The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1918-08-02

were allowed dry quarters, the best &
food, and they did not have to follo'
the usual routine, but came and wen
as they pleased.
Our snipers, as rule, went owe
the parapet about dusk, just befor
Fritz got his star shells going. The
would crawl out to shell craters O
tree stumps or holes that they ha,
j spotted during the day-in othe
words, places where they could Sc,
the enemy parapets but could not b,
seen themselves. Once in position
they would make themselves comfort
able, smear their tin hats with dirt
get a good rest for their rifles ant
snipe every German they saw. They
wore extra bandoleers Of cartridges
since there was no telling how many
rounds they might fire during the
night. Sometimes they had direct and
visible targets and other times they
potted Huns by guesswork. Usually
they crawled back just before day
light, but sometimes they were out "a
hours at a stretch. They took great
pride in the number of Germans they
knocked over, and If our men did not
get eight or ten they thought they had
not done good nights work. Of
course it was not wholesale killing,
like machine cunning, but it was very
useful, because our snipers were al
ways laying for the German snipers,
and when they got Sniper Fritz they
saved just so many of our lives.
The Limeys have a great little ex-
preston that means lot: "Carry on"
They say it is a cockney expression.
When a captain falls in action, his
words are not a message to the girl
he left behind him or any dope about
his gray-haired mother, but "Carry on,
Lieutenant Whosis." If the lieutenant
gets his it is Garry on, Sergeant
Jacks" and so on as far as it goes.
So the words used to mean, Take
over the command and do the job
right" But now they mean not only
that but keep up your courage, and
go to it." One man will say it to
another sometimes when he thinks the
first man is getting downhearted, but
more often, if he is a Limey, he will
start kidding him.
our men, of course, did not say
Garry on" and in fact they did not
lave any expression in French that
meant exactly the same thing. But
hey used to cheer each other along,
Ill right, and they passed along the |
Command when it was necessary, too. |
wonder what expression the Ameri- |
an troops will use. (You notice 1 |
10 not call them Sammies y
took my turn at listening post with
he rest of them, of course. A listen
ng post is any good position out in
10 Mans Land, and is always held by
wo men. Their job is to keep a live
ar on Fritz and in case they hear any
hing that sounds very much like an
tack one man runs back to his lines
nd the other stays to hold back the
oches as long as he can. You can
CURE for yourself which is the most
ealthful job.
AS many times as 1 went on listen
lg-post duty / never did get to feel
lg homelike there exactly. You have
, lie very still, of course, as Fritz is
stening, too, and move may mean
bullet in the ribs. So, lying on the +,
.ound with hardly change of posi-
on, the whole lower part of my body
ould go to sleep before 1 had been
the post very long. I used to brag :
lot about how fast I could run, so =
had my turn as the runner, which
ited me all right. But every time
got to a listening post and started
think about what 1 would do If
.itz should come over and wondered
w good a runner he was, I took a
ng breath and said, Feet, do your :
Ity" And / was strong on duty.
After I had done my stunt In the =
ont-line and reserve trenches I went .
ok with my company to billets, but :
d only been there for day or two =
fore I was detached and detailed to
e artillery position to the right Of US, =,
lere both the British and French -
d mounted naval guns. There were :
ms of all calibers there, both naval 3
d field pieces, and got good look
the famous "75's," which are the y
st guns in the world, in my estima- q
n, and the one thing that saved -
rdun. =,
The "75's" fired 80 shots minute, =
ere the best the German guns could :, =,
was six. The American three-inch
d piece lets go six times a minute,
. The French government owns the tl
ret of the mechanism that made o'
8 rapid fire possible. When the first re
rs" began to roar, the Germans %
sw the French had found new M
apon, SO they were very anxious to 81
one of the guns and learn the Sc
ret. d
hortly afterward they captured
bit guns by mass attack in which, kn
allies claim, there were 1000 Ger IN
q troops killed. The Boches studied an
guns and tried to turn out pieces IN
them at the Krupp factory. But mn
lehow they could not get it. Their 70
tation "75's'' would only fire five
is very rapidly and then Cough 1T
:, puff, puff, with nothing coming II
II