Grand Forks herald., 1918-08-29
CHAPTER ".
A Royal Welcome.

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It was evident that our approach
had been we'll heralded, for the docks
were dense with people. and on pub
houses hundreds of American and
French flags were swapping to the
breeze.
Quaint little French fishing boats
swarmed about the transport, and the
occupants Of these craft were the first
to greet us. a
These fishermen were very pic
turesque. in their rakish, red tam-o-
shanteys and corduroy trousers rolled
up to the knee. They wore red
scarf about the waist and their feet
were bare. The faces of these foreign
looking men were wreathed in smiles;
they iabbered and gesticulated after
the manner Of the French, shrieking
questions at us which we did not in
the least understand.
One OF them became so excited that
he forgot to steer his boat and the
craft rammed another and was upset,
throwing the fisherman into the water.
We threw line to the capsized party
and pulled him dripping and gasping
to the deck Of the transport. We
gave him a hilarious reception, slap
ping his damp back and shouting,
torrent Of enthusiasm in. his own Ian
guage and wide smile unfolded un-
der his queer little eyebrow of "a mus
tache when we filled his, hand with
American coins. He stayed on the
boat until we docked and did not seem
to worry in the least about the fate of
his smack which he had left upset
in the harbor.
In the meantime the French air
craft had wheeled about and were fol-
lowing the transport, serving as sort
OF rearguard. The United States
cruiser rode proudly ahead and the
destroyers steamed behind us.
1t sounded pleasant and warlike to
hear the buzzing of the motors aloft.
We yelled greetings to the airmen,
and they peered at us through their
goggles and waved in reply. They
were flying so low that we could al
most talk to them.
Dense crowds were lined up on both
banks as we passed through the first
locks. There were quantity dressed
peasant women who made me think
Of the pictures Of Puritan DANES in
my history book back in Frisco. They
wore prim white caps exceedingly
tight bodices, wide skirts and wooden
shoes. The little girls were pocket
editions Of their mothers and big
sisters.
A Colorful Reception. 49,.
: The men were attired in velveteen
coats, corduroy trousers and sabots.
The whole scene put me in mind of
a grand opera I had once attended
in Frisco. 1T
The populace, so to speak, went wild
as we slipped through the locks, our
band playing alternately the "Star
Spangled Banner" and the "Marseil-
laise."
Men ripped their gaudy scarfs from
their waists and waved them frantic
ally; women and girls fluttered their
handkerchiefs and American and
French flags were in evidence every
where. p ffe
We could easily gather by the ac-
tions Of these good people that we
were the best things they had looked
upon for a long time. There was
something pathetic and childish about
their joy. Many Of them sobbed like
children, they felt so glad to see us
Yanks, and did not blame them
when thought of what they had been
through the last three years.
4 Sons brothers and fathers from this
city had died by the thousand on the
ITOnLllUc, dlOIlS Will Juliet lOydl
In the coming of the
Americans these poor folks saw hope
and prospect of turning Of the
tide against the invading boche.
Our fighting edge was sharpened
when we glimpsed the depth of their
welcome. We couldn't understand a
single syllable of the jargon they
tossed to us, but we took it for granted
that it was all complimentary and
consoled them with good old United
States.
"Take heart, you folks, for we're
going to paste hell out of the boches,' -
yelled an artilleryman.
"Uncle Sam is on the job now"
cried another Yank.
We docked that night, but were
not allowed to go ashore. But the
Trenches seemed determined that we
should feel the welcome of France,
even though we were penned up
aboard ship. They swamped us with
baskets Of fruit aud bouquets Of
flowers. Soon the old transport looked
lik9 a florist shop, and we consumed