longer than that. I cleared the mask twice. The third time I cleared it the nose-clip slipped off and I got the smallest sort of whiff of the stuff. I have never smelled a soft, overripe admixture of asafetida, ammonia, garlic and crude glue. Therefore I have no idea whether it has that sort of an odor or not. But it is rough stuff-that gas.

Top: Battalion Headquarters 105th Infantry, near Dickebusch Lake. Center: Walker Farm near Dickebusch Lake.

TO THE HINDENBURG LINE AND THROUGH THE

HOSPITALS

By CAPTAIN HENRY MASLIN

It was with heavy hearts that we started through the "Valley of Death" (as the road from the 71st to the 105th Camp appeared to me) for we were not only leaving behind officers and men that we loved, but we were taking command of different companies in our new regiment. But it was WAR. Heartaches must be borne, old associations and friendships severed, and as 71st men, it was up to each individual officer and man to "play the game. I was assigned to command Company D, 105th Infantry, and with the exception of ten men of Company F, who had asked me to take them with me (3 sergeants, 2 corporals and 5 privates), every man in the new company was a stranger to me.

By a Division order, staff officers had been assigned to duty as line officers, and my allotment consisted of two supply officers, neither knowing anything of infantry line work, and two adjutants, one a brigade adjutant and the other recently promoted from battalion sergeant-major.

At last the order came for us to leave for "somewhere." The men shouted for Mineola-in fact, Mineola had been the shout for three months, as the men wanted to get to New York before going overseas. On April 30th the Colonel and the Headquarters Battalion entrained and I, being senior, was in command of the regiment. The field officers had left a few days previously for France. On May 2nd, 20 years from the day I had marched to the Spanish war with the dear old 71st, I left Spartanburg as commanding officer of the 1st Battalion of the 105th Infantry. With pride, but with a heavy heart, I marched behind the band of the 71st Regiment, which had come over to play us to the station and past our old comrades. How lonely it was to pass them and know it was the final separation from some of them!

Our destination was unknown when we left Spartanburg, but rumor had it that we were to go to Newport News. The men, however, continued to talk of Mineola and did not give up hope until we passed Richmond. I was in command of the 1st Battalion. The first ten days we were stationed at Camp Stuart, at the end of which a Major from the officers' training school relieved me, and I rejoined my company, where only one of my original five lieutenants was left. I was pleased to learn, however, that two 71st officers, Lieutenants Giblyn and Baumert, were with the company. Most of the time at Camp Stuart was taken up with doctors' inspections and issuing clothing.

On May 17th we boarded the President Grant and sailed for Brest the following day. Nearly all company officers were given some duty on the voyage and I had a horror of being detailed as lookout in the crow's nest. Climbing to and from that station seemed worse to me than a submarine attack. My detail was to take charge of the guard and the Colonel gave me "Power of Attorney." It was a busy job, but everything ran smoothly until about the tenth day when the Colonel sent hurriedly for me. We had wondered why our ship was dropping back in the double column that composed our fleet. The commander of the ship was with the Colonel, who ordered me to put sentries over two valves that were pointed out. Some one had fooled with these valves, which had caused the ship to slow down. The valves were but three feet apart and two sentries having been placed over them I notified the Colonel that these men had just four inches interval when standing at their posts and suggested that one sentry would be sufficient. He, however, decided otherwise. Later it was found that the valves had been tampered with by one of the crew, of German descent, who was placed under arrest. It was suspected that it had been arranged for him to slow down our ship, which would fall to the rear and be an easy prey for submarines.

We had a submarine attack on May 26th, while the men were enjoying some boxing bouts. The lookout had noticed an upturned lifeboat leaving a wake of water after it and our gun crews opened up. The signal "to quarters" sounded. Company D was stationed inside, and if "abandon ship" had been sounded that Company would have been one of the last to leave. The