Nebraska Newspapers

    THE 8EMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE. NEBRASKA.
PATHETIC
AMONG
Lonoj Aged Woman Is Sole Inhab
itant Left In French Vil
lage. NAMED LA DAME INDOMITABLE
Ml Who Survived Hun Carnival of
Rags and Rapine Which Swept
the Place, Left Long, Long
Ago.
American Army Headquarters In
France. In the chnrred vlllnge they
call her La Dnmc Indomitable. Not a
lind nnmo for licr, either. There Is a
great gun In the French army called
Indomitable, The enemy linn trained
Us heavy weapons on this giant cylin
der of destruction, but old Indomltahlo
Mill belches Its deadly hnll upon the
Huns, und so the old lady of was
named after this famous gun, writes
Don Martin in the New York Herald.
I saw her the other day In the recon
structed ruins of her onco comfortable
house. Two artillery ofllaers Ameri
can have billets with her. She takes
care of their rooms, shines their boots
and leggings nnd puts on a button now
and then when they know nothing
about It
Then, when she Is not busy nt home,
Bho washes dishes for the Salvation
Army canteen or performs more labori
ous service, for all of which sho re
ceives ten cents an hour. That Is
enough. She doesn't need much. She
begins her dally routine nt five In the
morning nnd finishes at seven In tho
evening. Then sho wnlks two miles
td a shop to get her allowanco of
bread, nnd after ten o'clock, when her
"boys" are In bod and asleep, she
throws herself on n bed of boxes nnd
old clothes, with one blnnket for cov
ering, and sleeps.
Village's Only Inhabitant.
La Dnmo Indomltahlo Is the only In
habitant left In tho village. It Is no
place for women. Children all who
Burvlve tho nun carnival of rage and
rapine left long, long ago. Tho old
folks dragged a weary way from tho.
humble, aged stono buildings In which
they and their ancestors had lived for
many generations yes, for hundreds
of years. Soldiers occupied tho town.
Then tho Germnns enmo. Three times
tho qunlnt village was taken and ro
taken. Tho gaunt remnants of tho
old dwellings could tell frightful stor
ies of slaughter nnd mngnlflccnt talcs
of valor. So can La Dame Indomlt
ahlo. But sho says llttlo. She Just
works. Sho wants to help France. Of
ficers told 'her a long tlmo ago sho
could go anywhoro sho wished. Even
tho grandeurs of Paris were pictured
to her In tho hope that she might be
lured from tho abpdo of danger In
which sho resides.
But why should sho go?
"No, I'm not old," sho mys. "I'm
only Blxty-flvo or mnybo seventy. I'm
a strong woman yet, but when I curry
water this long, long dlstnnco nnd then
walk to tho boulnngcrlo for bread some
times ray heart beats too fast maybe,
but that's all."
So there she stays. She, has been
CHARGER FAITHFUL TO THE END
The churger of iiu Austrian cnvuirynuui standing guard our tin dead body
of his rider. Tho Austrian was killed on rcconuoltorlng duty on tho Italian
front
WORK OF THE Y. M. C. A.
mis
spends $5,000,000 a Month In
Ministering to Soldiers.
Two Thousand Workers Are With Ex
peditionary Forces and 3,000
In American Camps.
Washington. In Us wotft of minis
tering to the social, recreational nnd
religious wclfnro of tho boys and young
men of this city and couuty who havo
enlisted In tho National army, the Y.
M. C. A. Is now expending a total of
$5,000,000 a month. These, together
with other Interesting figures on tho
scopo of tho work are contained In n
bulletin Just received from the Nation
al war work; council.
According to the Btntement of the
council, the "homo" sldo of army camp
life Is being maintained among tho
Juinlreds of thousands of soldier boys
FIGURE
WAR RUINS
seen away up on the brow of the hill
looking down on the German-held terri
tory. One does1 not need glasses to sec
It. She trudges along shell swept roads
when it Is necessary, as It often Is.
"A shell may hit me yes, perhaps,
sometime. Hut wo all have our work
to do."
Waves of deadly gas swcjU over the
stricken group of ruins from tlmo to
time. La Dame Indomitable hns her
mapk. An officer gave It to her. Jt Is
tho best'. The officers see that she gets
the best Her two American artillery
officers hurry to their billets when the
gas drifts Into tho village. They hnve
nothing to do there. They Just go to
mnko sure that their hostess Is safe. I
hnd a cup of chocolate with her In her
house and learned her story. I do not
think aho ever told It before.
Thanked by General.
"When tho war was Just at the be
YOUTH IS VICTOR
OVER NOTED HUN
English Boy Defeats Germany's
Superflyer Voss in Des
porate Battle.
DOWNS 22 BEFORE DEATH
Lieutenant Arthur Rhys Davids Said
to Be One of the Three Elect
Among Bravest of British
Airmen.
London. When Voss, the Intrepid
German airman, was brought down
there wns considerable demand that
tho nnmo of tho British airman who
accomplished the feat should be re
vealed. He wns Lieut. Arthur Ithys
Davids, an Eton boy of twenty. In
tho ofllclnl Gazctto It is stated that
among his other feats he brought
down nlno enemy aircraft In nine
weeks.
But after much anxiety the boy's
father, Prof, Rhys Davids, and his -J
mother, both Oriental scholars of dis
tinction, no longer have any doubt
that their son, missing since Inst De
comber, Is dead.
In their home on Ohlpstead Downs
tho parents nnd sisters mourn the
bravo and daring boy, snld to bo ono
of three very elect among tho bravest
of British airmen.
Arthur Ithys Davids, nftcr doing
brilliantly nt Summerfleld, where, n
king's scholnr, ha won a Balllol exhi
bition nnd the Newcnstlo scholarship,
took his commission In tho Royal Fly
ing corps In tho nutumu of 191Q, lenv
tng his civil scrvlco ambitions until
after tho war.
Brought Down Twenty-Two Germans.
'Young Davids had been good at
sports nnd ho took to flying ns though
born to It Ho won tho M. 0. with the
bar nnd tho D. S. 0. after flvo mouths
both In the United Stntes nnd In
France. At tho present tlmo thcro nto
2,200 Y. M, C. A. workers with the ex
peditionary forces In France and Eng
land and 3,000 other workers In Ameri
can camps.
The Y. M, O. A. hns been asked by
General Pershing to take over tho en
tire canteen system with tho American
army In France, and this will require
the services of moro than 11,000 volun
teer workers alone.. An effort Is now
being made to sccuro at least 1,000
business and professional men of high
Rtnndlng who will go to Franco for all
sorts of Y. M, 0. A. service before
July 1.
It Is estimated that 8,000.000 feot of
film nro being exhibited weekly to tho
soldiers at home nnd abroad. A re
cent shipment of athletic equipment
for the troops tn France consisted of
70.080 baseballs 10.000 bats, ijO.000
gloves and mitts, boxing gloves, volley
bull and various other kinds of apu-
ginning," she Bald In French, "I hod
three sons. They hurried off to get
their uniforms and rifles. Then I
waited. One day our soldiers cam
pouring Into tho town. They hnd been
driven back by tho Germnns. Many
were Injured. I took ns mnny us I.
could In my house and made coffee for
them. You see my house was better
before It was struck jy shells.
"While I was making coffee a big
shell struck this houe and killed
some of the soldiers. Another one hnd
both legs taken off. I helped them all
I could, but they went away and the
Germans came. They are cruel, hut I am
old, so I nm alive. Then our boys came
again nnd I made my house a hospital.
It was struck twlco more nnd I wns
hurt a llttlo, too, but not much. I-don't
want to lenvc. I hnve lived here all
my life nnd here is where I shall die."
The eyes of tho old lady glowed un
der tho spell of a thought sho hud not
yet expressed.
' "A French general camo and thnnk
ed me for what I did for our soldiers,"
sho said. "Then, long after, ho wrote
mo n letter saying I was n brave wom
an nnd had bravo sons. I have the
letter you may see It"
in France in April, 1017. 110 brought
down 22 Germnns for certain he
actually snw that number crash hut
ho drove down many more out of con
trol. Among tho 22 wore the Germnn
supcrflyers Voss and Schnfer.
The story of the defeat of Voss.
who had been credited with being the
greatest olrmnn of nil the armies, Is
thrilling. When Rhys Davids wont up
with a squadron of six nnd four Ger
mans were sighted, It was not so easy
ns It seemed, for Voss wns among
them, nnd he took on three of the
British machines. Two of these he
put out of nctlon, causing them to re
turn home with' their engines full of
lend. Tho tlilrd was the boy from
Eton.
Voss nnd Rhys mndo a duel of It.
Tho Hun was In a trlpluno, and there
wns a most tremendous fight. The
story of It was afterward told to the
family by an officer acquainted with
the facts.
"I want to give Voss all credit"
says Miss Rhys Davids, sister of tho
bravo ydung airman. In repenting' the
story. "Ho hnd n fearful fight with
tho three for twenty minutes, nnd
then my brother and Voss wheeled
round nnd round; nnd then, suddenly,
Voss crnshed to earth.
"Yes, my brother spoke of ono or
two nnrrow escapes. On the very first
time ho went up 'out there' something
made him turn round, nnd to his as
tonishment ho saw n nun on his tall.
If he had not glanced round at that
moment ho would hnve been killed.
Worse still, his gun Jammed, nnd for
ten minutes ho hnd to get out of this
machine's way by rolling and turn
ing. Then suddenly, to his nmaze
mcnt, tho Hun turned tall and went
homo. That was ono of the narrowest
escapes ho had.
"My brother was Inclined to fly
recklessly low, nnd that Is probably
how he met his death In October, Inst
year. Wo knew ho was missing, nnd
wo hoped nnd hoped for eight weeks
boforo wo had any practical certainty.
Shot "Painted Banana."
"Ho had very often been In a big
fight of 25 on each side, and when he'
wroto homo about such, he said : 'All
you can, think of Is pumping lend Into
any machine you seo nnd looking out
nnd avoiding collisions, Just missing
ench other by perhaps a couple of,
feet. He used to laugh when ho snw
tho German machines painted up llko
an unripe bannnn. Ho described one
of these mnchlnes, nnd said that when
It como toward him ho chuckled with
Inughter at tho curious appearance of'
It, and then lot fly. Ho brought the
minted bnunnn down."
And now young Rhys Davids has
himself been brought down. But he
lives n memory of schoolboy British)
pluck that can never die. 1
Among other raiders mentioned In'
tho Gnzctte Is Lieut. R. n. Ayro, R. v.
C who during one of his "many sti(v
cossful raids" bombed an enemy nlr
shlp shed, and on another occasion
bombed n rallwny station from a
height of BOO feot. Ho also derailed
part of a train and poured machine
gun fire on Its occupants. The mili
tary cross Is awarded to hire.
ratus for nromotlniz thn utnv i.u
among tho troops In their leisure
hours.
Tho Y. M. O. A. hns established n
chain of huts and dugouts along tho
front lines occupied by American
troops "over there" and Is meeting the
needs of the Sammies ns thev tako
their places In the Lorrnlno trencher
Tho Y. M. C. A. huts on the aKn
front have been demolished bv German
guns and tho 150 secretaries there have
retired hefore tho ndvanco of the Hunt
and aro now established In Slborln
awaiting an opportunity to return to
Russia.
Farmer Kills Wild Cats.
Live Oaks. Cal.-Wlng. n farmep
nenr here, recently killed two lured
wild cats along the Feather river
vrlille engnged In hunting Jack rab
bits. Ono of tho wild cats raced ui
a treo nnd started to show fight when
Wing discovered It A shot brought
It to the ground. Its cries of ruga
and pnln . brought Its tunto to thq
scene, and Wing dlsputcftvd the see!
and cut with a shot .from Sis gun.
OAD
BUILDING
SUGGESTIONS ON GOOD ROADS
8peclal Thought Should Be Clven by
Builders to Road Crowing to
Avoid Accidents.
While hlghwny engineers, commis
sioners and other are planning good
roads and strong, durable bridges,
they ought to give special thought and
work to the road crossings ind the
lowers or culverts placed at such cross
ings, snys a writer in Farmers' Review.
Such crossings are generally about
12 to 10 feet long, and It requires an
nbrupt turn of n vehicle to take them
at right nngle. These mre danger
points on account of the short turn
and narrow space to make the turn.
The remedy for such plnces Is to
make sewer or culvert as long as the
width of tho road will permit, say not
less than 40 feet, and more If possible.
Durable Concrete Culvert.
and then If vehicles meet, there Is
plenty of room to pass without Inter
fering with the speed or rights of the
one going In tho other direction.
We hnve seen several nnrrow es
capes from nccldents In such places,
nnd the wntchword now Is "Safety
First" The nutomoblle Is here to
stay, and we want room to spread out
and avoid all danger of accidents.
Our counties nre now paying largo
salaries to men who nre supposed to
be efficient, nnd good civil engineers,
nnd the safety and comfort of the pub
lic lnrgely rests on them. It Is the
duty of such men to catch up with the
times and provide roads suited to the
needs of present-dny travel. Such Im
provements nre not very expensive,
and when properly made last a life
time, and save tlmo, trouble nnd acci
dents. TEST OF TIRES ON HIGHWAYS
Results Obtained by United States Of
fice of Public Roar'-' After Pe
riod of Years.
In its testing of tires on country
roads during a period of several years
the United Stntes office of public roads
has prepared the rond prior to each
test by plowing, grading nnd rolling
thus, with further consideration of
moisture nnd atmospheric variations,
giving conditions as ncnrlv Identical as
possible for each of the trips compared.
It was found that tho draft decreased
with increase of tiro width to a cer
tain limit, beyond which It Increased.
As a result of the experiments, It Is
recommended that for ordlnnry farm
work and general trucking, the stand
ard width of tire for a one-horse
wagon, with gross lond of 2,000 pounds,
should bo two Inches ; light two-horse
wagon, 2,500 pounds, two nnd one
half Inches; medium two-horse wagon,
4,500 pounds, three Inches: stnndnrd
two-horse wagon, 0,800 pounds, four
Inches; heavy two-horse wagon, 7,500
pounds, five Indies.
CONSTRUCT NEW HIGHWAYS
State of Illinois Expected to Expend
$3,000,C00 In Improving Roads
This Season.
It Is expected that Illinois will ex
pend $3,000,000 this year on federal
aid highways. Tho proposed road con
struction outlined by tho Illinois state
highway department hns been ap
proved by tho national government, ac
cording to Secretary of Agriculture
Houston.
Tho proposed work includes con
struction along tho Dixie highway, tho
Lincoln hlghwny, tho highway from
Chicago to the Wisconsin state line,
the Chicago to .Toilet highway and the
rond from Peorln northenst to Spar
land. Federal-aid money for these
roads Is to be available shortly, It la
announced.
Good Roads Campaign.
The good ronds campnlgn Is nlways
on nnd will nlways bo on until every
road shall have been paved with the
best of material nnd In the best of
manner. And then there will probably
be the establishing of more main ronds,
and so It will go on until the country
Is well supplied with roads that will
be practicable 305 days In the year,
Gaining In Importance.
Tho question of ronds gains In Im
portance and Interest with every pass
ing year.
A CAPITAL
k K M 11
"Wanted, Live Press Agent; Apply Mother Mature"
WASHINGTON. Nature needs a press agent. If you wero among the thou
sands who missed the recent display of tho aurora borcalls, you will agree
with me that a little advance publicity for old Mother Nature would result In
cwwr
I tvnu'T
FEEL TH
EMTHQUAKE
?
01-
enough, but to miss nn earthquake that shakes beneath your very feet lu tool
much. When you failed to look out the window that night, It wasn't your;
fault, of course how In tho thunder were you to know tho aurora borcalls
was out there, nnywny? j
But that earthquake I If you were so absorbed In a book that you falledl
to feel' the house quiver, It was your fault, and you feel It You may forgive;
yourself for not looking out the window, but not for falling to note the carth-t
quuke. (
When you went downtown the next morning there was Henry Joues vultJ
lug for you. . ' ' ,
"Did you feel tho enrthquake?" he asked.
"What earthquake?" you said.
He looked at you with pity.
"Where were you, anyway?"
You confessed to home.
"Anil you didn't feel that quake?".
"No." v
"Why, It shook our house and rattled nil tho dishes In the pantry didn't:
you hour the dishes rattling In your pantry?" , i
You had to admit that If your dishes rattled you failed to detect It. '
And Henry Jones went away looking as If ho felt sure the fault' lay with;
you uud not your dishes. 1 J
Yes, decidedly. Nnture needs n press agent.
Washington Youngsters Ablaze With Patriotism
WASHINGTON has Its patriotic boys and girls. Because a war requires the1
activities of grown men and women we arc apt to forget nil about ourt
boys and girls, and how their young henrts bubble 6ver with n real, a'lthoughs
undeveloped, patriotism; i
Their patriotism may appear su
perficial sometimes, nnd perhaps It Is
only a reflex of what they hnve heard
their elders say, but It Is real, tremend
ously real, nevertheless.
I know a little boy, so small you
feel that you could pick him up and
put him in your pocket with ense. But,
as small as ho Is, his llttlo brain Is con
centrated on the war. He Is always
thinking about It.
He doesn't think of It la terms of
men and guns, or ships and aircraft. Ho doesn't talk of this nnd that battle
field. He Indulges In no speculation. Here Is a sample. 'of what ho thinks and
says : .
His mother was talking to nnother member of the family concerning an.
article of food which Bhe was'cooklng. '
"And do you know," she said, "It wns red hot "
"Mother," chimed In the llttlo boy.
"Yes, dear?" suld his mother.
"You mustn't say 'red hot,' mother," he replied. "You must say Re
Cross."
Even whon ho goes to bed 1iq carries the war with him, evidently. He
takes with him, too, tho phrases ho hns heard during the day. Strungely, with,
his bnby wits, he turns them Into telling phrases, more potent than he realizes.
"You must go to bed now," his mother said to him one night "It Is time
for you to go to sleep."
He looked solemnly nt his mother with sleepless eyes.
. "I won't go to sleep till It's over over there," he snld.
lllustrating Anew the
S
HE hnd dodged Father Time in
iln.mM - l'-'- 41. n ... ..
'u'wTSaI,v:i, muu
n millinery
...in. .i... j.ii..
IY0U ARE A
IHUU Yl
m m
considered her figure more elegant,
than mine, but It wns not tho popular opinion. The night I accepted your
grandfather my eleventh proposal to your Aunt Eliza's third I wore a white
cnmella llko that In my hair on tho left side, below the ear. All thought usr
an extremely handsome young pair "
"I bet you wero a peach, Grammuh, and If It .wasn't for the looks of the
thlng I'd shake you right here In the street for not handing down your good'
looks to tho best grandchild you've got to your name come along now. dear;,
there's a whple lot moro to see."
Isn't memory a jollier? Except when she's n scourge.
Just One of Those Who Heard the Country's Call1
IF YOU shut your eyes and keep on for three, squares you will come to a shop.
You can't miss It, because outstdo the window there Is n sign on which sortie
amateur has gone Into art paroxysms over shoes that no foot on earth couldl
wear and nngols wouldn't want to
and above tho door is lettered a gramlr
opera numo that only genius conk'
spell.
Casually glimpsed, the shop stand-
for a very small pel-hlo with which
Bomo venturesomo Dnvld Is lighting n
big, strange-tongued tlollnth whom he
calls tho New World hut you can't
always depend on glh apses.
If you hud seen David, tho other
day, say, standing lu his open door
with one foot resting over tho other
u,8 ,f J t",,,u'tt huv, t0 KWk ,,r'J wouldn't, with Ids shirt-sleeved arms folded w
tho ofllclnl attitude of ono who has downed his foe, nnd in his midnight eve
a something that would have been u smirk except that It was honest prlde
you would have known right there that Golluth was as dead us the stoned cat
Id the. alley that'a tho tlmo you should have come across youn" David !
Thero was a repsoti, of course. A photographer on tho piwement wu
taking a postcard snap for the folks buck In Italy, where tho crossed feet and
folded nrms with smllo attached will mertn success, and where throui tho
alchemy of uffectlou, tho youngster's desire to show off will be Internreted Into
loyalty und memory nnd love. '
, l' ?TU,1 bilni u'lt" n n,onth Now tho signs nro gone nnd th
door la locked und tho dust has mudo brown ridges on tho shutters
You cannot be contented to sit nt a bench and peg and sew and tin
"Santa Lucia" when you have u country to fight for.
am
larger audiences for some of her most
choice displays.
Those who missed the "northern:
lights" havo been kicking themselves
because they didn't have tho gumption
to look out the back window nnd see!
something worth looking at
But how were you to know nny
thing about tho aurora borenlls being:
on the way? Nature needed a press
agent, that was nil.
And now an earthquake l
Missing the Aurora borcallswasbnd
i
-
DOtl'T SWKED HOT,
MOTHER, SAT
'RED CROSS"
Magic Power of Memory
the same fashion that a here-and-thtere?
. ,. . 1 . . .... i .
m Bcyuiu. mi sno was stanuing ueiore-
huh i nt- juujf juunKiHii woman wno nnu ner m cnurge..
i ...
"I used to wear a cnmella like that
In my hair to every ball I went to
on the left side, below the car. All
thought It most becoming. Your Aunt.
Eliza wore flowers to match the colors
of her ball dress, but I never appeared;
In anything but flounced white tun
latan, with a cnmella In my hair ons
the left side, below the ear. Your
grandfather thought It most becoming.
All snld we were an extremely hand
some yountr nnlr vnnr Aunt Rllzii
cuuli 1 I '
Jkwm 71
r.