Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1918-06-06
Somewhere in France
n q 4 q


May IL, 1918.
Dear Ma
Today being Mothers Day every
one is writing to their mothers
that is if they are lucky enough to
have one.
l received your letter the day be-
fore yesterday, and also Wesley's.
They have gotten the mail system
down so that now We get our mail
in about three weeks and sometimes
little less.
George .Weighton said in his last
letter that Pat Foley and Merrill
Northup had enlisted in the navy,
and / think from the way he talked
that he will be the next one to go.
That is a pretty good picture of
Pa, and also | notice that he is
standing at attention. Have they an
other Home Guard unit organized by
this time or did the one he spoke of
in his letter a while back prove a
failure. | wish / could see some of
them step out with pack on like the
ones We have to lug around over
here.
Hunting has been pretty good
around here lately, 'cooties" being
the chief game and your shirt the
most popular hunting ground. Dutch
calls them seam squirrels" which
seems 10 be a highly appropriate
name. Trench rats are another form
of game which are at present in great
numbers in the dugouts and have
tendency to carry away all the re-
serve rations they can get hold of.
They seem to fare pretty well, too, if
you can judge from appearances as
they grow to be as large as a cat.
That is, of course, a small cat, or a
kitten
/ saw a movie show the other, ev-
ening. 1t was a pretty fair one too,
| If you take into consideration the
| fact that it was just little way back
of the front line and the Germans
tcould have dropped a shell on it if
they had known where it was. OF
course they have shelled Paris but
what good has it done. I've talked
with a "Y' man who was there when
the Boches dropped shells and he
told me all about it, and being a
pretty truthful looking old chap l
doubt him not. He said the damage
wasn't great, and anyway when
shell lights on a building it is smoth-
cred and of course little damage is
done. Friend Boche gets very fool
ish at times. And because of the
fact that he has made a fool of him
self so many times in the past and
will do the same in the future. we
shall win the war and sling him
back among his old empty beer bot
ties and long Stoned pipes, a sadder
and wiser and. of course, a poorer
manor rather being Now l know
why we were sent over here ard not
kept at home until the Boche came
over to the United States, as they
no doubt would have done if we had
not beaten them to it. | never did
think very much. l never did think
much of New York City where thew
forget their RS" and say "woik."
and shot ETC., but it is too good
for the Roche to shoot up, and we
don't want our families treated like
the Germans treated the families of
the Belgians and others. I used to
wonder il all those stories were true.
Take it from me, they were not bad
enough.
Stan" has Just finished closing a
"ventiiator" which an unruly nail
saw fit to place in the seat of his
pants. and from the looks of the COM
pleted article one would be led to be-
| lieve that Stan had been harness
maker in civilian life.
Contrary to the popular belief we
are net wholly without amusements
over here, and still have our parties
and dances, although the parties are
all card parties and conducted on a
small scale with usually King or a
couple OF aces missing from the