The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1918-01-10
SCOTLAND. BON HoMME COUNTY, s. d rHuRsDAr JAN 3

and every American who is fortunate
enough to come to Europe, will llreturn
with love and respect for our Unit.
ed States that he has never had be.
fore. He will be broadened in more
ways than one. would not have
missed the experiences which / have
had. even now, for the best college
education that could possibly be had.
One can read; one can look at pic
lures all ones life, but enc cannot
KNOW without seeing,
The.people are very simple. kind
hearted, and as a rule very religious.
They are honest and hard d-working, and
they are very hospitable. They do as
their fathers did until they learn a
better way, and as whole. they real
" are wonderful people.
When we came into the village,
whose name will remember always.
we created quite little excitement.
People gathered around US in little
groups and discussed US in their SEEM
ably high-pitched and very rapid
tongue. They seemed especially in.
terested in our rubber boots, which /
believe are not used around here very
much.
1t has rained here for don It know
how long; It rains nearly all winter,
they say. The streets were covered
with mud and slop, and dare say
this same mud is older than most of
the inhabitants. We set to work
cleaning and washing up this whole
town, and it was some job. Water
was flooded onto the cobble aPstone
pavements. and everything was washed
down and put in piles to be hauled
away later. Every scrap of trash
was picked up-in fact things began
to take on an American appearance.
The women and children helped. They
were very quick to take up our exam.
pie, and in little while after the
cleaning up was started, number of
women and children came out with
brooms, and other unfamiliar imple-
ments, and swept and scrubbed door
steps which had not been scrubbed in
months, and probably years.
The peop lie, seemed to, like the
Americans they like. our hard-tack.
too. Little children gather around
our .sMess Hall" and we give them
the hard tack which we have after
our meal, and they eat it as we would
cake or candy. But, we soldiers seem
to take" to their brown bread in
the same way. am very fond of it,
and eat it with cheese that smells as
though it had been buried for few
centuries. Bread is very costly to
the people, but we can afford to buy
loaf now and then. 1t costs about
one franc for a large loaf. That is
about 20 cents in U. S. money. Pric.
es are very low as compared to prices
in Amerca. but very high as compared
to what they we're before the war. II
bought five large juicy apples today
for 6 sou. ORG cents. bought a
pretty coed "junk" Gas they call it)
of their black bread last night for 4
cents. Their wines and champagnes
are very cheap. Everybody drinks
wine; very little water is used for
that purpose They think it funny,
also. that we drink coffee three times
a day. A French soldier asked me
today if they ever gave us wine in.
stead of coffee, and seemed quite sur
prised when told him 90.
Our food is plain. but good-it is
very substantial. That is an import
ant factor in the making and KEEP
ING-UP of good soldier. Beans,
coffee, hard-tack and cornbeef-t these
are tie basis of our meals. Bread is
served when it can be obtained, and
also butter but there is always good i
old hard-tack to fall back on when
things are difficult to obtain.
Where we eat, the people come out
and ask us to sit down at their tables
and eat our meals. There is one ola
lady that seems to become especially
put out" when the fellows dom t
want to track into her house to eat,
and she throws up her arms and flies
around muttering and all excited; she
reminds me Of hen that has been de-
prived of her chickens. A fellow
hates to impose on their hospitality,
but they insist, and it really is
comfort to sit down at a table and
eat instead of squatting on the ground.
Yesterday one of our boys sprained
his back lifting box, and had to be