"Over the Top"
By An American Soldier
Who Went
ARTHUR GUY EMPEY
Mac hint Gunntt Strcing in Franc*
(Oupr right, uui, by Arthur Uuj Bui?*!)
CHAPTER XII.
Bombing.
The boys in the section welcomed me
back, but there were many Ht range
ifaces. Several of our men had gone
? West In that charge, and were lying
"somewhere in France" with a little
(wooden cross at their heads. We wt>r*?
I - ? ?
Throwing Hand Grenades.
In rest billets. The next ility 01# cap
tain asked for volunteers for bombers'
school. I gave my name uml was ac
cepted. I had Joined the Suicide club,
and my troubles commenced. Thirty
two men of the battalion, Including my
aelf. were sent to L . where we
went through a course In bombing.
Here we were Instructed In the usen,
methods of throwing and manufacture'
of various kinds of hand grenades,
from the old "Jam tin," now obsolete,
to the present Mills bomb, the standard
of the British army.
It all depends where you are ns to
what you are called. In I'rance they
call you a "bomber" and give you med
als, while In neutral countries they
tall you an anarchist and give you
"life."
From the very start the Germans
were well equipped with effective
bombs and trained bomb throwers, but
the English army was as little pre
pared in this Important department of
fighting as In many others. At bomb
ing school an old sergeant of the Qren
adier guards, whom I had the good
fortune to meet, told me 'if the discour
agements this branch of the service
suffered before they could meet the
Germans on an equal footing. (Paci
fists and small army people In the
U. S. please read with care.) The first
English expeditionary forces had no
bombs at all, but had clicked a lot of
casualties from those thrown by the
lioches. One bright morning someone
higher up had an idea and Issued an
order detailing two men from each
platoon to go to bombing school to
learn the duties of a bomber nnd how
to manufacture bombs. Noncommis
sioned officers were generally selected
for this course. After about two
weeks at school they returned to their
units In rest billets or In the fire
trench, as the case might be, and got
busy teaching their platoons how to
make "Jam tins."
rreviousiy an order had been issued
for all ranks to save empty Jam tins
for the manufacture of bombs. A pro
fessor of bombing would sit on the
fire step in the front trench with the
remainder of his section crowding
around to see him work.
On his left would be a pile of empty
nnd rusty Jam tins, while beside him
on the fire step would be a miscella
neous assortment of material ?sed In
the manufacture of the "Jam tins."
Tommy would stoop down, get an
empty "jam tin," take a handful of
clayey mud from the parapet, and line
the Inside of the tin with this sub
stance. Then he would reach over,
pick up his detonator and explosive,
and Insert them In the tin, fuse pro
truding. On the fire step would be a
pile of fragments of shell, shrapnel
balls, bits of Iron, nails, etc. ? anything
that was hard enough to send over to
Fritz; he would scoop up a handful of
this Junk and put It In the bomb. Per
haps one of the platoon would ask him
what he did this for, and he would
explain that when the bomb exploded
these bits would fly about and kill or
wound any German hit by same; the
questioner would Immediately pull a
button off his tunic and hand It to
the bomb maker with, "Well, blame
me, send this over as a souvenir," or
another Tommy would volunteer nn
old rusty and broken Jackknlfe; both
would be accepted and Inserted.
Then the professor would take an
other handful of mud and fill the tin,
after which he would punch a hole Id
t be lid of the tin and put It over the
top of the bomb, the fuse sticking out.
"Tben perhaps he would tightly wrap
wire around the outside of the tin, and
the bomb was ready to send over to
Fritz with Tommy's compliments.
A piece of wood about four Inches
Wide had been Issued. This was to be
strapped on the left forearm by means
of two leather straps and was like the
life of ? match box; It was called a
'?striker* There wai ~k tip like The
head of a match on the fuse of the
bomb. To ignite the fuse, you had to
rub it on the "striker," Just the same
an striking a match. The fuse was
timed to five seconds or longer. Some
of the fuses Issued in those days would
burn down in a second or two, while
others would "sizz" for a week before
exploding. Rack In Blighty the muni
tion workers weren't quite up to snuff,
the way they are now. If the fuse took
a notion to burn too quickly they gen
erally burled the bomb maker next
day. Bo making bombs could not be
called a "cushy" or safe Job.
After making several bombs the pro
fessor Instructs the platoon in throw
ing them. He takes a "Jam tin" from
the fire step, trembling a little, be
cause It is nervous work, especially
when new at it, lights the fuse on his
striker. The fuse begins to "sizz" and
sputter ami a spiral of smoke, like
that from 11 smoldering fag, rises from
it. The platoon splits in two and
ducks around the truverse nearest to
them. They don't like the looks and
sound of the burning fuse. When that
fuse begins to smoke and "sizz" you
want to say good-hy to It as soon as
possible, so Tommy with all his might
chucks it over the top and crouches
agulnst the parapet, waiting for the
explosion.
Lots of times In bombing the "Jam
tin" would be picked up by the Ger
mans, before it exploded, and thrown
back at Tommy with dire results.
After m lot of men went West In this
manner an order was Issued, reading
something like this:
"To all ranks In the British army:
After Igniting the fuse and before
throwing the Jam-tin bomb, count
slowly one I two! three!"
This In order to give the fuse time
enough to burn down, so that the bomb
would explode before the Germans
could throw It back.
Tommy read the order ? he reads
them all, but after he Ignited the fuse
and It began to smoke ? orders were
forgotten, and away she went in record
time and hack she came to the further
discomfort of the thrower.
Then another order was Issued to
count, "one hundred! two hundred!
three hundred I" But Tommy didn't
care If the order read to count up to
a thousand by quarters, he was going
to get rid of thnt "Jam tin," because
from experience he had learned not
to trust It.
When the powers that be realized
that they could not change Tommy
they decided to change the type of
bomb and did so ? substituting the
"hair brush," the "cricket ball," and
later the Mills bomb.
The standard bomb used In the Brit
ish army Is the "Mills." It Is about the
shape and size of a large lemon. Al
though not actually a lemon, Fritz in
sists that It Is; perhaps he Judges It
by the havoc caused by Its explosion.
The Mills bomb Is made of steel, the
outside of which Is corrugated Into 48
small squares, which, upon the explo
sion of the bomb, scatter in a wide
area, wounding ot* killing any Fritz
who Is unfortunate enough to be hit
by one of the flying fragments.
Although a very destructive and ef
ficient bomb the "Mills" has the con
fidence of the thrower, In that he
knows It will not explode until re
leased from his grip.
It Is a mechanical device, with n
lever, fitted into a slot at the top,
which extends half way around the
circumference and Is held In place at
the bottom by a fixing pin. In this pin
there Is a small metal ring, for the
purpose of extracting the pin when
ready to throw.
You (Jo not throw n bomb the way n
baseball Is thrown, because, when tn
it narrow trench, your hand Is liable
to strike against the parados, traverse
or parapet, and then "down goes the
bomb, and, in a couple of seconds or
so, up goes Tommy.
In throwing, the bomb and lever are
grasped lYi the right hand, the left foot
is advanced, knee stiff, about one and
a half Its length to the front, while
the right leg, knee bent, Is carried
slightly to the right. The left arm Is
extended at an angle of 45 degrees,
pointing fh the direction the bomb Is to
be thrown. This position Is similar
to that of shot putting, only that the
right arm Is extended downward. Then
you hurl the bomb from you with an
overhead bowling motion, the same as
In cricket, throwing It fairly high In
the air, this In order to give the fuse
a chance to burn down so that when
the bomb lands. It immediately ex
plodes and gives the Germans no time
to scamper out of Its range or to re
turn It.
As the bomb leaves your hand, the
lever, by means of a spring, Is projected
into the nir and falls harmlessly to
the ground a few feet In front of the
bomber.
When the lever flies off It releases
a strong spring, which forces the firing
pin into a percussion cap. This Ignites
the fuse, which burns down and sets
off the detonator charged with fulmi
nate of mercury, which explodes the
main charge of ammonal.
The average RrltU?h soldier is not an
expert at throwing; It is a new game
to him, therefore the Canadians and
Americans, who have played baseball
from the kindergurten up, take natu
rally to bomb throwing and excel In
this act. A six-foot Kng'.lsh bomber
will stand In awed silence when he
sees a little flve-foot-nothlng Canadian
outdistance his throw by several yards.
I have read a few war stories of bomb
ing, where baseball pitchers curved
their bombs when throwing them, but
a pitcher who can do this would make
"Christy" Mathew son look like a piker,
nnd la losing valuable time playing In
the Furopean War bush league, when
he Mould be able to set the "big
league" on Are.
W?_ had. cushy time while at this
school. In fneC to us It was a regular
vacntion, and we were very sorry when
one morning the adjutant ordered us
to report at headquarters for trans
portation and rations to return to our
units up the line.
Arriving at our section, the hoys
orin* again tendered us the glad mitt,
hut looked askance at us out of the
corners of their eyes. They could not
conceive, as they expressed It, how a
man could be such a blinking Idiot as
to Join the Suicide club. I was begin
ning to feel sorry that I had become
a member of said club, and my life to
me appeared doubly precious.
Now that I was a sure-enough
bomber I was praying for peace and
hoping that my services as such would
not be required.
CHAPTER XIII.
My First Official Bath.
Right behind our rent billet was a
large creek about ten feet deep and
twenty feet across, and It was a habit
of the company to avail themselves of
an opportunity to take a swim and at
the same time thoroughly wash them
selves und their underwear when on
their own. We were having a spell of
hot weather, and these baths to us
were a luxury. The Tommies would
splash around In the water and then
come out and sit in the sun and have
what they termed a "shirt hunt." At
first we tried to drown the "cooties,"
but they also seemed to enjoy the bath.
One Sunday morning the whole sec
tion was In the creek and we were hav
ing a gay time, when the sergeant ma
jor appeared on the scene. He came
to the edge of the creek and ordered :
"Come out of it. Get your equipment
on, 'drill order,' anil fall In for bath
parade. Look lively, my hearties. You
have only got fifteen minutes." A h<fwl
of Indignation from the creel: greeted
this order, but out we came. Disci
pline Is discipline. We lined up In
front of our billet with rifles and bay
onets (why you need rifles and bayo
nets to take a bath gets me), a full
quota of ammunition, and our tin hats.
Each man had a piece of soap and u
towel. After an eight-kilo march along
a dusty road, with an occasional shell
whistling overhead, we arrived at u
little squat frame building upon the
bank of a creek. Nailed over the door
of this building was a large sign which
read "Divisional Raths." In a wooden
shed in the rear we could hear a
wheezy old engine pumping water.
We lined up In front of the bathe,
soaked with perspiration, and piled
our rifles into stacks. A sergeant of
, the R. A. M. C. with a yellow band
around his left urm on which was
"S. I'." (sanitary police) in black let
ters, took charge, ordering us to take
off our equipment, unroll our puttees
and unlace boots. Then, starting from
the right of the line, he divided us
Into squads of fifteen. I happened to
be In the first squad.
We entered a small room, where we
were given five minutes to undress,
then filed into the bathroom. In here
A Bathroom at the Front.
there were fifteen tubs (barrels sawed
in two) half full of water. Each tub
contained a piece of laundry soap. The
sergeant Informed us that we hail Just
twelve minutes In which to take our
baths. Soaping ourselves all over, we
took turns In rubbing each other's
backs, then by means of a garden hose,
washed the soap ofT. The water was
Ice cold, but felt fine.
Pretty soon a bell rang and the wa
ter was turned off. Some of the slower
ones were covered with soap, but this
made no difference to the sergeant,
who chased u." Into another room,
where we lined up In front of a little
window, resembling the box office In a
theater, and received clean underwear
and towels. From here we went Into
the room where we had first undressed.
Ten minutes were allowed In which to
get into our "clabber."
My pair of drawers came up to my
chin and the shirt barely reached ray
diaphragm, but they were clean ? no
atrangers on them, ao I was satisfied.
At the expiration of the time allot
ted we were turned out and finished
our dressing on the grass.
When all of the company had bathe4
It was a case of march back to billet*.
That, march waa the moat uncongenial
one imagined. Just cussing and bTTnd
i ink' the way. We were covered with
white dust and feit greasy from sweat.
The woolen underwear issued was
Itching like the mischief.
| After eating our dinner of stew,
which had been kept for us ? it waa
now four o'clock ? we went into the
creek and had another hath.
If "Ho'v Joe" could have heard our
' remarks about the divisional baths
1 and army red tape he wouid have
fainted at our wickedness. But Tom
my is only human after alU
I Just mentioned "Holy Joe" or the
I chaplain In an Irreverent sort of way,
but no offense was meant, as there
were some very brave men among
them.
There are so many Instances of he*
role deeds performed under flre in res
cuing the wounded that It would take
several books to chronicle them, but I
have to mention one Instance per
formed by a chaplain. Captain Hall by
name. In the brigade on our left, be
cause it particularly appeuled to me.
A chaplain Is not a lighting man; he
Is recognized as a noncoinbatant and
carries no arms. In a charge or trench
raid the soldier gets a feeling of con
fidence from contact with his rifle, re
volver, or bomb he Is carrying. He has
something to protect himself with,
something with which he can Inflict
harm on the enemy ? In other words,
he is able to get his own back.
Hut the chaplain Is empty-handed,
and Is at the mercy of the enemy If
he encounters them, so it is doubly
brave for him to go over the top, under
fire, and bring in wounded. Also a
chaplain Is not required by the king's
regulations to go over in u charge, hut
this one did, made three trips under
the hottest kind of flre, each time re
turning with a wounded man on his
ba^'k. On the third trip he received
a l?ullet through his left arm, but never
reported the matter to the doctor until
late that night ? just spent his time ad
ministering to the wants of the wound
ed lying on stretchers.
The chaplains of the British army
are a fine, manly set of men, and aro
greatly respected by Tommy.
(To Be Continued.)
BARN OWL
(Aluco pratincola)
Length, about seventeen Inches.
Facial disk not circular as in our oth
er owls; plumage above, pale yellow;
beneath, varying from silky white to
pale bright tawny.
Range: Resident in Mexico, in the
southern United States, and north to
New York, Ohio, Nebraska, and Cali
fornia.
Habits and economic status: The
harn owl, often called monkey-faced
owl. is one of the most beneficial ol
the birds of prey, since it feeds almost
exclusively on small mammals that
Injure farm produce, nursery, and or
chard stock. It hunts principally in
the open and consequently secures
such mammals as pocket gophers,
field mice, common rats, house mice,
harvest mice, kangaroo rats, and cot
ton rats. It occasionally captures a
few birds and insects. At least a half
bushel of the remains of pocket go
phers have been found in the nesting
cavity of a pair of these birds. Re
membering that a gopher has been
known in a short time to girdle seven
apricot trees worth $100 it is hard to
overestimate the value of the service
of a pair of barn owls. One thousand
two hundred and forty-seven pellets
of the barn owl collected from the
Smithsonian towers contained 3,100
skulls, of which 3,004. or 97 per cent,
were mammals: 92, or 3 per cent, of
birds; and 4 were of frogs. The bulk
consisted of 1,987 field mice, 656 house
mice, and 210 common rats. The birds
eaten were mainly sparrows and black
birds. This valuable owl should be
rigidly protected throughout the en
tire range.
Minute Men and Limit Men.
"In 1776 they were Minute Men.
That is. they were ready, at a min
ute's notice to shoulder their muskets
and pro out to fight for the preser
vation of their liberties. They fired
the shot heard round the world which
is still reverberating in the utmost
parts of the world wherever men
crave liberty for themselves and are
willing to grant jt to their fellows.
"In 1918 they are Limit Men. That
is, they are ready now to pledge
themselves during 1918 to go to the
limit fixed by their Government in
the purchase of War-Savings Stamps
in order that a War may be won which
will achieve and guarantee the liber
ty of all people the world over.
"The blood of the Minute Men of
Sev?nty-Six flows in the veins of the
Limit Men of Nineteen-Eightcen." ?
G. T. Stephenson.
Japs Are Safe.
Japan in Siberia is safer than Ger
many in Siberia. Rutlilessness should
be permitted no more power. ? Buffalo
Enquirer.
Thin, Frail People
Should Take Tanlac
I ?
Thousand* Report Astonishing Gain
in Weight in Remarkably Short
Time.
One of the most noteworthy fea
tui\s in connection with the introduc
tion of Tanlac, and the one that stands
out more prominently than any other,
perhaps, is the very large number of
I well-known men and women from all
parts of the south who have recently
| reported an astonising and rapid in
I crease in weight as a result of its use.
When so many well-known people of
unquestioned integrity make state
ment after statement, each corrob rat
ing the other, the truth of such stute
ments can no longer be doubted.
One of the most remarkable cases
on record is that of Mrs. Charles
' Peden, of Huntsville, Ala. Mrs. Peden
according to her own signed statement
trained twenty-seven (27) pounds in
only a few weeks' time, and her case
h:.s created widespread interest ovei
the entire country. She is reported to
have r<-ceived over eight hundred
(800) letters regarding her statements
since its publication.
Another remarkable crse was that
of Mrs. O, C. Cason, of Acw*?rth, Ge.,
who according to her statement was
rec-ntly brought in an automobile ?"
Atlanta, propped up on pillows, to visi:
her sister, with no hope of ever re
turning home alive. Mrs. Cason at that
time only weighed 60 pounds, and after
takng Tanlac six weeks was on her
feet again and weighed 95 pounds ?
a train of 35 pounds.
Mrs. Walhelmina Joiner, wife of a
well-known engineer for the M., D. &
S. R. R., whose address is 115 Third ;
street, Macon, Ga., recently said: "I
have finishel my third bottle of Tanlac
and have gained 35 pounds." She fur
ther stated that she had suffered near- |
ly two years with nervous indiges- j
tion, and that Tafltac has entirely re
lieved her of the trouble.
Prof. Elmer Morris, a teacher in the
public schools of Stewart county,
Tennessee, recently said that, after
suffering: OV'T a year with serious
gtoou " "i, during which time he
Dawson Sprngs, Ky., without getting
any relief, ho took three bottles of
Tanlac, gained 20 pounds end was en
tirely well. Prof. Morris' address is
R. F. D. No. 1, Dover, Tenn.
Dr. J. T. Edwards, a well-known
physician of Fayett^ville, Ga., recent
ly wrote of th^ remarkably recovery
of T. M. MeGough, of that plr.ee. Dr.
Edwards stated that Mr. MeGough,
who was one of his patients, has not
only been relieved of serious stomach
trouble by T ?nlac, but that he has
trained 17 pounds on the medicine.
One of the most remarkable indorse
ments ever given was that of Mrs.
G. W. Williams, of Gadsden, Ala. Mrs.
Williams stated that she had suffered
with seriors kidney and stomach trou
ble nearly 15 years, and that her con
dition became such that it was neces
sary for her physician to call three
times a dry. Finally she was told that
there was no hope for her recovery,
and, thinking that she would die, she
had her children, who were residing in
other cities; summoned to her bed
side. Her daughter, Mrs. R. C. Nel
son, of Atlanta, arrived and begged
her mother to take Tanlac, which she
did. She was soon on the road to re
covery. Her own words were: "Tan
lac as made me feel almost as well as
I ever felt in my life. I went from 90
pounds to 138 ? a gain of 48 pounds.
I'm doing most all my own house
work now, milk the cow and chum the
milk. Sold and recommended by Hood
Brothers, Smithfield, and Peacock
Drug Co., Benscn. ? (Adv.)
was
doctors and went to
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with L & M SEMI -PASTE PAINT and
your own Linseed Oil.
You obtain greatest durability and cover
ing power. The L & M PAINT is so
positively good that it is known as the
"Master Paint."
Whereas the best of other high grade
paints cost you $3. 70 a gallon, our L & IVI
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you only $2.70 a gallon.
YOU SAVE $1.00 A GALLON ON EVERY GALLON
They are altnply adding Linseed
Oil to L & M Semi-Paste Paint
W. M. SANDERS,
WATSON & ALFORD,
Smithfield, N. C.
Kenly, N. C.
I JJIZIANNEcoffee
and Good Cheer go together
like Possum and Sweet Potatoes
BECAUSE Luzianne makes the best-tasting
cup of coffee you ever drank. It's roasted
just right. The fragrance ? you can't forget it*
And the flavor is delicious.
Coffee-lovers know that Luzianne just hits tho
spot, for it's full of punch and pep.
"When It
Pours, It
Reigns"
If you don't think that this good old Luzianne
is worth what you paid, then tell your grocer
and he'll give you back every cent.
I HAVE A GOOD STOCK WHITE
granulated sugar. W. M. Sanders.
TWO CARS OF STOVES AND
Ranges just received. Cotter Hard
ware Company.
FOR THAT BAD CASE OF PILES
try Dr. Muns' Pile and eczema oint
ment.
JUST RECEIVED AT COTTER-UN
derwood Company's a car load of
Red Rust Proof seed oats.
I HAVE A GOOD STOCK WHITE
granulated sugar. W. M. Sanders.
IF YOU WISH TO SELL YOUR
farm it will pay you to see us.
Abell & Gray, Smithfield, N. C.
IF YOU WANT TO SELL YOUR
farm it will pay you to figure with
with us. Abell & Gray, Smithfield,
N. C.
TAKEN UP MARCH 26th ONE
stock hop, swallow fork in right
ear and half moon under left ear.
Owner can pet same by paying for
this notice and trouble. Herbert
Hartley, Prineoton, N. C., R. 2.
I HAVE A GOOD STOCK WHITE
granulrted sugar. W. M. Sanders.
LET US SCREEN YOUR HOUSE
now. Cotter Hardware Co.
A NICE LOT OF BIBLES JUST RE
ceived. Prices from 35 cents each
to $4.00. Herald Book Store.
100 BUSHELS SEED PEAS FOR
sale. Good price while they last.
Roberts, Corbett & Woodard, Selma,
N. C.
FOR SKIN DISEASES AND BUCK
heads, Oae Dr. Muns' pile and ecze
ma ohitment. For sale by all drug
giste.