OUTWITTING
JHE
Vlieutcnant
^ PAT OBRIEN
/VS, ty mrALVA OSK/tVf
All the time, too, I was being at
tacked by “Archlo"—the antiaircraft
Klin. I escaped the machine guns and
the “flaming onions,” but "Archie,” the
antiaircraft tire, got me four or five
times. Kvery time a bullet plugged
me, or rather my machine, it made a
loud hung, on account of the tension
on the material covering the wings.
None of their shots hurt me until
1 was about a mile from our lines, and
then they lilt my motor. Fortunately.
I still hail altitude enough to drift on
to our own side of the lines, for my
motor was completely out of commis
sion. They just raised the dickens
with me all the time I was descend
ing, and I began to think I would
strike the ground before crossing the
line, but there was a slight wind In
my favor, and it carried me two miles
behind our lines. There the Imlloons
I had gone out to get had the satisfac
tion of "pin-pointing” me. Through
the directions which they were aide to
give to their artillery they commenced
shelling my machine where It lay.
This particular work Is to direct the
fire of their artillery, and they are
used Just as the artillery observation
airplanes are. Usually two men are
stationed in each balloon. They ascend
to a height <»f several thousand feet
about five miles behind their own lines
and are <-quipped with wireless and
signaling apparatus. They watch the
burst of their -own artillery, check up
the position, get the range, and direct
the next shot.
When conditions are favorable they
are able to direct the shots so accu
rately that it is quick work destroying
the ohjeet of their attack. It was such
a balloon as this that got my position,
marked me out, called for an artillery
shot, and they commenced shelling my
machine where H lay. If I had got
the two luilioons instead of the air
plane, I probably would not have lost
my machine, for he would In all proba
bility have gone on home and not both
ered about getting my range and caus
ing the destruction of mv machine.
I landed in a part of the country
that was literally covered with shell
holes. Fortunately my machine was
not badly damaged by the forced land
Ing. I leisurely got out. walked around
it to see uhat the damage was, and
! conclude flint it could be* ei/’My re
paired. In fact. I thought If I could
find a space long enough between shell
holes to get a start before leaving the
ground that I would he able to fly on
from there.
I was still examining my plane and
considering the matter of a few slight
repairs, without any particular thought
for my own safety in that unprotected
| spot, when a shell came whizzing
through the air, knocked me to the
! ground and landed a few feet away.
It had no sooner struck than I made
a run for cover and crawled Into a
shell hole. I would have liked to get
farther away, hut I didn’t know where
the next shell would hurst, and I
thought I was fairly safe there, so I
squatted down and let them Maze
away.
The only damage I suffered was
from the mud which splattered up in
my face and over my clothes. That
was my Introduction t«» a shell hole,
and I resolved right there that the in
fantry could have all the shell-hole
fighting they wanted, hut It did not
appeal to me, though they live In them
through many a long night and I had
only sought shelter there for a few
minutes.
After the Germans had completely
demolishes! niv machine and ceased
firing. I waited there a short time,
fearing perhaps they might send over
a hi* kv shot, hoping to get me after
all. Hut evidently they concluded
enough shells had been wasted on on*
man. I crawled out cautiously, shook
the mud «»fT. and I looked over ill the
direction where my machine had ooee
been. There wasn’t enough left for a
decent souvenir, but nevertheless I got
a few, “sorb as they were,” and read
lly observing that nothing could he
done with what was left. I made my
way hack to Infantry headquarters,
where I was able to telephone in a
report
A little later one of our automo
bile* mine out after me and took me
hack to our etrdrome. Most of my
squadron thought I was lost beyond
doubt, and never expected to see me
again : hut ray friend, Paul Haney, had
held out that I was all right, and us
I was afterwards told, said, “Ibra’t
send f<»r another print ; that Irishman
will he hark. If tie has to walk.” And
he knew that the only thing that kept
me from walking was tin* fact that our
own automobile had been sent out to
bring me home.
I had lots to thkik about that clay,
and I had learned many tilings; one
was not to have too much confidence
in my own ability. One of the men in
the squadron told me that I had bet
ter not take those* chances; that it
was going to he a long war and I
would have plenty of opportunities to
he* killed without delibe*rately "wishing
them on" myself. Later I was to learn
the- truth eif his statement.
That night my "flight" -each squad*
ron is eiivideel into tiire*e* flights, con
sisting of six men e*aoh—got ready to
go out again. As I started to put on
my tunic I noticed that I was not
marked up for duty as usual.
T askr 1 the' commanding officer, a
major, what the* re*ason for that was,
and he* replied that lie* thought I had
done* e*neiugh for one day. However.
I knew that if I did not go, someone
else* from another "flight” would have*
to take* my place*, and I insisted up* n
going up with my patrol as usual, and
ttie* major re-luctantly oonsente*d. Had
he* known what was in steere* fe»r me, I
am sure* he* wouldn’t have changed bis
mind so readily.
A*- it was we find only five* machine s
for this patrol, anyway, t»e*cause* as we*
<Tosse*el the* lines one of them had to
dre»p euit on account of motor trouble*.
Our patrol was up at p. m.. and up
t<» within te*n minutes of that hour it
had hee'ii entirely uneventful.
At 7 :f»0 p. in., however, while we
were flying at a height of 13,000 fe*et,
we* obse*rve*d three other Knglish ma
chine's which were about 3.000 feet
below ns pick e fight with nine Hun
machines.
I knew right then that we were in
for it. !h*chuse I could see over toward
the ocean n whole flock of Hun ma
chines which evidently had escaped
the attention of our scrappy country*
men below us.
So we dove down on those nine
Huns.
At first the fight was fairly even.
Then* were eight of us to nine of them.
But noon the either machines which I
had seen iu the distance, and which
were flying even higher than we were,
arrived on Hie scene, and when they.
In turn, dove down on us. there was
Just twenty of them to our eight !
Four of them singled me out. I was
diving, and they-dived right down after
me, shooting as they came. Their
tracer bullets were coining closer to
rne every moment. These tracer bul
lets arc halls of fin* which enable the
shooter to follow thj* course his bul
lets are taking and to correct his aim
accordingly. They do no more harm
to a pilot If he is hit than an ordinary
bullet, but If they hit the petrol tank,
good night! When a machine catches
fire In flight there is no way of put
ting It out. It takes less than a min
ute for the fabric to burn off the wings
and then the machine drops like an
arrow, leaving a trail of smoke like a
comet.
As their tracer bullets came closer
and closer to rne I realized that my
chances of escape were nil. Their very
next shot, I felt, must hit me.
Once, some flays before, when I was
flying over the line, I had watched a
fight above me. A Herman machine
was set on fire, and dived down
through our formation In flames on Its
way 1«» the ground. The Hun was div
ing at such a sharp angle that both
his wings came off. and as lie passed
within a few hundred feet of me I saw
the look of horror ou his face.
Now, when I expected any moment
to suffer a similar fate, I could not
help thinking of that poor Hun's last
look of agony.
I realized that my only chance lay
In making an Immelman turn. This
maneuver was Invented by a Herman—
one of the greatest who ever flew and
who was killed in action sometime be
fore. This turn, which I made success
fully, brought one of their machines
right In front of me, and ns he sailed
along barely ten yards away, I “had
the drop” on him, ami he knew it.
His white face and startled eyes I
can still see. He knew beyond ques
tion that his last moment had route. !
because liis position prevented his tak
ing aim at me. while my gun pointed
straight at him. My first tracer bullet
passed within a yard of his head, the
Machine O'Brien Wa* Driving When
He Waa Overcome and Captured by
the Hunt.
leoonil looked us if It lilt Ids shoulder. I
Ihe third struck him In the neck, and !
then I let him have the whole works, j
ind he went down In a spinning nose
live.
All this time the three other Hun
nachlnes were shouting away at me.
[ could hear the bullets striking my j
nachlne one after another. I hadn't ;
the slightest Idea that I could ever
>«at off those three Huns, hut there .
VM nothing for me to do but fight, and
■y hands were full.
In fighting, your machine Is drop
ping, dropping all the time. I glanced
It my Instruments, and my altitude
was between H.Ollli and li.msi feet ,
i While I was still looking at the In
I struments, tite whole blamed works ,
' disappeared. A burst of bullets went :
I into the Instrument board and blew ,
It to smithereens, another bullet went
1 through my upper lip, came out of the
roof of my mouth and lodged in my
! throat, and the next thing I knew was
j when I came to In a German hospital
the following morning at live o’clock,
German time.
I was a prisoner of war.
CHAPTER IV.
Clipped Wings.
■ The hospital in which I found my
self on the morning after my capture
was a private bouse made of brick,
very low and dirty, anil not at all
adapted for use as a hospital. It hail
i evidently bei n used hut a few days on
account of the big push that was tak
ing place at that time of the year, and
in all probability would he abandoned
ns soon as they had found a better
place.
In all, the house contained four
rooms and n stable, which was by far
r- -1
Pat O'Brien and Paul Raney.
the largest of all. Although I never
looked Into this “wing” of the hospital.
I was told that It. too, was filled with
patients lying on beds of straw around
on the ground. ! do not know whether
they, too, were officers or privates.
The room in which I found myself
contained eight beds, three of which
were occupu*d by wounded iierman of
ficers. The other rooms. I Imagined,
had about the same number of beds as (
mine. There were no ICed t’ross nurses
In attendance, just orderlies, for this
was only an emergency hospital and
too near the firing line for nurses. The
orderlies were not old men nor very
young hoys, as I had expected to find,
hut young men Id the prime of life,
who evidently had been medical stu
dents. One or two of them. I discov
ered, were able to talk English, but
for some reason they \would not talk.
Perhaps they were forbidden by tiie
officer In eh urge to do so.
In uddltloti to the bullet wound In
my mouth I had a swelling from tuy
forehead to the back of my head al
most as big as my shoe—and that is
saying considerable. I couldn't move
an inch without suffering intense pain,
and when the doctor told me that I
hud no bones broken I wondered bow
a fellow would fee 1 who had.
(ierman officers visited me that
morning and told me that my machine
went down in a spinning nose dive
from a height of between <8,000 and
0.000 feet, and they had tin* surprise
of their lives when they discovered
that I had not been dashed to pieces.
They had to cut me out of my machine,
which was riddled with shots and shat
tered to hits.
A German doctor removed the bullet
from my throat, and the first ^iing he
said to me when I came to was. "You
a re an American !”
There Wih no denying it, because
tin* metal identification disk on my
w rist bore the Inscription:
*♦»> <rit
U. S. A.
It. F. C."
Although 1 was suffering Intense
agony, the doctor, wlio spoke perfect
Kngllsh, Insisted upon conversing with
me.
"You •nny lie all right as a sports
man,'' he declared, "hut you are a
d d murderer just the same for be
ing here. You Americans who got into
this thing before America came into
the war are no better than common
murderers and you ought to be treated
the same way!”
The wound in my month made It Im
possible for me to answer him, and I
was suffering too much pain to lie
hurt very much by anything he could
say.
lie asked me if I would like an
apple! I could Just as easily have
eaten a brick.
When lie got no answers out of me,
he walked away disgustedly.
“Y'ou don’t have to worry any more," ■
he declared, us u parting shot. "For
you the war is over.”
I was given a little broth later in 8
the day. and as 1 began to collect my
thoughts I wondered what had hap
pened to my comrades in the battle
which had resulted so disastrously to
me. As I began to realize my plight
I worried less about my physical con
dition than the fact that, us the doc
tod had pointed out, for me the war
was practically over. I bad been In it
but a short time, and now ! would be
a prisoner for the duration of the war!
The next day some German flying
officers visited me, and I must say they
treated me with great consideration.
They told me of the man 1 had brought
down. They said he'wns a Bavarian
and a fulrly good pilot. They gave me
Ids hut ns a souvenir and compliment
ed me on the fight I had put up.
fl.Hy helmet, which' was of soift
'gather, was split from front to buck jj
by h bullet from rt machine gun. and
they examined it with great interest.
When they brought me my uniform I
found that the star of mv rank whleh
had been on my right shoulder strap
bad been shot off clean. The one on
my left shoulder strap they asked me
for as a souvenir, as also my It 1 ('
badges, whleb I gave them. They al
lowed me to keep mv “wings." whleb
I wore on my left breast, because they
were aware that that Is tin* proudest
possession of a British flying officer.
I think I am right in sa\ing that the
only chivalry In this war on the Ger
man side of the trenches has been dis
played bv the officers of the German
dying corps, which comprises the pick
of Germany. They pointed out to me
that I and my comrades were lighting
purely for the love of It, whereas they
were fighting in defense of their conn
try, but still, they said, they admired
us for our sportsmanship. 1 bad a no
tion to ask them if dropping bombs on
London and killing so many Innocent
people was In defense of their country.
but I was In no position or condition
t^jtteir c on«*»ri'i ai. that ti’nc^
tTo be (’ontlnued)
—+....
Have you looked over our stock of
Kongoleurn rugs? The Northwestern
Hardware store.
—♦—
LOS ACELES ROSE GROWER
WINS COVETED AWARD
1WKIS, Aug. f> A rose of Ameri
can origin was awarded tin* gold
medal, the highest award, recently at
the annual competition of new roses
at BagatelK*, the famous rose gar
den in the Hois de Boulogne. Varie
ties had come from all parts ot
France. Kngland. Holland ami the
Knifed States, the winning rose being
one named from the city of its origin,
Los Angeles.
The jury, composed of celebrated
rose-growing experts, considered the
claims of an Knglish climbing rose,
the Paul Scarlet Climber.
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E. R. GARNE8. Prop.
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Houra 9 a. m, to 9 p. m.
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BOX II CORDOVA, ALASKA.
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Office over Cordova Drug Store*
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drug Store. Reeldence.
Aleeken Hotel
DR. W. W. COUNCIL
PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON
Offlco and Keeldence: Cordova
General Uoapltal (Ostrander Build
Ing-.
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PLUMBERS ANB STEAMFITTERf
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Room 1.
Adama Block CORDOVA, ALASKA
a .
WILLIAM PALLISTER, M.D,
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(lleeaaea and deformities of the
eye, ear, nose and thraat; Klasxea
fitted.
JUNEAU GENERAL HOSPITAL
FRANK A. METCALF
Civil and Mining Engineer
U. S. Mineral Surveyor
Juneau Alaska
FRANK H. FOSTER
Attorney at Law
Room 1 Alaskan Hotel
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♦ Windsor Hotel ♦
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♦ Where You Get *
♦ Comfort and Service *
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s Cordova Alaska ♦
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Sixty Steam Heated Rooms Eletric Lighted
Hot and Cold Water in Every Room
j With or Without Bath.
! Cordova Houses
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Satisfaction Our an teed ij
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Travel via Sheldon Auto Stage Line, the pioneer auto
line on the Chilian Fairbanks trail. Carrying 1. S. mail
and assuring patrons the very best auto service to Fair
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dress communications to
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< hvner and Manager, Chitina, Alaska
Copper River
and Northwestern Ry.
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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 Friday*
Leave Kennecott for Chitina Mondays, Wednes
days, Thursdays and Saturdays
I lie above schedule subject to change without
not ice.
Dining Car in Connection with all Regular
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Freight received und delivered at Cordova
\\ hurt' from !• a. in. 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 Cordova Wharf
R. K. BROWN, Jr., Ticket Agent
-- j
Fine Job Printing At The Times Office 5
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