The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1918-01-17

have been received by Tucumcari
lady from her brother in France. The
letters were received in four to six
weeks after they were written.
The writer is an engineer in the 18th
Company Of the Rock Island X. X. Co.
lie left Chicago about June 10, and
was among the first to land in France.
Somewhere in France,
Dear Sister: Aug. 26, 1917.
Will drop you a few lines today. 1t
is Sunday and am going to put most
of the day in in writing letters, as it
is the first time we have had chance
to write since we left England.
We got our first mail from the u.
S. day before yesterday, and you
should have seen the boys. They were
just like children. | wondered why |
did not get letter from you; but you
may have written and n sub. put it to
the bottom of the sea. Did you receive
the letter that | wrote you aboard the
ship? ] also wrote you IA letter from
England.
presume you read in the paper all
about the American troops parading
in London. | took part in that. There
is quite lot to see over here in re-
gard to old buildings. We did not
come via Paris. | want to see that
place before | go back and then ! will
be through sightseeing.
| took in the Bloody Tower and the
Crown of Jewels and houses that were
built in 1865, and the old places where
they beheaded people in ye oldcn days.
II is all very interesting.
France is very pretty country and
every inch of ground is cultivated.
The towns are very old and the streets
very narrow. The French people love
the Americans and they are treating
the soldiers royalty. 1t is lots better
here than in England. Even ii we
can't talk to them we can make signs.
Every kind of soldier can be seen
here; in fact, everybody you see is a
soldier excepting the old men and the
very young boys. The women are do
ing all the work.
We are in fair-sized town; one you
have read about quite bit. went
down town last night for Tire first
time and ate supper down there. The
first thing they serve you with Is WINE.
The only use water to take bath in.
They only use water to take bath IN.
Our supper was served IN courses.
First, wine; next soup; then fish with
mustard which was very good; then
pork chops and noodles and then let
tuce and then beer; then fruit and
cheese and more beer. They give you
a loaf of bread and you cut off as much
4 II &c l. ola 4 4
four cents in American money.
! have had time learning to count
money. First it was English money
and | had Just learned that, and now
il is French money. 1t keeps US busy
figuring, as we have so much money
to figure. At that, the American sol
dier is the best paid soldier on the
globe. An English soldier gets shil-
ling day; that is about % cents IN
American money.
Now | want to tell you about our
trip over. 1t took US nine days to
come across. We were in Belfast, Ire
land one day. That is the biggest ship
building dock in the world. There Is
where the Titanic was built. From
what | could see of the coast of Ire
land, it is "A very pretty country. Did
not get to go ashore.
would like to see an American
newspaper. have not seen one since
| left the States. Some of the boys
got letters from the States saying
that the draft law was getting yer!
nearly all of them; and quite few OF
the married ones. II will go hare
with the boys that never had to do any
manual labor. Shining guns and bay
onets and shining shoes and drilling
and hiking. | know ! have goot
constitution, but | have fallen of Y
pounds in weight. We were out on
big parade yesterday.
You can hear and read about how
cruel the Germans have been, espec
ially to women and children. All yol
have read is true, and lots more ha
happened that you haven't heard abou
The French people are certainly hght
ing hard and they have the German
on the run now. The French men har
certainly proved themselves to be goo'
fighters; and you cant blame then
for fighting so hard, for they have
very pretty country. We have seel
one town that was snot up
We don't have any idea how loni
this war is going to last. We are no
very far from the front and the re
port from the big guns is very dis
tinct, and aeroplanes are as thick a
= birds. There is lots of excitement a
the time. 1t won't be long before W
will be ut the front Trenches that tn
Germans once had are within thre
miles from here. We are anxious I
move. We would like to know wher
q they are going to put US for 1t make
it hard on US to be on the move II
the time.
There is one thing we all despis
and hate. That is the gas. 1t come
back as far as 15 miles and on, goo