Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1921-07-01
She did Her BIT
Soldiers Tribute to Faithful
Dumb Buddy.
VIII Appeal to Others Besides Those
Who IN France Made Their
Deeds immortal.

When first saw Joan In iy15
writes Major 4. n. Luad in the Lon
don Times Magazine she was nlrrndv
a' old soldier, standing in mu,idy.
bleak field near the ruined VILLAGE of
EIverdnghe. She was only "a tvuIcai
LnSliSG shire cart horse that mad
come through the retreat" with sc,
eroi other horses in our string.
remember seeing little Of her dur.
ihg those first strange weeks in our
forward billet; bur when we moved
back into rest ! saw Mt the end of a
column Of steaming horses Joan and
her team mate, Darby. That summer
we lost horses. We moved SLOWLY
forward and sometimes backward. day
ana night in action. with the horses
never far away ia open fields.
with the autumn came rain. mud
and cracked heels, and in the village
OF Souastre Darby had to be led away
with open gashes on both hind feet.
Joan worked badly that day and
ate scarcely anything. The next day
she stayed in and fed out of my hand
The following day She seemed well
again; but Darby's place had been
hard to fiji. Through that winter
and summer of defensive warfare
rationS were seldom late, though they
were often delivered under fire. Joan
maintained her old gait, apparently
caring little about the going or wheth-
er she drew more than her share of
the load.
The winter of 19l7-1S found MS ut
POtijze, and the horses in ruin at
lpreS. There was lot of hard work,
but no action. One day Joan's mate
and her driver were struck down hv
her side at feeding time. and Joan
was the only one left of our old
horses.
Then. the tide turned, and we began
to adyanCc-ArraS to Cambria in n
week. When we pulled out of Cam
brai the Huns were in full retreat
and we were told to keep up with
the advance At dusk, footsore, tired
and hungry, we pulled our few re
the ruined chateau of Escaudoeuvres.
We unlocked, tied our famished
horses, unrOlled our blankets and fell
into dtches--but for once the rations
were not up.
And there was no sleep that night.
a battery of sos had pulled into the
chateau drive in front, an airplane
had seen their flashes and had spotted
the transport on the road. All night
long we were carrying and tying up
wounded. At last daylight came, but
no ratlons; where were they-and
Joan?
Finally the Smelling stopped, and
out of the mass of transport on the
road came a battered wagon, piled
high with food, drawn by a solitary
horse bleeding from the hind leg and
nostrils-merely staggering along
with the driver wearing red band
where his helmet should have been
A great cry went up from the weary
hungry men.
But at once | saw the wagon stop
inside the field and a great horse
sway for an instant sink TO her knees,
tOpple over and lie still.
They say that in some devastated
parts of France women at night have
seen ghosts of their loved ones rise
and walk with them. If this is so.
then some Of my lost men may march
with me once more. And in peaceful
meadow that | know of, near re-
built chateau, ] may one night hear
the creaking of wagon and the
sound of wheels, and ! shall see
horse that ! once knew, driven where
there should be two; and she shall be
covered with foam and bleeding at the
nOstTls and lame And ! shall hear
a well-known voice shout, "Rations
up" and ghosts of weary fighting
men shall echo THANK God and
as | stumble away I shall murmur.