Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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. v - M- -«**rT*i mm THE BARNWELL PEOPLE-SENTINEL, BARNWELL. SOUTH CAROLINA SYNOPSIS ¥ r f They divined hU order, they developed to the left, and they went forward yelling. . »~ Suddenly Corbett, the platoon com mander, leading to (he left, turned I and waved hla arma And through the treea he taw the Senegalese—lean, rangy men In mustard-colored uni forms, running with their bayonets all aslant He turned back toward Ills company with the sweetest feeling of relief that he had „ ever known ; he had hla contact established ; hls^clever and war-wise cbmpany would attend to bringing It no matter what hap pened to him. The battle roared Into the wood. Three lines of machine-guns, eche loned, held It Here the Foret de Retz was tike Dante’s wood, so shat tered and tortured and horrible It was, and the very trees seemed to writhe In agony. Here the fury of the bhrrage was spent and thei great trunks, thick as a man’s body, were sheared off like weed-stalks; others a / were uprooted und lay gigantic along the torn earth; big limbs still crashed down or swayed half-severed; Splint ers and debris choked the ways be neath. A few Qerman shells fell among the men—mustard-gas; and there In the wet woods \>ne could see the devilish stuff spreading slowly, like a snaky mtht, around the shell- hole after pie'smoke had lifted. Machine guns raved everywhere; there was a crackling din of rifles, and the coughing roar of hand-gren ades. Some Boche guns were silebced CHAPTER I.—The author describes gew the First battalion of the Fifth marines are quartered near Marlgny during the flrat part of June, 1)11, urben they are suddenly eent up north to relieve the First division, bearing the brunt of a tidal wave of Qernaans Just breaking through for a great of fensive. Part of tbs Fifth wrest Hill 14S from the enemy and wait there for the German counter offensive they can see forming. While they He pep pering the Boche a. detachment of Second engineers comes to their as sistance. * CHAPTER II.—A terrific German at tack soon develops, wreaking fearful havoc among the marines, but not dis lodging them. In the immediate vicln- f by blind, furious rushes that left tty other fierce encounters are reduc- 1 .tag ths* American troops and forcing the necessity of replacements which arrive presently. On the stath of June the Fifth runs into bitter fight ing In the vicinity of Champlllon . . . for hours they try to oust the Poche from his stronghold in the woods and succeed commendably, but at grant cost. CHAPTER III.—This narrative can ters shout the activity of the'marines t really stands as s cross section of l the fighting done by Americans, fter acquitting themselves mai'vel- nusly at the Bols de Relleau and Hill 14! early In dune. 1918, the First r« reived replacements to cover horrible losses, fight some more and then are relieved, somewhat compensated for their heavy lossea by n notable tribute to their fighting -qualities Issued by the general commanding the Slsth French army, but the liberty In Paris which the battalion would have preferred Is not forthcoming. rHAPTER TV—Respite behind ths Pres Is soon crushed by n<-w orders to proceed far to the north in the goineqns sector, where the Germans are b-glnnlng a vast, new offensive After an all night’s grueling forced march the battpllon finally arrives at the n-w front Their orders are to gel Into touch with the Moroccan division fight? fag with tho,French forces CHAPTER V The Actual Charge at Soiaaona. It was 4:35, the morning of July 18. Miles of doae-lald batteries opened with one stupendous thunder. The air above the tree-tope spoke with x unearthly noises, the shriek anJ tumble of light and heavy sheila. Forward through the woods, \ery near, rose up a continued crashing roar* of explosions, and a murk of tkioke, and a bell of bright Ores con# llnually renewed It lasted only five minutes, that barrage, with every French and* A mer I cub gun that could be brought to bear ftr|ng at top ‘peed. Hut they were terrible mln- , - - lies for the unsuspecting .Boche. Dazed, beaten down, and swept away, 'ie tumbled out of his holes when It ifted, only to find the long bayonets M the Americans licking like flame scross his forward positions, and ‘-hose black devils, the Senegal 'aging ‘with knives Hla counterbarrage weak, and when It Durst well behind waves, which were 4^ defenses. Forty-ninth company, running ^Hhly, sodden with weariness, waa MUhging through a line of wire en- anglements when the guns opened. :\ French rifleman squatted In a hole under the wire, and a sergeant bent >ver him and shouted: “Comblen— Dow far—damn It, how you say?— comblen—kilometre—a la Boche T* | The Frenchman's eyes bulged. He t flld violent things with his arms, i ’Kllomet’? kilometres? Mon Dleu, cent metres I Cent metres I" Half the company, still in column, was strug gling in the wire when, from the tangle right In front, a machine-gun finned fiercely and rifle-fire ran to left Mid right through the woods. It was well that the yvoods were a little open in that spot, bo that the lieutenant's frantic signals could be seen, for no voice could have been heard. And It was more than well that every ban there had been 'hot over enough not to be gun-sby. The Fighting In the Woods at Sole- sons Waa Close and Savage. In hla rifle-pits. waa alow and came the shells the assaulting already deep In Type of Senegalese the Boche Feared ' —. Worse Than Anything Living. trail of writhing khaki figures, bat always carried two or three frenzied marines with bayonets Into the em placement; from whence would come shooting and screaming and other clotted unpleasant sounds, and then alien cw To left and right the lieutenant caught glim pees of hla men, running, crawling, flrihtg as they went. In a clearing. Lieutenant Appelgate, of the Seventeenth company, on the right, came Into view. He waved his pistol 1 and shouted something. He waa grin? nlng. . . . 1 all the men were grin ning. . ., It waa a bon fight, after nil, • • • Then little Trltt, hla orderly, run ning at hla side, went down, clawing at a bright )et of scarlet over hla col lar. The war became personal again— a keening slbllance of flesh-hunting bullets, ringing under hla helmet He found himself prone behind a great fallen tree, with a handful of bis men; bark and splinters were leaping from the round trunk that sheltered them. "ThQ”— to a panting half-dozen down the log— “crawl back to the stump and shoot Into that damp of green bashes over there, where yoa see the new dirt—It's In there I Everything yoa've got and watch for VOS BD. ahead- SJover'’—to Sergeant Robert Slover, a small, fiery man from Tennessee ■‘‘come on.* They crawled along the tree. Back toward the stump the Sprlngfields crackled furiously. Somewhere be yond, tbe machine-gun raved like a mad thing, and the Boches around It threw hand-grenades that made much noise and smoke Tbe two of them left the protection of the trunk, and felt remarkably naked behind a screen of leaves. They crawled slow ly, stopping to peer across at ths bushes. Tbe lieutenant caught the dull gleam of a round gray helmet, moved a little, and saw the head and hancJpU of the Boche who worked the gun. He i phshed the sergeant with hla foot and. moving very . carefully, got his rifle op and laid hla cheek against the stock. Over hla sights, the German's face, twenty metres away, was intent and serious. The lieutenant fired, and saw his man half rise and topple for ward on the gun. Then things happened fast Another German came Into view straining to tear the fallen gunner off the firing j mechanism. Slover shot him. There was another, and another. Then the bush boiled like an ant-heap, and a feldwebel sprang out with a grenade, which he did not get to throw. It went off, Jost die same, and the ma rines from tbe other end of the free came .with bayonets. . . . Presently they went on. . r Later, working to tbe left of bis company, the lieutenant was canght op In a fighting awlri of Senegalese and went with them Into an evil place of batted wire and toachine-guna. These Wild black Mohammedans from West Africa were enjoying themselves. Killing, which la at best an acquired taste with the civilized rates, was only too palpably their mission In Ilfs. Their eyes rolled, and their splendid white teeth flashed In their heads, bat here all resemblance to a happy southern darky stopped.' They were deadly. Each platoon swept its front Uln a ban ting-pack, oiovlng swiftly and surely together. The lieutenant felt a thrill of professional admiration as be went with them. The hidden guns that fired on-them were located with uncanny skill; they worked their automatic rifles forward on each flank until tbe doomed em placement was under a scissors fire; then they took np the matter with the bayonet, and slew with lion-like leaps and lunges amFa shrill barbaric yap ping. They took no prisoners. Back with his own men again, the company whittled thin 1 Was there no limit to the gloomy woods? . . . Light through tbe trees yonder I— The wobd ended, and the attack burst out Into the rolling wbeatfields, where the sun shone in a cloudless iky and poppies grew In the wheat To the right a great paved road marched, between tall poplars, ’' much battered. On the road two motor trucks burned fiercely and dead men lay around them. Across tbe road a group of slone farra-bulldlngs had been shelled Into a smoking dust-heap, but frotn (he ruins a nest of never- die machine guns opened flanking fire, v The khaki lines checked and swirled around them, and there was a mounting crackle of rifle-fire . . . and the bayonets got In. The lines went forward to the i&w crest beyond, where, astride the road, was the first objective; and the assault companies baited here to reform. A few Boche shells howled over them, but the Boche were still pounding the wood, where the support battalions followed. The tanks debouched from the forest and went forward through the Infan try. In a hollow Just ahead of the re formed line something was being dealt with by artillery, directed by the planes that dipped and swerved above the fight Tbe shells crashed down and made a great roaring murk of smoke and dust and flickering flames of red sod green. The lieutenant hla report to the major dispatched, and his company straightened out along with men from other units and a hand ful of S^hegalese who had attached themselves to hint-ran an expert eye along his waiting squads, and allowed hla mind to settle profoundly on breakfast The officers’ whistles soon shrilled, and the attack went on. The woods fell away behind, and for miles to left and right across the rolling coun try the waves of assault could be seen. It was a great stirring pageant wherein moved all the forces of mod ern war. The tanks, large and small, lumbered In advance^ Over them battle planes flew low, searching the ground, rowelllng tbe Boche with bants of machine-gun fire. The infantry followed close, assault waves deployed, support platooons In column. American marines and regu lars, Senegalese end the Foreign Le gion of France, their rtflea slanting forward, and the sun on all their bay onets. And Iphlnd the Infantry, strain ing horses galloped with lean-muzzled 73a, battery oo battery—artillery, over the top at last with the rifles. On the skirts of the attack hovered squadrons of cavalry the marines had aetn tbe day before, dragoons snd lancers, marked from afar by the sparkle and glitter of lance heads and sabres. And forward through the wheat, the Boche lines broke and his strong points grumbled; standing stubbornly In one place; running In panic at another; and here and there attempt ing sharp counter-attacks; but every where engulfed; and tbe battle roared over him. , s Then, without being very dear as to bow they gat there, the lieutenant and his company and a great many others were at the Vlerxy ravine, in the cross-fire of the machine-guns that held It Tbe ravlnt was >try deep and very precipitous and wooded. A sunken road led into It and, while the rifle- qulred after a dgaretto. Thera war very many dead Germans In the ra vine end on its slops when they want forward. f - . ~ Wearily now, tho exaltation dying down, they left tbe stone towers of Vlerxy to the yright. In the path of the regnlnra of the Ninth end Twen ty-third. On n Une northeast of It they halted snd prepared to bold. Xt ! was.,a lonesome place. Very thin In deed were the assault companies; very far away the. support columns. . . . “Accordin’ to the map, we’re here. Turn those Boche machine-guns around—guess we’ll stay? Thank God. we roust have grabbed off all their artillery, ’cept tbe heavies. . . ." “Lootenant, come np here, for God’s sakel Lord, what a slew o’ Boches 1* Beyond rifle-shot a strong gray column was advancing. There were machine- guns with it. It was not deployed, hot its Intention was very evident . . . Here were thirty-odd marines and a few strays from one of the In-,] fan try regiments—-nobody in sight flanks or rear— , But to the rear‘a clanging and a clattering, and the thudding of horse- hoofs!—“Graves, beat It back an’ flag those guns." Graves ran frantically, waving his helmet The guns halted In a cloud of dust and a gunner lieu tenant trotted up, jaunty. Immaculate. He dismounted. In his beautiful pole- bhie uniform and his gleaming boots and tiny jingling spurs, aud sainted the sweating unshaven marine officer. He looked with bis glasses, and ha consulted his map, and then he smiled like a man who has gained hla heart's desire. He dashed back toward his guns, waving a signal The guns wheeled around; the horses galloped back; there was a whirl and bustle behind each caisson, snd two gunners with a field-telephone came running. It all happened In sec onds. The first 75 barked, clear and incis ive, and tbe shell whined away ... the next gun, and the next. .* . . The , little puff-balls, ranging shots, burst very near the Boche column. Then the battery fired aa one gun—a long rafale of fire, wherein no single gun could be heard, but a drumming thunder. Smoke and fire flowered hideously over the Boche column. A cloud hit It for a space. When the cloud lifted /he column had disintegrated; there was only a far-off swarro-of fleeing figures, flailed by ^shrapnel as they ran. And the glass showed squirming heaps of gray flattened on the ground. Tbe gunner officer looked and saw that his work waa good. “Bon. eh. Sioxsnte-qulnse—I* With an all-em bracing gesture and a white-toothed smile, he went Already bis battery was limbered up and galloping, and when tbe first retaliatory shell came from on Indignant Boche 155, ths 75s were a quarter of a mile sway. ’(CONTINUED ON EIGHTH PAGE) How Doctors Treat Colds and the Fit To break an a cold overnight o to cat short an attack of prippe, in fluenza, sore throat or tohaiilitis, phj sicians and druggist: are now recon mending Calotabs, the purified an. refined calomel compound tablet tha gives yoa the effects of calomel an salts combined, without the unplea.- ant effects of either. One or two Calotabs at bed-tin with * swallow of 'water,—that’s s. No salts, no nausea nor the slighu- interfercnce with your eating, wui or pleasure. Next morning your re 1 has vanished, your system u thoi oughly parified snd you are feel in [ fine with a hearty appetite lor bread fast. ‘ Eat what you please,—no dai ger. Get a family package, containing full directions, cnix 36 cents. At am drug store. (adv) ^s A Fighting Swirl of Sensgateso. men stalked the place cannlly. a tank came op and disappeared down the sunken road. A terrific row of rifles and grenades arose, and a wild yell ing. Running forward, the marines observed that tbe tank was stalled. Its guns not working, and a gray, frantic mass of German Infantry was swarm ing over it, prying at Its plates with bayonets snd firing Into such openings os could be found. One beaoty of the tank la that, when It Is In such a diffi culty, you con fire without fearing for your friends inside. The auto matic-riflemen especially enjoyed the brief crowded seconds that followed. Then all at once the farther slope of the ravine swarmed with runalng Boches. and the Americans knelt or lay down at ease, and Brad steadily and without haste. As they passed the tank s greasy, smiling Frenchmen KODAKERS 1 Send yoar films to as for develop ing and printing. One day service. Write for prices. Loll&r’s Studio 1423 Maia Street COLUMBIA SOUTH CAROLINA We sell Eastman Films 666 \ 1-^ Newspaper Better m l THAN YOUR TOWN, BUT YOUR TOWN IS RARELY BETTER THAN YOUR NEWSPAPER. * Vi AND YOUR NEWSPAPER WILL DO MORE TO BUILD AND BETTER THE TOWN THAN ANY OTHER AGENCY. ‘vA- HENCE, SUPPORTING YOUR PAPER IS BUILDING YOUR COUNTING THE VALUE OF SPACE DEVOTED TO UPBUILDING BARN- WELL, THE PEOPLE-SENTINEL’S Da NATION TO THE PUBLIC GOOD IS MANY TIMES THAT OF ANY OF ITS GOOD CITIZENS 4 M THIS SERVICE IS RENDI CHEERFULLY. W EONLY ASK YOUR GOOD WILL AND BUSINESS IN RE TURN. is a Prescription for Colds, Grippe, Flu; Den gue; Bilious Fever and . Malaria. It Kills the Germs RHEUMATISM While in France with the American Army I obtained a noted French pre scription for the treatment of Rheu- matiaf and Neuritis. I have given this to thousands with wonderful re sults. The prescription coot me noth ing. I oak nothing for iL I will mail it if you will send me your addres A postal will bring t Write today. PAUL CASE. Dept. •-348, Hbrag bg PAUL CASE .