Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-03-19
YANKEESLEARN TO
COOK own MEALS
Major Shows Americans in
France How to Provide
Hot Srppers-
TOMMY DOES 1T, TOO
ny HERRERT COREY.

ny HERRERT COREY.
WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY IN
EHE YIELD. Februay 16@Trencnes
became Impossible In tho low ground
Tor tho little streams were running
bank fun Here and there they over
spread their bounds Tho loviand
fr.nkfy became q marsh Here the line
or defense was set somewhat further
hack. but n guarded path ran from
angle to angie Of tho American
trenches. It seemed almost indecentiy
exposed. for OILY occasionally were en-
banknents of sandbags- AT one tirne
the path Rugged the lee OF roao tnae
had been raised above the level OF the
hoeiand for no one knows how many
Centuries The sturdy little stone
bridge which spanned a thirty-1ooo-
wide creek bore the date OF 1870:
This IS the only pad pia ;, the
path They snipe here all the TIME
Cot one of my men here last night
Just a touch"
,h" nrohable location of the sniper who
had been bothering. while the major
laid his plans to send that German
shouting home to Va1ha1la fnefe WeIe
bullet marks on the trees and nttle
surface, and the wet graystone OF tns
old bridge had been Scared ana
clipped The major is an expert ma,
chine gunner, but Porterheld Is an oio
deer hunter. They vorkeo gu. ene
angles and the probable lurking pace
Of the sniper, and arranged to turn a
few bursts on him when he feaSe e4
pscted it There was no tnousnt OF
hts shooting at us The pelttng ram OF
the carly morning had turned INTO a
foexy drizzle, through which the sort
round outlines of Mont-Sec could oareiy
be seem No sniper who respected his
art would be out on such day.
In American Trenches.
Beyond the stone bridge was another
Wem ieilied. The old cemetery at one
aide had apparently been the scene OF
a hard fight at some Garner cay, lol
loopholes had been knocked tnroush
stones had been overturned by sneii
are In the village itself the sides OF
the houses exposed to German nre hao
been torn away and only few Tagged
monotony of torn masonry All smell
torn villages are alike in their general
aspect The little old church mere
seemed somewhat more pathe11c IMAM
homely little structure Only a nm
of what it had been remained we
walked on through more uencnes-
gathering more mud, d BY and G y vas
reassuringly deep and the roof was OF
\ delightful solidity- Inside were Two
rooms. of which the ceilings were
shored up by heavy props IKE the shaAS
This" said the major. with saus-
faction in his tones, lis where we
chow"
- in
trenches When he first took over the
command of his battalion some OF his
officers were fresh from training scnooi.
They were up on theory, but Bat snort
on practice. One day he walked in upon
An officer and a group of twenty-odd
men. 1t was wet-an winter days IN
the yosges are, have been or VIII De
wet-and the men were hungry. Inc
rations available. The men sat In
gloom and moisture
you've got your iron rat1ons in your
packs, haven't your the major asked
~And you have your mess kits? And
wood is to be found?"
Some Self-Taught Cooks
So that he set them at work gather
ing wood and building fires and soon to
cooking. Some of the men had never
cooked before. Two or three of them.
who belonged to undu1y well-to-do
folks at home, had never even been in
side a kitchen. He gave them a few
wrinkles on trench cooking. and IN
simulated that the first duty Of a soldier
was to learn how to take care of him
self. He did not scold. for he is not
that sort He just told 'em. They
found that the food they cooked them
selves was better than the food the cooks
usually served them, for it came to
them spicy hot and steaming. Since
then the men of this company have been
doing most of their own cooking.
Pretty nearly every Tommy in the
British army runs his own mess" the
major said 1.-TWO or three of them get
together, and one carries frying pan
and another coffee pot and the third
something else. They add what they
buy or rustic to the rations that are
supplied them and live like lords"
Little by little the lesson is soaking
in along the line The company kitch-
ems are, of necessity. placed in places
of comparative safety and the food Is
often carried over long distances to the
men Nowadays the American soldiers
are adopting the British plan and run
ming their own messes- No fires may
be lighted along the front trench in
the daytime, for the smoke would soon
call shell fire from an ever-watchful
enemy. But as soon as dusk comes tiny
fires begin to twinkle in the sheltered
places where no CLEAN can betray the
cooks The cooking helps kill time,
too. and monotony is one of the dead
lest enemies of the trench fighter. On
such fogSy days as the one OF our
visit fires may be lighted anywhere
The smoke blends with the fog.
Some one commented on the excel
lent protection offered by the stout
roof of the dugout, and that reminded
the major of a story. He is one of
the men to whom war is fun. He en-
joys every minute. and his men enjoy
it with him He deplores the mud
and the rain, of course, but takes an
artists interest in fighting. Only
now and then there comes moments in
which be admits depression. The
man who says he has never been
frightened is a liar" Or else he has
never been under really heavy fire.
The Majors Experience.
The longest hours of my life have
been spent in the fire trench, waiting
to go over the top said he Now
adays I never go in until ten or If
teen minutes before zero. The men
have to go in an hour or SO before,
Of course Poor devilSt'
Once in Flanders he lived in a dug
out which was no protection at all,
except against the rain The roof was
just heavy enough to smother him if