The Elk Mountain pilot., 1919-02-27

II
|eaHse .thsy took noee eAaaeaD wa1A
tAsif tvse than tie eedlnary peivutae
t1Ay were allowed more privileees.
Whsa e was at al posstbls or snipsrS
were allowed dry QAartsrs. ths best of
food. and they did not have to follow
the usual routine. but came and went
~ they pleased.
Our snipers, as q rule, went over
the parapet about dusk, just before
Tritx got his star shells going. They
would crawl out to shell cratsrs or
tree stumps or holes that they had
spotted during the day-in other
words. places where they could see
the enemy parapets but could not be
seen themselves. Once in position.
they would make themselves comfort
able, smear their tin hats with dirt,
get Q good rest for their rides and
snipe every German they saw. They
wore extra bandoleers Of cartridges.
since there was NO telling how many
rounds they might IRE during the
night. Somettmes 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 q stretch. They took great
pride In the number Of Germans they
Knocked over. and IL 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 1t was very
useful, because our snipers were al
-~vs y.vAu~ Co. che Nnrrnau ~rss.ara
and when they got sniper Fritz they
saved Just 20 many Of our lives.
The Limeys have Q great little eI-
preston that means lot: Garry on"
They say It IL q cockney expression.
When q captain falls in action. his
words are not q message to the girl
he left behind him or any dope about
his gray-hAired mother. but "Carry on.
Lieutenant Whosis." II the lieutenant
gets his It u Garry on, Sergeant
Jacks" and 20 on 40 far a. It goes.
30 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
20 to It" One man viii say 1t to
another sometimes when he thinks the
first man u getting downhearted. but
more often. II he II a Limey. he viii
start kidding him.
our men. Of course. did not say
Garry on" and In fact they did not
have any expression in French that
meant exactly the same thing. But
\ they used to cheer each other along.
all right, and they passed along the
command when It was necessary, too.
wonder what expression the Ameri-
can troops will use. (You notice I
do not call them sammiesD
took my turn At listening post with
the rest Of them. .Qf course. A listen
ing post Is any Sood position out in
No Mans Land. and Is always held by
two men. Their Job Il to keep . live
ear on Fritz and in case they hear any
thing that sounds very much Ike an
attack one man runs back to his lines
and the other stays to hold back the
Boches a. long a. no can. You can
figure for yourself which u the most
healthful Job.
Az many times a. went on listen
ing-post duty I never did get to feel
ing homelike there exactly. You have
to lie very still. Of course, a. Frits II
listening. too. and . move may mean
q bullet in the ribs. So. lying on the
ground with hardly q change Of POSI-
doo, the whole lower part Of my body
would 20 10 sleep before had been
at the post very long. used to brag
q lot about how fast could run, 20
had my turn A. the runner. which
suited me all right. But every time
got 10 . listening post and started
to think about what would do II
Fritz should come over and wondered
how good . runner he was, took .
long breath and said. Feet. do your
duty" And was stroos ON duty.
After had done my stunt in the
front-line and reserve trenches I went
back with my company to billets. but
had only been there for q day or two
before I was detached and detailed to
the artillery position to the right Of ~,
whsro both the British and French
had mounted naval guns. There were
guns Of all calibers there, both naval
and llsld pieces. and I got good look
at the famous s'76's." which are the
best guns in the world. in my estima-
tion. and tho one thing that saved
Veedun. t-..r a.
The 's76's" fred 30 shots q minute.
where the best the German guns could
Do was six. The American three-inch
neld piece. lets 20 six times q minute.
too. The French government owns the
secret Of the mechanism that made
this rapid ire possible. When the nrst
''7b's" began to roar. the Germans
knew the French had found q new
weapon, 20 they were very anxious to
ct one Of the guns and learn the
secret. .,e