The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1917-08-02

VdlteI CudInplln, lOTHerly OIL CnlS clCy
which was handed US by his father,
o. M. Champlin, of the Champlin Mot
or Co.:
Somewhere In Camp In France,
25th of June, 1917.
My Dear Mother,
Berkeley, Calf.
Although having written very few
times since coming out here due to
lack of time, l have been filled with
good intentions. So far l have had
only one letter from the family, that
from sister Maud, (Mrs. P. j. Nc
Koane) got it yesterday.
Several of the fellows at the Lodge
have written telling me some of the
news. Goog Carry said that Sandy
Eau Ayrdale) had been sick, but came
out all right. Maud reported you
folks had been up in the mountains
Am anxious to know where
you were and how did you like camp
life. Some disappointment to me los
ing the opportunity of being with you
as you know we had these plans lay
ed long before I thought of coming
over here to help France.
The work we are doing is much
more difficult than ambulance service
and / think is doing more to help the
u. S. and France than the latter. Our
hours are long, but they always try
to give US a day or two on repose af-
ter hard grind. We are carrying
supplies to the armies at the front.
The night before last we were out
until three o'clock in the morning and
had a very exciting trip. We had to
deliver our loads at an old chateau,
about two kilometers behind the front
lines. The Germans were throwing
shells into a village near by and some
of them passed over our heads with
an ominous whiz. | expected to be
very much frightened at being under
fire for the first time, but scarcely no
ticed it. We had to wait between two
batteries of French 1905 that were
firing about every two minutes. They
made deafen1ng noise and blind.
ing flash each time they exploded.
The chateau itself is most interest
ing place, being filled with bomb holes
and shell craters but it was too dark
to do much exploring. All our night
work is done without lights but the
trucks (5-ton Pierce Arrow are so
large that travelling fast is out Of the
question, so few accidents occur.
Well, we are to have inspection of
our cars today, so must have them in
ship shape condition. | have been
placed in full charge Of one of the
trucks, and have ordinarily another
man as an assistant driver. The day
before yesterday my aide was taken
away. The lieutenant said because
l was able to handle the car alone, so
| have all the cleaning up to do my
self. 1t took about three hours of
hard work but I was rewarded by
mention as the best appearing car on
the park.
Evening over / have the
time to myself so am going to de-
vote it to letter writing. The day
has been beautiful one. Much like
those of summer in North Dakota and
the evenings are much the same, in
fact if it was not for the numerous
trees and small streams one might be
led to believe he was in the middle
west of the United States, but the
one comes into little village
or sees the antique old vehicles and
the peasants use the COM
parison is soon forgotten.
Women are doing most of the work
in the fields and we see them daily
dumping along in their heavy wooden
shoes, wheeling cumbersome carts or
barrows, followed by their children
who are able to work all in solemn
procession. They all have tired
weary look. The loss of husband or
sons at the front, three years of worry
and turmoil have left an indellible
on the people of France
that will take years to remove. When
one thinks of the horrible crimes the
Huns have done in furthering their In
human atrocities there is no more
question why the u. S. has entered the
war. The more men we can lend
The allies, the sooner will the scourge
be eradicated. 1t requires stern hands
and brave heart but it is our obli-
cation as a nation among nations.
We are living now in trailers ar
ranged in a hollow square. A canopy
over the opening and the table in the
center. There are three men living
in each, and we find this very COM
Portable. Our beds are much like the
folding cot in the United States and
are comfortable as one could ask. l
think that when / return to the Unit
ed States sleeping will be no more
than the matter of place to lie down
with or without bed clothes, and will
be able to eat any kind of food under
The sun. My appetite out here is
growing constantly and think / am
getting fleshy. The food is plain but
seems to be wholesome enough for our
needs. We are on call at any time
and always carry lunches when out
over meal time. We get few sweets,
so if you have an opportunity to send
over some canned or dried fruit, jam
or jelly, don't hesitate to ship it along,
It will taste mighty good for the 4th
of July. We are planning big feed
and celebration. We are going to
play baseball with another section of
canton drivers. Have a show and
liquid refreshments. Champagne can
be bought in the villages for francs
per bottle, about $1.2O per quart. So