Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1918-07-26
dea that they are only used in the in

fantry.
With my commission as gunner, l
received orders to go to Brest and join
the dreadnaught Cassard This as
signmcnt tickled me, for my pal MUIR
ray was aboard. and I had expected
trouble In transferring to his ship In
case was assigned elsewhere. We
had framed II up to stick together as
long as we could. We did, too.
Murray was as glad as I was when |
I came aboard, and he told me he had |
heard Brown, our other pal. had been |
made n sergeant in another regiment |
of the legion.
We were both surprised nj some OF |
the differences between the French
navy and ours but after we got used
to 1t. we thought many of their GUS
toms improvements over ours. But we
could not get used to Il. mt first. For
instance, on an American ship, when
you are pounding your ear in a nice
warm hammock and II Is time to re-
lieve the watch on deck. like as not
you will be awakened gently by burly
garby armed with fairy wand about
the size of bed slat. whereas in
French ships, when they call the
watch, you would think you were In
swell hotel and had left word at the
desk. II was hard to turn out at first,
without the aid of II club, and harder
still to break ourselves of the habit
Of calling our relief in the gay and
festive American manner, but, ms i
say, we got to like 1t after while.
Then, too, they do not do any hazing
in the French navy, and this surprised
us. We had expected to go through
the mill just as we did when we Joined
the American service, but nobody slung
a hand at us. On the contrary, every
garby aboard was kind and decent and
extremely courteous, and the fact that
we were from the States counted lot
with them. They used to brag about
1t to the crews of other ships that were
not so hOnored.
But this kindness we might have ex-
pected. II is just like Frenchmen In
any walk of life. With hardly an ex-
ception, | have never met one of this
nationality who was not anxious to
help you in every way he could; ex-
tremely generous, though not reckless
with small change, and almost always
CHEEKY and there with smile Ia any
weather. A fellow asked me once why
IL was that almost the whole world
loves the French, and | told him IL was
because the French love almost the
whole world, and show It. And think
that is the reason, too.
About the only way you can describe
the Poilus on land or sea. Is that they
are gentle. That is, you always think
that word when You see one and talk
to him-unless you happen to see him
within bayonet distance of Fritz.
The French sailors sleep between
decks in hunks, instead of hammocks,
and as had not slept in bunk since
, my Southerndown days. it was pretty
q hard on me. SO / got hold of soiss
o heaving line, which is One-quarter-incl
a rope, and rugged up a hammock. In
my spare time taught the others how
n TO make them, and pretty soon every
n body was doing II.
), When l taught the sailors to make
o hammocks, l figured, OF course, thai
!, they would use them as we did-tha
n is, sleep In them. They were great,
o pleased at first, but after they hat
e tried the stunt of getting in and stay
!, ing In, 1t was another story. A ham
n mock Is like some other things
L works while you sleep-and II you ar
4 not on to it, you spend most Of you
Il gln hn Nm
: gun captain thought / had put over
e trick hammock on him, but l did no
@ need to; every hammock is tricl
r hammock.
II Also. taught them the way W,
make mats out of rope, to use Will
y sleeping on the steel gratings near tn
l. entrance to stoke holes. In cold wealth
"a er this part of the ship is more com
Z Portable than the ordinary sleeping
" quarters, but without mat II gets to
hot.
s. American soldiers and sailors &c
II the best food In the world, but Will
~ the French navy chow was not fancy
it was clean and hearty, as they sa
y down East For breakfast we IA
bread and coffee and sardines at moo
boiled dinner, mostly beans, whic
were old friends Of mine, and Of IN
y well-named navy variety; at four I
n the afternoon, a pint of vino, and @
.e six, Il supper Of soup, coffee. bread an
y beans.
- Although the French "seventy.five
is the best gun in the world, their M
Is val guns are not as good as ours, an
" their gunners are mostly older mel
e. But they will give yOungster gu
l. rating If he shows the stuff.
y Shortly after went aboard the Ca
y sard, we received instructions to pr
coed to Spezia, Italy, the large Italia
re naval base The voyage was withol
81 incident, but when we dropped anch'
'e In Spe2ia. the Italian port ofiicia
C. quarantlned US for fourteen days {
III account of smallpox. During this perlC
H. our food was pretty bad In fact, Il
y meat became rotten. This could har
~ ly have happened on an American shi
W because they nrp DrOyiSionpd wi