Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1918-04-22


will find out what is the matter.
Every soldier now has number,
and mine is number 215569. You
had better put that where you can
find it in case it should ever be
wanted for any reason.
Now about my surroundings, let
me bring it home to you as you all
can grasp it easier. You are in a
CITY about the size of Nassalboro,
situated about like Augusta, only
there is no river. There are no farm
houses in the surrounding country.
the farmers all live in town and go
out to their fields. Find a picture Of
the Angelus and it will help you to
picture it.
There are no men left but few
women and children who express in
every action wonderful hatred Of
the Germans, and no fear of them.
The houses are all old. hundreds of
years old and the stables are in the
same building as the sleeping rooms.
In fact you wouldn't know that they
were stables if YOU didn't see the
cows and chickens coming out of
what looks to be the kitchen door.
The roofs arc all of red tile or straw
thatched. And the main idea seems
to be to see how much light they can
keep out.
When a big one Tets CO. the win
dows tremble and vibrate. The first
few nights you can't sleep, but you
soon become accustomed to it. The
streets are always thronged with
soldiers, American, French, Arabian,
Morovian. Italian, Chinese, English. a
few Russian and some from the Col
onies. This happens to be a junction
and the troops are all going in every
direction.
And traffic. Well. Bridge and
Water streets is quiet compared to
it. Ammunition trains. supply trains,
forage wagons. ambuances, wood
carts. every kind of conveyance,
motorcycles. automobiles, and always
overhead from When night
comes. every light is put out. not only
all over France but in England as
well. to make it harder for hostile
,aeroplancs to see where to drop their
bombs. But Of course they can see
where TO drop them.
Well of course when night comes
there is more doing than in daytime.
They get in their ammunition and
supplies, and fix up all their rein
fOrcements. In town You sit and
7 listen if YOU are lin town" if you are
out working Of course that is differ
ent.
Pretty soon YOU near a steady
hum like an electric fan, growing
louder, then the alarm comes, if the
aeroplane is German; pretty soon the
heavy anti-aircraft batteries open
up. and as he gets nearer the ma
chine guns open up. pouring their
stream of bullets into the night at
the hostile invader. The roar of the
aeroplane gets louder and louder.
soon he either gets through our de-
fences or gets scared and turns
back. more often the latter. If he gets
through and gets over your head. YOU
wonder (all in few seconds) if his
bomb is going to fall near YOU. Soon
you hear frightful explosion. and
windows break and buildings tremble
and the rocks fly, for a second it's as
light as day from the explosion, then
there is another, and soon another.
etc, etc. and all the time the guns
still roaring. The bombs sound as
though they had landed about fifty
feet from you. but early next morn
ing when it's light you go out to
look. and YOU find several holes in a
nearby field, each one deep enough
and large enough to bury our sum
Hler mouse IN, out of sight. The
pilot was going so fast and so high.
to dodge the guns, as much as nossi-
bic. that he misjudged us this time.
Next time, well who knows, It's !,
great game. or business, whichever
you mind to call 1t.
Now let's so on up to the front
take quiet night first. We mass
through village in which all that IS
left standing is the church. II is
pitch dark, and we have no lights of
any kind of course, and the road is
thronged with all kinds of traffic go
ing IN both directions. You pass by
company of men. their heavily
laden forms looking more like some
KIND of pack animal in the dark thar
theY do men, and the thought enters
your head. well these men are walk
ing up. but how many of them will
ride back Tin ambulances) and how
many will never come back?" A star
shell goes up from the German lines.
and instantly everything is as light
as day. We don't stop at this point
as the road is very we'll camouflaged
We come to another pile of rocks and
see what once must have been a
beautiful little French village. but it's
been under shell fire for three wears
SO now it looks much like a tumbled
down stone wall We pass on a little
farther and see several evidences of
a gruesome character to remind us of
recent bombardment. We go to
our destination and do what we are
supposed to do. but we have to wait
for some reason before going back.
Let's take a walk up to the top for a
few seconds. Below us lies the two
thin lines that stretch from the Eng
lish channel to the Black sea. one the
trenches of the allies and the other
the German. Here they are quite
near together about hundred yards.
Suddenly the valley below is as light