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FOR
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| shovels, kitchenware, furniture, stoves, etc. We also |
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THE NORTHERN BLOCK
' First Street
Copper River
and Northwestern Ry.
FOUR TRAINS WEEKLY BETWEEN
CHITINA AND KENNECOTT
Leave Cordova, Second Street Depot, on Mon
days, Thursdays and Saturdays
Leave Chitina for Cordova Sundays, Tuesdays,
Thursdays and Fridays
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and Fridays
Leave Kennecott for Chitina Mondays, Wednes
days, Thursdays and Saturdays
The above schedule subject to change without
notice.
Dining Car ift Connection with all Regular
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Freight received and delivered at Cordova
Wharf from 9 a. m. to 5 p- m., except Sundays.
Tickets on sale at Second Street Depot office
one hour before departure of trains.
CALEB CORSER W. E. BROWN
Superintendent Agent Coidova Wharf
R. K. BROWN, Jr., Ticket Agent
' -1 * -
%
MEET ME AT
THE
‘HORSESHOE’
3STOS
POPULAR RECREA
TION PLACE
Where we can always find our
friends
Finest Billiard and Pool Ta
bles In Alaska
BEST GRADES OF STAND
ARD BRANDS OF CIGARS
Your eyes fitted. -Compound and
astigmatic lenses replaced. See
borne.
The Red Dragon
CORDOVA, ALASKA
Headquarters of Cordova
Chapter American Red Cross.
Club House founded in 1908
by Episcopal church. Open
from 1 p. m. to 10 p. m.
REV E. P. ZIEGLER
Supt.
0-g]
When Ordering Job Work Don't
Think It la Your Duty to Build Up
Concerns In the States, But Give
The People Who Are Paying
Wages and Spending Their Money
In Cordova a Chance to Live.
0-:-—E
1k- ' ~~
“Over the Top”
By An American Soldier
Who Went
ARTHUR GUY EMPEY
Machine Gunner Serving In France
3 —
(Copyright, M7, by Arthur Gay Hmpey)
SYNOPSIS.
CHAPTER I—Fired by the news of the
sinking of the Lusitania by a German
submarine, Arthur Guy Empey, an Ameri
can, leaves his office In Jersey City and
goes to England where he enllBts In the
British army.
CHAPTER IT—After a period of train
ing, Empey volunteers for Immediate serv
ice and soon finds himself In rest billets
“somewhere In France,” where he first
makes the acquaintance of the ever-pres
ent “cooties.”
CHAPTER III—Empey attends hts first
church services at the front while a Ger
man Fok'KfeT circles over the congregation.
CHAPTER IV— Empey’s command goes
into the front-line trenches and is under
fire for the first time.
CHAPTER V—Empey learns to adopt
the motto of the Brtisli Tommy, “If you
are going to get It, you’ll get It, so never
worry."
CHAPTER VI—Back In rest billets, Em
pey gets his first experience as a mess
orderly.
CHAPTER VII—Empey learns how the
British soldiers are fed.
CHAPTER VIII—Back In the front-line
trench, Empey sees hts first friend of the
trenches “go West.”
CHAPTER IX—Empey makes his first
visit to a dugout in “Suicide Ditch.”
CHAPTER X—Empey learns what con
stitutes a "day’s work” in the front-line
trench.
CHAPTER XI—Empey goes "over the
top” for the fir»t time tn a charge on the
German trenciie i and Is wounded by a
bayonet thrust. ,
CHAPTER XIII—Each Tommy gets
an official bath.
CHAPTER XIV—Empey helps dig
an advanced trench under German
,ire- 11
..— *
- f ' *
CHAPTER XV,
Listening Poet.
It was six in the morning when we
arrived at our rest billets, and we were
allowed to sleep until noon; that is,
if we wanted to go without our break
fast. For sixteen days we remained
r~. .=- -■„ —i
Entrance to a Dugout.
in rest billets, digging roads, drilling,
and other fatigues, and then back into
Ihe front-line trench.
Nothing happened that night, but the
next afternoon I found out that a
bomber is general utility man in a sec
tion.
About live o'clock in the afternoon
our lieutenant came down the trench
and stopping in front of a bunch of us
on the fire step, with a broad grin on
his face, asked:
“Who is going to volunteer for listen
ing post tonight? I need two men.”
It is needless to say no one volun
teered, because it is anything but a
cushy job. I began to feel uncomfort
able as I knew it was getting around
for my turn. Sure enough, with another
grin, he said:
"Kmpey, you and Wheeler are due,
so come down into my dugout for in
structions at six o’clock.”
Just as he left and was going around
a traverse, Fritz turned loose with a
machine gun and the bullets ripped t>e
sandbags right over his head. It gaw
me great pleasure to see him duck
against the parapet. He was getting a
taste of what we would get later out
in front.
Then, of course, it began to ruin. I
knew it was the forerunner of a mis
erable night {or us. Every time I had
to go out In front, it just naturally
rained. Old Jupiter Pluvius must have
had it In for me.
At six wTe reported for instructions.
They w’ere simple and easy. AH we
had to do was to crawl out into No
Man's Land, lie on our bellies with our
ears to the ground and listen for the
tap, tap of the German engineers or
sappers who might be tunneling under
No Man’s [.and to establish a mine
head beneath our trench.
Of course. In our orders we were told
not to be captured by German patrols
or reconnoltering parties. Lots of
breath is whsted on the western front
etvine- silly cautions, ,
As soon ns it wns dark, Wheeler an<l
1 crawled to our post which was about
halfway between the lines. It was
raining bucketfuls, the ground was a
sea of sticky mud and clung to us like
glue.
We took turns In listening with our
ears to the ground. I would listen for
twenty minutes while Wheeler would
be on the qui vive for German patrols.
Wre each wore n wristwntch, and be
lieve me, neither one of us did over
twenty minutes. The rain soaked us
to the skin and our ears were full of
mud.
Every few minutes n bullet would
crack overhead or a machine gun would
trnverse back and forth.
Then all firing suddenly censed. I
whispered to W'heeler, “Keep your eye
skinned, mate; most likely Fritz has
a patrol out—that’s why the Boehes
have stopped firing.”
We were each armed with a rifle and
bayonet and three Mills bombs to be
used for defense only.
I had my ear to the ground. All of
a sudden I heard fnint, dull thuds.
In a low but excited voice I whispered
to Wheeler, “I think they are mining,
listen.’*
He put his ear to the ground and
in an unsteady voice spoke into my
ear:
“Yank, that’s a patrol and it’s head
ing our way. For God’s sake keep
still.”
I wns ns still ns a mouse and was
scared stiff.
Hnnllv hronthincr nnH n*lfh orno f rxr.
ing to pierce the inky blackness, we
j waited. I would have given a thou
sand pounds to have been safely In
my dugout.
Then we plainly heard footsteps and
; our hearts stood still.
A dark form suddenly loomed up in
! front of me; it looked ns big as the
| Woolworth building. I could hear
| the hlood rushing through my veins
and It sounded as loud as Niagara
falls.
Forms seemed to emerge from the
j darkness. There were seven of them
In all. I tried to wish them away. I
| never wished harder in my life. They
j muttered a few words In German and
I melted into the blackness. I didn’t
stop wishing either.
All of a sudden we heard a stumble,
| a muddy splash, and n muttered “Don
| ner und Blitzen.” One of the Boches
had tumbled Into a shell hole. Neither
! Of us laughed. At that time—it didn’t
strike us as funny.
About twenty minutes after the Ger
mans had disappeared something from
the rear grabbed me by the foot. I
nearly fainted with fright. Then n
welcome whisper in a cockney accent.
“I s’y, myte, we’ve come to relieve
you.”
Wheeler and I crawled back to our
trench; we looked like wet hens and
felt worse. After a swig of rum w’e
were soon fast asleep on the fire step
in our wet clothes.
The next morning I was as stiff as a
poker and every joint ached like a
bad tooth, but I was still alive, so it
did not matter.
CHAPTER XVI.
Battery D 238.
The day after this I received the
glad tidings that I would occupy the
machine gunners’ dugout right near
the advanced artillery observation
post. This dugout was a roomy affair,
dry as tinder, and real cots in it.
These cots had been made by the
B. E.’s who had previously occupied
: the dugout. I was the first to enter
1 and promptly made a signboard with
my name and number on it and sus
pended it from the foot of the most
comfortable cot therein.
In the trenches it is always “first
come, first served,” and this is lived
up to by all.
Two It. F. A. men (Royal Field nr
tlllery) from the nearby observation
post were allowed the privilege of
stopping in this dugout when off duty.
One of these men, Bombardier Wil
son by name, who belonged to Bat
tery I> 238, seemed to take a liking
to me. and I returned this feeling.
In two days’ time we were pretty
chummy, and he told me how his bat
tery in the early days of the war had
put over a stunt on Old Pepper, and
had gotten away with it.
I will endeaver to give the story as
far ns memory will permit in his own
wuruH .
“I came out with the first expedi
tionary force, and, like all the rest,
thought we would have the enemy
licked in jig time, and he able to eat
Christmas dinner at home. Well, so
far, I have eaten two Christmas din
ners in the trenches, and am liable to
eat two more, the way things are
pointing. That Is, if Fritz don't drop
a ‘whizz-bang’ on me, and send me to
Blighty. Sometimes I wish I would
get hit, because it’s no great picnic
out here, and twenty-two months of it
makes you fed up.
“It’s fairly cushy now compared to
what It used to be, although I admit
this trench is a trifle rough. Now.
we send over five shells to their one.
We are getting our own back, but In
the early days It was different. Then
you had to take everything without
reply. In fact, we would get twenty
shells In return for every one we sent
over. Fritz seemed to enjoy it, but
we British didn’t; we were the suf
ferers. Just one casualty after an
other. Sometimes whole platoons
would disappear, especially when a
‘Jack Jobnson’ plunked Into their
middle. It got so bad that a fellow,
when writing home, wouldn’t ask for
any cigarettes to be sent out, because
he was nfraid he wouldn't be there to
receive them.
"After the drive to Paris was turned
back, trench warfare started. Our
general grabbed a map. drt»w a pencil
across It, and said, ‘Dig here.’ Then
he went back to h!s tea. and Tommy
armed himself with a pick and shovel
and started digging. He’s been dig
ging ever since.
“Of course we dug those trenches at
night, but it was hot work, what with
the rifle and machine-gun fire. The
stretcher bearers worked hnrcler than
the diggers.
“Those trenches, bloomin’ ditches, I
cnll them, were nightmares. They were
only about five feet deep, and you used
to get the backache from bending
down. It wasn’t exactly safe to stand
upright, either, because as soon as
your napper showed over the top a
bullet would bounce off It, or else come
so close It would make your hair stand.
“We used to fill sandbags and stick
them on top of the parapet to make it
higher, but no use; they would be
there about an hour and then Fritz,
would turn loose and blow them to
bits. My neck used to be sore from
ducking shells and bullets.
! “Where my battery was stationed a
I hasty trench had been dug, which
the boys nicknamed ‘Suicide ditch.’
and. believe me, Yank, this was the
original ‘Suicide ditch.* All the others
are imitations.
“When a fellow went into that
trench it was an even gamble that he
would come out on a stretcher. At one
time a Scotch battalion held it, and
when they heard the betting was even
money that they’d come out on
stretchers, they grabbed all the bets
in sight. I.ike a lot of bally idiots, sev
eral of the battery rnen fell for their
game, and put up real money. The
•Jocks’ suffered a lot of casualties, and
the prospects looked bright for the
i battery men to collect some easy
money. So when the battalion was re
lieved the gamblers lined up. Several
‘Jocks’ got their money for emerging
safely, but the ones who clicked it
weren’t there to pay. The artillery
men had never thought it out that
way. Those Scotties were bound to
be sure winners, no matter how the
wind blew. So take a tip from me,
never bet with a Scottie, ’cause you’ll
lose money.
“At one part of our trench where
a communication trench joined the
front line a Tommy had stuck up a
wooden signpost with three hands or
arms on it. One of the hands, point
ing to the German lines, rend, ‘To Ber
lin;’ the one pointing down the com
munication trench read, ‘To Blighty,’
while the other said, ‘Suicide Ditch,
Change Here for Stretchers.’
“Farther down from this guide posL
the trench ran through an old orchard.
On the edge of this orchard our bat
tery had constructed an advanced ob
servation post. The trees screened it
from the enemy airmen and the roof
was turfed. It wasn’t cushy like ours,
no timber or concrete re-enforcements.
Just walls of sandbags. From it a
splendid view of the German lines
omil/t ho Ahto 1 no.l Thin n/\nf mni-n’t
exactly safe. It was a hot corner,
shells plunking all around, and the
bullets cutting leaves off the trees.
Many a time when relieving the sig
naler at the 'phone, I had to crawl on
my belly like a worm to keep from
being hit.
“It was an observation post sure
enough. That’s all the use It was. Just
observe all day, but never a message
back for our battery to open up. You
see, at this point of the line there
were strict orders not to fire a shell,
unless specially ordered to do so from
brigade headquarters. Blime me, If
anyone disobeyed that command, our
general—yes, It was Old Pepper—
would have court-martialed the whole
expeditionary force. Nobody went out
of their way to disobey Old Pepper In
those days, because he couldn’t be
called a parson; he was more like a
pirate. If at any time the devil should
feel lonely and sigh for a proper mate.
Old Pepper would get the first call.
Facing the Germnus wasn’t half bad
compared with an Interview with that
old firebrand.
“If a company or battalion should
give way a few yards against a su
perior force of Roches, Old Pepper
would send for the commanding offi
cer. In about half an hour the officer
would fome buck with his face the
color of a brick, and In a few hours
what was left of his command would
be holding their original position.
“I have seen an officer who wouldn’t
say d-n for a thousand Quid spend
flve minutes with the old boy. and
when he returned the flow of language!
from his lips would make a navvys
blush for shame.
“What I am going to tell you Is how
two of us put it over on the old scamp.,
and got away with It. It was a risky!
thing, too, because Old Pepper wouldn’t!
have been exactly mild with us if he
had got next to the game.
“Me and my mate, a lad named Har
ry Cassell, a bombardier In D 238 bat-1
I
tery, or lance corporal, as you call It!
In the Infantry, used to relieve thc?j
telephonists. We would do two hours)
on and four otf. I would be on duty
in the advanced observation post,]
while he would be at the other end of)
the wire in the battery dugout signal-1
ing station. We were supposed to send
through orders for the battery to fire
when ordered to do so by the observa-,
tion officer in the advanced post. But)
very few messages were sent. It wasi
only in case of an actual attack that'
we would get aI chance to earn ourl
‘two and six’ a day. You see. Old Pep-!
per had issued orders not to Are ex-1
cept when the orders came from him. j
And with Old Pepper orders Is orders,
and made to obey.
“The Germans must have known
about these orders, for even in the day|
their transports and troops used to11
expose themselves as If they were oni
parade. This sure got up our nose,
sitting there day after day, with Ane
targets in front of us but unable to,
send over a shell. We heartily cussed
Old Pepper, his orders, the govern-,
ment, the people at home, and every-,
thing in general. But the Bochestl
didn’t mind cussing, and got very care
less. Blime me, they were bally in-l
suiting. Used to, when using a certain
road, throw their caps into the air as
a taunt at our helplessness.
“Cassell had been a telegrapher In
civil life and joined up when war was
declared. As for me, I knew Morse,
learned it at the signalers’ school back
in 1910. With an officer in the obser
vation post, we could not carry on the
kind of conversation that's usual be
tween two mates, so we used thel
Morse code. To send, one of us wou d|
tap the transmitter with his Ang rj
nails, and the one on the other ec I
would get It through the receiver.
Many an hour was whiled away u this
manner passing compliments baf k and
forth.
(To be Continued)
____
One of the Big Guns Barking.
I •
riSH or ALL KINDS
HALIBUT, CODFISH and
RED SNAPPER
Ice Box for Perishables. Big Stock
Always on Hand
CORDOVA FRUIT MARKET
Gus Priesner, a well known fur
buyer at Nenana, states that this se; -
i son's yield is by far the finest gra< n
; of skins he has ever seen, principal *
because of the extreme cold.
-«
Everybody’s slogan, all the time!
Stir your coffee!
'*_ . „ __
WANTED
Hairless Seal Pelts
We pay high prices for hair
less seal pelts. We want a big
supply, Quick! Send them right
to us. Our references, any bank
in. Seattle.
North Coast Tanning Co.
1138 West 46th St.
Seattle
I Patronize! Home •
Industry
: j Have your suits made to or- jS
der in town by Harry Nelson, if
! first class ladies’ and men’s pg
S3 tailor, on C- Street, next to
~~ =5
the Ideal Barber Shop. The
££ best of woolens on hand.
Two fittings to every suit. •
First class workmanship
U guaranteed.
m m
.