The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1918-07-05
on THE FIRING LINE


several letters recently from their
son, Durward, who is a member OF
Battery A, 5th Field Artillery, and
has been on the firing line for months
From those letters we take the fol-
lowing extracts:
As write hear two machine guns
working. | saw dandy fight a
couple of days ago A bouche was
trying to bring down one of our OBJ
servers, but was brought down him.
self by a French pilot He came
down in flames about a kilometer
from here. The pilot was burned to
a crisp. medical man reports who
was close to where ne fell.
am on the sick list today and
have been for a cot pie of days past
with a bad cold. They call it trench
fever here. | will be all right in a
day or two.
have just finished eating supper.
Had macaroni and tomatoes. They
are shelling town near here and
II is little noisy. There is a French
battery which has phonograph.
have seen a man fire his piece and
then run over and turn on the phono-
graph. That sounds funny, but the
most common place things are done
while shells are falling near, and the
general conversation does not change
unless the shelling Is extra near.
saw an ambulance 60 by with it's
side shot out and one tire gone 1t
was carrying four gassed patients.
The drivers are not allowed to stop,
no matter how hard they may be
shelling road.
am going to deposit some of my
pay from now on with the govern
ment. 1t will draw four per cent in
terest. | will not receive this money
until | am discharged, and | hope
that will not be more than a year
from now. and | hardly think it will
be that long But as the chaplin says
plead guilty and trust in the Lord.
and he got fined $50 and thirty days
in the MILL
! Yes; we are in the big fields now.
but have seen none OF the other out
fts you mention. We have been here
nearly month. 1t IS very pleasant
weather, only rained twice this month
so far May. and there is not much
chance of its raining any more.
We were relieved to go back to rest
camp not long ago. but remained here
and timbered our dugouts. and, say,
Il rained shrapnel while we ate our
dinner today. Some scattering was
done. and in hurry, 600, believe me.
1t was little too open for us.
We sure did get bunch of those
Dutchmen last week. wish you
could have seen them. 1t was a sight,
believe me. hope we will get some
more soon.
l am a little further from the front
line than 1t Is from Friis' creamery to
the school house, or about a mile and
a half. You surely have read of our
victory in the papers and Of the pris-
onesr We took. We are surely maxi
ing showing in this war, and I be-.
lieve the Germans are beginning to
feel our weight.
Today for the first time in some
weeks there are a few fleecy clouds
In the sky. We may get little rain.
The country here is much like New
YORK. Everything is a mass Of bloom
and gardens are looking fine, only
Tor the weeds. OF course there Is no
one to look after them. They were
planted before the psople were driven
away. Peas are nearly large enough
10 eat and the strawberries are as
Dig as your thumb, bat green. l sup
pose by the time you receive this you
VIII be eating strawberries and cream.
nope to be there next year to have
feast on them. Some one rang the
church bell day before yesterday. 1t
has been some time since l heard one.
guess this bell had not been rung
Tor months before, but l hope it will
De able to ring in peace soon.
IT seems funny to think of speed
laws in the United States, then see
certain roads in France with cars
and motorcycles going at 60 miles
and with no lights, and ammunition
trains and supply wagons going at
same speed. Yet | have never heard
OF an accident no matter how dark
the night may be.
The French caravansaries do not
sell us anything, nor does the Y. M
Z. A. sell the French anything, so we
buy for one another. Some scheme
The French think great deal of us
and we get along fire.
The only time l need tobacco and
writing paper is when We are on the
road travelling and cannot get to a
Y. M. G. A. booth. They are adopting
new system of bringing truck
along with the different outfits. so as
long as have money I don't have tc
want 70 ranything.
sure was lousey for a while, but
am rid of them now and some relief
believe me.
am in charge of gas again.
wish | could tell you a few things
about it, but that will have to wal
with many other things.
-->oS--
The mosquito pest has been more
annoying in some parts of town this
season than for several years, al
thOuph thav ara nothing IN what thpy