Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1918-09-27

CRESCO, HC
and is getting along very well. l ran
onto Joe Malek also. He is getting
along we'll.
Well Dana intended to write few
wor 1s but see have gone several
pages. will drop you line when ]
get over.
Paul Eddy writes his mother as fol-
lows:
"Well how are all you folks
a.coming? am still among the hills
and valleys of France. The aeroplanes
were fighting over my head all last
night as l was sleeping and they are
still at it today. They sure are some
wonderful sights. 1t is getting real
interesting now. The shells look awful
pretty when they explode high up in
the air. We have been attacked by
gas couple of times. It is whole
lot of fun to crawl out of your nest in
! the middle of the night and put on your
gas mask and try to find your way
through these thick forests, and the
forests are full of underbrush. We
carry our gas masks every place we 60.
even sleep with them right beside our
head so we can get them handy. We
are doing some real soldering now.
We do not have to drill any more and l
am sure glad of it. Do you know
where Willie Howard is? He might be
flying oyer my head for all know.
God knows, there sure is plenty of
them. This country is full of trenches
and wire ENHANCEMENT and the ground
is covered with shell holes. l can hear
guns, motor trucks, aeroplanes, gas
shells and rifles any time of night or
day. 1t sure is interesting and getting
more so all the time. Do you ever
hear where Alfred Grinhaug is? He
must have been in that big drive they
had about month ago. We have had
some fine weather over here. 1t rained
day before yesterday. ! can feel the
fall coming on now. The only thing l
dread is the winter. Iguess the snow
doesn't get so deep, but it keeps melt
J. ing and freezing in the trenches and
makes it bad for the soldiers to get
feet wet and cold all the time.
/ The big gas shells make lots Of noise
when they travel through the air.
They sound just like lumber wagon
on rough road. Gas is the worst
thing in the war. 1t is very disagree
able to wear these gas masks, but lots
of times we have to wear them for ten
and fifteen hours. The Huns are great
no using gas because it is cruel way.
They have what they call the mustard
gas; if it gets on you it burns and the
only cure is to have the spot cut out.
All the money in the world wouldn't
do any good. might as we'll throw it
away, so you can imagine where I am,
can't you? nr
The Boches aren't going to scare me
any, for have an automatic rifle that
shoots twenty times and weighs 10 lbs.
And there is man to load it for me.
l can take it apart and put it together
with my eyes shut. The reason we do
this is if we fight at night something
might happen and I would have to
change the barrels, they get too hot.
I also have an automatic pistol that
shoots seven times, and guess can
hold them back for while. 1t is a
gay life if you don't weaken. a.
1t is about supper time and L have
about 40 rods to walk, most of the way
through the trenches"
To Clark Mcintyre he writes:
''Guess l have climed about all the
hills, cluffs and mountains in France
and crawled through the underbrush-
talk about underbrush, you don't know
what it is over ,,there--it is just mass
here. We hiked for three days and
rode in bvx cars one night, and this is
what we carried in our pack: Shelter
half tent poles and pins, blanket. ex-
ira suit of underwear, extra pair of
shoes, extra shirt, four pair socks,
toilet set. gas mask, hundred rounds
of ammunition, twenty rounds of pistol
ammunition, steel helmet. magazine
pouch full of magazines, mess kit. can
oil, ,overcoat, sweater, muff1er, can
corned beef, can salmon, Z pieces of
hsrdtack ane bacon, can full of sugar,
caffee and m. at, and that bloody rifle
weighing 10 ID. don't link Boche
can whip a man that can carry that
much junk.
Don Bowers, on active service with