The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1918-01-31

4 Le"eiSiiVih ohu hpou' 'o'u'e's
One of the most interesting publica-
tion ever received in Hood River-The
Spiker, issued by the 18th Regiment of
Engineers, Railway, and sent to j. E..
Ferguson by his nephew, f. Z. Fergu-
son, formerly an Astoria boy. who is
now member of Co. + of the regi-
ment, has just arrived.
The Spiker, in its Christmas number
dress is 20 pages, exclusive of the
handsomely engraved covers.
The Spiker, published by the 18th
Engineers, Railway, u. S. Army,
somewhere in France, One Frame, is
the inscription one reads on the front
page, and just below:
"La Belle France
ITO know thee is to love thee-the
home of liberty, fraternity and equal
ity. Throughout the centuries thy soil
has been sanctified by the flesh and
blood and shattered bone of countless
heroes who died in freedoms holy
cause. The whole civilized world sends
you Christmas greetings and echoes to
the tread of millions who would rather
die than see your efforts fail.
''Thy spirit is undaunted and un-
broken. We salute your soldiers. We
stand uncovered in the presence of the
mothers who gave them life. No ma
tion can be greater than the mothers
thereof. And we bring them greet.
ings from our dear ones.
UE1itura uanaratiopc will 20 acho and
pass on to an endless posterity the
sacred words, 'Vive La France, the De-
fender Supreme OF the Rights of
Man..
Col. J. B. Cavanaugh, the regiment s
commanding officer, issues the follow
ing holiday greetings:
'"Someone has well said that in war
the unexpected always happens, and
we who cast our common lot with the
18th Engineers little thought we would
have as our first duties in France the
work upon which we are now engaged.
However, there. can be no doubt in the
mind of any one who considers the sit.
uation, either upon the necessity or the
Importance of our present work and
the extent to which the safety and
WclidIC VI tilC fulCb Lildb dIG W tOIlC
after US depend upon our efforts.
THAT the regiment appreciates the
situation has been evidenced by the
fine spirit with which all have under
taken hard and unexpected duties, with
none of the glamour and excitement of
actual warfare to spur them on.
''In expressing my personal appreci-
alton let me assure you that | am I'M
dertaking to keep in the' minds of
higher authority the fact that the 18th
is made up of good soldiers as well as
good workmen, and in this you can ma.
terially assist by continued soldierly
conduct.
MAY the Christmasssof the regiment
be as merry as absence from home and
dear ones will permit"
Companies E and F of the 18th are
largely made up of men of Portland
and towns of surrounding short radi-
us.
Even in Sunny California, where the
enlisted man may spend his leave on a
hike in the open air and where the de.
mand for recreational huts is not so
great as at cantonments where the
weather is frigid, the Y. M. C. A.
huts bring warm praise from soldier
and sailor boys. In a letter home,
Walter Niehans, formerly a mechanic
in the Hood River garage, who is now
at the San Diego naval training school,
states that the boys find the Y. M. G.
A. huts very convenient.
In his letter Mr.. Niehans tells of the
quarantine that the men have to exper-
fence on arrival
''The first thing they do. "he says, "is
to put you in the detention camp.
which, as you might say, is divided off
into pens, with high wire fences around
them. We have to remain here for q
days. in order that it may be deter
mined if any contagious diseases have
been brought in. You are also vaccin-
ated and innoculated against typhoid.
These innoculations make good many
of the boys sick for a time.
''The pens are called compounds.
Each is equipped with light tent
which accommodates six men. We are
not supposed to go outside fences for
q days, but sometimes we all went out
for little drill. When the q days
were up we all went down to the bar
racks. Most of the old fair buildings
have been utilized. The barracks are
arranged as one large room. Posts are
set up at intervals and four by six
girders strung along these posts about
six feet from the floor. On these we
string our hammocks. 1t is very conf
cal to see the boys get into hammocks
on the first night, but we soon become
accustomed to them and are now Sleep
ing fine. Occasionally you will be
awakened in the dead of night by a
heavy thud, and you know that some
body has fallen out of his hammock.
"We usually assemble on the Plaza
to march up to our meals. Usually the
band plays as we march and most of
the time while we are eating. We get
excellent eats and everybody is feeling
fine. The officers are capable men and
win our admiration. | am in the avia-
ton branch and am sure that am 60
ing to like it mighty well.
1--WE get liberty to go to town on
Wednesday and Saturday afternoons,
Saturday evenings and most all Sun
days. In company with such a fine
bunch of fellows, you may be sure
am satisfied"
Mr.. Niehans asks that his best re-
CARDS be rendered to all of his friends.
Mr.. and Mrs. J. J. Gibbons, of the
Rockford orchard district, have two
sons in armies battling the huns. AL
bert Gibbons is in France with a regi-