Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-07-16
American battery Members gathering empty

lem. I discovered way to outwit them.
| wore two vests and turned each one of
them inside out every two hours, on the
theory that it took the pests about two
hours to make the round trip of the gar
ments. By this method I managed to
keep them on the outside all the time,
that is if 1 didn't forget to turn the
vests. l quite frequently forgot to turn
them on schedule time, and then the
cooties beat'me to it and started chew
ing my hide again.
The Cook fad Cold Feet
The cook of our battery had very
the chow suffered. He was more afraid
Of a shell than an old woman of a
thunderstorm. Every time he heard a
shell whistling he'd go under the bunk
ence what he had cooking; he'd let ev-
erything burn up rather. than come ou,
before he thought the danger was over.
In order to bring the chow to the boys,
the cook had to walk out into the open
and go from one dugout to another.
And the worst of it was that the boches
always started shelling us around meal
time, If shell fell within quarter of
a mile of that cook, he'd drop the sluin-
kettle. spilling the contents, and do a
marathon back to his dugout. On the
second day We got back to the front the
cook dropped three Slum-kettles in that
manner, and We were some sore, for we
We're as hungry as a lot of woodchuckS.
In fact, we We're so hot under the COZ =
lar that we manned our guns and gave
the boches a salvo, just to show theid
we resented getting our chow spilled OH
the ground. We felt better when our
observer signaled us that our salvo had
blown up three of the enemy's soup
kitchens. The Huns didn't disturb us
around mealtme again for fully a week.
One day / tried to demonstrate with
the cook about his fear of shells
You've got to die some time" I said
stuff? If shell hits you, you'll never
know what struck you"
Maybe I've got to die some time
he replied with .comical shiver. but
don't want to go just now"
The American sector Is near Toul. one
of the most ancient towns in Lorraine.
Before the war Toul had a population of
| about $4,000. 1t lies in the valley o'f
the Moselle at the foot of range of i'm
posing hills. Nearby. flows the Moselle
| River and a sleepy old canal, which in
times of peace connected Germany and
France being the artificial waterway
from the Rhine to the Marne River. In
1870 Toul was captured by the Germans.
1t is now fortress of the first class and
is much coveted by the Huns.
First American Sector
The country where the first Ameri-
can sector is located is generally low
ground spotted with little hamlets and
towns, mostly shell-torn and criss-
crossed by succeeding lines of trenches
strong points and battery positions, ali
part of the defense of both Toul and
Nancy. The principal roads in the dis
trict have been pretty well camouflaged
with trees and with other devices known
to the French.
A large portion of our sector is
wooded, and there are picturesque little
lakes here and there that CLEAN like
mirrors on clear days. Our forward
lines parallel a low ridge, along which
are several towns, Behind this ridge is
| concealed a network of American bat.
| teries.
On a clear day we could see the dis.
tant towers of the Gothic cathedral il