Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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ntfr« r Sarin fty* riB«Jta» JOHN V. THOMASON, kl «:♦"♦>: (© by the Ball Syndicate. Inc.), SYNOPSIS CHAPTER I:—Th« author dencrlbea fcow the First battalion of the Fifth marines are quartered near Marlgny during the first part of June, 191S, when they are suddenly sent up north to relieve the First division, bearing the brunt of a tidal wave of Qermans just breaking through for a great of fensive. Part of the Fifth wrest Hill 142 from the enemy and wait there for the German counter offensive they «an see forming. While they lie pep pering the Boche a detachment of Second engineers comes to their as sistance. CHAPTER II The Boche wanted Hill 142; he came, and the rifles broke him, an<T he came again. All his batteries were In action, and always his machlne- funs scourged the place, but he could not make head against the rifles. Guns he could nndei^tand; he tevew all about bombs and anto-rlfles and ma chine-guns and trench-mortars, bnt aimed, sustained rifle Are, that comes from nowhere In particular and picks off men—It brought the war home to the Individual and demoralized him. Toward mid-day, this sixth of June, 1918, the condition around. Hill 142 stabilized. A small action, fought by battalions over a limited area of no special importance. It gave the Boche something new to think out, and It may be that people who write his tories will date an era from it Between attacks the stretcher- bearers and the Red Cross men on both sides did their utmost for the wounded who were scattered through the wheat around the hill, and who now, under the torture of stiffening wounds and the hot sun. began to cry out As the afternoon advanced, you beard pitiful voices, llttla and thtp across the fields: “Ach. Hlmmel, hllf, htlfl Brandlgbef . . . Llebe Gott brandlghe!" . . . ■First-aid—this way. First-aid, for the love of God!" Late In the afternoon a great up roar arose to the right There was more artillery up now. more machine- guns, more of everything. The Third battalion of the Sixth marines and the Third battalion of the Fifth at tacked the town called Bouresches and the wood known as Bols de Bel lean. They attacked across the open, losing hideously. Platoons were shot down entire. Lieutenant Robinson got Into Bouresches. wltj) twenty men out of some hundred who started, threw the Boche out. and held It They gained a footing In the rocky ledges at the edge of the Bols de Belleau. suffering much from what was believed to he a machine gun nest at this point They tried to leave It and go on. with a containing force to watch It; they found that the whole wood was a machine-gun nest. Night descended over a tortured *rea of wheat and woodland, lit hy Acres and gun-flashes, flailed by ma chine-guns, and In two many places pitiful with crying of wounded who had lain all the day untended In a merciless sun. Stretcher bearers and combat patrols roamed over it the ^ark. Water parties and ratios parties groped back from forward positions over unknown trails. There were dog-fights all over the place, wild alarms, and hysterical out breaks of rlfle-flre. Ft was the same with the Boche; he knew the ground better, and he was determined to re possess It. His people filtered back through the American strong points, for the marines did not hold a con tinuous line; isolated positions--were connected by patrols and machine- guns laid for Interlocking fire. At the southern angle of Hill 142 the Forty-ninth company put out a listening post-rone man down the slope a little way, to watch for visi tors. In the night there was a tramp ling, a grur^t, and one scream— “Boche!"—At once the hill blazed into action—weary men, overspent, they fired Into the dark until their pieces wefe hot. And after, they found the listening post fellow, bayon eted! And down the hill a little hud- djp of new dead. Not all the rlfle- flre had gone astray. Back in brigade, officers befit over^ maps and framed orders for a Instructor (a thU and that Bayonet drill*—“Come m, now; leiflme .hear you—*What do wo truh- tut . IpTnoto InT-Gerraan fclood r—*w*-Mrfng out like you meant it, you dam* replacements I m swear, tt’a a shame to feed ani mals Uke you to ‘ftfe Germans—" Gas-mask drill—“Take more , thaa foe aoconds, ah* your matr «ets • |ffold otar—Now 1—the gas-alert! posl- tloo—O, for Gawd’s sake, you guy, you wit* the two left feet— H “But sergeant, I find that I have a certain difficulty—” Sergeants also swear terribly. . . . There- 4 was every kind of drill, eight hbdrs a day of It, and police work. Rumors of great battles in the • north. ’Glum and bad civilians—they were glum and sad everywhere in France, that spring of 1918—talking In anxious groups after the town crier with his drum passed. Another troop train—maybe the same train that was carelessly left alongside a tralfi containing the wine ration for some French division, the papers In- which case are probably still accu mulating. Camions after that The replacements debussed late of a June afternoon and went up a great white road between exactly spaced poplars. They marched first In col umn df squads, then In column of files, platoons on opposite sides of the empty road. At the crest of a slope the column stopped. You could see, hanging above the skyline to the north and east, curious shapes-— ‘ "Look like a elephant’s head, bows on, wit’ his ears out, don’t they, ser- geantr* The tall non-com replace ment officer In charge: “We’ll stop here, sir. Boche sausages yonder— observation balloons—See the whole country. We’ll wait till dark." The detachment was glad to fall out, off the road. The sun set after a while, and the day drowsed Into the long twilight Presently the ser geant said: “We can move now, sir." The replacements moved, mak ing no conversation. A little country road led them off the highway. They passed ft shat tered farmhouse where's few soldiers lounged In the dusk, “Regimental, sir. Gets shelled a lot No, sir, they don’t expect you to report Some body on the road to meet you. . . . "A little group of officers rose out of the ditch, yawning. They looked slack and tired. "Replacement col umn? You In charge? Yea—assign ments msde back In Brigade. You’ll go too, Henry: Tour battalion gets a hundred and seventy, with five offl cerm. Take 'em off the head of tbs column—tel? Major Turrlll—“ The detachment followed the officer called Henry, Who set what th*y con sidered an Immoderate pace. He passed the word: "Don’t bunch np: If a plane comes «ver low, don’t look up at It—he can see yonr faces; no smokHF.'an' don’t talk—" They event through a gap In a hedge and were at another cross roads. “Fall out here, an* form com bat packs. I.eave your stuff under the hedge. Take one blanket Come on—quickly, now!—an’ don’t bunch up!—" The replacements formed combat packs expertly, remembering Parrta Island and Qnnntlco. “Smart ly. now! Come by here, fill your pockets—each man take two boxes hard bread — Where’ll you carry them? How In hell do I know— There!" %. Two goods boxeiTflll eluee together, and the men filed between them. One box had dried prunes In It the other bread. “Don’t stop! Don’t stop! Right down that road, an’ keep movin' 1" Out over the woods a sound start ed. a new sound. It was a rumbling whine, it grew to a roar, and a 77 crashed down Just beyond the cross roads. A clond blacker than the night leaped up. shot ylth red fire—“IJe down, all hands!" Another landed at once; the air Was full of singing par ticles. The men. flat on their faces, in the dark, waited numbly for the next order. There were a dozen or (fie dark. 1 — - It cftint out of the woods Into ft pal* stone town—ChampilFoo. There were no lights to the bosses; the place bad an air of death about it There was a PhJ). from Harvard In that sweating Hie. ft big. pale, un : bandy private, bounded habitually by pergeantr and troubled with Indlgee- tion and patriotism, For all hls train ing, a pack was not "at borne on hls shoulders or s rifle easy In hls bands. He thought of the pleasant study back Cambridge way, of the gold-and- blue sergeant under the “First to Fight P recruiting poster—‘Tour Job. too, fellal Come on,an’' help lick the Hun! You don’t wanta wait to be^ drafted, a big guy like you! We can use you In the marines—” A hearty, red-necked ruffian — extremely com petent In hls vocation, no doubt Good enough chaps. Yes . . . but,. . . tea by a seahcoal fire In the New Eng land twilight, and clever, talk of art and philosophic anarchism — one wrote fastidious essays .on such ‘things for the more discriminating reviews . . . scholarly •abstrac tions. . . , Of all the stupid. Ignorant uncivil ized things, a war! Who coined that phase, civilized warfare? There was no such thing! . . . Here, in the most civilized country on earth. . . . The neighborhood of Chateau-Thlerry . . . Montaigne’s town, wasn’t It? The kings of France had'a chateau near It once. And yet it was always a cockpit . . . since Aetlus roiled back Attlla in the battle of the nations, at Chalons — Napoleon fonght Champ- Aubert and Montmlrall around here— always war— The column was through Charo- plllon, dipping Into a black hollow. More shellholes In the road here. . . . AU at once there was a new shell hole, and the doctor of philosophy, sometime private of marines, lay be side it very neatly beheaded, with the rifle, that had been such a bore to keep dean, across hls knees, and dried prunes spilling out -of the pock ets that he never bad learned to hot- ton. The column went on. At dawn a naval medico attached to the ma rine brigade, with a staff officer, parted that way. Odd, the wonnds you see," ob served the aaval man, professionally Interested. He looked curloasly. T text dollar la, cone ft ‘ depends on ner alteraarivsPla that of Dm marry, uplifted tout the latter of tbs stnla* ter, usually materoleiik oee. The bohemian sort Id good compaftf If he basa’t drifted Into predatory habits. He is always reed? to'an ter*! tain you with his mind end la cordial j to your own efforts toward geniality./ la not too severe on your occasion ally limping wit and Ms laugh Is gen* eroua. We ought to value laid cherts* him more than we do, though be be ft -nb’er-do-weU. A Everybody can’t make ntoney; sod It .takes so little to make this bright spirit happy. Usually he Is talented, but If be Isn’t he is soothing to tbo frequently lacerated souls of those who are talented. Isn’t the nature that "Just rests you" a blessed one, meant to gladden a tiresome day? If hfs disposition Is to lean some what on hls friend, the man of oak. well, the oak can stand it It Is, la fact, what the oak IS looking for and welcomes.—F. H. Collier In the St Louis Globe-Democrat Y EM Sketches From Captain Notebook. Thomaeon'a stronger attack on the Bols de Bel-^ of high explosive, and the sharp reek lean at dawn. ... Brigade vas writ ing also to Division: “ . . . casualties severe . . . figures on wklch^to base «all for replacements will be sub mitted as soon as possible. • e v ’ • <• • • • At the crossroads beyond La Vole du Chatelle the replacements met the war. Behind them, crammed somehow Into weeks, were Qnantlco, the trans port, Brest a French troop train. Then there was tbs golden country around St Algnan, the “Saint Onion" of _ Tfift war -was represented by d»- so shells all around the place. The last one hit between the two goods boxes, where a man was lying. The boxes and the man vanished fn a ruddy cloud—better than If he’d got ten it in the belly and rolled around screaming. . . . There were no mor* shells—"Say, you know, I saw a arm an’ a rifle goln’ up Wit’ that burst—I —Who was he, anyway?—’’ “Keep quiet, there! AH right! on your feet—right down that road—" the officer ordered, and added to him self—“Dam’ It! Should have remem bered they shell La ^’ole du Chatelle every night this time—but they acted fine.. „ . ." A voice spoke up, excited, amused: “Say! 'Sergeant McGee— anything Mke that In Vera Cruz’’ “Pipe down, yon Boot.” - They went down a wood-road, black as a pocket Just ahead came a bright flash and a roar, and frag ments ripped through the woods, and they beard a lamentable - crying, get ting weaker: “First aldl first aid—” The column came to a dead male and the wreck of a cart lying athwart the road, and a smoking hole, and a smell couldn’t have done a neater decapita tion than that myself. Wonder who— took bis identification tags with It 1 see. Replacement, by hls uniform—*» (For the Fifth and Sixth - regiments hid long since worn out their forest er-green marine uniforms, and were wearing army khaki, while the re placements came In new green cloth ing.) The staff officer picked up the rifle, snapped back the bolt, and squinted expertly down the bore. "Disgustin’." he said. “Sure he was s refJlscement. You never catch an old-timer with a bore like that— filthy! Bet there hasn't been a rag through It In a week. You know, sur- geon. I was looking at some of the rifles of that bunch of machine-gun ners lying In the brush Just across from Battalion; they were beautiful Never saw better kept pieces. Fine soldiers In a lot of ways, these Boche I" (Prepares br the National Oeoffraphla Sociatjr. WaaiHnrton. D. C.) EMEN, an Independent country Arabia, across the lower end the narrow Red sea from tha Italian colony of Eritrea, Is the latest land to enter Into treaty rela tions with Italy. As a result the likeli hood Is seen of the peaceful penetra tion of southwestern Aiabla by Ital ian Influence. This reign, like all other parts of Arabia, was under at least nominal Turkish control before the great war; bnt since It has, constituted an 1ms- mate, nnder the rule of the Arab Imam Yahya ben Mohammad ben Hamid al Din, who rules from Sabla. Yemen has the distinction arid the good for tune to be one of the few parts of Arabia that are of agricultural Impor tance. Under a stable government It would have an Important commercial futum The British protectorate of ’ Aden is one of the chief outlets for Its produce. Yemen's American fame rests prin cipally upon the familiar nama of an almost deserted city. Mocha, throagh which coffee no longer comes, where' debris clatters the streets, where only moeqoee remain Intact Coffee still Is a major crop of Ye men, bnt It la exported largely throagh Hodetds. end In even greater quantity via Aden, port of the British pro tectorate to the eoutb, which today la the commercial neck of the Red aea bottle. Order coffee In Yemen, however, and you will not repeat the experiment For the Arabians of coffee-land pre fer the busks to the berries, and the brew therefrom has been compared to hot barley water. To the occidental mind this concoction affords neither flavor or stimulus. The Yemenite looks elsewhere for a stimulant—to khat The world knows almost nothing about khat Our scientific books are nearly silent on the subject Travel ers who ought to have observed Its uses write from heres*y and asuallj with the most smaslng Ignorance. There are even Europeans In the Ye men, whose servants have chewed khat every day of their Uvea, with so little knowledge of native life and customs that after years of residence they ask: “Why, what is khat? We never beard of It" Yet no Yemen event Is complete without Its presence, and no Yemen Aral)—man, woman or child- passes a day If he can help It wlthoat the aid of at least a few Idaves of the precious khat Khat. Is Their Stimulant When the European Is weary he calls for alcohol to revive him; when be la Joyful he takes wine, that he may have more J<^y. In like manner the Chinese woos hls “white lady,” of blood.* There was a struggling group, somebody working swiftly In the dark, a whiteness of bandages, and the white blur of a man's torso. “Lie still, damn yduP’—“O, AJffthhh! Go easy, you—" “Hell, I know It hurts, guy, but I got to get this ban dage on, haven’t I? Come on—quit kickin’—" Passing around the mule, a man stepped on something neither bard nor soft—nothing else on earth feels thst way—and be floundered to one side, cursing hysterically. — “Quiet, bark there—pass the word, no talking r Tbo flies obediently pawed the ward. The ceinma groped oft la Meantime the column had passed into heavier woods, and. halted where the rifles ahead sounded very near. They saw dngouts. betrayed by the thread of candlelight around the edges of the blankets that cloaked their entrances. One was a dressing- station, by the sound and the smell of It. The officer named Henry ducked Into the other. There a stocky major sat up on the floor and rolled a cig arette, which he lighted at a gutter ing candle. “Replacements In? Well, what do they look like?—” “Same men I saw in the training areas last mont!* sir. A sprinkling of old-time marines—Sergeant McGee, that we broke for something or other in Panama, is with.’em—and the rest of them are young college lads and boys off the farm—fine material, sir. Not much drill, bnt they probably know how to shoot, they take orders, and they don’t scare worth a cent I Shelled coming In. at Voia do Ch*- tetfs, and some more this side of Champihon—several casualties. No confusion—nothing like a panic—* Laid down and waited for orders— did exactly as they were told—fine men, sir 1" (CONTINUED NEXT WEEK,) Three Wise Men of Yemen. supply is so limited that It Is sever seen except among the richest mer chants of Zeblde, Ibb. Tsls and Sanaa. The commonest kind Is Moqoart, which grows in the district of Makatra, about four days’ camel ride from Aden, and most of the 24100 camel loads of khat which reach Aden In the course of s year Is of this variety. Khat cultivation Is simple. The plant bears neither flowers nor seeds, but is grown from cuttings. After the fanner has flooded bis Arid till the ■oil has absorbed its utmost of water, he covert It with goat droppings and allows It to “ripen" for a few days. Then he bnrlee the cuttings In shallow holes from 4 to 6 feet apart, with ■pace enough between the rows for pickers to peso. Bnt the Yemen cow and the sad-eyed camel, whoaa maw la never filled, have a nice teats In khat cuttings, end to discourage these ma rauders the former covers each hill with thorn twigs and splay cactus leaves. Sometimes be trains one of the half-wild doge which Infest the village to guard that particular field. ▲t the end of a year the young shrubs ere two feet high with • thick ly spread green foliage 18 Inches In diameter. Behold now the fftnper go ing out Into the dawn ef each amralag to gase at hie field and the sky la the hope of eeelftg the portents of harel time. On a morning the air Is thick with bulbuls, sparrows, weaver birds, shrilly clamoring. They rise and fall upon hls plants, picking st the tender- eat Item. “Allah be praised!" cries the simple farmer, “the leaves are sweet end ripe for the market” And now he cells He women end the wives of hls neighbors to tbs crop, picking. Under s bower of Jasmine vines, with plumes of the sweet-smell- log rehan in tbelr tvrbsns. the farmer ihd bis cronies gather to- drink klahar from tiny cups and smoke the hubbuk, while the womenfolV bring them arm fuls of the freshly cat khat leavea. What a Joyous time it Is for ell the village; fos always the farmer dis tributes the whole of hie first crop among hie nelghbora. The khat plant grows from S to IS feet in height and then It stops. As the foliage thickens, the larger branches are pruned oat to prevent crowding, and when the plant is six teen years old the top usually dies. It Is cut off about a foot above the ground, end from the stump new shoots spring out and the plant la re born. - ^ Marketing In Aden. In Aden the arrival of the khat camels Is looked forward to as the chief 'dally event When they arrive, about noon, the market is filled with a restless, yelling mob. Bedlam has this Classified Under the Head of "Information? Last summer Miss Moody, an artist In search of perfect quiet and rest aft well as beautiful scenery, pitched her tent lb one of the remotest and wild est corners of the great Northwest, where she rejoiced in the absence at ell modern conveniences. One day, as she rods her a corduroy road In a swampy' ■he was amazed to hear the a motor-car horn. Suddenly a in the road brought her face to with a email motor car. Her bronco fiercely resented sight, end absolutely refased to the ear, which, owing to the great roughness of tbe road, was traveling at a very low speed. Seeing with what difficulty the rider was retalalng her seat as the hem reared, plunged ftftd becked, sad ran)* Izlng that he could not get hf lift frightened animal on so narrow a highway, tbe stopped hie car, Jumped ovt, the bridle end led the bene part K with soothing After Moody, wishing to tlve Interest, Inquired what It was. 1 "It’s an automobile, lady,” i ladulgent reply.—Kansas City the poppy flower, tbe Indian chews [ broken loose, but It le ft merry, good- bhang, and the West African natured bedlam. seeks surcease In kola. Khat Is more to the Yemen Arab than any of these to Its devotees. It Is no nar cotic, wooing sleep, but a stimulant, like alcohol. Unlike alcohol, it con ceals no demon, but a fairy. The khat eater will tell you that when he follows this fairy It takes him Into re gions overlooking paradise. He calls the plant the “flower of paradise.” Catha edulis, as the plant is known botanically, grows to some extent In Abyssinia, but It Is cultivated chiefly 1 After the khat Is weighed on the government scales and duly taxed, It Is divided into bundles tbe thickness of s man’s forearm. Then the sellers mount tables and auction It off. In an hour the place’l« all but de serted and the foot-marked, earthen floor Uttered with debris. Now come the venders of firewood and all thfe despised castes, like scavengers, to buy the refuse for a few pice. But out In the streets may be seen hun- in th. mountains of t!» Yomen In- IT"',""'' ^ ra,!w * rd ’■* , terlor behind Aden. The word khat is . orrTi * . .. J ■ Wtot | birds pneaeas a know ftothteg. that would beings. They ore able way and coot!nents with guide them. The swallow* will fly south ft thousand miles-and ffllftfft the distance tbe following spring, le more wonderful, they will ge direst to the farmstead’ or hern that thug used for aestlng in the proriofte year. We might think they have memories, but Into It when we find that the of many of our summer riel tore before their parents, yet fly direct J* the distent countries to which older birds will Ttt-Bita. 33 . 1 •' ■■f How Doctors Treat Golds mid (he^ ■ j - M '■ To break up a cold a cut short an attack of fluenza, sore throat or sicians and druggists are now mending Calotabe, the purified and refined calomel compound UMot that gives you the effects of calomal ftftd | salts combined, without the ucpleftft- ant effects of either. One or two Calotabs at bed-thfte with a swallow of water,—that's alL No salts, no nausea nor the* slightest interference with your eating, work or pleasure. Next morning your cold has vanished, your system is thor oughly purified and you are feeling fine with a hearty appetite for break fast Eat what you please,—no dan ger. Get a family package, containing full directions, emy 35 cents. At Saar drug store. (aJTjj said to be derived from ancther Arabic word, kut, meaning sustenance or re viving principle, and refers to the most salient property of the plant that of exalting the spirits and sup porting the bodily strength, under ex traordinary conditions, of one who eats .Its leaves. The researches of Albert Beltter of the University of Strsssburg, seem to show that Its ac tive principle is an alkaloid in the form of crystals, very bitter and odor less. ' r Along the steep, terraced slopes of the mountains between Tala and Yerim you will find the small planta tions of the khat farmer. Not till you have climbed nearly 4,000 feet will you see the first one, and when yo* reach 6,000 feet you will hav* passed the last. Varieties and Cultivation. Bokharl Is tbe sweetest of ell ■ad by far the St each arm, their Jaws working and their eyes full of a delicious content. It Is close on to noon, and you wlU not see them again until after twojo’dock. Contrary to the general opinion, khat is never Used as a beverage In I tbe Yemen, but the fresh leaves are invariably chewed. The youngest leaves are the beat. They have a sweetish, slightly astringent taste, not unpleasant to the European palate, but certainly not alluring. When brewed, they lose most of their strength and the flavor of the decoc tion la much like that of grapevtoo KODAKERS! Sea# your fibas to as for lag and printing. One day eervlee* Write far prices. LoUar’t Studio 1423 Main Street COLUMBIA SOUTH CAROLINA We sell Raataan Films Jast what Is the exact toxic affect ef khat on the human system baa never yet been ascertained, ft la cer tainly a stimulant with a lively sad nearly Imamdlate effect upon the w-celts; the Its the is a PtafUiHfcrt far Colds, Gripp* gue; BOioas 1