Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-01-31
Letter From David oamet.
lt. Douglas. utah. JAN. 26

l
lh. Douglas. utah. Jan. 26.
Dear Mr.. Copp:
| am back into military life
again doing what our superior
Officers dictate. Military forma-
tions have been suspended on ac-
count Of about three feet of snow
on the level. AS we never have
any wind like you have in Iowa
the snow doesn't Pile up in drifts.
Tho snow came down so easily
that it collected on the branches
of the trees and broke number
of them Off. The snow had to be
shoveled Off the buildings OF it
would have weighted them down.
Two buildings in the war prison
camp collapsed on account OF the
weight of the snow. But we are
having grand weather; A degrees
above has been the coolest so far.
The boys today are in their shirt
sleeves today about the fort. 1t
seems quite odd to see the "wop"
fruit stands filled with fruits of
all kinds on the streets when the
snow is on the ground and sup
posed to be winter, so you see it
must not be very cold.
Our training consists prin-
cipally OF sefnaphore and wigwag
signalling and studying scouting
and patroling from relief map
made of sand in a box 1Ox3O feet.
| II is made from an exact relief
map OF Gettysburg and vicinity at
the time Of the Civil war. 1t
shows the mountains, rivers,
roads, villages, timber, etc., as it
was then. Also on another table
Of sand are the different kinds Of
trenches and wire entanglements
used in the present warfare in
Europe. 1t is very interesting to
know how they are constructed,
the advantages and disadvantages
OF them.
Our entire regiment. were is
sued Red Cross sweaters made by
the Salt Lake chapter. Most Of
them are grey. Some Of the girls
had their names on them. Nat
urally we all wanted one with a
name on it. The Red Cross work
crs are sure doing their bit. Ev-
erywhere you go you see the
feminine sex with their knitting
needles--even knit during church
out here.
There is a big drive on now for
the Y. M. C. A. all over the U. S.
Secy. Caster said our ~" had the
best standing of them all except
in Bible study. He ought to know
because he has just recently fin
ished tour OF all the camps and
forts in the e. S. in the interest
of the Y. M. c. A. work. We have
devised new plan 10 enlarge our
Bible class by organizing B. C.
Fraternity and adopted the slo-
gan, I'VE are not only going clean
over the top, but going over the
top clean
The annual ski tournament was
held on the mountain side near
the fort last Sunday afternoon.
Experts from different places in
the U. S. were here and partici-
Ipated. The papers stated that
there We're 5000 people there to
witness the scene. A fellow from
Denver made the best record,
making jump of 80 feet and 90
feet high. This was a new sport
to me, as never knew what a ski
was until / came to Utah.
IL was little tough on ME TO
get used to this said army chow
after coming from home and hav-
ling all those good eats. Blu. army
life isn't so bad, especially when
we have such good place to stay
as FL. Douglas. We have our
good times out l.ere. The people
are so good to us TO invite US into
their private homes, give US all
kinds of amusements and try to
make things as pleasant for us as
possible.
| will close for this time and
write again soon, as l think quite
often Of my Mondamin friends.
Yours truly,
DAVID w. GAMET.
Co. l, Goth Infantry.