The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1919-02-15

approximately Z,6UO men lrOn SHiCa
90 and Illinois and came back with
1890 The other troops now in the
regiment are from southern states
who took the places Of men from Hi
nois- who were shot down. There are
ninety-five of the colored troopers,
and one colored officer, who will new
er return to Chicago. They were
killed on the battlehelds of France.
Loaded With Trophies.
Those who did come back brought
good part of France with them. one
had dog another a cat, and all, so
the colonel said, had packed away in
their kits, reams upon reams of silken
Partisan lingerie which will cause the
eyes of the dusky south side maidens
to pop clear out of their heads when
they see them.
Most of the boys fot three months
pay Just before they left France, and
think most of them invested it all in
silken lingerie for the girls back home.
In those bundles they've got silk shirt
waists, silk pajamas, silk stockings,
and lot of flimsy garments that
don't even know the name of. They
certainly didn't forget the girls at
home"
Captain Marries in France.
Capt. Stuart Alexander of 440 East
Thirty-first street, however, left his
heart in France. A few months ago
he was married to a wealthy French
girl at Grand Villers, according to-
the colonel and other members of the
regiment He has been commander of
Company B of the old Eighth for fif-
teen years. The others said that the
captain may return to France to live.
The peasants of France worshipped
the colored troops from Chicago, Col.
Roberts said, and the French soldiers
also liked them. During rest periods
the dusky fighters often helped the
French about their gardens. carried
bundles for them, and generally made
themselves agreeable and useful.
1T was an old thing, but my col
ored boys didn't seem to have bit of
difficulty understanding the French or
making themselves understood. 1t was
the same way with the Italians when
we were associated with them" he
said.
Called French "Deedoncks."
THE French called my boys, Col.
Roberts Partridges,' and my boys
called all the French 'Deedoncks.'
They got it from the French express
sion, dis donc, common way of in
PRODUCING conversation, like say in
English.
"On the whole the French and the
colored troops got along as if they had
lived side by side for years, however
and IN many towns the Chicago men
were fairly worshiped."
There was a reason for it at times.
The Chicago colored men were the
first troops to march into the French
city of Laon when that fortress fell
after four years of German occupa
ton.
] Color Sergeant Mark Freeman of
314S Jackson boulevard carried the
first French flag into Laon. Beside
him marched French sergeant carry
ing the Stars and Stripes and the regi-
mental colors of the Eighth Illinois.
Bandmaster George Duff led the
band that marched at the head of the
regiment into Laon, playing French ma
tional airs as it marched, and finally
breaking into The Star Spangled
Banner" then Yankee Doodle" and
finally Dixie"
French Kissed Their Hands.
The French people of Laon knelt
beside the riadway to kiss the hands
of the Chicago colored men as they
marched by or broke into the ranks
to kiss and embrace them.
Those deedonks jes' always got to
: be kissing somebody" declared one
/ dusky private from the south side.
The Eighth has kept a regiment his
} tory that should take its place among
the archives of the military history ot
5 Illinois. 1t tells of the number killed
: and wounded, of the number of can
: non and machine guns captured, of tht
deeds of daring Of its members, and
"How many prisoners did the Eight
v capture?" was asked of Lieut.. Lewis
!. Washington, the Eighth administrative
o officer, Lieut., Washington's face
q went blank, while the noncoms abou
r looked up in panied surprise.
e "oh, we didn't take any prisoners,
r explained Lieut.. Washington seriously
). "The boys didn't like to have an,
d Germans around"
>. Absolutely Off Germans.
l. Even when the armistice was signe
e the colored troops from Illinois refuse
e to have anything to do with the Gel
mans.