No Mans Land
just before an assault in investigations
OF German positions. Yet only once was
he wounded in this most dangerous of
tasks, being bombed near Bapaume after
many desperate encounters.
Mr Knyvett has written a book called
Over There with the Australians"
Particularly timely is an article
OF his in "scribner's" dealing with this
work. Here in the space of few pages
one will find the outlines of No Mans
Land pretty we'll indicated. Take, for
example, his remarks regarding sounds
IN No Mans Land
not human sounds, for such carry far
the beat Of hammer on a post, the sharp
'wang Of unrolling barbed wire as it catches
ana then springs away-voices even come
a. through mcgaphone in the eerie silence
odt these are long drawn sighs that pene-
aa'e the inner consciousness and hushed
"afmurs that fall on the ear of the soul.
nave feit touch on the shoulder as
."'aen one would speak TO me when there
nas been no one by. 1t is the grave of ten
thousand unburied dead, but the grinning
a'is ard auivering jelly or the few rags
mat hutter in,thc wind are not the COM
RACES that We knew. think their spirits
mover near, for they cannot 20 to their
ss'oing place till victory has been won.
1hsy are ever seeking to pierce the veil of
.snse 10 that they may add their strength
:, our arms, and these mako for us of No
S""S Land mo strange place. and give to
saf sensries encouragement until the land
~" Man vanishes and our possession
4 lsaenes TO the barrier OF the enemy barbed
wire"
naturally, in this land of barbed wire.
so1pSes, reeking shell holes and tapping
s'senine guns, with occasional star shells
ssn.'nx up every nook and corner with
'y light, strange encounters were
81 pcund 70 occur
ners vas one night when cot 4 huge
New-York tribune., 1918-04-21
But you know how to earn something to

But you know how to earn something to
eat
"He began to tell me something I knew
was all rubbish, and 1 swung at him with:
You swine! If you tell me those lies I'll
strip your badges off you and send you in
as private 1 was surprised at the effect
this threat had on him, though knew that
was the one thing that never failed in
bringing German officer to book He
trembled and paled and gave me lot of in
formation that I afterward proved to be
correct"
New-York tribune., 1918-04-21

could have had his hand drilled by Just
putting it up.
Right then and there Boche machine
gun was located:
Il tore page out of my notebook and
placed it in crevice between the sand
bags, just under the gun. Hours after
ward, when all was quiet, returned to our
own trenches and fastened another piece of
white paper to bush half way across No
Mans Land that 1 noticed was in line with
a dead tree close to our 'sallyport,' and my
first piece of paper. In the. morning the
artillery observation officer could see these
two pieces of paper quite plainly with his
glasses, and they levelled that trench for.
fifty yards.'
Contrary to general belief, No Mans
Land is not necessarily the most danger
Gus part of the front, according to Cap
tain Knyvett "My nights in No Mans
Land, if added together, would total
many months, and l got to feel that. it
was one of the safest places on the
whole 'front.'"
Moreover, it is perhaps safer ip the
day time than at night, unless active
fighting is proceeding. One day he took
out a bucket of concrete and dumped it
over the end of pipe from the German
trenches, through which the Germans
were planning to gas the British. He
was not seen by either side, and not
shot was fired at him.
"Afterward 1 found crawling in the day.
light in No Mans Land to be less danger
Gus than at night On a quiet front there
is very little rife or machine gun fire by
day for fear of betraying machine gun and
sniper positions. Never once. in two or
three daylight excursions into No Mans
Land was I seen by the enemy or our own
sentries"
New-York tribune., 1918-04-21

straight across. 1t was too dark to pick
trod on the bodies of forgotten comrades
1t was impossible to repress a shudder as
the hand met the clammy, rotting flesh and
the split light from rocket exposed the
marble eyeballs and whitened flesh of the
cheek, with the barred teeth cleaning vet
more white.
eve waited drawn-out minutes while tn
dark 4smothered US and our thoughts
haunted US. Home and love of
life sought to drag us back to the shelter
of our trenches, but duty, like an iron
stake, pinned US there"
The six surprised and surrounded
eight Germans, who promptly surren-
dered. Then occurred one of those tfage-
dies of No Mans Land which are some
times necessary. The Germans found
out that the six were Australians, and
were terrified.
"Probably they had been fed up with
tales about our savagery and that we tort
~AS" WI PAAooAiSAo' any way, IIcy WOulu
not bulge, and we could not carry eight
hulking Germans and had no means of
tying them together. Presently the dis
turbance attracted notice from both
trenches and there was only one thing to
do. My sergeant called out: Look out,
sir. Well be seen in a minute. What
shall we do?'
"The contest was short and sharp. They
outnumbered US, but we went to it with
will 1t was sheer butchery, but l had
to the fatherland than lose one Of my
boys"
When prisoners are brought in various
means are used to obtain information
from them. However, it is to be ex-
pected that men are instructed before
hand what to say, so that getting accu-
rate information is an artists work.
How the author got results from an OBJ
stinate yoNng cadet qualifying for his
commission by night prowl follows:
.T spat question after question at him,
such as: What's your regiment?' How
long have you been in the trenches?' 2 ETC.,
but in English he replied, 4 won't tell you
anything. You can't make me-
II took him to the dugout, which shared
with the medical officer in the support
trenches, and sent Pat, my batman, to get
together the best meal he could.
"Pat was genius as n provider.
"On this occasion Pat got together a real
slap-up fcfd-some timed sausages, mashed
potatoes, strawberry jam, preserved pears
and cream, not forgetting bottle of cham
pagne. I sent for the doctor and we fell
to with gusto and never offered his nibs n
bite, though the eyes were popping out of
his head and his mouth watering with
hunger.
"Toward the end of the meal I said to
him: I can't compel you to tell mo any
thing, but am not compelled to feed you.
The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1918-09-19

anything except the wages INT pos
slbly q place to put up n few tents.
The farmers wife has no bother OF
extra work In the matter ut all. Well
every one of these units In Westches
ter county made good, and there were
exactly as many surprised farmers 10
Westminster county as there were
units. Al the eud of the season ench
employer was asked, "Will you en-
ploy woman farm hands again next
Year," Each farmer made exactly the
same reply, Yes, If ! can get the same
women"
Each thought that he had happened
to have the luck to get the only good
bunch OF girls Sly, shrewd fellows,
those farmers! For II seemed To them
quite obvious that women rs u class
could not be good farm laborers. A
perfectly natural prejudice. Men as u
class have always had the sume Ger.
tainty that women could never he good
at anything outside OF the home" I'm.
I'll they went out and made good NJ
everything from voting und doctoring
% driving ambulnnces, and even at
fg,,ting In the trenches when the me-
cesSity arose owe In poor betrayed
liusshn.
Kept Island From Starving.
American farmerS, however, are the
most enlightened Ia the world. Per
hnps IL will not take them so long to
get the idea into their heads as II re-
quiredI TO beat 1t into the British brain.
In England, even after the scarcity of
farm labor had become more acute
than IL Ii here now, the "woman's land
army movement was almost blighted
by masculine prejudice until the gov.
eminent became alarmed and turned n
clever trick. Prizes were offered at the
county fairs for public competitions
for woman workers In various depart
ments Of farm work. This aroused
considerable curiosity and created a
great deal of discussion. The question,
however, IA not whether girls could
do farm work. but which girl could do
II best. Big crowds gathered. Bets
were made. Rivalry ran high. And
when II was demonstrated before the
nstonished eyes OF the British farmers
that these farm lassies." ~ they now
affectionately term their "farmerettes"
over there. not only knew their job
but were experts NJ 1t, the prejudice
broke down and the country was saved
The woman's land army Of England.
now 100000 strong, has kept the island
81 ON starving. This patriotic fact has
been publicly acknowledged in parlia-
ment.
There nre already II states 81 the
Union organized under the Womnn's
Land Army Of America. and in New
York alone 5000 farmerettes are regis.
tered for this season. II Is n fine pa.
triotic service, n good thing for the
farmer who can thus get good sober,
industrious laborers. at "A cheap rate.
n good thing for the girls, who can
thus get Il wholesome outing ms well
as fair wages. and the best thing of all
for the nation, which needs food and
needs men, and needs them NJ once.
The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1918-09-19

Mr.. Clerk" john didn't have money enough q pay the fine. He was taken
to Il small cell adjoining the courtroom.
Justice Welch resumed trying cases.
suddenly music N heard, cnnnntng from the nearby cell The court
Don occupants listened. Justice Wclch snncd aud nodded his head, keeping
time to the strains.
Bring nj that person who Is playing" Justice wech ordered. An at
chitSch. John had n harp TO his Hips. The music continued.
The tune wat ireland Must BE Heaven, for My Mother Came From
There"
Justice Welch listened until John, almost GREATNESS, censed his efforts
Man" Justice Welch exclaimed, you're not Irish, but you've ire got
Irish ways. Mr.. Clerk, u tina. fine So"
John paid.
The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1918-09-19
THE
G
By VIVIAN M. MOSES
OF The VgnonfsJ

When IL. G. Wells called the present
war the war of machines he had In
mind the vast quantities Of engines OF
war used at the front--the ordnance,
both large and small, the bomh-mor-
tars and mine-throwers, gas-prOjectors,
airplanes and tanks employed In the
actual fighting. But there Is another
chimes even more truly than that In
which the great British novelist used
the term for on the machines In the
shops and factories OF the allied ma
tons depends an allied vlctOry-on
the machines and the men who drive
them.
As has been the case with each Of
her allies, the United States since II
entered the war mas had to increase
s~tupendously the output OF Its machine
shops. This result is being accom-
plished by the erection OF new plants,
by the enlargement and increase in IA.
rilities Of the shops already engaged
In the production Of war products, and
by the conversion 70 this purpose of
plants previously engaged In other
work. The problem OF multiplying the
shops TO work In is n comparatively
simple one more difficult Is the prob
lem OF supplying the skilled workmen
To MI these shops.
Obviously we cnnnot q%uadruple our
skilled workmen by the old methods OF
apprenticeship and training fast
enough to meet the nations needs
The old method has been found want.
ing. II consisted In taking the raw,
unskiiled lnborer into the shop, start.
ing him at the simplest work tina,
could be found, and letting him figh,
his way slowly and painfully TO the
status Of n trained mechanic. II wal
n method which wasted the three pre-
ciOus elements. time. material and
man-power.
New Way Was Found.
The training accomplished by pri
vate and public vocational and tech
meal schools brings far better results
but produces too small a quantity OF
skilled mechanics to meet the emer
gency.
France found a new way. Grea,
Britnin has adopted II. And nov
America must get In line-is nlread,
getting In line. In fact. with gratifying
rexuits. For the new method Is swift
u sure. IL comparatively cheap. 4
turns the grocer boy or the schoo
teacher into q skilled mechanic with
equal facility. II Is the method Of
the shop trimming school.
shop training schools are now main
The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1918-09-19

peate d, y u
haven't told us n
story In so long
a time"
"'Thnt Is so, /
haven't told you
n story In ages
Fairy Queen said.
"You will tell
us on g to d n y.
won't your the
little Falrie 3
asked.
Certainly the
Fairy Queen said.
LET us ask the
{ h g friends"
The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1918-09-19

They attracted the attention Of n special patrolman Of the park, who stepped
into Tie middle Of the road and with drawn revolver commanded the driver
to stop.
u woman told her story later. They had been separated or more than
IL momhs n several weeks ago h sued hr husband fr divorce. She
ws employed Ii a private home. Her husband drove up to the door Of her
employers Rome In n taxicab md asked to see her, she said. When she a-
peared att he door he seized her in his arms and carried her % the waiting
cab. she asserted.
The mn told the chauffeur his wife was mentally unbalanced and Il was
He told the police he trying his best to effect q reconciliation with
his etrangedw wife and that he did not really intend % harm her. He said
ne was taking her to his home to try to gt her to live with him again.
The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1918-09-19
Mushrooms Thrive, Too.

A queer place is Wall street. Who
would ever imagine they could see
flowers blooming In this busiest OF
streets2 Yet there Is one firm In the
financial district who evidently likes to
have a touch Of nature about Its place
Of business. On the broad window sills
Of a Wall street sk%yscrnpcr are win.
dow boxes from which blooming flow.
ers rise. No n else In Wall street
or. for that matter. In any OF the New
York downtown districts, thlnks OF
flowers. of color, Of charm In business
life. Flowers are for country green.
houses or fifth emu show windowa
Out with them. says Wall street.
The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1918-09-19

Fairy Queen, II used my magic wand,
and In three minutes and four seconds
and two quarter seconds the house was
up ngain-and the old lady had both
her home and her cat"
THAT was a real fairy tale" the
fairies and their friends all said.
1T was indeed" said the Fairy
Queen. 1T was about make.believe
characters for a make-believe story,
but that makes II a real Fairy Tale,
"hf And then they all enjoyed the
Fairy Queens fine banquet.
The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1918-09-19

cause every time All git into n warm place spit black, All do"
"What have You been doing for n nvngy" was the nxt question.
Use been shovelin' coal. All done had To- dollars and seventy-fve cents
de uddcr day when cum iron Alaham and al All only got fifteen cents lf.
Lordy, dis am II expensive place to live. Nah room done cs IN IL n dollar
and ts' had thrty-hvc cents worth OF grub and Use sure full up boss"
"Wen. Charlie" said Mr.. Lambert, eve have already sen 100 of you
boys I, ramp and pretty 500 you ran go along, too"
"WhasutT" exclaimed the darkey, 1000 colorcd boys gone to camp? An
don't chr n mo-. Js glib me dnt pass, boss, Use going to hb lots of money
3s' oon as ! hits dat camp"
"Wlat are yu going 10 do. Charlie; shoot crnpT'
well, All lister shoot a little Graz, boss"
This is n Of the bright lights that creep into the bureau OF dennquents
occasionally and dispel the gloom thu. too often hangs ove the office.
Another colored maj who a asked II he n going % enlist In the
navy replied: "Not II kin help II, boss. Use wrnin' to go to war but when
All falls All wants to fall O sunpin' solid. All does"
The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1918-09-19

down the cat
sat In front Of
where the house
should be trying
to say, Il am
sorry, b u at
least ] am here to
W elcoi IN G you
And the old lady
Rugged her cat
and said:
You are nj.
ways glad to well
come me, and
with you here I
do not feel so
badly about the
house,
Il said tha
The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1918-09-19

the little Fairies
suggested. "we would like to have
the Elves, Brownies, Gnomes, old Wit
ty Witch, and Mr.. Giant, the Oaf and
Bogey families and the COLLINS"
Lets have them ALL" said the Fairy
Queen. "And I'll prepare n supper for
them after the storytelling"
"Oh, wondrous +! Wondrous - shouted
the little Fairies. ut will be a real
party"
So they started or to invite the
others. And the Fairy Queen waved
her wand so that all her messengers
came to her and said as they bowed
low. "Whnt would you have, Mndame?'
And some OF them said, "What would
you have, Royal Highness2"
II would have every friend OF Fairy.
land Invited to a storytelling party
this afternoon" said the Fairy Queen.
And the messengers bowed low
again and said. "Your wish will be
granted. We will obey your command"
on they went In all directions, and
when afternoon had come FaIrylnnd
was gay with fairies and their friends,
laughing, chatting. playing.
The Fairy Queen had not arrived,
but soon she came dressed In a beau
tiful robe made Of %goldenrods. On
her head was a crown made OF wild
asters.
"Once, not so very long ago, way
OF In the deep woods, there were many
beautiful wild flowers. They were
flowers that grew where II was shady
INT wondrous shrubs which blossomed.
In the %springtlme the woods In these
parts were so beautiful"
And the Fairy Queen smiled as she
thought of them.
IAN old lady had n little cabin home
Just Off these woods. Her only com.
pnnion was II cat. The cat was black
n two paws were white, and the
old lady thought they were very won
derful.
Nov and again the old lady had to
go into the village to buy food. Some
times the cat would follow, wearing n
little juggling bell, for the old lady
wanted To be ure that the cat had
lots to eat, but that he would never
get n bird.
THAT was why she had him wear
the collar with the little bell. The bell
warned the birds he was coming, so
they could get away. He could be
heard coming along by the sound Of
the tlngling bell.
but this time, when the old lady
went into the village the cat was
sleepy and sat on the porch In the
sunshine.
xviii you come, pussy?' she asked.
But the pussy blinkcd his eyes as
though to say. "I am sleepy So she
went off.
when she came back she found TO
her horror that the cottage had been
burned down. Some one had left n
match lighted In the woods, and n fire
had started which had spread. But
even though the house had burned
The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1918-09-19

prnyerfully parading back and forth
In the living room sharpening nm IS
inch butcher knife.
"Oh. God, hear my prayer" ejac
ulnted the angry ncgress. II will cut
that mans throat tonight as sure us ]
am living. oh, God, take him away
and snap II fool Niger head Oft. ]
don't want him round here taking vi
room In my house"
I In response To II telephone report
to the police station that Mrs. Hop.
kinS WINS going In Kill her hnshnnl
The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1918-09-19

tn" detectives hurried Ia the scene and found II Grove collected in front of the
house in anticipation al n melee when she vas arrested. She is noted In the
neighhorhood Tor her numerous fights with officers on previous occasions
The audience not disappointed. for the woman, who weighs nearly
200 pounds. threw herself CT The ground and fought and kicked with all her
strength. II was necessary for rordyce and hardwood to sumunon Emergency
There's my baby, ana quietly accompanied him To the patrol wagon.
n was arrested N Charge ofd isOrlery conduct m drunkenness. She
nearly tainted when she discovered that the date of her arrest vas the
thirteenth u that the hooking gen had assigned box 13 q her fr her Der
sonhl possessions. Don give ne all hem thir,,nS" she walled IT don
min being pinchcd, but amt going to be hoodooed / ant!'
The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1918-09-19
THE
OF
Women 90 Farm Hands,
-
BY JESSE LYNCH WILLIAMS
OF The YigHanfes

IL had To hire them for my farm be
boring farmers who borrowed some OF
them later hated to admit that they
were more efficient than nan workers
but had To 70
The farmer who wrote those words
employed 20 girls last summer to get
In his crops. some Of them girls from
the seasonal trades" out of n job,
others students or college graduates
out for u vacation, hut few. II any. of
them experienced farm hands. lie
made two important discoveries. First,
that they were good workers. Second,
that this kind OF work was good for
women. and us this farmer Is non
other than Doctor Sargent, the direc.
tor Of physical training. he ought 10
know.
lie adds that he did not have a
chance TO try them at blowing or heavy
work, though they can do that too, but
at other kinds of farm work he found
them In all ways the equal and In some
ways the superior Of men. They do
no average as strong as men. though
In proportion to their weight they are,
out they made up In care and thorough.
lei what they lacked In "heft," aud
they did not loaf on the job when the
boss was not looking. Women are
nearly always more conscientious than
the superior sex"
Has Come to Stay.
The Woman's Land Army Of Amer.
leu IL still n new thing In most parts
" the country, but II has come to stay
d the sooner the farmers of America
oct that idea through their heads and
live down their old-fashioned preju.
dice against this "new-fangled notion
the better for them and for the coun-
try. Every man released from the farm
e one more man for the army
or for other war work rot done by
women.
A year ago almost every farmer In
the country shared this impractical
and unpatriotic prejudice. Such preju.
dices die hard. All our prejudices
about women die hard. | will give an
amusing Illustration. Last summer "a
number of units were employed 10
various parts Of Westchester county,
New York. A unit" means u squad Of
woman workers ca gang" we might
call 1t, II they were men) who live and
work together under the charge of IA
competent older woman experienced in
agriculture. Il sort of forewomnn who
manages the whole outfit. which in.
cludes their " cook and food and
bedding. The farmer does not supply
The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1918-09-19

Mr.. Lambert.
"Well boss" replied the darkey,
II don lost nah cnhd an All done
want TO get In de army jes' ms quick
as ever All kin. I jes' got fifteen
cents To nah name. an Use goin' To
be a hungry niger"
You must want to go to war bad,
Charlie" remarked Mr.. Lambert.
"Ah don't cnhr whah I GO cause
I only got n lung an All nin't goin'
to live more'n n yeah an ! jes' as
The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1918-09-19

IN the cab as III passed. Inc woman =
clothing WIS torn, her hair d~isarrnnged,
and she was screaming for help.
The man was attempting to stife
the womnn's cries with IA bath towel.
II was said. Once he had her head
half out Of the window. his fingers
about her throat strangling her.
Capt. Dennis Whalen saw the
struggle from the cur, and leaping
into the car Of q passing motOrist
started In pursuit.
IhEaIch TIM na.E 4l,a naxa .aaad