St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1918-06-29
ST. LANDRIAN NOW
OVER THERE WRITES
OF LIFE IN FRANCE
r. Rudolph 5odemuller says Army
Life is Mot So Bad
After Al
SPLENDID, VIVID DESCRIPTION
OF FANCY AiRPLANE STUNTS
Brilliant Young opelousean Pays
just Tribute to Red Cross and
Fine Work Accomplished BY
the Y. M. C. Al.

What can De more tnteresting
these days, than letter from one 81
oar boys over in France? What can
be more intensely interesting than
to peruse descriptive letter from
2 oqA Eenmgs 70 suos EN- 10 eue
Il helping the allied forces get the
kaiser's goat?"
The Clarion published, once be.
fore, selections from a letter re.
fceived BY our townsman, Mr.. III
Bodemuller, from his eldest son. III
Rudolph Bodemuller, who il nov
with the American ExpeditionaEy
Forces In France Rudolph would
have made a splendid newspaper
man and surely the Fourth Estate
lost fine possible recruit when he
cast his life's work ia other chan.
/ nels.
i The latest letter received Nv hia
father from him. under date of Nay
81, reads as follows:
France, May 81, 1913
The last three weeks have been
busy ones, but most pleasantly spent.
| As stated IN i previous letter
am no longer up near the front, han.
ing been sent far back to establish
a station. Strange as it may seem %
one back at home, all of Us are keen
to get up front where the big game
is being played Probably the most
unhappy men In the army are those
who must stay back in the training
camps and supply depots to keep men
and supplies moving along To the
fighters.
But since we must be back, why
worry? Just recently we had q vel
come change from the regular ron
tine Of seeing scores OF airplanea
buzzing around with beginners steer
ing. About noon we heard q terrific
buzz of one Of the French fighting
planes. These are built on the or
der of a plank with a tremendous en-
CINE tied to 1t. They have to attain
the speed OF Sunset Limited be-
hind time before leaving the ground
so you can imagine What their speed
may be when in the air The entire
post came out to watch an Ameri
can daredevil flirt with Death and
laugh at him High up, overhead
perhaps $500 feet he raced. then
stuck the nose OF his plane straight
up, turned over sidewise, then fiat
tened out and sped in the opposite
direction. Then he tipped the plane
on the side. swung to level and over
on the other side. So he raced
across rocking like hammock. Sud
denly he flattened out and looped
the-loop half dozen times. Next
came the tEa-rell.p TO do this be
Hoped tho plane over sidewisa
leaving the plane upsidedown, cut
Of the engine and dived, nose down,
into reverse loop bringing him
right side up but going in the oppo
site direction. Then he gave her
the gum tturned on full gasolineJ
and In a few seconds was going like
the wind. Suddenly the plane
turned side-wise on its axis, turning
completely over and back 70 right
side up. Like flash this was RE-
peated Then, cutting off the engine
he twisted the plane just 80 degrees
and fell straight down sidewises
/ faster and faster he fell, like bul-
let. and when our throats began 20
choke up with fear, he righted bis
/ plane and with the gun roaring
sailed back up into the blue. On
/ his way up he turned the nose Oh
his plane straight up, climbed 2
moment, then fIattened out, again
straight UP and fiat like "climbin VI
de golden stairs Arriving at safe
height once more, he killed the en-
g,ne and let the plane fall, moss
down, twisting about its its axis lik'
corkserew. This Is called
evrllle.e Up in the air he sale
I once more and from safe heigh
2 commenced falling Ike wounde
! htrd head down, tail down, sideWis'
! wing slipping. any old way MT