Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-05-14

road
"Any big guns pass here?' I called.
NO" he replied. "aud If you don
get of out of here quick you wont have
no guns the line is only few hun
drcd meters on
turned to Halbg and there we stood
talking like two fools clearly visible In
| the bright moonlight. Suddenly there
was a whiz-zz and bang.
Duck" yclls the doushboy, and
we did. They were sniping us with
one Founders. All this time they had
been shcllng around the gun and
wagons and to get back we had to un-
timber the gun and turn by hand. We
did-and started again. Near the town
Lieutenant Mcintyre says, wait here
till come back. I'll find the rest
of the battery" aud off he rode. So
we waited Pretty soon up comes an
officer. who's in charge Of this col
umn?" he demands. am l re
plies. "Who are you?' First Ser
gcant Tcefy." I answered, telling my
organization. Don't you know A. e.
F. traffic rules? Move on he de-
manded. "I'm waiting here under or
dcrs of a superior officer I came back
at him. They shell this road every
five minutes, he says. "Then you
and Sc in hard luck was the rctort.
Never mind--movc on I'm here
under orders of an officer | repeated.
and if you re more than second lieu
tenant, all right, III move He was
only a second himself. and acknowledged
| it. but again ordered me to move on,
saying we were blocking traffic. Again
/ refused. "1ll have you arrested and
tried for insubordination," he says.
GO ahead" says 7. "I'll get an NJ. =.
and have him Just here the gas
claxon sounded, and we dove into our
masks. Move on" he yells from his
mask. "No.' yells into mine. Il
I'll get an NJ. P" he yells back aud
starts down the road. Before long he
comes back with an NJ. p. BY that
time the gas had gone and masks were
off The NJ. p. was good fellow, and
he comes up to me. 1--WE gotta clear
this road" he says, 80 pull up in the
yard at that chateau and wait for your
officer" After a lot of hard work
we did so, and no sooner got in than
the NJ. p. calls. Hey, Sarge, Here's
your officers" Sure enough it was
Lieutenants Mcintyre and Rockwell.
SO we went on down the road and
joined the rest of the battery in the
woods. No one was hurt, although we
lost one horse; it wasn't hit, but so
worn out that it fell. so we dragged it
into ditch and left it,
During this same period of time the
] Rat IN,
was having a trial of it's own. An old
house in the town of Cherry -Chartreusc
bad been chosen as the P. c. or post Of
command. where the major would direct
the actions of the batteries, and the
wagons bringing up the officers baggage
were having great difficulty in reaching
the town. Five times Wagner Clifton
Collins. of Hatboro, Pa, who drove
the fourgOn containing the needed ar
ticles, had been forced to seek cover
while on the road. Finally he arrived
and was seated on the wagon in the
yard before the house when shell
landed directly in front of him. He was
instantly killed and Private Ike Schaf =
fer. of Philadelphia, was wounded. -Four
horses were lost, but, fortunately, the
other men, who were assisting to un-
load the wagon, escaped injury.
About midnight the Jerry activity
died down. Every one was weary and
attempts to get the guns into the fir
ing position in the inky blackness OF
the woods were in vain. The horses had
all been sent back and orders were given
to dig in and go to sleep. How well I
remember the feverish haste with which
Corporal Wisell O'Neil, of Norris
town. who by the way constantly proved
himself invaluable because of an excel =
lent knowledge of French. Harry w
Baker. Of Harrisburg. and dug n hole
back of tree and finally crouched in,
feeling perfectly secure. When we
awoke in daylight we found we had
not dug deep enough to afford protec
ton from II stray bullet, much less an
II. l.. shell.
In the morning there was wild
scramble for dugouts. of which there
was Il quantity. and places fixed up for
the future nights. These dugouts were
not of the palatial sort one reads about
!, as being bomb and shell proof, but were
mere holes in the ground covered with
shelter half and a little dirt and
branches. They, however, afforded
good protection from flying fragments,
but would be useless in the case of a
direct hit.