The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1915-04-30

tlIcIlly EGduSs
My Dear Mr.. Cahoon:
Things are wonderfully quiet
just now and have been all day.
One of our batteries about half
a mile away lets off few now
and then, but only German guns
that have bothered US dropped few
shells very short of US, about $50
this morning. Hardly shot is
being fired <in the trenches, and
it's about the quietest day we've
had since I've been in this coun-
try. We often have quiet spells
for a few minutes, which gener-
ally make me nervous, as they
may mean preparation for an at
tack or for the explosion Of a
mine under us-but this is the
longest quiet spell I've known.
l am "in reserve" in a ruined
chateau with my company for two
days, and got shelled out of it yes
terday. turned them out and
lined them along the canal bank
about 200 yards away, in pour
ing rain, until the German gun
ners discovered it was raining and
dinner time and quit. We then
came back and they left us alone
till dark, when they gave us half
a dozen more, which did no dam
age.
Up here, where we were moved
from our old position to the
South on the 10Th of February,
we take over the trenches for 10
days and then go back six miles
to a rest camp for five days
rest" It's not much of a rest,
except that We are not under
she'll Or rifle fire, but machines
get. visited by aeroplane bombs.
However, both officers and men
get a much needed bath, for a
school house near there has been
turned into bath house, with
big boilers to heat water, etc,
and water tubs to battle in. Every
man hands in his dirty clothes and
draws a clean set, which gives
many of the natives round there
d fair means of livelihood, wash
ing Tommy's clothes.
The devastation and ruin around
here is awful. The town we are
outside of, the name of which l
may not tell you, but which Vir-
gle knows and you know by name
very well, is mass of ruins. The
Cathedral and famous Cloth Hall,
the latter a wonderful piece of
architecture, are blown TO pieces.
Practically every house and store
in town has been hit, but about
half the population still live there
and carry on some sort of bust
--'csa--mostly the selling of son-1
sort of food to the British, Bel
gian and French soldiers.
Some part of the town is she'll
ed by the German big guns al
most every day, but you see wonl-
en- and children running for shell
ter when they hear shells coming
over; and laughing when someone
falls or runs into another one
it's about the only amusement
they have. In most of the stores
you see the proprietor living in
part of the store, as the upper
part of the building is almost al
ways gone, and selling bread,
cakes, wine, etc. to the troops.
And the real confectionery shops
are doing bigger trade than they
ever did in their lives, because
our chaps are all given more
meat, potatoes, tea, sugar, cheese,
etc. than they can eat, so, as we
pay whenever a paymaster comes
round with cash, when we are in
rest camps the men banker after
pastry, candy, etc.
Of course, they buy lots of this
splendid French bread, specially
of fresh bread, at which times we
get biscuit (hard tack you call it,
as our commisSariat is often short.
Life in the trenches is not ex-
actly comfortable and home-like
but something goes wrong with
the works, the usual tour is only
two days and two nights on the
fire trenches, then two days in
support, then two days in reserve.
When in support We are very near
the firing line and have to find
working parties for making COM
munication trenches, repairing
roads, carrying sand bags up to
the trenches at night, while by
day we have to lie low and keep
under cover, ready to turn out at
a moments notice. While in re-
serve we have nothing much to do
but keep out of sight and have