Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1918-02-21
WAR END NEARER
THAN SUPPOSED,
SAYS BROMLEY
GRANGBvILLE SOLDIER WRITES
INTERESTING LETTER TO
BASIL HARRIS
MANY GERMAN PRISONERS
Teuton Captives in France Seem TO
Be Satisfied with Their Lot
Want No More Fighting

The world war is much nearer an
end than is generally believed says
Arthur Bromley, a Grangeville soldier
in France, in a letter to Basil Harris.
The letter follows:
A. e. F. France
January l5 1913
Dear Friend Harris:
Ii is quite a while since | wrote
TO you last and also some time
since l received your last, in fact it
was New Years eve, but Captain
Wheeler objected to our writing too
many letters then, so l kept putting
it off. Lately we have had permission
to write more although promiscuous let
ters are still discouraged.
There ISM an awful lot of inter
est to write owing to the censorship,
and the quietness of things in general
We have had snow which is about
gone and it was pretty cold until after
the snow came For two or three days
the ground has been covered with ice |
which made walking very difficult. But |
the ice is mostly gone now. We had |
little hard luck feeding at first |
but now we are eating pretty good |
and once in a while we have turkey |
feeds. But we also have to fall back
on hard tack for bread pretty regularly.
IF it were not for the packages from
home, we would have been out of
smoking tobacco long ago You see
we haven had a payday since Nov
ember and we couldn t get our own
smokes if we had.
Our first mail came New Years eve
and our second last night. Lots of
candy and tobacco The boys are all
in the best of health although there
have been several cases Of humps.
A great many things in this country
are very primitive. Their railways are I
way behind times, and very small ears t
and engines are used. They have no
sewer systems and have to be very i
careful of coal and wood There is G
very little tillable soil that is not cul-
tivated, hillsides and all r
They let the branches of trees grow d
out so far aud then cut them off for
wood, leaving some odd looking trees in u
some places. Hedges are used mostly
in place of fences. They have lots u
If those funny windmills with four BIG 49,
'ails. Stock is becoming very scarce, at a
east in sections.
Near the coast there are quite a num- !
'er of German prisoners and they seem 4
o be quite satisfied and do any kind of <
lirty work cheerfully They have had !
II the fighting they want. The war is y
much nearer to an end than we all
imagine.
Regards to everybody, ~
BROMLEY.
Letter from August Mdugg Y
A. j. Maugg has received this let Z
,r from his brother August Maugg, 7
18th the 10th U. S. engineers. detaeh- Z
!, now in France
Somewhere, in France q
Jan. II, 1918 -
ear Brother:
/ received the box of Christmas pre- zs'
nts you sent me-the first ] got since
Q came here, and l am very glad YOU q
Mt something. The cigarets and hold n
are great for cigarets surely are q
arce around here.
have received no letters up 10 this s.
ne OF writing, but l hope to get some r
ry soon. The trip across was fine. 81
though / was seasick for a few DAYS, D
d land never looked so good to me
iSH saw Tue ouOItS OF france. IA
1t is quite beautiful here and the
ather is very coda little rain now
d then, but no snow. | would like 81
write several things, but am afraid
would not pass the censor. I receiv- 81
a paper from home dated Novem-
: 20, and know most of the news
heart.
We had a good Christmas dinner
key and all we could eat. All the
Is from home on this detachment are
ling finely. I am in the best of 81
18th and hope the -s4ho "a ..--. Can Z g
ak OF any more news to write, but
let you know how I am every week
So n
do hope that you will make your
ers long and many of them as il
es a month or so for one to get
re-
Your brother
AUGTTST