Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1918-08-15

opened fire on us
zolnowski smiled rather unpleas.
antly as he patted right arm that
bears n machine gun bullet.
They didn't last long. We made
one dash for them Not one of them
got away They were Germans all
right. There was another group com
Ing mp got q private and then the
officer in charge sailed into me. /.
tried to shoot him with my rifle. but
II was broken got him all right.
though" /
The Chicagoan seemed inclined to-
end the conversation there.
How'd you get him" asked, after
a little pause.
Just turned the but end of my gun
around and dubbed him over the head
with it," replied zouowski in the
most matter OF fact tone.
When the Americans came back mt
them it didn't take long to clean
every Dutchman out OF their territory
declared Elmer Surtz OF Wellsbure,
Pa. Before he got a Mauser bali w
his right shoulder Surt2 had the tx.
trcme good fortune to see two pom.
toon bridges the enemy had thrown
across the river destroyed by the ac.
curate fire of the American artillery.
They were filled with Germans. too
Some Of them were coming, but there
were others who seemed very content
to be going. Two shells from Amer.
can six.inchcrs lii sQuarcly over the
bridges. There was terrific report
followed by an inferno. Both bridges
crumpled In the middle Both were
crowed beyond their limits Bits of
Germans came raining down for al
most three minutes. according to the
spectator, while from the river the
wild cries of the injured aud drown
ing made a picture Sturtz will always
carry with him
For few minutes the river was
literally checked with bodies. The
Germans were at last moving on
Paris, but il a way they had hardly
reckoned
Between puffs OF cigarette, the
first he'd had in day. Frank Hogan,
OF Galveston, Tex confirmed Sturtz's
story OF the wholesale drowning OF
the enemy The Texan was working
a Stokes gun hundred feet from the
southern bank Of the -Siver when the
/ first waves of field green began to
cross.
You can't say enough for those
artillery guys, he said. as he tried
to twist into as comfortable posi-
tion as wounded thigh permits.
Ten minutes after she orders had
been telephoned to the batteries they
had a perfect range on that river
While we were pouring bullets into
the Hinies the guns got ther numbers
with both small and large shells
~ Lht NHot NU't' VIZ hfIt SttXlOiitu
/ | reckon there must have been about
3,0CN Of the FritZies got across the
/ river They didn't all 90 Back. Fact
l don't think there were hardly any
/ of that bunch that'll go back to Ger
, many We captured over l,500 our
|, selves and killed easily $50. The res
were trying to beat it back to TIL
! other side when our shells hit thef
, bridges
, A Pittsburger. n. G Rameno. whit
was injured in the arm by a piece o
shrapnel, says there's one American
. sharpshooter that made record any
one might be proud of during tn
; first of the mixup While the Ger
. man engineers were trying to throw
, their first pontoon bridges over h
picked twenty-eight of them with hi
rife. | couldn't get his name, but HI
: already wears a sharpshooter's medal
, He deserves another,
Lots of soldiers believe in bunch
, es."
, James H. Paul of No $50 Spruc,
| street, Philadelphia, does, and it's
r fortunate thing for him that h
. played his With a comrade Paul wa
in a dugout during the barrage She'll
r were landing all around, Finally on
Z blew in The entrance, SO Paul decide'
| their dugout was becoming a little to,
I warm lie waited for a short lull il
, the terrific firing and then darted TO
t another shelter. He had not gottel
| fifteen feet away from the dugou
when a big one scored direct hi
| on it His companion was killed. bu
, Paul escaped with a wound from
! splinter that will keep him out Of &C
:. ton for several weeks.
Columns could be written about tn
9 troops. Every man tried to Guido hi
> neighbor in deeds of valOr, II woui
t seem at first glance. But II isn't tina
. at all It's the spirit Of the American
3 army and the best soldiers in tn
world.