Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1918-12-13

discharges. He said They're faxed.
What did you do. desert or were you
kicked outY"
I was getting sore and answered:
Deserted the Twelfth; kicked out OF
the Eleventh"
whats your namew
"Arthur Guy Empey."
you're a German"
This was too much even for me,
and I answered: You're a damned
liar" / saw my chances of shipping
vanishing in smoke.
The Jew grinned and rubbed his
hands and said: you're all right.
Go into that room and get card made
out, and come back at two o'clock"
I received a card and went to
beanery across the street and had
wonderful meal of corned beef hash.
muddy coffee and huge slices of bread,
minus butter. This cost me fifteen
cents.
At two o'clock reported back, and
with seventy-two others was herded
line, f1anked by three of the employees
Of the agency, we marched to the
ferry and landed somewhere in New
Jersey"
The ship, a huge three-stacker, was
lying alongside. We were showed into
single file, ready to go up the gang
plank. Then our real examination
took place. At the foot of the gang
plank were group of men around a
long table. They certainly put us
Though a third degree to find out if
there was any German blood in us.
Several men were turned down. Luck
lily, / got through and signed for the
voyage, and went on board.
At the head of the gangplank stood
the toughest specimen of humanity /
have ever seen. He looked like huge
gorilla, and had big, crescent-shaped,
livid scar running from his left ear
under his chin up to his right eye.
Every time he spoke the edges Of the
scar seemed to grow white. His nose
was broken and he had huge, shaggy
eyebrows. His hand was resting on
the rail of the ship. It looked like a
ham, and inwardly figured out what
| would happen to me If that ham-like
fist ever came in contact with the
point of my jaw. AS we passed him
| he shOwered us with a few compli
mentary remarks, such as 'Of all the
lousy scum have seen, this bunch of
| lubbers is the worst, and this is what
| they give me to take thirteen hundred
horses over to Bordeaux" Later on
| found this individual was foreman of
| the horse gang.
We were ordered aft and sat on the
after hatch. The fellow on my right
was huge, blue-gummed negro. He
was continually scratching himself.
I unconsciously eased away from him
and bumped into the fellow sitting on
my left. After a good look at him /
eased back again in the direction Of
| the negro. I don't think that he had
taken a bath since escaping from the
cradle. Right then my uppermost
thought was how I could duck this
trip to France. The general CONVERSE
ton among the horse gang was:
"When do we eat?"
/ We must have sat there about twenty
minutes, when the second foreman
came aft. l took fifteen guesses at his
nationality, and at last came to the
conclusion that he was a cross between
a Chinaman and Mexican. He was
thin, about six feet tall, and wore a
huge sombrerO. His skin was tanned
| the color of leather. Every time he
smiled 1 had the impression that the
next minute he would plant a stiletto
| in my back. His name was PinerO.
His introduction to us was very brief:
Get up off of that blankety blank
hatch and line up against the rail"
We did as ordered. Then he COM
handed: "All the niggers line up
| alongside Of the port rail-" I guess
lot of them did not know what he
meant by the sport rail' because they
looked very much bewildered. With
an oath he snapped out. "You blank
ETY. blank idiots. The port rail is that
rail over there. Come on. Move or
I'll soon move you" He looked well
able to do this and the niggerS prompt
ly shuff1ed over to the place designat-
ed. He quickly divided us into squads
of twelve men. then ordered; "All of
you who are deserters from the army
or who have seen service in the cav
airy step out in front" -Four. others
besides myself stepped out. The first
man he came to he informed: You're
a straw boss. Do you know what a
straw boss@ is?" This man meekly
answered. "No. sir" With another
oath, the second foreman said: "All
right, you're not straw boss; fall
back" / got the cue Immediately.
Ny turn came next.
do you know what a straw boss
is?"
| I said: "Sure"
He said: "All right, you're straw
boss"
l had not the least idea Of what
he was talking about, but made up
my mind that it would not take me
long to find out. Then he passed