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VOLUMil XXXIV. LAURB~ENS, SOUTh CAROLINA, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1918- NUMBE~R 14 GRAPHIC DESCRIF FIGHTING I FOREST He Was Himself Gassed z ficers and Soldiers F .Mirs. WV. 1. Hitey, Jr., Is in rece'ilt >f the letter below froi her husband, Japt. itichey, of the 3i1st Infantry, which took part inl tlle capture of tihe Argonn le lorest, ole of the stragetic itrongliolds of the Germans inl t tie haJliPaigne sector. As is al readCy Cnow n Ilie 37 1st regi ment is composed )f negro soldiers mostly from this state, soinc of tlhem being from tiis .-ouinty. The regilenit Is comillandeff iby white ollleers-. amlong whoml are( lutmberedl Capl. livy, Ulltt. T. 1). ILake and Llet. .illies C. Todl, of this Aty. (apit. Itichey tIvls inl this lelter if the Ifall of Liett. Lake, whlo was eadllng his men against a heavy ma ,hine gun and artillery fire whein ie wfas killed. In all probability he would 1n e given the namies of any of Ills noln fron (Ills coniiiy If they had heen cilled. Leaving out the lit roduction Ind other lines of i personal nature, .he letter' was as follows: As protnised yotu last night, I am go ng to try and give you an accurate tccount of the big battle I was in and vhich began on Sept.. 25, and Is still n progress, and which battle, I think, mill end the war. We were Just behind the front lines ibout 2 1-3 miles when at 11:30 ti the 11ght of Sept. 25th, the preliminary omibardment began. Of course we all (inew it was coming but did not know he exact hour. T was at the tline :rylng to catch a little miuch-needed 'TION OF N ARGONNE BY CAPT. RICHEY nd Unfitted for Duty. Of ought Like Veterans Sle(p, bit after t(e big gulns starte roariing there was no chalice for. sleep. i'lis boinhardment colitinil du ring the ent ire Iight, and wilh the excep lioll of a few lintermitten pause-; it. has coiitined incessant since, or until t(e time I passed out of hearing dis taniCe oil ily Way to tile hospital. On tie aft ernoon of Sepl. 2tih weI re e(ive( orierS to move forward. \\'e sIlpt. that night inl a Frinch iieli I )oyow I comiinl iliting trench) in tle ec1 fronit lines. I say siept, bit there was nto sleep, its It was rainlinig ald tle iise from the gins would not let one sieep. The French had gole over ihe to) and wvere pursuiilg the s11111s. h'll night or afternooi of tile 271h we weit ilito the figiting zone, anmd our regi ment relieved a French reginent, to continie tithe pursuit. lirst hattalion vent iI ll rst, niorning of 2Sth, and ilet stout resistance. The vouinlded passed its all day going haek to the dressing station, some with bilii ll ts through their arras, legs, shoulders. some with arms an(1 legs cut off by high explosives. etc. Inl the m1eanlt ine oi hattalion, laying In support, had beeii discovered by the eneiy obsevv ers, and shlells commenced to drop o1 us anew. The enemy had thrown shells on us the whole of the night be fore. Two of the shells fell in a slel hole that Teer knd myself wero in but failed to expl e. If they had exploded both woul(l l'ave been blown to atoiis. Of course We Moved our poSition. In t he night of the 28th. while oilr brigade was relieving lie filrst,. tIe valley we were in was tilldci withIi gas and I wvas gassed at this tini. I did nlot thinlk mulich of it and did not evei go to lthe (octor. 'reston got a dos': at the salin tilne. hilt went to tile doctor. Onl SCiliday uorn ing, Sept. 2!1th. iy.- corip ny w%-(teit over the hill; the 1 hIattalion had been reilevied by I and K coluipallis, and Were vaiting in another valley for .\Maj. C. and iiy collipaly to come up1) before going to tihe attack. We arrived at the posi lion the attack was to sta'rt fron at about 7::0, after having had a deadly artillery harrage oil uls over the hill. At, 10 o'clock Su inday morning we were ordered to advance uip a valley, hbut in the mleantfimei an enemliy planle flew down lowv, discoveredl our1 posit ion, and signaled his artillery, Which opeled u1)p on us and eveiry nu11111110t seemlled to be tle last one. Ilowever, by rifle lire we brought the phlnu down. killing the iloit and ollserver, bu11t not lintil he had g'iven Iis giuinlers our location. Th is shelling conlinlied until tle time for our. advancle at. W o'clock, and hvlen ve got started it grew in Intensity un til by the tlile we had advanced fifty yards. it was a reuilar harrage. About two hundred yards upl) the valley We eane undor the direCIt tilr of the ('110 ily's vithering machine guni and ifle fire, and by tlis; tiue. flve enely pilnes wr flying over lus shooting roulind af fer round1(1 froni tlicir machine gln s on us. Of course we were in aln unshel tered valley, vltli nothing to hide uts from Ohe eneiy ajn( presented a clean, clear and open Iarget. Men were fall Ing all around me, but tile company never once faltered. They marched right on Into the jaws of death. Shells Were dropping, it looked to ic like every second, making holes big enough to set a good sized harn into. The nearer the i 'eneiy we got, the more (f fective his itunhine gun atid rifle fire got. lIemueil)er' now, tlie eiiy was Id bohirul bushes, (Irees anld houlses" inl a liith' village we were advancing oi, atnd we had absolutely no larglto tI shoot at. l.ong before we rachel (the village, w (ould se the (owards rn ninlg tup a sie'p hill beyond, le-avin lots of mawchinev guns.,- to stick; out, andl belie-ve 11w, when w\e( did revach our. oh jI ive4 amd roundeod thle-m1achirulon. ntrs,. tIl nutr(oes Itade <quick work of IlIeti. Thevy all hel11ti p their hands, hut no kaittartad for the Ilen, they killed Ihe( i hs i in ly, andiui I did not try to stp theml. Thll lowil was (oil :tri d and about (ho ie w\e all thouwght till, viiory was won ai we could tl (1 a few iinutes of rest, be fol' going il. II artillery beganl on its againi. and I Saw one1 shell kill two (if lly m1enl and seriously wound tree othe's, who wr h'Sittig ielind a rock Pile. Tlwn1,1 we discovered that we w're lank'i1 on lthr sides yI ('achine g n nsts. In other words e\t were trapped. W collh( not stick otr head sup. evor wh.Io hiul heen wounded by a1 piece of !4lvl bef"orev wVe slarled, camev up1 about this Wine wvhile as a ghost, amd I hold him11 to go back. Preston, who joineod us., before \V( started, also had to leave at ithis point. in the meant Iv inw Parker had ht t shot through the lheshy palt of his foot and Vinton throughi th' hand. I was all in, could hardly get mlly breath, but I had to stay. Parker and VintIon also stayed. .ilm Todhd was not tottelled. We knew we had to go on, and soml0e of us who had been wounded, i(lained, whil1 Prest on went in. I have svenI Teer here In this hospital. Ie was operated on today. The st had burled iln his shoulder, and hie really Is in bad shape. We rentained at4his railroad station all night In the rain, and flanked on three sides by machinte gun nests. Lt. Itausen o' I company was killed here and Tom Lake, whose conpany had ill tle meantine coll 111t into the valley, was killed by high eXplosive shellI. That nlight (1aily)th enily ewv lartge inlbers of g.Is shells into t he pllace .we were in,. and I was, again g:tssd. The tet 1lornIin1g .\onday), witli half ily (ottIIpan1y onle, tulost of thnil wottndled, however', 0* -) orders to ruove up the railroad rack aliad. We wet right inito le lnchille gunl lests, the operators ( whei,. wheti they saw our detertininta lion, ieft their gulns atnl tan, anl we hadI lots of fint piching tIlInI off. The f11n1 did not la.t long thoulph, hecause a S oonl 1, I what If*(w\ (irinans who were eft, got 01ut of reach, h(re (Coine anlolher artillery barve or-Se than11 1he ono before, and as soon as we got in the openl (the mlachinev guns opened Il againi. I boillve (very mil in the ( rillal arilly carrils a machille gin. We wentl allead though and captured 1; la Grmnan guns (arlillery). WVe reneild the crest of allother hill atl verle tIhere ield ulp. I had to crawl oil lly stonach for :1o yards. just like a snake. Eivery time I iisel my body to make a iove, zip. zip wentl the Ima chile gut bullets. When we ieachil 0th! hill, things divod down a little( anld I was by this Iitlie completely exhaust cld. Oilr hattalion wis being relieved and four of my men Carried me i. I n all, during thle two day", Sunday anld Molonday, 0111 battalion advanced about live miles, withottt tle aid of a single friendly artillery sh(ot or any othier Ielp. We killed lots of G ermiatns, cap tured lots of theml ( and captured any u111n111tity of mliaterial and six big guns. I left, Jim Todd inl command of the collipally with Parker and Vinton. Jin was all right when I left and I believe he got back safe, as we were to be relieved about the time I left. I am II'otud of all my ollieers and of all my tlen. The whole regiment, fouight like veterais and with a fierceness eqiual to anly white regitnent. This was the first tine anly of them hab11 len. r they Stool it like lm(oss-(ovrd Id tina-r ts. Th1ey ntever flincht14i (r w (.d lt' least si.n of fe: :. All thi ,t Ie(essary, uns It vll the m 11n Ii (y (X44 I? , " \'t %% diI'd 'mil iled, hl II, l oig do%t nl hiis l y a,,; h i a\ b. . -K W W c'rf. Hi bl:' i :: .i !:i :I 4. 4 .11g . il rand. Tom44 lath wil ied in a vaI l y neart1 I 'i)p le tow of Ariij val 1 ey nearth.iit I i o\ll of Arde . Foret.l anId : oulth o) \. - ' Iho 1, .\4 1 1r n1 iy e lf . I w \e t -f h lid 5ow I (;,1111.t il i e Or courlso I don't know whate~ thle gas is goil: to have on Ie(. 'n't kn1tow whetier I will verVe he 0. r to go back into line or not. Am e .ry short of breath, and41 my chest' aIInI throat feel riglht r-aw. I 111n very omr tortably located. 'hle ho.pital -iM to b a good on4e. It is anl oliver .- hits lital. alnd is full, ne arly all lIl i pa lilents being 1fro) oir regimenit. I believei this offeunsi e will ri I he (etrian 4 (ef orFrance and Iliat ine war will lbe over pretf4ty soon. t;od knows I lome so. for it certain y s e on1 arilt . if Ilie is such a Ilng. Wit Ii all t h arIIsh i Is I have :en writ ini! youJ abou1t, all of the 14I omtil hined (annot eqiual One houlir of 111 lasi. For four days and nights I wat under d(eadly fir. and did 110not Aer Iwo houirs diuirintg- the entire ttm, aned it raining iearly all the tilme. You can coittilue to write ile in the sain way. lven if I am given som' thing else, or other work t.) (o, P will have to go t back to the regiment to set tie up1t things, and44 besiden I have told themlt to send mty mail here. Grove's Tasteless chill Tonic rcstores vitality antd energy by purifyinit ant e riching the blood. You can soon feel its Strength -ning, Invhgoruting Effect Price G0e. COAL COAL COAL COAL We now have a supply of good coal for all of our customers. On account of the limited supply of labor we are forced to make the following rules: We will only sell coal for cash--we have no one to send out with bill. This is no reflection on your wil ingness to pay our bills, but is a necessity at this time. Either call at our office and pay for what coal you want or telephoneus that you will pay the drivers. We will be able to haul coal only in a limited way for a while and if you can get yours hauled we will allow you a reduction of 50c per ton from the government's price. Laurens GiPhn No 2 Phone No. 229