National Geographic Magazine, April 1917

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Volume 31
  1. January
  2. February
  3. March
  4. April
  5. May
  6. June

This is a list of the images that were published in the April 1917 issue of The National Geographic Magazine (volume 31). Links are provided to the Wikisource articles where the images can be found.

International Film Service

BEFORE THE STATUE OF NATHAN HALE, CITY HALL SQUARE, NEW YORK

A patriot of 1917 becoming imbued with the patriotism of the Revolutionary hero who, upon being led forth to die, voiced the inspiring regret that he had but one life to lose for his country.

Ledger Photo Service

PLIGHTING ANEW THEIR FEALTY TO THE FLAG

Assembled in Independence Square, Philadelphia, thousands of patriotic Americans recently pledged their unanimous support to the President in the following stirring resolutions:

“Meeting on the eve of a great crisis affecting our national life and on the sacred ground where, 141 years ago, the fathers of the Republic declared belief in the unalienable right of man to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, we citizens of Philadelphia, following the traditions of the fathers, here publicly renew our oath of allegiance to the Constitution and the laws of the Republic, pledging to the President of the United States our loyal support in any action which, in the exercise of his constitutional powers, he may deem necessary to the protection of American rights upon land and sea. Because the common defense is a common duty, universal military training is the only system that is fundamentally democratic and fair. We urge upon Congress the prompt enactment of a bill to put this system into immediate operation.”

American Press Association

THE WAR BROWNIES RESTING DURING LUNCH TIME: MUNITION WORKERS OF ENGLAND

This sturdy, smiling sextet is a group typical of thousands of human “cogs” in Great Britain's vast machine which is supplying ammunition for the Empire's armies in France, in the Balkans, and in Mesopotamia, and which is also furnishing shells for the Russians and Italians.

American Press Association

DOING A MAN'S JOB: WOMEN AS WAR-TIME FIRE-FIGHTERS

Some of the aged inmates of an English workhouse watching the women “firemen” at fire drill.

Illustrations by Louis Agassiz Fuertes

YOUNG FISH-HAWKS ABOUT TO LEAVE THEIR NEST: GARDINER'S ISLAND, NEW YORK

Photograph by Frank M. Chapman, and from his book, “Camps and Cruises of an Ornithologist.”

MARYLAND YELLOW-THROAT

Female and Male.

OVEN-BIRD

YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT

RED-FACED WARBLER

WORM-EATING WARBLER

ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER

GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER

Male and Female.

BLUE-WINGED WARBLER

BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER

AUDUBON WARBLER

YELLOW WARBLER

REDSTART

Female and Male.

NASHVILLE WARBLER

TENNESSEE WARBLER

CAPE MAY WARBLER

Male and Female.

PARULA WARBLER

Male and Female.

BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER

Female and Male.

MAGNOLIA WARBLER

Adult and Immature Male.

BLACK-POLL WARBLER

Male and Female.

CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER

Male, Immature Male and Female.

BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER

Male and Female.

BAY-BREASTED WARBLER

Male and Female.

BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER

Male and Female.

BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER

PINE WARBLER

PALM WARBLER

YELLOW PALM WARBLER

NORTHERN WATER-THRUSH

LOUISIANA WATER-THRUSH

PRAIRIE WARBLER

Male and Female.

KENTUCKY WARBLER

Male and Female.

CONNECTICUT WARBLER

MOURNING WARBLER

MACGILLIVRAY WARBLER

WILSON WARBLER

Male and Female.

HOODED WARBLER

Male and Female.

CANADA WARBLER

American Press Association

MUNITIONS MANUFACTURING IS NO RESPECTER OF AGE

Many of the women of France who are doing their bit in the production of large-caliber shells for the big guns at the front have completed their allotted threescore years and ten, yet they gladly give the closing days of their lives “for France.” In many cases their labor is all that they have left to give, for grandsons, sons, and husbands already have been sacrificed on the firing line.

American Press Association

WEARING GAS MASKS AT THE BENCHES

It is not alone in the trench that the soldier must guard against poisonous gas and dust. These women soldiers of the munitions plants must be similarly protected.

American Press Association

FRENCH WOMEN WORKING IN AMMUNITION FACTORIES

Mythology relates that Jupiter, as a reward for the excellence of the thunderbolts forged by his crippled son, Vulcan, bestowed upon him the hand of the fairest of the immortals—Venus. The daughters of France have inherited their beauty from the Cytherean goddess and their skill in making modern thunderbolts of battle from the Olympian blacksmith.

Paul Thompson

WOMEN ENGAGED IN RESEARCH WORK FOR THE BENEFIT OF FRENCH SOLDIERS

This war has given women their opportunity, which they have not been slow to seize upon; but in no sphere of usefulness has this been more pronounced than in Red Cross work. Here nurses are seen engaged in research work to benefit the particular cases they have in hand.

American Press Association

THE FAIR CHAUFFEUSE OF A SHELL SEDAN

This is the type of electric cart used in the munitions factories for the transportation of shells. It requires a steady hand and a sure eye to pilot this machine when it is laden with a cargo of canned death.

Paul Thompson

FARES TO THE FAIR

Among the many occupations which the women of France are pursuing, in order that men may be released for service in the army, are those connected with the street railway systems of Paris and other cities. Motorwomen, girl conductors, ticket sellers, and ticket takers are now the rule rather than the exception. Here a young girl is seen wearing the uniform cap of a surface-car conductor. From her shoulders hangs the big leather bag in which she deposits the passengers' sous and centimes.

Paul Thompson

WOMEN IN THE COAL MINES OF GARD, A DEPARTMENT OF SOUTHERN FRANCE

It has been due to the unremitting toil of such service armies as this that the fuel shortage in the north of France has not been even more serious than it now is. “If he slackens or fails, armies and statesmen are helpless,” said President Wilson in his appeal to the American miner. This has been no less true in France, and the women miners have courageously assumed the vast responsibility. The blocks on the left are “briquettes” of coal.

BORDEAUX-BEGLES: GENERAL WAREHOUSES OF THE HEALTH SERVICE

Like her chief munitions works at Le Creusot, France finds it expedient to keep her principal stores of surgical cottons and health-service supplies far removed from the immediate scenes of hostility. Not only are these warehouses beyond the zone of possible airplane raids, but, being at Bordeaux, they are convenient depots for the receipt of Red Cross shipments from England and America.

Paul Thompson

BOUND FOR PARIS

A French Red Cross train bearing sick and woulded soldiers to Paris after passing through a field hospital. One of the nurses is making a tour of the train, distributing coffee to the slightly wounded and sick men.

THE SHOWER BATH

Judging by this contraption, the French soldier has developed a modicum of Yankee ingenuity. A water-wheel motor operates a hydraulic lift, which supplies a bucket reservoir with the “makings” of a sprinkle. The apparatus works, but it looks as if it might have been modeled after a comic cartoonist's distorted dream.

Paul Thompson

ISSUING A FOOD TICKET TO TOMMY ATKINS

The offices of the Gare du Nord, Paris, have been converted to the uses of organizations for the relief of suffering among the refugees and victims of the war. A British soldier is seen accepting an order for a meal.

PILING UP SHELL CASES FOR 75-MILLIMETER GUNS

“The French ‘soixante-quinze’ gun is a marvel of fitted mechanism. In the process of loading and firing it gives the impression of some sentient organism rather than a machine of turned steel. This impression is heightened by the short, dry sound of the explosion when the shell is fired—a sound that awes and electrifies.”

VIEW OF YPRES: PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN FROM A FLYING MACHINE

The pitiful ghost of one of ravaged Belgium's most beautiful and historic cities. In the central foreground may be seen the roofless remains of the famous Cloth Hall, the largest edifice of its kind in the kingdom, begun by Count Baldwin IX of Flanders in the year 1200. Just beyond looms the scarred and desecrated Cathedral of St. Martin. On all sides are ruin and desolation, where three summers ago dwelt nearly 20,000 happy, thrifty people, engaged chiefly in the peaceful pursuit of making Valenciennes lace.

RESERVES CROSSING A RIVER ON THE WAY TO VERDUN

“They shall not pass” is a phrase which for all time will be associated with the heroic defense of Verdun. To future generations of French people it will bring a thrill of pride even surpassing that enkindled by the glorious “The Old Guard dies, it never surrenders.” The guardians of the great fortress on the Meuse have proved themselves invincible in attack, invulnerable in defense.

Paul Thompson

A WAGON-LOAD OF HELMETS OR CASQUES FOR FRENCH SOLDIERS LEAVING THE FACTORY

At the outbreak of the world war the French fighting man wore a long-visored, tall-crowned cap, but this picturesque headgear soon yielded to the utility of the metal headpiece, which furnishes a certain degree of protection for the shrapnel that bursts above the trenches and sows the seeds of destruction in the furrows of death.

Paul Thompson

HEAVY TRAINING FOR FRENCH SOLDIERS

The making of men taken from civilian life into well-trained soldiers has been a problem in England as in France. Business hours left the Frenchman with little time for exercise. Their training in the manner here shown quickly made them fit, and soon after leaving the counter, lathe, or desk they have proved themselves able to undertake with endurance the long marches and successful offensives against the common enemy with complete success. Every Frenchman entering the army undergoes a preparation in gymnastics as here shown, where men of the new armies are being made fit at the Physical Training School near Vincennes.

Paul Thompson

HOW TO TAKE A BUILDING BY STORM: A LESSON AT THE PHYSICAL TRAINING SCHOOL OF VINCENNES

Although there have been innumerable new engines of destruction employed in the present world war, such as the submarine, the airplane, and the high-explosive shell, the fighting forces of Europe have also hied back to ancient and medieval principles of warfare with astonishing frequency. For example, we have seen the recrudescence of the “Greek fire” idea in “liquid fire,” the evolution of the Chinese stinkpot in the new poisonous gas, the reappearance of the armored knight in the soldier wearing a steel helmet, and the glorification of the battering ram in the lumbering new “tank.” As shown in the above illustration, the modern soldier is trained to scale walls, just as were the soldiers of Darius the Great, Alexander the Great, Alfred the Great, and Charlemagne. There are variations, but no new principles, in the crude art of destroying human life.

A CHURCH CONVERTED INTO AN EMERGENCY HOSPITAL: THE OPERATING TABLE

“With so much of its skill and thought applied to the development and perfection of her killing power, France has not neglected the complement of war destruction—healing. The best surgical and medical minds of the country have wrestled with and mastered the problem of saving all that is possible from the human wreckage of modern battle.”

HOSPITAL UNPREPAREDNESS: AN OBJECT-LESSON FOR AMERICA

In the early days of the war, before the French Red Cross had fully organized its resources, it frequently happened that straw strewn upon marble flags was the only make-shift for beds which could be provided for the wounded. This straw proved most unfortunate for the wounded, as it was often infected with tetanus germs. Here, beneath the altar of their faith, in the Church of Aubigny, converted into a hospital, the fighting men of France reconsecrated their lives to the cause.

WOMEN IN THE DEPARTMENT OF MEURTHE AND MOSELLE EMPLOYED IN FASHIONING DEFENSE WORK FOR THE SOLDIERS

These screens of brushwood have a variety of uses, including their employment as masks for concealed batteries and dugouts. The ancestors of these weavers of twigs and saplings made France famous as weavers of the matchless Gobelin tapestries.

Paul Thompson

BARRELS OF PORCELAIN AT THE DOORS OF A FRENCH FACTORY READY FOR SHIPMENT TO THE UNITED STATES: LIMOGES, FRANCE

Those industrial institutions whose skilled workmen were required neither for the trenches nor for the munition factories France has endeavored to operate without interruption. The ceramic establishments which were not requisitioned for the manufacture of crucibles needed in producing high explosives have continued to make beautiful porcelain, thus contributing their bit toward the financial welfare of the nation.

Underwood & Underwood

500 NEWLY MADE BLUEJACKETS OF THE U. S. NAVY READY FOR ACTIVE SERVICE

Having completed the necessary course of instruction at the Naval Training Station, Newport, R. I., these youths, bearing their white canvas bags, which in the navy take the place of “wardrobe trunks,” stand on the threshold of the great adventure—war—with honor and sacrifice for country as the two great prizes. The Newport Naval Training Station is to the bluejacket what West Point is to American army officers and Annapolis is to the future admirals of our fleets. Here he receives instruction in the essentials of seamanship. At the present time all the pupils at this school are undergoing intensive training to fit them for the immediate needs of the hour.

American Press Association

A NAVAL MILITIA BUGLER SOUNDING A CALL “TO THE COLORS”

In twenty million American homes fathers and sons are waiting for this call, and when the summons comes there will be no shirking of responsibility. Mothers, wives, and daughters also will hear this challenge, and with hearts steeled to sacrifice will bravely bid farewell to those who go to battle for America and humanity.

Underwood & Underwood

A NATIONAL GUARDSMAN COMPLETELY EQUIPPED FOR SERVICE

On his back this American fighting man carries his blanket roll, small shovel, bat, etc. His canteen is at his belt. He is armed with a .30 caliber U. S. Army rifle. Minimum weight for maximum efficiency is the principle upon which his whole outfit has been designed.

United States Navy Department

U. S. S. “CONSTELLATION” MOORED TO A WHARF: NEWPORT, R. I.

Born into the American Navy in 1798, the same year which marked the advent of the more famous Constitution, this stalwart fighting craft, flagship of Commodore Thomas Truxton, carried the Stars and Stripes to victory in two of the most brilliant naval engagements in the history of our nation. Like Old Ironsides, the Constellation is preserved as a shrine at which bluejackets and marines become imbued with the spirit which animated American seamen in the early days of the Republic.

United States Navy Department

GYMNASIUM INSTRUCTION IN THE NAVAL TRAINING STATION: NEWPORT, R. I.

Upon the sturdy strength of these youthful shoulders the United States will rely confidently in the death struggle with the sinister German submarines; and no American doubts the courage or the stamina of these about-to-be fighting men of a navy which has never yet known inglorious defeat.

United States Navy Department

YEOMEN'S SCHOOL, NAVAL TRAINING STATION: NEWPORT, R. I.

In order to perform efficiently and expeditiously the clerical work on board a modern warship, yeomen must be proficient in stenography and typewriting; hence this group of young enlisted men resembling a class in a business college.

United States Navy Department

SCHOOL FOR SAILORS, NAVAL TRAINING STATION: NEWPORT, R. I.

Instead of working at a blackboard with chalk, these pupils solve their problems on a wooden rail with rope. The course in elementary seamanship conducted in this rigging loft includes a mastery of the subject of knotting and splicing.

United States Navy Department

PASTRY CLASS, COMMISSARY SCHOOL, NAVAL TRAINING STATION: NEWPORT, R. I.

To be “well versed in the arts of pies, custards, and tarts” is an accomplishment no less vital to the success of a navy than gunnery or signaling. Each must do his bit on a warship, and one of the most important of these is cookery, which keeps in fighting trim the man who points the gun and the officer who navigates the ship.

United States Navy Department

CLASS FOR BAKERS, COMMISSARY SCHOOL, NAVAL TRAINING STATION: NEWPORT, R. I.

Napoleon's axiom as to the part of its anatomy on which an army travels applies with equal force to a navy. Uncle Sam is careful to see that his marines and bluejackets are provided not only with ample but with wholesome food; hence his schools for cooks.

United States Navy Department

LEARNING THE NATIONAL AIR

An open-air singing class at the Naval Training Station, Newport, R. I. American bluejackets and marines are not expected to rival grand opera barytones and tenors, but they are supposed to know how to sing “The Star Spangled Banner.”

Underwood & Underwood

LINED UP FOR INSPECTION

Naval recruits at the Newport Naval Training Station. The cruiser Birmingham can be seen in the background.

Lieutenant Commander James B. Gilmer, U. S. S. New York

OCEAN SPRAY: U. S. S. “NEW YORK”

United States Signal Corps

CLASS IN TELEPHONY: ENLISTED MEN, U. S. ARMY

The province of the telephone in modern warfare is constantly broadening. It is one of the agencies which has robbed battle of much of its picturesqueness, romance, and glamor; for the dashing dispatch rider on his foam-flecked steed is practically a being of the past, more antiquated than the armored knight of medieval days. A message sent by telephone annihilates space and time, whereas the dispatch rider would, in most cases, be annihilated by shrapnel.

American Press Association

DEPARTMENT STORE EMPLOYEES PREPARING FOR WAR

“An army of clerks and shopkeepers!” was the scornful epithet which the militaristic Prussians hurled at Britain's first hundred thousands sent to the trenches. But derision soon changed to admiration. Among America's first five hundred thousand, also, there will be many clerks, salesmen, bookkeepers, and floor-walkers, including some of the 600 stalwart young men shown here—men who are giving a portion of their luncheon time each day to physical training on the roof of the big New York department store in which they are employed. The girls in the background are salesgirls who have organized as a corps of nurses under the direction of the store physician.

Underwood & Underwood

“WAKE UP, AMERICA!”

It was an inspiring moment when, during the great parade up Fifth avenue, New York, recently, the boy scouts charged with flags flying.

Underwood & Underwood

BATTLESHIP ABLAZE IN MID-OCEAN

Owing to the perfect organization of the crew of a thousand or more men on a superdreadnought, a fire at sea is not usually so serious as a landsman would imagine. With the first alarm each individual on board becomes a fire-fighter, rushing to his post of duty. Water compartments are closed and preparations are made for flooding the magazines if the flames threaten these store-rooms of destruction.

Underwood & Underwood

SALUTING THE FLAG

An impressive ceremony which took place in Fifth Avenue, New York, opposite the Union League Club reviewing stand during the recent “Wake Up, America” celebration. Thousands marched in the procession; hundreds of thousands lined the great thoroughfare and voiced their approval in a succession of cheers.

Photographs by George H. Mewes

TYPES OF THE MEN WHO DEFENDED WARSAW TILL THE END

RUSSIAN WOUNDED GOING TO THE REAR

Motor ambulances are a rare luxury in Russia and the wounded are frequently two and three days in peasant's carts before they reach the railhead or base hospitals.

TYPICAL REAR-GUARD TRENCHES IN THE GREAT RUSSIAN RETREAT: A SHELL BURST OVER THIS POSITION JUST AS THE PICTURE WAS TAKEN

RUSSIAN TROOPS GOING TO THE FRONT: SUPPORTS FOR THE IMPERIAL GUARDS BEING HURRIED INTO THE FIGHTING LINE

RUSSIAN 8-INCH GUNS ADVANCING TO THE POSITIONS

TYPICAL REFUGEES FROM THE BATTLE ZONE RELATING THEIR EXPERIENCES

RUSSIAN TROOPS AWAITING A GERMAN ATTACK

This is a typical rear-guard trench, characteristic of the field fortifications of the great retreat.

THE STAFF OF THE 5TH SIBERIAN CORPS

The last corps to leave Warsaw and one of the first in action on the southwestern front in the summer of 1916.