Evening star., 1918-06-09
UNIQUE DEVICES IN
CAMOUFLAGEW WORK
American Artists at Front
Ready to Initiate Almost
Anything.
BY JUNIUS b. WOOD.
Special Correspondence Of The Evening
Star and Chicago Daily News.

b1 JI MUS b. "OOD.
Special Correspondence of The Evening
Star and Chicago Daily News.
WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY IN
FRANCE, May 4.-Having succeeded
in making a machine gun look like a
stone wall and in becoming able to
dress up a man so that he will be
mistaken for a bush, the Camoufiage
Corps of the American expedition is
thinking up new tricks. The corps has
a shop of it's own of which paint of
many tints Is the most outstanding
feature and bespectacled young men
who think out ways for making
things seem what they are not are
the brains behind the scenes. Practi-
cally all Of the devices which. have
been developed under the name of
camounage during the war are
turned out at this shop. There are
some new ones as well.
The shop spreads most of its tricks
out for inspection, for they must be
can be sent up to the front. where
flaw would mean life or death. 1t has
a series of trenches with typical snip
ers' posts, showing how they are built !
in different materials and SO camou-
tagged by making the outside look as
one with the terrain that the enemy
across no mans land will not detect
them.
Making Cover for Guns.
What looks like an ordinary stone
wall opens up and shows a man in
side with an anti-aircraft gun. Think
ing it an ordinary pile of stone, the
enemy aeroplane may fly low and be
potted and brought down before it
discovers what is camouiaged be-
meath.
On one side stands a perfectly nat
ural appearing tree. Inspection in
back shows that it is hollow cast
iron shell with steps which the
sniper, provided he is sufficiently thin,
can mount. SO that he may pick off
the enemy from its top.
The papier mache heads. from a dis
tance resembling various hard-faced
American soldiers with steel hats on.
are made in the United States. and
the tints of complexion and mud
natural to soldiers face added IN
used to locate q troublesome enemy
sniper.
Just as il he were a real soldier
stealing a peek over the top Of a
parapet, one of these heads is slid
upward in an accurately grooved
runway. Perhaps a little preliminary
active camouflaging precedes 1t, such
as party Of men carrying ladders
in the trench, shovelfuls of earth
thrown above the skyline of parapet,
sniper believe a careless working
party is on the spot.
Getting Line on Sniper.
Then the head goes up cautiously,
Bang goes the enemy sniper and
bullet pierces the papier mache. The
head Is held exactly in the groove and
our sniper takes mirror periscope
and adjusts 1t SO that he is looking
through the two \holes made in the
dummy head by the bullet 1t gives
him the location of the enemy sniper
within few feet. After that he lies
in wait to pick him of.
The trick suits are canvas union
overalls and blouses such as automo-
bile mechanics wear, camouflaged In
different colors, and with straw stuffed
imitation stones, foliage and other
imitation debris fastened on them SO
that when the sniper wearing one lies
down in no mans land he Will not oe
detected amid the quiet surroundingS
How to make an artificial smell
crater so that a machine gun can pc
placed in the bottom OF II, now 10
make sniper posts and all such con-
struction work is taught at the SHOP
Roads Concealed by Branches.
These are merely what might be
called the artistic features of camou-
faging. Its big use is concealing bat
terry emplacements. roadways. freshly
dug trenches and other work which
might invite an enemy barrage. Some
times freshly cut branches or sticks
are thrown loosely on the ground or
woven into long curtains to be placed
at the roadside.
At other times canvas, painted In
tints which harmonize with the land
scape, is struck along the roads for
miles These are prepared at the
camoufage shop. Finishing TOUGHEST
SO that they will blend with the par
ticular field or locality are given by
painters sent from the shop to the
spot where the material is to be used.
For battery emplacements a more
durable camouflage is necessary to
withstand the conclusion of the guns.
Immense rolls of chicken wire are its
base Through the meshes are tiea
little pieces of stained canvas. and
sometimes, when it is made at the
front, thousands of tufts OF grass, and
the whole is stretched over. the gun
pits.
Everything is camoufaged- Roofs
of hangers or barracks are painted
or covered by prepared canvas. Guns.
wagons, automobile trucks are paint
cd before thew come from the shops.