The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, September 4, 1918, Page 2

YANKS BLOCKED ___ DRIVE ON PARIS ‘Meanwing Foe Had “Surprise of : F Life When He Found Ameri- : ‘cans in Line, GRAPHIC STORY IN LETTER Tells of Our Troops’ Heroic Resist- ance in June—Held by Many Offi- , | 7° Sere to Have Saved Paris fe From Huns, Washington.—A graphic eyewitness account of the fighting near Chateau- Thierry, in which American divisions, including the marine brigade, took part, early in June, ‘was made public recently by the navy department. It is in the form of.a long letter from an officer of the marines to Major Gen- eral Barnett, commandant of the corps, and the story told is of peculiar significance, as in the opinion of many officers here it was the stand of! the Americgns along this line which saved Paris. The name of the writer {s not dis- closed. "The Americans were rushed to the line in motortrucks to support the hard-pressed French. On June 1 the marine brigade deployed in a support position, the battalion commanded by Maj, Thomas Holcomb hurrying into the line as the men climbed out of the trucks. The Germans were coming on, and Jung 2 the French dropped back, passing through the American lines. “We had installed ourselves in a house in La Voie Chatel, a little vil- lage between Champillon and Lucy-le- Bocage,” the letter says. “From one side we had observation of the north and northeast. They came out on a wonderfully clear day in two columns across a wheat field. We could see the two twin brown columns advancing in perfect order until two-thirds of the edlumns, we judged, were in sight. Foe Slowed Up by Shrapnel. “The rifle and machine gis tire was) incessant and, overhead, shrapnel was bursting. Then the shrapnel came on the target at each shot. The white patches would roll away, and we could see that some of the columns were still there, slowed up, and it seemed perfect suicide for them to try. “Then, under that deadly fire and a barrage of rifle and machine-gun fire, the Boche stopped. It was too much for any men. “That men should fire deliberately. and use their sights and adjust their range,” he says, “was beyond their ex- perience. It must have had a telling effect on the morale of the Boche, for it was something they had not counted on. As a matter of fact, after pushing back the wenkened French and then running up against.a stone wall of de- fense, they were literally ‘up in the air’ and more than stopped. We found that out later from prisoners, for the Germans never knew we were in the front line when they made that at- tack. They were absolutely mystified at the manner in which the defense stiffened up, until they found that our | troops were in line.” i The letter tells in detail of the days of fighting that follow It describes @ daylight charge against a machine | gun host and of scouting raids up to June 6, when the whole brigade swung forward to straighten out the line. This aetion resulted in the capture of Bel- leau wood. Hit Three Times, Still Fought on. *Major Sibley’s battalion of the Sixth mprine regiment led the way here, with Holcomb in support. The woods were alive with enemy’ machine guus. ‘That night word came back that Robertson, ‘with 20 men of the Ninety-sixth com- | pany, had taken Bouresches, breaking through a heavy machine gun ba e to enter the town. Robertson, fighting with an automatic in either hahd, was hit: three times before he would allow Biniself to be taken to the rear. “Speaking of individual acts of brav- ery the writer says Duncan, a com- pany commander, “before he was mow- €4 down had his pipe in his mouth and was carrying a stick.” Later he adds, “Dental Surgeon Osborne picked up Duncan and with a hospital corps man had just gained some shelter when a shell wiped all three out.” “Private Dunlavy, kflled later, cap- tured an enemy machine gun in Bour- esches, which he turned on the foe; with great effect, while at another | point “Young Timmerman charged a miachine gun at the point of the bayo- | pet and sent in 17 prisoners at a clip.” | When the enemy made a stand at; one. point in the woods Sibley’s bat- | talién was withdrawn and for an hour | and fifty© minutes’ Ameriéan and} French batteries hammered the wood. | Hughes, with the Tenth company, they | went in, and his first messdge was that the wood ‘had been cut to mince- | meat. Overton, leading the Seventy- | @izth company, finally charged the reck platean, killing or capturing every gunner and capturing all-the guns, with few casualties. \ “"fné Highty-second company lost all | its officers, and Major Sibley and his | adjutant, Lieutenant Ballamy, reorgan- ‘fed it under firé ead charged a ma- chine cun nest at the most critical time in all the fighting. 1° “] wonder if ever an outfit,” the let- ; anid, “wént up against a moredes- Derate Job, stuck to it ‘gamely, with- sleep, at times on short rations, ‘ men and officers going off like Mies, “and 1 wonder if in all our long Hat of gailant deeds there ever were “two hetter stunts than thé work of Sib- pases who have traveled in the pe have much that i@ interesting eae eo: ‘sy about the Indian ag, gh black creature is ee he makes much trouble, b much ldughter.. | Vaire wood and Hamel, a sergeant of | | the American contingent took into ac- i | rounded and destroyéd a machine-gun j | post hidden among tree trunks just “OLD GLORY” AT FRONT! illinois Men and Australians Follow American Flag. Mother’s Gift to Sergeant Inspires Men | to Daring Deeds at Vaire | Wood. | ”Sondon.—When the Tilinols troops ; and Australians attacked together at tion a small American flag, the gift of his mother, The men undef him sur- inside the wood. As they went on af- ter bombing the German crew, the ser- geant brandished the little flag over his head‘ and shouted, “Comeon, fel- lows; there's another one.” Jus some Australians were fighti a shallow pit in which were five Prus- slans and a machine gun, © Two or three Chicago boys dashed up with} their bayonets poised. One of them lit- erally fell on a big Rhinelander who | was about to throw a bomb and sent him sprawling with a cracked skull, | and, with the Australians, put the re- mainder of the erew out of action and cleared a dugout behind of 11 submis- sive fugitives. Still following the tiny Stars and Stripes, a little bigger than a pocket handkerchief, but, as one of the men | said afterwards, “looking like a regu- lar flag,” the Americans, shoulder to shoulder with the Australians, passed through the eastern end of the wood and out into the open’ fields again. “The first time I have ever fought un- der the American flag, Yank,” said a tail, raw-boned Queenslander with @ first-aid bandage round his head. They arrived at their final objective, a group of strong,. well-sheathed — trenches linked with the rear defenses of Ham- { el village, and here the Chicago ser- geant planted bis emblem on a bit of wood and set it on the parapet. Bul- lets whistled all round it, cutting the silk into ragged strips and eventually it was wholly shot away save one un- recognizable fragment, which was pre- served as a precious souvenir of an historic day, GUN CREW AT LUNCH Merely a pause in the day’s work when a Canadian gun crew snatches a bite to eat and gulps down hot soup before it resumes its appetite of send- ing a few more sizzling shells over to Fritz. The Huns’ meals fconsist of a regular diet of shells, samples of | which are seen in the foreground. Note the strings of foliage in the back- ground which carefully camouflage the big gun. ANCIENT DEED IS RECORDED Placed on File in County Recorder's Offiée 100 Years After It Was Drawn. Lawrenceville, Ind—A deed issued to Jesse M. Laird by the United States government in May, 1819, for 65 acres of land on Wilson creek, Dearborn county, has been placed on the books of the county recorder's office for the first time. The original tract of land consisted of 640 acres and was bought at $1.25,an acre by Mr. Laird and his wife. The 65 acres, with the home- stead, has not left the famiiy and is now owned by Samuel M. Laird, his grandson, Jesse M. Laird and his wife are said to have been the first white settlers on Wilson creek, MINISTERS GO TO WAR,- ALL CHURCHES CLOSED Albany, N. Y.—With the en- listment of Rev. William Wal- lace Eaton, pastor of the Meth- odist churgh, Schoharie church- « es are withont ministers. Every church in the village has been cloesd up, temporarily ut least, for the call of Uncle Sam. Rev. Mr.’ Eaton will soon be on-his way-to France for work with the YM. C. A. German civilian aliens. \confined. and stations in German border ALIENS LIVE EASY LIVES IN | Uncle Sam Allows’ Them Many |‘ Comforts; “Millionaires’ Club” | Interned at Fort Oglethorpe Does Easy Clerical Work. | BY FREDERICK M. KERBY (N. E. A. Staff Correspondent.) i Fort Oglethorpe, Gox Sept. 3.—A! few miles south of Chattanooga, Tenn., but inside the Georgia state line is Uncle Sam’s War Prison Barracks for Enemy aliens of: every kind are! mingled in its population of 1,600 men, | from scientists, millionaires, and titled | noblemen, down to ignorant, vicious | plotters and I. W. W.’s. A trip through the ‘big compound ! showed that the problem which forces | Cclonel C. W. Penrose, commandant of | the guard, is more complicated than! that at Fort McPherson, Ga., where! German military prisoners only are | The prisoners at Oglethorpe are un- used to military discipline, come from | every walk of life, and are of every de- gree of intelligence or lack of it. The) problem has been complicated recently by the transfer from Hot Springs, N. C., of 400 of those interned there. The government treating these men with all consideration consistent with effective restraint. They have not been convicted of crime and are} npt being punished. Two Fences Hem Men In. The rectangle of land adjoining the army post is surrounded by two barv- ed wire fences, 20 feet apart. each 10 feet ‘high. Thirty feet inside of the inner fence is a “dead line” which prisoners are forbidden_ to cross. Twelve guard towers, with a sentry in each, overlook every foot of tie; area. Each sentry has a shot gun, rifle and a machine gunr At night a cordon of guards outside | the outer fence reinforces the sen- TO HOLDERS OF LIBERTY . BONDS: Use your Liberty Bond Coupons for the purchase of War Savings Stamps Your Interest Will Earn In- terest and Keep at Work for the'Nation. . bomb-dropping arrangement benéath the car. ators, and his famous U. S. “Flying Circus,” which recently made a raid on German towns. PRISON CAMPS: Above, a French dirigible about to start .on.a raiding mission over enemy ammunition bases The unique basket is loaded with heavy bombs.- Note the Below, Major Foulois, one of America’s leading avi- towns. tries in the towers, Flood lights fix | ed to the fence posts illuminate the space. In the prison. ar@.men of two class: | es: those who haye. meats and wish to support themselves those whom the government must support. In the} first group are well-to-do men who live in a small compound within the oute: | de, and are known as the “Mil- Club.” German counts, : musicians, captains c such comprise this group. Some dress .ag.if they were spending. a vacation at Bar Harbor of Newport. n- the larger conipound are the’men supported by the government. The! barracks quarters are well ‘built fame | structures, ‘mostly of two stories. Each prisoner has an iron bed, blank- eis, sheets, pillows and pillow cases. The rooms look very much like a! hospital ward. The government is- sues all necessary clothing on the bas- is of the army allowance for enlisted men, to those who peed it. This in- cludes working suits of ‘blue overalls, and big straw hats. ‘In winter, over- ‘coats, heavy socks and undergarments are furnished. The mess hall dishes, cooking uten: | sils, ete. all conform’. to the army quartermaster requirements for enlist- ed men. The food allowance is exact- ly that prescribed for our soldies. Paid For Their Work. As is the case with military prison- ers, these’¢lvilians are required to do the work of upkeep. of their quarters, but for any other work, they are paid at the rate of 25 cents a day, or 35 cents for foremen. ', A good deal of work is available for the prisoners _in blasting and crushing rock for roads and walks within the compound. All clerical work and rec- ord-keeping is performed by prison- ers, under the supervision of officers of the guard. ;At intervals a Jewish rabbi conducts ually got away, and three of these German. nobleman, ,fn a wide straw hat, blue shirt, a ragged pair of pants, bare legs and wooden sandals ,assist- | {ing a celebrated Austrian scientist in | taking the finger prints of some new arrivals. There is not enough work to keep ail the prisoners busy. They,have oc- cupied themselves with gardening and | huilding pavilions, benches and chairs for use under the barracks in we | shade. On Sunday morning services are held for the Lutherans and Catholics. services, Plenty of Athletics. The prisoneres may have visits from lites relatives—usually restricted to wives—on any day except Saturday or Sunday, from .2 to 4 p. m., by per- misgion of the co:ymandant, and inf the presence of an officer. All con- versations must be in English There is a big field-for athletics, and the men play baseball, volley ball a.d tennis in their spare time. There have been numerous attempts to escape. hut only five men have act- have been recaptured. One of the missing men is the famous Arnold eHnkel, who has escaped from various WANTED Grocery Clerk One of the most curious sights was a WONDER 5 Specials For Phone 56 STORE Friday Only &10c IN OUR GLASSWARE SECTION Jelly Glasses, each ..... Water Glasses, : each oe IN QUR CROCKERY SECTION 7-inch Dinner Plates, slightly imperfect, each Bread-Butter Plates, each . A Special Discount on All Dinnerware IN OUR SHEET MUSIC SECTION For Friday. only, 2 sheets for . We carty everyting sheet music. No telephone orders g on tnis sale. ae wear. will last. camps five times. _ been shot attempting to escape. Discipline is maintained by a sum- | mary court in the command, composed of two army officers and two prison- ers selected by the men. Minor in- fractions of the rules go before this court subject to the approval of the executive officer. The punishments are similar to those in the army for similar offenses. ‘ The most severe you to buy ~ Black=Tan Bismarck.ND. | | The Oldest and | Largest Bank inthis sectionof © the State —these‘ times take: no chances with what you Buy a hat that. Two men have | The Same Price—Ten Cents Our increased. volume of sales, foresight in buying and rigid economy in manufacture, enable SninovA KE The Same Price _ As Always—Ten Cents 50 Good Shines to the Box Good for Leather’ “(Makes Shoes wear longer and look better White - Red - Brown a Ih % GorDow’ it j punishment. that can,; under the regu- lations, be given, is Solitary‘ confine- ment for two weeks on bread:and wa- ter. A few hundred yards away from this compound four big barracks+ buildings are nearink completion! for women prisoners, who are now still under the jurisdiction of the department of jus- tice, most of them confinod at. Ellis Island. , We have complied wit the Governments request. to be satisfied with a reasonable profit and to keep the _ananty up to / GET THE FULL BEN- EFIT FROM YOUR CROPS -The farmer. may be harvesting a splendid crop—and ~marketing it -at a good price—yet un- less.he handles:the mon- , -ey with. the same degree of wisdom’ as he culti- vates the crops he will hot get/.the full benefit from his labor. esis After soning: hard for” his money, . make . the money work hard for you by depositing it with the First »..National - Bank where-it will work, for you night ‘and. day earn- ing 4% compoumd inter- est.