The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1918-09-07

the floor ard spread our blankets.
q look back over what have writ
ten and note that have neglected
to, mention that I was not alone but
rather under captain who wa in
charge and who, like myself, wanted
chance to get "up there" too). The
brakeman informed us before we lay
down that he got off at certain
junction point ahead but that we
would be all right. l drowsed off
but was conscious sometime later of
considerable switching and humping
of cars and the captain said / had
better get up and see if everything
was o. k. Imagine my consterna-
ton when / went 10 find that we
were apparently on another train!
1t looked as though we might have
been switched end for end and this
much | inferred from "parleying"
with the new brakeman. l took the
lantern and started for the other end
with faint heart to see if our cars
were there but the train started and
l had to get back on. Then by en-
ploying my scant knowledge of
French | managed to find out that
we were on a train going to another
point than that to which our cars
were destined, and that the train to
which our cars were attached had
already departed, presumably for
their proper place, since they were
so billed. / reused the captain and
cold him we were in a pretty bad
situation.
Luckily there was a junction point
ahead through which both trains
must pass. We got off there and
made our way up to the station and
slept on the bench of the waiting
room for the rest of the night.
There wasn't much sleep for me,
however, and with the dawn / was
up to find we were truly in the
mountains. The railroad followed
the valley and on either side were
great craggy mountains covered with
pine and fir. We managed to get
our breakfast from the rolling kitch
en- of some nearby troops and. made
our way by a passenger train that
came about 8 o'clock. At the next
stop we learned that all but one of
our cars had gone on and the one
was at this point and would go on
attached to train about noon. /
searched out this one car and got on
it while the captain went on by auto
mobile. We were truly in luck!
While waiting the guns over the
mountains roared at Boche plane
that spiraled and dipped about for a
time, evidently bent on reconnais-
ance. Luckily for the aviator, none
Iof the shots hit but l was told a
plane on the preceding morning was
mot so fortunate and had been
drought crashing to the ground with
three officers. The shots followed
one another in rapid succession and
the sound echoed from the noun
tain sides; it was fascinating. Off
we started again on the last lap,
jclinging close to the rocky sides of
1.-THE mountains, often passing through
la deep rock cut, emerging to look
out over the gently sloping, rolling
valley with hay fields everywhere
looking as carefully tended as a golf
course, and everywhere, too, were
old men, women and children-not a
!, single young man-swinging the
} scythe or drawing the rake. Half
: way up, the grade became too steep
| for the putting engine to pull and the
, brakes were set on the rear half
: while the engine proceeded to the
. summit with the forward half. A
: half hour or so it returned for the
rest. I, being left in the rear, bu-
sled myself for the time picking
, blueberries from the bushes among
) the rocks beside the road.
= Off once more, we proceeded rap
| idly to the end Of the road at the
: railhead, at point not so far from
the lines.
The village at the rails end, held
by the Germans in the first rush OF
1914, lies in what is known as "s
| quiet sector" yet it was anything
but quiet scene l came upon
Great numbering trucks with motors
} raging followed each other in rapie
succession down to the little station
took on their load and went on W
again through the village street ane
4 out of sight on the road winding VI
Y the mountain side, not once allowing
e the dust to settle. Escort wagons
e with canvas and drawn by fou
: mules, reminding one of the prairi'
:, schooners of American pioneers
were lined up ready to proceed
/ There was an ambulance Motorcy
n Icles, messengers, wove their way il
t and out. Once | heard the hoars
a Isiren such as you have heard on tn
t motor fire trucks in The city, an,
n three great French touring cars fill
S led with officers swept down thro tn
S lstreet mad disappeared in a cloud O
) idust. But most noticeable of al
l. twas the interest which the villager
took in all that was going on, stop
e iping to watch all that activity an
: lmanifesting their gladness at tn
" coming of the "Soldats Americaine.
:, AS to seeing any of the effect
q shell fire or seeing or hearing an
II