Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1918-09-09
Spirit Lake Men Deserve
Credit for Demonstrate
ing Their Effect
iveness.
GERMANS SET UP HOWL
BOche Thought There Were
100000 Americans
on Western Front.

Spirit Lake Beacon: Yankee in
genuity has solved many problem
during the past year OF this greatest
of all wars, that has gone far towards
Outwitting and licking the Huns, but
apparently nothing Mas been as much
of surprise to the German as the
effectiveness of the shot gun for close
range fighting. The credit for this bit
of Yankee ingenuity is due to go to G.
Il. Hinshaw and Fred Gilbert, both of
Spirit Lake. These gentlemen not
only talked it locally, but HE'D them
selves to the fair grounds and demon
strated the effectiveness Of the buck
shot on the end of the band stand
They found that at distance of 100
yards it would spray nine feet wide
and three feet high and perforate a
two-inch board. They We're so salts
fed with their experience that they
went to Des Moines early last winter
for the purpose of comforting with the
Army officers at Camp Dodge, and
volunteered their services in putting
on a. demonstration to show the eff
fectiveness of the shotgun in trench
warfare.
The first conference was with
Major Baker. The Major requested
that what they said to him be put in
writing. which was done. Later Col.
Cooper asked them to come to Camp
Dodge and put on the demonstration.
Major MCGEE took charge of the ar
engagements and with the aid of
French and English officers, arranged
actually seen on the battle field in
France Special trenches were dug;
one was supposed to have been taken
by our men, three We're dug in front
from which the Huns were to make
counter attack. Eight dummies We're
arranged in each OF the three Hun
trenches, in such manner that pull
ing string at signal. the dummies
would raise up at once, ten seconds
were allowed for stopping the eight
Huns, then the second line attack,
then the third. The Army officers
asked that four men be put in the de-
Tense trench. J. N. Darling (Ding),
cartoonist for the Register, and Kip
Ebert, of Des Moines, were selected
as the other two men to assist Messrs.
Hinshaw and Gilbert, as they were
both expert shots with pump guns.
Each, man was equipped with re-
peating shotgun, loaded with No. 8
buck shot. In less than ten seconds
each man had fired six shots to the
load, making two hundred and eighty
bullets. The distance was first fifty,
second seventy-five, and third one
hundred yards. At the fifty yard
trench each dummy had an average OF
twenty bullet holes through him. At
seventy-five yards, about fifteen, and
at one hundred yards, an average OF
about ten bullet holes.
Large circular targets were pro-
yided to show the pattern at differ
ent distances also the penetration
A complete record was made. and to-
yether with the dummies and targets
were sent to the War Department at
Washington.
The Germans are setting up howl
about it, because it was style of
fighting to which they are unaccus7
toned, and against the rules Of hon
orable warfare supposed to be respect
ed by great ma tons who ars supposed
to hold treaty obligations inviolable. ,
Messrs. Hinshaw and Gilbert do
not claim credit for being the first to
think Of what use shot guns could be
put to in this modern warfare, but
the facts arc TINT they were the first
to demonstrate at an army canton
ment their effectiveness. The figures
sent out by the government are the
same as the record made by the above
men, and to Spirit Lake some credit
is due for having two men that start
ed the move which is assisting so
materially, to help put the Yankee
boys over the top. No wonder a
captured German officer said he
thought there were ten million Amer
leans on the Western front.
J.