The Week's Review (Apache, Okla.), Vol. 18, No. 28, Ed. 1 Friday, March 7, 1919 Page: 2 of 8
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THE WEEK’S REVIEW
Horses for
France
Sergeant Arthur Guy
Empey
Author cf "Over the Top,"
"Fiiet Call,” Etc.
0-0-0
Mr. Empey’s Experi-
ences During 11 is Seven-
teen Months in the First
Line Trenches of the
British Army in France
(Coprrlglil, lull, br Th« M.i lore Ntouimper
Bjndictut)
—2—
It was 1914, und the grent world
war was on, and here whs I In the
United States and neutral. For thir-
teen years I had been soldiering but
had never been under fire. In tny
Imagination I could hear the guns
booming on the western front. I ad-
mit 1 was a trllle afraid; nevertheless
I hail a grent desire to get Into the mix-
up. How could I get over? I planned
out many ways, but none of them
were practical.
One day while wnlklng down flreen-
wlch street, New York, I passed an
employment agency. Stnrlng me In
the face was n grent flaring sign,
"Horses for Frnnce." Under this
"Men Wanted." Here was my clinnce.
Upon returning to my olllce I imme-
diately gut In touch over the telephone
with two prominent men In New Y’ork
whom I knew to be distinctly pro-ally.
After outlining my desire, un appoint-
ment was mnde for me to meet a cer-
tain gentlemun at the Hotel Astor at
four o’clock thut afternoon. I met
hlin. He Introduced me to a French-
man. At that time In my eyes a
Frenchman was a hero, a man to be
looked up to, a man fighting in the
Great Cause. But now n Frenchman
to me Is more than a hero. After
being Introduced I went up Into the
Frenchman's room nnd talked o^er
the matter of horses for France for
about twenty minutes.
Upon leaving the Frenchman I wns
told to report to him three days later,
at the same time nnd place. I left,
bubbling over with enthusiasm and
anticipation.
During this Interval of three days I
mapped out n story of my life to pre-
sent to him upon our second interview.
The eventful day at last came, und
once more I wns closeted with him. I
started to tell him my st^iry. He
Interrupted me by waving his right
hand to the right and left. It re-
minded me of the butts on a target
range during rifle practice, when the
man marking the target wigwags a
miss to the tiring line. My heart sank.
JThen he spoke, and I was carried
from despondency to the greatest
height of expectation. His words;
“Pardon me, monsieur, I already
know your life,” nnd In an amazingly
short time he told me more than I
knew about myself. I had been care-
fully Investigated.
My Instructions received from him
aro confidential, so I will not go Into
them. Anyway, he handed me an en-
velope nnd told me to follow out care-
fully all details as contained therein.
I Immediately went back to my of-
fice, opened the envelope nnd on a
typewritten sheet 1 read: "Report nt
Goldsmith's Employment agency. No.
Greenwich street. Ship as an
ordinary horseman and during voyage
carefully follow thq Vorlml Instruc-
tions received by you during our in-
terview. making careful note of all de-
tails Immediately after happening. Be
cautious In doing this. Upon landing
In France report to the prefecture of
police, Bordeaux, ami to the letter
obey his Instructions. Good luck."
I went home nnd put on my oldest
clothes—an old black suit, olive drab
shirt, a pair of heavy army shoes and
a woolen cap. I bad let my beard grow
and certainly looked rough.
Going down Greenwich street,
slouching along, looking nt the ground,
1 ran plump into a young lady of m.v
acquaintance. 1 had n feeling of af-
fection for this particular young lady,
but It soon died out upon hearing her
remark as 1 collided with her, "If you
cannot look where you are going, I
will have you arrested." Of course,
she did not recognise me and 1 took
no pains to argue the matter with her.
I wus glad enough to slink by.
When 1 came to the agency there
was a long line of bums, two and tliflke
deep, trying to ship as horsemen for
France.
It would be Impossible to get a
rougher and more unkempt gathering
of men. It looked us If some huge
giant hud taken a fine comb uud care-
fully combed the gutters of New
York.
I fell Into this line nnd waited my
turn. Upon arriving at the desk. In
front of me sat a little fat, greasy
Jew. To describe his manner of han-
dling the men ns being Impolite would
he u great exaggeration. The way he
bundled that line of hutnun cuttle
would do the kaiser’s heart good.
It came my turn, nnd this conversa-
tion ensued;
“What do you know about horses?"
I answered: "Six years In the United
States cavalry."
The Ageut: “What regiments?"
“Eleventh and Twelfth."
"You’re a liur. You never saw the
cavalry."
I felt like punching him on the nose
hut did not do so, I wanted to ship
•w a horseman. I showed him U1J
discharges, ne said; “They're faked.
What did you do, desert or were you
kicked out?"
, 1 was getting sore and answered:
"Deserted the Twelfth; kicked out of
the Eleventh.”
“What’s your nnme?"
“Arthur Guy Empey."
"You'ro a German."
This was too much even for me,
and 1 answered: "You're a damned
liar." I saw tuy chances of shipping
vanishing In smoke.
The Jew grinned and rubbed his
hands and said: "You're all right.
Go into thnt room and get a card made
out, and come back at two o’clock."
I received it card and went to a
beanery across the street und had a
wonderful meal of corned beef bash,
muddy coffee und huge slices of bread,
minus butter. This cost me fifteen
cents.
At two o'clock I reported back, nnd
with seveuty-two others was herded
like cattle, and In a long, struggling
line, flanked by three of the employees
of the agency, we marched to the
ferry nnd landed “somewhere In New
Jersey."
The ship, n huge three-stacker, wns
lying alongside. We were shoved Into
single file, ready to go up the gang-
plank. Then our real examination
took plnce. At the foot of the gang-
plank were a group of men around a
long table. They certainly put us
through a third degree to find out If
there wns nny German blood In us.
Several men were turned down. Luck-
ily, I got through and signed for the
voyage, nnd went on board.
At the head of the gangplank stood
the toughest specimen of humanity 1
have ever seen. He looked like n huge
gorilla, nnd had a big, crescent-shaped,
livid scar running from his left ear
under his chin up to his right eye.
Every time he spoke the edges of the
scar seemed to grow white. His nose
was broken and he had huge, shaggy
eyebrows. His hand was resting on
the rail of the ship. It looked like a
ham, nnd Inwardly I figured out whrtt
would happen to me If that linm-llke
fist ever enme In contnct with the
point of my Jaw. As we passed him
he showered us with a few compli-
mentary remarks, such ns "Of all the
lousy scum I have seen, this bunch of
lubbefs Is the worst, nnd this Is what
they give me to take thirteen hundred
horses over to Bordeaux.” I.ater on
I found this Individual was foreman of
the horse gang.
We were ordered aft nnd sat on the
after hatch. The fellow on my right
wns n huge, blue-gummed negro. He
was continually scratching himself.
I unconsciously eased nway from him
nnd bumped Into the fellow sitting on
my left. After a good look nt him I
eased back again In the direction of
the negro. I don’t think that he had
tnkon a bath since escaping from the
cradle. Right then my uppermost
thought wns how I could duck this
trip to Frnnce. The general conversa-
tion among the horse gang wns:
"When do we eni?"
\\5e must have sat there about twenty
minutes, when the second foreman
enme nft. I took fifteen guesses nt his
nationality, nnd at last enme to the
conclusion thnt he was a cross between
a Chinaman nnd n Mexican. He was
thin, about six feet tall, nnd wore n
huge sombrero. His skin wns tanned
the color of leather. Every time he
smiled I had the Impression that the
next minute he would plant a stiletto
In my bnck. His nnme wns Pinero.
Ills Introduction to us was very brief:
"Get up off of thnt blankety blank
hatch nnd line up ngninst the rail.”
We did as ordered. Then he com-
manded : "All the niggers line up
alongside r f the port rail." 1 guess a
lot of them did not know what he
meant by the “port jail" because they
looked very much bewildered. With
an oath he snapped out. "You blank-
ety blank Idiots. The port rail Is th#t
rail over there. Come on. Move or
I'll soon move you." He looked well
able to do this and the niggers prompt-
ly shuffled over to the place designat-
ed. He quickly dlv'ded us into squads
of twelve men. then ordered; “All of
you who are deserters from tho army
or who have seen service In the env-
nlry step out In front." Four others
besides myself stepped out. The first
man he came to he Informed: “You’re
n straw boss. Do you know what a
straw boss Is?" This man meekly
answered. "No, sir." With another
oath, the second foreman said: "All
right, you’re not a straw boss; fnll
bnck." I got the cue Immediately.
My turn came next.
"Do you know what a straw boss
Is?"
I said: "Sure."
lie snld: "All right, you're a strnw
boss."
I hud not the least Idea of what
he wns tntking about, hut made up
my mind that It would not take mo
long to find out. Then he passed
down the line, picking out strnw
bosses. I asked one of the men In my
gang what were the duties of a strnw
boss. He had been over with horses
before, nnd told me that a straw boss
meant to be In charge of the gang to
feed the horses nnd to draw and keep
cnrefttl check on the strnw, hay, oats
nnd bran. Having served tn the cav-
alry, this Job, ns 1 figured, would be
regulnr pie for me.
In about an hour nnd a half’s time
Pinero had selected his straw bosses
and divided the men Into gangs, and
assigned us to our quarters on tho
ship. These quarters were between
decks and very much crowded; the
stench wns nwful.
One old fellow In my gang was a
trouble maker. He must have been
to he In the last stages of consumption.
I told the old fellow to cut out his
argument and leave the other fellow
alone. Upon hearing this he squirted
a well-directed stream of tobacco Juice
through his front teeth, which landed
on my Bhoe. I inwardly admired and
respected his accuracy, I saw my au-
thority waning and knew that I would
have to answer this Insult quickly. I
took two or three quick steps forward
and swung on his Jaw with my fist
His head went up against tne Iron
bunk with a sickening sound nnd he
crumpled up and fell on the deck, the
blood ponring from the cut lu his head.
I felt sick nnd fulnt thinking thut he
had been killed, but It would not do
to show these signs of weakness o>^
my part, so without even moving to-
wurd him I ordered one of the men to
look him over and see If lie was all
right, lie soon came around. From
tlmt time on he was the most faithful
man In the section nnd greatly respect-
ed me. The rest of the men growled
nnd mumbled and I thought I was In
for a terrible beating. Lying close at
hand was an Iron spike about eighteen
Inches long. Grasping this, 1 turned to
the rest, trying to be as tough as 1
possibly could:
“If nny of the rest of you bums
think they are boss around here, start
something, and I will sink this Into
his head." Although I wus quailing
underneath, still I got nway with It,
nnd from that time on I was boss of
tny section.
Now every mnn was smoking or
rhewlng tobacco. Pretty soon the hold
became thick with smoke, nnd I was
gasping for breath, when tho voice of
the foreman enme down the eompan-
lonwny:
"Turn out on deck nnd give a hand
loading the horses. Look alive or I’ll
come down there and rouse you out
pretty--quick."
I have been In a cavalry regiment
when hurry-up orders were received to
entrain for the Mexican border and
helped to load eleven hundred horses
on trains. The confusion on that dock
wns Indescribable. The horses were
louded by three runwnys. My gang
nnd I were detailed on the after run-
way. The foreman was leaning over
the rail, glaring down upon us and
now nnd then giving Instructions mixed
with horrible oaths. He had n huge
mnrllnsplke In his hand. On the dock
wns the second foreman, In his large
sombrero, u red neckerchief around
his neck, wearing n blue shirt w 1th the
sleeves rolled up to the elbows, nnd
In his right hand a coiled iHriat. It
did one’s heart good to see bun rope
tho horses which broke loose. Upon
watching his first performance I knew
I wns correct when I figured him us
having Mexican blood In his veins.
A bleary-eyed drunk wns trying to
lend a horse by the halter up our run.
lie wus looking back at the horse, nt
the same time tugging and Jerking on
the halter. You could see the white
In the horse’s eyes, nnd I knew right
away, from my experience with horses,
tlmt this was a bad ose, or, as we
would term him In the cavalry, an
"outlaw." The drunk wus cursing nnd
swearing and kicking up nt the horse’s
head. The forettinn saw this nnd di-
rected his barrage nt the offender.
"IIow In h—1 do you expect to lend
a horse while looking nt him? Turn
your bnck to him, you lousy bum. You
arc blocking the whole run. Turn
your bnck to him, I say. You can’t
had him that way. If I come down
there to you. I’ll soon show you how
to get him aboard."
Tne blenry-eyed one became bewil-
dered nnd In his excitement lost his
footing on the slippery runway and fell
underneath the horse, nt the same time
loosening his hold on the halter chain.
The horse Jerked his head loose, reared
up, turned around nnd made a break
for the deck. The mnn on the gangway
tried to scramble out of the wny. The
horse, In wheeling, let fly with both
heels nnd caught him below the right
car with his near hind foot. With a
piercing shriek the drunk clasped both
Swung on His Jaw With My Fist.
hands to his head, fell over backward
and rolled down to the foot of the gang-
plank. nnd lay there In a crumpled
heap, the blood pouring from his nose,
mouth and the wound below his ear.
Upon hearing this shriek several of
the men lending their horses, In their
fright turned them loose, and there was
n mad stampede on the deck.
The pasty-faced horseman, whom I
had helped out a little while before In ;
the argument about his bunk wns
standing near the runway, holding on !
to a horse. He turned his horse loose |
"What did I tell you? Didn’t I tell
you not to look at him? I knew you
would get It, and a dangled good Job,
too; blocking that run with your fool
tricks."
Then he noticed the pasty-faced
horseman stooping over the bleeding
man.
“Get *lm by the heels, you cross be-
tween a corpse and mummy, and drag
him out of the way. We’ve bloody well
got to get this ship loaded to catch
the tide."
The pale-faced man kept on with his
examination without paying any atten-
tion to the foreman’s Instructions. The
foretnnn got blue In the fuce nnd bub-
bled over with rage.
“Do you hear what I tell you? Get
'!m out of the way. This ship has got
to he loaded or I’ll go down there and
pound some obedience Into you.”
The mnn still paid no attention. The
foreman was speechless. In a few sec-
onds the stooping man strnightened up,
nnd looking the foreman straight In
the eye, calmly replied: “He’s dend."
This did not seem to fense the fore-
man In tin* least and he bellowed out:
“How do you know he Is dead?" The
man answered simply: “I’m n doctor."
Then the fnremnn once ngnln explod-
ed: “A doctor! Blawst tny deadlights,
a doctor! Well, If you’re n doctor,
what in h—1 are you doing on n horse
ship? You ought to be rolling pills
for the highbrows.”
The doctor never took his piercing
look from the eye of the foreman. The
foreman was now like nn enraged bull.
Spitting all over himself, ho blustered
out: “Well, If he’s dead, there Is no
doctor thr.t can do him any good. A
couple o’ you blnck skunks over there
(addressing two negroes who were al-
most blanched to n bluish white nnd
who were trembling near by), get
ahold of him nnd drng Mm out of the
way.” One of the negroes, with a
leeerlng grin, replied: "I shipped on
tills here ship to handle hosses, und
I don’t allow nohow that It’s my work
to tote corpses around.’’
Just then the second foreman rushed
over, gave the negro n push cut of the
wny, and, grnbblng the heels of the
dead man, pulled him nway from the
run. I turned away, sickened with
disgust. The foreman then took nn
empty ont sack and spreud it over the
bloody head.
Just then the clanging bell of nn am-
bulance was heard and n white-clothed
doctor, followed by two men with a
stretcher, pushed their wny through
the crowd of horses nnd horsemen.
They were accompanied by a police-
man. The body was put Into the am-
bulance nnd taken away, while the po-
lice-officer went on board the ship.
The pasty-faced doctor wns holding
onto the rail of the runway nnd cough-
ing. I thought each gasp would be his
Inst. The second foreman was talking
to him. The doctor paid no nttentlon.
Going up behind the doctor, the fore-
man coolly measured hls distance nnd
swung on the point of hls jaw. The
doctor crumpled up nnd fell on the
clock. At this cowardly nnd dastard-
ly act, I saw red nnd made a leap
at the foreman. An onrushing light
flashed In front of me and a huge lo-
comotive, going GO miles nn hour, hit
me between the eyes; then blackness.
When I came to, I was lying in my
bunk In the hold. I had nn awful
headache. Then everything came
back to me with a flash. I could hear
the gurgling of water on the ship’s
side and knew we were under way.
Right then and there I decided never
ngi.ln, especially while aboard ship, to
Interfere with the foreman. Among
thnt gang of human wrecks nnd cut-
throats it wns every man for himself,
and tho survival of the fittest. I had
two beautiful black eyes, and my nose
fdt like n football.
I went up on deck. The moon and
stars were out nnd the twinkling lights
of New York harbor were gradually
fading Into the distance. Leaning over
the rail were the foreman nnd the
veterinarian, “Doc" Casey, by nnme.
The foreman was talking. Snatches
of his conversation reached my ears:
"Load horses? Why. that bunch of
scum they wished on me couldn’t lond
him]) sugar, one lump nt a time. How
Brown expects me to deliver 1,300
horses Into Bordeaux with this scurvy
outfit. I don’t know. We're lucky, I’m
thinkin', If five hundred o’ them don’t
die. Why, there's not one o’ the
blighters knows which end of a horse
eats hay. I tell you. Doc, your work
Is cut out for you. If, in n few days,
you don’t hnve a couple of hundred
cases of colic on your hands, then I’m
a bloomin’ liar."
"Doc,” Casey answered:
“Well, I’ll tell you, Mr. Goorty, this
Is mj third trip over and 1 have seen
some tough bunches, hut this one Is
I the limit, and I sure have a Job on my
1 hands. It’s too bad that Pinero let out
on that young fellow, because, In my
muu’, that wns a pretty cowardly blow,
lie seemed to know how to handle
horses. What do you say if I give him
the Job of assistant veterinarian? lie’s
hud six years’ cavalry experience."
The foreman answered:
"Throw him over the side. If you
want—1 don’t care. But I guess you’ll
need someone to help you out, so go to
It."
I wns overjoyed. Just then rinero
came aft. The horse doctor turned to
him nnd said: "Look here, Pinero.
I’ve seen lots of dirty work In my life,
but that exhibition of yours on the
dock Is about the filthiest I’ve seen In
u long time. Now, Just take a ttp
from me. That young fellow from now
on Is working for me. nnd you lay your
hnnds off of him. If I find you med-
dling with him. I’ll push that silly grin
of yours down yonr throat until it
chokes you. Now, that’s all I got to
say, lay off of him. Do you under-
stand?"
IMnero started to mumble eicusea,
bn* the doctor abut him up with, *T
don't want to hear any more. I’m oft
o’ you for life, but remember what I
tell you. Steer clear from the two o’
us, sabe?"
I guess the second foreman "sabled"
all right, because he vouchsafed no
answer. My heart warmed to "Doc”
Cusey and I slipped awny unobserved.
The next morning the doctor fixed
me up with court plaster and I was
Installed as assistant veterinarian at
$30 for the trip.
Five days out we ran Into a squall
and our work wns cut out for us. We
even had horses on the decks In
wooden stalls. The ship was lurching
and pitching, and huge seas would
burst over the gunwales.
Several of the wooden stalls gave
way und the horses were loose on the
deck. With every lurch of the ship
a couple of horses would fall, and,
kicking nnd snorting, would slide down
the Inclined deck, hitting against
winches and the hatchway, scraping
their hides off. It was worth a man’s
life to get Into that mess.
Then I had more or less respect for
the foreman nnd second foreman.
Into the midst of that struggling and
Staggered to the Upper Deck With His
Face Blanched Almost White.
kicking hunch of horses they went, as-
sisted by Doc Casey. Four of the
horses received broken legs, and Pin-
ero, Instead of shooting them, cut
their throats with a sharp dagger be
carried.
One of the negroes from the lower
hold staggered to the upper deck with
his face blanched almost white, and
his eyes popping out of hls head. Be-
tween gasps he informed us that a
whole section of stalls, 24 tn all, had
been carried away between decks, and
that the horses were loose. He said
three negroes In hls gang were caught
In this stampede.
The foreman mustered most of the
men, and dividing them Into three
groups, In charge of himself, the sec-
ond foreman nnd Doc Casey, they went
below. I followed. An awful sight met
my eyes.
The ship was lurching in a horrible
manner. All I could see was, one
minute a pile of kicking horses,
smashed-up planks and the three ne-
groes piled up In one corner of the
compartment, and then, with a lurch
of the ship, they would slide into the
other. Nothing could be done by us.
It was madness to attempt anything.
The three negroes were dend.
Thnt night nnd the following day
wns a perfect hell on the ship for men
nnd horses. The ship rode through
the squall, nnd when it beenme calm
we all got busy. Out of the 24 horses
between decks we had to shoot 17 on
account of Injuries. Besides the 17
3 had died from broken necks. The
4 remaining horses were still alive
but hardly had a square foot of hide
left. They were a pitiful sight.
The next day the three negroes
were buried at sea without a word of
prayer.
I wns heartily sick and disgusted
with the rest of the trl]^ because the
stench wns awful, there being about
twelve dead horses that we could not
get out.
Just outside of the entrance of the
river leading to Bordeaux, a small,
rakish boat, flying the trl-color of
France, came alongside. We hove to
nnd up the gnngplank came three
French officers. They were closeted
with the captain of the ship nnd our
foreraau, and after about twenty min-
utes, left and we continued on our
course.
Going up the river in tome places
the banks were only about twenty
I feet away. We could see the French
women tilling their fields. As we
went by these workers stopped nnd
waved their hands In the air to us, nnd
we waved back. It wus my first sight
of France, nnd I wns not In nny way
disappointed. It lived up to my expec-
tations.
A little farther up the river we came
to n large dock where ships were load-
ing nnd unloading cargoes, nnd a thrill
passed through me ns I snw my first
batch of German prisoners nt work.
These were Immense fellows, nearly
every one being six feet or over. They
were guarded by little French soldiers,
averaging about five feet five inches,
with a long rifle, bayonet fixed. This
rifle, In comparison with the French-
man, looked like n telegraph pole. The
soldiers had on the old blue overcoats,
the tails buttoned back, pattern of
un.
As we passed the German prisoners
they scowled nt us, nnd we, feeling
quite safe on the deck, yelled bnck in-
sults at them. One Mg Irishman;
right near me, took grent glee In Jump-
ing up and down on the hatchway and
running hls finger across hls throat.
This seemed to enrage the prisoners
and they yelled something In German.
The Irishman must have „ »i
it, because he let out a volley of curses
In return. The French sentries seem-
ed to enjoy this barrage of insults and
did not in any way attempt to curtail
the prisoners’ remarks. This, at the
time, struck me as depleting a remurk-
nble sense of fairness, ngd later on,
during my service on the western
front, I found out that the French-
man In all his deulings Is fair and
Just.
Pretty soon the prisoners faded ont
of sight and we came alongside the
dock at Bordeaux. I was nil eagerness
and strained my eyes so as not to miss
the least thing. The dock wns full of
French cavalrymen, hurrying to and
fro. Huge Turcos, black as the ace
of spades, with white turbans oa
their heads, were majestically strid-
ing about
After we warped Into the dock nnd
mnde fast, our work was over. We had
nothing to do with the unloading of
the horses. The French cavalrymen
came aboard with n bunch of cavalry
halters hanging over their arms. It
was a marvel to see with what ease
and efficiency that ship was unload-
ed. The condition of the horses was
pitiful. They could hardly bend their
legs from stiffness. They would hob-
ble down the gangplank and stand
trembling on the dock. In about a
minute or so they would stretch their
necks way up into the air and seem
to be taking long breaths of the pure
air. Then they started to whinny.
They w’ere calling backward and for-
ward to each other. Even though I
did not understand horse language, I
knew exactly what they were saying.
They were thanking the good Lord
for their deliverance from that hell
ship, and were looking forward to
green pastures and a good roll in the
dirt. Pretty soon you could see them
bend their forelegs and lie down oa
'the dock; then try to roll over. It
was pitiful; some of them did not
have the strength to turn over and
they feebly kicked. Pretty soon the
whole dock wus a mass of rolling
horses, the Frenchmen Jumping
around, gesticulating nnd jabbering.
After getting the horses up, they
were divided Into classes according to
their height and weight. Then each
horse was led Into a ring chalked out
on the dock and the army Inspectors
examined It. Very few were reject-
ed. From this ring of chalk they
were led Into a portable stall and
branded. You could henr the sing-
song voice of the brander shouting out
what sounded like “Battry Loo." As
he yelled this, a French private would
come over, get the horse which hnd
been branded, and lead It away. I
got in conversation with an Inter-
preter and he Informed me that tho
average life of these horses In the
French army was three days, so these
poor horses had only left that hell
ship to go Into a worse hell of bursting
shells and cracking bullets.
I, after passing a rigid examination
as to my nationality, and being Issued
a cattleman’s passport. Inquired my
way to the prefecture of police. I
deliverd to him a sealed envelope
which I had received In New York.
Upon opening It. he was very gracious
to me and I went Into a rear room,
where the Interpreter put me through
a grilling examination. From there-
I wns taken to a hotel, and the next
morning in the company of a sergeant
nnd a private, got Into a little match-
box compnrtment on the funniest look-
ing train I ever saw. The track seem-
ed to be about three feet wide; tho
wheels of the cars looked like huge
cogwheels on an engine minus the
cogs. After bumping, stopping, and
sometimes sliding backwards, in 2G
hours we reached a little town. Sup-
plies were piled up as high as houses.
Officers nnd enlisted men were hurrying
to and fro, and I could see long trains
of supply wngons and artillery limbers
always moving in the same direction.
I wns ushered Into the presence of
a French officer, who, I later found out,
wns a brigadier genernl of the quar-
termaster corps. I could hear a dis-
tant booming, nnd upon inquiring
found out thnt It was the guns of
Frnnce, striving tn hold hack the Ger-
man invaders. I trembled all over
with excitement, nnd a feeling thnt I
rnnnnt describe rushed over me. I was
listening to my first sound of the guns
on the western front.
Two days nfterwnrd I ngaln reached
Bordeaux, and shipped to New York
on the French liner Rochamheaux.
Upon arriving In New York I reported
to the Frenchman who hnd sent mo
over. He was very courteous, nnd ns
1 reached out to shake hands with him,
he placed both hands on my shoulders
and kissed me on the right and left
cheek. I wns dumfounded. blushed nil
over, and nfter receiving the pay that
wns due me, I left.
I think I could have borne another
trip across with horse's, but thut being
kissed upon my return completely got
my goat.
I went bnck to the routine of my
office, but everything had lost color nnd
appeared monotonous. I believe I had
left my henrt In France, and I felt
mean nnd small, eating three square
meals a dn.v und sleeping on a soft
bed, when the nrmies on the other side
were making the world’s history.
Sometimes when sleeping I would
have a horrible nightmare; I could see
those horses hefbg boiled )illve in
steam.
Several times later I parsed thnt
sign on Greenwich street, "Horses for
Frunce, Men Wanted," and the picture
of the second foreman dropping the
pasty-faced doctor would loom before
my eyes. I do not know to tills duy
what became of that nervy wreck of
humanity, who hnd the temerity to tell
our foreman where he got off at. I
know he did not make the pucsog*
with us.
about forty years old and looked ns nnd rushed to the Moody mass, which ,
hard as nails. He was having nn iirgu- was twitching with convulsive shud-
ment with a pasty-faced looking «i»ecl- drrs. The foreman, on seeing this sc
men of humanity, about twenty ■!* | cldent. snapped out a long string of
years old. To me this man appeared curses, which almoet froie my heart.
i
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Miller, C. E. The Week's Review (Apache, Okla.), Vol. 18, No. 28, Ed. 1 Friday, March 7, 1919, newspaper, March 7, 1919; Apache, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc951761/m1/2/: accessed April 25, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.