The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-02-16
CANADIANS ON
FIRING LINE

CANAUlANS ON
FIRING LINE
Troops Sent to England Are Ready to
Take Their Places in
the Trenches.
/ by William g. Shepherd, United
| Press Staff Correspondent.J
! CALAIS, Feb. 1. (By mail to New
York 1.-The Canadians are ready for
the trenches.
They are camped, in part. near a
little lake in France and they are
finding that the weather Of that coun-
try is far more comfortable than the
rains and mud of England Salisbury
was as wet as the trenches. The
passengers who tries to alight from
train at the little railroad station OF
the town near which the Canadians
are tenting will be put back on the
same train by Canadian Tommy and
sent on his way. The Tommy's ex-
jplanation will be, you've got to beat
lit, because it's orders"
The English officers and soldiers
never cease in their wonderment over
the Canadian brothers. In London it
was the Canadian chop suey craze that
puzzled the English. There's only
one chop suey restaurant in London
and 1t caters almost entirely to Chin
csc students; the English have never
discovered the beauties OF chop suey.1
But there is scarcely a town in Can
ada that does not boast Of its chop
restaurants and it was only natural
for the Canadians to seek out a chop
suey place in London. They found It
at Picadilly Circus and thereafter the
Chinese students were crowded out
by Canadian soldiers and officers. Eng
glish officers who were inveigled into
trying chop suey dinners with their
Canadian brothers only said, "Mos.
extraordinary" and declined to eat.
Soon the fame Of the Canadians az
chop suey eaters spread throughout
the British army and the general mill
tary comment was, Most remarkable
fellows
But, II the English were surprised
at the chop suey hunger in London,
they are now even more surprised at
the football game which the Canadians
play on the banks of their little lake
in France. It's the American game of
push and gouge and the English or
hcers look in bewilderment as twol
Canadian elevens struggled through
the mud toward the goals The Eng
lish game Of Soccer" which is only
kicking game and, or of rugby, which
Is made up of entirely of open play,
are so entirely different from the
American form of the game, as played
by Canadians, that the English sol
diers declare that the Canadians have
no right to call their game football
Which doesn't seem to bother the
Canadians in the least for two or
three games of football" are going On
almost every afternoon in the camp.
Though the lake near the camp is
small, the members of various rowing
clubs in Canada have found old row
boats in which they keep up their
daily practice.
Great stun said a member OF the
Winnipeg eight "If I were back in
Winnipeg, where the earth is frozen
four feet down, I'd be rracticing with
a rowing machine, but here can row
every day. I'll have it on 'em all
when get back home" The races in
rowboats are another source Of aston
to the English Zone rows
only in skulls explained an English !
officer to a Canadian
$50 do we in Canada. replied the |
Canadian. But in our country we
learn to make the best OF circum:
There is little doubt that the Can.
adams, especially from the Canadian
are better able to endure I
the cold than the average English /
troops. Medicine Hat, Winnipeg, Cal
gary. with their forty below zero
temperature, produce man who'll |
laugh at thirty above bleakness of /
France. Hundreds of the Canadians
duck out Of their tents in the morning /
and jump into the lake with shouts Of
joy while Britishers, bath-lovers as
they are, crawl into their warm
clothes, saying meanwhile, "Most ex-
chaps, those Canadians"
1t Is an observation among British
officers that the Canadians are
more like Americans than like Eng.
lishmen." An American will find this
observation quite true.
Among the nineteen American ma.
rines killed at Vera Cruz last April
i've nationalities were represented, OF
the majority of the Canadians
over here In France are of English
extraction, but the death lists that
will be printed in Canada. as soon as
:hese men get to the front, will con-
ain the names of men Of almost every
occidental nationality, with the ex-
,eption of Germany, Austria and Hun
gary.
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) eAsco, I'LL. Z