Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-10-22
EOOlING THE ENEMY.
French Have camoufiage Down to {
Fine Art

INC HTt.
Behind American lines in France,
Sept. Is Correspondent Of the Asso-
ciated Prcss).-NothinE is real in the
American camounagc station here. All
Is deception.
Huge willow trees like those in Flan-
ders. with trunks two feet in diameter
and a mass OF sprouting branches at
the top, are steel tubes designed to
hide an observer. Even on close in
spcction they look like real trees to
the Associated Press correspondent
who visited the station and, with the
commandant, explored their myster-
.ous underground reeesses.. ,------'
They were OF plaster cloth wound
about the center steel tube and with
pieces Of real bark fitted around the
trunk. A small gauze orifice, painted
to match the bark was not noticed un-
til pointed out by the officer. This was
for the observer standing within the
steel core Of the tree.
Ten feet away the turf opened, dis
closing a passage with steps leading
to a tunnel and thence to the base OF
the tree. With a light we groped
through the tunnel and up into the
tree. It 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 a
mong the trees. The big stone. five
feet high and seven across. looked very
real. and yet this too was camouf1aged
"A make believe boulder In which an
observer and a machine gun could
lurk.
Examining the stone, II felt rather
like a big cardboard box and gave
slightly to the pressure OF the hand
The frame was wood. the covering bur-
lap, painted gray-brown. with patches
of moss. And buried amid the moss
was the canvass flap. raised to lei
through the nozzle of the machine gun
you have your own telegraph sys-
tenn" was remarked on observing the
line of telegraph poles stretching
across the plain.
The commander smiled. "Thost
arc periscope telegraph poles" he ex'
planned.
The poles were veritable telegraph
poles. with wires strung from the
tops. Just as they are seen along tho
country roads. But each pole was hol'
low to permit a periscope to be raised
to high observing point. while COW
cred pit at the base Of the pole accom-
modated the observer taking the read
ings OF the periscope.
Beside the periscope poles there
were periscope trees with hollow
stumps from which the observers in
strument was manipulated and tho
reading made in pits below the roots
A camouflage stone wall was another
curious device standing among th'
camoufage trees and poles. This wall
looking like the ruin Of an old mill
was Of light plaster construction
painted and weather worn to resem'
BILE a real mill.
"A wrecked house often serves III
as a very good camouiage," said thu
commander 1--WE had one with th'
windows all gone so the enemy could
look straight through to the walls In
side. BY painting false canvas wall'
just back OF the windows the enem!
still thought he was looking a
the real walls opposite. But back o
the canvas our observer and snipel
| were at work. and the device was yer,
effective"
A pile Of gravel stood near the wal
or what appeared to be pile o
gravel, for this, too. was camoufage
The pebbles were heaped around a hol
low frame with its cause opening fo
the observers and the flap through
which the machine gun barked. Fur
ther along was a pile Of brick-camou
fiage: and over in the field was {
stack of hay-camoufage. Each on
of them was a small fortress as vel
as a post Of observation.