THE SEMI WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
9
Human nature becomes brutalized
by conflict but the men in the
trenches, both friend and enemy,
have their fun and comradeship
and kindliness
Alt has outwardly lost Its ro
mance with Its color and pag
eantry. It In bloody, ugly and
horrible. Yet romance Is not
dead. It Htlll survives, radiant
and glowing, In t lie; heroic
achievements of our soldiers)
and In (lit tPiider fancies of
ilii'lr lienrtn." Thus writes
Stephen Staplton, an English
man, In (lie Contemporary Re
view. And he sets forth with
vividness Nome manifestations
of this romance little twilight pictures, guntle
(ouchoH of nn otherwise ghastly existence:
In the trenches one evening a battalion of the
"Lolnstor regiment held n "knlloo," or Irish sing
song, at which there was n spirited rendering of
Hie humorous old ballad, "Brian O'Lynn," sung
lo nn Infectiously rollicking tune. The opening
verse runs:
"Brian O'Lynn had no Jireochos to wear,
So ho bought a sheepskin to make him a pair.
With the woolly side out and thu skinny side In,
Fnlx, 'tis pleasant and cool, ways Hrlan O'Lynn."
'I'ho swing of the, tune took the fancy of the
Germans In their trenches, less than BO yards
nway. With a "rumty-tiini.tumty-tuni.tumty-tum-turn,"
they loudly hummed the nlr of the end of
each verse, all unknowing that tho Lelnstors, sing
ing at tho top of their voices, gave the words u
topical application :
'"With tho woolly side out and the skinny side in,
Sure we'll wullop, the (Jerrys,' said Hrlan O'Lynn."
Hearty bursts of laughter and cheers arose
from both trenches at tho conclusion of the song.
It seemed as If tho combatants gladly availed
themselves of this chance opportunity of becom
Ing united again In the common brotherhood of
man, even for hut a Meeting moment, by tho
spirit of good humor and hilarity.
A young English olllcer of a different battalion
of tho same Lolnster regiment tells of a moro
curious Incident still, which likewise led to a brief
cessation of hostilities. Two privates In his com
pany hnd n quarrel. In the trenches, and nothing
would do them but to light it out on No Man's
Land. Tho Germans were most appreciative and
accommodating. Not only did they not molest
tho pugilists, but they cheered them, and actually
Ired tho contents of their rides In the air by way
of a salute. The European war was, In fact, sus
pended In that particular section of tho Hues
while two Irishmen settled, their own little dif
ferences by a contest of fists.
"Who will now say the Germans are not sports
mon?" was tho comment of tho young English
olllcer.
Thoro Is, howover, another, and perhaps n
Khrowdor view of tho episode. It wus taken by n
Horgeant of the company.
"Ycrrn, come down out of that, ye pair of born
fools," ho called out to tho lighters. "If yo had
only a glimmer of sense, ye'd see, so yo would,
that 'h playing the Gerrys' game ye are. Sure,
there's nothing they'd llko bettor than to see us
nil knocking blazes out of each other."
Hut as regards tho moral pointed by tho officer
thoro must bo, of conrso, many "sportsmen"
among tho millions of German soldiers; though
tho opinion widely prevailing In tho British army
Is that they uro often treacherous lighters. In
deed, to their dirty practices is mainly to bo ns
Hcrlbed tho bitter personal animosity that occa
sionally marks tho relations between tho com
batants when the lighting becomes 'most bloody
and desperate, andas happens at times In all
wars no quarter is glvon to those who allow
none.
An Interchange of Christmas Presents.
Amenities between combatants are very ancient.
Tho Greeks and Trojans used to exchange pres
ents nnd courtesies in tho Intorvtils of fighting,
nnd tho early stages of this war seemed to af
ford i) promise that they would bo revived. The
fraternizing of tho British and Germans at their
first Christmas under arms, in 1911, will, perhaps,
always lie accounted au tho most curious episode
of the war.
fVlho Jnllueneo of the gregt Christian festival led
toTI 'suspension of hostilities along the lines, anil
tho men on each side seized the opportunity to
natlsfy their natural curiosity to seo something
moro of each other than through thu smoke of
Imttlo with deadly weapons In their hnnds and
hatred In their oyes, En eh side hail tnken pris
oners; hut prlsonors nro "out of it," nnd there
fore reduced to the level of noncomhntants, Tho
foemun in being appears In a very different light.
Ho has tho power to strike. You may have to
hill him, or you may be killed by him. So tho
lirltlsh and tho Germans, impelled In the main
by a common feeling of inqulsltlvcness, met to
gether between tho lines on No Mnn'n Land, Thoro
was some nmlcable conversation whore they could
innko theniBclvos understood to oach othor, which
happened when a German whs found who could
Hpouk a little English. Cigarettes and tunic but
tons woro freely exchanged. Hut, for the most
purt. British and Germans stood with arms folded
across their breasts and stnred at oach othor with
a kind of dread fascination.
It never happened again. Now could It pos
sibly ho repeated 1
Tho Introduction Into tho contllct by tho Ger
mans In high command of tho barbaric oloments
of "frlghtfulncss," hitherto confined to savage
tribes at war; their use of such devilish inventions
ns poison gas and liquid tiro; tlioir belief only In
hruto strength and, ns regards tho common Ger
man soldiers, tho native lowness of morality
shown by so many of them; tholr apparent In
Kensltlveness to ordinary humano Instincts, In
ovltably tended- to harden nnd embitter their ad
versaries against them. Even so, lirltlsh feeling
is extraordinarily devoid of vlndlctlvenoss.
The Geminiis, in tho mass, nro regarded as hav
ing boon dehumanized and transformed Into n
process of ruthless destruction. In any case, they
are tho enemy. As such, thoro is a satisfaction
nny, a posltlvo delight In sweeping them out of
existence. That Is wur. Hut against tho Gorman
noldler Individually It may bo said thut, on tho
whole, there Is no rancor.
METHODS OF DRYING
Three Ways Applicable in Making
Dried Products.
SHRED OR CUT INTO SLICES
When Artificial Heat Is to Be Used,
Freshly Cut Fruits and Vegeta
bles Should Be Exposed First
to Gentle Heat.
(From FA HM KHS' BULLETIN Sll, United
H tut oh Department or Agriculture.)
Three main ways of drying are ap
plicable In the home manufacture of
dried fruits and vegetables, namely,
sun drying, drying by artificial heat,
and drying by air blast. Those, of
course, may bo combined. In general,
most fruits or vegetables, to be dried
quickly, must first be shredded or cut
Into slices, because many are too large I
to dry quickly or are covered with a
skin, the purpose of which Is to pre
vent drying out. When freshly cut
fruits or vegetables are to bo dried by
means of artificial heat, they should
be exposed first to gentle heat anil
later to the higher temperatures. If
the air applied at the outset is of too
high a temperature, the cut surfaces
of the sliced fruits or vegetables be
come hard, or scorched, covering the
Juicy Interior so that It will not dry
out. Generally it Is not desirable that
the nlr temperature In drying should
go above 140 degrees to 150 degrees
Fahrenheit, and it Is better to keep It
well below this point. Insects nnd in
sect eggs are killed by exposure to
heat of this temperature.
Degree of Heat
It is important to know the degree
of heat In tho drier, nnd this cannot
bo determined very accurately except
by using a thermometer. Inexpensive
oven thermometers can be found on
tho mnrket, or an ordinary chemical
must be dried uniformly through ami
through.
It will bo found advisable also to
"condition" practically all dried vege
tables and fruits. This is best donu
in a small way by placing the mate
rial In boxes and pouring It from one
box into nnother once n day for three
or four days, so us to mix it thor
oughly and glvo to the whole mass an
oven degree of moisture. If the mate
rial Is found to bo too moist, it should
bo returned to the drying truys for a
short drying.
Directions for Drying.
Many of the products for which ill-,
rectlons nro given hero may be dried
either with or without preliminary
blanching. In such cases both meth
ods are described. Alternative meth
ods are designated by letters.
Sweet Corn.
Only very young and tender corn
should be used for drying, and It
should bo prepared at once after gath
ering. (a) Cook In boiling water two to
five minutes, long chough to set tho
milk. Cut the kernels from Hie cob
In fact, British soldiers have n curiously de
tached and generous way of regarding their coun
try's eneihles. When tho German soldier Is
taken prisoner or picked up wounded the lirltlsh
soldier Is disposed, as a hundred thousand in
stances show, to treat him as n "pal." to divide'
his food and sharo his cigarettes with him as lie
passes to the base. .
In tho gladiatorial fights for the entertainment
of the people In ancient Homo tlio dofented com
batant was expected to expose his throat to tho
sword of the victor, nnd any shrinking on bis
part caused the arena to ring with tho angry
shouts of the thousands of spectators, "Receive
tho steel 1" Hy all accounts, tho Germans have a
dislike of the bayonet. They might well be para
lyzed, Indeed, at the affrighting spectacle of that
thin line of cold steel wielded by a furious Irish
man ; hut If tho bayonet were In the hands of a
soldier of any of the other lirltlsh nationalities
his cry to, the German that recoiled from Its
thrust would probably bo "Receive the steel 1" ex
pressed In the rudest nnd roughest native Idiom.
The way of the Irish at Glnchy wns different;
and perhaps tho trenunclatlon of their revenge
was not the least magnificent act of a glorious
day.
"if we brained them on tho spot who could
blame us? 'Tls ourselves thnt would think It no
sin If It was dono by anyone else," said a private
of tho Dublin Fusiliers. "Lot me tell you," ho
went on, "what happened to myself. As I raced
across tho open with my comrades, Jumping In
and out of shell holes, and the bullets flying thick
around us, lnylng many a lino 'boy low, I said to
myself: 'This Is going to be a fight to the last
gasp for those of us that get to the Germans.'
"As I cnino near the trenches I picked a man
out for myself. Straight In front of me he was,
leaning out of the trench, and he with a rllle fir
ing away at us as If we were rabbits.
"I made for him with my bayonet ready, de
termined to glvo him what ho deserved, when
what do you think? didn't he notice me and
what I was up to I Dropping his rllle, he raised
himself up In tho trench and stretched out his
hands toward me. What could you do In that
case but what 1 did? Sure, you wouldn't have .the
heart to strike him down, even If ho wero to kill
you.
"I caught sight of his eyes, nnd there was such
a frightened and pleading look In them that I
at once lowered my rllle and took him by tho
hand, saying, 'You're my prisoner!'
"I don't suppose he understood a word of what
I Haiti ; but ho clung to me, crying, 'Knmerad!
Kamcrndl' I was more glad than evor""tluit I
hadn't tho blood of him on my soul. 'Tis a queer
thing to say, maybe, of a man who acted llko
that; but, all the same, ho looked a decent boy,
every bit of hhu.
"I suppose tho truth of It Is this; We soldiers
on both sides have to go through such terrible
experiences that there is no accounting for how
' wo may behave. Wo might bo devils all out In
the morning and snlnts no less In tho evening."
Trench Repartee and Trench Favorites.
Tho relations between tho trenches Include
even attempts at an exchange of repnrtee. Tho
wit, as may bo supposed, In such circumstances
Is Invariably ironic and sarcastic. My examples
nro Irish, for the reason that I hnve had most to
do with Irish soldiers, but they may bo taken uh
fitlrly representative of tho taunts and plonsan
trios which nro often bandied across No Man's
Land.
Tho Germans, holding part of tholr line In liel
glum, got to know that the lirltlsh trenches oppo
site thorn woro being held by an Irish battalion.
"Hello, Irish 1" they cried. "How is King Carson
getting on, Hnd have you got homo rule yet?"
The company sergeant major, n- big Tlpperary
man, was selected to innko tho proper reply, and
In order that it might bo 'ally effective ho sent It
through a niegaphopo which the colonel was no
customed to use In addressing tho battalion on
parade. "Hello, Gerry 1" be called out. "I'm
thinking It Isn't Information yo want, but dlvur
shlon; but 'tis informatloD I'll bo aftor giving ye,
all tffo same. Later on we'll bo sondlng yo some
fun that'll mnko ye laugh at the other sldo of yor
mouths. The hist we heard of Carson he was
prodding the government like the very devil to
put venom Into their blows at ye, and more power
to his elbow while lie's nt that work, say we.
As for homo rule, we menn to have It, and we'll
got It. please God. when ye're licked I Put that
in yor pipes and smoke It I
The two nnmes for the Germans In use among
the Irish troops are "Gerrys" and (a corruption of
tho French "Allenmnd" for German) "Alloymans."
Hrief informal truces are not Infrequently come
to between tho opposing forces at particular sec-
tldns of tho lines, so that one or other, or both,
may bring Su, after u raid, their wounded and
their slain. One of the most uplifting stories I
have heard U'ns told me by a captain of tho Royal
Irish Fusiliers.
Out there In front of the trench held by his
company lay n figure In khnki writhing In pain and
walling for help. "Will no one come to mo?" he
cried. In a voice broken with anguish. He had
been disabled In the course of a raid on the Ger
man trenches made the night before by it battalion
which was relieved In tho morning.
These appeals of his wero like stabs to tho com
passionate hearts of the Irish Fusiliers. Several
of them toltl tho captain they could stand It no
lonucr anil must co out to the wounded ninn. If
they were shot In the attempt, what mntterl
It happened that a llttlo dog wns then mnklng
himself quite at homo In ooth the lirltlsh nnd
German trenches at this part of the line. He was
a neutral ; he took no sides ; he regularly crossed
from one to the other and found In both friends
to give him food anil a kind word with a pu on
the head. The happy thought came to the cap
tain to make a messenger of tho dog. So he
wrote: "May we take our wounded man In?" tied
the note to the dog's tail, and sent him to the
German trenches. The message wnrt In English,
for the captain did not know German, and had to
trust to tho chance of tho enemy being able to
read it.
In a short time the dog returned with tho an
swer. It was In English, nnd It ran: "Yes; you
can have five minutes." So the captain nnd a
man went out with a stretcher and brought the
poor fellow back to our lines.
Then, standing on tho top of the parapet, the
captain took ott his hat and cnlled out : "Give the
Germans three Hearty cheers, noys." une re
sponse was most enthusiastic. With the cheers
were mingled such cries as :"Suro, the Gerrys
are not all bad chaps, after all," and "May tho
heavens be the bed of those of them we may
kill." Moro than that, the Incident brought tenrs
to many a man's eyes on the Irish side; and, It
may be, on the German side, too. Certainly, an
swering cheers ciiuie from their trenches.
I have had from a French officer, who was
wounded in a cavalry chargo early In the war, an
account of n pathetic incident which took plncc
close to whore he lay. Among his companions In
allllctlon wero two who were far gone on the way
of death. One wns a private In the Uhlans and
the other a private in tho Royal Irish Dragoons.
The Irishman got. with a painful effort, from nn
inside pocket of his tunic a rosary of beads which
had a crucifix attached to It. Then he commenced
to mutter to himself the Invocations to the Blessed
Virgin, of which the rosary 13 composed.
"Hall Mary, full of grace, tho Lord Is with
thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed
Is the fruit of thy womb. Jesus."
The German, lying huddled closo by, stirred
with the uneasy movements of a man wenk from
pain nnd loss of blood on hearing tho murmur of
prayer, and, looking round In l dazi.nl condition,
the sight of the beads In the hands of his fellow
In distress seemed to recall to his mind other
times and different circumstances family prayers
at home somewhere In Bavaria, and Sunday eve
ning devotions in church for ho mnde, In hlu
own tongue, the responso to tho Invocation; "Holy
Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now at
tho hour o our tlenth. Amen."
So thfi voices Intermingled In nddress and
prayer tho wrapt ejaculations of tho Irishman,
tho deep guttural or tho uormnn getting weak
er and weaker, In the process of dissolution, until
they wero hushed on earth forever more.
These Potato Strings Have Been
Cooked, Passed Through Meat
Grinder Used In Ordinary Homes.
thermometer can be suspended In the
drier. If a thermometer Is not used,
the greatest care should be given to
the regulation of the heat. The tem
perature in the drier rises rather
quickly nnd the product may scorch
unless closo attention is given. The
reason sun drying is populnrly be
lieved to give fruits and vegetables
li sweeter flavor lies probably in the
fact thnt In the sun they never are
scorched, whereas In the oven or over
a stove scorching Is likely to occur
unless careful attention Is given them
Drying of, certain products can be
completed In some driers within two
or three hours. Tho time required for
drying vegetables varies. However, It
can bo determined easily by a llttlo
experience on the part of the person
doing the drying. The nmterlnl should
be stirred or turned several times dur
ing tho drying in order to secure a
uniform product.
The ability to judge accurately ns
to when fruit has reached the proper
condition for removal from drier can
lie gained only by experience. When
sufilclently dried it should be so dry t
that it is impossible to press water ,
out of the freshly cut ends of the i
pieces, and will not show any of the
natural grain of the fruit on being
broken, and yet not so dry that It will
snap or crackle. It should be leathery
and pliable.
Evaporation of Moisture.
When freshly cut fruits or vege
tables nro spread out they Immediate
ly begin to evaporato moisture Into
the nlr around them, and If in n closed
Dried Green Peas.
with n sharp knife, taking care not to
cut off pieces of tho cob. Spread thin
ly on trays, and place In position to
dry. Stir occasionally until dry.
(b) Boll or steum on the cob eight
to ten minutes to set the milk. To
improve flavor a teaspoonful of salt
to a gallon of water may be used.
Drain well and cut corn from cob,
using n very sharp and flexible knife.
Cut grains fine, only half way down
to the col), ami scrape out the re
mainder of grain, being careful not to
scrape oft nny of tho chaff next to the
cob. Dry from three to four hours at
110 degrees to 145 degrees Fahren
heit. When field corn is used, good,
plump roasting-enr stage is the proper
degree of ripeness. A pound of dried
corn per dozen ears is an average
yield.
(c) The corn may bedrlcd in tho
sun. Dry in oven ten to fifteen min
utes, and finish drying in the sun. Sun
drying, of course, is not satisfactory
in moist weather.
Pa.k In cartons or boxes for u few
days to "condition."
Lima Beans.
Lima beans can be shelled from the
pod and dried. If gathered before ma
turity when young nnd tender, wash
and blanch from five to ten minutes.
Length of time for blanching depends
upon size nnd maturity of beans. Ite-
"V. .. j,!fs
Dried Snap Beans Which Were Sliced
Before Drying.
box will very soon saturate the air
with moisture. This will slow down
the rate of drying and lead to tho
fornintlon of molds. If n current of
dry air Is blown over them continual
ly, the water in them will evaporate
steadily until they nro dry nnd crisp.
Certain products, especially raspber
ries, should not bo dried hard, because
if too much moisture Is removed from
them they will not resume tholr orig
inal form when soaked in water. On
tho other hand, tho material must bo
dried sufficiently or It will not keep,
but will mold. Too great stress can
not be laid upon this point. This does
not moan that the product must be
baked or scorched, but simply that It
Sliced Beets In Tray, Ready for Drying.
move surface moisture nnd dry from
three to three and one-half hours at
same temperature as string beans.
Peppers.
(a) Peppers may be dried by split
ting on one side, removing seed, dry
ing In the nlr, and finishing the dry
ing In thu drier at 140 degrees Fnhren
belt. A moro satisfactory method Is
to place peppers in biscuit pnn lu oven
and heat until skin blisters, or to
steam peppers until skin softens, peel,
spilt In half, take out seed, and dry
nt 110 degrees to 140 degrees Fnhren-,
belt. In drying thlck-fleshed poppers
like the pimento, do not Incrense heat
too quickly, but dry slowly and even
ly. (b) Small vnrletles of red nenners
may be spread in tho sun until wilted
and the drying finished in the drier,
or they may be dried entirely tu tho
sun.
(c) Peppers often are dried whole.
If they are largo they can be strung
on stout thread; If small, tho wholo
plant can be hung up to dry.
Spinach and Parsley.
Spinach that is in prime condition
of greens should bo prepared by care
ful washing and removing the leaves
from the roots. Spread the leaves on
trays to dry thoroughly. Slicing will
greatly facilitate drying.
Parsley should be treated In tho
same way as spinach.
Herbs.
Celery tops, parsley, mint, sage, and
herbs of all kinds need not bo
blanched, but should be washed woll
and dried In thu sun or In the drier.
Those nro good for flavoring soups,
purees, gravies, omolots. otc.