Imperial Valley press., 1918-10-12
YANKEES EXPERT
At GENTLE ART
Of CAM0UFLACE

I(Correspondence of Associated Pressl
Behind the American Lines in
The great American camouflage
station here. All is deception.
Huge willow trees like those in
diameter and mass of sprouting
Flanders, with trunks two feet in
branches al the top, are steel tubes
designed to hide an observer. Even
ion close inspection they looked like
real trees to the correspondent who
visited the station and, with the
commandant, explored their myseri
Gus underground recesses.
They were Of platter cloth wound
pieces of real bark fitted around the
trunk. A small gauze orifice, paint
ed to match the bark, was not no.
liced until pointed out by the officer.
This was for The observer standing
within the steel core of the tree.
Ten feet away the turf opened,
disclosing a passage with steps lead
ing to tunnel and thence to the base
of the tree. With a light we groped
through the tunnel and up into The
tree. II was a tight fit in this tree
trunk, but from the gauze orifice one
had a sweep of the whole nearby
country.
A huge boulder, such as one sees
along country roads, was noticed
among the trees. The big stone, five
feet high and seven across, looked
very real, and yet this, too, was cam
ouflage-a make-believe boulder in
which an observer and machine gun
could lurk.
Examining the stone, it felt rath-
ef like big cardboard box. and gave
slightly to the pressure of the hand.
The frame was wood, the covering
burlap, painted gray-brown, with
patches of moss. And buried amid
the moss the canvas flap raised to
let through the nozzle of the machine
gun.
"You have your own telegraph sys-
tem," was remarked on observing the
line of telegraph poles stretching
across the plain.
The commandant smiled. "Those
are periscope telegram poles," he ex-
planned.
The poles were veriable telegraph
poles, with wires strunk from the
the country roads. But each pole
tops, just, as they are seen along
country roads. But each pole was
hollow, 10 permit periscope to be
raised to high observing point,
while covered pit at the base of
the pole accommodated the observer
'aking the readings of the periscope.
Besides The periscope poles, there
were periscope frees, with hollow
stumps from which the observers in
slrument was manipulated and the
readings made in pits below the roots.
A camouflage stone wall was an
other curious device. standing among
The camouflage trees and poles. This
wall, looking like the ruain of an
old mill, was Of light plaster con-
struction painted and weather-worn
to resemble real MILL
"A wrecked house often. serves us
as very good camouflage," said the
commander. owe had one with the
windows all gone so the enemy could
look straight through to the walls in
side. BY painting false canvas walls
just back Of the windows, the enemy
still thought he was looking at the
real walls opposite. But back of the
canvas our observers and snipers
were at work and the device was
very effective"
A pile of gravel stood near the
wall-or what appeared to be a pile
of gravel, for this, too, was camou-
flage. The pebbles were heaped
around hollow frame with it's gauze
opening for the observers and the
flap through which the machine gun
barked. Further along was pile of
brick-camouflage; and over in the
field was stack of hay-camo-
flage. Each one of them was a small
fortress as well as post of obser-
vation.