Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-03-22


ing Work.
The. following letter Is from Douglas
Featherstone. son Of Hon. c. {.
Featherstone, we'll known to York
county people. as candidate to
whom they gave a majority OF their
votes in 1910. The letter is republish-
ed from the Greenwood Index:
Feb. Is. 1918.
Dear Mr. Bolton
The very nice box Of candy from
you and your family came to me some
days ago and am sorry that my work
has been so unceasing and exacting
that l have not been able to thank
YOU all before this time.
You aimed the candy for somewhere
in France at Christmas time. 1t didn't
reach me at that time due mainly to
my many moves just at the last Of the
year; but when it did reach me on
the firing line I assure you that II was
ten times as acceptable and nice as II
would have been had it reached me
ut Christmas l might say in passing
that the candy in company with two
other packages from Greenwood found
me with gas mask. waiting for
Boche gas attack to pass over.
The Spirit That Will Win.
The year 1918 has been exceedingly
satisfactory to us 80 far. To begin
with am working with one Of the
best. II not the best organization in
the United States army-and my con-
nection with II has been OF the pleas
ATTEST nature possible. With II ! have
been through almost the entire Boch"
lineup of frightfulncss and We have
vet to fail TO give them as good as
they sent. We have met and will meet
difficulties on all sides: but the men
are really wonders and somehow We
manage to pull through. | have been
very fortunate in that | have been
through experiences and situations
which usually come with years in
stead OF months on the firing line.
Magnitude Of the Task.
Fighting a powerful, wonderfully
organized enemy three thousand miles
from home Is n task the magnitude OF
which we can hardly realize ourselves
and we have many. many lessons to
learn: but the U. :. soldiers are com
ing to the scratch nobly. have been
out with our men (and the largest
part of the battery IL made up Of men
Younger than | am--and great many
of them seventeen. eighteen and nine
teen years old) for three and four
DAYS at hard work when our average
sleep was close to nothing and they
worked cheerfully faithfully and
steadily. Once we were in the saddle
for sixteen hours and we got in and
learned that we had to go out in an
hour for eight hours more land we had
one meal when there should have
been three and that one had been
cold)-one man complained out loud
and he was met with a volley Of
"what'd you come over here for any
way" Say you ought to've brought
your nurse along "D' you come here
to get your fill of chow" and he was
sorry he hadn't kept quiet.
Hot German Fire.
Only few days ago n Bochc bat
terry opened up on us with high cx-
plosives and they weren't wasting their
shells all over the country either. The
situation was pretty bad and every
body was ordered to take the best
shelter available. The Boche fire got
a little more previous az II went on
and II didn't make very nice music.
Finally we got some information as to
what battery was firing on us and the
captain told me to open up on them
with two guns and send the rest Of
the men away from the battery posi-
ton. We computed firing data very
hastily and when | stepped outside
and blew the whistle the men sprang
out to the guns with a yell-and II
reminded me of a football team when
the whistle starts the game. With
shell falling all around us we gave
them about thirty rounds and abso-
lutely silenced them-and If there was
a man in the battery as scared as !
was he didn't show it that day. A
number OF the men were hit. but not
hurt, by fragments and ] had three
fragments try to make a bell out of my
helmet when a shell burst in the top
OF a nearby tree. 1t was one OF the
happiest punches ] ever saw when 1t
was phoned into us few minutes
later that we had caused a big ex-
plosion and fire ut the Boche battery
and put one gun out of commission
apparently having hit an ammunition
dump in their vicinity.
In Very Front Line.
have been in q forward observation
post for the past two days and ! have
an opportunity to write this only be-
cause 1t Is raining slightly and a dense
fog covers things and where yester-
day I could see nearly every move
mcnt over couple OF kilometers OF
front In No Mans Land enemy trench
es and. with the aid of glasses. eight
or ten kilometers behind the enemy
lines, and aerial activity still further
today can scarcely see the encmy's
first line trenches and 1t has been
the quietest day since | have been at
the front. Yesterday we were shelled
heavily and there hasn't been an in
specting officer around in three days
the Germans are useful for some
things after all.
Wire Trouble There Too.
Early last night our telephone
wires were, to use technical terms
"all blowed to hell" and while 1t
wasn't essential. 1t was best that they
he replaced as soon as possible. Two
of the FIVE men with me picked up
their coats and helmets. shouldered
their kits and started out on the lines
without a word from me-and they