The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-01-04
luWA WUu|AN ID
ON FIRING LINE.
Cedar Rapids Citizen 10 Ensased in
Making Soup and Hot choco-
late for Soldiers Who
Are Fighting.
WRITING IS DIFFICULT
But Two Letters Penned Under Al
Sorts Of Conditions Prove In.
terestins and Tell Of
Experiences.

| G
trenches is the work which Mrs.
Helen Hayes Gleason, an Iowa woman
is engaged along with others In DE-
Monroe's ambulance corps in Belgium
Two letters received by Mrs. j. W
Hayes Of Cedar Rapids, mother OF
Mrs. Gleason, are full Of interest.
] Under date Of November 90 Mrs
fGleason, formerly of Cedar Rapids.
writes: Here we are in Pervyze, Bel
GUM, living in cellar. We have a
couch where the doctor sleeps and we
three girls, Lady Dorothy Fielding,
Mrs Knockler and myself sleep in
sleeping bags on straw in corner.
We have a tiny stove and table and
two soldiers are here to wash up for
Jus and be sentinels at night. They
live Just outside This house is stand
ing, but it is blown full of holes and
lis clear OF furniture except for
piano which the men have pounded
uron all day long. They sing and are
a jolly lot in general.
Making Soup for Soldiers.
1 1--WE peel potatoes and carrots all
day long and the men help us. We
make a huge caldron of soup, which
cooks all night. A little Belgian sob
der on night. duty stirs it. At $3.50
we take 1t up to the trenches, where
1.-THE men have been freezing all night.
Don't tell me anything about soldier
life, for know it now. We are IN
/ the front trenches with the mitrelleuse
ahead of us about 200 yards. The Ger
man lines are in sight. We have to
go early in the morning and at night
mot to be seen. Cold, it is winter and
the poor sentinels suffer terribly. we
are unable to go beyond the trenches
because it draws the German fire on
the men and ourselves and gives away
our position so those men right in
front have nothing hot at all. 1t is an
Extraordinary sight before sunrise to
creep out with two soldiers carrying
the soup, and we with dippers behind
the trenches filling the tins as the
men come with them. They are SO
very grateful for it, 1t does your heart
good to see them.
Hot Chocolate to the Men.
/ Last night four of us carried hot
| chocolate to the last sentinel. We had
Ito go without lights and quietly. Then
would come Halt and one Of the
men would come up, give the password
and we would follow. The soldiers are
very good to u.s. There are no wound
ed Just at present, but we find this
most helpful and heaps to do for the
men are cold and want our soup.
There is not one house intact in Per
wye, simply blown to pieces. There
are three pianos in the village and
T they look so gaunt behind broken
windows and in burnt and broken
rooms and always soldiers playing
them, or it is strange to look into a
room and see coy little fireplace
burning away and group of tired
and wet men around it. The fields and
/ trenches are flooded and it is dreary
| sight At night one usually sees some
village or farm burning. The men
who are fighting are badly in need OF
shoes. I have seen some wearing ten
mis- shoes and others with toes on ice.
| In Blacksmith Shop.
| Mrs. Gleason writes wherever she
can and under all kinds OF circum-