The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-05-07

another outfit that is with US here but
we expect to have some of our fun
soon.
You ought to see some of the logging
wagons we have here They are a two
wheeled concern with wheels about 10
to Il feet in diameter They are used
TO skid and haul logs with. l saw one
in use the other day and as it seems to
me il takes nearly as much time to
skid log as it would take to skid by
hand. The first thing to do is to put
three or four logs (the logs here run
about to Is inches in diameter) to-
gether, back this two wheeled concern
| over the logs about half way, unhitch
the horses, four horses to GIG. pass
the chain around the logs, lift the pole
| up in the air hitch the toggle, some
thing as our runner chain toggle, then
| drop the pole, which lifts the logs off
the ground near the balance, hitch the
horses on again and 90 to the skidwav,
trip the toggle and so after another
load. 1t looks like very laborious
| method to me.
The French people also have an af-
fair similar to ours but they use more
'-ANNiuoA itbOl d. Il StutId1 lHIIlE lHt
women working in the fields and woods
| as well as the men. The methods Of
the French seem very Anticipated, too.
For axes they have tool something
| like our axes only the blade is not az
WIDE as our cutting edge and is nearly
| twice as long while the handle is quite
short. The mules here Ct have seen
| but few horses in this section0 are
! hltched up like our oxen. | have also
seen cows hooked up. They are worked
with band over the horns so thew
must do the pulling by the horns in
stead of the neck
| For plows here they have Instruments
such as | have seen in pictures as be
ing used by the Egyptians and other
ancient peoples. They have pair Of
low wheels over which the beam. or
what serves as beam, passes and thev
have Il very small moldboard They
look as though a cat could draw them
even when blowing, but only one horse
is used as a general thing as the plow-
ing is very shallow barely brea king
through the greensward For small
plots the blowing is done by forks by
hand. For harrows practically all / We
seen were about like the old fashioned
peg tooth harrow, only lighter
Time however doesn I seem to count
with these people. No one ever seems
to be in hurry Even in the cities
we have been through around the rail
road stations no one seems to have anv
schedule time to make and the trains
never seem to be in any hurry.
The people here are very polite as
well as very sensitive. Every one that
you meet, and some of the French work
on the job of ours hauling lumber, al
ways greets you with a how do YOU
so!' or Good morning When a
trenchman meets another there is al
ways a handclasp, even among the chill
dren, and on parting for an extended
journey they always kiss one another
even the men. | have seen them kiss
each other at railroad stations. When
ever a Frenchman meets an American
soldier he is very polite and is really
hurt if the greeting is not returned Sc
we have learned to greet them as cor.
daily as they do, even to the women
tipping our hats and greeting "mad-
amoiselle. -
As yet | have learned to speak little
French but can understand quite a mum.
Der of words and hope to be able IL
speak it soon.
The most fun we have in this camr
, is trying to get the French for different
things and getting accustomed to tho
, Trench monetary system of francs ane
centimes. We We're paid the Other
!, day for one month and were paid il
: French money, | received loo francs
, which made me feel like a wealthy mar
until stopped to consider that it take.
{ five francs and 30 centimes to edua
one American dollar. There is. how
ever, very little opportunity to spenG
money here as the nearest town is about
| 10 or II kilometers from the nearest
? railroad station. About all one ear
: buy here is wines. but | don t thinl
: much of the French wine so have pur
| chased none. The French beer is abou-
} like our per cent, very weak. bought
one bottle of it the other night bu,
: don t like it.
: The people here do some very fancy
work in the fancy goods line, and whei
| get to where | can get some | will d,
! So
The soil in this vicinity is entirel,
: fine white sand in which person
can sink to his ankles when walking
making 1t very difficult to walk excep
In the woods, where the forest floor i
carpeted with a kind of moss. Tn,
forests here are kept as clean as many
of the public parks in the states.
The roads throughout France are yer,
good, even better than in England. be
ing wider and as good otherwise and ar
built of crushed stone, and as one zoe
riding along he finds at very short dis
tances apart heaps of this crushed ston
50 IN case a rut is formed in the road i
IS Immediately repaired and not al
lowed to grow larger. The roads ar
also quite numerous, crossing and re
crossing each other. Even III the wood
enc finds well-laid-out paths, and sheeI