Omaha daily bee., 1918-11-05
Etchings of Battling Yonks
Stars and Stripes. France.

with years and suffering with rheumatism. Her
daily task was to care for five rooms, wash and
scrub the floors, change the linen and look after
the officers many petty wants She was not
allowed out after 7:50 in the evening or per-
mitted to visit her neighbors without first OBJ
tanning permission.
During all those four years this old woman
kept, hidden away in secret trunk a SILK waist
and tailored skirt hoping against hope that
brighter day would dawn for her.
The bright day dawned when the Americans
swept forward on the early morning OF the 18th
of September driving the Germans before them.
After the barrage had passed on and the streets
had filled with 4anks, she busted off the trunk,
unlocked it, dressed up in her best, carefully
smoothed out the wrinkles, asked doughboy
if it was bon, then went calling on her neigh
bors, and even paid visit to the American COM
mander.
September p was red letter day in the
army lives of the railroad engineers stationed
around certain base, for on that date the first
all-American trains set out from there for the
front.
The word "all-American" is used advisedly,
for the trains were made up in our own yards,
of our own cars, engines and all, and manned
throughout by our own crews They were all
American but the rails and scenery.
Incidentally the railroad engineers at Base
No. - (the same place the first all-American
you know that the dear old base now boasts
some, 200 miles of track. This, as they will
tell you without your asking, makes it one of
the biggest, ifnot the biggest, railroad yard in
augurated anywhere on earth. To the great dis
comfture of their brother railroad workers
further up the line at X, they point out that X
is mere piker, being unable to count only
measly 90 miles of trackage around the entire
project.
A truck train was lined up on dark road
running parallel with the front and only few
kilometers back while company of pioneers
mended broken culvert
A colonel who was unfortunate enough to
be at the rear end of the jam and who was quite
anxious to be on the move, turned on the cleo
trio lights Of his limousine in hopes that the
light would enable the men toing on the roads
to work faster. A pioneer private paused, pick
above his head, when he saw the sudden flare
of light
Hey, you rube!" he shouted what are
you trying to pull off down there? Do you
want all the German artillery in the country
turned on us? Can that stuff or I'll come down
and kick lung out just to pass the time"
There was no reply. But the light went out
An interesting story of the pep" which
Americans are putting into the conflict is told
of certain colonel in command of regiment
from Montana, which participated in the recent
drive in the Argonne- Meuse line. This
unit was working in Jason with the French wing
in the Champagne. The Germans were fighting
rather savagely in this particular district when
the Americans came, into line. The French
commander suggested to the colonel that it
might be advisable to withdraw short distance.
Retreat" querled the surprised American
colonel Hell, we just got here"
The Americans did not retreat, and when the
western shock troops got into action the Amer
lean and French wings went forward.
One artillery unit worked hard during the
afternoon of the second day of the Argonne at
tack to get its pieces into position 1t had moved
up for the second time, and had not fired a shot
1t was 4 o'clock when the lieutenant in COM
mand gave orders for everyone to stand by. The
gunners were to fire their first volley into the
German lines.
Everyone stood waiting for the final word
when the telephone rang and word came that
the infantry had advanced so far that it would
be necessary to move up again before going into
action.
ooh. HE'LL" said gunner; chose infantry
guys amt got no respect for us at all!'
An American private spied rooster prowl-
ing around farm house in No Mans Land
just after the Americans had captured Very
Being hungry, and having an appetite for roast
IAlCkell, llllS AleIlCdll private ueClQcu 10 crawl
up on the rooster and trap him in the building
The American was about to lay his hands on
the astonshed rooster, when German entered
the rear door of the building bent on the same
mission. Both were so surprised that they
stood for moment and glared at each other;
then the American motoned for the German to
do right flank on the prey they were after and
both closed in on him. The rooster was cap
tured by the American, who later returned to
the American lines with both rooster and Ger
man in tow.
Later, at the regimental P. C., the German
roasted the chicken for his captor. who shared
it with him.
A Yankee truck drivers right forward wheel
had just sunk with an air of fnality into half
filled shell hole on the road near Avocourt and
he was throwing over terrific barrage of pro-
family, when he suddenly stopped short and his
jaw dropped. Then it closed in grin as broad
as the Sacramento from whose distant shore he
had gone forth to war. He was contemplating
the approach along the roadside of four stalwart
and imposing officers of the famous Prussian
along in the drzzling rain was stretcher, and
on the stretcher lay wounded doughboy smok-
ing cigaret.
A waiting column of infantry was watching
the aimless Greetings of a French plane. Then
they began to realize that the Greetings were not
aimless that the pilot, in all his voyagngs hither
and yon, high and low, was looking for some
thing. Apparently he found it, for soon he
made off in bee line for somewhere and dis
appeared.
The waiting column could not see the end
of the adventure, did not know that the French
flyer, discovering at last the huge red cross that
marked an American hospital, finally glided
down, stopped few feet from the hospital en-
nd bad he ioht h,,, &c
wounds dressed
lettering Thrones