The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1918-05-10

With the American Army In France.
Plunged from their world OF sham
battles, training camps and dreams TO
a maelstrom of fierce realities. the
American soldiers are proving they are
made Of the same stuff which carried
their ~forefathers through the tests OF
the trying periods of American his
tory, writes Don Martin In the New
York Herald.
/ have seen them In action. l have
seen them under shell fire which lit
orally sprayed them with flying earth
and shrapnel, and their relatives and
friends back In New York, California,
Maine, Florida, Montana or wherever
you please, may take the word OF an
eyewitness that they have already
taken their places among the most
valorous and sturdy fighters Of this 81
gantic world war.
Very recently I visited them In a lit
tie village as close to the enemy lines
us units ran be quartered. l had gone
to see the artlllerymen at their task
and instead Of anticipated tranquility
ran into the f1ercest kind Of excitement
the first these particular Yankees
had known. It all burst suddenly and
Unexpectedly. just as most war devel-
Opments break.
Shells Break 1900 Yards Away.
From the rear window Of headquar-
tiers in charge Of an American captain
and n French officer shells could be
seen breaking on a slOping hillside.
The nearest one while l a observing
fell perhaps 100 feet away. They
were aimed mt an American battery.
Its nothing" said the captain, u
stalwart, handsome man, who only a
few years ago was a renowned football
player In a Michigan university. "They
throw over a few shells every day, but
they never hit the town."
With the musical kissing of the
shells for nm accompaniment we con-
versed about news in America and had
luncheon-a good luncheon, too. There
was no talk Of war. Beside the table
at which we ate was q saggtng cot
with wrinkled blankets. The. captain
sleeps there.
sometimes at night" he said. 1.-The
Smelling Is pretty heavy and It's hard
to sleep, but I'm getting used to It."
Clerk Indifferent 70 Smelling.
Just beside the open window In the
rear-the window was more like a
barn door than a window and had no
glass-a clerk was pegging away at a
typewriter. The dropping Of the shells
made no impression upon him. AT
home, / learned, he Is q clerk In an
express office-n 1.-the, we'll grOOmed
youth who has dreams OF future com
mercial greatness.
ssThese shells come a little too close
for comfort. don't they?" ! observed
aThey won't get any nearer"
To O war amateur the spectacle OF
shells striking 50 near yet coming nc
nearer, when 1t would have been SO
easy to blow the town to bits, was o
matter Of wonder.
Eyes, they could hit the town. OF
COURSE was the captains comment
.'but they never have shelled It. Sort
OF I'm unwritten understanding. ! lima
CINE. They have towns similarly stu
attd which we could shell. but they
don't want them shelled."
Other understandings were that the
Germans spare some towns because
their " people have property In
them. Whatever may be the REASON
Tor sparing certain towns oil reason
inR was wrong with respect to this
particular village where l was having
luncheon. We had just finished when
| q noncommissioned 0ficer entered the
upstairs room. considerably out OF
breath. but in no way excited, and
after saluting said:
eattery Connections Broken.
"Our battery IS being shelled with
gas and telephone connections have
been broken"
Hurried orders were issued. It was
ali done quickly and quietly. The foot
ball player. now a captain, acted as II
be were coaching nm old team al
school. Presently men we're seen scnr'
rying on through the fields toward the
shell-swept zone wherein the batteries
lay. They dropped iiat two Of three
times, but all crossed the danger belt
safely and disappeared in the more
thIckly spattered region. This action
had Just been put into effect when m.
other soldier appeared before the cap
tain and. saluting and standing erect,
said:
II have to report, sir. that the shell
Ore II becoming more severe. Shells
are now falling In the village"
The nearby wlixz Of the flying
things and the boom and crash at the
end Of the. street gave terrifying en-.
phaais 10 the sharp cut words of tn
solder. No one was 70 vexlng ~ "a
OK about the .unwritten understand
iness not y bOmb the town. Whsre
shells had been falling at the rate ~
two every three minutes. they were
now dropping at the rate of four Of
g. : smlmsafn quhAw vv0ra n