Baxter Springs news., 1918-08-30
SOLDIERS LETTERS


Extracts from letters sent home by
Frank M. Perkins, 358th Infantry
Supply Co., Of 35Sth Regiment, Amer
lean Expeditionary Forces, France.
July 23rd.
Dear Home F0lks:-l am now in an
other French town larger than the
one just left. have charge Of nine
men and we expect to be here for
few days. We all expect to eat Xmas
dinner at home and / think we shall
come pretty close to it. We are well
treated here. i sleep in barn on
rock floor next door to hog pen but
we don't mind that as these people
have their barns in the house. One
thing have never seen here is horses
driven side by side. They are always
driven single file.
It is mighty hard to write letter
as the censor will cut out all the news.
1t is raining this morning, just a
shower.
l am writing this letter sitting in q
Y. M. C. A. tent. / don't know what
the fellows would do If it was not for
the Y. M. C. A., as they have tobacco
Of all kinds for sale, also fruit and
candy when they can get it and tables
and free writing paper, but of course
they are only located in the larger
camps.
This army is great life, here today
and gone tomorrow. Before ] ceme
here l was drilling n platoon Of men
with full packs in the morning for
about three hours and believe me 1t
is no joke to carry load of seventy
or eighty pounds on your back with
only q few minutes of rest two or
three times. We made a twelve mile
hike not long ago with full packs on
a nearly empty stomach and about
two hours of sleep. ! made it fine.
That only happens now and then. Take
it all the way through we fare very
well. have gained about ten pounds
that l lost on the boat, ha, ha.
July 2Sth.
Well, / have been here a week and
don't know how much longer it will
be before i join my company. Today
is Sunday and we worked all day, but
as luck would have it we did not have
to work tonight. 1t has been many
"a Sunday since have not worked or
put in my time on something in the
lime of duty. Uncle Sam treats his
soldiers better than the other Allies
in every way, think. We have good
meals. / can look dirt in the face and
eat it down without batting an eye.
when come home / am going to
sleep on the concrete porch floor to
get a good nights rest. To look and
watch these soldiers q person would
not think there was war on. We
have some of the biggest war news
lies and other stories that would make
a good book. They don't have picture
shows or theatres here, so you know
| am lost in the evenings when we
don't work.
Aug. 1st, 1918.
Another fine day-freeze at night
and burn up in the day time. l am
still in this little village away from
the company. went down to the
creek the other night to take a bath
and discovered / had enemies with me.
| think there were six. l killed them
all with my finger nails. These were
the first lice l had ever had and they
turned out to be sheep lice so are all
gone and am glad. We are fed bet
ter here than in the U. S. A. We have
had sliced tomatoes twice in the last
week. We can buy six little cakes
like ginger snaps for one franc or
eighteen cents. / am tanned as brown
as leather. Has Baxter many new
buildings? We are all figuring on
being home by Xmas. In about two
months we will have the Kaisers
scalp and then we will beat it for
America.