Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-07-29
No Wonder Germany Quit
Many ard strange were the sights
Number Thirty-Two

MANY ard strange were the sights
ard peoples encountered by our
troops in the war;" said Major Frank
c. Mahin, of the Army Recruiting
Station, 325 Market street Harris
burg. The equal of any were the
Indian troops, British territorials
who withe their odd raiment, mystic
religions, and even more mysterious
customs, were a constant source Of
surprise, and wonder to our. men.
our first strange sight was that of
the Chinese coolies laboring on the
water front of BoloEne, France. This
hardly prepared us, however, for the
picture presented us when our troop
Grain stopped enroute to Arras be-
side large camp of indian fight
ing troops-Gurkhas. Arrayed in
all his glory, which consisted of
many trinkets, such as bracelets,
necklaces and earrings, in profusion
and which, however gaudy and
varied in color, were matched by
some part of his many-tinted
Joseph-like costume. One of these
straight-limbed, towering warriors
approached our train, with curiosity
hardly equal to our own. A mu-
tual inspection followed. BY him,
in the hesitant, yet calm, stoical, in
scrutable mariner of the East, we
were examined from head to feet.
We, on the other hand, scrutiniZing
as thoroughly as he had, were more
frank and obvious about it, and,
too, we, in American fashion, were
quite as eager to fraternize as to
inspect After a short interval,
filled with pantomime that spelled
friendship and embellished with
smiles, which it must be confessed
were as much from amusement as
from our desire to show friendli-
ness, we won the confidenc of this
strang ally. His trust in us was
enough to enable us to persuade
him to remove a great bronze ear
ring that we might substitute for it
new, bright paddock. This latter
pleased him greatly and he seemed
to regard the snap-locking of it as
particular piece of new magic.
Hardly had he shown his approval
and we our magnanmity when the
peanut roaster whistle of the dinky
French engine sounded, and all
scrambled aboard the train. 1t was
some minutes afterward before we
awoke to the fact that we had
failed to leave the key of the lock
with our new friend, and we had
visions of him-perhaps even call
ing upon Allah to dismiss the magic
spell and open the heavy lock.
Americans are not wholly unre-
ligious, yet in their impetuosity and
eagerness and singleness of purpose
they are likely to ignore or rather
to be unaware of the religiousn ess
n ~ hn 40
nearly caused riot by transgress-
ing upon a sacred precinct of these
Indian troops. 1t happened on the
Somme, where our men were oper-
ating with the British. Nearby was
the town of Albert-famous for it's
cathedral, upon which an enormous
image of the Virgin, scraped by a
Boche shell, hung over the street,
held in place by a slender steel rod
seemingly supported only by the
tenacous spirit of the people who
there worshiped. Just outside of
Albert were the remains of the once
beautiful estate of Baron Roths-
child-at this time the camp site of
some Indian labor troops. Where
once the Baron's racehorseS grazed,
these Indians pastured their goats.
1t will be remembered that some of
these goats, with attendant religious
rituals, are prepared for food, but
others are inviolate, symbolic and
sacred in the Indian beliefs. The
strenuous days preceding ard dur
ing the Cambria drive had been rife
with periods of short rations.
Thanksgiving Day approached. We
heard of the turkey and fiXins'
provided for the men stationed in
the rear and knew they would not
come to us. Our prospect of lean
Thanksgiving became more and
more unbearable. Our men resort
ed to an old practice-rustling. We
celebrated the first feast day of our
Pilgrim Fathers with eating of a
blessed goat-yes, blessed and sa-
cred. A veritable storm followed
the discovery of what to us had
been rustling-to the British was
theft-and to the Indians-where
are words that can describe the in
tensity of feeling that has made pos
sible the fanatical religious wars?
AS can be imagined, the incident
passed, leaving all hands with some
what hurt and ruffled feelings.
Like every other incident of the
war which caused discomfort or
suffering, this one pointed the fact
that the Boche was the cause of it
all, and resulted in adding fuel to
the fire that eventuG"'' was to burn
the wings of the wicked German
ambitions.