The Nevada County picayune., 1918-10-24
CHAPTER %Vl-Continued.
Copyright by Detroit Free Press

H.
 Home again for a few hours; then away, prisoner, At least he would be able to get word to his wife by letter through the field posts.
 Finally he said good-by. His wife had nothing to give him, no laundry, no food
 Everything had been lost and she lived on the soldiers bounty. She gave him her last money and he refused to take it. She accepted the money back.
 It consisted of few and 10 pfen nig pieces and some eoppers, all she had.
 Unable to endure this we took col lection among ourselves. We made tip more than 10 marks, which we gave to the young woman. She refused 1t at first, then looking at her husband, she took it and tried to kiss our hands.
 When we refused to let her do this she ran 10 Il store nearby and returned with cigars, tobacco, matches and saul sage, which she gave to her husband
 She smiled perhaps for the first time in Il long while.
 The children were with their father and they kissed him as he left. He had one child on each arm and his wife carried the third.
 With the greatest happiness the family walked along between the two armed soldiers. When the moment of parting came all began to cry.
 This was the fate of thousands of poor French and Belgian men and women, quartered near their homes yet unable to know who was dead or alive.
 While we stood at the depot ten Ger man soldiers arrived with fixed bayo- nets. Between them were three French citizens in civilian clothing, whom they escorted. All were elderly men. We asked an old Frenchman what this was about and he said:
 'We receive our food from the Ger man military officials but it is not sui ticient to live on. The people have nothing left. All stock and food had been seized. These three men refused  military officials because they could not live on what they received.
 "They were arrested and are being sent to Germany. No one knows what their fate would be there. The men were being taken away by the Ger mans and interned in Germany"
 We received orders to march to  Varennes and left the next morning. As We reached the heights of Varennes about noon we saw the wide country before us and the city nesting in the valley. Farther up on the heights was Yauquois. Nothing could be seen of any houses but through our field glasses we could make out an enormous ash heap. Shells fell there continuously and we were frightened at the pros pect of having to go to that spot. Scarcely had we crossed the heights when some shells burst behind us. The French artillery even singled out indi- vlduals. While Vauquois was in their possession they could coordinate the entire neighborhood. We understood now why this ash heap had been con tested for so bitterly.
 We ran down hill till we came to Varennes. The southern section of the town had been wrecked by shells and fire. Many chimneys were all that was left standing of whole rows of houses. Soldiers everywhere collected scraps of metal which were transport cd to Germany. The church bells were loaded on wagons and sent away. All the copper, tin, brass and nickel which could be found was gathered.
 The next morning we went into tho trenches. We had to reach our posi- ton before daybreak, for with daylight the Preach kept all the approaches un- der fire. There Was not much of trench in Vau4uois All that could be seen was a single stone pile. Literally there was not, in this town, one stone left upon another. The ruins of this village had changed hands more than fifteen times When We arrived oRe-half of Nnuqaois was in Germnn hands. The French were in possession of the highest points from which they could overlook the country fer many miles.
 In default Of q trench we sought cover behind the stones. for it was i'm possible to dig trenches here, as the ar- tillery leyeled everything The soldiers concealed themselves behind stone walls and fired, Artillery of all cali Der covered these ruins. Amid all this destruction lay an army of corpses, mostly German.