Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1918-10-17
Talked With War Heroes

Captain B. n. Robinson, son OF Mr..
and Mrs. B. N. Robinson, Eighth
street, Baraboo, has written from
France as follows@
Dear Mother:
This week end finds me at school
where | have been for the past three
days Previous to that l was journey
irg through England and France to
this destination.
After being on a slow train for two
days, I took sick from eating canned
sausages, and was laid up in the hos
pital almost a week. Had delightful
time there after first two days. The
hospital is in beautiful place and as
there were a number of American
nurses and signal corps girls there |
enjoyed pleasant three days.
The hospital was mostly filled with
wounded officers and men from the
Chateau Thierry fight and | got some
first hand information from them.
There were some wonderful stories.
The Yankees certainly did give the
but it cost big price to do it.
The policy of the English and
French has always been to fall back
from the first line trenches and re-
sist at The second and third lines,
and then retake the first lire with
counter attacks. The Yankees would
not fall back but held, and the Boche
were met at the rim with such MUIR
derous resistance, that they could not
stand it and those who were not killed
surrendered by platoons and compan-
les. Some officers, who were cap
tured, almost cried, complaining that
the Yankees did not play the game
like the rest and not as they expect
ed they would.
The American artillery did some
excellent work. A Boche captain, Sc
yerely wounded, asked for two things
before he died-a cigarette and the
privilege of seeing the American rs
M. M. machine guns. The American
artillery worked so fast, the German
thought we had developed new rap
id fire field piece.
To follow the streets in most of the
smaller towns here would give a per-
son the "willies." They have a cork
screw beaten The cows stop at the
edge of town and below for a guide
to show them the way home to be
MIXED.
You see NO English sparrows here.
There was a time when they tried to
introduce them, and the first ones
that came got along all right, but
they could not reproduce. They would
build their nests and lay eggs, but if
one of the birds left the nest in search
for food the streets are so crooked it
never found it's way back again
They finally gave it up and went back
to Blighty.
don't know just where my outfit
is. l saw the officers for a moment en-
route when we happened to pull into
the same station at the same time. 1t
was the first time in over a month.
Everybody was well and in good spir-
its.
Second Letter
Dear Mother:
Well it is Sunday again and he have
the day off as usual. / have visited
several points of interest around
camp, rambled all around the old
stronghold and castle of the duke
of B and was in an old church
built about the year 1000. | saw where
st. Bernard used to go to school when
a young man and was in the room
where he used to teach his followers.
The place is quite wonderful old
pile of rubbish but l think if the old
junk pile was blown up, and the rock
used for making roads the people
would be better off.
| do not like the idea of the veneer
alton of things that are past. To re-
spect the dying present is bad
enough. The only thing really worth
while is a veneration for the hope of
living future.
The cities of France are like a
toothless old man. decrepid and tot
tering around in the years of his do
tage, a piteous spectacle of once
glorious existence. To us, who are
used to breathing the air of freedom,
where the very landscape emits lib
serty,s essence; it is depressing to
view these high, stone--walled fields
and cfumbling battlements Of the
dead past. The sight Of. them is OPP
pressive to me. They make me feel
THAT there is a lack Of safety expect
ed here, "a tense feeling of disregard
for the rights of others, an existing
monument to the detested principle