The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1917-12-13
Of Joshua. From The Progress d
the World" in the American Review
Of Reviews for December, 1917.


Rev. Langdon,
Scotland, S. D.
My Dear Mr.. Langdon:
finished with my supper
few minutes ago, and then came to
my tent to make myself comfortable.
opened the door of the foxy little
camp stove. stirred the dying embers
in the bottom Of it with crooked
stick and then threw in few chunks
Of wood. The fire took hold and got
to burning 80 good that just now got
up and shut off the. draft. The tent
is now comfortable enough for me to
sit here in my shirt sleeves and write.
There are two periods in the days
routine that dislike to see come.
Those are the evenings and mornings.
We have supper at a :45. and the time
between then and bed time is hard
one to fill up with anything interest
ing. When we reached this camp we q
had to go back to the period before
kerosene the candle period. Read
ing and studying by the Pickering
light of a candle is a tiresome proceed
ure to carry out for. any length of
time SO we have to alternate betw ven
studying and doing bunk fatigue. The
bunk fatigue gets the most attention.
After one has come back to his tent
at 5:15, and has spent what seems to
him an age waiting for bed time to
come. he looks at. his watch and is
told that it ia three minutes past six.
That is the way time can drag. Eight
or eight thirty usually finds me, snug
in my sleeping bag One surely does
get attached to bis cot in the army.
Morning is the other period that
etares man in his face. Reveille is
bound to come and soldier can t
keep it from coming. From bed time
to reveille is soldiers heaven on
earth. Squads right and squads left.
or te the rear or double time dozen t
sound in his ears then. The only
pack he carries during that time is a
load of heavy sleep. and he does
double time with it, too But the
lsbugle sounds its notes Of reveille ear
Fly in the morning just as sure az
morning comes. It sounds them for
officer as we'll as man, and out of bed
we all have to scramble.
This morning was very Loor morn
ing to get out of bed The bottom
of the clouds fell out early last ev-
ening and all night long the rain !
poured down. When raised up my
head and shoulders at reveille and
peered down at the floor saw small
sea inside the tent. By actual meas
Eurement the water stood four inches
deep right where usually stand to
dress. My clothes were piled on a
box that j use for chair and reach
ed over and got them and carefully
conveyed them to my bed without
dragging pant leg or shi rtsleeve. or
dropping sock in the water. Then
stood up on my cot to dress and
when had everything on but my
shoes crawled down, to the foot of
my bed, unlocked my trunk and fun
bled around among the clothes i had
carefully packed for France and drew
out my rubber boots. It was only
after had drawn them on that
dared to step on the floor. Time puts
an end to all things. 1t put an end
to Noah's food and it did to ours to-
day. By four Q clock this afternoon
the water. had all drained out of the
tent. leaving only mud which 1 am
trying to keep out of by sitting on
the edge Of my cot and putting my
| feet on a block of wood.
Probably the first thing you noticed.
on receiving this letter was that it is
written on YIN. C. A. material.
That will convey to you the realiza-
tion that the Y M. C A. is on the
i field and at its job. Furnishing writ
ing materiali is not the. only thing
that the Y. M, C. AZ does. That or.
ganization is needed in the army and
it is doing its work we'll and filling up
the gap that would exist if there
Il were no such society. The Y. M C.
8 "A. il center of community life for
the army. It proves of usefulness
Il in many ways amusements. enter
tainments. educational advantages
and religious teaching. It's appeal to
the soldiers does not fall on deaf ears
and go stale If you could walk into
ii any of the many Y. M. c. A. tents
4 in this camp any time between supper
i and taps you would see it crowded