Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1918-10-05

remained prisoners in the dcgout. Six
ing an opportunity early Saturday
morning, they slipped out of the hid
ing place in the darkness, but could
not get their directions and returned TO
the dugOut, where they remained all of
Saturday. subsisting on stale black
German bread and drinking rain water.
Once during the day they smelled gas
and for several hours they lay gas
masked
Saturday night they stole out again
and, finding a wounded eOmrade lying
in shallow trench. carried him back
to their dugout and gave him first
aid. All that night the boys remained
in their shelter. Sunday morning they
heard the shells of a new American
barrage breaking in their vicinity and
presently the voices of American troops
at the entrance of the tennel, leading
to their dugout. The lads staggered
from the shelter too weak to walk and
were carried to the rear on streteherS.
Captain Harry Close, son of the ath-
letie coach at Princeton, and Joseph
Giovanni, Brooklyn, with a platoon,
were passing the entrance to a German
trench Sunday when they saw the eur.
tain before the dugout move slightly
Close called upon the occupants to
come out, and nine German soldiers and |
one officer emerged. Giovanni was or
dered to conduct the party to the rear.
During this journey, Giovanni, who un-
derstands German overheard the Off !
Ger suggest to his men that they try |
to bolt.
Instantly Giovanni ordered the off
Ger to stand aside and threatened to kill /
the first man who tried to escape; tine
officer then offered to guide Giovanni
to the American lines, but the dough |
boy would have none of it, and found !
the way himself, turning his party over
at headquarters The prisoners were i'm
mediately put to work serving as
stretcher bearers despite the protests
of one, who spoke of the "indignity of
it,"
One New York officer at the mouth
of the main Hindenburg tunnel found |
a German officer. The German explained |
the tunnel was lighted with electricity
and the New York sergeant ordered him
to turn on the lights Before obeying,
the German carefully disconnected |
wires running into the light switch,
which were connected with big explo-
sives.
New York troops described fierce
hand to hand fighting Sunday night,
Masses of machine guns carefully
camouflaged, had been hidden so cum
ningly by the enemy that the first the 4
knew of their presence was
when they opened fire at close range.
"Our boys were dropping all around "
said one of the Americans, "but they
couldn t stop us. Our orders were to
keep on going and we went on"
After this fight an American captain
was found dead, locked in a death grip
with German lieutenant. Another
captain, wounded, lay in a shell hole
with II of his nen. He ordered the
men to leave him and seek safety They
went as far as the next shell hole,
where the sergeant in command called
4 conference and the men decided they
1ouiuh dpahuon tHclI olllceI thlS way.
All Immediately returned to the cap
tain's side. The place was exposed to
she'll fire for several hours and, the
men were wounded when rescued. A
major, unkempt and unshaven, who had
not slept for forty hours, had lost none
)f his enthusiasm over the conduct OF
MS men as he described their exploits to
The fiercest fighting he
aid, took place north of Bellicourt be-
yond the canal. American and German
net there hand to hand in savage ply
jical encounters The Germans at this
point proved better fighters than had
been expected. the major declared, but
proved no match for the magnificent
lash and enthusiasm of the Yanks.