The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1918-11-08


three minutes to three o'clock. l am
sitting on a bench in a cave which.
since 1914, has been occupied by all
the different kinds of soldiers of the
Allies and the Entente. That is
rather interesting when you reflect
upon it. This cave is situated on or
in hill above town which just a
short time ago the Germans were for
ced to abandon. It is a sad looking
town, indeed, now. Once rich and
beautiful little town in a charming
wooded valley, now a shell raked
village, not single house of which
has not been hit, walls leveled, fields
actually plowed with shells; forests
ruined, trees cut off, burned with gas
and killed. This has been the battle
ground of some of the hardest fights
of all the war, and since. 1914 has
been taken and retaken time and
again by the Boches, the French, the
French Colonials, the Algerians, In
do-Chinese, the English and the Am
orleans. Now if could tell you the
name you'd have the whole thing
But can't, so you will have to i'm
agine where it is. - =
Last night the Boche aviators were
to be heard from 10 p. M, to A am
We have moved again since last
wrote. Then | had just returned from
permission. Where we were then we
had very little work to do. As | may
have said, we were situated in for
est about three kilometers from a
town from which place we receive all
our orders.
One day while | was still eating
morning mess our American 1t. came
to me and asked me if | wanted to
drive a car for French Captain, in
cidentally adding that | would have
a good chance to improve my French.
| told him l thought / could do it, so
after breakfast got my blanket roll,
mess kit, etc, and his car took me
down to the town which | have spoken
where ! reported to the French Cap
tain as driver. Well | have been
driver ever since, and that was nearly
three weeks ago. This Captain is
with the sanitary department of the
French Army, and it is from and thru
him that our Ambulance section and
all the other sections around, as we'll
as the French Ambulance and truck
sections receive their orders. Thus
you see | am busy nearly all day long
with one thing or another.
/ drive Captains, Lieutenants, Sec
ond Lieutenants, Despachers, etc, in
the car to all sorts and manner of
places. | am having a chance to see
lots of new country, and | learn lots
of new roads.
am having an opportunity to see
something of the workings of the
French Sanitary and Truck System,
and by the way, it is unsurpassed.
| am living with the Frenchmen
themselves, am having ample oppor-
tunity to see how the French Soldier
fares. Aside from that | am having
the best opportunity have ever had
to learn French
Yesterday several of the Captains
were out on the terrace with a large
war map compass and field glasses,
making some observations. They had
gone in and left the instruments
there. AS | say, went out and found
them there and taking up the glasses
| started to look at the sausage bal
looms, which could plainly be seen in
the distance. They had been up for
observation purposes all the after
noon, in fact, all day. What was my
surprise in looking thru the glasses
to find that instead of 3 to there
were some IL or Is of them. The Cap
tains glasses were absolutely the best
l ever saw. Pretty soon | located
some five or six Boche Airoplanes
flying around, they were after the
balloons, but the anti air craft guns
were keeping them so high they could
not get them. Suddenly one of them
made swoop downward, in a minute
the Boche balloon fell in flames
making the third Boche brought down
yesterday. 1t was very interesting to
watch, especially thru the glasses.
With the naked eye, one could see
nothing, but withthe glasses, it was
as plain as day.
Watching the artillery signals is
very interesting, they look very much
like the stars of a roman candle, the
kind we used to have on the fourth of
July, they come three stars at time
little distance apart. These signals
were being sent up at three different
points along the line. Just for the fun
of it, / thought | would time them.
timed two different sets, and during
the first fifteen minutes the signals
went up at exactly one minute apart
one set at twenty seconds before ten
on the second hand, the other set at
exactly sixty The second fifteen min
| utes the first set continued to go at