University of South Carolina Libraries
^ l==s "Over the Top" Mfc* By An American Soldier Who Went . ARTHUR GUY EMPEY . Machine Gunner Serving in France P : jf (Copyright, 1917, by Arthur Guy Umpej) SYNOPSIS. CHAPTER I?Fired bv the news of the Inking of "the Lusitani# by a German submarine, Arthur Guy Empey, an Amerl>' . can, leaves his office in Jersey City and goes to England where he enlists in the British army. CHAPTER n?After a period of training, Empey volunteers for immediate service and soon finds himself in rest billets l. "somewhere in France," where he first r makes the acquaintance of the ever-preswjjx ant t*cootlAQ " CHAPTER III?Empey attends his first church services at the front while a German Fokker circles over the congregation. CHAPTER IV?Empey's command goes Into the front-line trenches ana is unaer ?4 Are for the first time. . . _ _ ' "CHAPTER -V-Tmpey learns to adopt the motto of the Brtish Tommy, "If you are going to get it, you'll get it. so never worry." \ * CHAPTER VI?Back in rest billets, Empey gets his first experience as a mess / , orasjljf. CHAPTER VTI?ERjpey learns how the ? . BrlMah soldiers are fea. -"CHAPTER VTH?Back in tne Ironi-UUD trench, Empey sees his first friend of the trenches "go West." CHAPTER IX?Empey makes his first vlalt to a dugout in "Suicide Ditchi?HAPTER X?"Empey learns what conatitutes a "day's work" in the ?front-un? ??' ' trench. - --CHAPTER XI?Empey goes "over top" for the first time in a charge on the tJerman trenches and is wounded by a bayonet-thrust. f i CHAPTER XII. Bombing. The boys In the section welcomed me back, but there were many strange Oa**ai?a1 Af An n man V*o/l crnrkCk iavJCi9? ocvciai \jl uui jiuu ^vi?v West in that charge, and were lying f,\ "somewhere in France" with a little wooden cross at their heads. We \vere -xv ' s Throwing Hand Grenades. In rest billets. The next day our captain asked for volunteers for bombers' school. I gave my name and was accepted. I had joined the Suicide club, and rny troubles commenced. Thirtytwo men of the battalion, including myself. were sent to L . where we went .thrffagh a course In bombing. Here we were instructed in the uses, methods of throwing and manufacture of various kinds of hand grenades, from the old "jam tin," now obsolete, to the present Mills bomb, the standard ' of the British army. It all depends wnere you are as to what you are called. In France they call you a "bomber" and give you medals, while in neutral countries they call you an anarchist and give you -life." From the very start the Germans were well equipped with effective bombs and trained bomb throwers, but the English army was as little prer pared in this important department of fighting as in many others. At bombing school ah old sergeant of the Grenadier guards, whom I had the good fortune to meet, told me of the discour?r?Amonfo fhlo hronnh nf tha SPri'lPA ogduvuio uao i/iunvu v*. i?>v . v. ..w suffered before, they could meet the Germans on an equal footing. (Pacifists and small army people in the U. S. please read with care.) The first English expeditionary forces had no bombs at all, but had clicked a lot of casualties from those thrown by the Boches.' One bright morning someone higher up had an idea and issued an order detailing two men from each platoon to go to bombing school to learn the duties of a bomber and how ? to manufacture bombs. Noncommissloned officers were generally selected tp m w AMOKM SOLDim 10 WENT ? * rilUMJYMY NE GUNNER,JERYING Iff fRANCE i ?1917 BY ' ARTHUR CUY EtlPEY I ' for this course." After about two ; ?* ?/?Ua/V1 4-Ur\tr rntlirnoH f n fhoif NVWhS ilL JJLIlUVi lucj iciu.uvu w v?v.? j units in rest billets or in the fire: trench, as the case might be, and got busy teaching their platoons how to make "jam tins." " . j Previously an order had been issued ; for all ranks to save empty jam tins , for the manufacture of bombs. A professor of bombing would sit on the fire step in the front trench with the : remainder of his section crowding 1 around to ,see him work. | On his left would be a pile of empty , I and rusty jam tins, while beside him i on the fire step would be a miscella-1 neous assortment of material *sed in j the manufacture of the "jam tins." j : Tommy would stoop down, get an | empty "jam tin," take a handful of i clayey mud from the parnpet, and line j thQ inside of the tin with this substance. Then he would reach over, 1 pick up his detonator and explosive, i I noAt'f flinm 5n tVia tin -Pmrp rim | trading. On the fire step would be a | pile of fragments of shell, shrapnel i balls, bits of iron, nails, etc.?anything j that was hard enough to send over to j Fritz; he would scoop up a handful of j | this junk and put it in the bomb. Peri haps one of the platoon would ask him j what he did this for, and he > would I explain that when the bomb exploded i tljese bits would fly about and kill or I wound any German hit by same; the questioner would immediately pull a button off his tunic and hand It to the bomb maker with. "Well, blame I | me, send this over as a souvenir," or another Tommy would volunteer rn | old rusty and broken jnckknife; both | would be accepted and inserted. | Then the professor would take an- j ! other handful of mud and fill the tin, ! after which he would punch a hole in i j the lid of the tin and put it over the top of the bomb, the fuse sticking out.' Then perhaps he would tightly wrap 1 wire around the outside of the tin. and the bon>b was ready to s-end over to' Frits with Tommy's compliments. A piece of wood about four inches wide had been'ifesued. This was to be strapped on the l?ft forearm by means of two leather straps and was like the . side of a match box; it'was called a "striker." There was a tip like the head of a match on the fuse of the ; bomb. To ignite the fuse, you had to rub it on the "striker," just the same as striking a match. The fuse was timed to five seconds or longer. Some of the fuses issued in those days would | burn down in a second or two, while others would "sizz" for a week before exploding. Back In Blighty the munition workers weren't quite up to snuff, the way they are now. If the fuse toQk a notion to burn too quickly they generally burled the bomb maker next day. So making bombs could not be called a "cushy" or safe job. After making several bombs the professor instructs the pldtoon in throwing them. He takes a Vjam tin" from the fire step, trembling a little, because it is nervous work, especially when new at it, lights the fuse on his striker. The fuse begins to "sizz" and sputter and a spiral of smoke, like that from a smoldering fag, rises from it. The platoon splits In two and ducks around the traverse nearest to tl?em. They don't like the looks and sound of the burning fuse. When that fuse begins to smoke and "slzz" you ( want to say good-by to it as soon as possible, so Tommy with all his might chucks It over the top and crouches 4 ( against the parapet, waiting for the , explosion. . ! Lots of times in bombing th^ "jnm tin" would be picked up by the Germans, before it exploded, and thrown ' back at Tommy with dire results. After a lot of men went West in this ' manner an order was issued, reading , something like this: "To all ranks In the British army: . After igniting the fuse and before throwing the jam-tin bomb, count slowly one! two! three!" This in order to give the fuse time enough to burn down, so that the bomb would explode before the Germans could throw it back. Tommy read the order?he reads 1 them all. but after he ignited the fuse * and it began to smoke?orders were << forgotten, and away she went in record ^ time and back she came to the further discomfort of the thrower. s Then another order was issued to count, "one hundred! two hundred! three hundred!" But Tommy didn't care if tlie order read to count up to ' a thousand by quarters, he was going to get rid of that "jam tin," because j < uuni t-.\|n.Tifiiei' iie nau learneu not ( to trust it. When the powers that be realized , that they eould not change Tommy 1 they decided to change tlu> type of i bomb and did so?substituting the "hair brush." tho "cricket ball," and I later the Mills bomb. .The sUuufcird boi^b-UsejJ.in tjji> IiuL- " Ish army Is the "Mills." It Is about the ' shape and size of a larj^e lemon. Although not actually a lemon. Fritz In- : sists that It is; perhaps he judges It ! by the havoc caused by its explosion. The Mills bomb is made of steel, the j outside of which is corrugated Into 48 small squares, which, upon the explo- ! sion of the bomb, scatter in a wide j area, wounding or killing any Fritz who is unfortunate enough to be hit j by one of the flying fragments. Although a very destructive and ef- ; ficient bomb the "Mills" has the confidence of the thrower, in that he knows it will not explode until released from his grip. It is a mechanical device, with a i lever, fitted Into a slot at the top, : which extends half way around the j circumference and is held in place at , the bottom by a fixing pin. In this pin j there is a small,metal ring, l'or the ; purpose of extracting the pin when ready to throw. Tou do not throw a bomb the way a baseball is throvrn, because, when in : a narrow trench, your hand Is liable j to strike against the parados, traverse j or parapet, and then down goes the j bomb, and, in a couple of seconds or , so, up goes Tommy. \ In throwing, the Domt> ana lever are | grasped ft the right hand, the left foot ; is advanced, knee stiff, about one and j a half its length to the front, while the right leg, knee bent, Is carried j slightly to the right. The left arm is j extended at an angle of 45 degrees, j pointing Fh the direction the bomb Is to j be thrown. This position Is similar to that of shot putting, only that the right arm is extended downward. Then you hurl the bomb from you with an overhead bowling motion, the same as in cricket, throwing It fo'rly high In ; the air, this In order to give the fuse a chance to burn down so that when j the bomb - lands, It immediately ex- 1 plodes and gives the Germans no time to scamper out of Its range or to re- ' turn it. As the bomb leaves your hand, the i lever, by means of a spring, is projected Into the air ancl falls harmlessly to ; the ground a few feet In front of the 1 bomber. When the lever flies oft It releases a strong spring, which forces the firing > pin Into a percussion cap. This ignites j the fuse, which burns down and sets I off the detonator, charged with fulmi-! nate of mercury, which explodes the ; main charge of ammonal. The average British soldier Is not an expert at throwing; It is a new game i to him, therefor* the Canadians and Americans, who have played baseball ! from the kindergarten up, take naturally to bomb throwing and excel In this act. A six-foot English bomber will stand In awed silence when/he sees a little five-foot-nothing Canadian outdistance his throw by several yards. I have read a few war stories of bombing, where baseball pitchers curved their bombs when, throwing them, but a pitcher who can do this would make i "Christy" Mathewson look like a piker,1 and Is losing valuable time playihg In the European War bush league, when ! he would be able to set the "big league" on fire. We had a cushy time while at this! school. In fact, to us It was a regular vacation, and we were very sorry when one morning the adjutant ordered us to report at headquarters for transportation and rations to return to our units up the line. Arriving at our section, the boys once again tendered us the glfid mitt, but looked askance at us out of the; corners of their eyes. They could hot conceive, as they expressed it, how a man could be such a blinking Idiot as to join the Suicide club. I was beginning to feel sorry that I had become a member of said club, and my life to me appeared doubly precious. Now that I was a sure-enough bomber I was praying for peace and hoping that my services as such would not be required. (TO BE CONTINUED.) j KOW'S THIS? We ofTev One Hundred Dollars Re-i - _.r u 4-V.^f ! '.vara ior any cast* ui ?j<nan mm.; rennet be cured by Hall's Catarrh j Medicine. Hall's Catarrh Medicine has been token by cntarrh sufferers for the nst thirty-five years, and has become known as the most reliable j ^medv for Catarrh. Hall's Catarrh i Medicine acts thru the Blood on j 'he Mucous surfaces, expelling the i Poison from the Blood and healing j the diseased nortions. After you have taken Hall's Ca-j !!"vrh Medicine for a short time you j .vill see n gr^at imnrovement in vour| general healt/h. Start taking Hall's i Catarrh Medicine t\t onre and fret) id of catarrh. Send for testimonial-, I free. F. J. CHENEY & CO.. Toledo, Ohio. Sold hv all druggists, 75c.?Adv.. 1-Mmo. S. V V V s. v'vv VVVVVVJ ^ V k. DUE WEST. V ( Due West, March 27.?The Ora-j or'cal contest to decide wno woum i ivnrcsent Erskirie at the Intercolle-j content at Greenwood came; aft' b>?t Saturday night in the Mem- j vial Hall at the Woman's College.. Three youn;: men took part, present-! inj" most creditable addresses. The: followinjr arc ih?? names and subject-; of those taking part: D. K. McGill?Challenges to Scr-j rice. L. II. McDaniel?America's En-' > trance Inevitable. Torn F. Ballard?A* Test of Ideals Mr. D. K. McGill of Smyrna, S. C., was chosen as Erskine's representative and was so announced in Chapel Monday morning. Mr. and Mrs. Irwin Brownlee of Anderson, have been the guests the , last few days of friends in Due West. Mr. Jrio. R. McGee met with the misfortune to have a shoulder dislocated by a frightened horse. Miss Kate Kennedy lef^ last Monday morning to take a position in the Anderson public schools. Mrs. Lila Agnew returned last week from a visit of some days to friends in Anderson. Mr. Scoggins of Atlanta, is on a visit to his~brother, Mr. J. J. Scoggins of this place. Dr. W. C. Brown of Newberry, S C., was a visitor in Due West last Monday. Lieutenant J. Roddy Devlin left Fort Oglethorpe lest week for Fortl Sill, Oklahoma. Mrs. w. w. urr 01 unariotte, in. CM is visiting friends in Due West. On last Sabbath afternoon Dr. E. W. Pressly of Camp Sevier, brdught a message from' the camp to the Erskine Y. M. C. A. Dr. Pressly spoke on the subject: "Be ye strong quit yourselves like men." The address was eloquent and brilliant. It received the closest attention from the first word to the last. The ad-j dress was full of patriotic fervor | and met a responsive chord in ev- j ery heart, whose privilege it was to be present. Dr. Pressly has many nf the phnraeteristics of his distin guished father, Dr. W. L. Pressly. I The lecture took place in the Y. M | C. A. arid a large audience wasi present. Dr. Pressly spoke in full | uniform. 1 The Spring Milliinery Opening of Mr. W. W. Edwards' took place last Thursday and Friday. Miss Wessells, the new milliner, was in special charge. The citizens of the community are invited to meet at the Y. M. C. A. room Friday afternoon at 3 o'clock. The County Demonstrators wffil be present and discuss War Garden and Poultry Clubs. Mr. Rowell and speakers from Clemson will urge H./v i m v\r\ i-fonno nf fViia work. The I liiv niiyvi buuw * >.? public should avail itself of this op-1 portunity to get needed information j Mrs. Alpha Davis Brooks of near] Belton, spent last week-end with herj mother, Mrs. Delia Davis.' Joint Meeting Adeiphian and Nikan-j ian Literary Societies. The two literary societies of thei Due West High School held a joint I public meeting last Friday evening at the High School building. Prayer was offered by Mr. Nelson of the Seminary. The welcome address was nicely given by Miss Josie Nance. She then stated that the program as printed and distributed j would be followed. The members] all did splendidly and the evenings exercises were followed with interest and frequent applause. The school seems to be getting on well under the guidance of Prof. W. > S. Reid and his efficient co-laborers. The debate was of chief interest. It proved to be quite spicy. Much interest developed. The debaters entered into the discussion, with zeal and determination and each side was backed up by enthusiastic friends who offered much applause. By the close vote of 1 to 2 the discussion went to the negative. This fact in no wise changed the opinion of the friends of the affirmative! I that their champions had won the I debate. The following is the pro-! gram: Prayar Address of Welcome?Josie Nance! Pres. (Adelphian.) Essay: Food Conservation and Its Importance.?John Scoggins, (Ni!<anian.) Reading: Papa and the Boy?Cor-! nelia Staley, (Nikanian.) Essay: How the Hierh School Stu-| dents can Help Win :he War?Jean j Apnew, (Adelphian.) . j Declamation: Heroes of Inker-' nan. Debeta Resolved: That military training should be substituted for athleticsin our colleges during the war. | Affirmative: ,(Adelphian)?Katie: lone Galloway, Bessie Baldwin,! Willie Mcore Boyce, Sarah Carwile. I< Negative, (Nikanian)? Carrie J Donnald,' Bertha Pressly, Harriet | Edwards, Alton Botts. Marshals (Adelphian)?Blanche Ellis, Clifton Davis. (Nikanian)?Selma Watt, Lawrence Nickles. V V V SANTUC NEWS. V > "> ?>>>\\>>\>\>>>> Santuc, March 27.?Mr. and Mrs. C. M. Cochran called 'on Mrs. Jessie Boyd Wednesday afternoon. Mr. and Mrs. George Link were the guests Saturday and Sunday at the home of Mr. Lindsay Link. Mr. Alvin McClain and mother spent Wednesday at Mr. Joe Abies. Mr. and Mrs. Furman Martin were the guests Saturday and Sunday of Mr. and Mrs. James Haddon. Misses Margaret and' Sara Mae Abies spent Friday evening with Misses Annie and Louise Kay. Mesdames Jessie Boyd and Charlie Cochran were shopping in the city Thursday afternoon. Mrs. W. J. Milford and Mrs. J. R. Smith were the guests Saturday at Mrs. Jessie Boyd's. Mrs. E. V. Bell of Due West, spent the week-end with her daughter, Mrs. Thos. Stevenson. Mr. and Mrs. Edd Botts spent Thursday with Mr. and Mrs. M. S. Lane'ford. Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Haddon were the guests Monday at Mr. Richey's. PRESERVING EGGS IN WATER GLASS SOLUTION (By Miss Mary B. Martin.) During the spring and early, summer when eggs are abundant and reasonable in price, attention should be given to preserving them for winter use. Fresh eggs properly preserved, may be kept for 8 to 12 months in excellent condition and used with good results. Eggs laid during April, May and early June have been found to keep hot+Ar than those laid later in the season. If satisfactory" results are to be obtained, the eggs should be fresh and clean and, if possible, infertile. 3ggs that float when placed in the solution are not fresh and therere, can not be preserved. When an i egg is only slightly soiled, a cloth dampened with vinegar can be used to remove such stains. Under no circumstances should badly soiled eggs be used for preserving; if put into the jar wnne airiy mc^ / / will spoil, and washing removes a protection coating which prevents spoiling. Th best method for the preservaof eggs is the use of soclum silicute pr water glass. This preservative may be bought at McMurray's Drug Store, arid it is well for clubs to go in together and buy the amount needed, thereby getting it much cheaper. If the price of sodum silicate is about 30 cents a quart, eggs may be preserved at a cost of approximately 2 cents a dozen. It is not desirable to use the water glass solution a second time. Use 1 quart of sodum silicate to 9 quarts of water that has been boiled and cooled. Place the mixture in a 5 gallon crock or jar. This will be sufficient to preserve 15 dozen eggs and will serve as a guide for the quantity needed to preserve larger numbers of eggs. Select a 5 gallon crock and clean it thoroughly,, after which it should be scalded and allowed to dry. Heat water to the boiling point and allow it to cool. When cool, measure out 9 quarts of water, place it in the crock, and add 1 quart of sodum silicate, stirring the mixture thoroughly. Fresh clean eggs may be dropped fi-nm rlnv to dav as ill Liie 3uiuuuh i.ivii* v they are -obtained, making sure that the eggs are covered by about 2 inches of water glass solution. Cover container and place where it will not have to be moved. Look at the eggs from time to time and if there seems to be danger of too much evaporation, add sufficient cool boiled water to keep eggs cover ed. Remove from the solution as needed and rinse in clean cold water. Before they are boiled holes; should be pricked in the large ends: v/ith a needle to prevent them' cracking. This is done to allow the1 air in the egg to escape when heat-' ed. Women'i Club Work for 1918. l * u An effort is being made through ! the Womente Home Demonstration i Clubs of Abbeville county to in| crease Food Production to the maxj imum and to do their bit in making | Abbeville County Self-Producing.. i In order to increase; this interest ' j and stimulate a friendly rivalry beI tween the communities, two prizes j are to be offered in the Women'3 I Club Work for the coming year. I The money for these prizes was libI erally given by the business men j of Abbevile. These men are' interested and enthusiastic in your work and are expecting the utmost to be | accomplished in your communities. Up to the present time, nine woi men^s Homef^Demonstration- Clubs I have been organized and reorganI ized in Abbeville county in the folI lowing communities: Arborville, I Antreville, Calhoun Falls, Sharon, Warrenton, Brownlee, Monterey, | Cold Springs and South Side Club ! which meets at Mrs. W. P. Wham's. ine -nrst prize is to De or \ I a Steam Pressure Canning Outfit - 'i ! and the second prize $15.00. It is our object that these prizes be of ' such nature that every family in | the winning communities may be ! benefited by them. Each club is required to keep an . ! accurate report of ?11 the demoni r, 1 stration work carried on in its coip - X I munity, and each individual member is required to hand her Secre ! lary ai eacn meeting a repuxu uj. x work done the preceding month. The following is the Report Form that is being used * for Abbeville i County Clubs: I * :J j Y. Membership. Enrollment of club. ?. I Average Attendance. I New Members. II. Meetings. , Number regular meetings in 1918 _ . Number call meetings. * % Number public or community meetings. .-* III. Work Accomplished. v 1 Number members keeping reports Number winter gardens. Amount canned in tin. Amount canned in glass. i ? / '. i i Amount preserved. s j Amount dried. , , [fl Amount brined/ ' i Amount pickled. f ') 'I Amount poultry raised in 1918. V j Number eggs preserved in. water %ll j glass. , ' Number members keeping milch^,. ^ cows. 'j Number pounds butter sold. I Number gallons milk sold. ^IV. Home Conveniences. .< 1 . Number Fireless Cookers made. i I Number Iceless Refrigerators I made. , I j Number Sewing Screens made. I ' j Number Butters workers and pad- % '| dies.-. /. 'J ;| Number Houses Screened in com'! munity. I V. Other Work Accomplished". I The Secretary and President of i each club are also urged to write a | little article for the papers after j cach meeting so that the work' of j all clubs may be kept before the j public. The interest and . cooperaI tion that is being manifested in some communities is extremely en couraging, while in other communi- ' ties, some drones are found who B _ a; i haven't yet waked up to the fact that their communities could be fl winners and leaders if everybody did his part. H ! In some of the clubs every mem ber agreed to double their garden ! areas this year, while in others fl ! only a few were interested in this H ' plan to increase food production. H ! All of above metioned clubs are H 1 specializing on some product out- H ! side the regular garden' work. H 1 Lima beans, peanuts, and pimen- 9j | tos seem to be the most popular o H I the special products. In the clubs 1.U..4. ' "' inn nirmont-nn 100 nlantS SB j Lfli.lL ttic tai\ni5 pii?*v?i?vwy ? jj ; are being worked by each member. ; Eight rows of lima beans or pea' nuts are being used as a unit for j other club members. By every j member in each community speci- gfl > alizing on the same thing a good |H , commercial standard product for market can be obtained. Watch the papers for monthly reports in this club work, and BB praise ^he communities that are keeping ahead. Nfl The prospect for the 1918 wheat crop in Japan is said to be very good by a report to the Department of Commerce. The 1917 crop is es- MR timated at nearly 35,000,000 bush