Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-02-11

know about as much about building
fire as 1 know of cooking-and you
know how much that is, for If l had
to cook my meals for a week I'd
starve to death. Then they are so
eager to hunt food too, generally
waiting until the fire goes out before
hunting any. Who, me?
Oh, 1 furnish the matches This is
the afternoon of a beautiful day and
| sure was sore that / could not fly,
but the mechanics said the motor
was broken and could not be used
with safety until tomorrow. The
sad part of ii was that 1 was not
ordered out on patrol duty and
here's a whole perfectly good after
noon gone to waste, because there
are lots of things l wish to practice
that l know I'll need in my first fight.
Was out this morning with another
American, and a seasoned flyer to
sidered my flying tres bien," be-
cause I stuck so close to him. 1 was
supposed to be a little to the right
and above him and the fact that l
kept this position no matter which
way he went was what caused his
praise. Take it from me, no one
knew better than yours truly the
value of sticking close to Papa" for
what pie l would be for a Boche
now!
1 sure thought l saw one this
morning, and he had me worried,
because l had no idea the course of
action necessary for me to pursue,
having been ordered to follow the
chef de group" was doing this
all right and apparently the sight
of the plane off to our left caused
him no uneasiness for he kept right
on going. So did 1, but i got my gun
cooked and ready nevertheless, and
nearly dislocated my neck keeping
an eye on that uspicious-looking
plane as it swung around, behind
and above us: Ii ii was a Boche he
sure could have potted us then, es-
pecially myself who was directly in
line of fire, because he had the sun at
his back.
An Important Point.
That's a very import point. let me
assure you. for If you come at a
man with the sun at your back. he
can't see YOU until you are very close.
Just about the time that plane Sc
cured this coveted position my leader
shook his wings up and down, a
signal that he had seen a Boche.
There | was up a tree, for ! had
no orders what to do in a case like
this, whether to attack on my own
hook, or wait to see what the leader
does. The leader kept on going tho
and l followed. edging up little
closer to the leader and keeping one
eye on the "Boche" l had been
looking for identification marks for
some time on this plane, and as he
came closer l found them-not the
big. black iron cross l had been eX-
pecting, but the red, white and blue
tail of a "Spad."
| assure you, l was somewhat re-
lieved, end gave more of my time
to studying the landscape below,
watching shrapnel bursting a short
distance away where they We're
shelling an aviator, and wondering
what that little red toy balloon was
doing up so high $500 metersl all
by its lonesome. and then 1 discov-
cred why, because the plane | had
thought was a Boche was using this
balloon to practice maneuvering.
Gee Whiz, but it was cold too, one
of those bitter cold mornings when
ones breath looks like a stream of
smoke and getting out of bed goes
hard, especially since it took all
night to warm it up-and me floating
around in this tuff some $4,000 feet
high. Do you wonder I was cold,
even with paper gloves on. Those
paper gloves are quite an idea. And
are made of pliable paper and put
on under the fur-lined gloves.
For our feet we have sheep
skin lined shoes, and also paper ones
to slip on over the regular shoes.
My feet have never gotten cold, but
oh, my face! That's where 1 mind
it. l thought my nose was froze this
morning, and as for cheeks, tell
the girls its sure remedy for rosy
ones, and beats anything a drug
store ever advertised-you notice I
didn't say sold? 1t sure makes it
bad tho, to fly when one has a cold,
even a small one, for one must needs
wipe his nose before it runs all over
his face-and freezes there, for a
120 mile gale of December air is
not by any means warm.
This necessitates letting go all con-
trolls and digging for a handkerchief
oh yea, she'll fly along by herself,
but did you ever notice how hard it
is to find one when you need it
real quick? Am beginning to get
the lay of the land now and could
even distinguish the sharp cracks of
exploding shells above the roar of
my motor. It's very interesting to
look down on all this and l am very
curious to see it at close range. You
know what curiosity did to the cat
tho. But then, I'm bird, and that's
different!
Spirit of the Men.
What struck me so forcibly when
| first arrived here, was the spirit
of the men. Everyone was on the
hop and interested in everything 60
ing on around them, and made a
point to make the newcomer feel at
home-at least, so l thought until
they insisted on hearing me sing an
American song. From my four
months of association with French
men in clerical and official positions
in the different schools l passed thro
| fear / was acquiring a very bad
opinion of the French as a patriotic
race. So many "ambuscades'' hold
ing down Jobs and delighting in
showing their authority, 1 never did
see, but here at the front it's all
different.
Everyone is anxious and willing
to do his part for the cause, and my
only regret is that l cannot talk or
understand enough French to learn
the things l wish to know for after
we come back from each patrol the
leader tells us our mistakes, and |
having to get it translated, lose a
lot of it. So | have to use my eyes
to catch the rest. My powers of OBJ
servation are fairly keen tho, and
don't miss much, only 1 do dis
cover some things little late some
times. l have a prince of a Cap
tain tho, and he generally gives me
the benefit of the doubt, knowing
how anxious l am to learn the game,
1 1,r-3 1,n .Is.1 .