davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1918-10-24

Ivan Rossiter. captured by the Ger
mans and later exchanged. says In the
Farm and Fireside: ''Then l lay down.
not tn sleep but to think. thought
Of the day when ! enlisted In Canada.
Of leaving home. the training camps
the trip overseas to England. the
training In England. going across the
channel to Flanders. the terrific hght'
ing at Ypres. of the many friends who
fell on that bloody battlefield, how ]
was wounded and captured. the inhu-
man treatment I received at the handa
of the German surgeons, who had four
husky Germans hold me down while
they cut i've bones out Of my wrist
and amputated my middle finger at the
second joint when was wounded n
the palm of the hand, the kicks and
the, cuffs from prison guards and the
terrible stun the Germans called foo1
In the prison camps"
The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1918-10-24
CHAPTER xvi-continued.

From the kitchen you could walk
directly into the cow.barn, where two
cows were kept, and this, as have
pointed out before. is the usual con-
struction Of the poorer Belgian houses
could not make out why the caller
seemed to be so antagonistic to me.
and yet / am sure he was arguing with
the family against me. Perhaps the
fact that l wasn't wearing wooden
shOes-I doubt whether l could have
obtained pair big enough for me
had convinced him that l was not
really a Belgian, because there was
nothing about me otherwise which
could have given him that idea.
At that time, and suppose 1t is
true today. about "a per cent of the
people In Belgium were wearing
wooden shoes. Among the peasants I
don't believe I ever saw any other
kind Of footwear and they are more
common there than they are In Hol-
land. The Dutch wear them more on
account of lack of leather. / was
told that during the coming year prac.
tically all the peasants and poorer
people in Germany. too. will adopt
wooden shoes for farm work, as that
is one direction In which wood can be
substituted for leather without much
loss.
When the young man left. left
shortly afterwards, as I was not at
all comfortable about what his inten-
ftions were regarding me. For all I
knew he might have gone to notify
the German authorities that there was
n strange man In the vicinity-more
perhaps to protect his friends from
suspicion Of having aided me than TO
tnjure me.
At any rate. I was not going to take
any chances and got out Of that
neighborhood as rapidly as could.
That night found me right on the
frontier Of Holland.
The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1918-10-24

wire fence and breathed the free air Of
Holland. had no clear idea Just
where was and didn't care much.
l was out Of the power Of the Germans
and that was enough. had walked
perhaps hundred yards, when re-
membered the lace had thrown over
the barrier, and dangerous as l real
lied the undertaking to be, deter
mined to walk back and get 1t. This
necessitated my going back onto Bel
gian soil again. but II seemed n shame
to leave the lace there, and by exer-
cising a little care I figured / could
get II easily enough.
When came to the spot at which
had made my way under the barbed
wire. put my ear to the ground and
listened for the sentry. l heard him
coming and lay prone on the ground
till he had passed. The fact that he
might observe the hole In the ground
or the ladder occurred to me rs lay
there, and 1t seemed like an age be
fore he finally marched out of ear.
shot. Then went under the barbed
wire again, retrieved the lace and once
again made my way to Dutch terri
tory.
1t does not take long to describe the
events just referred to. but the Incl
dents themselves consumed several
hours in all. To dig the hole must
have taken me more than two hour,
and I had to stop frequently to hide
while the sentry passed. Many times
indeed. thought heard him coming
and stopped my work and then dis
covered that II was only my imngina
tion. certainly suffered enough tha
night to last me lifetime. With q
German guard on one side, death from
electrocution on the other. and starva
ton staring me In the face. my plIgh
was anything but comfortable one.
1t was on the 10th Of November
1917. when I got through the wire.
The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1918-10-24
CHAPTER XVII.
Getting Through the Lines.


Waiting until 1t was quite dark. I
made my way carefully through a
field and eventually came to the much
dreaded barrier.
It was all that had heard about 1t.
Every foot of the border line between
Belgium and Holland is protected in
precisely the same manner. 1t Is there
to serve three purposes: first. to pre-
vent the Belgians from escaping into
Holland; second to keep enemies, like
myself. from making their way to free
dom; and third, to prevent desertions
on the part of Germans themselves.
One look was enough to convince any
one that 1t probably accomplished all
three objects about as well as any con-
trivance could, and one look was all I
got Of 1t that night, for while lay
on my stomach gazing at the forbid
ding structure heard the measured
stride of German sentry advancing
towards me and crawled away as
fast as I possibly could. determined
to spend the night somewhere In the
fields and make another and more
careful survey the following night.
The view had obtained. however.
was sufficient to convince me that the
pole-vault Idea was out Of the Ques-
tion even II had pole and was q
proficient pole-vaulter. The three
fences covered span of at least twelve
feet and to clear the last barbed wire
fence 1t would be necessary to vault
not only at least ten feet high, but at
least fourteen feet wide. with the GER
tain knowledge that to touch the elec-
trically charged fence meant instant
death. There would be no second
chance II you came crOpper the first
time.
The silt idea was also impractica.
BILE because Of the lack Of suitable
timber and tools with which to con.
struct the stilts.
II seemed to me that the best thing
to do was travel up and down the line
4 bit In the hope that some spot might
be discovered where conditions were
more favorable, although don't know
just what I expected along those
lines.
1t was mighty dlsheartening to real
ize that only few feet away lay GER
tain liberty and that the only things
preventing me from reaching It were
three confounded fences. thought OF
my machine and wished that some
kind fairy would set 1t In front Of me
for lust one minute.
l spent the night In clump OF
bushes and kept In hiding most of the
next day. only going abroad for an
hour or two in the middle Of the day
to intercept some Belgian peasant
and beg for food. The Belgians In this
section were naturally very much
afraid of the Germans and fared
badly. In nearly every house German
soldiers were quartered and 1t was
out of the question for me to apply
for food In that direction. The prox
unity of the border made everyone
eye each other with more or less sus'
pIcion and soon came to the concfu
sion that the safest thing ! could dc
was to live on raw vegetables which
could steal from the fields at night al
I had previously done.
That night l made another survey
the barrier In that vicinity, but II
locked Just as hopeless as 1t had tht
night before and concluded that
ealy vested my tims there.
The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1918-10-24

Enough matches to light all its cor
tents are attached to . recently ~
vented cigarette box
The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1918-10-24

had made my leap from the train on
September 9th. Altogether. therefore.
just seventy-two days had elapsed
since l escaped from the Huns. II I
live to be as old as Methusaleh. never
expect to live through another sew
enty-two days so crammed full Of In
cident and hazard and lucky escape.
Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-08-06
HAGENBECK.WALLACE CIRCUS

The Hagenbeck-W Wallace Circus was
in Wausau on Friday, with its ag-
gregation of performers and menagerie
of trained wild animals. The circus
came from Amigo to Wausau reach
ing here in tthe early morning and at
six O'Clock commenced to unload the
first section, which contained the ele-
plants and other animals. The un-
loading was on Second avenue and
everything taken to the fair grounds,
where the first performance was given
in the afternoon. The people gath
cred on our streets at 10 a. m, to
see the parade and there were many
in from the surrounding country; the
absence of men was very noticeable.
The parade was not held until the noon
hour, and il was very attractive and
mammoth affair, much the same as
the parades of all notable shows. The
both morning and even
ing were reported as being excellent,
and largely attended, Notwithstanding
the dearth of young men caused by
the war. A more ideal circus day
could not be asked for, being entirely
free of clouds and sufficiently cool
to be enjoyable. 1t haG the same
attraction for the young as all cir
cuses have had since time immemorial.
No accidents were reported during
the day and everything passed OF very
serenely.
The show was evidently very short
of help as some of the tents were not
raised and there were many boys do
ing the work usually attended to by
linen.
Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-08-06
NEW DIRECTOR

The Fourth Liberty Loan Director
of the Seventh Federal District is c.
H. Schweppe. He has issued a letter
of greetings to his co-workers in
which ne says: II bespeak the same
on the part of Liberty Loan workers
as was so generously accorded my
worthy predecessor, H. l.. Stuart, who,
although having relinquished the dut-
les of directors will continue high in
the councils of the organization" He
calls attention to the Importance OF
the success of the Fourth Liberty
Loan Drive; that it must be met with
the same enthusiasm, the same will
ingness to sacrifice and the same
heartiness that our fighting men in
Europe are displaying that half
hearted effort will result in failure.
He further says:
"The honor of my appointment as
Director of the campaign in this dis
trict is accentuated by the knowledge
that l am working with men and
women who already have won heap
ing measure of the great good that
comes of having served faithfully, Wig
orously and intellectually, and ]
know that this same wonderful en-
thusiasm will continue throughout the
district. Let us all keep step to the
thrill of patriotism. There must be
the same rhythmic movement to our
efforts to supply funds for the Gov
ernment as there is in the marches oi
our gallant men on the battlefields
and in the training camps here al
home"
Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-08-06
OCCURRENCES OF LONG AGO.
ITEMS OF NEWS BOILED DOWN FROM THE
WAUSAIJ PILOT THIRTY THREE YEARS AGO

OF the brides uncle, and the young
couple came at once to this city to
visit with the parents of the groom.
nineyear-old son of Aug. Benz
found dynamite cap with which he
proceeded to experiment. He heated
"a wire and run it into the open end
of the tube holding the cap between
his thumb and fore finger. The ex-
plosion shattered his hand so that
the crushed bones had to be removed.
1t was we'll filled with the fragments of
the copper tube. One piece of the tube
struck near the upper edge of one of
his eyes. The mother received a frag-
ment in the arm and on the face.
Several children watched the perform
ance but failed to see it all.
F. Roena Medini, (Frankie r. Miller)
sang in concert given in the opera
house last evening. She awakened in
tense interest in her hearers. by her
rich, full voice. Others on the pro-
gram were the Wausau Liederkrang
instrumental, Profs. Schubert and
Frohman, Mrs. Speer, and Frank Dana.
An aria by Paul Riebe and a ballad
by Miss Wright.
Geo. Ghoca has leased the we'll
known Curran house of Stevens Point
and will take possession the 1st of
January.
Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-08-06
WAUSAU BOY IN FRANCE
APPRECIATES THE "Y.

The following quotation from let
ter is typical of thousands of letters
being sent home constantly and of
the value of the "Y" work as ex-
pressed by the boys over there:
I'm writing this in the Y. M. G. A.
as you have perhaps guessed by the
stationery. We have an awful big
'Y' hut here. Had a peach of a pro-
gram here tonight. Not long ago we
had Elsie Janis here. She was GER
tainly great. Believe me, when / get
back to the little village of Wausau,
Wis, I'm going to fork over my ten
dollars per for 'Y' membership If
it takes the last cent / have, because
it would certainly be hell if it wasn't
for the ~ We have a big writing
room, and regular auditorium where
they give their entertainments, also a
canteen, where one can buy the neces-
stiles of life, such as candy, sand
wiches, etc. Oh, it's a great life, but
I'm looking forward to pounding the
pavements up and down Jefferson
street again. Sincerely yours,
CARL E. LEMKE."
Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-08-06
ACCREDITED HERDS

Wisconsin has sixty-one accredited
tuberculin tested herds according to
the announcement of Commissioner of
Agriculture, c. P. Norgord and State
Veterinarian o. G. Eliason of the
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture.
who have this work in charge. These
herds have been tested under the su-
peryision of the live stock sanitary
division of the Wisconsin Department
of Agriculture and the inspectors of
the Federal Bureau of Animal Indus
try. They have all satisfied the re-
quirements of this class of herds and
have been issued state accredited GER
tificates. 1t is becoming generally
known and recognized that a single
animal tuberculin tested from an un-
tested herd is an unsafe animal. The
only safe herds are those tested an
nually. The annual certified tests re-
quired of these accredited herds there
fore make them the safest and cleanest
herds within the state in respect to
tuberculosis. The annual test on a
number of additional herds is now due.
These additional herds will be placed
on the list as soon as they have COM
pleted the necessary tests. None of
the Marathon county herds are in the
list of accredited herds.
Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-08-06
MISS MINNIE CLIFF
Another Evening at the First NJ. F
Church

Last Thursday evening Miss Minnie
Cliff was induced to give another even
ing on her life as teacher and mis-
sionary in Singapore, Maylaysia. There
was goodly attendance especially of
the young people.
Her talk was more of a personal
touch of the life of Singapore; how
the people lived; what they wore and
how they spent their time. She took
them into the school and explained the
daily routine; how she taught girls of
fifteen different nationalities the Eng
lish language. She also showed them
curios, mostly dresses, shoes, orna-
ments, photographs of the people and
schools. Questions were asked and
answered and much information
gained in that way.
Miss Cliff departed for Chicago on
Tuesday evening and from there goes
to Sebring, Ohio, to visit her brother,
Ray Y. Cliff and family and from there
will go to Fromburg, Mont, where
she will be with her sisters family
for some time. Her sister recently
passed away leaving several little
children and this brought Miss Cliff
back to this country earlier than ex-
pected. 1t is her wish to return to
the Orient and continue the work in
which she was engaged, but this will
have to be deferred for some time.
Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-08-06
AN ERRONEOUS IDEA

1t is the general opinion that the
Army Y. M. G. A. work is not as
hazardous as getting into the trenches
and receiving the brunt of the fighting.
Granting this to be true, still men
who can do the Y. M. c. A. work
cannot always get into the trenches.
Recent dispatches have told of the
gassing of our workers, of their death
or serious injury caused by bursting
shrapnel. The uniform of the Red
Triangle is not for the man who does
not want to go to war. 1t is the
uniform that every 'middle-aged' man
shetid- spire= to wear. Although il
gives him no military rank it gives
him the opportunity for patriotic SER
vice and for distinction-many 'Y
workers in France have already been
cited for bravery.
Further fields of usefulness require
experts in sports and education, and
motor mechanics. Hundreds of men
with capacity for leadership in mass
athletics are needed. Men who drive
their own automobiles are being re-
cruited for tthe motor transport SER
vice in France. Prominent educators
al y IOI LHC SIcdL hIldhl OOI-
lege that General Pershing has auth
orized in conjunction with the training
in the concentration camps back OF
the western front.
The War Personnel Board of the
Central Military Department, compris-
ing fifteen middle western states
reached its high mark in recruiting
men and women for Y. M. G. A. SER
vice in June, when a total of TAT men
and women were enrolled. This was
considered a typical month in recruit
ing. Of this number. 495 men and 25
women were assigned to overseas
duty. The number enlisted for work
in home camps was 229 men. Illinois
and Chicago took the lead in recruit
ing, with total of 144 men and wo-
men assigned to foreign and domestic
duty. Ohio followed with S3 men and
women and Iowa took third place with
73 recruits. Indiana and Kentucky
tied for fourth place, with SO recruits
from each state. Other states repre-.
sented in table of totals for recruit
ing just received are as follows: Col
orado, "a; Kansas, 81; Michigan, Al
Minnesota, ga; Missouri, So; Nebraska
25; North Dakota, Is; South Dakota
A. Wisconsin "a; Canada 8.
Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-08-06
WAR INDUSTRIES BOARD

There has been organized in the
United States what is known as a
War Industries Board, which takes in
every part of our country. A. H.
Vogel of Milwaukee, Is Chief Advisor
for region district No. II, and G. F.
Rohn, Sec'y. This state is divided in
to 19 districts and Marathon, Shaw
ano, Langlade and Lincoln counties,
constitute the I'd district. A meeting
of this district was called at the Wau-
sau Club last Friday evening and there
were representatives from each coun-
ty present with the exception of Lang
lade. j. n. Manson, chairman of the
Industrial committee of the Chamber
of Commerce, presided, who stated the
object of he meeting.
A committee consisting of w. B.
Heinemann, E. A. Gooding, Aug.
STANCE and w. ]. Sullivan was ap-
pointed by the chair to select a
permanent chairman of the district.
M. P. Mccullough was selected with
power to select his own secretary,
also an assistant secretary. The plan
is to assist in taking care of the war
work of the country.
Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-08-06
E. C. DAWLEY IN
WASHINGTON, D. C.

The many friends of e. G, Dawley
are probably not aware OF the fact
that he is now in Washington, ID c.,
engaged in the Bureau of Aircraft, in
the hardwood section. He departed
about two weeks ago, when the presi-
dent of the National Hardwood as
sociation, made a request Of him to
enter this service. The work will
keep him constantly engaged until the
end of the war, in travelling and pur-
chasing material for air craft work,
for which work he is very ably fitted,
having followed the numbering bust
ness for many years, and especially in
the purchasing end of it.
Mr.. Dawley has been very active in
war work since war was declared,
giving much of his time to various
activities and that he has gone into
the work he has, leaving his business
and home, shows a very commendable
spirit.
Mr.. Dawley has an extensive lum-
ber business which includes three
lumber yards in the county. He has
left his business and yards in COM
petent hands and all will be main
tanned to the utmost during his alb
sence. He will be able in his travels
to get back home about once month.
Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-08-06
YOUNG MEN ARRESTED

Last Wednesday there were arrests
made of two young men living in the
town of Texas, who had not returned
their questionaires-Fra and Her
man Braemer. They were at work
hewing logs, when taken in charge
and were inclined to make some re-
sistance. Both were subject to re-
cent drafts and because of their not
complying with the law had been
sought by the officers. According to
instructions from the adiutant general
the young men were placed and
held in the county jail Their
questionaires have been executed
and further instructions are be-
ing waited to dispose of the matter
Both young men now show different
attitude and feel that they have made
serious mistake.
The young men were given a physi-
cal examination on Friday and found
unfit for service and were returned to
their home. They were placed in the
limited service class and are under
the supervision of the exemption
boards of Dist. No. 2.
Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-08-06
WORDS FROM
LIEUT.. GOTTSCHALK
From Somewhere in France"

Lieut.. F. L. Gottschalk of Co. G
128th Inf, writes interesting letters
home, but they are home letters anC
not for publication, but now and ther
he gives incidents, which his friends
would like to read. Just where he is
he does not say, but does say 1--WE are
moving quite often of late" He says
II met woman today, who was taken
prisoner by the Germans in 1914. She
was wounded by shell and her three
children were killed. She was tied
to a German officers saddle and still
bears the scars on her arm which
were cut by the rope"
Further extracts from his letters
are as follows:
1--WE are getting plenty to eat but
it costs us considerably. We have
paid $1.25 a day for food besides pay
ing for it being cooked by native
woman"
Il am feeling fine all the thine and
things are beginning to move as the
Americans now are beginning to get
started in WELL"
Have been to church this evening
and visited the priest. He is splen-
did man and Spaniard. His church
is near San Antonio, Texas. He is
chaplain in French hospital here
81 really do not know where I will
go from here, but I do not think ii
will be back to the old company, per-
haps into some Machine Gun Co., which
will be lettering myself, as l have
grown fond of infantry work. l may
be sent into the tank service"
"The weather is fine here now, but
the nights are cool.
"The conservation of food is being
taught us here, as well as to you at
home. We had an address on the
question this evening and we all had
to attend. We only get a chance to
go down town two times a week-Sat-
urdays and Sundays"
"We are living in larger city now
and l am stopping with people who
talk little German. The weather is
just grand and has been for a week.
We can hear the German airplanes
flying overhead most any time of the
day, but they are so high we can
scarcely see them. About the only
damage they have done is to shell
hospitals and private homes way be-
hind the lines.'
These letters from Lieutenant Gott-
schalk cover the month of June and
were written to his wife, who re-
sides at Marathon.
Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-08-06
INTERESTING TRIP TO EAST

Mrs. G. S. Ashmun returned Satur-
day night from an extended visit in
the east, where she visited seven weeks
in New York City and also spent some
time at Columbus, Ohio, Camp Mills,
Long Island, and at her old home in
Pennsylvania. At Camp Mills she
visited her son, Van S. Ashmun, who
is in the service, and who embarked
for overseas on July Eth. A card re-
ceived from him on Friday brought
the good news that he had landed
safely lover there" Mrs. Ashmun
witnessed many interesting sights
while away, among them being three
transports ready for embarkation. One
of these transports carried no one but
volunteers nurses and doctors and was
going to make the trip over without
convoy.-Stevens Point Gazette.