Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1918-09-20
Somewhere in France

home. Letters are scarce articles oFef
here and when one does finally drft IN
it gives one the feeling that something
unusual has happened that is very
much to your liking. and you cant help
but hrag about your letter from home.
I imagine it's very much like the feeling
a man has when he is told, Its a toy
that makes him go out and buy the
drinks and then tell every body what a
pretty thing it is.
You asked me to tell you Of some OF
nv experiences over here if | could.
don't think that the censOrs would
object to my telling them as long
rs | don't give the names Of the places
but there ia one thing that makes me
hesitate a little before answering
them, that isl have been IN TINS
game such a short time ard in a quiet
sector too, that | am afraid that
would be very liable to over rate them.
| have already told you the nature OF
my iob-that | am Battalion Transport
Officer and my job is getting the ra-
tons up to the boys in the line. This IS al.
every night job and as a rule furnishes
unite enough excitement for the night.
Ny route lies right 40 the main road to
a point Just a hundred yards back OF
he front line trench. OF course the
Hun tries his best to cut off all ration
parties and at times ! find 1t quite 3
tedious job out guessing him and quite
4 number cf times | have had a pretty
lively run to save not only my hide but
hose Of my men and mules. There Is
o such thing as going back before th'
atoms are delivered 1T tie dump, sc
on can imagine row i feels to see
our road under heavy artillery tire
ist ahead Of on add Knowing that y0u
ave got to 20 throug1. The first shell
nat fails is usually the II to fear, at
ar that 1t is not quite so hard to figure
i'm out II his first one lent IN top Of
lou thea You know where his guns are
hootiug, if he has only one gun, or that
particular point, then it will be bctweel
four or six minutes before his next one
comes. Of course YOU have to Judge
the distance and il there is time maxi
a run for it and clear his target, il
there isn't time to 90 thru. before has
next one comes the only thing TO do i
to go slowly up to within about a lN
yards to where he hit and wait for his
next shot, then go through at top speed
If there are more than one gun ON that
point, it may necessitate sending on(
wagon at a time,
1t il quite Il common occurance tt
have "A big she'll sing over your hea(
and land in the field on the road side
but that don't bother ia much for az
long as they 90 over we know that hi
hasn't our range so isn't so dangerous
lie has one small shell that is about a
nasty a little fellow that | have eve
come in contact with. 1t only weigh
about fifteen pounds and on account o
Its speed it gives practically no warn
ing. One night as | was nearing tn,
ration dump and not over half Il mil
from his front line. | had to pass
corner at which all tie camCullage'n
had been torn down by the wind an
the road was left exposed TO his obser
walton posts. There was no turnin
back then, SO ! had the teams trOt fast
We had Just about gotten half way owe
when here they came, fortunately the
all were stopped 10y a row of brio
houses along the road and we &C
through safely. On another nlght-or
Of the prettiest moonlight nights
have ever seen, and by the way, | hat
moonlight nights now, we had made
very pleasant trip, not a shell had gor
over, not a gun was fired, things we
as quiet rs if the country had bee
around Mcleod. We had been up Al
were nearly home again when | BEGAN
aware that a German airoplane W,
coming up from the rear. It is YET
easy to tell them by the hum of the
Q motors, they sound different. didn
think 50 much of it for they had pass
Y over me quite a number of times befo
and hadn't done anything, but II
night was to be different. The fir
thing | knew there was an awful b
explosion just about 100 yards off
f. the road and to the left Of my rear.
II called back to my men to trot, tn
% Just taken up the trot when he dropp
,s another bomb about 100 yards off
d road and nearer the center of my ira
rs | then threw them in a full run q
when lie let his next bomb drop he W
only about 20 yards from the road a
: behind as. The momentum of his II
" chine had by that time carried h
m actos the road and he started ope'
20 tons back towards the road, work.
~ at such an angle as to catch me rig
in the middle. | saw this, and by
dropped his fifth bomb, | had the v
D. CONS all turned around and headed