Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1918-12-26

81 TOOTH III tilC iditSio' AhS oh~" 49,
ed at 100 with various vaudeville
stunts which, while they may have beer
good, could not be heard because OF the
bigness and restlessness OF the men
Those men had come there to see wrest-
ling, boxing and fighting and were noi
very kind when some fellow with
voice about the size of good whisper
tried to sing six or seven verses to one
song He finally threw up his hanos
and quit. The bands could be heard
pretty well, but single voice wis lost
in the tisness of that place. The real
fun started with wrestling match. and
two men .wrestled half-hour without
fall Then started the boxing, ana
there wore perhaps a dozen bouts.
There were just two bouts that the
crowd figured were any good, and they
were the only knockouts OF the even
ing. The battle royal must have beer
an advertising scheme, for it failed TO
materialize, but il is perhaps just as
we'll, for it was one o'clock before t
boxing bouts were over and we were
all glad to leave and hit the hay. Tha
is the first time since ] have been in tile
army that taps blew and the lights dl1
not 60 out, and it seemed mighty fun
ny to have all the men coming IN H..
going to bed about half past one. They
were unusually hard to get out of bed
this morning, and | don't think there
was much work done; but then yester-
day was thanksgiving and We just had
to celebrate, and the war is over, so
we should worry about little ching like
work.
think We must be having rainy
spells, for il has been raining continual
ly all week, and there seems TO be no
signs OF let-up, and a fellow has to
carry flashlight after night or he is
very liable to land up to his neck IN q
puddle of water. The soil here IS very
sandy and the roads in the rear Of the
barracks are very soft, and you should
see these tiye-ton trucks try to &c:
through the mud and sand. Yesterday
a truck stuck good and tight, and a
second one came along, and instead OF
pulling the first truck out it sank
TO the axle in the soft ground. and
they stayed there the better part Of the
day. Finally with the aid OF two ad-
dltonal trucks and about fifty men they
got away. This morning the same truck
stuck in the same hole again, and dur
ing these rainy days we are going to
catch many trucks in our back yard.
The main road is solid, but the rains
and the heavy traffic have cut Il all
to pieces and it is rougher than cord
uroy road. There is road force at
work all the time resurfacing the road,
but the repaired end wears our before
the workmen have gotten ~ the other
| end of the camp. 1t is no small repair
outfit, either, for there are about fifty
Chinese and probably hail as many
Americans and they have two big steam
rollers that are constantly on The 60.
Down at the other end Of the camp
there is a nice little French farm, and
| the house sets about two hundred feet
from the road, with nice stone wall
surrounding the yard fronting on the
road. The other day at noon one of the
Chinese climbed up in the steam roller
and began to give it the once over. See
ing nice shining piece Of iron he gave
it yank, and that steam roller started
backward down the road. He made a
big effort to get the machine stopped,
but could not find the combination, so
he grabbed the steering wheel and be-
gan to turn it with all his might. The
roller turned right toward the stone
wall and when the Chiuk saw where
it was leading he took flying Jump
he
head in a mudhole. The roller kept
on going-right through the stone wall,
which was two or three feet thick, and
headed straight for the house slowly
but surely. Geography saved that
house from utter destruction This
country is low and swampy. and be-
cause of the heavy rains during the wet
season it is necessary to have big deep
bitches to carry the excess water on.
About twenty feet from the house was
Just such a gutter wide and deep, and
when the roller went down into the ditch
il made mighty effort to come up on
the other side, but the grassy side OF
the bank refused to give proper trac-
ton and with a sigh the roller came to
a standstill. 1t was then that the French
folk became loud in their voicing OF
their excitement. AS long as the roll
er kept coming slowly toward their
home they were too scared TO do much
but scurry around like rabbits, but as
soon as the danger was averted they
gave us real evidence Of their fright.
The good woman of the family gave
one look at her last summe-: Hover
beds and burst into tears, and the farm
er took one look at the ornamental stone
wall. While | am not very familiar
with profane French, | think that ne
said a few appropriate things about
Chinese and steam rolle.S that coui
we have understood him might have
been most interesting. After time
the engineer Of the roller came along
and with the aid of the other roller the
runaway was gotten back to the road
Today | saw a number of Americans al
work repairing the stonewall and uslnE
picks on the well-packed Hover BEDS
so | guess satisfactory arrangements
have been made with the farmer. ]
don't know what happened to the
Chinese, but pIl venture that it will be
a long time until he attempts to in
vestigate the internal workings OF a
steam roller again. a steam roller is
sure hard on flower beds.
Bedtime has come again, AMI since
did not get the regulation amount OF
sleep last night am sure for the good
bed tonight. Give ny regards to all
nv friends, and tell them to have the
fatted calf ready, for ! do not think II
will be so many years until We come
sailing home. With best love to all the
folks.