Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1918-08-14
June r..

Tree, Writing ana watching the soup
wagon steaming away. Sun is bright
and clear, nice breeze. A couple of
peasant women are making hay just
back Of me with big homemade
rakes. Had a fine trip 2h days in a
tiny box car. Scenery beautiful. The
little old towns and occasionally a
beautiful chateau or aged castle Of
some ancient wal lord with its tiny
iron barred windows, Sits and notch
es in the walls for spears and arrows,
meats, draw bridges just as in olden
days when knighthood was in flower.
Sort of gets ones goat though to be
looking at such, then see a heavily
iron banded oak door open and a
good looking nurse in her white cap
and gown come stepping out. Ev-
erything there seems incongruous and
inconsistent, wen this peaceful old
apple tree. Saw a squadron of Boche
planes shelled and driven back this
a. m. We are located in a tiny viii
lage about ten miles from a good
sized city. We are now at a portable
u. S.. wood barrack. The first few
days we were billeted and that we
liked very much. Each house has a
board sign with billet number and
number Of Hommes and Chevaux it
will accommodate. We were in 8 men.
An old gentleman, his daughter and
her two daughters, well-to-do farmers
/ take it, lived there. The house is
yer 200 years old and made Of stone,
cemented and plastered over, each
room has a tiny window. The hus-
band of the house is at the front.
Thou 1.-Two in tho main n ~ vOUk n ~ n
four COWS, then we slept in the loft
extending over the COWS and the work
shop. Also there were 6 or 8 rab-
bits, same number of guinea pigs, cat
and dog. The first morning after the
night before we awakened with ter
rifle headaches. No n said a word,
just looked wise, then a neighbor
came over and told US not to sleep in
the new hay as it generated a gas
that would make u heads ache. Les
son No. /. Thereafter we slept on
the old hay. We hiked out in the hot
sun. Many of the boys had no water,
those of us who had drank s~paring-
ly. We had cramps long ago, so
when we arrived we were parched.
ALI wells are labelled as to their
drinking qualities. Some are pois-
oned, some are suspected. Our we'll
was o. X. and we laid into it. They
have had no rest since. Lesson No.
2. Now our water is boiled or chlor-
mated. The Soldats advised us
don't be foolish and try to drink
water, drink sour wine and you'll
have no aches" I had no trouble
as I drink both water and wine as |
feel the desire nor do l try to put a
gallon into a quart stomach.
June 27.-Well today was mail day
for us. Received letters of June 4
and 5. Three weeks on the way
which is pretty good service depend
ent on the speed of the ships and the
route taken. A couple of days ago I
received the Herald of May 1 and
copies of the Platteville News of
March q to May 8. Seems mighty
good to hear from home even if the
news is somewhat antiquated.
1 don't know what to write you as
the censor lid is on tight. Can tell
you everything but that which you
would like to hear. 'Taint my fault
as it isn't my war. About all I can
seem to think of is that I'm we'll and
satisfied.
We see so much printed in the mag
azines and papers, pictures and all
that and can only say, read them for
the stuff which we cannot tell. Look
up the Post of May 18, page IS, and
you'll "see things that l have seen
and know things that l know" I'm
also waiting for Mary Roberts Rhine
hart to spill the beans. OF course all
of that is out of date as far as mill
tary value goes. We get odds and
ends of magazines. We also enjoy
reading the soldiers letters publish
ed in the home papers. It's great
stuff to kid each other about. 1 get
mine. If you'd like to hear some reg
ular lines of salve, kidding and ours
ing just join the army-that's all we
have to do in our leisure hours and
right now we are having the easiest
time we have ever had. Our band is
in such good shape that we doubt if
We'll ever so much as get a chance to
carry a s%tretcher. We play 8 to 5
concerts a week and get many COM
pliments, especially from the French
who know and appreciate good clas-
steal music far better than WI Amer
leans. Aside from one S0-piece
French band we are not taking our
hats off to any of the bands we have
competed with. We understand we
are due for a tour of all the American
hospitals, if so we'll see a lot of coun-
try; have seen considerable already.
Friday eve.-We played a concert
in the village tonight, just an easy
one, only used two good numbers. We
generally play 4 or 5 numbers each
concert that stand me on my ear.
Surely do miss Ellis. We have start
ed work on Wagner's "Tannhauser,"
perhaps the most difficult thing writ
ten for band or orchestra. We play
ed out in a held, a beautiful spot. The
peasants were out cutting hay with
soythes and off a mile or SO were some
big blue hills. Couldn't help but
think of the paintings THE Angelus,'
The Cleaners" etc. 1t was all so
perfect in the light of the setting sun.
l used to think those painters had
wonderful imagination. Not at all
they simply painted reality no
more, no less. The colorings in these
countries seem so bright and fresh
and vivid mara en- fbop ~ bNo,o 81