Qass^ Book , J 5 Copyiiglit!\ T0 . COPYRIGHT DEPOSffi in the Mcditcrraneq ft TORPEDOED IN THE MEDITERRANEAN A TRUE STORY BY A SURVIVOR E. H. JOHNSON Copyright 1918 by J. S. Ogilvie Publishing Co. . NEW YORK J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING CO. 57 ROSE STREET M'-% im GU501087 FOKEWORD The 8. 8. Berwick Law sailed from Newport News September' 17, 1917, with horses and other cargo for the British armies in Palestine. The writer was one of thirty-five men engaged as horsemen, and according to articles" signed before the British vice-consnl there, agreed to perform this service to Alexandria, Egypt, or some other Mediterranean port. The British government in turn agreed to re- turn the horsemen to the United States, some- where north of Hatteras. To relate in detail such incidents and observa- tions (not detrimental to the Allied cause) of this rather remarkable voyage, where I wit- nessed the sinking of comrade ships by enemy gunfire, was chased by hostile raiders, and on the return trip torpedoed and .sunk by two Ger- man submarines off the coast of North Africa, with one of our crew shot down by a German officer on the deck of our own ship; the subse- quent return by land and sea through Algeria, France, and England, to our own country, will be my effort in the following pages. TO THE LOWLY HORSEMAN Since August, 1914, horses and mules by the hundreds of thousands have been shipped to the Allies from the United States. To you has fallen the task of caring for these while in transit overseas. It has been a hard game, but you have played it well and without a whimper; seldom, if ever, getting an even break, often shunned, always detested, by your cousins across the way — people of a country where labor and women are the two cheapest items. Some of you have gone down in the sea, some to enemy prison camps. Some have returned to go again. Always you have played the game — hard workers, hard drinkers, hard fighters. I have seen you hold your own in tight places — dare to stand for living wages and fair treat- ment, with never an insult to decent womanhood. BOLLCALL-MULE NAVY Head Foreman: Joe Denison, Pennsylvania Foremen: J. A. NlFONG, North Carolina E. H. Johnson, Arizona Joe Smith, South Carolina Chables Dowd, District of Columbia Cooks: Jim Storey, New York Harry Obdyke, Pennsylvania Peggies : Geo. Kose, Delaware Fred Wilkinson, Connecticut Night Watch: Henry Baker, New Jersey- Monk Dorsett, South Carolina Horsemen: Spencer, Willis, Bates, Charnley, Eeinsfeldt, Mackey, CoLLIGAN, McELROY, Connelly, MOONEY, FlTZPATRICK, Lewis, Ashe', Gallagher, Keegan, PURCELL, LUMSDEN, Donnelly, Dalcour, Delaney, E. Scott, W. Scott, McGrann, TORPEDOED IN THE MEDITERRANEAN Sept. 14. ARRIVED at Newport News via Old Point Comfort from Baltimore. Breakfast served at " Hotel Brabrand. ,r Signed up for stores, tobacco, clothing, etc. Photos taken for passports. Signed articles before the British vice-consul. "Went aboard ship, — assigned quarters. Horemen quartered aft with one peggy for mess. Foreman quartered 'midships with peggy for mess and cabin. Sept. 15. Aboard ship. "Nothing to do till tomorrow." Sept. 16. Horses loaded by longshoremen and put in our charge. I was assigned to main deck, aft — four men and sixty-three horses. Daily Routine 5.30 A.M.— Coffee served to all. 6.00 A.M.— Horses watered and fed hay. 7.00 A.M.— Breakfast. 8 TORPEDOED IN 8.00 to 11 A. M.— Clean stables. 11.30 A.M. — Horses watered and fed grain. 12.00 Noon— Dinner. 4.00 P.M. — Horses watered and fed grain and hay. 5.00 P.M.— Supper. The afternoons were off hours, to be passed in reading, sleeping, or just being seasick — a matter of choice. Chief engineer arrived with new Victrola and box of records; made his acquaintance on the spot. Boy with cigars, cigarettes and large bundle of periodicals and magazines, donated by ship- ping agent, Thos. S. Brabrand. Colonel Hassell, British remount officer, in- spected cargo and ship. Cleared the dock and moved out into the stream. Life belts issued and crew assigned to life boats. Sept. 17. Sailed 7 A. M. After we had cleared the Virginia capes and squared away for Gibraltar, our first port of call, we began to take stock of ourselves and what we had set out to do. Of the thirty-five horsemen there were but two or three who had not before been to sea. Some had made as many as twenty trips across ; there- fore most of us knew just about what kind of a game we were up against. THE MEDITERRANEAN 9 When we had first answered the rollcall of the shipping agent at Baltimore we expected to go to England and return, ordinarily a trip of forty to sixty days. Not until we arrived at the port of embarkation did we learn we were destined to Alexandria or Port Said with Genoa a possible side issue. It was then that those wise in the ways of U- boats predicted there would be something doing,, for the sunny Mediterranean is a favored hunt- ing ground during the fall and winter months for these underseas craft. We had embarked on a voyage of approxi- mately fifteen thousand miles, mostly through the known danger zone, and took such steps in organization, etc.,. as would appear best for all concerned. With the ship itself we had no fault to find. A sturdy vessel built in Glasgow, and only eight years old, she could develop a speed of 15 knots in an emergency and would average 11 and 12 knots if not hampered by convoy or sailing orders. Her commander, Capt. Henderson, was an old- timer, a former skipper of sailing ships. In his day he had surely sailed the seven seas. To him the far places were no strangers. (Later I was to see him go aboard an enemy submarine, a prisoner, and a sad and broken man.) The ship's crew were of many nations. First Mate Stafford, an Irishman ; Second Mate Stark, an English lad. The engineers were Scotch. The sailors, Rowland, Borge Larsen, Morfin, 10 TORPEDOED IN Larsen, and "Frisco," belonged to as many countries. Bos'n Gibbs, a Canadian. The two wireless, two apprentice boys, the carpenter and the two gunners were Scotch and English. The horse doctor (we had no "human doctor"), an American. The stewards and firemen were Chinese. That part of the cargo which directly con- cerned us was the 400 horses quartered on the, main and first 'tween decks. These were all small animals, selected for cavalry service, and I believe the cleanest, healthiest-looking horses ever shipped out of any country. From the date of loading in the United States until discharged on the banks of the Suez, they were aboard ship just 43 days without a single loss or serious injury, and cost the British gov- ernment just about $750 per head, landed there. Fair weather and a fine sea. The veriest novice could not have a chance of becoming sea- sick if he so desired. Have not sighted a single ship; must be on an isolated course. From out the void of the western Pacific the wireless picked up our first S. 0. S. A ship was calling for aid. She was being shelled by a submarine, and, according to location, was on our same course and some miles ahead. Later, we learned a tanker had been sunk; of the fate of the crew we learned nothing definite. Here I will state that merchant ships are not allowed to go to the assistance of other ships in such THE MEDITERRANEAN 11 cases, but have instructions to get away from that locality as quickly as possible. Our course was changed. We did not see any signs of either the U-boat or its victim. On the following day about noon another S. 0. S. was received from nearly the same location. Did not learn what kind of ship, nor what occurred, Going under forced draught, to get as far away as possible, seemed to be the sole ambition of every one on board. Near the Strait of Gibraltar is a very hor- net's nest. Many ships have been sunk almost within sight of the famous rock itself. Rumor of an armed escort sent out to meet us began to go the rounds. How such unauthorized news first starts aboard ship is a mystery, but it is a fact that underground news is always out first and is almost always reliable. About 2 o'clock from out the haze off our port bow suddenly appeared a smudge of black smoke. All hands off watch rushed forward — to get seats in the front row. Many wagers were laid as to the identity and business of the stranger. The officers on the bridge, constantly training their glasses on the approaching ship, now seemed to lose all interest. From the signal halyards broke out a string of flags. It was fully an hour before the oncoming ship could be made out by the naked eye. Then it was evident she was indeed a friend, a converted yacht, armed fore and aft. From her mainmast flew the royal naval flag of 12 TORPEDOED IN Britain, a string of signal flags were displayed from her foremast, and answered by a similar^ string from our own bridge. On her stern, ready to be released by the touch of a button, rested depth charges. These are set to explode by pressure at certain depths. They are the most feared and most deadly " remedy' ' that can be applied to submerged U-boats. With a feeling of relief and a sense of secur- ity, we returned to our quarters and various stations about the deck. Our escort remained constantly near — very speedy, now on the port, then starboard side, always on the watch for the hated periscope. Oct. 2. Arrived safely in the harbor of Gibraltar at 5 A. M. "Strong as the Rock of Gibraltar' ' I had noted often from the magazine covers; but this was my first time to come face to face with this giant solemn sentinel, standing there so confident, so serene, it seemed almost lifelike, guarding the western gateway to the Mediter- ranean. From the almost perpendicular sides, and from over the rim of the skyline horizon, peeped the muzzles of mighty guns, pointing hither and yon, challenging all who might ap- proach and guaranteeing alike the neutrality of the Spanish mainland and the Moroccan coast across the straits. Standing on the forward deck in the grey dawn of an October morning, as we slowly made THE MEDITERRANEAN 13 our way to anchor outside the walled harbor, wherein safely ensconced for the night, lay ves- sels flying nearly every flag of the universe, it occurred to one how fortunate had been the na- tion which had so easily secured control of this natural fortress, this gateway to the east, to the lands whence had come the beginning of all things recorded in the histories of civilized man; for just such bases as this had enabled a little island kingdom to extend her borders and to establish vast empires a thousand times greater in area than she had even hoped to be, and to exert her influence for good or evil to the far quarters of the globe. Before arriving at Gibraltar we had figured out a schedule, and believed providing we could get out of the rock without delay and without convoy, we ought to make Port Said in twelve days. Now that we knew our destination to be the Suez Canal, we were anxious to discharge the horses in good condition, but we had not taken into account the congestion of shipping, the official red tape, and last, but not least, the activity of the hostile U-boats in the straits outside. "Informed we would have to wait for convoy ; our cargo considered valuable.' ' In the hold we had miles of steel pipe greatly desired by the military authorities for use of the army advanc- ing on Jerusalem. We would have to kill a few days' time at the rock, every one to his notion. An empty grain bag was good for a bunch of white grapes with 14 TORPEDOED IN the bumboat man, providing said transaction could be made beyond the "high visibility" of honorable mate; also, we were loading many eases of condensed milk, and occasionally a case of this would fall out of the sling (fifty-fifty), scattering cans about the deck. These were legitimate spoils if handled rightly, and mixed fairly well with the brew the cook was pleased to call coffee — same being served twice daily. Then there was always the possibility of oozing by the dock sentries in an odd moment and go- ing ashore; however, to the best of my knowl- edge, this never happened. The Rock of Gibral- tar is considered kind of private like by the British, and the "Welcome, stranger" signs are not in evidence, so to speak. "Decided to visit an inviting-looking white vil- lage over on the Spanish shore; had arranged for boat; were to leave at dark. Met a Nor- wegian sailor just returned from there, said we would be interned, did not go. No shore leave; anxious to be on our way." "Took on stores — looked as though we were getting ready to sail." "Two of the foremen assisted the steward with stores, something unusual for them — in- vited to party in head foreman's cabin; admis- sion, ten shillings — lengthy session." "Captain returned to ship and shortly sent for steward; informed that worthy he was shy one case of ' Black and White/ whatever that was — even a Chink gets careless occasionally." Three Italians in boats docked quite Hear us* THE MEDITEERANE AN 15 One of them had a ragged hole in her side near the water line. It appeared that they had gotten close in, apparently unknown to the Allied pa- trol; said to have been fired on by a French and American patrol ship. Result : three killed and four injured. "Underground wireless announced we were to sail at dark in convoy for Malta. 10 P. M. slipped silently out of the harbor and well over along the coast of Morocco. Passed through the straits of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea. Unusually dark, — could not see a ship's length; trusted to luck and the seventh sense of the man on watch." Instead of an armed escort, we beheld two other cargo ships, such as ourselves; the only visible advantage, one of our companions carried three guns — seemed to have more speed. Along the Spanish coast, well within the three- mile limit, now and then we were so close in it seemed as though one might step over the rail and wade in to one of the tiny white piers that dotted the water's edge so frequently. Moving lazily through the quiet blue waters along the shores of this world-old land, covered with vineyards and groves of orange trees, dotted with all white villages up to the back- ground formed by a purple-hued coastal 1 range, one was reminded of our own California coast, along Monterey Bay, just out of old Santa Cruz, only this seemed ages older. Amid these peaceful surroundings, it was hard to realize that the world was at war; that men 16 TOKPEDOED IN and communities everywhere, who had lived , (Jod-f earing and peaceful lives, had suddenly feeen thrust into the business of destroying their fellows and demolishing a civilization builded by centuries of effort and sacrifice. "Off Cape Bon, convoy parted — every one on his own, under cover of the night, we turned away from the friendly land and headed across for the coast of Africa.' ' Awakened by the following dialogue: Small Boat.-— "What ship?" i Bridge. — "Berwick Law/' S.B. — ' ' Where you come ? ' ' Bridge. — "Newport News." Small Boat.— "Where?" Bridge.— "Newport News, America." Small Boat. — "Oh! Newport News! Nq good!" Away he went. He would have none of us. This was an unusual reception from a pilot, and we were at a loss to know the meaning of it; however, we had not long to wait, for soon there arrived another pilot boat, and over our rail scrambled a French bluejacket, who, with a cheery salute to all, ascended the bridge and piloted us into the harbor of Oran, French North Africa. Scarcely had the anchor let go when we were boarded by a bumboat man with his wares, W|hich included most everything from parrots to post-cards (bottled goods on the*Q. T.) and what not. .This versatile gentleman said that some two THE MEDITERRANEAN 17 months previous to our arrival the British ship Turcoman had put in there with a crew of Amer- ican horsemen aboard. As they were not al- lowed shore leave, some twenty-five or thirty had gone ashore by way of the stern lines and along an old pier not then in use. After trans- acting their business ashore, this bunch had duly arrived back at the piers to go aboard. Hacf they returned to the ship in the manner of leaving, no doubt all would have been well, but, it appears they insisted on going through the gates as Americans and gentlemen should; but as they were without proper passes, the "no 1 can do" of the native guards brought matters to a head at once. In the end the horsemen did go through the gates, and the guards went into the water and the hospital. This was a very serious breach of etiquette,, and created quite a stir, but was finally com- promised by the captain agreeing to anchor out in the fairway until ready to sail. "Now under the orders of the French admir- alty to sail at dark for our next port." Up to this time neither of our companions of the day before had arrived at Oran. Later, in the harbor of Bizerta, we saw one of them; the other, a Prince Line boat, was reported miss- ing. We never heard of her again. "Running only at night. Escorted by French destroyers." If we left port before dusk, as we sometimes did in order to clear the mine fields, we were invariably accompanied by two hydroplanes in addition. 18 TORPEDOED IN " Putting in at Algiers, Bona and Bougie, ar- rived safely at the French naval base at Bizerta; here again met by a naval pilot. After nego- tiating the mine channel, filed slowly past the splendid town of Bizerta to the inner harbor and dropped anchor." The horses had been aboard now just thirty days, but looked almost as good as the day we sailed. True, they had received excellent care — had plenty of feed and water. But there is $ limit to all things, and we were anxious to get in and unload them. Also, we were running short of hay, having been unable to secure this very necessary item at any of the ports since leaving Gibraltar. As we did not sail that evening, and there were no signs of leaving on the following morn- ing, we began to fear another tie-up similar to that at Gibraltar, for we were again under the British admiralty, and therefore subject to — well, orders. Nothing palls like inactivity. Some of the hoys were considering ways and means of going ashore, which did not look very promising, as we were anchored in about the center of an old lake, and more than a mile from shore in any direction. Alongside arrived a motor launch flying the royal naval standard. On the deck stood a British tar ready with a heaving line. We gath- ered along the rail to see what they had to offer jnst as a young officer appeared and from some- where below hailed our deck watch. Said he THE MEDITERRANEAN 19 would make fast alongside if we didn't mind, and have tea, then would come aboard to see the captain. Through underground channels word was passed we were to sail for Malta next morning, together with the Mexico City and Warclover; three cargo ships again, with no escort. From the many ships around us the " prophets "■ singled out our new comrades to see what manner of craft they might be. The Mexico dtp, a common tramp, was passed up without comment. The Warclover proved to. be one of the new standardized steel ships built since the war. She was highly camouflaged, and was supposed to look like anything but an inno- cent cargo ship, and did somewhat resemble a light cruiser at a distance. The " prophets "' eyed her askance. They had been in convoys with her kind before, and had always met up with hard luck. We had just finished breakfast when the pilot boat made the rounds and left with us friend sailor, the pilot, who had brought us in. He seemed to regard us as old friends and insisted on shaking hands around, never forgetting to proffer cigarettes and a light. However, he was full of business and asked for el capitan. That doughty old gentleman was just coming out of the chart-room. The pilot unloaded an armload of talk and gestures that should have won out 'most anywhere, but apparently made no hit with the captain, for he shook his head negatively. " Where is the 'cairpenter'? Has 'anny wan* 20 TORPEDOED IN seen the 'can-penter'?" From some place aft came this familiar inquiry, but "Chippy" had heard and was scurrying for'ard to the winch to hoist anchor before the chief mate could get sight of him. Preceded by the War clover and Mexico City, we had cleared the mine fields and were getting under good seaway. "Sail two points off starboard bow, sir." At a casual glance this appeared to be a fish- ing smack. The Mexico City just ahead sud- denly showed the danger signal, at the same time circling and heading for the harbor we had just left. The Warclover on our port bow did the same thing, and not to be outdone in this maneuver, we followed suit. That sail had dis- appeared. There was nothing at all in sight where a perfectly good fishing boat had been just a few minutes before. Evidently our ac- tions had been observed from shore, for out of the harbor came racing two scout patrols, and two hydroplanes appeared in the sky from some- where beyond a ridge of sand dunes and headed seaward. We returned to our old berth in the inner harbor, which somehow did not look so bad, and dropped anchor. The all-clear signal again sent us to sea, the Berwick Law leading, Mexico City second, War- clover third. This was supposed to be a 10-knot convoy, and for the first few hours that speed was maintained. Early in the evening the War- clover dropped astern perhaps ^.ve miles. As we were ordered to keep together, the other twa THE MEDITERRANEAN 21 ships circled to allow her to come up in line, but it was evident she could not keep the pace. She was continually lagging; at dark she was per- haps two miles astern. We were running with- out lights, except a stern light required in all convoys. Much to the disgust of the " prophets,' ' the Warclover began to flash signals, and continued this throughout the fore part of the night. No one pretended to understand this action, nor why it was permitted. We were in dangerous waters and subject to attack any moment. In fact, we had been warned that hostile U-boats had been sighted near us. Soon after midnight the lookout reported fir- ing off our port after quarter. Most of the crew liad turned in, but were awakened by the noise and took stations along the rail to see what was going on. That the Warclover had been attacked was evident; by what sort of foe was hard to deter- mine. She was firing rapidly and running away, but for every shot she received at least two in return, and had been hit by at least two shells. The wireless began to get busy, and picked up call after call from the stricken vessel. She was being shelled by a submarine and was greatly damaged. Perhaps two hours had elapsed when the seventh call was received, giv- ing her course and asking for immediate aid. She was now far out to our left and toward the coast of Sicily. The reports from the guns were dull and distant, the flashes but vague $2 TORPEDOED IN streaks on the night sky > like distant lightning. The last call was picked lip at 3 A. M. incom- plete; her wireless had gone down. We were going ahead at full speed. As pre- viously explained, comrade ships are not allowed to give any assistance in an attack like this. We had heard nothing from the Mexico City. At break of day she showed on the horizon some miles astern. We were under forced draught and zigzagging to beat the band all that day, and arrived at St. Paul's Bay, Island of Malta, at 5 P. M. This was little more than a slight indent of the shore line ; however, it looked better than the open sea. We remained until the following afternoon, then proceeded around the island and anchored in the harbor of Valetta. Learned that the Warclover, after making a valiant fight, had been sunk by a high-explosive shell; sixteen of her crew reported lost. It seems as though this ship could have been saved. Certainly an armed escort vessel would have prevented a submarine from remaining on top of the water and firing with impunity. It may be that such escort was not available — I do not know. At any rate, the Warclover had gone to the port of missing ships, the survivors landed at some point, perhaps to seek berths on other ships, hoping for better luck next voyage. The shortage of hay for the horses was be- coming serious. At best they would be aboard ship another week. So the horse doctor went ashore to rustle from the army service corps, THE MEDITERRANEAN 23 and succeeded in getting two bargeloads of near- hay. In looks, it more resembled hazel brush and blackberry vines minus the thorns of the latter, but covered with a sort of leaf near the top. However, the animals liked it fairly well, and we could fool them at feeding time long enough, to get away. I believe they realized that war was on and let it go at that. Anyway, the "doc" was given credit for doing* his best, which was fair enough; for that, was about all he did do on the entire trip so far as known. It was claimed he had gained his expert knowledge of horses and mules by goosing a flivver from Tennessee out into Texas when the roads were bad. The City of Valetta, while a very ancient, town, was, we were told, a fair place to visit, providing one had a pound or so pocket money. Most of the boys had made satisfactory ar- rangements (via the underground) to go ashore. that night. Early in the evening el capitan returned and said we would sail in an hour. Time proved this assertion to be quite true, and about two bells on that same watch we pulled the mudhook and moved out in the fair- way, joining six tramps, forming a convoy for Alexandria and Port Said. We were escorted by one destroyer and four trawlers. Altogether we made quite an impos- 24 TORPEDOED IN ing array, flanked by the trawlers, the destroyer circling and issuing orders like a drill sergeant with a sqnad of rookies. We were off on the last lap of our outbound voyage. With good luck we would make Port Said in live days. Then one more day to get up the ditch and discharge the horses. Hooray! We would put In for passes and "look over the books' ' in this land we had come so far to see. Some would go to Suez, some to Cairo, some would visit Jerusalem itself; this latter place, however, was , for to go there and remain any time at all would require a very large escort, same to be well armed and equipped. The U-boats had been doing a big business in these waters lately, especially off the Crete Islands, which we were due to pass the following ters. Our peggy, "Shorty" Chamley, was quite a mixer with the soldiers, and was always on hand to receive the new guard, and to be prop- erly put in right by the old guard. As a result of this intimacy he had a fine col- lection of souvenirs, brassards and ornaments of different regiments, including English, Irish, Scotch, Turks and Germans, in addition to many relics from the battlefield. This would have been an interesting and val- uable collection in the States, but like 'most everything else, was lost off the Algerian coast when the ship went down some time later. A trainload of Turkish prisoners arrived and were herded along the canal. Gaza had been taken, and the fighting was intense. 36 TORPEDOED IN Most of our old friends of the guard had re- ceived orders to go " up the line. ' ' Some of them would never return. Some had been away from their homes and families over two years, but there was no complaint. They felt as though the job had to be done, and were willing and ready to do their share. They were certainly a fine bunch of men — sea- soned campaigners. They would surely give a good account of themselves anywhere. Kantara, Nov. 4. "This date was devoted principally to letter- writing." The captain had secured permission from the military authorities to make a visit to Cairo to secure " medical' ' attention, and would take let- ters for any one who desired to write home. Some of the boys had written from Gibraltar, and had found that a letter, to get by the censor, must deal in neither places nor dates, nor any- thing else pertaining to the war, while post-cards were absolutely tabooed. The regulations were strict and rigidly en- forced. Nevertheless, the enemy seemed to get information from within the lines right along. In a polyglot population like that of Egypt, it is hard to determine who's who. After we had left Malta, we received orders from the convoy commander to throw nothing over the side. The least trail of hay floating on the water will give the cruise away to any U-boat that hap- THE MEDITERRANEAN 37 pens along, and the news is flashed to other U-boats, which means that some ships will go down. Consequently, on arrival at Kantara there was several days' muck in the stalls. This was pitted near the ports ready to load into barges. However, for several days these could not be secured. It was our work to get the horse decks cleaned up and whitewashed ready for the next voyage. When this was done we would be through and could take it easy back to the States. After Captain Henderson had left for Cairo, Chief Officer Stafford was left in charge. He was never satisfied apparently, unless everybody was busy. It did not make much difference whether any- thing was accomplished or not; as long as the men were on the move everything was all right. Now this soon gets your goat. If there is a job to do, most men want to go ahead and finish up without dallying around, as we were doing those first few days in the canal. Barges for the muck were placed alongside Saturday evening about 4 o'clock, with instruc- tions to remove them at dark, the canal being too narrow to allow ships to pass while they were in place. Orders were issued to turn to and clear the decks, but there was nothing doing. The men had been knocking around at odd jobs, all week, 38 TORPEDOED IN* doing work that was not theirs at that, and decided it was time to call a halt. The chief officer was greatly perturbed, and threatened severe action if the men did not turn to, but the men stood pat. Then the head foreman came along with an- other proposition : If the men would turn to and stay on the job until the work was finished they would be given one day off. This, however, did not make any hit, and was not accepted. The men had decided to see the thing through, and returned to their quarters. When Captain Henderson returned and learned of the " ruckus/ ' all hands were ordered up to the bridge. The captain was very angry, and also was greatly excited. He said we had done a very serious thing, "very serious, 7 ' and something that he had never heard of during his entire career of thirty years at sea. It was mutiny, he said, and in wartime, was much worse. After he had finished, two of the men, Dave Lewis and Jack Keegan, came forward to give their side of the story. They told of the "petty" work of the mate, of short rations, of no fresh meat for days and days, of a shortage of other food; items of food, of bad water, and many other little things that had been overlooked and no complaint had been made. The captain said the Government of Great Britain stood behind him; said he would have every d — d man logged and arrested. He was THE MEDITERRANEAN 39 shaking his finger in the faces of the men who were near him. At this juncture both Keegan and Lewis got busy; both were shaking their fingers in the captain's face. They told him they, too, had a government behind them, and she would back them up. They said they were in the right and that the captain knew they were, and for him to go ahead and do whatever he thought he could do. They then turned and left the bridge. Apparently the bout had ended in a draw. Since Gaza had been captured, the fighting at the front seemed to be more intense. Trains from there were coming in daily with wounded men for the hospital ships for Port Said and- Malta. All available men had been hurried "up the line." Two troopships passed through with French colonials aboard. The Sultan's "white train' ' on the Egyptian State Railways, passed through from Cairo to Port Said. Kantara, Nov. 9. Another red-letter date. The remaining cargo had been discharged, and every single "gypo" had been chased off the ship. A hundred million gallons of salt water, per- haps, had been flushed over the decks; every- thing was shipshape; the pilot was on board. 40 TORPEDOED IN The " feather' ' swirling out from the funnel denoted a full head of steam. At 1 P. M., after a stay of fourteen days, we eased away from the temporary piers there on the banks of the Suez and headed back to our homeland, the U. S. A. We realized fully what we were up against. Our chances for meeting up with ".Sweet Wil- liam" were good, which would be all right. Our work was done and we had nothing to do but to "cuss" the cook and his camel meat. After a four-hour trip down the canal, we liauled up at Port Said and docked alongside an old hulk that looked as though it had seen ser- vice with Noah. This was used as a prison ship, and was filled with Turks and other riff-raff of the far east, gathered in by the British during the war. Captain Henderson could have issued passes to the men had he desired. They were certainly entitled to shore leave after the long siege out- bound. However, he declined to do this ; in fact, he would not give passes to his own officers, and they were compelled to remain aboard ship. Not so, however, with the horsemen. When darkness set in they got in touch with the boatmen and went ashore in a bunch. At the custom house where all hands mustered to pass the guard and turn in passes, it looked as though the game was crabbed. Luck was with the men, however, in the form of an Egyp- tian officer, who, after hearing their hard luck story, passed them through the gates upon their THE MEDITERRANEAN 41 promise to return before six o'clock the follow- ing morning. Shortly after docking I was told that beer could be had at Navy House, a service club just across from where we were docked, and had arranged with a bumboat man to have a boat alongside at eight o'clock. The only obstacles to overcome were the police patrol in the harbor, and that of being run down by some craft. We were, of course, without light of any kind. That beer sounded good, and was surely worth taking a chance. Red Nifong and I rescued a small boat which we found in charge of a fourteen-year-old boy, and in which we made the run over; We were held up twice by the harbor patrol, but our boy outtalked them, with the aid of a few extra shillings. We landed at the main entrance to the club, among a number of other boats in similar ser- vice. These, however, were all filled by men in uniform. Not a single civilian in sight any- where. This was evidently no place for us. It was too late to retreat now, so I left Red in the boat and , went on a scouting expedition. I had passed the sentry and turned in toward the top room when I was hailed by one of the "gypo" officers. "Do you belong to the service?" : 'Yes, sir." "To what branch of the service?" "To the mule navy, sir, and yonder is my 42 TOBPEDOEDIN ship," I replied, pointing to the Berwick Law across the canal. This was a new one and required some con- sideration. I conld see that "friend officer' y was in doubt as to whether I had any right there, at the same time he was inclined to give me the benefit of the doubt. "Who is your friend there V 9 "That is Eed Nifong." "Does he, too, belong to your — to the mule, also?" "Yes, sir. Eed is a charter member of that organization.' ' The officer made no further comment, but passed on toward the end of the pier and we passed in, entering a room where hundreds of sailors were seated at tables enjoying creamy ale and bunches of shrimp and fried fish. We were the only civilians in the room, but were served with everything ordered and treated with courtesy by all the attendants. The following evening I made another trip with head foreman and Joe Denison. Scarcely had we landed when we were hailed by a British petty officer. "What the bloody h— 1 are you chaps doing here? What do you belong to?" "To the merchant marine, you swab," said Denison. "No one allowed here but sailors, and you will be off before I call the guard and have you in cluck," said the petty officer. THE MEDITERRANEAN 43 That ended the argument as far as we were concerned. We returned to the ship and directed our shore parties to other channels. The tanker Eburon limped into port. She had been torpedoed just outside the mine fields; was struck forward and had a gaping, ragged hole in her hull large enough to admit a freight train. Her bulkheads had held up long enough to get in to port. "Orders received from the embarkation officer to prepare for a crew of horsemen to arrive next day from Cairo/ ' They were to go back to the U. S. with us. Captain Henderson said he had no room, and under no consideration would more horsemen be received as passengers. "Carpenters from shore aboard and built bunks and a mess-room on second deck;." "Mattresses, blankets, etc., received from army service corps." Jimmie Morrison, an old-time cattleman, ar- rived with his crew of Canadians from Montreal. They had left their ship at Alexandria. She was making a trip to India. With them was Charley Smith, an American veterinary surgeon. Returned from last trip ashore. Port Said is in total darkness at night. No lights of any kind are allowed. Not only is the city subject to air raids, but has been bombarded from the sea. The only way we could get anywhere with- out guides was to feel along the walls for doors and corners. 44 TORPEDOED IN Some place I have heard it said that there are no ten commandments, which may be true, but I will guarantee that they have almost everything' else to offer out there along the Suez. Aye, in abundance. ; ' Port Said, Nov. 15. "Sailed in convoy at 1:30 P. M. for Alexan- dria/ ' With thirteen cargo ships, escorted by two destroyers and two trawlers, we cleared the channel and breasted the blue Mediterranean for the short run to the mouth of the Nile. The following evening we arrived and an- chored in the harbor of Alexandria. Evidently the ship chandlers knew we were out of stores. Out of the entire fleet of tramps that arrived with us, we were the only ship to receive the attention of the industrious citizens. Boats by the score circled and jockeyed for position when the gangplank was lowered. Some of the agents could speak English, and 'some had interpreters with them, and all were eager to get the business. One, a young native more enterprising than the rest, found the captain and filled his orders for the following: War flour, a dark, rough mixture, $110 per ton. This made coarse, black bread, neither nutri- tious nor palatable. Potatoes, $100 per ton, and not over good at THE MEDITERRANEAN 45 that. Barley enough to take us into Algiers was taken aboard, for there we would be able to get supplies from the Spanish markets. With our same convoy we sailed from Alex- andria at 4 P. M. The following four days were without inci- dent, although the wireless picked up calls from somewhere in the Mediterranean every day; some days as many as five and six calls were received. Five ships detached from convoy and escorted into Malta for bunkers. Remainder of convoy arrived in Bizerta without incident. We an- chored in our old berth in the inner harbor just five weeks after we had left in company with the Warclover. Bona and Bougie, French North Africa, our next ports, are, I believe, the most picturesque towns along the lower Mediterranean, with a semi-tropical climate. The low coastal range is ever green; the quaint land-locked harbors, the rows of clean white houses, with here and there a gray-white church nestled back on some rocky point, all make an appealing picture. Algiers, Dec. 1st. This, our second day in port, was put in by most of the crew taking shore leave. A very good underground route had been es- tablished the preceding evening. While it was necessary to have a permit of some kind to pass through the gates and across the railway tracks,, almost any kind of pass was good. 46 TORPEDOED IN I believe that United Cigar Stores coupons were more readily accepted; however, any kind of paper with a signature of some kind was O. K The City of Algiers is some town, with a population of several hundred thousand. A party of three: Jimmie Morrison, Red Nifong and myself, upon arrival, had broken a trail ashore. At times we were compelled to camouflage quite a bit, but nevertheless we landed right side up at the Grand Colonial Cafe, Angle des Rues de la Liberte and square Brisson, somewhat discouraged but still in the game. We proposed to look over the books of this village and see just what they had to offer. The first thing was the question of finance. I had in my possession a few shillings, Jimmie Morrison had a few more, but Red, oh, with Red it was different. Red had a large bundle of English one-pound notes. Somehow money seemed to stick to Red. Ever since we had left the States he had been accumulating one way and another. "While we were lying at Gibraltar every night we had a session of the national game, using California lima beans for chips. Reel was the lead hand in this work at first. 'Most everybody used to drop in "just to pass away the time" and whatever else they pos- sessed. The fourth engineer and the horse doctor were the best producers, and never failed to be in at the rollcall. As previously stated, Red was easily the star in these sessions, and had cor- THE MEDITERRANEAN 47 railed about all the money on the ship before we left the rock. There were other ways of getting a stray pound or so, which were not overlooked by the boys, and this eventually went into Red's roll. At Malta Red had traded two cans of milk to some old harbor pirate for an old, dilapidated, one-eyed, red-headed parrot. This "bird" was about the meanest and toughest specimen of its kind I think ever caged. We had two cats on the ship. One of them, "Nigger," a big black torn, was "himself" a tough "hombre," and was "roarin' to go," but after the first encounter with "Bomboy" you couldn't get him within fifty feet of that feathered imp. "While we were lying in the canal a British officer took a fancy to "Bomboy" and gave Red two pounds for him, and he was worth it. Not only was he a fighter, but he could sing a little, could cuss like a cavalryman, and would drink rum and chew tobacco. The Grand Cafe Bar Colonial is certainly some place at night. Inside at the long bar where we stopped to have Red's English money exchanged for French notes, we found that the white-coated gentlemen there could speak just about any language used anywhere on earth. A Frenchman, noting our (Red's)' English money, joined us and remarked to Jimmie: "You are Anglais?" "No, Americanos," replied Jimmie. "Oh! TAmericaine ! " the Frenchman shouted to every one in general. 48 TOEPEDOED IN We were the center of attraction. We could not spend a single centime nor have an empty glass anywhere within reach. It was just a little cool, that is for that land, and everybody seemed to be indoors. For us, however, who had been used to fresh sea air, the interior of the Colonial soon became too close, and we gathered up a table and some chairs and moved out on the sidewalk. For the first quarter hour we were the only party there, but other tables began to appear soon, and before we left there, not only was the sidewalk filled, but the entire street and opposite walk was crowded with a mixture of humans out for a good sociable hour or two. Here were soldiers and civilians, business men and beggars, Frenchmen, Arabs, Englishmen, Moors, Spaniards, Greeks, Italians, three Ameri- cans and perhaps also a few Germans, all to- gether and each enjoying the evening in his own way. A native orchestra had drifted in from some- where and livened up things with their weird airs and instruments. Our French friend had not forgotten to re- mind the crowd of the Americaines, and we en- joyed a very pleasant two hours there with that care-free throng. As we had come ashore with the intention of taking in the sights, we bade our friends good-by at the Colonial and pro- ceeded on our way into other quarters of the city. At a tobacco shop, where we had dropped in THE MEDITERRANEAN 49 for a smoke, a young Arab, noticing the Ameri- can flag in my lapel, came up to us, "Me Amer- ican Consul — office," he said. This statement being confirmed by the man behind the counter, we concluded to invite the American Consul office to join us as official guide. By name, Hassen Ben Turki, he was one in a thousand. Not only was he to be admired for his good drinking qualities, but what he didn't know about the City of Algiers, surface and under- ground, could be engraved on the head of a pin. In the course of the night we drifted down through every quarter, and mixed with all classes and kinds of people. Down in the Arab quarter we drank with the fierce-looking Bedouins who belonged on the desert, and with an old Moorish chieftain now and then, of which but few remain. We mixed freely with the high and the low, with honest folks and other folks. As a rule we travelled together, but at times we were sepa- rated, even "Ben Turkey" lost his way out of one or two places. We did not take a single pre- caution, but no one was in any way molested, and when we brought up at the American con- sulate we all agreed that we had passed a pleas- ant evening, and arranged to meet Mr. "Ben Turkey" the next evening, same time and place. On our way to the waterfront we met one of the bumboat men and a pilot. They asked us "in," an invitation gladly accepted, for we had walked several good long blocks. The pilot said that thirty-five ships had been torpedoed in the 50 TOEPEDOED IN Mediterranean that week, and that U-boats were thick as bees in a field of clover. This did not sound at all good. However, we did not credit all of it, but from our own obser- vations, and the information from sailors and torpedoed crews at Marseilles a few days later 3 it is just possible that the pilot was correct. On the waterfront we could not locate a single small boat to take us back to the ship. As it was quite necessary we should return before daybreak, we concluded to borrow a small- sized barge moored alongside an old pier. On boarding this we found an old Arab hud- dled up in one corner under an old straw blanket in sound repose. In the best Spanish we could muster we in- formed this brother of our desire to go out to a certain ship, and "explained that it would be to his advantage, etc., if he would take us there in his barge. He was "malo" and could not go; although he was our friend still, he was so ill that he would die if disturbed at that hour. Now Jimmie Morrison in our rounds had pur- chased a square bottle labeled with a big red rooster and inscribed thus: "Red Rooster Gin; makes everybody crow." This was recommended as good medicine. The old fellow downed about one-fourth of the bot- tle without batting an eye. Gasping and sputter- ing, he jumped up, untied the lines and poled us out to the ship without further argument. I am sure this old gentleman had never tasted THE MEDITERRANEAN 51 anything with as much kick to it as that red rooster had. He declined a second drink. Passing along the deck toward onr cabin I had the misfortune to slip and fall, striking a sharp plate on the corner of a winch and injuring a rib. This stopped my shore trips and also proved to be very annoying during the events of the following four days. Sunday, Bee. 2. With the exception of Gibraltar, where we would take on bunkers, this was our last port of call before heading across the western ocean for the United States. Stores had been received the previous day. The fresh-water tanks had been replenished and everything made ready to sail, as soon as the outside waters were reported clear and safe. Lately the Chinese firemen and trimmers had been giving lots of trouble. They either could not or would not keep steam enough to make the maximum speed, and this was the most danger- ous section of the African Coast in regard to submarines. Captain Henderson had the entire fire crew on the bridge, and threatened to have them jailed at Gibraltar if they did not keep steam up, as required. He explained the danger from torpe- does, but the Chinks didn't seem to be bothered any about that. We sailed from Algiers at about 10 A. M. The pilot warned the captain of the presence 52 TORPEDOED IN of U-boats and advised against leaving port at that time. We were the only ship ont of the convoy from Alexandria and Bizerta which left. Our course was close in. All day we were within a very few miles of the Algerian coast. "We did not sight a single ship, but early in the afternoon we passed great patches of wreckage, — bundles of new lumber, hatch covers, a ship's ladder, and a pair of stairs drifted by; farther along was a chair and the remnants of a locker of some kind. It was very evident that some ship had been destroyed there, but just when, was another question. If the wireless had picked up any calls during the day we never heard anything about it. At 7.30 P. M. we passed close in past a head- land, where a lighthouse, perched on the extreme tip of land, seemed to be giving flash signals seaward, whether to our ship or some other I do not know. At any rate, the ship did not sig- nal in reply. An extra night watch had been put on, leaving Port Said. His orders were to stand by in case of attack at night, and to see that all men were awake. The semi-tropical nights off the African coast were conducive to long hours of rest. Usually the entire crew off watch turned in before nine o'clock. In our cabin everybody had turned in early. It seemed as though I had just fallen asleep THE MEDITERRANEAN 53 ' when I was awakened by a terrific explosion, followed by the most vagne and barren quiet I have ever experienced. The cabin lights flashed on for just an instant and died out gradually, leaving the room in darkness. It was not at all necessary to ask what had - happened. We realized instantly that we had been torpedoed. There were five men sleeping in our cabin and every man was up and going in just about one second after the explosion. There was more or less confusion, of course. Therefore I am going to relate my own experi- ence and actions, and those with whom I came in contact immediately after the explosion. ' ' Where the devil is my shoe?" "To h — with your shoe! Give me air! — air is what I want, men, ' ' and with an armload of clothing Joe Smith, made a flying leap and jammed into Jimmie Morrison, going through the door with one shoe. Eed Nifong was the next to leave, followed closely by Charley Dowd, who stopped at my berth and asked if I was all right — if I could make it without assistance. On account of my injured rib I was slow in getting dressed. I thought every one had left the ship. I could not hear the slightest sound anywhere. When I got out on deck, everybody had gone to the lifeboats. I belonged in No. 5 boat, aft, on the starboard 54 TORPEDOED IN side, and got back there just in time to see it drift away from the ship, and only partially filled. About fifteen men belonging in that boat were left. They immediately scattered to the other boats. One of the men in the drifting boat called out : "Jump overboard and we will pick you up.' ? (I think it was Charnley.) I went over to the port side and found a coil of rope, which I trailed over the side, thinking they might pick it upland pull their boat up to the ship. No. 4 boat was filled to capacity and was just casting loose and making away from the side. I went forward to the midship port boat, to find that also filled and ready to leave. I next tried the port boat, and got over there in time to see it swamped in lowering. The chances of getting in a lifeboat were get- ting slim. There was but one big boat left, and that was jammed full of Chinese. I decided to go back to the cabin and put on some more clothing. With the aid of matches I dug out a pair of trousers and a coat, but could not find a shirt of any kind. Everything in the cabin was topsy-turvy. The torpedo had explod- ed in the 'midships bunker, just beneath our cabin. Two of the bunks, Dowd's and Red's, were torn up and filled with coal dust. The whole room was a wreck. However/ no one was seriously injured there. THE MEDITERRANEAN 55 Returning to the deck, I concluded the best thing to do was to find something that would float and go over the side. I could not get hold of anything suitable that I could handle alone. I cut the lashings on an extra gangway that was stowed on the super- structure, thinking to get this when the ship went down. I went on back to the gun deck, but did not encounter any one. Returning forward on the port side I met Wong Chong, one of the trim- mers, headed the other way. It occurred to me that the Chinamen Jiad all left the ship. I won- dered what Wong was doing there. I thought he was going to speak to me, but he did not stop. Just outside the galley door I ran into Char- ley Smith, the veterinary surgeon from Mont- real. He was walking round in a circle and moaning. I asked him if I could help him. He said: 1 ' Where is my room? If I can only get my vest I will be satisfied." I assisted him along the deck to his cabin. This was absolutely demolished, literally blown to splinters. The torpedo had struck just below and a few feet forward of his cabin. How he ever escaped with his life is a mystery. I learned later that he was asleep at the time of the explosion. The first thing he knew he was lying on the deck out- side. I had been under the impression that all of 56 TORPEDOED IN the big boats bad left the ship, but learned that one was there and ready to leave. Smith went down a line to that, and I went on forward. I met Captain Henderson, who said to go for- ward and launch one of the small boats, located on the bridge deck. Previously it was not the intention to use this boat, but it was now neces- sary, as two boats had been lost. There I met Second Mate Stark and Seaman Eowland. We were afterward joined by Fisher and Captain Henderson, and together we got the boat lowered and launched. More men had come along by now and in all we numbered eleven when we got away from the ship. It had been about twenty minutes since the torpedo hit, and while the ship had settled well down, it showed no signs of sinking at once. We were anxious to get away, as another torpedo might come at any moment. Captain Henderson, Stark and Fisher went over to the captain's boat, which had been launched, and pulled away. We pulled away from the ship at 10.32, just twenty-two minutes after being torpedoed, and I believe were the last boat to leave. The torpedo had been fired from the port side, and most of the boats had been launched from that side. We had left from the starboard side, and be- lieved if we dropped well astern and headed for the Algerian coast we stood a good chance of missing the "submarine. THE MEDITEKKANEAN 57 In the pale moonlight we would not be visible at a distance greater than one hundred yards. We had gone perhaps two hundred yards from the ship, were headed shoreward, and thought we were all 0. K. Suddenly right in front of us we saw a sub- marine. She was lying there in the wake of the moon, with never a motion and not a man visi- ble on her decks. We changed our course at once. We were still headed toward the coast, but at an angle of about forty-five degrees. Shortly afterward we came up with two other boats, those of the captain and the chief en- gineer, all headed in the same general direction. Just then, and about fifty yards dead ahead, there arose to the surface the largest submarine I had ever seen. I am sure she was more than three hundred feet in length. She had two con- ning towers, a wireless outfit, and carried two guns on her deck. The men at the oars had been working hard, but now gave up in disgust. What was the use? From somewhere on the U-boat several men emerged and took stations along the deck. They were Urmed with rifles and automatic revolvers. "Boat ahoy!" came a voice from the U-boat, in clear, sharp English. "Aye, aye, sir," replied a sailor. "Where is your captain?" "I am the captain," replied Captain Hender- son, whose boat happened to be nearest in to- ward the submarine. 58 TOEPEDOED IN "Pull up alongside/ ' directed the voice. A heaving line was passed and the boat made fast to the submarine. Captain Henderson was then ordered to come aboard. "Are those your bags?" said a German sailor as the captain stepped out of the small boat. "They are, yes, sir," replied the captain. "Well, bring them with you. You are going to remain with us." "Have you no consideration for my wife and children?" asked the captain. To this the sailor made no reply. Captain Henderson was escorted down below in the U-boat. We did not see him afterward. The other men in the captain's boat were Fisher, Denison, Storey, John the gunner, and Borge, a sailor. Fisher, Denison and Storey were ordered aboard the U-boat and placed under guard on the deck. Three Germans then got into the small boat and ordered Borge and the gunner to row them to the Berwick Law. They carried two bombs with them. One of the Germans remained to guard the boat. The other two went aboard the ship to search for papers, ship's instruments, etc. While going over the ship they found the Chinaman Wong, who had been overlooked when the ship was abandoned. The men in the small boat heard the command, "Hands up!" This THE MEDITERRANEAN 59 was repeated, followed by two shots in quick succession. The supposition was that "Wong did not under- stand what was wanted and continued to ad- vance toward the Germans and was shot down. After searching the ship thoroughly, the Ger- mans returned to the small boat. They had two ship's instruments and had left one of the bombs aboard. They made no comment about the shooting, and ordered the boat back to the submarine. Our men who had been left under guard on the U-boat were told to return to the small boat, much to their relief. Six Greeks were brought up from the interior of the U-boat and put aboard the small boat. " Shove off!" said a German officer. "Get away from here quickly." Believe me, these orders were obeyed with alacrity. The German commander was a young man — some said but twenty years old. T ne sailors all spoke English fluently. One of them said he had lived in the United States twelve years pre- vious to the war. They certainly did treat us square. They were strictly business, but there was no petty abuse. Everything was according to Hoyle. When the captain's boat had pulled alongside the U-boat the other lifeboats pulled on away. They were in no way molested. While they were headed toward the land, they were scattered and not in touch with each other. 60 TOEPEDOED IN According to the chart, we were torpedoed at 36 deg. 50 min. N. 00 deg. 10 min. W., about fif- teen miles off the coast of Algiers, and perhaps eighty miles east of Oran. When the torpedo exploded in the hold the electricity had been immediately cut off. There- fore the wireless was of no use. We did not expect any aid from that source, and our only chance was of reaching the coast and finding a safe landing. We had pulled away from the ship perhaps two miles when we heard a dull explosion, evi- dently one of the bombs which the Germans had placed in the hold. The ship was still riding fairly high, and seemed loath to give up. Even if she had been deserted, the old Berwick Law would stick to the last. Shortly afterward the Germans began to shell her. Twenty-six shots were fired before she went down. As I was unable to handle an oar to any ad- vantage, I took station in the bow of the boat as lookout. About two hours after we left the ship we saw the first dim outline of land. This did not seem far, but hour after hour we went on, without making any perceptible gain. The other boats were far out, to the right and left of us. It had been our policy to scatter, so in case the Germans shelled us we would not be caught in a bunch. At least some of us would get THE MEDITERRANEAN 61 away. However, as previously stated, the com- mander was certainly a gentleman and surely did give us a square deal. For the last two hours I had my eye on a stretch of white sandy beach; also, the outlines of buildings were visible. The other men in the boat did not believe me and I had some difficulty in persuading them to steer for that spot. Eventually I had my way. We changed our course and headed directly for the white spot. We pulled off shore just before daybreak, the darkest hour of the night. We could hear the breakers, and could see a chain of rocks stretched along outside of the shore line. They resembled the unfinished wall of an enclosed har- bor. However, they had been placed there, evi- dently, by the Master Builder. Just outside this barrier we had overtaken the chief engineer in one of the big boats. He was loaded down with firemen and some horse- men. He was waiting for us to go in to look for a landing. Our boat was small and lightly loaded. With the use of pike poles we were able to get in close enough to wade ashore. In the mean- time we had hailed the shore, and two men were down to meet us. Rowland, who could speak Spanish fluently, also some French, went ashore to get the lay of things. We found that by going around the chain of rocks we could get into the small harbor and land at a small pier there. 62 TOEPEDOEDIN We potted back over the rocks and directed the engineer's party to the pier, then waited for the chief mate, who was just coming up in an- other big boat loaded to capacity. We all landed just at daybreak Monday, December 3. December 3. El Marsa, Tenes, Algeria, is the correct post office address of this place, although the post office is some miles away. This being no more nor less than a large ranch, Monsieur Louis Cerrier is the ramrod here, and, believe me, he is some "Hombre." A native of France, resident in Algeria for many years, operating a ranch of several thousand acres, producing almost every- thing required to sustain life and employing a colony of perhaps thirty people, mostly natives, to aid him. Mr. Cerrier and several men were at the pier to help us. With the exception of Charley Smith, everybody was amply able to look out for himself. Smith was seriously injured and suffered greatly. His face and nose was badly bruised and cut; his hip was bruised and cut deeply; also, he had a long, deep gash in his side. After being in the lifeboat all night, and without aid of any kind, he was about all in; but he was game, and in spite of his fifty years was up and going. When I had found him the night before aboard ship I did not realize that he was so severely injured. How he ever made the lifeboat unaided is a mystery to me. THE MEDITERRANEAN 63 Mr. Cerrier dispatched one of his men for a pony cart, and Smith was conveyed up the wind- ing road to the mesa, about one hundred feet above sea level, where the main buildings were, and where a temporary hospital was arranged, with Smith the star patient. Second Mate Stark and myself constituted the medical staff. Stark gave first aid in the way of dressing and bandaging the wounds. He really was good at that work, and made a very thorough job of it. In the meantime I had rustled two quarts of home-made brandy, which, as a medicine, seemed very effective. Smith now felt 0. K., and in- sisted on being able to travel; however, we de- tailed a nurse to attend him until we could locate a doctor. In all, some sixty-odd men had so far landed at El Marsa. Up at the main ranch-house, hot coffee was prepared and dished out freely. This was surely appreciated. While the weather was not cold, there was just tang enough to the early morning air to make one feel the need of something warm. Then, too, some of the men were decidedly shy- on clothing. Many were without shoes and coats, and some had landed in their underwear only. These few had built up a big camp-fire down on the beach. Coffee and bread was taken down there by some of the other boys. Considering everything we were very fortunate, and could not have landed at a better place. 64 TOEPEDOED IN Told oy the Greek captain: I was in convoy with a number of other ships, "between Oran and Gibraltar, on the night of December 1st. The convoy was attacked by submarines. I do not know how many, but at least two. The convoy dispersed, every one on his own hook. My ship was loaded with iron ore. We had ^dropped astern and changed the course, hoping thus to avoid the enemy. Suddenly we were struck 'midships by a high- explosive torpedo which almost cut the ship in half. She went down in less than two minutes. The only survivors were the six men on watch, who immediately jumped overboard. The remainder, thirteen in number, went down with the ship. We were taken from the sea by the crew of the submarine, from which your boats took us last night. We were aboard the German U-boat about twenty-four hours. We were well treated and had plenty of good food, cigars and beer. The German commander said he regretted very much, the loss of the Greek crew. He was sorry that he had used such a high explosive torpedo on the loaded ship. Asked as to the probable fate of Captain Henderson, believed he would be sent to Ger- many or an Austrian prison camp. We did not know what fate had befallen our comrades in the other boats, and stationed a THE MEDITERRANEAN 65 lookout to signal them in case they showed up "out there' ' where last seen the night before. Men from the ranch were dispatched along the coast in search of any boat that might have landed in some isolated spot. The coast here is rugged and undulating, ris- ing gradually to a range of mountains some * miles back. The mesas, or tablelands of rich alluvial soil, produce abundant crops of almost every food required to sustain the inhabitants. The climate almost perfect. Better in an all- around way, I believe, than Southern California. Some two hours previously the lookout had sighted a small boat out four or five miles. Evi- dently this was one of our boats, and apparently they had observed our signals and intended to make the same landing. They were coming' in very slowly. Either from exhaustion or some other cause the men had quit the oars. They did not appear at all anxious to hurry their arrival; and, in fact, did not arrive alongside the pier until noon. This proved to be No. 5 boat, the one that went adrift soon after being lowered, and con- tained seven men — four' of our men and three belonging to the Canadian crew. There had been considerable suspicion aroused over the actions of this boat. Some of the men believed it had been deliberately cut adrift by those who went down first, before the other men could go down the lines. Sure enough, this proved to be the case. Upon 66 TORPEDOED IN investigation the bow of the boat showed the axe marks made when the painter had been severed, allowing the boat to drift away. The men in the boat would not say who had been gnilty of this very serious offense. How- ever, it was believed to be either Connelly, of the American crew, or one of the Canadians — I cannot now recall his name. This was the only case of cold feet developed among the entire crew, and under ordinary conditions the guilty parties would have been brought to account. Apropos of nerve recalls the following inci- dent: Some years ago I was in a boxcar going into Salt Lake City. There were about thirty of us on the train, and all unloaded at a cross- ing in the suburbs. We had come across the desert and were glad to hit a town like the Lake, except one big "hick" who had lost his hat and began to blubber like a kid with wet panties. Here we had two sixteen-year-old boys who not only lost most of their clothing, but took a chance on life itself, without a whimper. Soon after landing couriers had been sent out to the nearest telegraph station with dispatches for the British consul-general at Algiers, also to the French commander at Tenes, advising of our plight and requesting medical aid for the wounded. Our party had increased to seventy, entirely too many to be quartered upon one ranch, even though they were willing to take care of us and had supplied cheerfully everything needed in the way of food and drink. THE MEDITEKRANE AN 67 The chief officer requested me to assume charge of all horsemen, and if possible to find accommodations for them elsewhere. He thought we would not hear anything before the following day from the authorities. "The Mule Navy Invasion of North Africa." It has been stated that an army travels on its bread-basket. Now, our expedition was well supplied along that line, but were noticeably short on shoes, coats and trousers. With the aid of the Greek captain as interpreter, I ar- ranged to take over all the shoes in stock at the ranch store. These were white cloth shoes with hemp soles; not bad at all, very comfort- able, and would answer very well for the pres- ent. All those without shoes were fitted out. I signed a memorandum to be forwarded to the British consul-general for payment. The Chinamen requested the privilege of join- ing our party, and were told to fall in and bring up the rear. At 4 o'clock we bid farewell to those remain- ing at El Marsa, to the ranch folks who had treated us so royally, and started on our way — forty white men and eleven Chinese. Ours was no expedition of conquest; rather it was one of acquisition. In fact, we did ac- quire something at every stop. At the first ranch, about two miles from our starting point, we secured two coats. They were unable to take care of any men on account of the entire family being away. 68 TORPEDOED IN Here we were joined by two forest rangers, Monsieurs Andre Calvet and Charles Esvam These gentlemen had been instructed by the civil authorities at Tenes to get in touch with us. They were surely a very welcome addition to our party. Both could speak Spanish, and of course were familiar with the surrounding coun- try and knew who could best care for a bunch of wanderers such as we. At every ranch visited detachments of five to eight men were left, and at dark every man had been provided for. Five of us were quartered with Andre Calvet the ranger. We probably had the best accom- modations of the lot. I know that the people anywhere could not have been any better. After we had partaken of a splendid supper, with an abundance of wine and brandy, Monsieur Calvet and I made the rounds to see how the boys were faring. We found that all were very well pleased with the treatment received. True, some had to sleep on a bed of straw under sheds and without blankets, but there was plenty of brandy, lots of wine and food, therefore no one suffered in the least or noticed the lack of bed- ding. At every ranch we found the neighbors had gathered to see the strangers. Although con- versation was limited to signs with a word here and there, the spirit was there. These folks knew that we had come up from the sea; they knew, too, that we were the allies of their own country; that their fight was our fight, and all THE MEDITERRANEAN 69 to down the Kaiser. Nothing was too good for us. A pleasant, happy evening was passed there on the shores of the blue Mediterranean, bathed in folds of pale tropic moonlight; the rippling waves breaking gently on the white sandy beach — vastly different from the night before. The French Colonials are, I believe, the most hospitable folks on earth. When a neighbor calls at the abode of another it is customary for the "best" in the house to be produced — wine or brandy, or both. The number of glasses par- taken of accords with the nature of the call. Our business was so unusual that every prece- dent was broken. Our greatest trouble was in getting away to the next place. At the last ranch visited, the next-door neigh- bor of Mr. Calvet, and a particular friend, we tarried so long I was afraid we would be unable to reach our own place; however, I had under- estimated our ability. We returned to find Monsieur Esvan and Mrs. Oalvet and her daughter Marie awaiting our arrival. The latter two, bidding us good night, retired, leaving us in possession of the dining-room. We held forth there for some hours, discussing ways and means, etc., of reaching the railway the fol- lowing day. Having decided to adjourn until later, I bid the gentlemen good night. Now, I did not want to awaken the folks who had retired earlier, therefore I would not walk across the room and create a lot of racket. Noj 70 TOEPEDOED IN it would be much better to cross that room on hands and knees. Beaching my door thus, I noticed that Mr. Calvet had adopted the same tactics. He, also, was very considerate of the others. Mr. Esvan elected to remain in his chair, a large, old- fashioned rocker. December 5th. The clear, high-pitched drone of a motor some- where broke over the quiet of early morning. Scarcely had the household begun to stir when a native boy arrived at the ranch with the in- formation that the governor had arrived, and was then waiting on the highway below. In conveying this to me, Mr. Calvet suggested that we make haste. But yes, the governor we should meet at once. Dressing quickly, pausing just long enough for an eye-opener, I made my way around to the trail leading down to the highway, expecting to join Mr. Calvet there. However, he had pre- ceded me by several minutes, and was then some three hundred yards in advance, hurrying along the trail toward the road. Arriving there I was told the governor desired to speak to me. We shook hands; that is about as far as we got in the way of conversation. Neither of us could understand a single word uttered by the other. Next I was introduced to a captain of infan- try. We conversed in the same manner. I did not catch the name of either of these i-.. THE MEDITERRANEAN 71 gentlemen. Anyway I would not know how to spell them. A second machine, a double-decked auto lorry similar to the governor's machine, arrived, and from within stepped a youngish slender mail, wearing baggy red trousers, braided jacket and red fez, the uniform of the French foreign legion. Corporal Leroux was another of those walking dictionaries. He could speak nine languages and had travelled to the end of almost every road leading down through the east. Summing up our combined knowledge we found the only boat not accounted for had landed some ten miles beyond El Marsa. The lorries would proceed to that point for the men, then return and pick up those left at El Marsa, and our several detachments on the return trip to Tenes. Monsieur Calvet and I again made the rounds, notifying the boys to assemble on the main high- way, where they would be picked up by the re- turning machines. This was good news. Even though we did not know where we were going, we would rather be on the way. At some of the ranches breakfast had not yet been prepared. Rather than wait for this the men filled their pockets with long loaves of fresh, crisp bread and bottles of wine '• and brandy. The distance to Tenes was between sixty and seventy kilometres. We would be there in time for dinner. Within a few minutes of the arrival of the last 72 TOEPEDOED IN detachment at the point of assembly, the return- ing machines arrived and drew up to compare notes. Upon checking up, we accounted for every man except the twenty-five in No. 4 boat. This was in charge of Bos'n Gibbs, a very able and competent man, therefore no apprehension was felt as to their fate. The four or five hours into Tenes was a pleas- ant, exhilarating ride over an almost perfect roadway; at places cut out of solid rock, now almost at the water's edge, now ascending long grades to the top of a sloping foothill, thence across the mesa down again and over long steel trestles to sea level. At every hamlet the inhabitants lined the roadway and waved us a cheery greeting. Wherever we stopped refreshments were always tendered. With the exception of Charley Smith every one was enjoying himself hugely. Poor ■" Smithy' ' was bandaged in such a manner that only one eye was visible ; he could neither smoke nor drink, could only emit a low moan or a bale- ful glare from his one good eye to express his feelings. While yet some miles out of Tenes, ascending a long grade, I observed some distance ahead an old beggar nobbling along, aided in his wabbly walk by a crutch and two canes. Apparently he could just about move. A young native operator whom we had picked up at a signal station was sitting beside me. THE MEDITERRANEAN 73 I called his attention to the old fellow, and sug- gested giving him a lift. The young man laughed, and I turned just in time to see his " nibs' ' gather all of his "timbers" under one arm, and with a flying leap, land on the foot- board just outside where we were sitting. While apparently an old man, his eyes were young, and I knew that he did not require his crutch and canes. He regarded us in a specula- tive way and accepted a seat, a loaf of bread and a bottle of wine. The latter items went into his knapsack. While the men who had ten- dered these were somewhat surprised, nothing was said — perhaps that was customary there. The operator wanted to unload the old beggar, and I was sure if the corporal caught sight of him he was a goner. However, he went on with us and was not disturbed. We arrived at Tenes at 12:30 noon, a city of several thousand, nestling around the mouth of a deep, narrow canyon cut through the moun- tains from the backlands to the sea. The machines halted in front of a long, low building which we knew to be a military bar- racks, and where we met the boys from No. 4 boat. The entire crew was now together the first time since leaving the ship. We learned they had landed about eight miles from our landing place, and had arrived in Tenes the same night at midnight. We were told to prepare for dinner. Even then we could see through the doorway to long 74 TORPEDOED IN tables piled with food, flanked by an array of long-necked bottles. Charley Smith was taken to the hospital. I never saw or heard of him again. Our stay in Tenes would be of short duration. "We were to leave within an hour for Orleans- ville, distant some forty kilometres. This was the railway station, from where we would take train for Algiers. Just ready for dinner at the barracks, I was shunted off down the street by one of the natives. I supposed some information was wanted by some one, as for the past two days I had been the "goat" for this, that and the other, and al- ways on the go. I was agreeably surprised when we landed at an imposing-looking hotel ; the best, I believe, in the city. There I was put in charge of an old horse thief, who, if he lived up to his make-up, facial and otherwise, was quite capable of looting a bank or scuttling a ship without the least compunction. This party motioned me into the dining-room and high-signed a waitress to come and get me. At a long table were seated the ship's officers, the horse doctor, Chinese steward and "Chips." These gentlemen were visibly surprised, and I fear shocked, to see me, an ordinary horseman, there expecting to dine in such exalted company; but I was conducted over to a small table and served "solo." Also, instead of the large, blunt bottles of wine with which they were supplied, there were bottles with long slim necks— "thank THE MEDITERRANEAN 75 you." I had an excellent dinner, plenty of good, wholesome food. In the course of the meal an officer entered and asked the mate what kind of transportation he wanted, first or second class. After due de- liberation he decided that second class for the officers and third class for the crew would fill the bill. Either third or fourth class would be good enough for the crew. I wanted to tell this officer that in the United States I had often seen better men than the mate travelling on freight trains. On second thought, however, I didn't say anything. The officer couldn't understand English, and the mate would not. At any rate it was only a few hours' ride. Had I known that our transportation all the way through to Paris was to be based on that same order, I would have made a strenuous kick. The auto lorries, the same double-deckers that had brought us into Tenes, were drawn up at the curb and ready to leave any minute. The men had scattered around the town and had to be rounded up; Those who had come in ahead of us, who needed shoes or other clothing, had been taken in charge by a committee to be outfitted. These also were missing, and had not showed up even for dinner. In company of some French soldiers, we started out to round up the absentees. This was no small job — the boys were in no hurry to leave Tenes. They had been warmly welcomed and treated royally by every one with whom they came in contact. Wherever a group of natives were gathered, 76 TORPEDOED IN there we would be sure to find at least one of "ours." After "collecting" there we would move on to the next group, and so on until one machine had been loaded and was ready to leave. The little commandant for some reason was very eager to see us on our way. Whether he had orders from some higher authority, or was just anxious for us to get on to the railway, I do not know. At any rate we were about an hour behind our schedule, and would surely be too late for the evening train that would have landed us at Algiers about midnight. Appar- ently it would be impossible to find all of the men without great delay, and orders were given to move on with those present. There are but few spots anywhere on earth's surface that are blessed with a finer, more even climate than that part of Algeria bordering the Mediterranean sea. The days are invariably filled with bright, limpid sunshine; the nights are never cold at any time. Now in December there was just enough tang in the dry salt air to make one feel like keeping on the go forever. If one de- sired to remain indoors, a fire was not necessary throughout the evening. To those of us used to the open, this far-away land appealed like a thing from home. Around a giant circle encompassing nearly the entire city, the lorries swung out along the mountain road toward the interior. Clinging to the almost perpendicular side of the canyon, winding in and out and ever upward THE MEDITERRANEAN 77 over a narrow rock roadway that surpassed the famous skyline drive itself, and in scenery lack- ing only the hanging bridge, the mountain sheep, and the stars viewed at noontime from the nar- row gorge just below Texas Creek. A branch line railway is fighting its way through this wild, rugged gorge from the inland valleys to Tenes and the sea. Through the first mountain hamlet we passed without notice, but at the next one, a little more* pretentious, containing a mail station, a school and perhaps two dozen houses, we passed in> review before the entire population. To these, evidently, we were just foreigners; whether friendly or otherwise they had not quite decided. No demonstration of welcome greeting, such as we had become used to, was extended as we passed rapidly through and out again to the open highway. Drawing up to one of the wayside tanks, erected and maintained by the Automobile Club de France (see signs), a halt was made to re- plenish the water in the radiators and to give us a brief minute to stretch our legs. We had passed a strenuous hour or two over that moun- tain road, swaying and pitching around sharp curves at a speed not at all conducive to sleep, especially to those of us on the upper deck. We had now passed out into the open balmy country. Vast ranches of grain land and vine- yards stretched away for miles on either side. Small fruits were in abundance. Everywhere could be seen the teams of horses and cattle 7$ TORPEDOED IN pulling plows and discs, upturning* the soil for the new crops so greatly desired by the mother country, France. In the distance, far across this noble valley, and well in toward the foothills, lay the City of Orleansville, the largest and most industrious in- terior city of Algeria. Passing into the city down long, wide streets shaded by rugged trees similar to our elm and cottonwood, we brought up in front of Hotel de Ville, the municipal center. Here we unloaded bag and baggage. Our drivers had done their bit. Routed out in the small hours of morning to search along miles of shoreline for a torpedoed crew, they had completed their task, and had delivered us safely at the railway station for our onward journey. For some reason the authorities had not been advised of our coming. There was no one to meet us, and seemingly no one in authority any- where to direct us where to go. After considerable time and hiking around the city, we wound up at the military barracks, far out on an elevated plateau. Those who have stood at the apex of Robidoux and gazed down on the beautiful city at the foot thereof, have a mind's-eye view of the French- Algerian city of Orleansville. However, instead of the peaceful quiet of the American city, you would note the hubbub of military activity. Instead of the musical chimes pealing forth at eventide from the cupola of old Mission Inn^ THE MEDITERRANEAN 79 rather yon would hear the clarion call of the war bugle, for Algeria has sounded the tocsin, she has heard the agonizing cry of the motherland, and her sons are marching forth. At the barracks we were divided into two } detachments, and assigned to the temporary mess halls of troops forming for service overseas. These were all native Algerian boys. The non- commissioned officers, as a rule, were Frenchmen, detailed for this work. They had seen much service at the front. Our mess sergeant was an old-timer. He had medals won at Vimy Ridge and Ypres in the present war, and had seen much hard service in the colonies previously. While he was weary of war, he was eager to return to the front. France would never stop until the Boche had been beaten down and placed where he belonged. The quarters of the old Foreign Legion were thrown open for us. We could, if desired, obtain a few hours' rest before leaving for the station at 1 A. M. The Legioners had left for the front in 1914. Most of them had long ago answered the last rollcall. Here on the walls were many memen- toes of the strenuous life they had lived, of the desert forays and conflicts, for here they had carved out with sword and lance a colonial em- pire for France. Although throughout the daylight hours the war work had been carried on at full swing, now at dusk the activities had relaxed; all had turned to lighter, happier things for the moment, 80 TORPEDOED IN and were out in force for the best the night might bring forth. Seafaring men were quite a novelty in this interior town. The news and doings of the sea seldom penetrated so far inland. Our boys could be seen everywhere with groups of natives and soldiers, and while in a way they were handicapped so far as conversation was con- cerned, they seemed to be enjoying every minute to the fullest extent. Early in the evening, in company with the sail- ors, Larson, Borge "Boots," and "Frisco.," the two cooks and I had drifted into the Cafe des Messageries, ably conducted by Senor A. Loupinto. This was not only the liveliest place in town, but apparently headquarters for both civil and military authorities. All too soon we realized that the evening had passed. It was time to return to the barracks where we were to assemble before proceeding to the rail- way station. Some had turned in for a little rest. Rousing these and making our way out past the silent sentries, quietly as possible to avoid the soldiers, we formed for a silent roll- call. All present ! Following our guide, we filed out through the narrow doorway of the barracks into the street, once more on our way to the homeland. The night-gay little city had settled down to rest, preparing for another day of strenuous war work. On the long station platform were piles and piles of bundles and boxes and bales, luggage, food, household effects, personal belongings, sol- THE MEDITERRANEAN 81 diers' kits and what not, all to be moved to some place. One would think that this was a goods road only. There would be no room or place for mere humans, yet they were there. Squatted around and between those mountains of bundles, they waited, men, women and chil- dren and native soldiers, all bound for the sea- ports, for those towns had become "good." The war had made a great change. There was more work and good wages. "But yes, it is the place," said a little Spaniard, and that told the whole story. Although our train was long overdue, the peo- ple were still coming to the station; groups and families, all kinds and classes. .It did not seem possible that all of these folks could find room on our train. Orleansville was an engine division; just across the tracks stood the round house. From here a monster road engine slowly rolled out to the water column. "Etats Chemin de Fer Alger" on her tender looked all right; at least the words were in about the right place. The sharp escape of live steam as she moved, and the vibrant throb of the pumps denoted power. Ap- parently this monster machine could drag away as many of those little box-like coaches as could be tied on. A short, shrill whistle galvanized that plat- form into a seething mass of humanity. As the long train rolled into the station and halted with a lurch the scramble was on. Every door was jammed and crowded, every one wanted to get 82 TORPEDOED IN aboard, and now. Those wishing to get off had to fight and squeeze their way ont. The station master had requested two special cars for us. These, we were told, would be well toward the rear of the train. Making our way back, we found every car filled to capacity. At the extreme rear a third- class car partially filled was grabbed in a rush by those in front; the others were compelled to load on any old place where there was an inch of space. A number of goods vans were switched in to the train. Bundles and boxes were loaded with an amazing swiftness. Soon there was not a single piece left ; the clean-up had been complete. Down along the train station porters were re- placing the dead heaters with new live ones. These, a sort of perforated pipe about three feet in length filled with lighted charcoal, are the only system of heating. They are placed along on the floor between seats, and are changed at division points. While crude, they are not at all bad; far bet- ter than nothing, especially in a mountain coun- try. The warning whistle of the station-master sent us on our way. Whatever the faults of Algerian trains, long station stops are not included there- in, which, in a way, accounts for the mad scram- ble to get aboard quickly. There is no familiar "all aboard" from the conductor; in fact, there is no conductor. Just who is in charge of the train I could never THE MEDITERRANEAN 83 learn. The station-master stops them on ar- rival, also starts them on their way again, sells tickets to those going away and collects from those coming in. I suppose the engineer and fireman do the rest. Just after daylight we pulled into quite a large city. The station buildings and surround- ings denoted a town of considerable importance. The name over the doorways, while short, did not mean anything to me. Long ago I had given up that foolish idea. It is all right in the States, but in Algeria you are only wasting your time. Down at the end of the station was a familiar- looking place, at least worth investigating. "But yes, monsieur, cafe con cognac,' ' said the lady there, pushing out the little cups of strong black coffee and brandy. While the Americans were all off on the platform, apparently the natives were afraid to take the risk. The first-class passengers were eager for an eye-opener of the black beverage: This led to an early arrangement with the boys on the plat- form. For the price of two cups one was passed through the car windows, until every one had been supplied. This proved very satisfactory all around except with the station-master. Try as he would, he could not get all of the boys aboard at once. He was greatly worried when the train pulled out to see them swing onto the runningboard of the cars they had been riding- He did not know that most of those men were: more at home on the deck or underneath thaa 84 TORPEDOED IN on the cushions. They could board that train anywhere without any danger. Over the level country the train was now speeding along at a thirty-mile clip. This was a pleasant diversion from the slow, creepy gait of the past few hours through the foothills with their long, stiff grades. Evidently the enginemen had a mind to make up some of our lost time, for villages and small stations were passed up without the slightest notice. On and on we sped, past long sidings filled with vat cars held for the great wineries that would soon be in operation. Miles and miles of level, fertile land, some under cultivation, much more apparently virgin soil, stretched away to the horizon. Perhaps in future years this fair land will be the home of countless thousands. Approaching Algiers from the interior one is reminded of a great inland city. Only when the train had rounded the headlands and along the land-locked harbor was the first view of the sea obtainable. Out beyond the bar walls of water racing shoreward appeared for the moment menacing, only to break against the rocky bar- riers with a great splash and showers of flying spray. Along the waterfront, past the long rows of piers, we made our way to the station, back again to the city we had so recently left without the slightest idea of ever seeing it again. THE MEDITERRANEAN 85 Algiers, December 5. Edging our way through the congested sta- tion, we crossed to the Rue de la Libertie in search of the British consul-general. Here we were joined by a little man dressed like a white man, but wearing the inevitable fez that white men do not wear as a rule. He had, he admitted, been sent out by the consul-general to meet our party as official guide. Although he had missed us at the station, he assured us of his unusual ability along this line. The first thing would be to find hotels in time for dinner. This was very agreeable, as we had postponed breakfast, other than the black coffee and cognac of the station buffets along the route. I have heard it said that somewhere there is a land where Jews are not. Either that is a myth or the road thereto leads through a coun- try of no per cent. If our little man was not a Jew, which he stoutly denied, he surely displayed the charac- teristics of that race. " Every little movement had a meaning of its own." From that time until we had gone aboard ship every move we made was subject to his ap- proval. As a rule, we were halted a little distance away until satisfactory arrangements had been concluded. "He had surely been born with the percentage." Rooms were secured at the Hotel de Madrid, While meals also were served there, it would be 86 TORPEDOED IN better for lis to eat elsewhere, said the guide. Evidently the landlord of the Hotel de Madrid was a very thrifty person. He did not believe in. parting with any more silver than was abso- lutely necessary. , The consul-general would supply each one with an outfit of clothes to replace those lost when the ship went down. This transaction would take place in the early afternoon. The guide had arranged with a certain merchant, the best in the city, so he said. The Cafe del Oro, in the Rue des Chartres, whose modest sign proclaimed the ability to serve the famished at all hours, proved the ex- ception to the rule. Our party of sixty-odd, filing through the nar- row doorway into the spacious dining-room, caused no aaore of a ripple in the placid work- ings of that establishment than the proverbial drop in the bucket. Five hundred could be served as quickly and fully as could five. Having had but a scant few minutes to pre- pare for us, they had placed several tables to- gether at one side of the room. These were load- ed with food, an extra long table holding a re- serve of bottled red wine and dozens of loaves of French bread stood close at hand. The others diners had us spotted. Through- out the meal we were "gandered," like the wild girl in any carnival company playing Tupelo. Perhaps this notoriety appealed to some of us, also. At any rate, the person who could THE MEDITERRANEAN 87 speak enough English or Spanish to ask for details of the sinking of the Berwick Law cer- tainly got his money's worth. However, we were not in the limelight long. In the later days when we had reached the submarine zone proper, we found that a torpedoed crew attracted no more attention than a moving picture cowboy in Hollywood. "Oui, senor. Sure," said Monsieur Ben- simon, keeper of the toggery, as he draped Fitz- patrick with a suit of clothes and forced a roll of underclothing, shoes, etc., under each arm. "Next gentleman! Yes, sir." However, Fitz did not enthuse worth a cent. This grab-and- catch method did not appeal. Fitz, in a way, was like the Arkansas Central — not as long as some, but just as wide. It would be policy to take a second glance at a suit of clothing one might have to wear several thousand miles. As a rule, however, the boys were not overly fastidious. Somehow they did not seem to re- gard this deal very highly. At any rate, the clothing issued was of little value ; old remnants of shopworn stuff, junk that no white man would buy. Of course the British government was charged up for first-class outfits. At the start some of us made a "holler," but it didn't do any good. "Whomever we saw would pass the buck to some one else. At last becoming disgusted, we ac- cepted our outfits along with the others. We knew one way to dispose of them. 88 TORPEDOED IN December 6th. "Kindly note on the chart as nearly as pos- sible position of the Berwick Law when the tor- pedo struck," said the consul-general to Bos'n Gibbs. ; "Did you see the U-boat after the vessel had "been struck?' ' "No, sir, not until after we had lowered the lifeboats and pulled away from the ship." "Your ship was armed,' was she not!" "Yes, sir. She mounted one small gun — a, 4.7." "Were there any shots fired from the Berwick Law?" j "No, sir." "Where were your gunners when the boat was torpedoed?" "I believe that one was asleep and the other •one in the galley." "Was there any one on watch at the time!" "Yes, sir. Apprentice Eiddle was on watch in the crow's nest. A sailor was on deck watch; also, of course, there was' an officer on the lb ridge. ' ' "Did any one report seeing the submarine "before or immediately after the vessel had been torpedoed?" "No, sir, not to my knowledge." ! Previous testimony has shown that the Berwick Law did not sink until some time after the torpedo had exploded in her hold. In fact, she remained afloat until sunk by bombs and shell fire. THE MEDITERRANEAN 89 "In your opinion, if the crew had not aban- doned ship at once, but had stood by and f onght the U-boat, wonld it have been possible to save the ship?" "No, sir, not a chance." This reply seemed to "nettle" the consul-gen- eral very much. Evidently he would have elected to remain and fight it out. Personally, I am very glad that the consul-general was not there. We never had a chance with the Huns. Not one subma- rine, but two, lay out there, invisible to us, while we were a perfect target. Then, too, they had four guns to our one, saying nothing of torpedoes. If our gunners had fired, even blindly as they would have to do, the U-boats could have blown us to pieces without the slight- est risk to themselves. The explosion had put the wireless out of commission; also the steer- ing gear was jammed. In case of a scrap, the Germans would have had their own way, and could have easily destroyed every lifeboat launched. All hands ready to sail at 4 P. M. for Mar- seilles was the order given out at dinner. The consul would not advance any money to the crew. Said he had no authority to do so. However, he would arrange with either Mar- seilles or Paris in regard to this (official bunk). Tobacco and cigarettes would be distributed at the pier before going aboard ship. Five francs, six — eight, but yes, ten francs; no more. That was about the average price 90 TORPEDOED IN obtained from the natives for the clothes that had been issued to us. Shoes and underwear were good for another ten-franc note; total in American money, four dollars. Then the fun started, when the guide, with the assistance of gendarmes and soldiers, had assembled the crew at the pier shortly before sailing time. Some of that bunch were charged up to a thousand. The Chinamen also had been down in the quar- ter of their own kind. They, too, were keyed up to high pressure. One of them, a husky fire- man, wanted to fight, and would fight some one right now. He had been avoided by so many he thought he had the whole crowd buffaloed. Then he ran into Keegan, a New York lad, smaller than the Chink, but quick as lightning and hard as nails. The Chinaman made just one pass at Keegan, then sat down hard on the pavement. Spring- ing up, he sailed in, fighting like a wild man, and succeeded in landing some pretty stiff blows. Finally Keegan caught him a good right-hander just under the ear. That Chink spun a complete circle and went down like a ton of brick. He never came back for any more. As nearly as I can remember that is the only occasion I ever knew of a Chinaman challeng- ing a white man to a fistic encounter. This fight had started others on the pier; even the natives had indulged in a bout or two. The confusion was so great that passageway had been cut off entirely. THE MEDITERRANEAN 91 The little man who was trying to distribute tobacco and cigarettes was buffeted about from •pillar to post. In the melee I managed to get a pipe, but the best I could do in the line of tobacco was a package of cigarette papers. The steamship Moise, a small but fast boat, was the regular mail packet plying between Algiers and Marseilles. She had been on this same run for many years, and since August, 1914, had missed but one or two trips. Although the Mediterranean was thick with U-boats, she had never been molested. Some said that so many spies travelled back and forth between the two ports that the Germans had orders to pass her up. When we had arrived at the pier head it looked as though the ship was then loaded to the limit. Regular passengers had taken all available room, and some had even piled their luggage along the passageways outside. In addition, sev- eral companies of native troops en route to the French front were on board. From stem to stern these troops, with their kits and gear, had crowded into every nook and cranny. It seemed a physical impossibility for sixty more men to be wedged into that mass. However, we in- tended to make that boat somehow. As long as we were on the way, we did not want to miss a single connection at any place. Our gear, con- sisting of a lifebelt and one blanket, would not take up much space ; but even standing room was 92 TOEPEDOED IN not available. Something would have to be done, and quickly. Going up the forward lines, two of the lads succeeded in clearing a space for our gear, which was tossed up from below. As in 'most every- thing else, a start is all that is needed; somehow we managed to get aboard, and were all to- gether. A little pressure was exerted at times perhaps, but war is hell anyway. I was surprised at the number of women and children aboard. After we had left the harbor, the officers had straightened things out a bit by using the passageways along the first-class cabins and quartering a company of troops back on the superstructure. We had been given much more room. One could move about the ship without walking over others. Women and chil- dren were everywhere, some just ordinary pas- sengers going to France and Spain; others were families of men going to the front. They carried bundles of personal and household effects, as though they did not expect to return. Everywhere more or less confusion existed. A vague feeling of some unseen danger seemed to permeate throughout. Even the veteran sail- ors who had made this trip day after day, seemed to sense it, and in reply to questions merely shrugged their shoulders. Ordinarily perhaps the facilities for serving food to the passengers were adequate. On this occasion, however, they proved absolutely nil. Eooms that might have been used for mess-rooms were crammed full of humans who had nowhere THE MEDITERRANEAN 93 else to go. In general it looked as though we were in for a bad night. Around five o'clock the stewards announced supper. How and where same would be served they did not know or apparently care. As it happened, we were quartered near the galley and had seen the huge kettles of boiled rice thickened with chopped meat. Although we had no utensils or tableware whatever, we fully intended to have some of that grub when the time came. The native soldiers were served first. Boilers and buckets filled with rice were placed along the deck. Around these the men would gather and grab what they could. It was a mad scram- ble, like thirsty range cattle around a newly-dis- covered water hole in the Huachucas. We did not fare any better, and perhaps pre- sented just such a spectacle as did the natives. As previously explained, we had no knives, forks or spoons. Some of our fellows did not eat at all; others would break chunks of bread and dip into the rice. At a great outlay (of United Cigar coupons) I had obtained from a certain source a common- sized tablespoon, crested with an anchor sur- mounted by a flag and bearing the following in- scription: "Cie. Gle. Transatlantique. ' ' This I froze onto. I would not even loan it to my best friend. I have it yet. Buckets of red wine, drawn from great kewpie-shaped casks, passed around freely as water. Even after the meal was over the wine kept on coming. This prob- 94 TORPEDOED IN ably had something to do with the fracas that followed. The old adage that wine, women and song will play h — 1 with a man's soul is no doubt very true. That this is accomplished in a way pecu- liar to the individual affected is also true. Forward on the saloon deck the smoking-room extended nearly the width of the ship. Here a quartet had been holding forth for some hours. Brandy and wine were there in proportion. McGraun, better known to us as "Pinochle Charley/ ' which fits him better than any de- scription I could give, as a rule was never heard from except at meal time, or when trailing some one suspected of having tobacco, and who never stirred a foot away from his bunk without his lifebelt, now had abandoned all precaution. "Pinochle" was lit up like a light-house in a fog, and proved to be an amusing entertainer. When ready to retire, finding no better place available, he calmly entered the chief mate's cabin, filled and lighted his cob-pipe and pro- ceeded to stretch out comfortably on that gen- tleman's bunk. I had curled in the passageway just at the foot of the stairway leading to the boat deck. In case of a night messenger from the Huns I wanted to be one of those present at the cere- monies. Some time during the early morning hours I was awakened by one of our boys, who said there was a fight on in the smoking-room. Just at that time Jack Keegan came up and said that THE MEDITERRANEAN 95 "Blacky' ' (Dave) Lewis had been shot by the third engineer. Before I could get out of the hallway Keegan returned and said that " Blacky' ' was not hurt; the shot had missed. "Here is the gun," said he, throwing back his coat and exposing the muzzle of a pistol protruding from the inner pocket. It appeared that the mix-up had been between the horsemen and the engineers, where friction; more or less, had existed since launching the lifeboats December 2. The engineers had tried to put over that "phoney" class stunt so preva- lent in England, but the Americans would not have it. They insisted that each man do his share on equal terms. In the mix-up the engineers were pretty roughly handled, and plainly showed the effects of the beating they had received. The fourth engineer, who on several occasions had gone out of the way to make things unpleasant for the Americans, and who was the main instigator of that night's trouble, received special attention. His features were battered out of shape. The engineers got just what was coming to them. From that time, until we left them in London, they attended strictly to their own affairs. The ship's officers called the troops and five of the Americans were placed in the "bug." However, they were released in a few hours. ' * That coast is strange to me," said one of our sailors, who had made several trips into Marseilles, pointing to a rocky headland jutting 96 TOEPEDOED IN out like the top of a letter S. By a member of the ship's crew we were told we were approach- ing the City of Toulon instead of Marseilles. During the night we had been chased more than a hundred miles out of our course by a hostile ship of some kind. It was impossible to get the least bit of information of this affair from the ship's crew. Together with two other ships picked up at daybreak, we ran into the harbor of Toulon and dropped anchor. Luck had surely been with us. Had the Moise been torpedoed that night few indeed would have lived to tell the tale. No precautions had been taken even for the women and children. Not a single lifeboat had been swung out. Among that drink-crazed crowd the loss of life would have been appalling. Super-submarines, recently turned out by the Germans, had been laying mines outside of the harbors of Toulon and Marseilles. Eumor had it that one of them had been destroyed by strik- ing one of their own mines. At any rate, we were to remain in Toulon harbor until further orders. This was very disappointing. Owing to the congestion, the sanitary conditions aboard ship were bad. The food, although plentiful, was served in such a way that while some were gorged others were hungry. The children had become peevish and fretful. The pinched fea- tures of the white-faced women told their own story. Theirs had been the harder lot. Many without shelter and scantily attired looked to be near exhaustion. THE MEDITERRANEAN 97 Barely making past the net gates, which close promptly at a given time, the Moise trailed in the wake of a French submersible out through the mined channel and headed along the coast for Marseilles, ordinarily a run of three to four hours. Scarcely had the submarine flashed their farewell signal, when full speed ahead sounded below. Never mind the mines, no lights, full speed and hug the coast seemed to be the orders, and good luck to the winner. Rowland, Obdyke and I had organized a sort of safety-first league. Making our way aft we had edged a liferaft over the rail; this was lashed in such manner that a slash of a knife would free it from the ship. If necessary we would go overboard with it. Apropos of nothing in particular we were conversing in low tones to avoid disturbing some women and children huddled up in the lee of the gun deck near by, when we were startled by a short blast of the whistle. "What is that for?" said Obdyke. "That," replied Rowland, as a large two-funnel troop ship flashed by at arm's* length. She was loaded down with soldiers, even to the rigging. One could have easily reached out to her 'midship rail. Afterward our carpen- ter, "Chips," told me he was in the fore peak talking to the lookout there, and that if the Moise had not swerved sharply to the right the two ships would have met bow on. This was perhaps the closest shave of all, considering the speed of both. The Moise would have crumpled like an eggshell. 98 TORPEDOED IN Marseilles, France, December 11th. The forty-eight hours in Marseilles passed like that many minutes. Following our hair- breadth escape from the troop ship December 9, the Moise nosed her way into her home port at 10 P. M. She knew that darkened harbor as you do your own room. Passing among a score of anchored tramps, she tied up at the piers of The Companie General Transatlantique. Fore and aft gangways were placed, and in less than twenty minutes the human cargo had disap- peared to a man. Even the crew seemed to have departed. No provision had been made for us ashore. Now, however, we found blankets galore, left by the women folks, and passed the night com- fortably aboard ship. "Thos. Cook & Son, 1113 Kue Noilles, Mar- seilles,' ' was the inscription on the card pre- sented by a suave gentleman standing at the head of the gangway. Said he : " Our company has instructions to take charge of your party, Marseilles to London." Would we be ready at once to go ashore? We would! Following a brisk hike of half an hour over the rough cobblestone streets leading from the waterfront out beyond the great terminal station of the Paris, Lyons and Mediterrane Railway to the Boulevard d'Athenes and the hotel section of the city. Our party was divided between the Hotel de Grenoble and Hotel Beaulieu. Meals for the entire party were served at Hotel de Grenoble. The food here was both plentiful and excellent. THE MEDITEKRANEAN 99 While all waste had been eliminated, there were no short rations of anything. There in Southern France the people had not suffered for anything and did not expect to, the only exception being imported articles. Most of our time was spent in making the rounds from the hotels to the British and Amer- ican consular offices. A civilian could not get ■very far without the proper credentials, and was apt to receive short shrift if picked up on the streets entirely void of these very necessary papers, as we were. Our original passports had been lost with the ship. The consul-general at Algiers had issued a blanket passport covering our passage to Mar- seilles only. At the British consulate we met a number of men from the ships that had come out in convoy with us from Port Said and Alexandria. The five that left us and went into Malta, the follow- ing day while en route to Bizerta, had . been attacked by several submarines. Four of the five were sunk, according to the men who had been picked up and landed at Marseilles. As far as I know this was never reported in the newspapers. One of the attaches told us that this was a daily occurrence, that is, torpedoed crews reporting there, some for payment and some for shipment to their home countries. After our party had been fixed up, then late in the evening, the street outside was crowded halfway down the block with waiting crews. The entire male population had gone to the 100 TORPEDOED IN front. Only the very young and very old men were left. At the barbershop, where the entire crew had been Bent by the consul, the four chairs there were operated by small youngsters. The boss, apparently upward of forty-five years of age, was working in his soldier togs. It was the same at the hotels; in fact, in any small business place where a man was working we learned he was on leave for a few days. Troops were leav- ing hourly, while others were returning direct from the trenches tired and dirty for a change of clothing and rest. The City of Marseilles resembles San Fran- cisco perhaps more than any other American city, — the cosmopolitan population, the climate, the hilly portion along the sea, the great land- locked harbor wherein ride at anchor ships to and from the world's highways. The great gay underworld, probably just now the most vivid in all Europe, reminds one of the old Chinatown that was before the great fire and the reform wave that followed swept over the city by the Golden Gate. The Paris express would leave at 11:40 P. M. was the order given out at the evening meaL All hands were expected to be ready to leave the hotel at ten-thirty sharp. An informal party had been staged in the dining-room, after the supper things had been cleared away. Among our crowd was a fair quartet, also some of the boys could "fiddle" and strum the banjo, much to the delight of the THE MEDITERRANEAN 101 youngsters clustered about the doorways. All of the women folks of the hotel (there was not a single man around the place) were there for a farewell glass of wine — bon voyage. The French people drink their wine and brandy because they • enjoy doing so. Unlike some of us in America, they do not get "charged up" and try to turn over the school-house or lick the "constibule." I have never yet seen a drunken person in France (except foreigners). Down the long train in the wake of " Cookie' ' or "Cake" as the guide had become known, we found a third-class car had been reserved for us. This was a fairly decent corridor car, each compartment having room for six persons and was heated by steam, a thing greatly appre- ciated during an all-night ride in mid-December. "Lyons, Dijon, Paris," thus were most of the cars placarded. These were filled in short order by a jostling, .surging crowd who, judging from the amount and variety of luggage carried, might be out on a world tour. The loading and departure of two long troop trains had delayed the Paris express more than ■ an hour, a thing not to be taken lightly, judging from the manner of the jabbering, hurrying officials on the platform. Evidently this train was of some import. That part of France, the Midi, in many ways perhaps the most interesting part of the repub- lic, we passed through at night. At Lyons, with its acres of silk and textile mills, the train halted forty minutes for breakfast. 102 TORPEDOED IN " Don't go in there, you bloody fool," said the fourth engineer to Fitzpatrick, who had reached out to open a door leading to the station res- taurant. "Cawn't you see that is for ladies?" "Well, then this one must be for gentlemen; at any rate you would be barred from either," replied the Irishman as he swung open another door and we trooped inside in a bunch. "Over this way; we have been ready for you some time," said a man in khaki, waving the party to a group of tables cut off from the main room by a lattice-work railing. The officers, who had been following the lead of the fourth engineer, found their way in a few minutes later only to find all seats occupied. They had to be content with a cup of coffee and whatever else they could get, standing along the wall. Despite the delay at Marseilles and other points caused by the great number of troop trains to and from the front, our train did re- markably well. I think it was at Dijon, the last engine divi- sion, that the long-legged atlantic-type rambler was coupled on. She was some engine. One of the boys remarked that if they would fix her up with a cowcatcher she might pull the "Cen- tury," or even No. 3, between Dodge City and La Junta. From the moment he lamped the highsign at Dijon until he had pinched 'em down in the immense train shed of the Gare du Nord, Paris, that hogshead was rorin' to go. We arrived at THE MEDITERRANEAN 103 6:35, just three hours late; a remarkable run under existing conditions. "Ah, me lads, you would like to be in Blighty, eh?" said our new guide, approaching our party from the station. "Blighty your foot," replied one of the boys. "How about the old United States? Say, when do we eat?" "Fol- low me and keep together." Four blocks from the station we halted in front of a pair of wide, high doors. After considerable pounding the guide had aroused some one and the doors swung inward. "Go to the last floor and turn to the left." The last floor was the seventh floor up a spiral stairway that dropped like a plumb bob. The turn to the left brought us into a spacious room filled with long tables, many of which were littered with dirty dishes and soiled linen. "Been having a blow-out?" the guide was asked. "Oh, no, just some torpedoed sail- ors ; they have just left for England, eighty-four of them." The guide informed us he would have to leave. "After you have had your sup- per," said he, "remain at the front entrance for my mate, who will be along presently to con- duct you to the hotel." The mate, who did ar- rive shortly afterward, proved to be one of the most interesting and intelligent men I have ever met. He could give out more concrete infor- mation in two minutes, and in a way that even the most obtuse could understand readily, than most of his kind could do in a lifetime. We were told that in the old days he was always detailed with special parties, and had escorted 104 TORPEDOED IN many prominent personages from all parts of the world. He knew Paris from A to Z, and was equally at home along the Champs Elysses or the Montmarte. HOTEL del 'UNION NATIONALE 8, Place de Budapest Arrivee des Grandes Lignes (en face la Poste) Gare St. Lazare. PARIS R. Blot, Propre Chauffage Central Electricite, Bains Chambres depuis 3f Telephone Central 48-50 English Spoken "EverVing he is high cost," said Monsieur Blot, as a bus boy approached with a basket of fresh French bread. "In your 'countree' it is so, yes?" Upon being informed that this was the case even in America, Mr. Blot opined that the Boche would have to be "peenched" soon. Paris, like Marseilles, suffered a shortage only of imported articles. The lack of shipping had caused many essen- tials to disappear from the market entirely. Other things had reached enormous prices. For instance, a pair of ordinary bed sheets cost twenty-five dollars. Soap was also very high and very scarce at any price. The hotels did not furnish this. One had to rustle one's own or do without. On December 12th neither cigarettes nor matches could be purchased at the tobacco shops. THE MEDITERRANEAN 105 In all Paris perhaps there were not a dozen packs of either for sale. The U-boats had taken heavy toll of French shipping of late. Paris, December 12. The long, brilliantly-lighted concourse of the Gare St. Lazare, an hour before nearly deserted, was now a wavy mass of humanity. Three long troop trains had arrived from the front and dis- gorged their cargoes of home-bound soldiers. Everywhere were little groups of smartly- gowned, vivacious women and scampering, danc- ing children eagerly waiting to greet relatives and friends, smiling a hearty welcome to all in general. Here and there knots of British and Canadians moved about, seeking information of the channel trains that would bear them back to Blighty, interspersed with French Colonials in their picturesque uniforms of jaunty fez, short jacket and baggy red trousers, and details of Allied military police in their businesslike khaki, presented a scene there on that small corner of the world's war stage fit to be viewed by the peoples of the universe. Our party had assembled just opposite the room occupied by the military police commander. While waiting for the channel train we passed the time noting the varied activities of that busy functionary. All individual soldiers and small detachments, whether going on leave or return- ing to duty, must register there to be cleared by their respective representatives. Civilians also were required to have their passports vised 106 TOBPEDOED IN by the military. Men were detailed from all the Allied armies. Two Americans, a soldier and a blue jacket, were on duty constantly. Among the various groups coming and going with scarcely a minute's delay was a detail of Canadians in command of a Belgian officer, es- corting two prisoners wearing the Belgian ser- vice uniform. These prisoners, tall, clean-cut young men, who looked as though they might be brothers, we learned were German spies who had been detected in the front line trenches waiting an opportunity to return to their own lines. Al- though they could speak Flemish and French in addition to their own tongue, now they de- clined to converse at all; just stood there silent and as unperturbed as if accused of some trivial offense which would be explained away shortly. They well knew that there would be but one end, and that soon; a firing party in the early dawn. The Man in the Wheel Chair. "If you will do me a favor I will give your party a special car and you an entire compart- ment,' ' said the guide to Cook Jimmie Storey. "I have a man here en route to London who is slightly deranged; not at all dangerous, just helpless and unable to travel alone." This man, an American sailor, by name Henry Wilton, from Bayonne, New Jersey, had been on a ship torpedoed in the North Sea. Most of the crew had succeeded in getting oif in the life- THE MEDITERRANEAN 107 boats only to be shelled by the Germans while drifting helplessly about on the sea. All of the boats had been sunk but one, and the occupants of this had apparently been shelled to death. However, after drifting for eleven days it was picked up by a patrol boat and two of the occupants restored to life, — Henry Wilton and another American whose name I did not learn. This man had also come with us from Paris. However, I did not see him until we were detraining at the channel port. His feet and hands had been frozen while drifting about wounded in the open boat, and he had to be moved in a wheel chair. I was tempted several times to ask him to relate his story, but he was so grievously ill that I refrained from molesting him. While at this channel port, Rowland, Obdyke and I had dropped in at the Sailors' Home to write some letters. The young man in charge there said he would be glad to supply us with woolen socks and mufflers. These were grate- fully accepted. Later, upon our return to the hotel, the entire crowd went to the home and all were supplied. These articles had been fur- nished by a society in England, and bore cards with the following address: Mrs. Alice F. Thorger, Honorable Secretary, Room 35, 90 Deansgate, Manchester, England. They were greatly appreciated during the chilly wintry days in London and Liverpool, and while crossing the Atlantic. "Sigge Dagupan," exclaimed a voice that 108 TORPEDOED IN was dimly familiar. "Sigge yourself," I re- plied, grasping the hand of Jack Shadd, a vet- eran mnle skinner of the Spanish- American War, whom I had first met in Porto Rico. Truly the world is small. The last time I had seen Jack he was astride a banister of a bamboo bridge that spanned a turbulent little stream in northern Luzon, spitting some lurid lingo at a carabao wallowing and spouting in the muddy water below. That morning he had poled the carabao out of Gagua with a cartload of bacon and hardtack consigned to Sergeant Walter Lynch, detach- ment troops A 5th U. S. cavalry stationed at Lubao. All had gone well until Senor Carabao had suddenly run amuck, dragging cart and all into the river. Most of the supplies had promptly floated away. The escort of Macabebe scouts had deployed along the banks and salvaged a portion, together with the cart and carabao. At the outbreak of the present war Shadd had joined the British remount service. He had seen much service around Salonika, Gallipoli and the Dardanelles. However, he was fed up on the far east and was then en route to Lon- don for settlement, thence home to Sammie Land, which he had not seen since sailing away from San Francisco on the Transport Dix back in 1900. Safe as a church. Thus was the channel steamer Normannia regarded by at least one pas- senger. This may have been true. At any rate THE MEDITERRANEAN 109 she was more densely packed with humans, men and women, than any church I have ever visited. Seats of any kind were at a premium. As for rooms and berths, there was absolutely nothing doing for ordinary folks. Even some of the Red Cross nurses were compelled to sit up all night. The Normannia was a speedy craft, and she darted across the channel at full belt, running without a single light. The lookouts were more numerous and more vigilant than on any ship I had so far been aboard. I had crawled beneath a large military auto- mobile covered by an immense tarp, hoping to get a little rest. One of the boys, in crawling over this machine, had pressed the electric horn, which emitted a loud raucous honk. Instantly the deck guard had grabbed everybody in sight,, thinking a signal of some kind had been given. I was hauled "out from under" and had con- siderable difficulty in convincing the luny sol- diers that I was just seeking a place to sleep. The stewards and cooks were surely hustlers. That morning going into Southampton we were served with a good breakfast of ham and eggs,. potatoes, hot bread and coffee. At Southampton we came in contact with two crews that had been torpedoed in the channel the preceding forty-eight hours. One, a crew of Norwegians, had been shelled in the lifeboats. ) Only four of a crew of twenty-one had survived. They had been rescued by a destroyer and were then en route to London. Somewhere we had picked up another pris- 110 TORPEDOED IN oner. I had first noticed him on account of the Oerman uniform and the British aviator's cap which he wore. I was told that he had been captured while laying mines from a hydroplane. Passing the customs and military inspectors, with but little delay, we boarded a special train and arrived in London at 12:10 P. M. At Waterloo Station, London, we were met byj a naval officer, who immediately conducted the entire party to the refreshment room, where we were plentifully supplied with sandwiches, cakes and hot tea. As they say over there, this place was conducted by "proper ladies." These ladies were certainly very earnest in their work, and took precautions that no one was slighted. The German flying man came in for some hot reproof from one of the ladies. However, he made no comment, and in turn declined the tea and cake proffered him. There, and elsewhere, I noticed the great change that had occurred in England since my last trip there in 1915. The phoney class racket had entirely disappeared. Now folks were "what they were," and seemed to realize that all would have to work together to win the war. London, December 17th. For the past two days we had been playing hide-and-go-seek over the City of London. Quar- tered in Belgrave Road, S. W., we had made four trips to the Board of Trade via East Aldgate, then back to Oxford Circle to the THE MEDITERRANEAN 111 American consul's office, then back to Charing Cross, change for Victoria station and home. This routine never varied. We knew the tube stations by heart (here I would like to say that the London subways are superior in both equip- ment and service to either Paris or New York). "Are you Americans f" inquired an elderly gentleman, while we were waiting one day at Charing Cross. I informed him that we were. "Well, you are a mighty tough-looking lot," said he. Before I had time to assemble an ade- quate reply the party had moved out to board the train. Although each man of our crew had at least thirty pounds due him, the authorities positively refused to advance a cent. Also, each man was entitled to £7, 10s clothing money, which we had been told would be paid in London. There they told us we would get this in New York. How- ever, at New York nobody knew a thing about it, and to date I have never heard of a single person that did. As we were to leave at 11:45 for Liverpool, we decided to take the money matter in our own hands, consequently Dave Lewis and I appealed to the American consul. Now these were busy days at the consulate. In addition to the vast mass of detail work en- tailed by the war, many officers were returning home. Most of these had short time in which to reach their ships. Then, too, all civilians to and from Europe and the continent must have their passports vised here. 112 TORPEDOED IN I felt sure if we could reach the consul-gen- eral, Mr. Skinner, he would fix us up. This, however, would be some job. Many people were waiting for just that same opportunity. "Hold my hat till I see what that officer wants,' ' said " Blacky' ' Lewis, pressing his battered top-piece into the hands of the colored gentleman guarding the stairway leading to the consul's office. At the top of the stairs, after momentarily passing from view, "Blacky" returned and mo- tioned as though my presence was also desired. Passing the colored man without comment, I joined him and we entered the first door at hand. This proved to be the office of Mr. Reid, vice-consul. Mr. Reid appeared mildly surprised at our unusual entrance, but inquired our busi- ness at once. Now, "Blacky" is some talker, and the way he told our troubles to that vice- consul made me want to slip out unnoticed and go away from there. At the climax of his story he walked over and threw open the window, and pointing down at the men who were lined up along the pavement, he said: "There are the men that have travelled for two weeks without a cent. Some of them have no underwear or socks. None have overcoats. The British gov- ernment owes us more than three months' pay and has refused to advance a single penny. iWe are leaving for Liverpool to-night en route to New York. So, as a last resort, we have ap- pealed to you. We do not believe that our gov- ernment would ask us to travel across the At- THE MEDITERRANEAN 113 lantic in midwinter clothed as we are," and so on. The vice-consul was visibly affected. After just one glance at that crowd he grabbed a tele- phone and said something that evidently made somebody sit up and take notice. At the end of the conversation we knew that the money was waiting for us at the board of trade. All we had to do was to go down there and claim it. Liverpool, December 18th. From the Line Street Station to the White Star Hotel, where we put up for breakfast, con- siderable interest had been aroused as to the identity of the line and ship that was to trans- port us to New York. The naval officer who had accompanied us from London would not give out the slightest hint. This man was en route to the north of Scotland with transportation for a crew that had been torpedoed and landed there. He had been detailed on this sort of work for several months and had been on the go night and day. Although he resided in Lon- don, he had not been permitted to visit his home for over two weeks. Pier after pier of the many lines were passed by as we sped along on the elevated on the way to our ship, some with regret, others with en- tire satisfaction. Far up the Mersey opposite a lone, almost isolated pier, we detrained. The mystery was solved. Just before us lay the largest British ship afloat, the giant four-fun- nel, triple-screw steamer Olympic, of the White Star line. Now, however, she was known only 114 TORPEDOED IN by number, and had changed her former gay; travel dress for a cloak of gray. Some time during the early morning hours we had dropped down the River Mersey and out to the Irish Sea. The wasp-like destroyers which had hugged the lee side of the giant liner the night before, now were darting hither and yon like pointers beating a game trail, for these waters were in- fested by submarines the year round. More ships had been torpedoed here than anywhere in the world. Past Paddy's Rock, the coast of Scotland just off our starboard bow, while on the other hand the quaint old City of Belfast spread along the shores of the Emerald Isle seemed near enough to dispel the fear of danger from any source. Two trawlers had joined in the patrol. Over- head and flying low were two dirigibles, their long basket cars filled with observers scouring every yard of the blue water beneath for the first sign of the sea asp, on past Lough Swilly and the north coast, the monster ship dropped her escort and, rushing at full speed into the north Atlantic, headed for America. The Olympic carried but few passengers: per- haps a dozen civilians, a score of officers, mostly Canadians, a detachment of the Royal Corps, and two ladies; our party and three detach- ments of blue jackets — seventy-five in all. These latter were en route to the States to take over new destroyers. They had many tales to tell. THE MEDITEBRANEAN 115 One detachment had been aboard the Jacob Jones, the first American destroyer lost. "Are we allowed on the promenade deck?" I inquired of a passing steward. "You may go anywhere on this ship except the bridge/ ' he replied. Although our tickets read first-class admiralty passengers, we were assigned to first cabins on E deck 'midships. Our mess-room was the first- class grill in peace times. After an uneventful trip of six days, we passed up the Ambrose channel and into New York harbor December 25th. During the voyage of one hundred and four days from the time we cleared the Virginia capes aboard a dingy tramp, until we had returned on a palatial steamer that Christmas day to our homeland, we had not lost a single man. THE END WAR STORIES WHERE MIGHTY BATTLE ROARS The correspondent of the Daily Neivs and Leader of London sends from Ostend this graphic story of the scenes where one of the greatest bat- tles in the world 's history took place : "Taking advantage of the lull we got ont of Namur early this morning, taking crossroads and lanes in front of the Belgian and French lines. The allied forces were pushing the Germans back under great guns placed along the northern line. The fields and low hills were alive with moving troops, columns of cavalry with light guns moving into position and long snakes of infantry. "An officer warned us in a lane to wait there. He said: 'WeVe run down some Uhlans in those woods.' We waited half an hour. No movement in the sunny fields, nothing to be seen. Then suddenly out of a wood we saw four horsemen dash and we heard the snap of rifle shots on the far side of a field. "The next instant there was a running fire of invisible muskets. Three of the horses fell. The fourth man fell from the saddle and was dragged through the stubble, his foot being caught in the stirrup. One of the others got up, leaving his horse and walking a few steps. He then fell. 6 WAB STORIES "We were accompanied by a squad to Mazy. There we were blocked for two hours. Slowly through the village (no peasants or children showing now) defiled regiment after regiment of French cavalry, glorious fellows with their hel* mets covered with dust, their colored cuirasses dull with rust, dusty trappings and uneasy horses. It was not the glitter of a parade, but the infin- itely more impressive savage, bronzed columns of war. • "A line of Belgian artillery, then light horse and lancers, and finally cyclists and a detachment of the Eed Cross ambulances passed up the lanes out to the hills with a sort of rustling, intense silence. There was no drum nor music. This is war. For many of these grave and bronzed men, with here and there a fierce negroid African, we were the last link with the life of the towns. In a few days, perhaps in a few hours, they will be lying in long, nameless trenches in the fields.' ' WOULD HAVE DIED TO A MAN A correspondent of the Dernier e Heure sent back to Brussels from the front writes of the fighting he . saw as follows : "The fighting started at Geetbetz at dawn. At 3.30 a. m. a German aeroplane flew low over our front. Several volleys were fired and the aeroplane fell within the German lines. After several feints the attack developed" about 6 o'clock. Strong forces of German cavalry and infantry, supported by artillery, including ma- chine guns, poured down on the village and a WAR STORIES 7 furious battle was soon raging all along the seven- mile front. 1 ' While the Belgian cavalry were acting as infantry behind the earthworks part of the Ger- man cavalry got behind them and shot the horses. Inch by inch the ground was fought. Hundreds of Germans were slain. In the relentless move forward the Belgian defenders suffered rather serious losses. "At Bubingen the resistance was equally praiseworthy. In a trench where seven cavalry- men were making a great fight, Lieut. Count Wolfgangen Durel was struck by a bullet in the head. His companions pressed around him as he fell. 'It's all up with me/ he said. ' Leave me and do your duty.' He breathed his last a few minutes later. "At this point two Belgian squadrons, about 240 men, showed magnificent bravery. They held 2,000 Germans back. In spite of the superior numbers the enemy had no distinct advantage over this handful of determined fellows. They would have died to a man, but their mission >of holding the enemy in check for a few hours ter- minated when the retreat was sounded.' ' PARIS, GRAVE AND GAY War incidents which show how the French pre- sent a smiling front in the face of the war are related from Paris: At the Gare de L'Est, the eastern railway sta- tion where troops by the thousand were leaving S WAR STORIES for the German frontier, wives, mothers, sisters and sweethearts met and wept in multitudes. But a French soldier turned the tragedy into comedy. On a large cardboard he imitated the signs announcing the destinations of trains in time of peace and hung it on the military special. It read : "Holiday excursion to Berlin." Whereupon the women dried their tears and laughed. A woman, her face very white, came out of one of the municipal offices at which official in- formation is given of the death or injury of French soldiers. Four sons had left her a few days before to join the colors. Another woman came up to her and said : "Have you good news of your sons? My Jean is safe." "Yes," the first mother replied, "they are all safe. They are safe in the arms of the Father. I am proud to give all to the cause." WHY RUSSIA NEEDED AUTOS The Petrograd correspondent of the Daily Mail telegraphed : "At the last interview which Prince Hohen- lohe, the Austrian military attache, had with the Russian military authorities before the war he expressed surprise that the Russians were requi- sitioning so many automobiles. "Your roads are so bad," he said. "But yours are so good," was the reply. WAR STORIES 9 WHEN THE CRUISER AMPHION WENT DOWN Here are some additional details of the sink- ing of the British cruiser Amphion when she hit a mine laid by the Germans off Harwich : "It was 6.30 o'clock when the Amphion struck the mine. A sheet of flame instantly engulfed the bridge. The captain was rendered insensible and he fell to the floor. As soon as the captain re- covered consciousness he rang to the engineers to stop the engines, which were still going at revo- lutions for twenty laiots. As all the forward part of the Amphion was on fire it was found impos- sible to reach the bridge or flood the fore maga- zine. "The ship's back appeared to be broken and she was already settling down by the bows. All efforts therefore were directed to placing the wounded in places of safety in case of an explo- sion and in getting the cruiser in tow by the stern. "By the time the destroyers had closed in it was clearly time to abandon the ship. The men fell in for this purpose with the same composure that had marked their behavior throughout. All was done without hurry or confusion and twenty minutes after the cruiser struck the mine the men, the officers, and lastly the captain had left the ship. "Three minutes after the captain had left an- other explosion occurred. This enveloped and blew up the entire fore part of the vessel. The effect of this showed that the Amphion must have 10 WAR STORIES struck the second mine, which exploded the fore magazine. Debris falling from a great height struck the rescue boats and the destroyers and one of the Amphion 's shells burst on the deck of one of the destroyers, killing two Englishmen and one German prisoner.' ' SHELLS BURST IN WHEAT FIELDS The firing at Tirlemont and Louvain is de- scribed by the Ostend correspondent of the Lon- don Express, who witnessed it from a church tower at Tirlemont first and later proceeded to Louvain. He says: " About 1 o'clock came the sound of the first German gun. The artillery had opened fire. ' ' From the church tower it was possible to see distinctly the position of German guns and the bursting of shells. The Belgians replied from east of Louvain. It was a striking sight to the accompaniment of the ceaseless thud, thud of bursting shells with their puffs of cotton-like smoke, tearing up peaceful wheat fields. "Gradually working near, the shells began to strike the houses in Tirlemont. This was a sig- nal for the populace to flee blindly. The scene was like the rushing of rats from a disturbed nest. The people fled in every direction except one. "I moved down to Louvain, where everything seemed peaceful. The people sat in the cafes drinking their evening beer and smoking. Mean- while the Belgian troops were retiring toward Louvain. By midnight the town was in the throes WAR STORIES 11 of a panic. Throngs of refugees had begun to arrive, followed later by soldiers. By 11 o'clock the Belgian rear guard was engaging the enemy at the entrance to the town. "I remember watching a black-clad Belgian woman running straight down the middle of a road from the Germans. Behind her came the retiring Belgian troops, disheartened but valiant. This woman, clad in mourning, was the symbol of the Belgian populace. All about Tirlemont and Louvain the refugees continually interfered with the work of the troops/ ' RIDERLESS HORSES IN LOUVAIN A Central News correspondent who saw the fighting near Louvain writes: "The roar of cannon is still ringing in my ears. The Belgians had a strong position around Louvain. The Germans advanced by three differ- ent roads. The defenders held out until the Ger- mans brought their heavy artillery into play. Then the Belgians evacuated to save the beautiful old place from destruction. "Louvain to-day presented a wonderful if ter- rible spectacle. Bleeding, riderless horses gal- loped into town. With them came the Belgian ad- vance guard who had been in action. "Thirty Gardes Civiques, shut up behind a w r ooden barrier without arms, exclaimed pas- sionately at their enforced peacefulness. Home- less crowds surged aimlessly about the streets. Now and then farmers cycled furiously into the town to complain of houses occupied or horses 12 WAR STORIES stolen. The Belgian outposts were twenty-seven miles away and the place undefended, so nothing could be done. "The utter, hopeless agitation of a population unable to do anything for itself , forced to surren- der home after home and forbidden to resist, was a very painful sight. It cannot occur often, even in this war. ' ' Undefended towns when abandoned by the sol- diery generally have warning first. But these Uhlans seemed to have dropped out of the sky, and when the Belgian civilians looked about they found their own army gone. • ' GERMANS SHOT NONCOMBATANTS A Times correspondent says that the laconic reports of the French Minister of War give little idea of the desperate struggle that occurred around the villages along the Lorraine border. Point after point was taken and retaken, he says. He gives the following story of the fighting at the village of Badonviller in France, west of Schirmeck, as told by the villagers: "The vil- lage was occupied by a battalion of chasseurs as a covering force was prepared for defense by numerous trenches. The battle began on August 10. The Germans bombarded the village, com- pelling the chasseurs to evacuate it. The latter retired on Celles, and afterward took up a posi- tion on Donon Ridge. ' i After nightfall the Germans increased the bombardment, and the inhabitants sought refuge in cellars, as a continuous rain of shells kept WAR STORIES 13 wrecking the houses and setting them afire. It was a terrible sight. Women fell on their knees and prayed, while children cried piteously. "The chasseurs retired, defending every house, foot by foot, and making the Germans feel their fire. The sun rose on a village in ruins. It had been under bombardment fifteen hours. When the Germans entered, they fired first on all the windows and down loopholes into the cellars. No corner was spared/ ' SIX SHEEP FOR BELGIAN QUEEN Wiring his experiences in Brussels, the corre- spondent of the London Daily News said : "I was stopped by an enormous crowd of refu- gees flocking along the Brussels road, on foot and in vehicles and by Red Cross cars. The sight was pitiful. Of the people leaving their homes by far the greater number were women. Many of them had young children along whose fathers were at the front. "Fear and ignorance have seized the mob. As I was going out a peasant fired his double-barreled gun at my motor, mistaking my fishing hat for a German helmet. The shot blew the tail lamp to pieces. To prevent far worse trouble for him, I stopped the car and got the gun from him and broke it across the breech, for undoubtedly a German soldier will retaliate on any civilians who use arms. "Brussels is now curiously quiet. Big crowds are gathering round the stations to watch the wounded passing through. I do not think the 14 WAR STORIES panic will be great. A gendarme told me of one old woman who arrived at the barricades driving six sheep. She did not want the Germans to have them. She was willing the Belgian soldiers should have them if they would keep her safe. " 'Perhaps,' she added, 'the Queen and princes might need some mutton.' "Of the defenses at Antwerp it is not neces- sary to speak. They are as nearly impregnable as any can be. Details of fighting are of course difficult. One can get no soldier who knows what happens outside his own experience. The field guns seem to have done deadly work on the ad- vancing infantry. The policy of shooting at offi- cers was kept up as at Liege. "As I went to Antwerp early in the morning a great German monoplane with curved wings, and fan-shaped tail followed the railway, keeping exact pace with the express train from Brussels till we were halfway to Antwerp. The movement of vast bodies of troops in secret is now impos- sible with these military eyes everywhere in the skies. ■ ' THE MARCH ON TO BRUSSELS Alfred Stead, correspondent of the London Daily Express, sends from Ostend this narrative of two press photographers who saw some of the German advance on Brussels: "At Louvain, where our automobile arrived at 7 o'clock in the evening, everything was as quiet as usual, with the residents sitting drinking their bocks at a cafe in the square. Then some Ger- WAK STORIES 15 man prisoners were brought in and the suffering fellows were jolting and bobbing about in ordi- nary wagons, enduring agonies. Firing was heard in the distance, and from Tirlemont the troops came in, retiring in good order. The troops were in good spirits. "All the way to Louvain the photographers ? automobile passed a human stream. In the town, what a change ! It was deserted, the only sign of life being the last of the refugees who were leav- ing for* Brussels. "Toward the Tirlemont road there was some rifle firing which drew nearer," ' said the photog- raphers, continuing their narrative. "Shells be- gan to fall among the houses, many of which took fire. The Germans were almost in Louvain at midday. The rear guard of the Belgians defend- ing the railway bridge was engaged in firing heavily on the enemy. Riderless horses came along, both German and Belgian. These were caught and mounted by civilians. A barricade was seen in the dust of the road as in a fog. "Then there was more heavy rifle firing, some of which seemed to come from houses. Reports that the Germans were not taking prisoners and the knowledge of what had happened in other Belgian towns made it seem probable that, house firing was going on. "At some barricades on the roads German troops and refugees arrived simultaneously, mak- ing a defense impossible. On the road to Brus- sels was an endless procession, fed as they went by inhabitants of the villages and countryside. "At the cross roads there passed toward Mech- lin a procession of artillery, cavalry and infantry, 16 WAR STOEIES with dog mitrailleuses, fit but tired and dusty. Only the dogs of the mitrailleuses looked fresh now. Along the roadsides were refugees resting. "Three men of the 9th Regiment had come from Aerschot, where the town was burning. They had lost their regiment and asked to be taken to Brussels. These men, of the famous ;. shooting regiment which so distinguished itself ' at Liege, gave to us a very different idea of the shooting of Germans. They said the rifle shoot- ing of the Germans was bad. Nearly all killed by the Germans were shot in the head or the upper part of the body. Their own officer was shot through the nose. "In Brussels at 3 o'clock on Tuesday after- noon there was absolute quiet. A big crowd was before the Gare du Nord awaiting news, but there was no excitement. Belgian aeroplanes passed, flying toward the Mechlin and Louvain line. Fir- ing was soon heard, but it was difficult to say from what direction. But the inhabitants of Brussels could not leave their city." ODDS TEN TO ONE NEAR AERSCHOT Describing the fight at Louvain and Aerschot, where a handful of troops kept the Germans at bay while the main Belgian army reformed, the correspondent of the London Daily News writes : "Dawn on Wednesday morning saw the Ger- mans hotly attacking the trenches that had been filled up during the night with fresh men. Part of them were of the famous Liege field force that had decimated the Germans who approached the WJ ES 17 trenches before the Liege A . ts. They had begged to be sent back to Liege to meet the enemy there. This could not be done, but they had their oppor- tunity now — a desperate one, it was true, for each of these men knew that he was marked down to be sacrificed if necessary in the interest of the general plan of defense. "Two German aeroplanes flying audaciously low swept over the trenches to see how they were held. Then almost immediately afterward the German artillery got the range of the trenches and commenced bursting shrapnel over them. The infantry machine guns were quickly at work, and the little band of defenders settled down to keep the enemy's masses of troops at bay as long as possible. " By 6 o 'clock the attack was general along the whole line, but particularly violent in front of Aerschot, a pitiless, determined onslaught in which the German commanders showed the same disregard for the loss of their men as elsewhere. "Two of the heroic regiments from Liege bore the brunt of the attack in positions north and east of the town. They were outnumbered ten to one, but stuck to their positions with the courage of desperation and inflicted tremendous losses on the Germans. Their own losses were terrible. These trenches were bought and held with blood." BAYONET CHAEGE UP ALSACE HILLS Details of a terrific battle in Upper Alsace have been received by the London Daily Chronicle in special messages from Basel. 18 WAR STOEIES "The battle was attended by great loss of life on both sides. The fortunes of battle varied dur- ing two clays. At first all seemed to go well with the French, and on the second day the tide turned in favor of the Germans, who had about one hun- dred guns on the hills, some eight miles from Basel. They wrought havoc among the French infantry, who made brilliant bayonet charges in their efforts to carry the hills. "The French batteries at Altkirch vainly strove to silence the German guns. The slaughter was very heavy. The French fought desperately to frustrate the Germans ' attempt to cut them off from communication with Belfort and succeeded in their effort to reach a frontier village. "On the third day the French forces, summon- ing all their energies in incomparable general as- saults at the point of the bayonet, drove the Ger- mans from all their advanced positions, and ten minutes after the last Bavarian battalion had beaten a retreat a brigade of French Lancers, with several companies of Colonial Turcos, re- entered Muelhausen singing the ' Marseillaise. ' The French army, intrenching itself, occupied a strong front, to which it dragged a large number of cannon and stores and ammunition from Bel- fort. " POLICE DOGS USED ON AMERICANS William J. Chalmers, of Chicago, describes his trip with his wife and maid and some friends from Carlsbad to Buchs in Switzerland : WAR STORIES 19 At Budweis they were arrested and their pass- ports examined. Five miles further on the road was blockaded by fallen telegraph poles and twenty gendarmes commanded by a boy stepped out and placed cocked pistols and rifles to the Americans' bodies and ordered them to surren- der. The gendarmes had heard that French spies were crossing to Russia with $25,000,000 in motor cars. At Freistadt Count yon Sedlitz ignored the passports and ordered the party searched to the skins, including the women. He examined their clothing, took their baggage away, ransacked it for papers, took off the automobile tires, exam- ined the inner tubes, then brought in the police dogs to get their scent, acting with the utmost insolence. Mr. Chalmers demanded to be allowed to tele- graph to the Mayor of Carlsbad. This was per- mitted and the party released the next morning. At Salzburg the party was detained five hours, but treated with kindness and a military pass was given by an archduke and a general. At Landeck a civil official ignored the military pass, but yielded when the threat was made to appeal to the archduke. The party was forced to carry a civilian to Feldkirk. On an appeal to the military there the civilian was sharply reprimanded and made to walk back. Afterward the party arrived safely at Buchs. 20 WAR STORIES MORASSES HOLLAND'S FRIEND That Holland is determined and prepared to defend its neutrality is evidenced by the state- ment from the pen of a Rotterdam correspondent of the London Standard. "Holland," he says, * ' has a trusty friend in the water behind its dikes. "Holland is well prepared against an invasion of its frontier on the German border, about 200 miles long, and the northern portions could easily be defended by the filling with water of numerous morasses and bogs. "The coast along the North Sea, owing to the want of harbors, is practically inaccessible and the Zuyder Zee being shallow is capable of being closed by fortified works outside of Heider. Forty miles of the eastern front is now defended by the fortresses Muiden and Naarclen in the center of the Utrecht region, and eighteen forts aid the batteries toward the south of Gorkum. "Then there is a closed canal system arranged in such a manner that the whole region of Muiden and Gorkum may be flooded for miles. This is easy, as the greater portion of the land in the area to be flooded is below the sea level. The Dutch, however, are not satisfied with these pre- cautions, as the water courses might freeze as in the past. Therefore behind the Muiden- Gorkum line seven block forts or fortifications have been erected at intervals of two miles, and there are also fortifications at Niewerhus. "Behind the water line of defense there are more block forts at intervals of two or three miles strengthened with batteries. WAR STORIES 21 "A block fort is a redoubt intended only for quick-firing guns of light caliber and is not con- structed with the idea of resisting heavy pro- jectiles, which, owing to the broad stretches of water, could only with difficulty be used. "The fighting forts are protected by concrete roofs and iron cupolas from the fire of howitzers and mortars. ( * They are also supplied with artillery capable of resisting siege guns. u Ina similar manner the Dutch are protected equally along the southern frontier from Gorkum to Brielle. "As it is estimated that every kilometer re- quires for its defense 1,000 men, about 120,000 men are required for this region. This is the precise strength of the present Dutch army, which should be able to defend this portion of Holland against forces double its strength. ' ' ENGLISH GIRL WOULD BE AIR SCOUT Writing in the Petit Parisien, a correspondent from Dijon tells of the alarm caused recently by a mysterious aeroplane apparently pursuing a group of six other aeroplanes on the way to Dijon from the southern center. Soon after their ar- rival at Dijon the stranger landed near the mili- tary aerodrome. The mysterious pilot, on being interrogated, proved not to be a spy, but a young English girl, who had donned a uniform in the hope that she might aid France. She is now being detained, pending the arrival of her par- ents. 22 WAR STORIES THE BUSY AEROPLANES A paragraph in the Excelsior gives details of a 160-mile raid along the frontier by Pegoucl in a standard unarmored eighty-horsepower Bleriot- Gnome monoplane with M. Monternier as a fight- ing passenger. Starting at dawn last Tuesday, they made many valuable observations and de- stroyed two important convoys with incendiary bombs and 100-pound shells. They flew low, from 1,300 to 1,500 meters, owing to their heavy load of nearly 800 pounds of explosives, enough oil and gasoline for four hours, two carbines and ammu- nition. They returned to Paris simply to obtain another machine, their own having ninety-seven bullet holes in the wings and having been struck twice by fragments of shells, once on the stabilizer and once under the steering wheel. OSTEND IN PANIC AS FOE CAME "Gay Ostend is utterly transformed by the shadow of war," writes the correspondent of the London Standard. "It is crowded from end to end with refugees of all nationalities, who are clamoring for an opportunity to escape seaward. Never have the streets been so thronged, and one might have thought it a fete day but for the strained and anxious faces of the crowds. "All the large hotels in Ostend are ready on the receipt of instructions to open their doors as hospitals and all necessary arrangements have been made to receive the wounded. Early this morning a number of wounded Belgian soldiers WAR STORIES 23 were taken by boat to an unknown destination in order to prevent them from being made prisoners by the Germans. ' 'Many hundreds of refugees have taken shel- ter in the bathing machines on the beach, while others are encamped on the race course which adjoins the dike. The King's summer palace, which looks out over the sea, has also been turned into a hospital. Side by side with all these scenes of war it is a striking contrast to watch the crowds of children paddling and playing war games on the sand. "At 9 o'clock this morning all the men of the Civil Guard were disarmed, and the Burgomaster issued a proclamation to the inhabitants urging them to be calm and offer no resistance to the invading Germans. "The Maritime Railway station was held by Belgian soldiers this morning, but they will be removed by boat if the Germans enter the town. The station was full of boxes of coin and bank- notes, which were being guarded by the soldiers, pending their transfer to steamers for Folke- stone. I am told that all the bankers in Ghent, Bruges and Ostend have sent all their treasure to England for safety. "In a conversation with a wounded Belgian of- ficer I heard some stirring stories of the bravery of the Belgian troops who were engaged in resist- ing the advance of the Germans beyond Louvain. He related how, when the order for retreat was given, he and his fellow officers had great diffi- culty in persuading their men to obey the com- mand. The bugles were sounding the retreat, but the soldiers would not leave the trenches and con- 24 WAR STORIES tinued firing on a much larger force of Germans, who were attacking them. This officer ran along the lines shouting to the men that they must obey orders and retreat ; but with violent oaths against the detested Germans they continued to fight, with the result that all at this particular spot were killed. The officer himself was wounded just after his last effort to withdraw his men. ' ' AUSTRIAN CRUISER SHOT TO PIECES . Describing the naval engagement in the Adri-, atic in which the cruiser Zenta was sunk, a writer in the Cor Here d' Italia says : "A flotilla of Anglo-French torpedo boats was steaming out to sea after recoaling and revic- tualling on the Piraean coast when it met other warships of the Allies with their decks already cleared for action coming from Malta. The com- bined fleet proceeded toward the entrance to Cataro Harbor. ' ' When they were approaching it the British torpedo destroyers which headed the flotilla sighted the Austrian protected cruiser Zenta and three smaller war vessels doing blockade duty. Before they were discovered the allied flotilla opened fire upon the enemy's cruiser, which, being taken wholly by surprise, was slow in replying. When at last the Zenta began to return the fire it did so at long intervals, with its shots very wide of the mark. . "In the meantime the gunners of the Anglo- French fleet were tearing ugly rents in the Zen- ta' s flank and within four minutes had flooded her engine rooms. The other three Austro-Hunga- WAR STORIES 25 rian vessels — torpedo boats — then began racing away with many dead aboard. "Seeing that the Zenta was foundering rapidly while its crew was intent on seeking a way of escape, the largest of the English torpedo boats went alongside and rescued 200 marines who were on the point of drowning. ' ' Fifty of these men subsequently succumbed to injuries received in the battle. Besides these 200 were wounded by lively rifle fire. ' ' AEROPLANES GUIDED UHLANS From the Daily Telegraph's Dunkirk corre- spondent: "The Germans seem to be directing their march on three points. In the north they have pushed across to Antwerp, under the shel- ter of the guns of which the Belgian army which has retreated from Malines has retired. A sec- ond body approached the vicinity of Ghent, riding close up to the city. The Uhlans were preceded by two German aeroplanes, which were in quest of the whereabouts of any armed Belgian force. The appearance of the Uhlans practically at the gates of Ghent created something very nearly ap- proaching a panic among those inside the city. "Those who had no pressing business in the city commandeered every kind of vehicle, from automobiles to carts drawn by dogs. Here were military officers in automobiles, citizens rich and poor, influential and humble, town councillors — everybody bent on making his escape as fast as possible toward Bruges. "I interviewed several of the officers, and they 26 WAR STORIES told me that, while the city was still free, the Uhlans had come in from the south, and a larger force was hourly expected. They believed that the occupation of the city by the Germans was a question of only a few hours.' ' BLEW UP FORT AND DIED A HERO The Paris Ministry of War issued the follow- ing communique concerning the holding out of the Liege forts : "The Chaudefontaine fort at Liege was the scene of an act of heroism which brilliantly af- firms once more the valor of the Belgian army. "Major Nameche commanded the fort whieh controls the railway from Aix-la-Chapelle to Liege via the Venders and Chaudefontaine tun- nel. The fort was bombarded continuously and very violently by the Germans. When it was only a heap of debris and the commander judged that resistance was impossible he blockaded the tun- nel by producing collisions between several loco- motives which had been sent into it. Then he set fire to the fuses of mines in the tunnel. "His task thus done, Major Nameche did not wish to see the German flag float ever over the ruins of his fort. He therefore exploded all the remaining powder and blew up everything, includ- ing himself. Such an act of heroism is beyond all comment. ' ' WAR STORIES BRITISH "TOMMIES" COOL IN BATTLE The coolness and nerve of the British soldier on the firing line is the subject of a cable mes- sage to the Central News of London: 44 The shooting of the British infantrymen on the firing line was wonderful. Every time a Ger- man 's head showed above a trench and every time the German infantry attempted to rush a posi- tion there came a steady, withering rifle fire from the khaki-clad men lying in extended formation along the wide battle front. Their firing was not the firing of nervous men shooting without aiming; rather it was the calm and careful marks- manship of men one sees on English rifle ranges firing with all the artificial aids permitted to the most expert. "When quick action was necessary the men showed no nervousness; they showed the cool, methodical efficiency for which the British army is noted. "If the British lost heavily, the Germans must have lost terribly. One of the German prisoners said: 'We never expected anything like it; it was staggering. ' "The British troops went to their positions si- lently but happily. There was no singing, be- cause it was forbidden, but as the men deployed to the trenches there were various sallies of humor in the dialects of the various English, Irish and Scotch counties. The cockney was there with quips about 'Uncle Bill/ and every Irishman who went into the firing line wished he had money 28 WAR STORIES to buy a little Irish horse, so that he might 'take a slap at the Uhlans. ' "As for the cavalry, the officers declare, their charges against the Germans were superb. They charged as Berserks might have done. They gave the Uhlans the surprise of their lives." 5,000 GUESTS IN SMALL TOWN This story of a thrilling trip by a party of American tourists in Finland is told by one of them after their safe arrival in Stockholm: "Our party left Stockholm on July 31 on a steamer for St. Petersburg but was stopped by a Russian warship and compelled to return to Hango, where we were lodged in a hotel. The steamer was taken in charge by a Russian war- ship and blown up in the harbor channel. At the same time several cranes and other harbor works were dynamited to block the channel to the Finnish harbor. The explosions made a spec- tacular sight for the Americans. ' ; Our party was unable to leave until August 3 because the roundhouse and other buildings near the railway station were in flames. "Starting for Stockholm by train, we traveled in cars already overcrowded with refugees. Ar- riving at Hyvinge we found at least 3,000 per- sons waiting for the next train north. The town was already filled and people were sleeping on the staircases of the overflowing hotels and in the parks. We finally found lodging in a sani- tarium outside of the town. The next day we con- WAR STORIES 29 tinned our trip in a train loaded with Germans who had been expelled from the country. "We next arrived at Seinajoki, a hamlet near Tammerfors, which boasts of only one hotel but was trying to entertain 5,000 strangers. Every private house was filled to its capacity, and we would have been compelled to spend the night in the streets had it not occurred to the manager of the hotel to suggest that we proceed to Nico- laisadt, a seaport fifty miles to the west. "We took this good advice and found comfort- able lodgings in that place. We also had the good fortune to discover an American freight steamer y on which we were permitted to sail on August 5. The voyage was dangerous, as all the beacon lights had been removed from the passage out- ward, which is . narrow and made hazardous by shoals. "Two other steamers left port at the same time. The first was commanded by a Russian, pilot. It ran aground and was wrecked. The other vessel narrowly escaped the same fate. Our steamer, however, got safely clear and we arrived without accident at Hernosand, Sweden.' ' CHARLEROI A CITY OF DEAD Describing the entry of the French into the unhappy town of Charleroi, whence, after previ- ous fighting, they drove the Germans across the Sambre, a Times correspondent writes: ' ' Outside an inn was to be seen the dead figure of a German officer with his head bowed over a 30 WAE STOEIES basin and soap lather dry upon his face, where he had been shot in the act of washing. " There was another who lay across a table, while a cup of coffee which he had been in the act of raising to his lips at the moment when death found him lay broken on the ground. " In every part of the city houses were smoul- dering or in flames. Every cellar was occupied by the terror-stricken inhabitants. This is the account given of the struggle for Charleroi by the French troops which took part in the operations. " After listening to these accounts the corre- spondent heard the town was surrounded by Ger- man troops. Anxious to ascertain the truth of this report, he started in the direction of Namur. A few miles out of Philippeville he met a Belgian officer and the paymaster-general of Namur, who told him that the town of Namur was occupied by Germans. It had been subjected to a furious bombardment, and the fire of the enemy had been so well regulated that the first few shots had silenced two of the forts." HANSI EEBUKES HIS CAPTOE Hansi, the Alsatian caricaturist who was ar- rested by the Germans some months ago because of his pro-French sentiments, escaped and fled to France to avoid imprisonment. He is now in a French regiment acting as an interpreter. The German officer who had caused his arrest was the first prisoner brought before him. The officer complained of the treatment he had received and Hansi replied : WAR STORIES 31 "It was certainly better than you gave me at Colmar. ' ' "GAVE GERMANS WHAT FOR" Philip Gibbs,*the London Daily Chronicle cor- respondent, describing his railway journey from Paris to Boulogne, says: "On the way we fell into many surprising and significant scenes. One of these was wiien we suddenly heard a shout of command in English and saw a body of men in khaki with Red Cross armlets suddenly run along the platform to an in- coming train from the north with stretchers and drinking bottles. A party of English wounded had arrived from the scene of action between Mons and Charleroi. "We were kept back by French soldiers with fixed bayonets, but through the hedges of steel we had the painful experience of seeing a num- ber of British soldiers with bandaged heads and limbs descending from the troop train. They looked spent with fatigue and pain after the jour- ney, but some of them were sufficiently high spir- ited to laugh at their sufferings and give a hearty cheer to the comrades who came to relieve them with medical care. 1 * I had a few words with one of them and ques- tioned him about the action, but like all British soldiers he was very vague in his descriptions, and the most arresting sentence in his narrative was the reiterated assertion that 'we got it in the neck.' "I understood from him, however, that the 32 WAR STORIES British troops had stood their ground well under terrific fire and that the Germans had been given 'what for.' "I saw the British soldier on this journey in many unexpected places and adapting himself to his unusual environment with his characteristic phlegm. I saw him at dawn in small camps, sur- rounded with haystacks and farmyard chickens, drinking the fresh milk offered to him by French peasant women, with whom he seems to have established a perfectly adequate ' lingua Fran- chise. ' "I saw him scrawling up the words 'hot water' and 'cold water' above the taps in French rail- way stations, carrying the babies of Belgian refu- gees, giving cigarettes to German prisoners and rounding up French cattle which in due time will be turned into French beefsteaks." LIGHT BRIGADE OUTDONE Returning from the front a correspondent of the London Times sends the following under a Paris date: "Near Charleroi I heard some stories of the bravery of the French soldiers. The Germans were bombarding the city. The' French troops made what amounted to a mediaeval sortie, but, finding the enemy in much greater force than was expected, were compelled to withdraw. The bom- bardment continued relentlessly, whereupon the French Turcos — picked troops from Algeria — debouched from the town, and, with a gallantry which surely must live in history, charged the WAE STORIES 33 German battery, bayoneting all the German gunners. " Their losses, it is said, exceeded those of the Light Brigade at Balaklava. Of a whole bat- talion only 100 men, it is reported, returned un- scathed. Their bravery, however, was powerless against the German advance, which crept, foot by foot, through the outskirts of Charleroi to the very heart of the town. " There in the narrow streets the carnage was indescribable. A French infantryman told me that the roads became so jammed with dead that the killed remained standing upright where they had been shot, supported by their dead com- rades. ' ' WOMAN GETS COUNT'S SWORD This incident occurred during the fighting be- fore Charleroi, cables a war correspondent: "Yet another band of Uhlans was captured Sunday at the gates of Courtrai by a detachment of French chasseurs. Their chief officer was found to be Lieut. Count von Schwerin, a nephew of the Kaiser. The young commander is only 25 years old and has been married only seven months. The officer commanding the French de- tachment found that the Count's sword was a present from the Emperor himself and bore an inscription to that effect on the blade. "The Count's saber, belt and helmet were brought to-day to St. Ouen and presented* to the wife of the officer who made the capture. The sword was blood-stained and its point twisted.' ' 34 WAR STORIES "CRIME TO SPARE SPY'S LIFE" The correspondent of the Paris Temps, who had occasion to follow them on the way to the front, is loud in his admiration of the British soldiers' discipline, equipment and commissariat arrangements. But what he admired most was the summary methods of dealing with spies, every one convicted being shot immediately. A British captain explained his attitude through a French interpreter as follows: "You French pride yourselves on your human- ity in cases where humanity is a mere useless sentimentality. To spare the life of a spy by postponing his trial is a crime against our own troops. A spy may be able by some means to convey a harvest of news to his own side, so as to enable the enemy to surprise us precisely when we hoped to surprise him. In such cases, inop- portune indulgence may cost the lives of several hundreds of our own troops." CHANGE SCHMIDT TO SMITH Naturalized German shopkeepers in London are taking unusual precautions against possible boycotts. The following notice, posted on a bak- ery in Soho, is being copied by other dealers : "Two hundred and fifty dollars reward will be given to any charitable institution upon the dis- covery by any persons of adulteration in the bread sold in this establishment. "God bless our King and country. The pro- WAR STORIES 33 prietor of this business wishes to inform the pub- lic that he is a naturalized British subject of many years standing and his loyalty is equal to that of any of the most gracious Majesty's subjects, whom he treats and respects as man to man." One German banker in South London, whose name was "Schmidt," promptly changed it to "Smith." CAMP FOR GERMAN SUSPECTS A huge concentration camp for the thousands of German suspects who have been rounded up by Scotland Yard in all parts of England is being constructed at Blackdown near Aldershot. The corral, which covers forty acres, is fenced by barbed wire strung on ten-foot posts. Outside is another circle of barbed wire entanglements and between the two sentries will pace with loaded rifles. The prisoners will be housed in quarters built of galvanized iron and will be fed on ordinary army rations. HEROISM OF PRINCE Wounded soldiers arriving at Frankfort-on- j Main relate that Prince Frederick Charles of J Hesse, the Emperor's brother-in-law, while lead- ing his regiment during a recent battle seized a flag from the hands of the wounded flag bearer and carried it on to victory. 36 WAR STORIES "GOOD-BY, MR. FLYING MAN!" The London Daily Mail correspondent at Rouen obtained a description of the British fighting" from a wounded man belonging to the Berkshire regi- ment, who said: "We marched into Mons about 10 o'clock, and were just going to be billeted when the order came for us to fall in again and get a move on. We 'd been marching since 4 o 'clock. It had been blazing hot and still we were wanted. We were to advance under cover of artillery fire; but in the meantime the enemy were doing a bit of ar- tillery practice, too, so we threw up trenches and snuggled down in them. "They did not keep us waiting long. The Ger- man gunners were over a ridge two or three miles in front, and their shells soon came whistling* round us. I got what they call my baptism of fire, and at first I did not like it. In the daytime they had aeroplanes to tell them where to drop their shells. They were flying about all the time. One came a bit too near our gunners. He was a long way behind us. They waited and let him come on. He thought he was all right. Two thou- ! sand feet he was up, I dare say. We could hear his engine. "He may have made a lot of notes, but they weren't any use to him or anybody, for all of a sudden our gunners let fly at him. We could see the thing stagger and then it dropped like a stone, all crumpled up. 'Good-by, Mr. Flying Man!* That was the end of him. * "In the dark they turned on searchlights. We WAE STORIES 37 could see them hunting about for some one to pot at. Uncanny, that was, to see a blooming' big lane of light working round and round until it came to something. Then we heard the shells whistle, and when it came round to us and lit us up so that we could see each others faces, it made my blood run cold, just like I used to feel when I was a nipper and woke up and saw the light and thought it was a ghost, and we lay there won- dering what would happen next. ' ' WOMAN SAW ZEPPELIN WORK In the crowd of refugees arriving in London from Ostend were a dozen Americans, who made their way out of Antwerp with hand baggage only. Among them was Mrs. George Sparrow of New York, who had left Liege soon before that city was besieged by the Germans. She said : "In Antwerp I was aroused one night by a loud boom, which I imagined was caused by a cannon firing in the fort, but, looking out of a window, I saw a Zeppelin airship, apparently quite near. I could plainly hear the buzz of its motor. A bomb from it fell only a few blocks away, the explosion of which was followed by an outbreak of fire. "Many persons ran from the houses panic- stricken. Some of the women were hysterical. It was a fearful night. I got out of the city next morning with several other Americans and went to Ostend, where I spent last night." 38 WAR STORIES SAW WOMEN SHOT A woman refugee from Framerie, near Mons y told the following story to the relief committee in Paris : "My husband is with the Belgian army and I was left with my three babies in our cottage. All was quiet until Monday, when the Germans came. They sacked and destroyed everything in the house. There remains of our poor village noth- ing but ruins. I saw one of the soldiers strike one of my neighbors in the breast with his sword. Then he flourished the bloody blade as though proud of the feat. Some women who had hidden in their cellars were shot. "A woman from Peronne le Bincher started out with one of her neighbors who carried a young baby at her breast. Suddenly the mother perceived that the little one was dead. She could not bear this new shock and lost her reason. When she was helped out of the train on reach- ing Paris she still held and was crooning over the body of her child. ' ' FOUGHT SINGING MARSEILLAISE A correspondent of the London Times at Ostend says : "I have obtained the following details of the siege of Namur from two Belgian soldiers. They informed me that the Germans attacked the town during a dense fog, and for two days the bom- bardment never ceased. The open town was re- WAR STORIES 39 duced to ruins and the carnage among the in- habitants was appalling. The forts of Cognelee and Marchovelette were silenced by heavy Ger- man siege guns of 11-inch caliber. "The 148th French Regiment of the line, com- ing from Givet, proudly marched into the town to the strains of 'The Marseillaise ' — this during a murderous hail of projectiles. Alas, they had arrived too late ! Namur had become an inferno, and at midday the order was given to retreat." RODE INTO DEATH'S JAWS A correspondent describing the fighting before Malines says : "I could see dark blue masses of Belgian in- fantry falling back, cool as on a winter's morn- ing. Through a mistake, two battalions of car- bineers did not receive the order to retire and were in imminent danger of destruction. To reach them a messenger ■ would have had to traverse a mile of open road swept by shrieking shrapnel. A Colonel summoned a gendarme and gave him the orders and he set spurs to his horse and tore down the road, an archaic figure in towering bearskin. It was a ride into the jaws of death. "He saved his troops, but as they fell back the German gunners got the range and dropped shell upon shell into the running column. Road and fields were dotted with corpses in Belgian blue. "At noon the Belgians and Germans were in places only fifty yards apart, and the rattle of musketry sounded like a boy drawing a stick 40 WAR STOEIES along the palings of a picket fence. The railway embankment from which I viewed the battle was fairly carpeted with corpses of infantrymen killed yesterday. I saw peasants throw twelve into one TROOPER BROKE GIRL'S JAW An old man sitting in a corner of a stack of straw told the following story to a correspondent in Paris : "People call me Jean Beaujon. I have a^ little wine shop just across the river from Liege, in the town of Grivegnee. When the mobilization order was announced my two sons, both fine fellows, went off to join their regiments. My daughters — I have two, this one here and another — remained with their old father." The girl he motioned to was a bright-faced girl of about 16, but only her eyes were visible, as the rest of her face was swathed in bandages. He continued: "You see her poor, dear face? Well, a German was the cause of that. Yv^hen they came they demanded wine, which I gave them, and one man tried to insult her. When she resented this he struck her and broke her jaw. ' l My other daughter, becoming very tired after a time," he went on, "sat down by the roadside while this girl and I went on ahead to try to find some means of conveyance. A little further on we came upon a riderless horse, and after great dif- ficulty we both succeeded in mounting and went back to find my daughter. We had not been gone WAR STORIES 41 more than half an hour, but when we returned she was no longer there.' ' WOMAN'S GRIM RETORT The wife of Gen. Metzinger, a distinguished French officer, whose son, a captain in the army, was recently wounded, was traveling from Switz- erland to Lorraine a short time ago, cables a Sun correspondent. She says she overheard a con- versation between two German officers during a rainstorm. One said: "Oh, I left my umbrella in a hotel in Paris.' ' The other replied: "Never fear, you will be able to go and get it next week." "Pray, do not trouble yourselves,' ' interrupted Mme. Metzinger; "my son, who is a captain in the French army, will undertake to bring it him- self." The two officers alighted hastily at the next station. "I KNOW NOTHING, SIR!" The Cologne correspondent of Der Tyd says : "An endless train rolls into the station at Cologne. In it have arrived 700 French prisoners taken at Muelhausen and Lagarde, Alsace-Lor- raine. They were dressed in red trousers and short, dark-blue coats. One could see that they had been in a fight. They were unkempt and badly in need of a wash and a shave. 42 WAR STORIES "I remember having read somewhere that a French Senator had declared there was a great shortage of shoes for the French troops. I have seen 100,000 German soldiers going to the front, every one of them wearing a brand new pair of russet shoes, heavy enough to withstand any cam- paign. But there were no such shoes among these French prisoners. Their footgear was of a flimsy character and worn so badly that in most cases their toes were protruding. They ate greedily of bread and drank eagerly the tea and coffee that were handed to them. "The faces of most of them were blank and ex- pressionless. They conversed among themselves in an undertone. I asked one something about Lagarde. " 'I know nothing, ' he answered sullenly. "But after I told him he was speaking with a Hollander and not with a German he modified his reply to : * I will say nothing, sir. ' ' ? DRUNK WITH BATTLE JOY To the Paris Matin's correspondent at Ohar- tres, a colonial infantryman, wounded at Char- leroi, told his experiences in the battle : "We marched with our African comrades against the Prussian guard, " he said. "We ad- vanced in bounds amid the humming bullets, using every bit of cover we could. We felt intoxicated with the joy of battle. "I couldn't say how long the action lasted. All I remember is that we fired our last shot within fifty yards of the enemy. Then it was the WAR STORIES 43 pitiless thrust of cold steel. It would have given us the victory, for however intrepid and steady are the troops we fight against there are no sol- diers in the world able to resist the Turcos' bay- onet charge." MODERN BULLETS DRILL CLEAN "It is comforting to learn that dozens of the wounded in the great conflict hardly suffer at all. Modern bullets are so small and hot and come with such velocity that they drill a hole even through the bone and disinfect as they pass, on account of the heat, ' ' cables a correspondent. "One man was shot through the pit of the stomach, the bullet having gone out at the back, just missing the spine. It was two days after the wound was received, and the man was sitting up and asking the doctor when he could go back and if it would be more than a week before he could again be at the enemy. "Some of the men did not know they were hit until several hours later, believing if they felt anything that it merely had been a knock. All the men are mad for bayonet work. They agree that it is only the German officers who stand up at all, and that the men are almost all bayoneted in the back, while the officers shoot with revolvers." THIRTY LEFT OUT OF 2,000 The London Chronicle's Boulogne correspond- ent sends the personal story of a wounded soldier who has arrived there and who declared he was 44 WAR STORIES one of thirty survivors of a British company of 2,000, who were practically wiped out by the Ger- man artillery. His story follows : "We were five solid days in the trenches and moved backward and forward all that time with the varying tide of battle. It was about 2 o 'clock in the morning when the end came. Things had got quieter and our officers came along the line and told us to get some sleep. We were prepar- ing to obey when a light or something else gave us away and we found ourselves in an inferno of bullets. "We could do nothing. Down upon us the shrapnel hailed and we fell by the score. Prac- tically at the same time the 1 enemy's Maxims opened fire. We were almost without shelter when we were caught and we crawled along in front to find cover. Leave everything and retire was the order, and we did what we could to obey. I don't know how long it lasted, but when dawn came I could see not more than thirty men at the most were left out of about 2,000." OLD AND YOUNG ALIKE KILLED The Ghent correspondent of the London Daily News says in a despatch: 1 1 1 have just been talking to the latest refugees from Malines. They left there yesterday about 4 o'clock, during a lull in the fighting. Out of 60,000 inhabitants, a business man among them told me, hardly 200 are left in town. Many are dead. The rest have fled. " 'It has been hell,' he said, 'since Monday. The town was shelled from both sides. The WAR STORIES 45 cathedral, the square and half the houses are in ruins. Old people and young have been killed. Yesterday I found a quiet old gentleman of 83, whom I have known for years, lying in one of the trenches by the roadside, utterly exhausted by his flight. His face was in a pool of water. " 'Of a family of seven who were friends of ours not one is left. A shell struck their house on Tuesday morning, and all were killed. ' " LEFT TIP FOR POLICE "A fugitive from south of Flanders says that eight Uhlans appeared at Alost, telling the in- habitants that 4,000 more were in the immediate neighborhood, and if the townspeople did not keep quiet they would set fire to the place/ ' writes a correspondent. "They ordered that the town cash box be handed to them and found 13iy 2 francs in it. They took 130 francs, leaving an I. 0. XL, 'Received for Emperor William II. y The one and a half francs were left as a tip for the police. "The whole situation around Ostend has changed. I must not say how many men have landed, but a Belt of country a few miles wide around the town was thoroughly scouted yester- day by men who softly whistled and sang 'My Little Gray Home in the West* and similar dit- ties." MINE KILLS WHOLE COMPANY "The truth about the withdrawing of the French troops from Alsace is that a body of 49 WAE STORIES French — probably a whole regiment— fell into an ambush laid by three German regiments/ ' writes a London Standard correspondent. "The Germans hid themselves in forest, hedges and ditches until the French had piled up their arms and were lying down to rest on the ground. The Germans then opened a murderous fire. The French rushed to arms, but by the time they got hold of their rifles large numbers had been killed or wounded. None the less the remainder charged the Germans, inflicting severe losses. The confu- sion caused by the surprise attack nevertheless compelled the French to withdraw all their forces in that region behind the frontier line. "During the French retreat one regiment lost a rear company, which was blown up by a mine. Their comrades, marching ahead of them in the line of retreat, suddenly heard a terrific report and saw a column of smoke. When the smoke cleared away there was no rear company left. Every member had been exterminated. ' ' TITLED WOMEN PROUD OF SONS Five Englishwomen of title have addressed to the London press the following letter : ' ' The undersigned have all near relations serv- ing with the colors. Most of them have near rela- tions who have borne and are bearing their part in the gallant and sanguinary battle which the British army is fighting against heavy odds on the northeast frontier of France. "We do not know what their fate has been, or yet may be, but if it is their fortune to die for WAR STORIES 47 their country we shall not show our sorrow as for those who come to a less glorious end. "A white band around one arm will mark both our loss and our grief. But it will do more. It will express the pride we feel in knowing that those who are nearest to us and dearest have given their lives to their country's cause.'' The letter is signed as follows : Evelyn Devon- shire, Maude Lansdowne, Beatrice Pembroke, Edith Castlereagh, Elsie Kerry. These names stand for the Duchess of Devon- shire, the Marchioness of Lansdowne, the Coun- tess of Pembroke, the Countess of Castlereagh and the Countess of Kerry. "GERMANS A BRAVE LOT" "At times," a French soldier declared in a letter to his home, "we could hardly hold our rifles — they were so hot. Often we had in the trenches no cover of any sort. We had just to dig up a heap of earth a foot high or so, and, lying behind it, pelt away for all we were worth. "Our shooting, I can assure you, , was as steady as though our men were at the rifle ranges, and ever so often in front of our positions we could see the dead accumulating in great heaps. Far away on my right I saw at one time British cav- alry charging. We took the risk and looked up to see it. Upon my word, it was a magnificent sight. I was too far off to see what happened when they got home, which they did with mag- nificent dash. I don't think they lost heavily, at 48 WAR STORIES least, not very heavily, for we saw them get back again." "And the Germans? What do yon think of them?" I asked. "Not a great deal as shots, but the way they came on again and again throughout the day was great. They are a brave lot, and it took us all our time to hold them back; they had such enor- mous numbers." COMMANDER GOES MAD A German officer sends the following account of the fall of Liege, says a Rotterdam dispatch to the London Daily Telegraph: * i Gen. Leman 's defense of Liege was noble, but tragic. During the early attack Gen. Leman 's legs were crushed by the fall of a piece of con- crete. Undaunted, he continued to direct his cam- paign, visiting the forts in an automobile ambu- lance. "The commander of one of the forts, at the moment when the bombardment was heaviest, went mad and began shooting his own men. He was disarmed and bound. The cupola of one of the forts was destroyed by a bomb from a Zep- pelin. Fort Chaudfontaine was blown into ob- livion by a German shell which dropped into the magazine. "Finally, Gen. Leman decided to make his last stand in Fort Loncin. When the end became in- evitable he destroyed the last gun and burned up the plans, maps, papers and food supplies. He was about to order all the men to the trenches WAR STORIES 49 when a shell buried him beneath a pile of debris. He was unconscious when the fort surrendered." SHOT 11 TIMES; STILL FIGHTING A correspondent at St. Petersburg got the fol-, lowing incident through the censor: "A Cossack hero, Kuzma Kriachkoir*, who re- ceived eleven wounds in an outpost affair against the Germans and attracted the special attention of the Emperor while in the hospital at Moscow and petitioned to be allowed to return to his regi- ment, has arrived at Vilna, on his way to the front "A Russian who has just returned from the wilds of Novgorod Province, far from the rail- ways, gives an interesting account of the attitude of the peasantry toward the war and the action of the Government in prohibiting the sale of alco- holic drinks. He says : * ' 1 1 stopped at a little inn on the high road and ordered tea and something to eat. Some mujiks were there discussing their own affairs over the teapots. "The Lord be thanked, all Russia is happy now," said one. I was interested to know why, and was told in a surprised tone, "Why, they've shut the drink shops, and all our men are as rosy-cheeked as lassies now." ' " HERE'S A KITCHENER STORY There is an amusing story traversing London of a daily paper editor being summoned to the War Office in connection with an untrue ' 50 WAB STORIES story that had been published, cables a corre- spondent. He would get another chance, said Lord Kitch- ener, but on the next occasion he would be ar- rested. "On what charge will you arrest me!" asked the editor. "I'll arrest you first,' ' answered Kitchener of Khartum, "and think about the charge after- ward. ' ' Is this the mailed fist ? THEY HELD UP THE KAISER The Berlin Neue Zeit says that since the mo- bilization the Doberritz road has been strongh guarded by a Grenadier Guards regiment froi Spandau. Last week the Kaiser motored alon^ the road, his chauffeur continually sounding the Emperor's special horn. Nevertheless, two sen- tries stopped the car, asking for the permit. The Kaiser said from the window of the car, "I should think my motor car might have beei known as imperial property.' ' "Well, your Majesty," replied one of the sen- tries, "we are commanded to bring to a standstiF and investigate all cars without exception." "SAY THAT I WAS UNCONSCIOUS!" This graphic incident of the fall of Liege was told a reporter for a Dutch paper by a Germai officer : "When the first dust and fumes passed awa] WAR STORIES 51 we stormed the fort across ground literally strewn with bodies of the defenders. All the men in the forts were wounded. Most were uncon- scious. A corporal with one arm shattered val- iantly tried to drive us back by firing his rifle. * "Buried in debris and pinned beneath a mas- 'sive beam was Gen. Leman. 'Le General il est mort,' said an aide-de-camp with gentleness. With care which showed our respect for the man w r ho had resisted us so valiantly and stubbornly, our infantry released the General's wounded form and carried him away. He recovered conscious- ness and said : H 'It is as it is. The men fought valiantly/ He added: u 'Put it in your despatches that I was uncon- scious. ' "We brought him to our commander, General Von Emmich, and the two generals saluted. We tried to speak words of comfort, but he was si- lent. He is known as the 'Silent General. ' Ex- tending his hand, our commander said : " 'General, you have gallantly and nobly held your forts.' General Leman replied: " 'I thank you. Our troops have lived up to their reputations.' With a smile he added, 'War is not like maneuvers. ' ' ' This was a reference to the fact that General Yon Emmich was recently with General Leman during the Belgian maneuvers. "Then, unbuckling his sword, General Leman tendered it to General Von Emmich. " 'Mo,' replied the German commander with a bow, 'keep your sword. To have crossed swords with you has been an honor.' 52 WAR STOEIES "And the fire in Gen. Leman's eye was dimmed by a tear." BAYONET CHARGES A RELIEF In the British hospital camp at Rouen many are lying very severely wounded, but all are cheerful and vowing vengeance. Women are sending up cart loads of fruit and flowers to the camp every day, and trainloads are also arriving, being taken by the Red Cross on trains and stretchers to the hospital camp. "A detachment of British arrived from the front this morning, ' ' says a despatch. "A major, badly wounded, was exchanging jokes with wounded soldiers and was smiling. He said all he wanted was coffee. Everybody immediately rushed off and returned with coffee and cider. "Members of the Fusilliers said that on Wednesday the regiment lined up for breakfast, when the German artillery started shelling them. Perfect order was maintained by the men, who began building earthworks, which, however, were knocked down as soon as finished. They were finally forced to retire owing to the Germans ' su- perior numbers and suffered the loss of three companies during the retreat. "British soldiers who fought at Mons said that while digging trenches they were forced to lie still under fire and do nothing but deliver a few bayonet charges. One man said : " 'A bayonet dash was a glorious relief after the galling inaction. Our fellows dashed at them as if doing a 100-yard sprint. The Germans looked sick at the sight of cold steel, as they al- WAR STORIES 53 -ways do, then turned and ran, some throwing away their straps and rifles. We would have liked to chase them forever, but were called back. I got in a stab at a German and told him to pass it on to the Kaiser. ' "The order to retire was a bitter disappoint- ment. Another soldier said: "■'It was bad enough to lie still with German shells doing the nasty all around us, but to fall back and let the infantry pot us was the limit. I consoled myself with the thought that perhaps I would be in a procession when the Kaiser was taken in chains from the Mansion House to the Chelsea pensioners' home.' " "WOMAN" SPY FOOLED GIRL Miss Diana Leverick of New York, who arrived in Boston yesterday from England on the Cunard liner Franconia, told how she became acquainted with a German "woman" while on board a Med- iterranean boat bound for London who proved to be a German male spy in disguise and who later was shot. "Among the passengers was a refined, middle- aged German woman who gave the name of Mederhaus, " she said. "She bore every evi- dence of good breeding and made herself very agreeable to all of us. I became very much at- tached to her. She was so pleasant and affable that certain peculiarities of her gait and face were unnoticed. Her hands and feet seemed a trifle arge, but I liked her so well that I could see 54 WAR STORIES nothing strange about her, although some of the other passengers began to comment upon her. "On the morning of our arrivalin London a messenger boy came aboard crying out, ' Tele- gram for Mrs. Niederhaus. ' The woman did not answer. Finally came an official and a squad of soldiers and she was led away to her cabin. We were amazed when soldiers locked themselves in' with her until we learned that she was really a, male spy. I read about her in the London Times' next day, the paper describing how 'she' was shot by the soldiers. ' ' A CITY OF DARKNESS Stringent measures have been taken in An1 werp to insure perfect darkness. No light of any kind which can be seen from the outside is allowed in the houses. Blinds and cur- tains, both in front and at back, are closely drawn. Printing offices have to work by candle light. Pitch darkness reigns in the streets at night and those forced to be out stumble against one another as they grope their way along. To prevent a prohibitive rise in the cost of food all shopkeepers have been ordered to display a list of prices charged in such a position that all who pass can see it from the outside. Communi- cation with Malines has been restored and all the fugitives from that town have been ordered to return. WAR STORIES 55 "I LOSE FEW BULLETS!" As an evidence of the indomitable spirit which is actuating the Belgians in their war against the Germans, here is a letter from a daring young man with a young wife and child who formerly was notorious as a poacher on game preserves. It was written in the siege of Namur while he was resting a moment: ' ' A few weeks ago, ' ' the letter says in part, ! ■ I was in France working in the beet fields. But because the proud Prussians attacked our country I had to leave and could not bring home a few gold coins for my family. I am feeling as well as possible, am whole and sound, and hope, with God's help, to see my home once more. "The Prussians are poor shots. They don't know by a yard where they shoot, and when they see a bayonet they are so scared they just run. I have lost but very few bullets. When I aim for their noses, you can bet that they don't hear the bullets whiz by their ears. They get it right in the mouth. I never missed a bird on the wing, so how could I miss those square-head Uhlans? I settled more than fifty of them, and if God lets me live I'll cool off a few more. When they come we kill 'em like rats, meanwhile singing 'The Lion of Flanders.' "Reverend Dear Father, while we send the Uhlans to the other country, please take care of my family and see that they may not suffer from hunger. Now I finish my letter to grab my gun and shoot Uhlans. X. "Formerly poacher, now Uhlan killer." 56 WAR STORIES AIRMAN 'S THRILLING TRIP The following letter from a German military aviator to his parents is printed in a recent issue of the Brandenburger Zeitung: "Last Saturday night, while our company still lay in garrison, I received orders to start on a flight into the enemy's country at daybreak the following morning. The assignment was as fol- lows : From the garrison over a French fortress into France, thence westward to Maas to spy out land for French lines of communication and to fly back the entire distance of 300 kilometers (about 186 miles). "By way of preparation maps of the whole region were minutely studied till midnight. Next morning at cock-crow our Gotha-Taube rolled across the city square, then rose and headed west- erly. In half an hour we had reached an altitude of 1,200 meters (3,937 feet) above the town. Then we headed for the French border, and immedi- ately my observer, First Lieut. A., called my at- tention to little black puffs of smoke, and I knew at once we were being fired at by hostile artillery, so climbed to 2,000 meters (7,874 feet). "Next we noticed that three of the enemy's aeroplanes were pursuing us, but we soon outdis- tanced and lost sight of them. Later we heard\ that two of the enemy's aeroplanes had been brought down by our artillery. Both hands of one of the pilots were said to have been blown away by a shot. "With a threefold 'Hurrah!' we now flew over the border toward a battlefield of the war of 1870- WAR STORIES 57 71, which we reached without any further un- toward incidents. Here we noticed long columns of troops marching from the south toward the northeast. We circled around the place and then started toward Maas. "We were now continuously fired upon. I saw, among other things, how a battalion of infantry stopped in the street and aimed at us. Silently and quietly we sat in our Taube and wondered what would happen next. Suddenly I noticed a faint quivering throughout the whole aeroplane; that was all. As I saw later, one of the planes had four holes made by rifle bullets, but without changing our course on we flew." THREW SHELLS OVERBOARD The London Daily Telegraph's Harwich corre- spondent gives further narratives of the Heligo- land fight gleaned from British sailors. They say that many of the German shells which made hits did not burst, and to that fact they attribute the comparative lightness of the British casualty list. "There were five shells in the boiler of the ," said one of them, mentioning the name of a destroyer. "If one of them had burst — well it would have been all up with the ship." "What did you do with them?" he was asked. "Oh, we just shied them overboard. We've no room for such rubbish aboard our yacht. ' ' In another instance it is related that a shell fell on the deck of a British ship. There was no im- mediate explosion. The sailors rushed at it and pushed it into the sea. 58 WAR STORIES One incident has been described which shows the grit of the German sailors. "We were hard at it with a German cruiser,' ' he said, "and she was in a bad way, on the point of sinking. We could see her decks were in an awful mess and her stern was in flames. It had been shot away. We could see only one man on the forecastle, but he was a plucky one. He hoisted a flag, and it was still there when the ship went down. I suppose he went down with her." DIED CHEERING EMPEROR An eye witness of the loss of the German eruiser Ariadne and the German torpedo boat de- stroyer V-157 in the fighting between British and German warships off Heligoland, relates the fol- lowing story of the fight : "The destroyer was surprised in a fog by a large number of British destroyers and sub- marines. When the speed of the German de- stroyer became affected by the English shells, it turned and confronted the enemy with the inten- tion of fighting to the end. Her engines, however, soon completely failed her, and she was blown up to prevent capture. Her crew continued firing until the boat disappeared beneath the waves. "The Ariadne attacked gamely, but a shell plumped her boilers, putting half of them out of commission. Despite this the fight continued. The quarterdeck of the Ariadne took fire, but those of her guns that were still capable of being worked continued shooting. "The forecastle of the Ariadne was soon ablaze. WAR STORIEb 59 Her magazine was flooded, but the gallant vessel was doomed. Her crew was mustered and gave three cheers for the Emperor and sang the hymn, 'The Flag and Germany Above All.' "The sinking of the ship probably was due to the explosion of her magazine. ' ' SAVED; THEN THROWN INTO THE SEA This little grim comedy is told by a correspond- ent of the London Evening News: "I heard of an incident which is said to have occurred when the British boats were busy pick- ing up German survivors of the fight in the Bight of Heligoland. A German officer was seen swim- ming, a line was thrown to him and he was helped on board, but his first action was to spit in the face of the British officer in charge. "A British sailor immediately flung the Ger- man overboard and another drowning German among the many within the boat's reach was helped into the vacant place." "FRENCH ARE VERY KIND" The American Embassy in Paris is in daily re- ceipt of letters written by dying German soldiers, forwarded to it by the French Government for transmission to Germany. One is from a German aviator who had fallen into the hands of the French. This man wrote: ' ' Good-by, dear father and mother ; my leg has been crushed. The French officers are very kind. ' y 60 WAR STORIES A postscript to this letter added by a French officer read: "At this point the brave fellow died; please for- ward this to his parents.' ' "I AM FIGHTING AGAINST MY SON!" A story is told to-day of the bravery of French women and men which is vouched for as true. Gen. de Castelnau and his three sons went to the front at the outbreak of the war and Mme. de Castelnau retired to the south. One of the sons was killed in the early fighting. When the news of his son 's death was conveyed to Gen. de Castelnau, he read the statement and then said quietly : ' ' Gentlemen, let us continue. ' ' When the news reached the country house of the family in the south the parish priest under- took the delicate task of conveying the news of the death of her son to Mme. de Castelnau. The priest tried to break the news to her but was so overcome with emotion that she guessed some- thing serious had happened. Mme. de Castelnau simply asked, "Which one?" meaning whether it was her husband or one of her three sons who had been killed. When the 35th Regiment entered Muelhausen an aged Alsatian offered the soldiers everything he possessed, pressing them to accept wine and food. After they had finished their meal he bade them farewell, saying : j 1 1 am now going to fight to kill my son, who is in the 40th Regiment of German infantry. " WAR STORIES 31 WHO WAS THE WOMAN? A correspondent tells of a strange little war picture. He got mixed with a French regiment on the right. In returning to his own regiment he says he crossed a field and passed up a big avenue of trees. Halfway up the avenue was a German officer of lancers lying dead at the side of the road. "How he got there was a mystery,' ' the soldier said. i i We had seen no cavalry, but there he lay. Some one had crossed his hands over his breast and had put a little celluloid crucifix in them. Over his face lay a beautiful little handkerchief — a lady's handkerchief with lace edging. The handkerchief, too, was a bit of a mystery, for there wasn't a woman within miles of the place.' ' "WE' DON'T WANT YOUR KAISER!" "Go back to your Pomeranian grenadiers," writes Henri Berenger, the Frenchman, to the German aviator who flew over Paris yesterday. "Mimi Pinson is not for you. We don't want your Kaiser, nor your Kultur, nor your Kolossal, nor your capital. You are not even original. Wretched Prussian cuckoo, where did you get your wings 1 .. Who invented aviation, Germany or France? Who first crossed the Channel or the Alps, a German or a Frenchman? What did you bring under your wings that we should surrender to you intelligence, or liberty, or justice, or truth, or love?- Nothing of the kind. You brought 62 WAE STORIES death — a bomb — that is all. That is why you will never have Paris. Paris is civilization in its beauty. You are barbarism in your ugliness. Possibly you may bombard us and burn our city, but we shall never surrender. Paris will be wher- ever the French flag floats, and in the end chante- cler will crow over the bloody nests of your crushed tyrants." KING HONORS BOY SCOUT HERO Georges Terpen, an 18-year-old Boy Scout of Liege, has just been decorated by the King of the Belgians and has received a commission in the army for the brilliant work which he has accom- plished since the beginning of hostilities. Young Terpen captured eleven spies, all of whom have been shot. Near Malines he killed one Uhlan and captured another, although he was suffering from a broken arm. Two fellow Boy Scouts, 16 and 17 years old, were executed by the Germans on the same day. Terpen declares that the only weapon he used against the German soldiers was a long knife. THOUGHT FOES WERE FRIENDS A corporal in a convoy of wounded at Cham- pigny is quoted as saying that in the fighting at Guise a regiment firing on the line heard the signal to cease shooting. Immediately in front of them the men of the regiment saw soldiers wearing caps like the English. WAR STORIES 63 They advanced, cheering the English, and were met by a deadly discharge of rifle fire. The Ger- mans, he asserted, had used this subterfuge to draw the French on. "COURAGE; DELIVERANCE SOON!" The correspondent in Antwerp of an Amster- dam newspaper says that a French biplane ap- peared over Brussels Saturday and in a hail of German bullets twice circled the town, dropping hundreds of pamphlets containing the message: ' 'Take courage; deliverance soon." The aviator then made ofT, after giving the spectators a daring performance of loop the loop. GERMANS TRICKED TO DEATH Wounded men in the hospitals of Boulogne re- lated to the London Express correspondent these incidents of the fighting between the British and Germans. One of the men, he says, told of a trick which the British learned in the Boer war which was carried out with deadly effect against the Germans. The story of the incident follows : "The enemy before sending their infantry against our positions opened a hot artillery fire. Our artillery replied at first warmly, and then gun after gun of the British batteries went silent. "What's up now?" I asked a comrade. There were a few minutes more of artillery firing from the Germans, and then their infantry came on in solid formation. We received them with rifle fire. 64 WAR STORIES Still they came on and still we mowed them down. They were getting closer and we could plainly see the dense masses moving. Then suddenly the whole of our artillery opened fire. "You see, the cannon had not been silenced at all, and it was a trick to draw the Germans on. They went down in whole fields, for our guns got them in open ground and, of course, they soon had enough. It was impossible for those behind to come on past the dead." SIGNAL DREW FATAL VOLLEY The Hanover Courier prints this account by an eyewitness of the death of Prince Wilhelm of Lippe, who fell in the assault on Liege on Aug. 6 : ' i After fierce fighting at close quarters we pro- ceeded successfully toward Liege. On the morn- ing of the 6th we succeeded in getting on the northern walls of Liege, where, however, we were completely surrounded by Belgian troops, who drew «ver closer around us and pressed us hard amid a hail of bullets. By order of his Highness our detachment formed a circle and we defended ourselves stoutly for some time, till at length we saw strong reinforcements coming to our aid. "In order to enable them to locate the exact spot where we were the Prince rose to a kneeling position, pointed with his sword to the approach- ing column and gave me, who lay a hand 's breadth away from him, on top of our flag, the order to raise the flag so that we might be recognized. i ' I raised the flag and waved it in a circle, which at once drew an extra hail of bullets from the WAR STORIES 65 enemy. The flag was shot out of my hands, while the same volley wounded the Prince fatally in the breast and throat. His last words were, ' Remem- ber me!' " AMERICAN WOMEN'S ADVENTURE Arriving home from France Mrs. Webster J, Scofield of Holmes told of riding 120 miles impris- oned in a freight car, from Chatillon to Paris, when the railroads suspended passenger service to move troops. When she reached Chatillon, homeward hound, with two friends from Jacksonville, Fla., there were no trains to take civilians to Paris. They were told by a trainman that a freight car that stood on a side track filled with gun carriages was going to Paris, and that if they hid in it they could get through. Mrs. Scofield, with three other women and tw# men, took the trainman's advice. They had hid- den live hours in the darkness when a brakeman locked the door and they were practically prison- ers for six hours more, until a soldier heard their cries in the Paris freight yards and let them out. BOMBARDMENT OF— KISSES! When the British expeditionary army landed on French soil the natives went wild with joy and women overwhelmed " Tommy Atkins" with kisses. A letter received at London to-day by the- wife of one of the soldiers at the front declares t 66 • WAR STORIES "You would have been jealous if you had seen the women, old and young, kiss us. I was kissed scores of times. The natives went frantic with joy when they saw us. The women screamed with joy as they hugged us. Many wept bitterly and then wiped away the tears and offered us small presents/ ' GERMAN ARMY WONDERFUL An eye witness to the entry of the victorious Germans into Brussels describes the advance as a wonderful sight. He writes as follows: "The German entry into Brussels was a won- derful and impressive sight. I have seen many military parades in time of peace, but never a parade on so vast a scale, which went on without a hitch. It was impossible to imagine that these men had been fighting continuously for ten days, or that they had even been on active service. First of all came six cyclists, then a detachment of cavalry, then a great mass of infantry, then guns and field guns and more infantry, then huge howitzers, then a pontoon train and then more infantry from 1.30 o'clock Thursday until Sun- day morning without a break. "The pontoon trains were especially impres- sive. They were carried upside down on trolleys, drawn by six horses. All cavalry horses as well as the horses of the artillery and commissary were in wonderful condition. The men also were very fresh and keen. Each company had a stove, the fire of which was never out. There was al- ways some hot drink ready for the troops and the WAR STORIES 67 German soldiers told me that it is only this hot coffee and soup which kept them going on long forward marches. "The inhabitants of Brussels turned out by thousands to watch this endless procession of Germans as they marched by singing all sorts of songs and national airs. They sang in excellent tune, one company taking up the refrain as soon as another stopped. Like everything else their singing is perfectly organized. "An aeroplane kept its station ahead of this advancing horde and it signalled both day and night by dropping various colored stars. What these signals meant I do not know, but all move- ments of the troops were regulated by them. "I became overwhelmed after watching this immense mass of men marching by without a hitch for three days. I never believed such a perfect machine could exist.' ' HE WASN'T HER HUSBAND Mme. Gilbert, wife of the French aviator, was recently arrested near Clermont-Ferrand at the village of Paray-le-Monial, where she was in- formed her husband was being feted on his return from a successful raid. On her arrival she found her alleged husband an impostor — a warrant has been issued for his arrest, since the real Gilbert is at Dole — and she was challenged by a gendarme when trying to return home. Finding her without papers and carrying German uniform buttons, which she bought from prisoners as souvenirs, he promptly arrested her. Release was obtained €8 WAR STORIES with difficulty on the arrival of her father-in-law with the necessary information. COOL NERVE OF BELGIANS Stories of the cool nerve of Belgian soldiers tinder fire are being told everywhere by refugees and correspondents arriving from the battlefield in lower Belgium. The story is told of one volun- teer who returned after a skirmish with Uhlans and calmly announced: "Well, I killed two." Then as he filled his pipe, he added: "I hit one right there," putting his finger to his forehead. "His helmet went spinning and I picked it up later and saw the hole my bullet made. ' ' Clerks, brokers, and business men have been turned into fighting devils. The Belgians were not out of their uniforms for days at a time. Sleeping and eating in the trenches when they could, they became veritable vagabonds. Even when catching a few winks of sleep the men lay with their rifles on their arms ready for action. JOKE WHILE BULLETS FLY The London Daily Chronicle's correspondent telegraphs the following from Havre : " 'I don't know what has come over the Ger- man riflemen,' an officer said to me to-day, 'but our men have become almost totally indifferent to the German rifle fire. While it is going on they do their work singing, whistling and joking in the trenches. ' WAE STORIES 69 " An army doctor who heard this statement was able to confirm it in a remarkable way. Of 500 wounded who had come under his notice, or whom he had treated, only one was suffering from a rifle bullet wound. All the others had been hit by shrapnel bullets or bits of shells. "I met to-day a gunner who is in charge of a Maxim gun, and who at one time found himself right in the center and facing an oncoming Ger- man frontal attack. " 'But how we did mow them down,' he said. *The section in front of me must have consisted of 800 men, and every one of them got something. "We cleared the whole lot out, but from the flanks others closed up, and at last we had to run for it. We were forced to leave the gun behind, but, luckily, a well-planted German shell knocked it to bits before the Germans reached it.' " "AIM AT BUTTON, HIT GERMAN" Some striking stories told by wounded soldiers returning from France are given by the London Standard, among them the following : "The blue-gray uniforms of the Germans are hard to see at a distance," said a Yorkshire light infantryman, ' ■ and for concealing movements are more effective than our khaki, but it is surprising how quickly you learn to pick out such things as buttons, badges, armlets, and even peaks of caps or spikes of helmets in the sun and tell by them of the moving men you cannot see otherwise. * ' Aim at a button a mile off and you hit a Ger- man in the stomach, is what we say, and it's near 70 WAR STORIES enough to the truth. The Germans are such stick- lers for rules that I have seen their artillery keep firing away at a position of ours after it had been occupied by their own men, and at the hospitals they find quite a number of Germans hit by their own rifle fire." WHAT HAPPENED? GOD KNOWS! The London Daily News prints a despatch from a staff correspondent describing the recent fight- ing around St. Quentin. The despatch written at St. Quentin and forwarded to London via Bou- logne, reads : "A battle is raging, with heavy fighting. It be- gan here Saturday, was continued yesterday, and was recommenced at dawn this morning. In a dense wood between St. Quentin and La Fere a number of people had taken refuge, peaceful peas- antry for the most part. The wood was raided by a band of German cavalry and, although the white flag was hoisted on the outskirts, not the slightest notice was taken of it. The undergrowth was as dry as tinder. The way to clear the screen was obvious, and the order was given to fire it. This was done and in a few moments the wood was a huge, raging fury of flames, roaring madly. "A priest engaged in Red Cross work who had struggled through from this desperate neighbor- hood told me this tale in the gray hours of this morning. " 'What happened to the people there V I asked. WAR STORIES 71 " "What happened? The good God alone knows/ he replied as tears rolled down his face." THOUGHT SCOTS AMAZONS A never-ending source of wonder and delight to the French country folk are the kilted High- land regiments with the British expeditionary force. The Highlander in full gala rig, scarlet tunic, tartan phillibeg, with the gay ' ' sporan ' ' or pouch, white gaiters and big bearskin headdress, is a thing of beauty and joy forever at home, and even now when clad in khaki he is a remarkable sight for foreigners. The French could hardly believe their eyes when they saw the husky regiments wearing what appeared to be short petticoats. True, the gar- ment of khaki was like the jacket, but it was un- doubtedly a petticoat. The inhabitants of the country through which they are passing generally put them down as some wild troop of Amazons which the English keep for serious fighting. When told that the kilted warriors are really men, and Scotchmen, they remember the famous Scotch guards of the old French kings and shout ' ' Vivent les ecossais!" The bagpipes are another attraction and when the Gordons are stepping out to i ' The Cock of the North," or the Argyle and Sutherland^ are announcing their presence with "The Campbells Are Comm'," whole villages follow them for miles. There are four Highland regiments with the British army, the two above mentioned, and the Black Watch and Camerons. 72 WAR STORIES MOTHER'S TRIBUTE TO SON "When Lieut. St. Aubyn, killed in the Heligoland naval battle, was buried the other day in London, Ms mother sent a wreath bearing the inscription : "To my darling boy. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. ' ■ The following authentic incident of the Heligo- land fight is perhaps the most dramatio of the war. A British destroyer, having sunk an enemy, lowered a lifeboat to pick up German survivors. ^Before the lifeboat returned a German cruiser came out and attacked her, forcing her to aban- don the lifeboat. The British crew was left alone in an open boat without food twenty-five miles from the nearest land, and that land the enemy's fortress, with nothing but fog and foes surrounding. Suddenly up popped a British submarine close by, opened the conning tower and took the British on board, leaving the German survivors alone in the life- boat. SAYS PRINCE TOOK HIS OWN LIFE Prince Frederick William of Lippe took his own life following a mistake of his regiment, according to Lady Randolph Churchill, formerly Miss Jen- nie Jerome of New York, who has arrived in Lon- don from Germany by way of Holland. "The true story of the death of Prince Fred' erick William of Lippe,' ' she said, "is that he committed suicide. He was commanding a Ger- WAR STORIES 73 man cavalry regiment before Liege on August 4 when his regiment, in the darkness of evening, nearly annihilated a German infantry regiment which it had mistaken for Belgians. The Prince shot himself, fearing to face the anger of Emperor William. His widow, with whom I am acquainted, was informed of his death on Aug. 14." "GET THE GUNS BACK!" . "A gallant deed was performed by Capt. F. 0. Grenfell of the 9th Lancers," cables a correspon- dent of the London Daily Mail. "He was hit in both legs and had two fingers shot off at the same time. Almost as he received these wounds a cou- ple of guns posted near by were deprived of their servers, all of whom save one were struck by the bursting of shrapnel. The horses for the guns aad been placed under cover. " 'We'll get the guns back!' cried Grenfell, and at that, with several of his men, in spite of his wounds, he did manage to harness the guns up and get them away. He was then taken to a hos- pital." THE IRREPRESSIBLE CAMERA MAN A correspondent sends the following by way of Antwerp : "Yesterday morning a little man wearing an American army shirt, a pair of British officer's breeches, French puttees and a Seaforth High- lander 's helmet, and carrying a camera the size of 74 WAR STORIES a parlor phonograph, blew into the American Consulate in Ostend while I was paying a flying visit there. He announced that his name was Don- ald C. Thompson, a photographer from Topeka, Kan. Thompson made nine attempts to get from Paris to the front. He was arrested nine times and spent nine nights in prison. Each time he was taken before a military tribunal. Utterly ig- noring the subordinate officers, he would demand to see the commanding officer. He would grasp that astonished official by the hand and nearly wring it off, meanwhile inquiring solicitously af- ter the General's health and that of his family. 44 'How many languages do you speak T I asked. " 'Three,' said he — 'English, American, and Yankee. ' "On one occasion he explained to the French officer who had arrested him that he was in search of his wife and daughter, who were dying somewhere on the Belgian frontier. The officer was so affected by the pathos of the story that he wept on Thompson's neck and sent him forward in a Red Cross automobile." SAW FIFTY ZEPPELINS William Parker of St. Louis, who arrived in London from Rumania last night, told of interest- ing things he had witnessed and passed through on his journey. He said : "When we got to Breslau the mining of the town's approaches was in operation and I had a good look at it. They were digging trenches about three miles outside of Breslau and burying WAR STORIES 75 horrible looking bombs eleven inches in diameter, row after row, as far as I could see. They seemed to fear a Russian attack. "I was allowed the privilege of looking over their Zeppelins at Breslau, for use against the Russians. ' ' There seemed to be fifty of. them, in tents with doors wide open. Operators, officers, men and equipment were all aboard, ready to start at a moment's notice. They have sure got a system. I also saw some^forty aeroplanes there. "From Breslau we had a slow but not uncom- fortable trip to Berlin. German officers who spoke enough * American ' to make themselves under- stood saw to it that we got coffee and food at sta- tions along the way. "You must know that ' American ' is now offi- cially recognized as a language. Signs up every- where say ' American spoken here.' The bill of fare no longer reads ' English roast beef,' but * Amerikanischer roast beef. ' So all along the line. It 's all American now, not English. ' ' JEWS BRAVE FIGHTERS A corporal and two privates of the Black Watch, all wounded, have just arrived in London from the front. They were surrounded by a crowd and cheered in the West End this morning. The corporal, telling how his regiment fought, said: ■ ' In the thick of it we were singing Harry Lau- der 's latest. Aye, 'twas grand. All around us were the dead and dying. Every now and then 76 WAR STORIES the German shells burst and as we peppered away at 'em we sang 'Roamin' in the Gloamin' ' and the 'Lass o' Killikrankie. ' " Somebody in the crowd asked: "What were the Jews doing ?" The Highlander replied: "Their duty. We had three with us, and bon- nier and braver lads I don't wish to see. They fought just splendidly." A private in the Berkshire regiment added : "We had ten in our company. They were all good fighters, but six won't be seen again." "KILL FOE OR WE WON'T MARRY!" All of Servia is enthusiastic in regard to the campaign for the conquest of territory from the Austrians. One of the most remarkable features is the ar- dent enthusiasm displayed by the Servian wo- men. Many of them have taken a pledge not to love a man who has not killed at least one of the enemy. A CLOSE CALL The correspondent of the London Chronicle says: "In — — the stationmaster, a brave old type, and one or two porters had determined to stay on to the last. 'We are here,' he said, as though the Germans would have to reckon with him, but he was emphatic in his request for me to leave at once if another train could be got away, which was WAR STORIES 7? very uncertain. As a matter of fact, after a bad quarter of an hour, I was put on the last train to escape from this threatened town, and left it with the sound of German guns in my ears, fol- lowed by a dull explosion when the bridge behind me was blown up. ■ l My train, in which there were only four othei men, skirted the German army, and by a twist in the line almost ran into the enemy's country, but we rushed through the night and the engine driver laughed and put his oily hand up to salute when I stepped out to the platform of an unknown sta- tion. "The Germans won't get us after all,' he said. It was a little risky all the same. "The station was crowded with French soldiers and they were soon telling me their experience of the hard fighting in which they had been engaged. They were dirty, unshaven, dusty from head to foot, scorched by the August sun, in tattered uni- forms and broken boots, but they were beautiful men for all their dirt, and the laughing courage, quiet confidence and unbragging simplicity with which they assured me that the Germans would soon be caught in a death trap and sent to their destruction filled me with admiration which I can- not express in words.' ' WAITING FOR THE GERMANS A correspondent of the London Daily News cables his paper : "From all I hear of the progress of the Ger- man advance the Germans were in Amiens on Sunday. The city was evacuated and the railway 73 WAR STORIES tunnel blown up. I judged it would be useful to visit the little town of Beauvais, twenty miles al- most due south of Amiens on the road from Dieppe to Gournay. "Crossing the bridge by the railway station, a French dragoon laughed when he saw our startled look at what rested below against < the bridge supports. They are waiting for the Germans. "The streets were strewn with broken glass bottles and barbed wire entanglements were coiled everywhere. The little place is in a hollow. One wanted but slight imagination to the flaming hell it could become at any moment. "It was growing dusk, and I suppose I have never before felt such an urgent desire to leave a town i ? STUCK TO THE BATTERY In a statement issued by the British War Of- fice the following incidents have been mentioned: 1 i During the action at Le Cateau all the officers and men of one of the British batteries had been killed or wounded with the exception of one subal- tern and two gunners. These continued to serve one gun and kept up a sound, raking fire and came out unhurt from the battlefield. "On another occasion a portion of a supply column was cut off by a detachment of German cavalry. The officer in charge was summoned to surrender. He refused and, starting the motor off at full speed, dashed safely through, only los- ing two lorries." WAE STORIES 79 HORSESHOER'S FEAT The Paris correspondent of the London Chron- icle telegraphs : f ' In the fighting at Compiegne, when the British captured several German guns, the Dragoon Guards did wonderful work. There was one tre- mendous cavalry charge, in which these dragoons -were accompanied by their farrier, armed only with his hammer, which he wielded with deadly effect, according to the men." "TOO COMMUNICATIVE" An amusing instance of the thoroughness of the German censor was shown by a letter received the other day by a woman whose husband, an Ameri- can business man, is temporarily detained in Ber- lin. The envelope was addressed in her husband's handwriting and was stamped with the censor's official seal. Inside the envelope was a slip of paper on which was scrawled in a queer-looking foreign script: "Your husband, madam, is well, but too com- municative. ' ' BOMB HIS CALLING CARD A correspondent of Le Petit Journal relates a characteristic interview with Jules Vedrines, the well-known airman, who already has done dis- tinguished service, but finds the service monoto- 80 WAR STORIES nous because he is not allowed more activity. His work is confined to reconnoitering for the troops and artillery. He says: "If only they would let me go and leave my visiting card with Emperor William !" RETREAT OF DIPLOMATS "It was a unique sight/ * says the Paris corre- spondent of the London Daily Chronicle, "when the members of the foreign embassies and lega- tions quit Paris for Bordeaux. They left in the dead of night and their only illumination was moonlight. "There was Sir Francis Bertie, in a black suit and bowler hat, talking to the Italian Ambassa- dor, who, with Signor Tittoni, were distinguish- able figures in gray and with soft felt hats. My- ron T. Herrick, the American Ambassador, had come down with his wife to say good-by to his con- freres, and M. Isvolsky, the Czar 's envoy, was chatting with the Spanish Ambassador, who, like Mr. Herrick, is remaining in Paris to perform the duties of courtesy that fall upon neutrals at such a time. "The windows of each carriage of the special train were labeled with the names of the coun- tries whose representatives it was carrying off. There was even an inscription for the more or less imaginary republic of San Marino, but no one appeared to answer to this honorific name. There were the Persian Minister and M. Romo- nos, a black-bearded Greek, and the Russian mili- tary attache, in uniform, and les braves Beiges, WAR STORIES 81 & As of servants, including a Chinese nnrc o was feeding a yellow baby that had coal hi. jk eyes. "At last a horn was blown and the train rolled away. "Say what yon like, it is no pleasant thing to see the world's delegates pack up their traps and leave the splendid city of Paris to its fate. ' ' "GERMANS WENT MAD" A priest of Termonde describing the destitu- tion of that town to a correspondent, said : "When the Germans attacked the town we had no guns. Our gendarmes and soldiers fought at two or three places and drove the Germans back for the moment, but with their numbers and equip- ment they could not help but win. Our men re- tired in good order and blew up the bridges as they retired. Nearly all the inhabitants left ahead of the troops. Some, including myself, stayed and crossed the river in boats yesterday. "The Germans had entered in the night and set the town afire. The German soldiers seemed to go mad. They ran about setting the houses alight and shouting, 'This is how we will burn Antwerp in three days!' Nobody seemed to be in command, but I suppose that the burning was ordered. ' ' WOMEN NURSES IN BREECHES "Among a party of nurses who left Folkestone for the front," says the London Daily Mail cor- 82 WAR STORIES respondent, "were a number of women wearing riding breeches and spurs and long coats and hel- mets similar to those worn in the tropics. "Their duties will be to ride over the battle- field and look for the wounded and render first aid, after which other nurses will convey the stricken soldiers to the base hospital in motor cars. It is pointed out that many wounded have died owing to not having received immediate at- tention.' 9 AUTO ROUGH RIDERS "Wealthy young Belgians have done great work," writes a correspondent from Antwerp, ' l by dashing at the German lines in armored auto- mobiles, each of which carried a single machine gun. In one instance one of these cars stopped for lack of gasolene just as it reached a German patrol. A daring young Belgian jumped out and filled the tank, and although bullets fell about him, he reentered the car uninjured and the ma- chine started forward again, while the mitrail- leuse was working constantly." FIRST AID BY POLICE DOGS Police dogs are being used in this war in Red Cross work for the first time, says a Paris cor- respondent. They are reported to be giving ex- cellent results. They have been trained to dis- cover the wounded man and to bring his cap or another piece of his wearing apparel back to the WAR STORIES 83 headquarters of the Red Cross, and then to lead a nurse to the place. FLEEING FROM PARIS Describing the flight from Paris, when the peo- ple feared the Germans were about to attack the capital, a correspondent says: "This great army in retreat was made up of every type familiar in Paris. "Here were women of the gay world, poor creatures whose painted faces had been washed with tears, and whose tight skirts and white stock- ings were never made for a long march down the highways of France. "Here, also, were thousands of those poor old ladies who live on a few francs a week in the attics of the Paris streets, which Balzac knew; they had fled from their poor sanctuaries and some of them were still carrying cats and canar- ies, as clear to them as their own lives. "There was one young woman who walked with a pet monkey on her shoulder while she car- ried a bird in a golden cage. Old men, who re- membered 1870, gave their arms to old ladies to whom they had made love when the Prussians were at the gates of Paris then. * ' It was pitiful to see these old people now hob- bling along together. Pitiful, but beautiful, also, because of their lasting love. 1 i Young boy students, with ties as black as their hats and rat tail hair, marched in small compa- nies of comrades, singing brave songs, as though 84 WAR STORIES they had no fear in their hearts, and very little food, I think, in their stomachs. "Shopgirls and concierges, city clerks, old aristocrats, young boys and girls, who supported grandfathers and grandmothers, and carried new- born babies and gave pick-a-pack rides to little brothers and sisters, came along the way of re- treat. "Each human being in the vast torrent of life will have an unforgettable story of adventure to tell if life remains." THEIR PICNIC SPOILED The French troops are brave and fearless bui too impetuous, says a correspondent of the Lon- don Daily Chronicle. He adds : "Careless of quick-firers, which experience should have taught them were masked behind the enemy's advance posts, they charged with the bayonet and suffered needlessly heavy losses dur- ing the fighting at Creil and Compiegne. One can only admire the gallantry of men who dare to charge on foot against the enemy's mounted men and who actually put a squadron of them to flight, but one must say again: 'C'est magnifique, mais ce n'est pas la guerre/ "There have been many incidents of heroism in these last days of fighting. It is, for instance, immensely characteristic of the French spirit that an infantry battalion, having put to flight a de-? tachment of German outposts in the forest of Compiegne, calmly sat down to have a picnic in the woods until, as they sat over their hot soup? WAR STORIES 85 laughing at their exploit, they were attacked by a new force and cut to pieces." PAINT HORSES GREEN "The Russian Cossacks have painted all their white and gray horses green, making them har- monize with the foliage, so that their movements cannot be seen by scouting aeroplanes," says a London correspondent. This plan was first adopted by the British in the struggle with the Boers. ENTERED GERMAN HARBOR The correspondent of the London Standard tells how destroyers and submarines of the British fleet by close surveillance discovered the passage between the mines which the German destroy- ers used in* coming out to the North Sea. With that information a flotilla of submarines and destroyers proceeded to round up the German ships. When the operation was finished the Brit- ish vessels returned to their base with the excep- tion of one submarine. There was much anxiety as to the fate of this vessel, and as nearly a day passed without any news of her the fleet began to conclude she had been lost. Just as this fear began to be viewed as a certainty the submarine came calmly into the midst of the fleet and asked to be replenished. The excitement among the bluejackets at the return of the wanderer spread to every ship. The questions on every lip were, ' ' Where has she been 86 WAR STORIES and what has she been doing? " The explanation was soon forthcoming, and all who heard it were thrilled at the daring feat accomplished by the commander and crew. The submarine actually had penetrated into the harbor of Bremerhaven, where she fired two torpedoes. The Germans were panic-stricken, in the midst of which the submarine went to sleep on the bottom of the harbor. For hours the ship and crew remained there while the harbor was being trawled, but the nets fortunately passed over her. As soon as he considered it was safe the comman- der gave orders to proceed out of the German har- bor, the submarine returning across the North Sea without mishap. HE KNEW CONEY ISLAND A newspaper correspondent made a motor trip to Brussels and tells of being ambushed by Ger- mans. He says : "We first sighted Germans when approaching" a railway grade crossing outside of Aerschoi. There were a hundred of them waiting for us be- hind a hedge, with rifles leveled. When a harp dred yards away an officer in the trailing gray cloak stepped into the middle of the road and held up his hand and called out : "'Halt!' "I jammed on the brakes. " 'Are you English?' the officer demanded none too pleasantly. " 'No, American,' I said. ; WAR STORIES 87 "'I know America well/ lie said. 'Atlantic City and Niagara Falls and Coney Island. I have seen all yonr famous places. ' " Imagine standing in the middle of a Belgian road, surrounded by German soldiers who looked as though they would rather shoot you than not, and discussing the relative merits of hotels at Atlantic City with an officer of an invading army. ' ' "MORE WAITING FOR YOU" "Why, it's Kitchener!" gasped the wounded soldiers in St. Thomas 's Hospital, London, as the Secretary of State for War stepped in for a visit of inspection, says a correspondent. Here's his chat with a trooper of the Royal Irish Dra- goons .* I i How are you getting on ? ' ' asked Lord Kitch- ener. "All right, sir," answered Trooper Craig. "What's your regiment?" "The Irish Dragoons." i t How did you get that hand 1 ' ' I I My horse threw me and stamped on it, sir, just before it got killed by a shell in a charge in Bel- gium. ' ' "Ah, but you got into them, didn't you?" Lord Kitchener continued, with a knowing air. "Oh, yes, sir, we did," answered the trooper, with a laugh, in which Lord Kitchener joined. "There are some more waiting for you, you know," was Lord Kitchener's parting shot, and again the trooper laughed. 88 WAR STORIES "YES, TAKE A PICTURE" A curious story in connection with the sacking of Louvain is told by a correspondent of a London paper. M. Pousette, a Swedish diplomat, was there, watching the soldiers looting shops. He talked with a German lieutenant. M. Pousette had a camera in his pocket. He asked the lieutenant if he could take a picture. The lieutenant, not knowing that M. Pousette had the camera, misunderstood the question, and, waving his hand toward a particularly fine man- sion, generously said: "Yes; go in that house. There are a number of good ones there.' ' HER FEET HER PASSPORT A Swedish actress narrates how she was taken for a German spy in Paris, and, not knowing how to proclaim her identity and being surrounded by a shouting mob, she felt quite alarmed. Suddenly a lucky idea occurred to her. She slightly raised her skirt, and, showing dainty little feet, exclaimed: "You look at this! Do you call these German?" She was saved and carried in triumph to her hotel. TEAWLERS WORTHY OF FLEET The sinking of the Wilson line steamship Rimo by a mine in the North Sea is described as fol- lows: WAR STORIES 89 1 i It was extremely fortunate that the little fleet of four trawlers, homeward bound with their holds full of fish, chanced to be passing almost within hailing distance of the Runo at that mo- ment. The trawlers, regardless of the conse- quences to themselves, in view of the possibility that there were other mines in the neighborhood, pushed through the wreckage and picked up sail- ors and passengers who were clinging to timbers and rafts. These were persons who, in the first panic, had jumped overboard or had been blown into the sea. Others were gathered from the decks of the fast sinking ship. ' ' The Runo, when she struck the mine, tilted at an angle which made it difficult to launch the life- boats. Only two were launched, survivors said, and these after reaching the water were both overturned by frightened passengers trying to get into them. 1 'The Runo, after settling by the head, re- mained in that position for nearly two hours, her bulkheads holding her afloat until 6 o'clock when the bulkheads suddenly gave way, elevating her stern high in the air for a moment, after which she dipped quietly into the depths. "The work of the trawlers is declared by the Runo's crew to have been one of the finest epi- sodes of its kind in the history of the sea." "NOTHING SEEMS TO STOP THEM" A London Chronicle correspondent thus de- scribes the irresistible advance of the German troops : 90 WAR STORIES "When I wrote my last despatch it seemed as inevitable as the rising of the next day's sun that the Germans should enter Paris on that very day. "They were fighting the British troops at Creil when I came to that town. Upon the following day they were holding the British in the forest of Compiegne. They have been as near to Paris as Senlis, almost within gunshot of the outer forts. ' l ' Nothing seems to stop them, ' said many sol- diers with whom I spoke. 'We kill them and kill them, but they still come on. ' ' ' DIRGE A SIGNAL TO FIRE Cabling from Paris a correspondent says: "In the fighting at Dieure the Germans sig- naled for a masked battery to open fire on the French by having a military band play Chopin's 'Funeral March.' " HUMAN SIEVE A correspondent in Ostend says that among the French wounded in recent fighting was a dragoon with six bullet and three bayonet wounds in the upper part of his body. He was expected to recover. "PARLEZ VOUS FRANC AIS" A London correspondent says: "A half-sheet typewritten French dictionary of the most nec- essary words is carried by all soldiers of the British expeditionary force." WAR STORIES 91 KAISER STILL BRITISH ADMIRAL A London correspondent says : "According to the September Navy List just- issued the Kaiser is still an honorary admiral of the British fleet, so it would seem that his resig- nation has not yet reached Whitehall. ' ' LIGHT BRIGADE OUTDONE Private Whitaker of the Coldstream Guards, writing* to his fiancee, describes the fighting at Compiegne in the following words, cables a Lon- don correspondent : "You could not miss the Germans. Our bullets plowed into them, but still they came for us. I was well intrenched and my rifle got so hot I could hardly hold it. I was wondering if I should have enough cartridges, when a pal shouted, 'Up, Guards, and at 'em!' The next second he was rolled over with a nasty knock on the shoulder. He jumped up and roared, ' Let me get at 'em ! ' "They still came on and when we really did get the order to get at them we made no mis- takes. They cringed at the bayonet, but those on our left tried to get around us. "We yelled like demons, and after racing as hard as we could for quite 500 yards we cut up nearly every German who had not run away. Then we took up a new position. "Here our cover was not so good. At our left were the cavalry. The enemy's guns were blazing away and they got to us nicely, but not for long. 92 WAR STOKIES You have read of the charge of the Light Brigade. It was nothing to our charge/ ' KAISER SEES BOMBARDMENT "A report from Basel confirms earlier state- ments that the Kaiser watched the Germans bom- barding Nancy," says a correspondent of the London Standard. "Attended at first by a small staff, he took up a position on a hill overlooking the town, just outside the range of the French artillery. "For several hours the Kaiser stood alone iu an isolated spot in the full glare of the sun, his eyes glued to a field glass through which he was following the operations of his army. Finally he walked back to a waiting automobile and was driven away unattended." TRAPS 28 GERMANS From Paris comes the story of the arrival of twenty-eight Prussian prisoners, the first to be seen in the French capital in the present war. It seems they had become separated from their regi- ment and lost their way. They asked a peasant near Meaux if the Germans had taken Paris and how to get there. The peasant replied that he thought Paris had fallen and would conduct them to the right road. When it was too late the Prussians found he was leading them into the British lines. f WAR STORIES 93 ) ESCAPED WITH A LAUGH Telegraphing from Sydney, N. S. W., the Reuter correspondent says: "An attempt was made at Nauru Island, a Ger- man possession in the Pacific just south of the equator and near the Gilbert Islands, to seize the British steamship Messina. A German magis- trate with a party in a small boat approached the Messina and demanded to go on board her. " 'By whose orders T the mate of the Messina asked. f* 'By orders of his Majesty, the Emperor of Germany/ the magistrate replied. "The mate laughed at the magistrate and or- dered full speed ahead, and the Messina sooa reached the open sea." "WEEL DONE, SANDY!" " A magnificent Gordon Highlander recently at- tracted attention at the Gare du Nord," tele- graphs a correspondent from Paris. "He was in fine humor, although he had been wounded in the side in the fighting on the Marne. He had a sword in his hand which, he explained, he had cap- tured from a Uhlan directly after the German had struck him with it, and he had shot his assailant dead. "Some women of the French Red Cross on their way to the front caught sight of the Scots- man and hurried up to see if he was badly hurt- An animated conversation followed. The High- 94 WAR STORIES lander, anxious to express his gratitude to the French Florence Nightingales, hesitated a mo- ment; then he kissed all of them on the cheeks. The crowd cheered delightedly and the nurses were not in the least abashed." LIFEBOATS A MINE TRAP A London correspondent telegraphs the follow- ing incident: " The master of the Grimsby steam trawler Agatha reports that while fishing in the North Sea he sighted a ship's boat afloat, and supposing that some disaster had occurred went toward it, put out a boat and found the derelict to be a life- boat supplied with sails, mast and oars. The Agatha tried to tow the prize home, but imme- diately an explosion occurred, luckily too far dis- tant to harm the trawler. "A careful examination revealed that a mine had been attached to the lifeboat by ropes and wires in such a manner as to explode and blow up any ship which steamed alongside the lifeboat to pick it up. ' ' SHOOT POISONOUS GASES " There is much talk here," says a Malta cor- respondent, u of a new German siege gun which kills as much by poisonous gases liberated from the shell as by the solid contents. The gun has a relatively small bore and is easily mounted on wheels. "The shell is loaded at the mouth of the gun, WAR STORIES 95 but a metallic shaft, making a piece with the shell, is rammed tightly into the gun. Shell and shaft are shot together.' ' CHILDREN WANTED TO FIGHT A Bourges correspondent says: " Among the spectators acclaiming the French artillery pass- ing through here were four lads, the eldest about 13. Several marches later the boys were found in a circle of the troops partaking of the mess. 4 'They swore to follow until they came in con- tact with the enemy and to lay down their lives for their country. A collection was immediately raised among the soldiers. The boys were ter- ribly depressed at being compelled to return home afoot, charged with vagabondage under the mili- tary law. The magistrate, with tears in his eyes, acquitted them. ' ' "PRISONERS NOT WANTED" Telegraphing from Rotterdam a correspondent of the New York Sun says : "An American who arrived here from Berlin said to me: " 'As the Berliners have been treated to a long, unbroken series of bulletins announcing German victories and have an invincible belief in the irre- sistibility of the German army, I asked why there were so few English prisoners. if 'The reply was : "We are not troubling our- selves to take many. The hatred of our men for the British is uncontrollable." This was accom- 96 WAR STORIES panied by a gesture which indicated that the wounded fare badly.' " 4,000 AUSTRIANS FAST IN BOG A Petrograd correspondent telegraphs the fol- lowing: "An engagement at Krinitz, between Lublin and Kholm, where the Austrians lost about 6,000 prisoners and several guns, was decided by a bayonet charge. The Austrians got entangled in a bog, from which, after their surrender, they had to be extricated with the assistance of ropes. ' ' FRENCH CAVALRY'S FEAT Quoting from a letter received from a French officer a Bordeaux correspondent tells how a French cavalry division held in check two German corps for twenty- four hours : "When the Germans were advancing from the north we were ordered to hold a certain village at all costs with a few quick-firing guns and cav- alry. It was a heroic enterprise, but we suc- ceeded. "The German attack began in the morning. A terrific bombardment was maintained all day; shells destroyed every building and the noise was infernal. We had to scream and shout all orders. The church tower was struck by a shell at the stroke of midnight and collapsed. "Early in the morning we retreated under a hail of shells, after mowing down masses of Ger- man infantry. We gave our army in the rear a WAR STORIES 97 whole day's rest and our exploit is -mentioned in many orders as a historic rearguard defensive action." KILLED AS HIS MEN FLED A young reserve officer who has returned to Paris, relating how he captured the sword of a Bavarian colonel, said: "When charging the Bavarians I noticed that their colonel was striking his own men with his sword to prevent them from running away. He was so occupied in this that he forgot the ap- proach of the French and was shot dead. * ' THINK OF KAISER AND GOD A Rouen correspondent has obtained possession of the diary of a German officer, who surrendered to a party of stragglers, and quotes the following from it: "Aug. 5. — Our losses to-day before Liege have been frightful. Never mind ; it is all allowed for. Besides the fallen are only Polish beginners, the spilling of whose blood will spread the war lust at home — a necessary factor. Wait till we put our experts on these deluded people. "Aug. 11. — And now for the English, who are used to fighting farmers. Vorwdrts, immer vor- wiirts. To-night William the Greater has given us beautiful advice : i You think each day of your Emperor; do not forget God.' His Majesty should remember that thinking of him we think of 98 WAR STORIES God, for is he not the Almighty's representative in this glorious fight for the right? "Aug. 12. — This is clearly to be an artillery war. As we foresaw, the infantry counts for nothing. "Aug. 15. — We are on the frontier; why do we wait? Has Russia really dared to invade us? Two hussars were shot to-day for killing a child. This may be war, but it is the imperial wish that we carry it on in a manner befitting the most highly cultivated people. "Aug. 14. — Every night now a chapter of the war of 1870 is read to us. What a great notion ! But is it necessary?" PENANCE, NOT TENNIS The Daily Chronicle's correspondent at Am- sterdam telegraphs as follows: "The Cologne Gazette says: 'A thousand English soldiers are now prisoners of war at the Doberitz military exercise ground near Berlin. " 'It is proposed to give English officers facil- ities for tennis and golf, but this plan is opposed by the Gazette, which says that men of the nation which plunged Germany into the war will be bet- ter occupied sitting down thinking of their coun- try's sins.' " CROSS ON PRIEST AS TARGET "Official couriers arriving here from the American Legation at Brussels witnessed a fresh WAR STORIES 99 sample of German atrocity toward the conquered Belgians," says a correspondent in Antwerp. "Passing slowly through Louvain in an automo- bile, they saw sitting outside a partly burned house a boy 8 years old whose hands and feet had been cut off at the wrists and ankles. The Americans stopped and asked the child's mother what had happened. f \ 1 The Germans did it, ' she said with spiritless apathy. ' ' Evidently in terror lest she had said too much, she refused to answer further questions. The child's wrists and ankles were bandaged as if the frightful injuries were inflicted recently. Details of the shooting down of one Jesuit priest of Lou- vain were told to the American couriers by an- other priest who witnessed the affair. "It appears that the Jesuit kept a diary in which he had written the following commentary on the sacking of the Louvain library: * Van- dalism worthy of Attila himself. ' "German officers forced him to read the words aloud, then marked a cross in chalk on the back of his cassock as a target and sent a dozen bullets into his back in the presence of twenty other Louvain priests." KAISER'S HEAD SAVED HIM A wounded sergeant brought from the front told a Paris correspondent that he owes his life to a bust of the Kaiser. The sergeant took it 100 WAR STORIES from a village school and stuck it in his haver- sack. Soon afterward a German bullet struck him, knocking him down. He found the bullet had glanced off the head of the bust, chipping off one of the ends of the Kaiser's mustache. WHITLOCK SAVES TEN SCHOLARS FROM DEATH A Jesuit priest who escaped from Louvain be- fore the destruction of that city has written to his father, Philip Cooley, as follows: "All our people escaped except eleven scholas- tics. One of these was shot at once, as he had a war diary on his person. The others were taken {o Brussels where they were to have been shot, but the American Minister stepped in and stopped it. "He told the Germans that his Government would declare war if any of those persons were shot." SHOULD SHE HAVE LIED? In one little town near Clearmont we came in for a strange echo of war. A woman in a high cart drove past quickly. I was talking with a woman of the inn. There was silence, then an outburst from the handsome Sibyl-faced hostess who had two sons at war. "Think of it," she said; "three of our soldiers were chased from the fight at Creil. They WAR STORIES 101 took refuge with her. She is rich and has a gar- den. She hid them in a hayloft and threw their uniforms in the garden. The Germans came. They slept in her house. "They said: 'We are forced to fight; it is not of our seeking. The French attacked us.' "They found the uniforms. They put a pistol to her breast. '! 'We will shoot you if you do not say where these soldiers are.' "She cried: < In the loft.' "They shot them all — three traitors — and it would have been so easy to lie." GERMAN CAVALRY AFOOT The London Daily Express's Paris correspond- ent says that the British captured seventeen howitzers and a number of smaller guns. The German cavalry losses were appalling. A cap- tured German cavalry officer estimates the wast- age of horses, especially in the Belgian campaign, at about two-thirds of the total allotted to the army operating in the direction of Paris. The army was hampered by a shortage of cav- alry scouts, and since it entered France many bat- tery horses have been transferred to the cavalry. As a result guns have been abandoned and have fallen into the hands of the British in large num- bers. The horseless cavalrymen are now march- ing with the infantry. 102 WAR STORIES The officer is despondent over the future, but thinks that the German right intends to stand in the positions prepared during the advance and await reinforcements. AIRMEN DODGE BULLETS The London Daily Mail's Petrograd corre- spondent sends a description of M. Poiret, a French aviator who is serving with the Russian army, of a flight over the German position, accom- panied by a staff captain : "I rose to a height of 5,000 feet," said Poiret. "Fighting was in full swing. The Captain with me already had made some valuable observations when the Germans, noticing my French machine, opened fire on it. "A number of their bullets pierced the wings of the aeroplane and others struck the stays. We still flew on, however, as it was necessary to obtain the exact position of the enemy. Then the German artillery began. Their shells burst near the aeroplane and each explosion caused it to rock. It was difficult to retain control as pieces of shells had seriously damaged two of the stays. The fantastic dance in the air lasted twenty minutes. "The Captain was wounded in the heel but con- tinued to make observations. Finally I turned the machine and landed home safely. I found ten bullet marks and two fragments of shells in the machine. " WAR STORIES 103 GERMAN SPIES RECKLESS "The German attempts at spying are amaz- ingly daring near Toulon. Attempt follows at- tempt with an incredible indifference to the sud- den death which follows capture," writes a cor- respondent. 1 ' One of the patrol thought he saw a movement down among the vines on the side of a deserted road and knew that something was wrong. He immediately gave a hail. As there was no reply he fired two shots among the vines. Some one gave a scream, and the soldier ran up with his bayonet at the ready. i t Three men jumped out from among the vines and one of them fired twice at him with a revolver or automatic pistol. He was not hit and went right at them with his bayonet, firing again as he ran. He killed one man. More soldiers ran up and they chased the two men that were left down the deserted road to the little bay. There was a small petrol launch lying close in shore. Immediately afterward the launch put her bow around and went out to sea. "But that's not the most dramatic part of this evening's business. It was suspected that more men had come ashore from the launch. A gen- eral alarm was sent out immediately. This pre- caution was well justified, for two men were caught trying to blow up one of the railway bridges. * ' These two men were given exactly one minute to prepare themselves. They were shoved against the pier of the bridge and the firing party shot 104 WAR STORIES them from so close a distance that one man's clothes caught fire. He didn't seem to know that he was hit at first, for he started trying to put out the places where his coat and vest were burning. Then he went down plump on the ground. The other man died instantly. ' ' When the German was trying to put out his burning clothes just before he slipped down he kept saying in broken English (not German, mind you) , ' I vill burn ! I vill burn ! ' He seemed quite unable to realize he was shot. ' ' LIKE A MELODRAMA "The French bluejacket is a fine fellow but in every way presents a big contrast alongside his present war mates of the British navy," says a correspondent. "To begin with, he must dramatize all his emo- tions. I saw a ship from foreign parts coming to Boulogne. One man, evidently expected, for there was a large crowd, stepped ashore. There was tremendous earnestness in his face. Cour- age, patriotism, duty — all these shone out, trans- figuring a somewhat slovenly figure. Several women embraced him as he stepped ashore. This he accepted as a tribute due to him. When he had taken enough he waved the rest aside and pointed in the direction of the Marine Depart- ment Office. " I go ! ' ' he called out. He made a brief speech, WAR STOEIES 105 fiery, religious, earnest. Then he kissed his mother, said good-by to everyone, and crossed the quay to the Marine Department of War. His shipmates looked on admiringly. The customs authorities did not search him for contraband. He was the brave patriot going to serve his coun- try afloat. ' ' ALL FOLLOWED THE BOTTLE Here is a delightful story from a correspondent in France: . "A party of British bluejackets were being en- tertained by their future allies ashore. A middy came off with the leave boat at 10 o'clock. He noticed some of the men were half seas over and all were jolly. "One of the bluejackets he saw had a bottle concealed beneath his jumper. He directed a petty officer to take it from him and throw it over- board. This was done — and the owner of it promptly jumped in after it. The next moment half the boat's company had dived overboard; the other half were restrained by the officers. Fortunately every man was saved. Next morning there was a parade on the quarter deck. The captain complimented the men on their exploit of the night before, thanked God they were safe and expressed pleasure that he had such a body of men under him. The men received his praise stolidly. Then one spoke out: u ' Sorry we were unsuccessful, sir,' he said, saluting. 106 WAR STORIES " 'But — but!' said the captain, 'I understood Seaman Robert Hodge was saved.' " * Yes, sir, but we dived after the whiskey, sir. We knew Bob could look after himself. ' " " JACQUES DID HIS DUTY!" Details of hov/ his son was wounded have just reached the French Foreign Minister, Delcasse. Lieutenant Jacques Delcasse, his sword in one hand and a revolver in the other, was charging at the head of his company when a German bullet struck him down. Gallantly struggling to his feet, Dalcasse again dashed at the enemy, but a second ball placed him out of action. To his wife, who arrived at Bordeaux to-day, the Foreign Minister said: "I'm proud of Jacques ; he did his duty. ' ' "THE SCOUNDRELS!" In the hospital at Bordeaux a soldier of the Sec- ond French Colonial Regiment was operated upon for a horrible wound in the thigh, caused by an explosive bullet. The orifice made by the bullet on entry was clean and narrow, whereas at the exit it was several centimeters wide, while the intermediate flash was a mass of bruised and torn tissues, which were entirely destroyed. As the surgeon cut away the flesh the wounded man re- marked : "The blackguards ! To think that I served two years in Morocco without a scratch, and now these German scoundrels have served me like this. ' ' WAR STORIES 107 MOVIE THRILLER OUTDONE Here are two instances of individual French heroism : ' 1 In a village on the point of occupation by Ger- man cavalry, a French soldier, the last of his regi- ment there, heard a woman's cries. He turned back. At that moment a Uhlan patrol entered the village. The soldier hid behind a door and then shot down the first officer and then one of the soldiers. " While the rest of the patrol hesitated, the soldier rushed out, seized the officer's riderless horse, swung himself into the saddle and, hoisting the woman behind him, rode off amid a hail of bullets. Both reached the French lines un- scathed. "The second act of bravery cost the hero his life. On the banks of the Oise a captain of engi- neers had been ordered to blow up a bridge in order to cover the French retreat. "When a detachment of the enemy appeared on the other side of the bridge the officer ordered his men back and then himself running forward fired the mine with his own hand, meeting a death which he must have known to be certain." DUG WAY TO SAFETY A remarkable story of a soldier caught in a trap amid a rain of bullets, who dug his way to safety with his bayonet, was told in a hospital at Petrograd. 108 WAR STORIES "A body of Russian troops was lured into the open through the flying of a white flag, ' ' the sol- dier said, "when the bullets began to rain upon us. There was no cover in sight and I began to dig a hole with my bayonet. Either it would be my grave or my protection from the rifle fire. "One bullet hit me, but I continued to dig. A second bullet hit me and this went clear through my lungs. * ' The hole was half finished when a third bullet struck me in the leg. Finally I finished the hole and tumbled into it just as a fourth shot hit my other leg. I became unconscious and remembered nothing more until I woke up here." BRITISH DRAGOON'S EXPLOIT A Reuter despatch from Paris says that a British soldier of the 6th Dragoons, suffering from bullet wounds in the hip, told of a grim incident at Compiegne. The night before the battle the dragoon's squadron was - on outpost duty. Some firing had been heard, and he rode ahead of his squadron to find out what was happening, in the belief that French cavalry were engaged with the Germans close at hand. The dragoon cantered along the moonlit road, until suddenly, in the shadow of the trees, he found himself in the midst of a group of horsemen — Germans. He had a carbine across the neck of his horse and fired point blank into the breast of a German trooper, with whose horse his own WAR STORIES 109 collided. The German was as quick with his weapon and both men fell to the ground, the Ger- man dead, the British soldier with a bullet through his hip. An instant later the British squadron came clattering up and cut the German detachment- - about thirty strong — to pieces. SAVED HIS COMMANDER In the orders of the day made public at Bor- deaux numerous cases of bravery are cited. Two of them follow : " Private Phillips of the Second Battalion of riflemen, during the battle ran out under fire to his captain, who was mortally wounded, and brought him in. Private Phillips went eight times to the firing line under violent shelling to give water to the wounded and he also assisted his commandant to rally riflemen dispersed by the enemy's fire. "Bugler Martin of the 14th Hussars, a member of a patrol commanded by Lieutenant de Cham- pigny, in a fierce skirmish with a German patr©l r seeing his commander wounded and captured, charged the German officer who had made a pris- oner of De Champigny, killed him with his own hand and rescued De Champigny.' ' GETTING REAL CRUSTY "Vienna Bakeries " all over Prance have now changed their title to "Parisian Bakeries," says a Paris correspondent. 110 WAR STORIES BATTLES QUITE THE THING When, fighting was general about Brussels smart women of the Belgian capital motored out to watch battles in the cool" of the afternoon as gaily as though going to the races, says an Ostend correspondent. CHILD PLAYED AMID DEAD Here is part of the description of scenes on the battlefields on the banks of the Marne as told to a Paris correspondent by an eyewitness: "The greatest optimism reigns. I saw the re- mains of blown-up bridges and hundreds of life- less horses and mules in the deserted trenches. Dead soldiers had been buried and the wounded cared for, and some priests were throwing burn- ing brushwood on carcasses. "In the blazing sunshine not far away I saw a little boy, son of a Turco — for the Turcos often bring their wives and children on or near the battlefield. "He had a rifle of some wounded soldier which he was hugging in his little arms as if it were a toy. He was perfectly happy surrounded by evi- dences of death, destruction, suffering and blood. His father was lying wounded in a village close by. The child had strayed away." WAR STORIES 111 POISONING WATER A Petrograd correspondent says: "Wounded officers who have returned from East Prussia charge that the Germans are poisoning the water. A woman brought water to soldiers and they immediately became ill. Their officer tendered the water to a German, who re- fused to drink it, and when analyzed it was found to have contained arsenic." TRIED TO ROW TO WAR Four gunners of the Royal Field Artillery at Folkestone had an experience which has set all the Channel town to laughing, says a London correspondent. The gunners recently hired a small boat and rowed out into the Channel. The following morning a boat from Calais, the French city just across the Channel, swung the missing rowboat down to the dock at Folkestone and the four gunners sheepishly followed. Nervous because of the delay in getting to the scene of war, the four men had decided they would row to Calais. They had failed to provide food and water and found the thirty-mile pull under a hot sun a task they had not expected. Finally they hailed a French fishing vessel. DECORATED ON BATTLEFIELD A correspondent in Limoges cables : ' ' On a train loaded with wounded which passed 112 WAR STORIES through here was a young French officer, Albert Palaphy, whose unusual bravery on the field of battle won for him the Legion of Honor. "As a corporal of the 10th Dragoons at the beginning of the war Palaphy took part in the recent violent combat with the Germans. In the thick of the battle the brigadier, finding his colonel wounded and helpless, rushed to his aid. Palaphy hoisted the injured man upon his shoul- ders, and under a rain of machine gun bullets carried the colonel safely to the French lines. That same day Palaphy was promoted to be a sergeant. ' i Shortly afterward, although wounded, he dis- tinguished himself in another affair, leading a charge of his squad against the Baden Guard, whose standard he himself captured. Wounded by a bullet which had plowed through the lower part of his stomach and covered with lance thrusts, he was removed from the battlefield in the night. Then he learned that he had been pro- moted to be a sub-lieutenant and nominated chevalier in the Legion of Honor. "This incident of decorating a soldier on the battlefield recalls Napoleonic times." HUSSAR LED 300 CAPTIVE The following incident is told by a Paris cor- respondent : i l Near a little village in Lorraine a German « lieutenant was effectively using his artillery on the French. A Hussar had been taken a prisoner to the village, which was defended by 300 Ger- WAR STORIES 113 mans. Under cover of their own artillery fire the French infantry advanced irresistibly. ' ' The German officer, who saw that "he could not hold out, asked the Hussar's advice. Of course the French soldier answered, 'If you resist you're all dead.' 'Yes,' says the German, 'but if we surrender, still we will all be shot.' The Hussar^ assured him that France respects the laws of war, that prisoners are well treated and every one of them would be safe. The German officer quickly resolved to stop his resistance. "Then the brave little French Hussar, with the German officer beside him and followed by 300 pointed helmets, marched to the first French of- ficer and handed over his prisoners." WHAT'S WAR TO DICTIONARY? A Paris correspondent cables : ' ' Ten members attended the French Academy's regular meeting this week and discussed the word 'exode' for the dictionary. l Exode' means exodus. ' ' Marcel Prevost, the writer, who is an artillery captain, gave his confreres a description of the Paris defenses." HAYFORK PART OF DINNER SET "The scene is a village on the outskirts of Muelhausen," says a correspondent in Bordeaux. "A lieutenant of German scouts dashes up to the door of the only inn in the village, posts men at 114 WAE STORIES the doorway and entering, seats himself at a deal table. "He draws his saber and places it on the table at his side and orders food in menacing tones. "The village waiter is equal to the occasion. He goes to an outhouse and fetches a hayfork and places it at the other side of the visitor. " 'Stop, what does this mean?' roars the lieu- tenant furiously. ' ' * Why, ' says the waiter innocently, pointing to the saber, 'I thought that was your knife, so I brought you a fork to match. ' ' ' LAST DRINK KILLS HIM Says a Paris correspondent : "One Parisian, seeing his supply of absinthe was reduced, with no chance for obtaining more, drank his last bottle almost at one drink and died." SONS IN EACH ARMY The plight of a Swiss woman is told by a Bor- deaux correspondent : Living at Basel she married a German. Two sons were born to them. Afterward she married a Frenchman and had two more sons. All four of her sons were called to arms, two on each side. The mother has just received news that all four have fallen in battle. WAR STORIES 115 KAISER IN TEARS AS HE SIGNED WAR ORDER Kaiser Wilhelm wept when he signed Ger- many's declaration of war against Russia, accord- ing to Liston Lewis, a lawyer of New York. Mr. Lewis said his information came from one of the highest officials in Germany. "We reached Berlin on July 29," he said. ' ' There were stirring scenes there then. The en- thusiasm of the people was deep. They were firm in the conviction that England, France and Russia were determined to make an aggressive war on Germany. ' ' An intimate friend of the Kaiser told me that Wilhelm did not believe such a thing as a gen- eral European war possible. He had been told by the German Ambassador in Petrograd that the Russian army was not mobilizing in the West, and had no intention of mobilizing. "Not until the members of the General Staff put proof of the aggressive movements of the Russian army before him and insisted that he would be responsible for what might follow unless he declared war would the Kaiser believe Rus- sia's perfidy. Then he asked to be left alone for an hour. "At the expiration of that time he was found in tears. 'I can't do otherwise/ he remarked as he signed the declaration of war." KAISER'S OWN MOVIES Representatives of the German Government have arrived in Copenhagen with a series of film 116 WAR STORIES ■ war pictures taken under the Kaiser's immediate and personal supervision. These pictures, which already have been exhibited to a private gather- ing of press representatives, show the bright side of the German army, its appearance when march- ing and the magnificence of its equipment and organization. The heroism of the Kaiser himself is shown in a number of heroic attitudes. One picture is headed, "The Kaiser Under Fire," but it shows his Imperial Majesty as merely looking through field glasses and gives no indication of danger to him. Another shows the Kaiser's luxurious headquarters, erected at a safe distance behind the firing line, consisting of a number of magnifi- cently furnished asbestos huts, in which his Maj- esty can live as comfortably and luxuriously as in his. palace at Potsdam. ONE FRENCHMAN DRIVES OFF FIFTEEN A French private soldier of the name of Baba Couli-Baly of the 45th Infantry has been men- tioned for his coolness and accurate rifle fire. While guarding a train of automobiles he put fif- teen German cavalrymen to flight. Second Lieutenant Boquet and Sergeant Major Mercoer of the same regiment have been men- tioned in orders for their daring in effecting the capture of a German officer attached to the Gen- eral Staff who was found making a reconnois- sance in an automobile. WAR STORIES 117 SANG FOR THEIR DINNER Two Americans arrived at Ostend yestei "battered and haggard, but wherever they met Ger- mans, the waving of the big American passport secured them politeness. At Sottegehem they came upon some German officers in a wayside tavern. A lieutenant called for a song in English. One of the Americans obliged with "You Made Me Love You, I 'Didn't Want to Do It.' ' The lieutenant then said : "If you come from Brussels you must be hungry. " The officer disappeared and returned with arms laden with ten pounds of butter and a hundred eggs. He then kindly offered to steal two bicy- cles to relieve them from walking. GERMAN AIRMEN'S DARING Two German aviation officers had to land near a Belgian village and were attacked by the local residents, who armed themselves with shotguns. One of the Germans succeeded in seizing the vil- lage magistrate as a hostage, and while he kept his pistol at that official's head his companion repaired the motor. They then made the magis- trate mount the aeroplane, which luckily was able to ascend with three passengers, and sped away. Two other German airmen whose aeroplane was wrecked when it came down were dazed and stunned from their fall. Immediately they were 118 WAR STORIES attacked by a group of French peasants armed with pitchforks and scythes. The Germans held these men at bay with their revolvers until they reached the dense woods, in which they hid. Peasants and soldiers hunted them systematic- ally for days. They spent anxious hours crouch- ing in holes like rabbits, while their pursuers fired shotguns and rifles into every suspicious thicket. They lived on beets and the only water they had. was dew, which they sucked from leaves. Their minds almost gave way under the strain and they were burning with fever when a German patrol found them. PRINCE JOACHIM'S BRAVERY From an officer who was with Prince Joachim when he was wounded the following description of the incident has been obtained: "It was during the hottest part of the battle, just before the Russian resistance was broken, that the Prince, who was with the staff as in- formation officer, was despatched to the firing- line to learn how the situation stood. He rode off with Adjutant-Captain von Tahlzahn and had to traverse the distance, almost a mile, under a heavy hail of shell and occasional volleys. "As the Russian artillery was well served and knew all the ranges from previous measurements, the ride was not a particularly pleasant one, but he came through safely and stood talking with the officers when a shrapnel burst in their vicinity. WAR STORIES 119 The Prince and the Adjutant were both hit, the latter receiving contusions on the leg, but the shot not penetrating. 1 ' To stop and whip out an emergency bandage, which the Prince, like every officer and private, carries sewed inside the blouse, and bind it around the thigh to cheek the bleeding was the work of only a moment. It was a long and dan- gerous task, however, to get him back to the first bandaging station, about a mile to the rear, under fire, and from there he was transported to the advanced hospital at Allenstein, where he re- mained until he was able to travel." CAUSE OF AERSCHOT TRAGEDY Under date of Antwerp, Sunday, September 20, 1914, the London Standard published the fol- lowing story from a correspondent : "When the German troops under General von Boehn entered Aerschot the burgomaster awaited the Germans at the entrance to the town, and to General von Boehn made offers of hospitality.^ "The General was gracious enough, and said that so long as everybody in the place showed the quietest demeanor the town and the lives of those in it were safe ; if not, the reprisals would be piti- less. The burgomaster offered the hospitality of his own house to the General and his officers, and this was also accepted. 1 ' General von Boehn, with his chief of staff and 120 WAR STORIES another officer, took up their quarters under the roof of the mayor. At night the General and his officers dined with the family, consisting of the burgomaster and his wife and their son and daughter. ' 'The meal progressed with every sign of geniality, and the conduct of the officers was perfectly respectful and normal, but toward the end of the dinner they drank very freely. By the time everybody had retired the three Germans were all very much the worse for drink. "In the early hours of the morning the mem- bers of the household were roused by a shriek from the room occupied by the daughter. The son rushed in and found his sister struggling in the arms of the chief of staff. "The young man, aroused to a frenzy, at- tacked the scoundrel. There was a fierce strug- gle, which ended in the son shooting the chief of staff. "The tragedy was witnessed by most of the household, but the shot did not arouse the Gen- eral and the other officer, drunkenly asleep in their beds. The terrified household had to wait until morniiig for the denouement of the tragedy. "The next morning the body of the chief of staff was discovered by the officer. The General was terribly cold in his wrath. " 'The price must be paid/ he said. "The burgomaster, his son and two men-serv- ants were put against the wall and shot. "The carnage in the streets, with burning, hacking and stabbing, followed." OGILVIE'S POPULAR RAILROAD SERIES 1 A KENTUCKY EDITOR Opie Read I^VyJC/^l 3 WITH FORCE AND ARMS '#ai new large type and bound in attractive illustrated paper cover printed in colors. For sale by all booksellers and news dealers. Price 30 cents postpaid. J. S. GGILVIE PUBLISHING CO. 57 ROSE STREET NEW YORK IT GRIPS! THRILLS! HYPNOTIZES y AND 11111111=- Holds You Spellbound. 6IPSY BUR The Romantic Hero of the Hystic Realm of Detective Literature. Those of you who have read u Macon Moore " will welcome this additional story by the same author JtJDSON R. TAYL3S. GIPSY BLAIR, The Western Detective, is a mighty figure of stupendous interest, whose astounding adventures and uncanny exploits one watches with throbbing heart and bated breath. In thi's tense and gripping drama from real life, one witnesses the unfolding of an absorbingly interesting series of criminal plots and counterplots, which revolve around a man of superb courage and heroic mould, at times fightrag single-handed against bands of the most notorious and desperate criminals. The rescue of the beautiful Lucy Leonard, frem the clutches of murderous desperadoes and outlaws, vibrates every nerve in the human body and is ©ne of the most fascinating and stirring in- cidents ever recorded in criminal history. Impossible to resist the weird fascination of this hair-raising drama of love and lawlessness. A FEAST 9f EXCITEMENT! A IOTAS. COCKTAIL! It makes the masterpieces of other de- tective fiction seem dull and commonplace. GIPSY BLAIR contains 250 pages, printed from large type, and bound in attractive, illustrated paper i covers. For sale by booksellers everywhere, or. sent b|y mail, postpaid, on receipt of Price, 25 Cents. BUY HERE AND NOW! DONT DELAY! J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, P. 0. Box 767. 57 BOSE STREET, HEW YOEX. ALL PEP FROM THE WORD GO! Grips like a Barbed Wire Fence! NEVER HALTS! NEVER TIRES! TENSE! DRAMATIC! THRILLING! The Man From The West HIE THERE YOU! Get busy and follow the trail of a breezy, dashing Western Ranch- er, who hits Wall Street like the tail end of a Kansas cy- clone, sweeps through its gilded palaces and temples of mammon as a broncho goes thru a bunch of frightened steers. See the cattle puncher drop his wad and get it back, and then some. See Texas bucking the Street and skim- ming the golden bubbles off the shimmering surface of the financial pond. Love, romance, passion, hate, intrigue, death and retribution all blended and woven by a master hand. GETS HOME LIKE A U-BOAT TORPEDO! A story lor the war time ! A story with a punch ! BOY IT NOW! The Man Iron the West contains 245 pages, illus- trated, bound in paper cover printed in colors, and wjll be sent by mail postpaid to any address on receipt of 50 cents. J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY 57 ROSE STREET NEW YORK THESCARLET LETTER By Nathaniel Hawthorne f Jk $ This is the most pathetic story of human <& £jL 4 love and passion ever told. For sixty years ^ ^ ^ A this famous work has driven home to thous- ^o^.«£,<=*>23 ands of hearts its terrible tale of justice, gone wrong. Its wonderful success has been attributed, to its intense appeal to the human heart, and it leaves all who read it a greater sympathy for the fallen but exalted Hester. The story takes the reader back to old New England as tho on a Magic Carpet to see from aloft the entrances and exits of the characters in the great human drama. Each scene overflows with atmosphere. The bleak- ness of New England climate gives an added grimness to the scene in which Hester is placed on the pillory, there to reveal to all Boston the scarlet "A," the emblem of her fall. Here are the bare trees and the leaves flying in riot before the wind ; the chilled Puritans huddling under their Geneva cloaks and the cold sun in a steely sky. Some say that Pastor Dimmesdale was an innocent God-fearing man lured to sin by a woman, and that his remorse in the end killed him, showing that he was not evil. Others think that Hester was the embodiment of divine love. She braved in silence the cruel punishment which only the Puritans knew how to inflict en- dured disgrace for herself and her child to save the good name of Dimmesdale ; and that in this and her love which remained true to the end, Hester showed herself a truly noble woman. What do you think ? Have you read the book ? Now is the time to do so, as we have just issued a photoplay edition of this Hawthorne Masterpiece contain- ing 256 pages bound in paper cover printed in colors, and illustrated with scenes from the photoplay. Price Postpaid SO cent* J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING CO. 67 ROSE STREET NEW YORK STOP! HALT! ATTENTION! Read the most astounding and exciting love story of the age ONLY A GIRL'S LOVE BY CHARLES GARVICE. IT ENRAPTURES! ENTRANCES? THRILLS! DELIGHTS! In this intensely dramatic and thrilling love story, we watch with bated breath the unfolding of a high life drama of absorbing interest. Rank and wealth, pride and prejudice, vice and villainly, combine in a desperate and determined effort to break off a romantic and thrilling love match, the develop- ment, temporary rupture and final consummation of which, by the genius of the author, we are, with spell-bound interest, tense arteries and throbbing hearts privileged to witness. This desperate attempt to halt the course of true love and dam the well-springs of an ardent and romantic affection, will be watched by the reader with a boundless and untiring interest. New Scenes t New Faces ! New Features ! New Thrills ! SECURE THIS SUPERB NOVEL and learn for yourself the result of this astounding battle of true love against terriffic odds. FICTION LOVERS, NOVEL READERS, TAKE NOTICE! Just What You Are Looking For! A story that grips the heart and holds the reader spell-bound from start to finish ! A MENTAL FEAST, A LITERARY BANQUET ! You Want It! You Cannot Do Without It! Buy It Today! Nowl The book contains 380 pages of solid reading matter, bound in attractive paper cover, printed in colors. For sale by book- sellers aud newsdealers everywhere, or sent by mail, postpaid, on receipt of price, 30 cents. J. S. OCrlLVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, P. 0. Box 767. 57 ROSE STREET, NEW YORK. SIZZLER FROM SIZZLERVILLE! Gets You From the Word So! ROHANCE ROUTED! FICTION ABASHED I m ATexas Cow In this tremendously interest- ing work the famous and heroic Cowboy King, Chas. A. Siringo, tells the story of his dare-devil life in the palmy days of the Wild South West. THE BLOOD RUNS RIOT as we watch the bellowing herds of long-horned cattle, roving tribes of blood-thirsty Indians, mighty bands of grazing buffalo, sweep panorama-like across the boundless plains and rolling prairie. The author in his breezy, irresistible style carries the reader through a thousand, blood-curdling adventures with marauding redskins, gamblers, desperadoes and stampeding steers, holding one tense and spellbound to the very end of his astounding narrative. A Pulsating Record of Red-Blooded Deeds ! A Thrill in Every Line ! A Sensation in Every Chapter I FACTS! FACTS!! FACTS t !! and TRUTH 1 !! ! triumphantly rout the wildest imaginings of the fictionZst! Get in line and secure the best record ever penned of the fast-vanishing Wild Western life. A TEXAS COWBOY contains 256 pages, printed from large type, and bound in attractive cover printed in colors. For sale by booksellers everywhere, or sent by mail, postpaid, on receipt of Price, 30 Gents. J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, P. 0. Bos 767. 57 ROSE STREET, NEW YORK. STOP! LOOK! LI5TENF Ten True Secret Service Detective Stories. BY Unquestionably the Greatest 3gs¥ Of Detective Stories Ever Offered ts the Public. These astounding and absorb- ingly interesticg accounts of erime in real life abound in hair- raising incidents that hold the reader spell-bound. Being narratives of actual facts, truthful records of the doings of crafty and desperate criminals, these stories possess for the reader a zest and interest wholly lacking in similar works on fictional lines. From the slenderest clue we view the trained sleuths, as they piece together strand by strand the meshes of the net which finally incloses the wrongs doers in the relentless grasp of the law. Away from the hackneyed and ordinary, and brushing aside the conventional, these marvellous stories mark a new epoch in detective literature. Truth That Makes Fiction Trivial ! A Thrill in Every Page! A Sensation in Every Chapter* Unparalleled in Interest! Unexcelled in Dramatic and Thrilling Incidents The book contains 280 pages, is bound, in heavy paper covers with handsome illustration in colors. Betail price, 30 cents. It is for sale by booksellers everywhere, or we will send it by mail, postpaid, oa receipt of price* Address J. S. OGILTZK PUBLISHING COMPANY, ?. 0. Box 767. 57 EOSE STSEET, NEW YORK* BERTHA M. CLAY /* the Author of The Duke's Secret — Thorns and Orange Blossoms — The Broken Wed- ding Ring — A Mad Love — Dora Thorne —A Golden Heart — A Woman's Temptation — Repented at Leisure — Beyond Pardon — Thrown on the World. —Wife in Name Only. The above are the best works of this popular author, each one being a love story of unparalleled interest. By her magic pen we are carried through the intricate maze of thrilling and ro- mantic scenes until the plot of hate* against love, of injustice against jus- tice, and all the trials and tribulations • of the hero and heroine are ended, when we lay the story ' aside with regret. MARY J. HOLMES' Books are also intensely interesting. Her two best are TEMPEST and SUNSHINE— and LENA RIVERS. CHARLES GARVICE Author of the following books is equally popular, A Maiden's Sacrifice — A Wounded j Heart — A Woman's Soul — The Ashes of Love — Fate — Only a Girl's Love. Guided by a master hand we watch with bated breath the unfolding of | the stories by this renowned author, j The unexpected happens, surprise fol- lows surprise, plot is succeeded by ^counterplot; vice and virtue, honor and knavery struggle desperately for mastery until the mind and heart are \ stirred to their very depths. I The above books contain 250 to 460 pages each, printed on good paper in clear type, and bound in handsome paper cover ( printed in colors. For sale by all booksellers or mailed by us i upon receipt of price, 30 cents., , U. J. OGILVIE PUB. CO., 57 Rose St., N.Y. •BMBttg LAUGH! YELL! SCR EAM I Read It! Read it! Read it! A Bad Boy's Disry Bj "LITTU GEORGIE," The Laughing Cycione. THE FUNNIEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN! In this matchless volume of irresistible, rib-tickling fun, the Bad Boy, an incarnate but lovable imp of mischief, records his daily exploits, experiences, pranks and adventures, through all of which you follow him with an absorbing interest that never flags, stopping only when convulsions of laughter and aching sides force the mirth-swept body to take an involuntary respite from a feast of fun, stupendous and overwhelming. In the pages of this excruciatingly funny narrative can be found the elixir of youth for all man and womankind. The magic of its pages compel the old to become young, the care- worn gay, and carking trouble hides its gloomy head and flies away on the blithesome wings of uncontrollable laughter. IT MAKES YOU A BOY ACAiN I IT MAKES LIFE WORTH WHILE ! For old or young it is a tonic and sure cure for the blues. The BAD BOY'S DIARY is making the whole world scream with laughter. Get in line and laugh too. BUY IT TO-DAY ! It contains 276 solid pages of reading matter, illustrated, is bound in lithographed paper covers, and will be sent by mail, postpaid, to any address on receipt of price, 30 cents. Address all ordres to J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, P. 0. Box 767. 57 ROSE STREET, NEW YORK THIS IS ITS" IT!! IT!!! i WOMAN'S SOUL By CHARLES GARVICE, A Literary Sensation! A FlatcfoSess flasterpiecef The Big Noise of Fiction! A Story that Grips the Heart! A Story that Stirs the Soul! Guided by a master hand we watch with bated breath the unfolding of a story of unparalleled interest. Ever the unexpected happens, surprise fol- lows surprise, plot is succeeded by counterplot. Vice and virtue, honor and knavery, true love and duplicity, struggle desperately and incessantly for mastery until the mind is bewild- ered and the heart and soul are stirred to their very depths. Swept irresistibly along the seductive and entrancing streams of romantic fiction, never for one instant is the reader's interest allowed to flag. When almost exhausted with the thrilling nature of the narrative, the end of this matchless- story is reached, and it is then with a sigh of regret the reader bids adieu to characters that 'have woven themselves around bis heart, and have become part and parcel of his very life. UNPARALLELED AND UNSURPASSED! New, Novel and Unconventional! AWAY FRO!! THE BEATEN TRACK OF FICTION I Classy! Unique! The Story of the Century! READ IT! BUY IT! JUDGE FOR YOURSELF! A WOFIAN'S SOUL contains 326 pages of solid reading matter, printed in, large type on good quality of paper, bound in paper covers with attractive cover design in two colors. For sale by newsdealers and booksellers everywhere, or sent hy mail, postpaid, upon receipt of 30 cents. J. & OaiLVIE PUBOSHHTO COMPANY, It. 0. Eox 767. 57 BOSS STREET, NEW YOBK, THRILLING! ABSORBING! DELIGHTFUL! The Story Sensation of the \ ear! fl [filoanoeD A WOUNDED HEART BY CHARLES GARViCEr Author of "The Ashes of Love,*^ "A Woman's Soul," Etc.. It Grips! It Holds! It Thrills! By the magic pen of the author we are carried through th<* seductive and intricate mazes of a thrilling and romantic lif« drama of unparalleled interest. In beautiful England, sunny France, and distant Australia^ we watch the movements of life-like, splendidly drawn fiesb and blood characters, and follow their fortunes with a zealous devotion that never flags. With breathless interest we witness the struggle for an an- cestral home, which finally passes into the posession of the scion of a noble house, the rightful heir, Sir Herrick Powis, thanks to the sacrifices of the heroine, than whom no more entrancing and beautiful character exists in the whole range of modern fiction. The ending of the story is, of course, a happy one, but this is not achieved until the trusting heart of the heroine has been sorely wounded, and she has passed through trials and tribulations, which win for her the love and sympathy of the spell-bound reader. REPLETE WITH THRILLING INCIDENTS! Teeming With Heart Interest and Dramatic Action! NEW ! NOVEL ! UNIQUE ! £ou Read this Book with Delight! You Lay It Down with a Sig&t BUY IT! BUY IT! BUY IT! TO-DAY! NOW! 4 Tfcs book contains 400 pages of solid reading matter boundl Wi attractive paper cover printed in colors. For sale by book- sellers and newsdealers everywhere, or sent by mail, postpaid, on receipt of Price, 30 Cents. J. 3. OMLVIE PUBLIS2ITO COMPANY, ?- 0. Box 767. 57 BOSE STEEET, NEW YOB*- It astounds ! arid them somel HAIR RAISING! Startung! Amazing! Sophie Lyons QUEEN OF THE BURGLARS. By Sophie Lyonj The Uncrowned Queen of Crime Xn this epoch making book in which truth makes the wildest tnaginings of the wizards of fiction dull and commonplace, Sophie l^yons, known to the police of two continents as the shrewdest, cleverest, brainiest, and most daring and resourceful criminal of the age, tears aside the veil and reveals the most desperate charac- ters of the underworld, the millionaire aristocrats of crime, as they •lot, plan and later execute their dark and incredible deeds. With breathless interest we watch these masked midnight marauders as the mighty steel vaults of the greatest financial institutions swing wide at their bidding, yielding their boundless treasures to the crafty cracksman and scientific burglar, the magic manipulators oi gun, dynamite and jimmy. Through the Whole Gamut of Crime, Stupendous and Blood Curdling. "We are personally conducted by the Queen of Criminals. Read how Gainsborough's matchless Duchess of Devonshire was stolen, and how the most desperate exploits in the annals of crime were successfully executed. Your heart will almost cease to beat as the authoress tells you of her miraculous escape from Sing Sing. Read how a million dollars was dishonestly made, and learn in spue of enormous ill gotten gains WHY CRIME DOES NOT PAY. TENSE! THRILLING!? BLOOD CURDLING!!! FICTION OUTDONE ! ROMANCE ROUTED I The most fascinating and astounding narrative of the underwer f •ver placed before tht public. The work contains 268 pages of reading matter besides be\:. lully illustrated and bound in handsome paper cover printed ii coloxfc, PAce 30 cents, for sale everywhere. J. S. OGLTOE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 57 Rose Street, .... new Yors, , The Host Popular Book in America To-Day — IS-- »»♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦»♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦»» "si euo; — BY- AUGUSTA J, EVANS. The history of this Book is remarkable. It was first pub» lislred nearly 45 years ago, and met with a fair measure of suc- cess ; but it was not until within the last three years that i% achieved special prominence, since which time over haiS a million copies have been sold. It islhard to account for this wonderful jump into popularity At the present time, except for the fact that the story is one ot real merit, and is now doubly recognized as such. It is a mark of signal distinction for the author, to think that she wrote a story so much ahead of the times. The story is founded upon the never-old theme of love — the pare love of a good woman— and shows the wonders that can be accomplished with and through it, even to the extent of the reclamation of an extremely talented and extraordinary maa having a predilection for evil and sin. No story written in years has aroused the discussion that th?s book has. Can you afford to miss it? Do you want to keep abreast of the times, and read what ofche? $jeople are talking about? Then buy and read ** ST. ELTiO." The book contains 440 pages, bound in paper cover. For sal« by booksellers and newsdealers everywhere, or sent by mail* postpaid, upon receipt of price,, 30 CENTS. J. S. OGILVXE PUBLXSSHN& COMPANY, J>. 0. Boa 707. 57 EOSB SX&EET, SB W TOUE BETTER SAY. "I have entire confidence in you," not "I have every con- fidence in you." Don't Say "for some reason or other," but "for some reason or another." Don't say "between you and I" but "between you and me." Don't say "vaudeville," but "vod'vil." Don't say "fior'ist," but "flo'rist." Don't Say "mandoleen'," but "man'dolin." At the table — Don't bend your head forward for each mouthful; sit erect. Don't cut your bread, break it off. Don't introduce your soup spoon point first, but sideways, into your mouth. The above are only a few of the one thousand similar points of advice contained in our book Dont's for Everybody By FREDERICK REDDALE, containing over thirty chapters comprising Don'ts for authors, letter- writers, bachelors, old maids, parents, mothers, boys, girls, men, women, golfers, autoists, salesmen, buyers, public speakers, landlords, tenants, etc. Don'ts for social behavior in the parlor, in public, at church, at the table, etc. No one who has any desire to be well bred, polite, and educated should be without this book. The application of its instruction will immediately raise your standing among your friends, and acquaintances. They will wonder where and how you learned the things this wonderful little book teaches DON'TS FOR EVERYBODY contains 95 pages, printed from new, large, clear type, on excellent paper, is bound in paper covers, and will be sent by mail, postpaid, upon receipt of Price, 25 Cents. Don't say " I will send for this book to-morrow/ say — u l will send for this book NOW ' then do so! J. S. Ogilvie Publishing Company, 57 Rose Street, New York. One Hundred and Fifty House Plans for $1.00. PALLISER'S UP-TO-DATE HOUSE PLANS. By GEORGE A. PALLISER. We have just published a new book, with above title, containing 150 up-to-date plans of houses, cost- ing from $500 to $18,000, which anyone thinking of building a house should have if they wish to save money and also get the latest and best ideas of a practi- cal architect and eminent designer and writer on com- mon-sense, practical and convenient dwelling "houses for industrial Americans, homes for co-operative builders, investors and everybody desiring to build, own or live in Model Homes of low and medium cost. These plans are not old plans, but every one is up- to-date (1906), and if you are thinking of building a house you will save many times the cost of this book by getting it and studying up the designs. "We are certain you will find something in it which will suit you. It also gives prices of working plans at about one-half the regular prices, and many hints and helps to all who desire to build. 160 large octavo pages. Price, paper cover, $1.00; bound in cloth, $1.50. Sent by mail, postpaid, to any address on receipt of price. Address all orders to J, S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY. P.O. Box 767. 57 ROSE STREET, NEW YORK. lOO STORIES N BLACK esy bridges ®iviiarn:. Not in years, if ever, have we seen or read anything which approaches the stories in this book for real, true depiction of character of the Southern darkey of the present day. They are full of humor and enter- tainment, and absolutely true to life both as to the incidents related and the language used. The latter is so true, in fact, that our compositor who set the type for the book, said that he had never before seen anything like the diction and spelling. The author held for some years the position of City Clerk in the Mayor's Office of the City of Macon, Oeorgia, where opportunities were presented for full and complete observation of the people in the world of which he writes. The stories originally appeared in the "Macon Daily Telegraph,'* but the demand for them in book form was so great that we have now issued them in permanent binding. The book contains 320 pages with illustrations, and is bound in paper covers with attractive and appro- priate cover design. Eetail price, 30 cents. For sale by booksellers and newsdealers everywhere, ox sent by mail, postpaid, upon receipt of price. J. S. OGULVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, P, 0. Box 767. 57 ROSE STREET. SEW YOBS. HERE WE COME AGAIN With Another Rattling Good ADVENTURE AND DETECTIVE STORY! SPRIG6S, THE CRACKSMAN By HEADON KILL Ordinarily Spriggs was a cracksman, but the infor- mation lie gained while at work one nigh ; so su** prised him, that he forgot to " burgle," and aen and there decided to got busy on a job that meant a clean- up of a $60,000 diamond. It led him a perilous chase in which the native priests and followers of a hidden band in India showed him some things not seen on the "Strand." He also has trouble awaiting him on his return to England. His heart is in the right place, however, a little kindness, sympathy and help having been all that were required to change his attitude toward humanity, and he is able to show his gratitude at an opportune moment. A STIRRING, ENTERTAINING, SPELLBINDING STORY! The book contains 345 solid pages of reading mak ter, bound in attractive paper cover printed in colors. For sale by booksellers and newsdealers everywhere, >r sent by mail, postpaid, on receipt of price, 30 cents. J. S, 0GILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, *. 0, Box 767. 57 E0SE STREET, NEW YlffiHL SYMPATHY AROUSED ! SENTIMENT CULTIVATED i LONGING SATISFIED! LADY VERNER'S FLIGHT. By "THt DUCHESS." Author of "Molly Bawn," "The Honor-, able Mrs. Vereker," Etc. " The Duchess " is famous as an author of those stories which de- light the heart and mind of young women readers through the artistic word-painting of scenes and inci- dents which arouse interest, stimu- late desire, and satisfy the appetite for mental diversion, recreation, entertainment, and pleasure. Lady Verner's Flight is no exception to her re- puted ability ; in fact, in it she quite surpasses her own standard, and the reader follows with breathless inter- est the vicissitudes and trials that mark the course of this pure story of English life in which there are no less than three love affairs going on at the same time. WITHOUT A PARALLEL IN INTEREST! ABOUNDING IN TENSE SITUATIONS! REPLETE with THRILLING INCIDENTS! You read this book with delight, and finish it with a sigh t Now is the time to secure a copy ! Don't delay, but buy and read this masterpiece of Action! The book contains 310 solid pages of reading mat- jit&r, bound in attractive paper ©over printed in colors. For sale by booksellers and newsdealers everywhere, or sent by mail, postpaid, on receipt of prioa, 30 cents. J. S. 0GILVIE PUBLISHING COMPAinf, P. 0. Box 767. 57 B03E STREET, NEW YORK* B-R-R-R ! BIFF ! ! BANG ! ! TORPEDOED IN THE MEDITERRANEAN! Adrift in the Submarine Infested Waters of the War Zone ! ' By E. H. JOHNSON A Victim of German Frightiulness Unequalled and Unsurpassed The War's Best and Most Hair Raising Narrative BATTLING WITH THE GERMAN U BOATS A Book That Will Stir Your Yankee Doodle Blood to Fever Heat Read how the author witnessed the sinking of com- rade ships; watch his vessel trailed by hostile raiders; hear the roar of the deadly Hun torpedo; view his good ship as it sinks beneath him and his struggles for life, and see him at sea a castaway on the northern coast of distant Africa. Truth That MaKes Fiction Tamo and Tedious.] Tho V Boats Aro Blocking Our Coasts. Read this astounding story of the pirates of the under- seas, a story of three continents ablaze with the horrors of the world's greatest war. Go over the top of the ocean's trenches with the hero author and buy TORPEDOED IN THE MEDITERRANEAN! NOW Instructive ! Educational ! Thrilling ! The book is printed from new, large type on good paper, bound in paper cover with attractive design in colors. For sale by newsdealers everywhere, or sent by mail, postpaid, upon receipt of price, 30 cents. J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY P. O. Box 767 57 Rose Street, New York Deacidified using the Bookkeeper proc Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date: J(J^j 2001 PreservationTechnologi A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVA1 111 Thomson Park Drive Cranberry Township. PA 16066 (724) 779-2111