Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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L a I ( 8YN0PSI8. CHAPTER I?Fired by the news of the | jinking of the Lusitanla by a German submarine, Arthur Guy Empey, an American. leaves his office in Jersey City and goes to England where he enlists in the British army. CHAPTER II?After a period of training, Empey volunteers for Immediate serv- , Ice and soon finds himself In rest billets nsomewhere in France," where he first makes the acquaintance of the ever-pres?nt "cooties." CHAPTER III?Empey attends his first i Church services at the front while a Ger- i tnan Fokker circles over the congregation. 1 y CHAPTER IV?Empey's command goes ! Into the front-line trenches and is under fire for the first time. CHAPTER V?Empey learns to adopt ! the motto of the Brtish Tommy, "If you ; are going to get it, you'U get it, so never worry.1V _ _ ? "'CHAPTER Vl?Back "In rest "billets, Em- i pay gets his first experience as a mess orderly. ' CHAPTER VII?Empey learns how the British soldiers are fed. CHAPTER vm?Back in the front-line trench, Empey sees his first friend of the trenches "go West." CHAPTER IX?Empey makes his first visit to a dugout in "Suicide Ditch." CHAPTER X?Empey learns what con- | stitutes a "day's work" in the front-line Oimch. r CHAPTER XI?Empey goes -over tne top" for the first time in a charge on the German trenches and is wounded by a m- bayonet thrust. [ CHAPTER XII?Empey Joins the "sui[ tdde club" as the bombing squad is called. I CHAPTER VIII?Back in the front line trench, Empey sees his first! friend of the trenches "go West." i CHAPTER IX?Empey makes his first visit to a dugout in "Suicide! Bitch." CHAPTER X?Empey learns what constitutes a "day's work" in the iront-une trencn. CHAPTER XI?Empey goes "over the top" for the first time in a charge on the German trenches and is ; wounded by a bayonet thrust. CHAPTER XII?Empey joins the "suicide club" as-the bombing squad is called. CHAPTER XIII?Each Tommy gets an official bath. CHAPTER XIV?Empey helps dig an advanced trencn under German , fire. CHAPTER XV?On "listening post" in No Man's Land. . s CHAPTER XVI-?Two artillerymen "put one over" on Old Pepper, their regimental commander. <- CHAPTER XVII?Empey has narrow escape while on patrol duty in / No Man's Land. CHAPTER XVIII?Back in rest billets Empey writes and stages a i farce comedy. CHAPTER XIX?Soldiers have many ways to amuse themselves while ' "on their own." Chapter XX?Empey volunteers for machine gun service and goes back into the front line trenches. CHAPTER XXI?Empty again goes "over the top" in a charge which cost his company 17 killed and 31 wounded. CHAPTER XXII. | Punishments and Machine-Gun Stunts. Soon after my arrival in France; in !fact, from my enlistment, I had found Ithat in the British army discipline Is jvery strict. One has to be very care ful In order to stay on tne narrow pain i of government virtue. There are about seven million ways of breaking the king's regulations; to i > ' keep one you have to break another. ; The worst punishment is death by a firing squad, or "up against the wall," las Tommy calls it. j This is for desertion, cowardice, mu'' tiny, giving information to the enemy, looting, rape, robbing the dead, forcing I a safeguard, striking a superior, etc. ! Then comes the punishment of sixty| four days in the front-line trendh withI out relief. During this time you have (to engage in all raids, working parties jln No Man's Land, and every hazardous (undertaking that comes along. If you jlive through the sixty-four days you (are indeed lucky. This punishment Is awarded where j there Is a doubt as to the willful guilt >of a man who has committed an of| fence punishable by death. Then comes the famous field punjishment No. 1. Tommy has nicknamed jit "crucifixion." It means that a man |Is spread-eagled on a limber wheel,! i itwo hours a day for twenty-one days., L j During this time he Only gets water, u i bully beef and biscuits for his chow, i You get "crucified" for, repeated minor } offenses. Wot! in nrrioi* la fipld nmiishment INo.27 * This is confinement in the "clink," without blankets, getting water, bully ; beef and biscuits for rations and doing all the dirty work that can be found, j This may be for twenty-four hours or twenty days, according to the gravity i of the offense. ; Then comes "pack drill" or defaulters' parade. This consists of drilling,! j mostly at the double, for two hours J ;with full equipment. Tommy hates j this, because it is hard work. Some-j -: times he fills his pack with straw to j lighten it, and sometimes he gets j j caught If he gets caught, he grouses | at everything in general for twentyone days, from the vantage point of a limber wheeL Next comes "C. B." meaning "con* 1 Mi <c> imm 50LWER 0 WENT ? * I? GUY MY Z fflHHER^EWWfiWfRAUCE?' ? 1917 BY ARTHURWE1VCY fined to barracks." This consists 01 staying In billets or barracks for twenty-four hours to seven days. You also get an occasional defaulters' parade and dirty jobs around the quarters. The sergeant major keeps what is no f Vl Q wirflO cVlPpt" WhPn fl &uunu cio utt vmuv wuwn * ? ? man commits an offense, he is "crimed," that is, his name* number and offense is entered on the crime sheet Next day at 9 a. m. he goes to the "orderly room" before the captain, "who either punishes him with "C. B." or sends him before the O. C. (officer commanding battalion). The captain of the company can only award "C. B." Tommy many a time has thanked the king for making that provision in his regulations. v ' To gain the title of a "smart soldier," Tommy has to keep clear of the crime sheet, and you have to be darned smart to do it. I have been on It a few times, mostly for "Yankee impudence." During our stay of two weeks In rest billets our captain put us through a course of machine-gun drills, trying out new stunts and theories. After parades were over, our guns' crews got together find also tried out some theories of their own in reference to handling guns. These courses had nothing to do with the advancement of the war, consisted mostly of causing tricky jams in the gun, and then the rest of the crew would endeavor to lo cate as quicaiy as possiDie tne cause of the stoppage. This amused them for a few days and then things came to a standstill. One of the boys on my gun claimed that he could play a tune while the gun was actually firing, and demonstrated this fact one day on the target range. We were very enthusiastic and decided to become musicians. After constant practice I became quite expert in the tune entitled "All Conductors Have Big Feet." When I had mastered this tune, our two weeks' rest came to an end, and once again we went up the line and took over the sector in front of G wood. At this point the German trenches ran around the base of a hill, on the top of which was a dense wood. This wood was infested with machine guns, which used to traverse our lines at will, and sweep'the streets of a little village, where we were billeted while in reserve. There was one gun In particular which used to get our goats, it had the exact range of our "elephant" dugout entrance, and every morning, about the time rations were being brought up, its bullets would knock up the dust on the road; more than one Tommy went West or to Blighty by running into them. This gun got our nerves on edge, and Fritz seemed to,,know it, because he never gave us ah nour's rest . Our reputation as machine-gunners was at stake; we tried various ruses to locate and put this gun out of action, but each one proved to be a failure, and ; Fritz became a worse nuisance than ever. He was getting fresher and more careless every day, took all kinds of liberties with us?thought he was invincible. Then one of our crew got a brilliant idea and we were all enthusiastic to put it to the test. Here was his scheme: When firing my gun, I was to play my tune, and Fritz, no doubt, would fall for it, try to imitate me as an added insult. This gunner and two others would try, by the sound, to locate Frftz and his gun. After having got the location, they would mount two machine guns in trees, in a little clump of woods to the left of our cemetery, and while Fritz was in the middle of his lesson, would open up and trust to luck. By our calculations, it would take at least a week to pull off the stunt If Fritz refused to swallow our bait, it would be impossible to locate his special gun, and that's the one we were after, because they all sound alike, a slow pup-pup-pup. ? I Our prestige was hanging by a thread. In the battalion we had to endure all kinds of insults and fresh remarks as to our ability in silencing Fritz. Even to the battalion that German gun was a sore spot Next day, Fritz opened up as usual. I let him fire away for a while and then butted in with my "pup-pup-puppup-pup-pup." I kept this up quite a while, used two belts of ammunition. Fritz had stopped firing to listen. Then he started in; sure enough, he had fallen for our game, his gun was trying to imitate mine, but, at first he made a horrible mess of that tune. Again I butted in with a few bars and stopped. Then he tried to copy what I had played. He was a good sport all right, because his bullets were going away over our heads, must have been firing into the air. I commenced to feel friendly toward'him. This duet went on for five days. Fritz was a good dudII and learned rapidly, in fact, got better tnan ms | teacher. I commenced to feel jealous, j When he had completely mastered the tune, he started sweeping the road again and we clicked it worse than ever. But he signed his death warrant by doing so, because my friendship turned to hate. Every time he fired he played that tune and we danced. The boys in the battalion gave us the "Ha! Ha V* They weren't in on our little frameup. The originator of the ruse and the i other two gunners had Fritz's location j taped to the minute; they mounted | their two guns, and also gave me the! range. The next afternoon was set for j the grand finale. Our three guns, with different eleva- i tions, had their fire so. arranged, that, j opening up together, their bullets; would suddenly drop on Fritz like a ; hailstorm. About three the next day, Fritz started "pup-pupping" that tune. I blew a sharp blast on a whistle, it was the signal agreed upon; we turned loose and Fritz's gun suddenly stopped in the middle of a bar. we naa cooxea nis goose, and our ruse had worked. After firing two belts each, to make sure of our job, we hurriedly dismounted our guns and took cover in the dugout. We knew what to expect soon. We didn't have to wait long, three salvos of "whizz-bangs" came over from Fritz's artillery, a further confirmation that we had sent that musical machine-gunner on his Westward-bound journey. That gun never bothered us again. We were the heroes of the battalion, our captain congratulated us, said it was a neat piece of work, and, consequently, we were all puffed up over the stunt There are several ways Tommy uses to disguise the location of his machine gun and get his range. Some of the i most commonly used stunts are as fol' lows: ! At night, when he mounts his gun ! over the top of his trench and wants to get the range of Fritz's trench he adopts the method of what he terms j "getting the sparks." This consists of; firing bursts from his gun until the bullets hit the German barbed wire. He can tell when they are cutting the ! wire, because a bullet when it hits a wire throws out a blue electric spark, j Machine-gun fire is very damaging to j wire and causes many a wiring party ! to go out at night when it is quiet to I I repair the damage. To disguise the flare of his gun at ! nighi when firing, Tommy uses what is ; called a flare protector. This is a stove! pipe arrangement which fits over the ; barrel casing of the gun and screens i the sparks from the right and left, but ; not from the front. So -Tommy, always ' resourceful, adopts this scheme: About three feet or less in front of the gun he ! ! V / 1 \ i - / : \ - i : / i ! y i \ ?)OOro5 <00 ym aS* : L?rrcuN incur cun Showing How Fritz Is Fooled. j drives two stakes into the ground, | abo'u* five feet apart. Across these | stakes he stretches a curtain made out j of empty sandbags ripped open. He | soaks this curtain in water and fires through it. The water prevents it i catching fire and effectively screens the flare of the firing gun from the, . enemy. < Sound is a v^/^ble asset in locating < a machine gun. \ Tommy surmounts this obstacle Y? placing two machine j guns about out hundred to one hun- ' ! dred and fifty 7*rds apart. The gun I on the right to cover with its fire the ! i sector of the left gun and the gun on the left to cover that of the right t gun. This makes their fire cross: they i are fired simultaneously. ] i By this method it sounds like one ! gun firing and gives the Germans the ; impression that the gun is firing from I a point midway between the guns ; I which are actually firing, and they ac- \ I cordingly shell that particular spot. ! The machine gunners chuckle and say, | "Fritz is a brainy boy, not 'alf he . | ain't" But the men in our lines at the spot 1 j# being shelled curse Fritz for his igno- ' I ranee and pass a few pert remarks j j down the line in reference to the ma- , , chine gunners being "windy" and ; afraid to take their medicine. ] i CHAPTER XXIII. Gas Attacks and Spies. Three days after we had silenced , Fritz, the Germans sent over gas. It did not catch us unawares, because the wind had been made to order, that is, it was blowing from the German trenches toward ours at the rate of about five miles per hour. Warnings had been passed down the > trench to keep a sharp lookout for gas. i We had a new man at the periscope, : on this afternoon in question; I was ! sitting on the fire step, cleaning my rifle, when he called out to me: "Thorp's n sr?rt nf frroonish -uollnw ! cloud rolling along the ground out in < front, it's coming?" But I waited for no more, grabbing my bayonet, which was detached from the rifle, I gave the alarm by banging 1 an empty shell case, which was hang- ; ing near the periscope. At the same ' instant, gongs started ringing down the | trengh, the signal for Tommy to don his respirator, or smoke helmet, as we call it 1 Gas travels quickly, so you must not J lose any time; you generally have ; about eighteen or twenty seconds in ! which to adjust your gas helmet A gas helmet is made of cloth, treated with chemicals. There are two win- 1 qows, or glass eyes, In it, through which you can see. Inside there Is a rubbercovered tube, which goes in the mouth. You breathe through your nose; the gas, passing through the cloth helmet, is neutralized by the action of the chemicals. The foul air is exhaled through the tube in the mouth, this tube being so constructed that it prevents the inhaling of the outside air or gas. One helmet is good for five hours of the strongest gas. Each Tommy carries two of them slung around his shoulder in a waterproof canvas bag. He must wear this bag at all times, even while sleeping. To change a defective helmet, you take out the new one, hold your breath, pull the old one off, placing the new one over your head, tucking in the loose ends under the collar of your tunic. For a minute, pandemonium reigned in our trench?Tommies adjusting their helmets, bombers running here and there, and men turning out of the dugouts with fixed bayonets, to man the fire step. Re-enforcements were pouring out of the communication trenches. Our gun's crew were busy mounting the machine gun on the parapet and bringing up extra ammunition from tne augout. German gas Is heavier than air and soon fills the trenches and dugouts, where it has been known to lurk for two or three days, until the air is purified by means of large chemical sprayers. We had to work quickly, as Fritz generally follows the gas with an infantry attack. A company man on our right was too slow in getting on his helmet; he sank to the ground, clutching at his throat, aqd after a few spasmodic twistings went West (died). It was horrible to see him die, but we were powerless to help him. In the corner of a traverse, a little, muddy cur dog, one of the company's pets, was lying dead, \yith his paws over his nose. It's the animals that suffer the most ?the horses, mules, cattle, dogs, cats and rats?they having no helmets to save them. Tommy* does not sympathize with rats in a gas attack. At times gas has been known to travel, with dire results, fifteen miles behind the lines. A gas, or smoke helmet, as it is called, at the best is a vile-smelling thing, and it is not long before one gets a violent headache from wearing it. Our eighteen-pounders were.bursting in No Man's Land, in an effort, by the artillery, to disperse the gas clouds. The fire step was lined with crouching men, bayonets fixed, and bonjbs near at hand to repel the expected attack. Our artillery had put a barrage of curtain fire on the German lines, to try and break up their attack and keep back re-enforcements. I trained my machine* gun on their trench and its bullets were raking the parapet Then over they came, bayonets glistening. In their respirators, which have a large snout in front, they looked like some horrible nightmare. All along our trench, rifles and machine guns spoke, our shrapnel was bursting over their heads. They went down in heaps, but new ones took the places of the fallen. Nothing could stop that mad rush. The Germans reached our barbed wire, which had previously been demolished by their shells, then it was bomb against bomb, and the devil for all. (To be continued next week.) WIXTHROP COLLEGE. Scholarship and Entrance Examination. The examination for the award of vacant scholarships in Winthrop college and for the admission of new students will be held at the county court house on Friday, July o, at 9 a. m., and also on Saturday, July 6, it 9 a. mM for those who wish to make up by examinations additional units required for full admission to the Freshman class of this institution. T,U a a+'ah n/1 O*' .Ttllv ft me t;A ct 11 J ma Liun un oatui uuj t vuij will be used only for making admission units. The scholarships will be awarded upon the examination held on Friday, July 5. Applicants must not be less than sixteen years of age. When scholarships are vacant after July 5, they will be awarded to those making the highest average at this examination, provided they meet the conditions governing the award. Applicants for scholarships should write to President Johnson for scholarship examination blanks. These blanks, properly filled out by the applicant, should be filed with President Johnson by July 1st. Scholarships are worth $100 and free tuition. The next session will open September 18, 1918. For further information and catalogue, address PRESIDENT D. B. JOHNSON, Rock Hill, S. C. REPORT ON GLENDALE MINERAL SPRING. In the recent report of the Department of the Interior, GLENDALE MINERAL SPRING, of Bamberg, S. C., is mentioned as one of the valuable mineral springs of the United States. GLENDALE MINERAL SPRING was discovered about three years ago and an analysis of the water made by Prof. Bracket, of Clemson College. Since that time other analyses have been made which show the great value of GLENDALE MINERAL WATER. This spring is located about three miles southwest of BAMBERG i and within easy reach of the people j t>f lower South Carolina who have not as yet fully realized the value nf this excellent mineral water right in their midst.?adv. 5-30 Drives Out Malaria, Builds Up System The Old Standard general strengthening tonic, SROYE'S TASTELESS chill TONIC, drives out Malaria.enriches the blood,and builds up the sysein. A true tonic. For adults and children. 60c Rice fibre crepe toilet paper for sale at the Herald BoBok Stare. I Sa Vo Savo I X I * While Eggs are high Savo will save you money i I | fnrc e! ^ * |f# |J?U^ One package will V wwbumw takesthe place of ? cSmm^noM two dozen eggs, f JCWMMBIT V V _ _ . Try a package. Y V Buy Them And Y V _ _ h __ __ Only 25c at V v Help Win The War ? FOR SALE EVERYWHERE | TOM DUCKER1 V PHONE 15 NEXT TO COPELAND'S BAMBERG S. C. T i.^A A^A A^A i^A ?AT TAT TAT TAT TAT TAT TAT TAT TAT TAT TAy^y ?Af TAT fjy^yTAT TAT TAT TAT TAT TAT TAT . a .?. .?. .?. ,?. ??. .#? ?t. .f. ?? ?f? ??>?????? ?fi *4* *4^ ^A| $ mi in in ? mnrnm 3? ix; I BUY \V. S. S. BUY W. S. S. I $ ', ! ? and Help and Help ' H ifi W I W1X THE WAR WIX THE WAR W ? . | y $ |? bought vdur summer clothes yet? ? We are now able to fill your wants in m V cool cloth and palm beach suits. We 31 have one of the best lines ever shown 2 Z 3? here, and as we bought early, we 3* are in a position to save you some ' > W money. / . I HOW ABOUT THAT STRAW HAT? J Iti ill !? ' 5 jf; We still have a nice assortment of Panamas and leghorns. Come see ^ ? V 3? our iiue before buying. I ? # ? r e a f j J ? Buy Them And ? il Heln Win The War I W1 ?* #. w TOR SALE EVERYWHERE # {, H. C. FOLK CO. . | II BAMBERG, S. C, ||! { I? ?I ? yf?'?!??? ?? ??? ?Ti ?!??? ifsi' 1 ,173I7TX? fXT^XffX? >XtTJ?TX? 1TT17TXT ?A??Xii*Xt ^ j gffimnB||nHHH|nnnnMynnBKBBHRnR|inHHBn|| JS > ffi I Horses and Mules | | We have a full stock on hand of 8 B Horses and Mules. Our stock is se- V I lected personally bv a member of our I ^ I firm, and each animal sold has the B I Jones Bros.' guarantee?and you B S know what that means. When you 8 9 need a horse or mule, don't fail to 8 H come to our stables. We will take 8 H pleasure in showing you. Our stock 8 8 is always in good condition?they are 8 8 bought sound and sold sound. 8 1 BUGGIES, WAGONS, HARNESS I 8 We have a splendid line of Buggies, 8 8 Wagons, Harness, Lap Robes, Whips, B B Etc. We have a number of styles in 8 2 Buggies and Harness, and we can suit B 8 you. We handle only the best ve- 9 8 hides to be had, and our prices are 8 I always right. Come to see us; you 8 3 are always, welcome. 8 H I Jones Bros. I I J RAILROAD AVENUE BAMBERG, S. C. I I Back The Boys Up at The Front. Buy War Saving Stamps \ ' . .