The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-09-19
WITH THE coLoRs IN FRANCE

A Fort in France, August 10, 1913
Hello Folks:
Well, we moved again. Had an
other hike and now We are In real
fortress Stone. I sleep IN a cham
Der with one other sergeant and six
squads Big stone arch roof all white
washed. Double decker iron beds
with boards for springs Best all
around quarters since have been In
! the 61st- And now it's engineer work
That's the best of all. But guess you
don't need to ever suspicion that
am IN the front line before Christmas.
Guess we'll have TO learn everything,
or at least practise everything, ali
over.
visited the Fort as a curiosity two
weeks ago tomorrow, and now Pm a
resident We have a dandy Y I'D
here with tile roof. Had a program
! by French concert company from
Paris last night. 1t sure was good.
And tonight three of Us went wander
ing through some of the recesses, and
old secrets of this place. You see
we had to get acquainted This morn
! ing 1 was given a detail to take out
to work, and needed a guide to be
sure / went through the right tunnel
to get out. So I decided I'd better
learn my location as best I could
Sunday I can look out the
window from my bed and see a few
stars You know we can all look at
the same stars. even if we are six
hours different in daylight. We are
50 much further north here that vega
makes about the same declination
south of the vertical that it is north
there. Makes the position of the stars
all change, but they still look the
same.
We sure have fine view of the
valley for miles from here. Can see
most everything md everywhere that
we have been since we got off the
train Conir Z up here on the hike we
pretty nearly went al the way around
this hill to get up. And then we fol-
lowed winding course so that 1t
wouldn't be so steep. We carried
packs, and wore mine till after sup
per, when we were assigned hunks
Mine IS the lower just in front of a
big window, and I've got a shelf to
put things on. Kitchen is Just across
the narrow rock paved street.
And mail is still a curiosity here.
Hope to get a line from home some
time. As it is Pm just about out of
anything to write.
But l tried to send a substitute in
The STARS and Stripes" 1t will come
for you beginning with the issue of
August 8. I got the paper yesterday
and am sitting beside it now. And at
last l can see that the Yanks have
beaten the Germans once. And say,
: l found out that my old regiment
from Vancouver was in the scrap at
Chau Thierry. Some OF the boys have
just arrived near here at an Army
candidates school for officers. They
saw the fighting somewhere along
there. And now they are wearing the
black stripe, instead of the read,
white and blue hat cord of the states.
And by new years I'll be wearing
, gold stripe. Been seeing lots of
them lately. Off today till $50 D. m.
Am going on 4 hike with Sargent
Staley.
Monday evening, August 12.-Yes,
we liked q long way, up to a city on
4 hill. It has high walls all around,
about 40 feet or more And the only
entrances into the city are through
The gates IN the wall. We went in,
walked down, Or rather up, a narrow
crooked street until we came to q big
cathedral As there we're people go
ing IN, we went in. It is of massive
: architecture, big pillars of stone with
arches intermmgled at the top.
There are two rows of those big pill
= lars, and the central part of the
narrow space, not SO high on either
side There are 10 pews, the people
use chairs Floor IS all made of flat
stones The alter was no big pre-
/ tensions affair, just an image of the
r Christ on the cross, as the principal
= part of 1t. Of course there was an
2 alter below where the priest was.
Heard q short sermon in French.
] Some choir music. Then we went out
5 and on down the street. Saw a
r Statue IN a little opening of the streets
Z Streets are narrow, sidewalks about
wide enough for one person at time
They are not straight and you can't
see more than 800 yards any way.
And you are lucky to be able to see
hat far We were directed to the
Y NJ. c. A. and went down a street
| which was not big enough for an ordi-
nary American alley When we arriv-
ed the y" was marked very plainly
Officers so we went on. Soon we
came to another open space, with Z
statue OF Joan of Arc in it's center
Soon we came to the real ''Y'' mark.
I'd Liberty Hut. But it was noon
by that time and there was nobody
there. So we went to hunt an eating
house. We stopped at the Crane
Hotel d Europe, went In and sat al
4 little table for two N a room very
much ike an American restaurant.
First course of dinner was a meat
salad, second course was picked pigs
feet, third course beans and beef
fourth course fresh little yellow
3lums. Lunch for 4 F so per. How
would you like to eat at a French
Hotel with American, British anC
French soldiers? After dinner We
went to the wall and looked afar al
the panorama spread before US. Their
: we followed the wall all the way
around, stood in the strong points al
the corners, and looked down on the
: road beneath. We saw the gates
D walked over them on the wall. And
: one place in the wall was an old gate
= filed now with masonry. It had some
: fiuted Corinthian columns, and later
: we read the tag of metal outside
: which ascribed It to the reign of Mar
> Gus Aurelius (161-1S1). Guess that:
; a Longtime ago, huh? On around the
/ wall we found q piece of paper on {
. closed wooden gate which read
American soldiers (enlisted men)
welcome after 1 p. m" Went bach