Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-01-25
J looked at my instrument and saw II

lWao o,VVO Ieel up. l was just tnlnk
Ing that II l ran for It / would jus
about fetch up in No Mans Land
Which Is no place to fetch-when
got this here"
Lieut.. o'Brien lifted the left sid
of a short. bristly. reddish BROW
mustache. revealing a ragged scar
for which he wears a gold stripe Of
dis sleeve.
That's what wear this brush" h
explained. IAN eighth Of an incl
lover and that bullet would hav,
wiped out all my teeth.
We'll. for what you might call ,
lmillionth OF a second l thought. Nv
got mine / felt the blow, and that
all. SO l figure that a man who 4
being shot to death knows 1t for al
instant.
"The next knew. l walked up th'
next morning in a Hun hospital. jus
behind the lines. We were just to th'
east Of Ypres. There was big push
going on at the time, and the Hun:
had established field hospitals close
ito their lines.
And want to tell you." the lieu
tenant said. interrupting himself
With boyish enthusiasm. "the sigh
fou get from above the battle line II
North sl.000.O00 to any chap with i'm
aginaton.
| A Wonderful Sight.
| by golly. You can see the whole
fountry down there erupting like G
liant series Of volcanoes. You car
Zee the little black spots that mari
the millions of shell holes. You car
see a flash. and you think maybe ar
Archie is strafng you. and the mex
instant. whoof: bang! there's a shell
going off right under your nose. ant
you know he Is.
"On a clear day you can see the
whole battle line-both sides, clea'
from the sea TO around Verdun. It:
Lit's simply wonderful. and that's all
"You see, our air battle had beer
/
lines. The Huns picked me UP. ant
6ne OF their doctors picked the bullet
out OF my mouth. / haven't any Idea
how | travelled that 5000 feet dowr
to earth. except that 1t was mir.
Tle. ~ l.
81 was treated fairly decently ir
the hospital-except being an Ameri'
can didn't help me much. After sis
days they took me to the Intelligence
department Of the Flying Corps.
was questioned by the commander
and believe me. he didn't overloot
anything. He talked better English
than do, and he was keen.
Flying Men Are ChivaIrous.
HE knew l was an American ano
he wanted TO know what the States
were going to do. How did he treat
us%
Lieut.. O'Brien paused for q mo-
ment. and then leaned forward yer,
earnestly and exclaimed:
There Is a chivalry among the
flying men of all countries that doe:
SIA. to the knights Of old. That !.
Rhact. We treat the Huns courte
ously, and l must say that they re
turn the compliment. I am not sayini
that about any other branch Of tn
service, however.
"The next day was taken to
prison camp at Courtrai. l was KEEP
there three weeks. and not much hap
pened. II had been a prison befor
the war. We were guarded well ant
| fed little. / was hungry all the time
FINALLY eight Of us were put on
train, to be taken to prison camp II
the interior of Germany. We were II
a compartment. fourth class. and yo,
might make a note that In Englan'
1--we let the Hun officers ride first class
-Four guards, heavily armed. one t
each two of us, were in the compart
ment too.
1--WE started in the morning, an
Just before daylight the next da.
Sept. 8, when we were travelin
labout thirty-five miles an hour, l go
the window open and dived out.
Prospect Not Pleasant Ono.
| "I had sat there thinking about
for hours. l would cough and sneez
land open the window. Then / woul
see the rock roadbed and the parable
tracks and I would close the windo'
Iagain.
FINALLY, however, I decided that
would rather take a chance on tn
rocks or a post or q bridge or what
ever might hit than be prisoner
war in Germany. The guard opposit
me could have laid his hand on m
without moving. The three other
were watching. But apparently the
never dreamed would be fool enoug
Ito dive out.
81 landed on my face and tore ope
1.-The cut the bullet made-not to men
ton hurting my left ankle and bruis
ing UP my hands. was unconsciou
for q while, but I regained my sense
lbefore the train could be stopped an
backed up. and I ran and hid in tn
bushes.
81 was eighty-five miles inside Ger
lmany. near Strassburg. then. &c
my course by the stars.I don't knoN
much about stars. but I knew enoug
for that-and started for Holland.
Got Plenty Of Turnips.
81 slept In the bushes by day an
sneaked through the country by nigh
i'm bet walked through enough suga
beet and turnip fields to feed Ger
many for the next million years.
wore my full uniform the first month
while l was in Germany.
after that I got a coat from a she
and a pair Of pants from a line. an
wore them. 1t rained most OF tn
time. was seen once, and 1t took m
two days to shake of the pursuit.
swan bitches and rivers, the Meus
lamong them. and I swan 1t near Hol
land, where 1t must be as wide as tn
l,T. xr,f1o