The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1916-11-28
BrattlebOro Young Man
Connected with Ameri-
can Ambulance
IN SERVICE OF
ARMY IN FRANCE
Extracts from Letters to His Mother,
Mrs. G. A. Miles-Sees German Camps
with Prisoners Working Hard-Plans
Airplane Flight.


Following are extracts taken from
letters received by Mrs. Charles A. !
Miles from her son, Appleton T. Miles,
who is attached to the field service of
the American Ambulance, serving with
the French army in France:
ION board the steamer Lafayette,
September, 1916. We have had too
smooth a passage. 1t has been like a
mill pond, and very clear. We have
been i'll the Gulf Stream most of the
time and consequently very warm.
Sleep with no sheet and can hardly
wear suit-eoat in the day time. The
meals are pretty good, but we have an
awful time getting them. Everything is
French and most Of the garcons cannot
speak word of English. 1t S good prac-
.tice, but terribly exasperating. Have
met an American-French girl, with
whom | study every day. Have forgot
ten the little / knew We find ourselves
a party Of eight, with all but one 90
ing IN the American Ambulance, the
other going with Norton 5 corps We did
great thing when we got shifted
Everything is done for us, and so we'll
arranged. They cable to Bordeaux and
pay our passage from there to Paris.
There are three Harvard men and two
Dartmouth.
1.-The daily life is always the same:
Get up at 5 Zone morning at to see
the sun rise out of the sea-, have break
fast, fool around the deck and have
FRENCH lesson, lunch, and a long after
noon till dinner at :, and usually re-
tire early. Have fine stateroom, very
comfortable, nice big wash basins and
good hunks, both on the first tier.
Along comes a steward without word
of English in his whole system. and
we grab dictionary and piece out our
wants. Everyone is either studying a
| Ford manual or French grammar. |
surely am learning lots by observation
and modest inquiry. We are as good
| as in France ON this boat, and any
crime or anything like that committed
on the boat would be tried in French
courts
Can hardly even now realize the
Ienormity Of the change in my career.
Am looking forward to the work [ am
| to undertake., and realize all that it
means. have so much to say that it
IS pretty nearly hopeless task to even
/ start IN. We got it all in my diary and
when / get back, that will give YOU all
the details. lou see on account of cen
sorshIp L can t tell YOU very much.
Can't divulge where we are or what
we are likely to do.
" We had a beautiful sail up the Gil
ronde river and got into Bordeaux at
about $50 =. m. The Harpers (whom
we met on the steamer, an American
French family were wonderful to us
and saw to all our baggage and Mrs.
Harper (who is FRENCH herself STAYED
down ON that old dirty wharf for two
hours. Then when ! had gotten her chill
dren up to a hotel four miles from there
we had to go back again, because We
had to have ali our stuff to send. to
Paris In the morning. We did not get
III TIL way after one. We got something
TO eat IN the funniest little place vor
ever saw. During the war there are NJ
cafes open after ! y. m. so we had :
hard time persuading a man we met OF
the street to take us in. We followed
him through dark alleys for about five
blocks and then III along dark entrauc,
to little room. We sat down AROUND
an inlaid table with heavy pewte
knives and forks. On a little oil lam
IN the fire place was a pot of soup tina
had been there for weeks, probably
but which tasted mighty good. The LIT
tie place was neat as pin, with funn-
pictures on the wall and the who'll
setting Of scene that you often rea,
about but never see
"Our train left at s the next morn
ing and we had an all-day journey u
: TO Paris, through very interesting cour
y try with all concrete houses and re
tile roofs and soldiers everywhere bu
only old men and women in the field
and villages. Around Bordeaux Their
are nothing but vineyards, only abou
two feet high and great luscious pun
pie grapes on the stunted vines. Nol
and then we saw a Boche German
camp with the prisoners working hare
lit was raining hard when we al
rived at Paris. We got q taxi and wen
right to q Rue Raynouard. There an
very fine quarters there. Piatt Andre1