Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-09-14

.
! of a series of articles on the
| arrival of American troops in
/ France, affOrding pictures OF
/ the scenes when the fleets OF
troop ships arrive and glimpses
/ of the Americans as they first
set foot on French soil. Others
/ will follow at intervals.)
American Port, Western Franco.
" Correspondence Of the AssO-
/ Ciated Press -Twelve o'clock az
night, all lights out ashore and
. atloat, heavy rain squalls sweep
4 ing out to sea, and this great port
/ dark and silent as the latest feeI
of American transports and con-
/ yOys-13 monster ships, 10 de-
! stroycrs, $4,000 fighting men and
/ 5000 cTew-creeps in from the
Atlantic
With an American army escort
we had climbed to a high point on
the sea front to get a glimpse o.
this first process in the gigantic
military migration from America
to Europe, the greatest The world
has ever known, and then to fol-
low it, step by step, as its vast and
intricate activities unfOlded up TO
/
! fighting front
The wireless station had re
ceiyed a CIPHER message giving
warning of the approach of the
fleet 1t had been hoped the arrival
| would be in daylight, with fla IS
flying, bands playing, ard the sun
shining as the American lighting
men got their first glimpse of Eu-
ig, ..y
said the admiral, and there is no
time for stage effects.
And so at midnight in the rain
and darkness with signal lights
, showing for the first time since
they left the other side, the huge
flOtilla moved in a long li&e Of
lights to the sheltered rcadstead
There was the creak of windlass
. and chains as the anchors grip
ped.
And yet this midnight arrival IN
the darkness and rain is only one
of the steady succession of great
. armadas coming every three or
four days. in the colossal Amec-
lean military influx which Secre-
tary gives at 275,000 men for a
single month. These $4,000 men
just in are the population of good
sized city; twice as many men as
we sent to Cuba for the Spanish
American war; about half the
force Napoleon had at Waterloo
when the destinies of Europe were
in the scale.
And while this is one Of the rec
ord debarkments, yet it IS only
small part of that mighty stream
coming in from the west It is the
unprecedented magnitude of such
/. a military movement, across the
/ ocean, in the face of submarines,
that has thrilled the allied world
/. and broken the spirit of the adver-
sary.
1t was a stirring scene in the
harbor the morning following as
the transports unlOaded their
Sc 600 men. The sky had cleared
and the huge black hulIs Of the
/. transports doomed out of the mist,
their tunnels putting black smoke,
their sides painted with fantastic
camoufiage, and their decks rising
like terraces crowded with kahki-
clad Americans in their broad
trimmed sombreros. The destroy
ers had drawn off and were lying
} punched 10 across. They looked
diminutive besides the big ships,
out their power showed in the glinE
. OF guns and the long lean, build
like a greyhound stretched for ac-
ton. Further back were the
French warships.
. All about were inuumerable
small craft, army and navy tugs,
lighters. launches. and a f1otiIla
OF fishing craft with their nets
hanging TO dry like huge sails Of
+ lace. Back Of this water scene
stretched the huge American ware
, houses, sprung up like mush-
rooms. until the whole front was
. black with buildings and the skele-
tons of more buildings. Already
the lighters were alongside and the
soldiers came tramping down the
ga1gways 10 go ashore.
The Americans found this por-
without any system Of big docks.
A few of the smaller ships can
come 10 the docks. but most OF the
unloading from the deep-draught
ships must be by lighters. The
American commanders are plan
ming TO change all this, and soon
the long breakWater Will be linked
70 the land by bridges, thus Great
ing at a stroke a huge docking
system by which the American
/. troops will march straight ashore
from the ships.
A lighter was now pushing OF,
with 500 troops packed on il like
the crowd at a holiday process
! sion. The men were feeling gay.
for they were about to step on
solid ground again. and 70 have
their first look at France. and be-
sides they had the regimentaI band