Mexico weekly ledger., 1918-10-03

ms HEAVEN. HELL Oh
HOBakEN REFOEE CHRIST.
MAS~ WRTTrS SnInHFR

- AAAMEA
AAS- WRITES SOLDIER
n fal1Et.E z~serestur Letter
tru1 fu-ce uEs vritter q A lar
50 - Rrfrafs gahzzzss r. gshaze
va Ezs fsrnerT Esh TIE Lzrss
ftu1o IN ths cry and icn Msxic
ulth zee q tkr first eartrruuts ia
seieclys AMY Whe not = natire
q tins eczztv. h. xas = natuzErsd
Ctrez ard cEinci ~ sxrnrtozz
SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE sept
& 1873
Dear Mr. LAun:
Just n forarcst Ithink pea mrrt
Ike % EnoE r lttlc ahozt ny first a.
Puenoe in the real trcnches-nou
that TIE pay Is over ] was statioaed
IN a Little voods with a certain eom-
Fszy FER the purpose q taking care q
What casualties they might have, bit
We only had few a. ny post You
have heard about dagsuts a rood deal.
no doubt Vel. I slept in one, or RATA
81 TIVE. for about 3 week. Imagine
yogrsef 80 feet under the ground. two
stairvays lead down to 4, slippery
and ma1dy. It's . perfect darkroon,
often With several inches Of water on
the hoor. always damp. cold szi
filled with a peculiar moldy air. It's a
haven fer rats. fees and "eooties".
B1nks are arranged along both sides
much Ike berths in a Pullman, one
above the other, minus the comfort, Of
course There may be a Ii le straw
On top and there may not Just accord
ing 10 whether OF not you get there
first or last ] got there last SO !
got the benefit Of four inches Of water
on the floor to take footbath in II !
desired-but l left that part Of it &c
the rats; they had a deuce Of a time
taking their nightly swim here. II
you have a candle, you are pretty vel
on; Il not, why it's Ike loading plate
holders without safe light-ge.tinC
your bunk arranged and crawl in !
mean. Tbs gas mask is always in Your
way, No matter how you turn around;
but its your best friend; you want It
at al times, for the gas is deadly
roisoE- Yes, there is a gas g1ard
a1d ga alarm apparatus upstairs to
arouse you IN rs of dsnger. All
then sou better act quickly for th-re
is said 70 be only .wo kinds Of men
quick men and dead men. / rather
want to belong to the first category,
wouldu'. you? You don't want to
nind the enemy seroplane ard artil-
lery fire overhead; they can't bother
you as leng as you are down there, but
when you are outside in broad day
light or in the evening you would bet
"flop" down on your belly when
you hear a shell whistling through
the air, for it might burst near YOU
and a little fragment has been known
kill many a good nan. AfraidF
Not much! Rather too Indifferent, if
anything, | think, because it becomes
natural-so stimulating. I think IFS
exceedingly beneficial to nervous city,
bred people, becauce one must con-
rely upon his own good judg-
nent as 70 what action to take. For
example, mere comes a shell whining
the air from the enemy's
trenches. Now, Is It a gas shell or ar
shell? You decide according to
YOU. knowledge and act accordingly.
Or It might be from your own artil- |
.cry or from anti-aireraft guns-not
much to fear there but be on the alert
anyhow. 4 sweet smell reaches your
nose-so unlike that Of dugouts-
somewhat like that Of juicy fruit
,hewing gum. You like to take a
Nhif-and soon after you may be in
hospital. | think they perfume
their gas bombs, the germans-quite
a smart trick. Or you may be relieved
some night and ego in" for a rest m
billets, lodging the shells on the
TaL get a good sleep, a good bath and
perhaps 20 through the "~delousing"
process to get rid of the ~proverbial
'coCties" and then it would be a good
idea TO go down to the creek and wash
your clothes French fashion, scrap
ping them on a rock and last-but not
.east-go down to the Y. NJ. C. A.. and
to your folks and friends that
yoL got out this time feeling fine and
without a scratch, preparing for the
next trip out in the trenches. And
that's just what | am doing at present.
wrote a sort Of postcard some time
ago; did you get it? If not, it's not nv
FAULT. By the way, wherever you can
speak a good word for the "Y" and Red
they do great work for us. |
nave that from experience, not from
papers. Here the men assemble when
II from the front, writing, playing.
'eading, singing, drinking cocoa-yes,
praying. Here they buy smokes,
;andies Or such little commodities as
he mess can't supply. It's a merry
ct OF boys, as though celebrating a
iational holiday rather than facing
ieath every day. And | cannot but
mention the spirit with which our Of
lcers share the hardships and discom-
'orts with u.s.; it's admirable and en-
'ouraging. When we go to the imme-
late front again ] don't know-n9r
where we go, but know that when
he word comes we "go." It's Heaven,
He'll or Hoboken" before Christmas,
or after al, we like to have this lob
and done well, and then go back
o the good old U. S. A. and appreci-
lie a hundred times more than be-
ore the blessings Of peace and com
ort. But until we come, you folks
rust keep the home fires burning and
ot fail to drop a letter TO a soldier
nee in a while. Do that, please. With
wishes to you all. I
Sincerely yours,
PRVT) JOHANNES P. JOHANSON, {
led. Detch, 35th Inf, A. +. f. via
New York CITY.