Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1918-12-27
FINE WORD PICTURE
OF ITALY AT WAR IS
DRAWN BY OTTAWAN


FLAT TIRE OR A blowout
MEANT HORRIBLE FATE.
A delayed letter. written on Nov
Z by Sergt Clarence Glover was re
ceiyed in Ottawa this morning by hi
aunt, Mrs. Rector Hit Sergt Glover
has written several letters since the
/ signing of the armistice which have
arrived in Ottawa, but none of then
contained the interesting news which
is in the letter received today. Sergt
Glover is recognized as one OF The
best letter writer's in the city and cal
describe the Italian war scenes a.
few writer's Of merit nave been able
10 do
His letter. published below, tells OF
one Of the hardest battles fought oil
the Italian front, and of a trip durnE
this battle up a mountain in truck
when a slight skid or careless mn
would mean a fail of several thou
sand feet. From the top of this noun
tain the Paive River and the Bret
River could be seer, and the Yank.
were able to watch one of the mos
J picturesque and wonderful battles o
the war. Incidentally they were tar
gets of the Austrian guns. The let
ter in full follows:
= Man,oya, Italy,Noy 7, 1918.
Dear Folks;
have been to the front and re
turned with altered ideas of The wa
and with a wholesome respect for tn,
lighting qualities of the Italians.
, We were extremely lucky in MAX
ing connections in getting up to tn
front BY night time we were within
the range OF the Austrian big gun
and could see the answering hashe
from the sides of the mountains. w
slept all that night ton the floor of
nobIeman's yilla) wilh the roar G
guns coming down from the mom
tains. Some Of the startling detail
i of the Commandment | will have t
. leave until get back.
In the morning we started up tn
= size of the big mountain, which
probably from now on the most f;
nous of any in Europe from hi
= torical point of view Mount Grapp;
The Italians, with their marvellous 81
sineers, built zigzaggy roadva
: up one side of this mountain in
very short time-under she'll fir
We were exposed to the Austria
, hre again, but the Italian guns on a
-, sides were roaring practically cont
- uously.
We would look down into the mout
of an enormous piece a hundred fe
below US, thinking it was aiml
straight at us. Then a whole bate,
e would let loose and shells would
y screaming over our heads. The @
citement was so great that there WI
It no sense Of fear-though you dor
take time to analyZe your feeling
~ While this is going on the truck
t lodging in and ont Of canyons, train
y mules, guns and soldiers. and DC
a. haps trying to make a "hairpin" tn
q at high speech to get out of the vi
d of an officers car. This kept on f
hours with hardly an intermissiC
u except when we stopped to adjust 0
gas masks and helmets
'' All the time, practically, the car
y hanging on to the road with Just
'n narrow margin of a foot or so
. tween it and a drop of several Tho
GU sand feet, We saw the RESULT Of
y miscalculation of several drivers. Y
w. had to take "He,rs Bend on hi,
up grade, turning a L, and all abe
v us were the she'll holes of the me
VI ing's b0mbardment. Otherwise no
'o' ing Of Importance to report the
Toward the top we ran into seve
~ inches of mud, covered lightly W
10 snow. When we came to a halt
was like some sort of a mining can
u. | suppose you have read about
J." system Of galleries on this mounta
- but for fear Of exciting the destr
va tive tendency Of the censor | V
w postpone a description of this W
derful engineering and military f
until "dopo la guerra We w
through the whole thing, and our |
IN form was the open sesame TO ey
~ barred door We were even ALLOW
q ont on the artillery observation p
az ana watched the effect, of the Ital
y, fire and the spasmodic fire of
"a Austrians. II you have been wat
ing the papers lately you have Sc
idea Of what we saw We went
too far, however, with the bravery
or; innocence, or rather ignorance.
rue the officer had to send carbineers
lee after US.
u'n We left his "galleria' and retur
Wv down the mountain under the 50
s W.. sort Of conditions, only more
.,th Clouds had settled down over
mountain and at least u third Of
way we were in such thick fog
could not see any farther than
radiator. We finally got below
clouds and wore nhln 10 nninN a y