Putnam patriot., 1918-03-08
FPRST COMPANY
u. S. A. in FRANCE
Pen Picture of French Village
By Private Harry Tour
telIotte.
Son Of Mr. md Mrs Jerome Tourtei
lotte, Putnam Heights

III. zath Infantry who hs tea9 IL
France since June. 1916 y hs IA
ther, Major jerome Taurte. fte
Somewhere IN France Jan -. 1919
We'll, today is fine overhead the
everlasting mud IS like the poor al
ways with as. but the past two wee
have been very much ike Spring too
early for real Spring though and
look for lots more cold weather
eIn answer to the questions in your
last letter. enlisted at Fort Scregeu,
Georgia, and was sworn IN the 18th
Of April, 1917, making me slightly
more than nine months in the service
"About how and where live, | am
act apt enough to give you much idea
and then We are not always living IN
der the same conditions But the VII
Isxe know best will serve for an ex.
ample for nearly all are the same ia
this part Houses all stone and roofs
all tile, that is the invariable rule. No
farm houses as We know them, the
people here are practically all farm
ors, but live IN villages and only III
rare cases on their farm binds proper
The houses all run together. that IS.
Ia street the roofs often 20 without
a break from one end Of the street t9
- other House and barn are all
Together. often cattle and people US
ing the same ball. only tbe stock be
mg in the back OF on the other side
Hay lofts and grainerles overhead
and occasionally places with BIZ
doors 10 accommodate wagons. etc
And the wagons, mighty strongly
built. horses almost hooked up In a
string. not in pairs and driven with a
jerk-line The brakes are put on by
wheel in the rear or rather more
like vise-aetion They need them on
these hills The manure is stored
mostly in streets That is the barn
yard and where the ducks, hens,
geese, etc. hold forth and the drain
aye is the good old primitive open
drain style You almost never see a
wire fence or wall here, for they
don't pasture the stock but keep them
sed up | have seen cows with hoofs
grown out six inches beyond the nor
nal hoof, but they take good care Of
their stock and they generally look
good Speaking about such things,
A. Il, / 4 l..
by big boar going in single file over
"A piece of ope ground. There are
lots of them hare though seldom seen.
"Now these hay lofts that | spoke
Of are where the soldiers stay when
III billetts Any place not actually
needed for the civil population for
themselves. their crops or their cat
DC is fxel up for soldiers, French or
Americans These buildings are most
of them old, some very old, they are
strongly nude. tie wooden part of
The framing being all mortisej and
scnanted ike the framing Of the barn
al home All tHe houses have fire
places in the main room and most Of
tho .a,l4.,a A.. a.. .t....,..f.
-. - -. ~. &. -
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tower built in the 10th century,
don't suppose that is ola for Europe
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