| Show e. e a H Hero erG of Y piles R as British Captain to Go to fo for Uncle Sam as s Private I I I War Honors Come F Fat Fait a t Enough on Fief el of oJ Battle Says A. A B. B C. C Weel By NIXOLA GRE GREELEY LEY SMITH NEW 1 YORK ORK N N. N Y J July ly 1 1 At 11 o'clock last Monday 1 night Alexander Al Al- B B. C. C Weel Ve of Brooklyn was a captain in the Royal Hoyal Highlanders of Canada on furlough In the United States because of a critical wound re received received received re- re in the second battle at Ypres At 1130 Captain Weel of the Black Watch Vatch as his regiment was more fa familiarly familiarly fa- fa known own had become plain Mr Weel Veel of Brooklyn At midnight he had been transformed into Private Weel of battery C Second field artillery now encamped at Van Cortlandt park lark The British officer had cabled his r signa- signa resignation tion and enlisted in the service service of his native land The tall well wen built bunt brown eyed young man whom I saw yesterday in Van Cortlandt park had been mentioned mentioned mentioned men men- in dispatches for bravery braver in the hard fought battle which many unfortunates unfortunates unfortunates still insist on pronouncing to rh rhyme me with snipers please dont don't do it it it is Ypres pray EE-pray and Private late Captain Weel says to call can it Wipers Wipers Wip WIpers ers is worse than anything that happened happened happened hap hap- In that four days' days fight Young Weal Weel eel won his captaincy by bravery inthe in inthe inthe the field as he enlisted in England as asa asa asa a private Friends told me I ought to apply appl for a commission here but what was the use he asked me mEl That would have meant delay and a fellow ge gets s promotion on the field fast enough if he earns It though it takes a million and three years in time of peace I resigned by cable Monday night You see Im I'm an American and I felt my myown myown myown own country has the first call can on my services And besides I have a little personal grudge to settle with Johnny Mex I was superintendent of a lumber lumber lumber lum lum- ber camp near Campeche when the European war started I was down there through all the Huerta-Car- Huerta anza- anza Zapata Villa Zapata mess Our camp was attacked attached by the bandits I ha have ye yeno no particular use for Mexicans l Mex Can Fight in His Own Way But let me tell ten you anybody is mistaken mistaken mis mistaken mis- mis taken who thinks the Mexican cant can't fight In his own way yay hes he's a bird of ofa ofa ofa a fighter Ill I'll venture to predict there wont won't be more than one pitched battle In this war The rest will be just running running running run run- ning away but the Mexican will fight as he runs Johnny Mex is what you j f might call calI a moving picture fighter He lie cant can't fight unless somebody is watchIng watching watch watch- ing him and thinking how brave he is Give him an audience and hell he'll be shot smiling with a a. cigarette in his his' mouth But put him where nobody can watch the fine performance he is giving giving ing and he crumples crumples up lies ties got courage just the same There are all kinds of courage you know v. I haven't any particular admiration admiration admiration for the sudden spectacular deeds that win the Legion of Honor the Military Mil Mil- Medal the Victoria Cross or even the Iron Cross When hen you think of the fellows who leave wives and children and comfortable cheerful happy homes and spend months in the trenches with vermin on on the outside outside outside out out- side and the most unsatisfactory sort of food inside you know what real courage Is And courage is not being unafraid If you are not afraid wh where re redoes does your courage come in Its It's being beng afraid and conquering your fear Its It's plunging right up an embankment nt with machine gun bullets and rifle bullets raining on you ou while all the time you'd oud give your soul to run away The first time Ume I was under fire I Th-io Th 7 yr fJ 1 7 1 NA o or r I I C Cs o s Y I II I n I ti Ii I 71 9 R g ct AI PRE P of the Black Watch Vatch were marching from to Lille about three I miles mlles Tortured by Fear of Fear As As we came to a railroad embankment embankment embankment embank embank- embank ment machine guns suns opened on us and rifle firel followed We stood still sUll not knowing enough to advance or to throw ourselves on our faces Then our men began to drop around us each with a queer little yell Well after you ou heard that sound you were mad clan clean through You lost all sensation sensation sensation sen sen- of of fear or ot doubt You just wanted to get at those fellows who were killing your comrades And I automatically you found yourself go going going go- go ing forward I I gO-I When you realized this you were were very happy For until a man is under I fire he is tortured by the fear that he may not stand up that hell he'll turn turnout turnout turnout I out yellow as the saying Is That's what all these young chaps out there are thinking about now I Private formerly Captain Weel Weal waved his hand toward the groups of I Ivery very young men in khaki who compose compose compose com com- pose battery C C. C Our interview took place In the tent of Capt Albert Hamilton Hamilton Ham Ham- ilton through the courtesy of that young officer Outside slim boys looking lookIng looking look- look Ing scarcely 18 years old did sentry duty Older men stood in groups I around the line of guns drawn up before be before before be- be fore the dun colored tents and answered answered answered an an- patiently smilingly the piping inquiries of curious school children children- What are you going to kill kin with that gun Mexicans gun Mexicans a prospect in which the youngsters youngsters' seemed to take a D. frank and sinister delight Better Than the Movies Crowds of men and und women watched the warlike warlike preparations with untiring untiring untiring ing inter interest st st. Here was something better better better bet bet- ter than the movies and to be seen for nothing No wonder the crowd was with Jong long dit distance pe valor And I felt that there must Ii be be e something lacking lacking lack lack- ing In me because I couldn't throb with them But the boys In their new khaki khaki khaki kha kha- ki were such fine such very young fellows and they had been soldiers such a little time that they still looked more like sons and brothers and sweethearts than like to heroes-to-be Looking at them realizing that some woman had braved death for every everyone one of them I thought how strange it Is that because we were too moral to recognize a murderer as president of Mexico all these thousands of men have hav to go out and become murderers or the victims of murderers I asked Private Weel Veel what he thought about it Im in the service of the govern govern- Brooklyn Man Wins Rank in Europe by Brave Bravery Against Germans ment now he answered but I wish you ou had put that inquiry to me last week when I was only assistant editor of Brooklyn Life I am running a serial of my war adventures in Brooklyn Lift Life Life you yot know I call caU it Fighting With Fighting With the toe Royal Highlanders in Flanders I I came back home on leave as the result of a severe abdominal wound re received received received re- re on the fourth day of the battle of Ypres Ypres the the second battle from April 21 to 25 1915 The Germans used gas for the first time Ume on the western front in that battle though they had gassed gasse-d the Russians before that We Ve were holding the extreme left of the British line and we had haq the TurcOs to tho the left of us Suddenly great dark clark clouds began rolling toward us Before fore they were upon us I recognized the smell of chlorine chlorine chlorine chlo chlo- rine for I have done laboratory work I called out Chlorine and gave my men the order to wet their handkerchiefs handkerchiefs handkerchiefs chiefs and put them over their faces That saved a lot of us With a gas attack you must do one of two things retreat instantly beyond be beyond beyond be- be yond the zone or plunge through It And we were so mad that we took four lines of German trenches The he gas made all of us so furious that for four days of us held the woods against Germans At the end of the battle my company company company com com- pany pany had one fifty-one effectives left of 1287 men The Turcos went to pieces under the gas The poor blacks thought it was some sort of magic and brave as lions Hons in a bayonet charge or a hand- hand to-hand to fight they broke and ran of Ypres and the British cavalry had They ran all the way to the village to club them back with their sabres But they are brave fellows brave as any when they are arc fighting something they understand It was after we had plunged through the gas that I 1 got my wound |
