Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1919-02-21


negroes. 0ns starts tAtnkiag To
osati0n 0vss " ~ Lines u color
dcughboys swing down elss ssyca-
sra-lsned roadpaya d France n ths
snsk oG the sysaang, singing II thai
ssrins. rideat haif-m0anlnG
cs thai surely has tha elements both
u prsmltIysnesa and originality
i iong uns of coIored troopers vas
archins along hiIlasde Al the some
s. operations one eveuins as We came
l0n thaEn Long before We met w
With them the melody Of some old
plantation song could Be recognized.
81 W approached them TIE words
eumld be distinguished
It's me, O Lawd. standin' u III
need d prayer
agss nae, q Iawd, standin in tn need
u prayer.
Then high-pitched, Qaavering
nserclng yOlce-she leader rose above
gss noise BIZ many heavy boots On the
e0bblsatone road
Not my mother. NOT my sister. and
shan the whole company In great
perssryid primitive prayer:
Its nae. o Lawd, s,andin ID the
d prayer:
It's me-, O Lawd, ssandin ID the.
D. prEysr.'
Again the high-pitcehd voice Of the
leader:
Not the elder. not the chaplain,
end then the whole company
It's me, @ Isawd, standin' In TIL
nead 81 prayer
h has swing 70 It that cannot he
described without the notes Lieuten-
aaa Sonny lwhiEe1. Plattsburg and
Harvard man, who had charge Or this
egnpauy told me- that be couldn't pos.
sbsy hava nner lot os soldiers under
hiSn than these negro boys He en-
c0uFaged thin to use their plantation
songs and kept them st It for months.
antlI they have no fear % Huns OF
aaath Or anything ia the world TX
ensy fheir hearts can give voice 10 the
stirring melodies,
III connection with this one melody
shsy tell cord story The negro boys
shsmsslves enjoy story OF this kind
koEa On one Of their own troopers, and
while some may Be hil akeptlcal as
81 The yeracity Of Il. they lie back and
shake with iaughtsr when II ts &
sprung
4 platoon os Georgia boys SO the
ssoFy suna, were digging trench not
saUy miles behind No Mans Land
one agternoon The sun was shining
dawn pretty warm and they threw on
sheiF helmets The dirt was flying
Gver their beads aud lie low hnmmIng
voices blended, beautifully
It's me. o Isawd, standing In fh'
need d prayer.
Frttx. With load 81 aerial bombs.
nosed his Gothia In the direction of
thia platoon and cas- over them before
they noticed him. He lee drop cou-
pc og bombs that fell unccnfortsbly /
near the trench Then he swooped
down and ualinabafad his machine gun
With that put-put-put accompaniment |
shai induces one to hunt Tor the dug
out
5ast one man III the platoon Lost his |
AaArings cor the moment. He was
Georgian about 6 feet inches tall,
Esan an 1 sanKy, but gery powerful He
leaEsad opt Ok the trench. 90 the boys
~. and legged Il over the hillside III
at9hty jumps, He didn't wait to re-
cover his helmet, but held the shovel
oTeF bis head as he departed. and With |
nearly every Jump, they heard him
shout
Oh lsawd. keep EN- high!
70 Lawd, keep EN- high
And hack la the trench the platoon /
Nas hurting dirt over their heads as
dir never before was coOped up lii /
sAoyeis, and accompanied By the hum
ming voices, now q little louder and /
vi sort Oe accelerated and stac-
cato punctuation
IT'S me. @ Lawd. stRndln ID the
need d. prayer.
This same squad between songs has
anosher story they think Is all right.
Che oS the boys had been 40. 3. the
front and gone over the top couple I
uf times When be was sent back for
i rest brother colored soldier from /
Mississippi edged up to him. showed /
two perfectly fine rows 81 perfectly
white teeth and inquired
Say, boss. what 70 all mean BY dis |
Ober de top stun n
The boy who had experienced The
sensation looked At him seriously for
IA maannent and replied
Say. boy. when dem orders do came,
and iat zero hour am struck. and days
gwlne ot u das ton, II Just am aGssA
night, worid good mawnin' pearly /
Gates Z
One uf lc:r mos popular marching |
songs. that has swing 10 ii that 81 |
srrestssihle. that must ease up the
muscles II their legs like sAlexanaer's |
Esag does to 4 CAicagoan % the Cau-
castan bgeed. deals with the mourner.
e requires leader with that high
4vA4sSAess sxssMwarEngs fHwfSfauv vRsySa 81 |