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Show I Horses for ' w France Sergeant Arthur Guy Empey Author of "Over the Toft" "First Call," Etc. o-o-o Mr. Empey's Expori-' Expori-' ncesDuringHisSeven-i ncesDuringHisSeven-i teenMonthsintheFirst Line Trenches of the British Army in France II (Uopjrlgbt, Wit, b TfcAMcUluo Mwippof r -s-It was 1011, nntl tho great world war waajon, nnd hero wns I In the United States nnd neutral. For thirteen thir-teen years I hnd been soldiering but had never been under Arc. In my Imagination I could hear tho guns booming oil tho wcHtcrn front.1! admit ad-mit I was n trlflo nfrnld; nevertheless 1 had n great deslro to got Into the mix-up. mix-up. How' could I get over? I planned out many ways, but nopo of them were practical. . . Ono day whllo walking down. Greenwich Green-wich street. New York, I passed an employment agency. Staring mo In tho faco was a great flaring sign, "Horses for France." Under this "Men Wanted." Hero was my chance; Upon returning to my oillco I Immediately Imme-diately got In touch over tho telcphono with two prominent men In New York whom Mcncw to bo distinctly pro-ally. After Outlining- my desire, an appointment appoint-ment wus, mndo for mo to meet a certain cer-tain gentleman at tho Hotel Astor at four o'clock that afternoon. I met blm. Ho Introduced mo to n Frenchman. French-man. At that tlmo In my eyes n Frenchman" Svas' n hero, n man to bo looked up to, n man lighting In tho Great Cuuso. But now n Frenchman to mo la more tlian a hero. After being Introduced I went up Into tho Frenchman's room nnd talked over tho matter of horses for Franco for nbout twenty minutes. Upon leaving tho Frenchman I wns told to report to him threo days Inter, at tho saino tlmo nnd place. I left, bubbling over with enthusiasm and anticipation. During this Interval of threo days I mapped out a story of my llfo to pro-Rent pro-Rent to him upon our second Interview. Tho eventful day at last came, and onco nioro I was closeted with him. I started to tell him my story. Ho interrupted mo by waving his right hnnd to tho right nnd loft. It reminded re-minded mo of tho butts on a target rongo during rlllo practice, when tho man marking tho target wigwags n , miss to tho flrlng line. My henrt snnk. tt'hcn ho spoke, nnd I wns carried from despondency to tho greatest height of expectation. Ills words: 'Tnrdon me, monsieur, I already know jour life," ami In an amazingly short tlmo ho told mo moro than I know nbout myself. 1 bad been carefully care-fully Investigated. My Instructions received from him nro confidential, so I will not go Into tlicm. Anyway, ho bunded mo an en-vclopo en-vclopo nnd told mo to follow out carefully care-fully all details us contnlned therein. I Immediately went back to -my office, of-fice, opened tho envelope nnd on u typewritten shoot I read: "Iteport at Goldsmith's Employment ngeucy. No. Greenwich street. Ship ns nn ordinary horseman and during voynro carefully follow tho verbal Instructions Instruc-tions received by you during our Interview, In-terview, mnldng- enrof ul- nolo of nil do-tails do-tails Immediately nftcr happening. Bo-cautious Bo-cautious In doing this. Upon landing In Franco report to tho prefecture of. police, Bordeaux, nnd to tho letter obey his Instructions. Good luck."' . I went homo nnd put on my oldest clothes nn old black suit, ollvo drnb shirt, u pair of heavy army shoes and n woolen cap. 1 had let my heard grow nnd cerlnlnly looked rough. Going down Greenwich street, douching along, looking nt tho ground, 1 ran plump Into u young Imly of my acquaintance. I.hnd n feeling of affection af-fection for this particular young lndy( but It soon dlc( out, upon tearing her FcmnrT: ns I collided with her, "If you cnunot look whero you nro going. I will hnvo you arrested."' Of course, Blm did not recognlzo mo nnd I took no pains to arguo tho mnttcr with her. 1 was clad enough to slink by. When I enmo to tho agency there wns a long lino of bums, two und thrvo deep, trying to ship as horsemen for It would bo Impossible to get n rougher and moro unkempt gathering of men. It looked us If some hugo Klnnt had tnkon n-llno comb nnd enro-fully enro-fully combed tho gutters of New York. I fell Into this lino nnd wnlted my turn. Upon arriving at tho desk, In front of mo sat u Utile fnt, greasy Jew. To describe his manner of linn-tiling linn-tiling tho men as being lmpolito would bo n great exaggeration. Tho way ho handled Unit lino of human cnttlo would do tho kalscr'u heart good. It enmo my turn, and this, conversa-Urn conversa-Urn ensued: "What do you know nbout horses? fl I answered : "Six years In tho United ; States cavalry." I Tho Agent: "What regiments?" "Elovcnth nnd Twelfth." "You're a llur. You novcr saw tho cavalry," I felt llko punching him on tho noso but did not do to. I wanted to ship i ,1H a horseman. I showed hlin my I' discharges. Ho said: "They're faked. What did you do, desert or wcro you kicked out?" I was getting sore nnd answered: "Deserted tho Twelfth; kicked out of the Eleventh." "What's your name?" "Arthur Guy Empey." "You're n German." This wns too much even for me, and I nnirwcrcd: "You're n damned llnr." I saw my chances of shipping vanishing in smoke. Tho Jew grinned nnd rubbed bis hands nnd snld: "You're all right. Go Into that room nnd get n card mndo out, nnd come back nt two o'clock." I received a card and wont to n hennery across tho street nnd hnd n wonderful menl of corned beef hash, muddy coffee and hugo slices of bread, minus butter. This cost mo fifteen cents. At two o'clock I reported bnck, nnd with 'seventy-two others wns herded llko cattle, nnd In a long, straggling line, flanked by three of tho employees of tho ngency, wo marched to the ferry nnd landed "somewhere In Now Jersey." Tho ship, nhugo threo-stneker, wns lying alongside. Wo wcro shoved Into single flic, ready to go up tho gangplank. gang-plank. Then our real examination took place. At tho foot, of tho gang-plnnk gang-plnnk were n group of men around n long table. They certnlnly put us through a third degree to And out If there wns nny German blood In us. Several men wero turned down. Luckily, Luck-ily, I got through nnd signed for tho voyage, nnd went on bonrd. At tho bend of tho gnngplnnk stood tho, toughest specimen of humanity I hayo ever seen. Ho looked llko a hugo gprllln, nnd had n big, crescent-shaped, livid scar running from his left car under Ids rhln up to his right eye. Every tlmo he spoko tho edges of tho senr seemed to grow white. His noso wns broken nnd ho hnd huge, shaggy eyebrows. His hnnd was' resting on the rnll of tho ship. It looked llko a ham, and Inwardly I figured out what would happen to mo If that hnm-liko fist over enmo In contnet with tho point of my Jaw. As wo passed him ho showered us with n few complimentary compli-mentary rcmnrks, such ns "Of nil tho lousy scum I hnvo seen, tills bunch of lubbers Is tho worst, nnd this Is what they glvo mo to tnko, thirteen hundred hors.es over to llordcnux." Later on I found this Individual was foreman of tho horso gang. Wo wero ordered nft nnd snt on tho nftcr hatch. Tho fellow on my right was a huge, bluc-guinmcd negro. Hn wns continually scratching himself. I unconsciously cased away from him nnd bumped Into tho fellow sitting on my left. After a good look at him I cased back again In tho direction of tho negro. I don't think that he hnd taken a bath slnco escaping from tho cradle, night then my uppermost thought wns how I could duck this trip to France. Tho general conversation conversa-tion nmong tho horso gnng was: "When do wo ent?" Wo must have sat there about twenty minutes, when tho second forcmnn enmo nft. I took fifteen guesses nt his nationality, and nt last enmo to tho conclusion that ho wns n cross between n Chlnnmnn nnd n Mexican. Ho wns thin, nbout six feet tnll, nnd wore a hugo sombrero. Ills skin wns tanned tho color of lenther. Every tlmo ho smiled I hnd tho Impression that tho next mlnuto ho would plant n stiletto In my bnck. His nnmo was I'lnero. His introduction to us wns very brief: "Get up off of that blnnkcty blank hutch nnd lino up ngnlnst tho rnll." Wo did ns ordered. Then ho commanded: com-manded: "All tho niggers lino up alongside f.r tho port rail." I guess n lot of them did not know what ho meant bj' tho "port rail" becauso they looked very much bewildered. With an oath ho snapped out. "You blank-'cty blank-'cty blank Idiots. Tho port rnll Is thnt roll over there.' Come on. Move or I'll soon move you." He looked well nhlo to do this nnd tho niggers prompt-Is prompt-Is Bhufllcd over to the plnco designated. designat-ed. Ho" quickly dlv'ded us Into squnds or twelve men, then ordered; "All of you who nro deserters from tho nrmy or who" hnvo seen service In tho cavalry cav-alry Rtep out In frent." Four others besides myself stepped out. Tho first mnn ho enmo to ho informed: "You're n straw bpss. Po you know what n straw boss Is?" This man meekly answered. "No. sir." With nnother onth, tho second foreman snld: "All right, you're not n straw boss; fall bnck.',' I got tho cuo Immediately. My turn catuo next. "Do you, know what n straw boss Is?" I said: "Sure." Ho sold: "All right, you're n straw boss." 1 had not tho least idea of whot ho was tulklng about, but mndo up my. mind thnt it would not tnko mo long to find out. Then ho passed down tho line, picking out straw bosses. I nsked ono of tho men In my gnng whnt wcro th duties of n straw lioss." Ho had been over with horses before, and told mo thnt n straw boss meant to ho In chnrgo of tho gang to feed tho horses nnd to draw and keep careful check on tho straw, hay, oats and bran. Having served In tho cavalry, cav-alry, this Job, ns I figured, would bo regular plo for mo. In nbout an hour nnd n hnlf's tlmo I'lnero hnd selected his straw bosses and divided tho men Jnto gangs, nnd nsslgncd us to our quarters on tho hhlp, These quarters wero between decks nnd very much crowded; tho stench wns awful. Ono old fellow In my gang wns n trouble maker. He must hnvo been nbout forty yenrs old and looked as hard oh nulls. Ho was having nn-nrgu-ment with n pasty-faced looking specimen speci-men of humnnlty, about twenty-six years old. To mo this man appeared to bo In tho Inst stages of consumption. I told tho old fellow to cut out his argument nnd lenvo tho other fellow nlono. Upon hearing Oils ho. squirted n well-directed strenm of tobacco Julco through his front teeth, which landed on my shoe. I Inwardly admired nnd respected his nccurncy. I saw my nu-thorlty nu-thorlty waning nnd know thnt I would hnvo to answer this insult quickly. I took two or threo quick steps forward and swung on bis Jaw with my fist. His head went up against tho iron bunk with n sickening sound nnd he crumpled up nnd fell on tho deck, tho blood pouring from tho cut In his head. I felt sick nnd faint thluklug thnt ho hnd been killed, but It would not do to show these signs of weakness on my pnrt, so without oven nlovlng to-ward to-ward him I ordered ono of tho men to look him over nnd seo if ho wns nil right. Ho soon enmo around. From thnt tlmo on he was tho most faithful mnn In tho section nnd greatly respected respect-ed me. Tho rest of tho men growled nnd mumbled nnd I thought I wus in for a terrible bcntlng. Lying closo nt hnnd wns nn iron splko nbout eighteen Inches long. Grasping this, I turned to tho rest, trying to bo ns tough ai 1 possibly could: "If nny of tho rest of you bums think they nro boss nround hero, stnrt something, and I will sink this Into his bend." Although 1 wns quailing underneath, btlll I got nwny with It, nnd from that tlmo on I was boss of my section. Now "every mnn wns smoking or chewing tobneco. Pretty soon tho hold became thick with smoke, nnd I was gasping for breath, when tho volcp of tho foreman cumo down tho compnn-lonwhy:. compnn-lonwhy:. "Turn out on deck nnd glvo a hnnd londlng tho horses. Look ullvo or I'll como down there nnd rouso you out pretty quick." I hnvo been in n cnvnlry regiment when hurry-up orders wcro received to entrain for tho Mexican border nnd helped to lond eleven hundred horses, on trains. Tho confusion on that dock wan Indescribable, Xho horses were loaded by threo runways. My gnng nnd I were detailed on tho nftcr runway. run-way. Tho foreman wns leaning over the rail, glaring down upon us and now nnd then giving Instructions mixed with horrlblo oaths. Ho had u hugo mnrllnsplko In his hnnd. On tho dock wns tho second forcmnn, In his largo sombrero, n red neckerchief nround his neck, wearing a bluo shirt with tho sleeves rolled up to tho elbows, and In his right bund a colled lariat. It illi.' one's heart good to seo him ropo tho horses which broko looso. Upon notching his llrst performance I know I was correct when I figured him as having Mexican blood In his veins. A bleary-eyed drunk wob tryingto lead a horso by tho halter up our ru&jj He wns looking back at tho horsJy'nT tho saino tlmo tugging and Jerking- on tho halter. You could seo tho ujilto In tho horse's eyes, nnd I knew right nwny, from my cxperlcnco with horses, thnt this was a bad ono, or, an wo would term him In tho cavalry, an "outlnw." Tho drunk wns cursln? nnd swearing nnd kicking up nt tho horse's head. Tho foreman saw this nnd directed di-rected his bnrrngo nt tho offender. "How In It 1 do you expect, to lend n horso whllo looking nt hi in? Turn your bnck to him, you lousy bum. You nro blocking tho whole run. Turn your bnck to him, I sny. Yon enn't lead him thnt way. If I coino down there to you, I'll soon show you how to get him nbonrd." , Tho lilcnry-ej'cd.ona beenmo bewildered bewil-dered nnd In his excitement lost his footing on tho slippery runway and fell underneath tho horse, at tho same tlmo loosening his hold on tho halter chain. Tho horso Jerked his head loose, reared up, turned nround nnd mndo a break for tho deck. The mnn on tho gangway tried to scrnmblo out of tho wny. Tlia horso, In wheeling, let fly with both heels and caught him below tho right ear with his nenr hind foot. Willi n piercing shriek the drunk clnspcd both Swung on. His Jaw With My Flit. hands to his head, fell over backward nnd rolled down to tho foot of tho gangplank, gang-plank, nnd lay there In n crumpled heap, tho blood pouring from his nose, mouth nnd tho wound below his ear. Upon hearing this shriek several of tho men lending their horses, In their fright turned them loose, nnd there wns n mad stnmpedo on tho deck. Tho pasty-faced horseman, whom I hnd helped out n llttlo whllo before In tho nrgument about his bunk wns standing near tho runway, nohllng on to n horso. Ho turned his horso looso nnd rushed to tho bloody mass, which was twitching with convulsive shudders. shud-ders. Tho forcmnn, on seeing this accident, ac-cident, snapped out n long string of curses, which almost frozo my heart. "What did I tell you? Didn't I tell you not to look at him? I know you would get It, and a damned good Job, too ; blocking that run with your fool tricks." Then ho noticed tho pnsty-faccd horseman stooping over Iho bleeding -man. "Get 'lm by tho heels, you cross between be-tween n corpso and mummy, nnd drag him out of tho way. Wo'vc bloody well got (o get this ship loaded to catch tho tide." Tho pale-faced ninn kept on with his examination without pnylng nny attention atten-tion to tho forcmnn's Instructions. Tho foremnn got bluo In tho fnco nnd bubbled bub-bled over with rngo. "Do you hear what I tell -you? Get Mm out of the way. This ship has got io be loaded or I'll go down there nnd pound some obedlcnco Into you." Tho mnn still paid no attention. Tho foremnn was speechless. In n few seconds sec-onds tho stooping mnn straightened up, and looking tho foreman straight In tho eye, calmly replied: "Ho'b dead." This did not seem to fenso tho foreman fore-man In tho lenst and ho bellowed out: "How do you know ho Is dend?" Tho ninn nnswered simply: "I'm n doctor." Then tho forcmnn once ngnln exploded: explod-ed: "A doctor I Blnwst my deadlights, a doctor I Well, If you're n doctor, whnt In h I nro ycif doing on n horse ship? You ought to bo rolling pllls-for pllls-for tho highbrows." Tho doctor never took his piercing look from tlio cyo of thO foreman. Tho foremnn wos now llko nn cprngod bull. Spitting nil over himself, lio blustered out: "Woll If he's dend, there Is no doctor thnt enn do blm nny good. A couple o' you blnck skunks over there (nddresslng two negroes who wcro nl-most nl-most blnnchcd to n bluish whlto and who wcro trembling nenr by), get ahold of him nnd drag Mm out of tho way." Ono of tho negroes, with n leecrlng grin, replied: "I shipped on this hero ship to hnndlo bosses, nnd I don't allow nohow thnt It's my work to tote corpses around," Just then tho second forcmnn rushed over, gnvc tho negro a push out, of tho wny, nnd, grabbing tho heels of the dend mnn, pulled him nwny from, tho run. I turned nwny, sickened with dlgU8t, Tho forcmnn then took nn empty ont sack nnd spread It over tho bloody head. Just then tho clanging bell of nn am-bulnnco am-bulnnco wns heard and n white-clothed doctor, followed by two men with n stretcher, pushed their wny through the crowd of horses nnd horsemen. They wcro nccompnnlcd by a police-mnn. police-mnn. Tho body wns put Into tho am-humnco am-humnco nnd taken nwny, whllo tho po-llce-ofllcer went on bonrd tho ship. Tho pnsty-fncod doctor was holding onto tho rnll of tho runway nnd coughing. cough-ing. I thought ench gasp would bo his InBt. Tho second foreman wns talking to him. Tho doctor pnld no attention. ohigjup behind tho doctor, tho forc-Tlian forc-Tlian coolly measured his distance nnd swung on tho point of his Jaw. Tho doctor crumpled up nnd fell on tho dock. At this cownrdly and dastard-ly dastard-ly act, I saw red and mndo a lenp at tho foremnn. An onrushlng light flashed In front of mo nnd n hugo locomotive, lo-comotive, going CO miles nn hour, hit mo between tho eyes; then blackness. When I enmo to, I was lying In my bunk in the hold. I hnd an awful hemlachc. Then everything onmo back to mo with n flush. I could henr the gurgling of water on tho ship's side nnd know wo wcro under way. Bight then nnd thcro I decided never ngnln, especially whllo nboard ship, to Interfcro with tho foreman. Among that gang of human wrecks nnd cutthroats cut-throats it wns ovcry man for himself, nnd thO survival of tho fittest. I hnd two beautiful blnck eyes, and my noso felt llko u football. I went up on deck. Tho moon nnd stars wcro out nnd tho twinkling lights of Now York hnrbor wcro gradually fading Into tho dlstnnco. Lcnnlng over tho rail wero tho foremnn mid tho veterinarian, "Doc" Casey, by name. Tho forcmnn wns tnlklng. Snntches of his conversation renchod my ears: "Lond horses? Why, thnt bunch of Fcum they wished on mo couldn't lond lump sugar, ono lump at n time. How Drown expects mo to deliver 1,300 j horses Into Uordeatix with this scurvy outfit, I don't know. Wo'ro lucky, I'm thlnklu'. If flvo hundred o' them don't dlef Why, . there's not ono o' tho blighters knows which end of a horso wits buy. I tell you, Doc. your work Is cut out for you. If, In n fow dnys, you don't hnvo a couplo of hundred cnxes of colic on your hands, then I'm n bloomln llnr." "Doc," Casey answered: "Well, I'll tell you, Mr. Goorty, this Is mj third trip over and I have seen omo tough bunches, but this ono Is Iho limit, and I sure liiivo n Job on my hands. It's too bad that IMncro let out on that young fellow, because, In my mind, that was u pretty cowardly blow, lie Bcenied to know how to hnndlo horses. What do. you say If I glvo blm the Job of assistant vcterlnnrlan? no's had si years' cavalrx experience." Tho foreman answered: "Throw, him over tho side, if you vywt I don't care. But I guess you'll need soiueono to help you out, so go to It." I was overjoyed. Just then IMncro enmo nft. Tho horso doctor turned to liim nnd snld: "Look here, IMncro, I've seen lota of dirty work In my llfo, but thnt exhibition of yours on tho dock is about tho filthiest l'vo seen In u long tlmo. Now, Just tnko n tip from mo. Thnt young fellow from now oh"ls working .for mo, nnd you lay your hnnds off of him. If I find you meddling med-dling with him, I'll push that silly grin of yours down your throat until it chokes you. Now, that's nil I got to say, lay oft .of him. Do you under-stand?" under-stand?" IMnero started to mumblo excuses, bu tUo doctor shut Mm up with, "I don't want to henr nny moro. I'm oft o' you for life, but remember what I tell you. Steer clear from tho two o' us, 8abo?" I guess tho second foreman "snblcd nil right, becauso ho vouchsafed no answer. My heart wormed to "Doc" Cusey and I slipped nwny unobserved. Tho next morning tho doctor fixed mo up with court plaster nnd I was installed ns nsslstnnt veterinarian nt ?30 for tho trip. Flvo dnys out wo ran Into n squall nnd our work wns cut out for us. Wo even had horses on tho decks In wooden stalls. Tho ship was lurching und pitching, nnd hugo sens would burst over tho gunwnlcs. i Several of tho wooden Btnlls gnvo wny and tUo hqrscs wcro looso on tho deck. With ccry lurch of tho ship n couple of horses would fall, and, kicking nnd snorting, would slide down tho Inclined deck, hitting ngalnst winches nnd tho batchwuy, scraping their hldcs-off. It wns worth n man's llfo to get Into that mess. Then I had moro or less respect for tho forcmnn nnd second foreman. Into tho midst of that struggling and Staggered to the Upper Deck With Hit Face Blanched Almost White. kicking bunch of horses they went, assisted as-sisted by Doc Casey. Four of tho horses received broken legs, nnd Pin-cro, Pin-cro, instead of shooting them, cut their throats with a sharp dagger he carried. Ono of the negroes from tho lower hold staggered to the upper deck with his faco blanched almost white, nnd his eyes popping ont of his head. Between Be-tween gasps ho Informed us that a whole section of stalls, 21 In all, had been carried away between decks, and thnt tho horses wero loose. Ho snld threo negroes in his gang wcro caught In this stampede. Tho foreman mustered most of tho men, nnd dividing them Into threo groups, in chnrgo of himself, tho second sec-ond forcmnn nnd Doc Casey, they went below. I followed. An awful sight met my eyes. Tho ship was lurching In a horrible manner. All I could seo wns, ono mlnuto n pllo of kicking horses, smashed-up plnnks nnd tho threo negroes ne-groes piled up In ono corner of tho compartment, nnd then, with n lurch of tho ship, they would slldo Into tho other. Nothing could bo dono by us. It wns mndness to nttcmpt anything. Tho threo negroes wero dead. Thnt night and the following dny was a perfect hell on tho ship for men nnd horses. Tho ship rode through tho squall, and when It beenmo cnlra wo nil got busy. Out of tho 21 horses between decks wo hnd to shoot 17 on account of Injuries. Besides tho 17 3 hnd died from broken necks. Tho 1 remaining horses wcro still ollvo hut hardly had a square foot of hide left. 'They wcro a pitiful sight. Tho next day tho three negroes wero burled nt sea without a word of prayer. I wns henrtlly sick and disgusted with tho rest of tho trip, because tho stench wns nwful, thcro being nbout twelve dend horses that wo could not get out. Just outside of tho cntrnnco of the river leading to Bordenux, u small, rakish ,bont, flying tho trl-color of France, camo alongside. Wo hovo to nnd up tho gangplank camo threo French officers. Thoy wcro closeted with tho captain of tho ship and our foreman, nnd after nbout twenty minutes, min-utes, left and wo continued on our course. " Going up tho river in somo places tho banks were only nbout twenty feet nwny. Wo could seo tho French women tilling their fields. As wo went by theso workers stopped and waved their hands In tho air to us, and wo waved back. It was my first Bight of France, nnd I was not In nny way disappointed. It lived up to ray expectations. expec-tations. A llttlo farther up tho river wo camo to n largo dock whero ships wero londlng lond-lng and unloading cargoes, nnd n thrll pnssed through mo ns I saw my first batch of German prisoners nt work. Theso vcro Immenso fellows, nearly every ono being six feet or over, Thoy wero gunrded by llttlo French soldiers, averaging nbout flvo feet flvo Inches, with a long rifle, bayonet fixed. This rifle, In comparison with tho Frenchman, French-man, looked llko n telegraph pole, Tho soldiers had on the old bluo overcoats, tho tails buttoned back, pattern of 1871. As wo passed tho German prisoners they scowled nt ns, nnd we. feeling quite snf'o on the deck, yelled hack Insults In-sults at them. Ono big Irishman; right near me, took great gleo In Jumping Jump-ing up and down on tho hatchway and running his finger across his throat. This seemed to enrago tho prisoners and thoy yelled something In German. Tho Irlshmnn must hnvo understood it, becnuso ho let out n volloy of curtfeS in return. Tho French sentries seemed seem-ed to enjoy this barrngo of Insults and did not In nny way attempt to curtail tho prisoners remarks. This, nt tho time, struck mo as depicting a remarkable remark-able sonso of fairness, njid later on, during my scrvlco on tho western front, I found out that tho Frenchman French-man in nil his dealings is fair nnd Just Pretty soon tho pris ided out of sight nnd wo came Ido tho dock at Bordeaux. I wn rncss nnd strained my eyes so a jt to miss tho lenst thing. Tho dock was -full of French cnvnlrymcn, hurrying to nnd fro. Hugo Turcos, blnck as tho nco of spades, with whlto turbans on their, heads, wcro majestically striding strid-ing about j After wo warped Into tho dock nnd mndo fast, our work was over. Wo hnd nothing to do with tho unlondlng. of tho horses. Tho French cnvnlrymcn camo aboard with a bunch of cnvnlry hnltcrs hanging over their nrms. It . wns a mnrvcl to seo with whnt caso nnd efficiency thnt ship wns unlond-ed. unlond-ed. Tho condition of tho horses wns pitiful. They could hnrdly bend their legs from stiffness. They would hob- . bio down tho gnngplnnk nnd stand trembling on tho dock. In nbout a mlnuto or so they would stretch their necks way up into the air nnd seem to bo tnklng long breaths of tho pure nlr. Then they started to whinny. They wero calling backward nnd for-wnrd for-wnrd to each other. Even though I did not understand horso language, I know exactly what they Vvcro saying. They wero thanking tho good Lord for their deliverance -from thnt hell ship, nnd wcro looking forward to green pastures and a good roll In tho dirt. Pretty soon you could seo thorn bend their forelegs nnd Ho down on tho dock; then try to roll over. It wns pitiful; somo of them did not hnvo tlfo strength to turn over and they feebly kicked. Pretty soon tho wholo dock wns a mass of .rolling horses, tho Frenchmen Jumping around, gesticulating and Jabbering. After getting' tho" horses up, tHey were divided into classes according to their height nnd weight Then ench horso was led into a ring chalked out on tho dock nnd tho array Inspectors cxnmlncd It Very few wero rejected. reject-ed. From this ring of chntk they wcro led into a portable stall and branded. You could hear tho singsong sing-song voice of tho brnndcr shouting out" what sounded llko "Bnttry Loo." As ho yelled this, a French private would come over, get !!? !nr. which hnd been branded,, and lead It away. I got In conversation with an Interpreter Inter-preter and ho informed mo that the average life of these horses In tho French array was threo days, so theso poor horses had only left that hell ship to go into n worse hell of bursting ? shells and cracking bullets. I, after passing a rigid' examination ns to ray nationality, and being issued a cattleman's passport. Inquired my way to tho prefecture- of police. I' dellvcrd to him a sealed enveiopo which I had received In Now York. Upon opening it ho wns very gracious to mo nnd I went into n rear room, Where tho Interpreter put mo through n grilling examination. From there, I was taken to a hotel, and tho next morning In tho company of a sergeant nnd a private, got Into a llttlo mntch-box mntch-box compartment on tho funniest looking look-ing train I over saw. Tho track seemed seem-ed to bo nbout threo feet wldo; tho wheels of tho cars looked llko hugo cogwheels on nn englno minus tho cogs. After bumping, stopping, and sometimes sliding backwards, , in 20 hours wo reached a llttlo town. Supplies Sup-plies wero plied up ns high ns houses. Officers ond enlisted men wcro hurrying to nnd fro, nnd I could sco long trains of supply wagons and nrtlllcry limbers nlways moving In tho snmo direction. I was ushered Into tho presence of n French officer, who, I later found out, was a brigadier general of thb.qunr-teimastcr thb.qunr-teimastcr corps. I could hear a distant dis-tant booming, and upon Inquiring found out that it was tho guns oi France, striving to hold back tho Ger man Invaders. I trembled nil over with excitement, nnd n feeling thnt I cannot descrlbo rushed over me. I wns listening to my first sound of tho guns on the western front. Two dnys nfterwnrd I ngnln reached Bordeaux, nnd shipped to Now York on tho French liner Bochnmbenux. Upon arriving In Now York I reported to tho Frenchman who had sent mo over, no was very courteous, nnd oa I reached out to shako hands with hlra, he placed both hands on my shoulders ami kissed me on tho right and left check. I was dumfounded, blushed nil over, nnd after receiving' tho pay that was duo me. I left I think I could have borne another I trip across with' horses, but that being kissed upon my return completely got I my goat. I I went back to tho routine of my I office, but everything had lost color and P appeared monotonous. I believe I had I left my heart la France, and I felt I mean and small, eating threo square meals a day and sleeping on a soft I bod, when tho armies on tho other sldo wcro making tho world's history. I Sometimes when sleeping I would I have n horrlblo nightmare; I could sco I thoso horses being boiled ullvo In I steam. H .Several times later I passed that I sign on Greenwich street, "Horses for H France, Men Wanted," and tho picture of tho second foreman, dropping tho H pasty-faced doctor would loom before H my eyes. I. do not 'know to this day H whnt beenmo of thnt nervy wreck of H humanity, who hnd tho temerity to tell H our foreman where ho got off nt I H know ho did not make tho pnssago with us, |