The Ordway new era., 1918-12-27
WALKER GIVES
EXPERIENCES IN
WORLDS WAR
Continued from Page -

We were only here a couple OF days
when we again packed up and mar
ohed to the station to load on tram
for our training ca,la. W. :lade 4
little fun of the English trains but
when the boys saw the French box
cars marked, 'Hommes 40 Chevc-
aux s. you should have heard them
roar. 1t is something new you may
know for a man to be put in the
same class and cars with horses, but
at that.we had a very enjoyable ride.
The tops of the cars turned down
and. we could open them up and get
q dandy view of the country as we
Dassed thru.
We arrived at Camp de Souges,
about twelve miles from Bordaux, on
the 18th. This camp was an old
French camp covering many miles
nf ground and is situated in a very
sandy. pine-covered country. The
climate is similar to that of Calf
orniaand we had no cold weather to
;peak of. Most every nation on the
Garth was represented here. Algerian
negroes. Chinese coolies. and evon
German and Austrian prisoners were
In the mixup.
Heavy Battery
Heretofore we had been 3-inch ba-
ttery and just before we left the
States we heard that we were to be
-aade heavy battery and get six-inch
guns. and be motorized. but 1t all
sounded too good to be true. You
can imagine our delight, then, when
our men were sent to motor school
and finally one day our big six-inch
guns, Weighing fifteen tons. were
pulled into camp by tractors weigh
ing twelve tons. Our old three-inch
guns were mighty effective things.
but they look pretty puny beside of
these big boys. The next two months
were spent in learning to put the guns
in action and fire them. and get them
back Into travelling position, all done
in the dark without the aid of a light
M any kind. While here we also
wired the target range and most Of
tie camp with telenhone lines, and
also strung lines to towns nearby
q I'd otherwise made a modern camp
Il 1t.
Worked In Dark
About the first of April we went tn
St Sulpice. little French village a
few miles from Libourne. where we
simulated actual war conditions. We
would go out on conveys put the
guns in position, do fake firing for n
couple of DAYS and pull out again, al
wavs remembering that lights were
out of the question and everything
from start to finish had to he done
I'm the dark. and in the daytime be
seen as little as possible.
The people here were the typical
French peasant class and treated US
,rovallv. The main crop here wes
g-anes. from which they make their
famous gin rouge. which. by the way,
n one of the principal foods OF the
French poiln. We were only a few
kilos from the famous old town and
fort of st. Emilion. around which
some of the most bloody battles OF
olden times took place. 1t was here
that Victor Hugo lived when he wrote
his "I.os Miserahles." This Is also
the place where the largest wine and
ciamrasnc cellars of Europe are To-
Gated. rome Of which hold thousands
Of bottles of the highest grade cf
,:har.parne. Needless to saw this was
fovorite haunt of the boys during
their leisure hours. 1t was also near
Ter, wherc had the fine dinner of
which twrotc you some time ago.
First Engagement
The first of June our regiment was
gathered at Castillion and went on
more conveys for the next month. and
on July 4th. very fitting day. we
started on the last lag of our big ad-
venture. We loaded on the train at
Libourne and went north to Paris.
then out to the Chateau Thierry,