The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1918-08-09

i "Say, you never shot this gum
replied the other, Nobody ever did,
and nobody will but me. It's some
boche- getter. 1t was made for me
specially, b."
II Officers went through the crowd;
giving a final warning about use of
gas masks, and attention conferred
around masks for moment. A lot
of chaps tried them ON again. Then
packs were again adjusted, and the
lgroup of doughboys streamed SLOW
lily on.
More Silent Now
| AS they got nearer the front
trenches the word was passed to
walk more quietly. Conversation ex-
cept in undertones stopped and they
descended into trenches. All you
heard was the steady knock of hob
nailed shoes on the trench duck
boards, as these new arrivals were
quietly initiated to the trenches on
the western front, somewhere in
France. Quietly and without com
motion the officers stationed their
men, with lOokouts watching across
moonlit No Mans Land, the former
occupants of the trenches left, and
the relief was completed.
There is something about the
fearless quiet way these new dough
boys take to the trenches that makes
you feel they know lot about war;
fare. They are veterans before they
enter the trenches, by first-rate
military training if not experience
Their discipline is fine and their
efficiency tells you they are ready
| for Understanding whipping
Germans
well, you can tell Kaiser Bill
we're here to fight" said one dough-
/, boy, as he took his station, "Hear
the Germans say we're just crowd
of unframed boys. Well soon show
them we're soldiers
They Did 1t Too.
| 1t happens this doughboy platoon
did it very soon. The next night $50
Germans came over, and fifty of
these UNFRAMED boys" withstood the
ATTACK and stuck to their guns. The
Germans who were still alive and
able to run, retreated, double quick
! time.
Speaking of the way the newly
arrived Americans take to the
trenches and to their duties, one
brigadier general who had just
finished a complete relief said
They're not excactly glad to get into
the trenches. l guess no one is glad
of that. But these boys all figure it's
work to be done, and they're here to
lick Germans. They're keen to get
| the job done. They're confident, all
right, but not boastful, because they
know there's a lot to learn"
A doughboy gave his version of
how he and his pals felt while out
| there facing No Mans Land for the
! first time. Were not scared of the
Germans, and when the time comes,
we'll show them. We're going to do
our best, which is about all they ask
| of us. Believe me, it's going to be
a mighty good best"
They Learn Quickly
The new men in the fighting game
adapt themselves to the front quickly
as did the first Americans over Every
/, night it is "over the top" for patrols
| of them, and in a few days they are
entirely familiar with No Mans Land.
The German front trenches next fall
in the line of investigation and the
Germans soon adopt the policy of
falling back to avoid fighting.
Back of the lines on the home side,
| bank clerks, BARRIERS, and men of
every profession who have temper
arily become soldiers soon make
themselves at home among the ruins
and in woods. They eat army grub"
and relish it more than the most
/ delicate meal they ever ate from a
white linen covered table and real
dishes, especially il there has been
work to do. Soldering agrees with
them, you can see, by the work they
| do, the meals they eat and the husk-
les they have become
Discipline is fine, even if it is
| hard A major tells how his chauf
feur became a little fresh" one day
Knowing the doughboy was a good
chap, the MAJOR took him aside and
i talked to him instead of "bawling
him OUT before the crowd. The
doughboy apologized.
'.I'm sorry, major" he said, "You
see own couple of businesses back
in New York and have more than
million dollars in my own name, and
its little hard to remember my
place in the army now. But I'll do
lit, somehow"
You think you are in an interna-
tional army when you visit some of
the new American units now in the
lines. One company from New York
boasts that it's members know seven
teen languages, and if you wander in
on them about mess time when
talking is god just after the alumni
UNI mess pans and cups full of grub"
have been emptied, you are con-
vinced
But, all of these doughboys are
Iardent Americans and they have won
the admiration of the comrades who
can speak the tongue without an
accent. They-are all snappy looking
soldiers.
In lilly Country
The new units have dragged their
clean and fresh looking equipment,