The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-11-18


halted. AS we swooped down oyel
the heads of the doughboys, they
paused in their work of building TEN
porary shelters and repairing roads
10 wave their hands and yell greet
ings.
With the exception of this digging
the front lines presented a strange
scene of inactivity. Doughboys stroll
ed idly over torn up fields and along
roads without equipment or guns
smoking and gossiping. In tiny ruin
ed Villages which were taken just
before the armistice became effec'
tive, crowds were sitting in the sun
shine. In one field, within a few
yards of the line a group was play
ing baseball-apparently zone old
cat"
About 200 yards away fourteen Ger
mans stood at the edge of wood,
curiously watching the antics of the
erstwhile "Amerikaner schwein."
We circled over the ball game sew
eral times. The Germans waved
their hands.
Near Fresnes, in the front line,
was blown-up bridge. On the
American side stood a single doubh-
boy talking to German opposite.
Both waved their hands and pointed
toward the airplane.
We followed the lines about ten
miles northward. We saw groups
walking about in the open. In one
place, in the middle of soggy. she'll
shattered field, card or crap game
was going on, while other men were
digging dug out.
At another place the line ran
little valley Not soul
was in sight, but a small American
flag was sticking in the ground to
Indicate the front line.
AT most points along the line we
traversed only a few Germans were
visible. These evidently were pri-
Yates. They were Longing in vii
lagos and along the roads, smoking
and talking. Almost all of them
waved a greeting at us. None car
ried gun or equipment of any kind.
So far as we could see, no artillery
or material remained.
At one point several miles in the
rear of the German lines we glimpsed
a number of trucks hurrying toward
CONTAINS Farther back we saw huge
fires smudging the sky with columns
Of black smoke.
From one place we counted eight
fires in the direction of Contains,
while over the region of Pineheuille
we saw great column Of fire and
white smoke shoot up and drift away
with the wind.
In little hanlets just behind the
German lines, German soldiers were
sitting in the sunshine, but no horses.
rucks or other means of transporta- |
ion were visible.
Once we saw six Germans in a viii |
age within the American lines, sur |
'ounded by group of doughboys. /
they were recently taken /
prisoners.
AT many places in the lines the I
Americans were standing in the open
ields around bon fires. Some were
and their clothes were
aid on the ground to dry. We noticed
me man washing himself in a brook.
At another place burial party was
iigging three graves on a knoll over
ooking the lines.
AT the foot OF the hill unit evil
iently was preparing for inspection. !
All its equipment was neatly laid out I
n rows.
For several miles in one region we
lew over section that was peck /
marked with shell holes that were
literally rim TO rim. There were clus-
ers of farm houses which were mere
leaps of stone. The whole region
vas scene of unutterable desola-
ion. The roads were cut up and
here were smashed trucks and gun
carriages in the bitches. Lying in
he mud were dead horses, their legs
sticking up at grotesque angles. A
thousand and one different kinds Of
var materials were lying where they
lad been abandoned.
We looked down on three villages
Which were almost unbelievably shat
cred. Not living thing was visible
n them. Close by the lines was a
orty acre wood. Every limb was
tripped from the trees and the
runks were mangled. The whole /
andscape was criss-crossed with
reshly made zig-zag trenches.
We saw two deserted German
trong points on hill. They were
ircular affairs ringed with many
ines of barbed wire and with sunken
oncrete pill boxes in the center. The
ntire field was churned up with she'll
oles, while lines of wire were smash I
d fat
Turning back from the lines we
ircled over Verdun- The streets
rere alive with activity But the
My Bit of color in the famous ruined
'rench city was the tri-color on the
pire of the cathedral
From Verdun we climbed to an alti- /
lde of 1000 feet. As we made our
-ay back to the hangar, we saw
oaens of tiny, winding ribbons of
pad filed with crawling lines of
rotor trucks, carrying up supplies 10
lie dormant war machine.
Italians Occupy Railway centers.
ROME. Nov. 17.-[Dela yed. )-In Z
ompliance with the armistice provf-
ons. Italian troops have occupied
he main Austrian railway centers
I'd passes toward the German from
er.
Belgian Troops in SrusseIs.