The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1918-07-11
Letters FrOW Our Boys

very interesting letter was recently
received by viii p Winslow and from
Skowhegan boy, d. E. Pray who is
seeing service in France. The fol-
lowing extracts will be Of interest to
the many friends of young Dean who
has been promoted to Sergeant.
Behind the lines in a dugout,
March -.
My Dear Friend Will
| will tell you something of the
doings over here. To begin with we
are now up on the lines Not in the
first line but in support. We left
where we were and moved right upon
the line and were put in the first line
trenches. We were there for five
days and | will say they were five very
interesting days and very busy days
as we'll. | will say the Boshe sure
know how to entertain when they get
at it. We have been under some
very heavy she'll fire and while on the
line, under machine gun fire all the
time. | had the good luck to be
picked to take the first patrol out on
the front of our wire and it was some
experience, for me anyway, TO have to
take bunch of men out in front OF
the wire into no mans land. | was
little nervous until we got out In
front then my nerves settled down to
real business and we started. Was
out for some time and was fired on
by machine guns and they also
shelled us but we got back o. X. Since
that we have had a little of every
thing and we do not mind few
shells Now about the country
around here 1t is impossible for me
to describe how it is wrecked but |
will write a little for you to judge
from and guess of the utter ruin every
where.
The pictures you see back home are
nothing to the real thing. The towns
and cities are only mass of broken
stones and dirt The trees and such
are broken close to the ground and
in splinters. | have seen places
where beech trees two and one half
feet through have been shot clean off
the stump by one of the big shells
Not a tree of any kind is left stand
ing on all the country | have been over
behind the lines Great large build
ings and castles are reduced to only
heaps of stones Hills are made into
hollows which form small lakes.
Wherever large shell has hit 1t
makes a hole some twenty feet wide
and ten to fifteen feet deep and in
most cases these are filled with water
While | am writing of water | will
say that while the she'll holes and
trenches are filled with water it is i'm
possible for a fellow to get drink
as the water in the she'll holes are
poisoned by gasses and all ponds and
brooks by the Boshes.
Where we now are there is not a
civilian fon over fifty miles to our
rear. All we see are soldiers, SOL
diers soldiers. ! will be walking
along and up will pop three or four
French soldiers right from the ground
where they are under every tree root
and stump thirty and even forty feet
under ground At the present time
| am about thirty-ive feet under the
ground and the air outside is full of
shells and flying debris A man
could not live outside Some of the
dugouts are regular palaces. Some
of them captured from the Germans
would hold thousands of men and In
them were found pianos and many
comforts. But all of them are not
like this but are mostly stuffy little
damp places, but all this is in a days
work and we do not mind it.
| have not yet seen a Yep as they
are mostly kept at home since the
Allies bring down so many. But the
small planes are out every day and at
first we did not like to see one fall but
now we are used to it and when
Boshe falls there is cheer but it is
very quiet when one of our boys fall.
They say a fellow has ninety-nine
chances to one of getting back home
so we'll take the chances to get back
to the good old U. S. A. and then we
will talk 1t all over. On this line
the boys say we have new job over
here and that is pushing daisies up for
his Majesty the Kaiser They pay is
poor and we don't like it. Some time
we will be back in Dear Old Maine
SERGT D. E. PRAY,
Somewhere in France