Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-12-26

+ L--z
Lieutenant IL. c. Smith.
/ fish trains riding south. About
/ 1870 that night we detrained at
/ Winchester and started to hike
+ about four miles to an English rest
! camp. Just as she clock in the ca
/ thedral at Winchester was striking
/ the midnight hour. between Christ
mas eve and Christmas morning, i
/ was half way up mile long hill,
trying to keep company together
+ in the darkness, but even that
/ couldn't prevent my mind running
/ back to other Christmas ewes, and
other Christmas mornings when
I three brothers used to race to three
/ stockings. and afterwards tiptOe
around tue Christmas tree for dad
and mother to say Merry Christ
mas" But don't think that l was
miserable on Christmas day, dad,
for I wouldn't let myself be. l
was where I had wanted to be ever
/ since war was declared, in the
army and on the fighting side of the
/ Atlantic, and I had one meal on
/ Christmas, which was one better
! than none. 1t consisted of boiled
beef and cabbage, one potato, one
/ slice of bread, no butter, and one
cup Of tea. and cost me two shil-
( lings six pence l would have got
+ ten my meals at the camp only l
was busy until about 5 O'Clock in
F the evening OF Christmas day trying
+ to secure straw for the men to sleep
on. We were in Winchester two
days and | had a good opportunity
. to visit the town, which is one OF
| the oldest in England, the cathed-
raj being one of the oldest cathed-
rails in the world. I will always
+ remember Winchester because it
was there I saw my bedroll and my
T baggage for the last time until the
( Sth Of May.
Crosses Channel.
About noon of the 27th we left
/ Winchester for Liverpool, about
two hours train ride. l had four
hours in Liverpool and in that time
rode all over the city on the upper
deck of a street car. L is a beau
tlful city and impresses one as
+ being thoroughly American, though
lllI5 lut Il ID HUN W btLaiA NCAA+1te%1A
that a back-handed compliment. At
+ Liverpool / went aboard the rough
est riding boat in existence for a
four hour spin and twist across the
English channel to LaHaVre, which
we reached at exactly midnight OF
the 9th of December, and on the
morning of the 2Sth l crawled Eyes,
l was sick) down the gangplank
onto French paving bricks and
started a four mile hike to rest
camp No. >, a British rest camp
lust outside the city. We stayed
there two days, and / had a gIOr-
ious time. for the American 0ffic-
erS were entertained at a British
I officers club. ! did not get a
chance to visit the city. as we did
not know when to expect orders to
sntraiu and so did not dare leave
the camp.
Car AiiTe.
On the afternoon Of the 29th we
+ left camp. marched through the
I town. across the Seine, and en-
trained 81 ~HOmmes 40 ChevauX s.
with q box car Of ratiOns hitched on
+ at the end OF train OF about sew
/ gnty cars. and thereby hangs a
tale. Before going further, let me
explain that at this time there was
about two feet Of snow on the
ground. and the weather made us
feel perfectly at home. All went
well, and cold, that night and the
next day. but at midnight of the
seth we were reused from a sort Of
/ frozen stup0r by the report that our
ration car was on fire. II was. And
not a pail could be found, nor
water. 1t was at this time that l
was fOrcibly impressed with the
fact that French railways have
/ watering stations an interminibie
distance apart, for it took our en-
/ giueer a half hour TO run the train
7 to one, and by that time not even
/ the cooks could find an unbrOken
bottle of lemon extract and when an
army cook cannot find
bottle of lemon extract among
a battalion's supply of rations
you may be sure that something
/ awful has happened to the supply
Well il had. But Of course that
couldn't stop the train, and so the
3Ist of December saw US still NOV
ing south and climbing up into
what are called the Central noun
tains of France. At about O'Clock
in the afternoon OF the 3lst tNew
Years eyeD. we detrained at . lit
tie town called La Courtine. in the
Lrovince of Grouse. At this town
was situated a French artillery post
which, prior TO the war, had been
1sed by the French only for sum
mer camp. There were large stone
rarrack buildings, but no arrange
ments for heat. We were the first
Americans in LaCOurtine and the
civilians were exceedingly demon
strative in their welcome, but there
IS one thing for which / cannot for
give LaC0urtiHe Just before we
ZANE there had been two regiments
Of Russians quartered In the camp
We were to occupy and one Of these
regiments had mutinied. The other
regiment. in trying 10 quell the mu-
tiny, allowed the fight to reach
such proportions that the French
authorities were compelled TO turn
machine guns and los on the whole
gang, consequently the camp was
rather badly shot up. as is usually
the case when either a machine gun
or a IS starts work. However. Ne
made quick work Of the mess