The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-05-28

Somewhere in France, April %.
Remember the Lay of the Ancient
Mariner? And the story Of how the
sailors secuted Christopher Column
bus. and the tale of Noah's trip Ger
watery wastes? The subject Of this
letter is MUD. mud. And here Is
the LAY" Of the boy in khaki:
Noah, The Piker.
I'm a nineteen eighteen Noah, yet
haven't any ark,
Although I've got the beasts to put
on board.
And they came by scores and dozens,
not merely two by twos,
While in trying to corral them, I've
found a Ford.
Old Noah was an also-ran. compar-
ed to what I've faced.
The story of his flood gives me a
pain.
He may have seen some water, but
he never lived in France.
Through sixty-two, not forty, days
Of rain.
He never saw a blackboard. with its
Stats as slick as grease,
He never drilled in mud up to his
hip.
His story is a fivver compared to
what we've had:
Where ours has been a rain. his
was drip.
He never swan to breakfast
through gooey, sticky mud,
He never had his bunk near float
We only wish the dove (of peace)
would hurry in it's flight
And give US hope for sunshine some
fine day.
Noah never had his clouds all bat
tered full of holes am.r
BY guns that shoot the rain from
out the sky.
For Noah lived in days of old, he
wasn't civilized,
And there you have, perhaps, the
reason why.
France has the finest mud in the
world. We used to think that the
North Dakota. Minnesota and Wis
consin mud was the brand de luxe,
but we had never travelled to France
then. North Carolina has mud. 1t
was a nice reddish hue and many
Of the boys still have souvenirs in
coloPing on towels and underclothes,
still 1T was possible to divorce 1t
from ones person and belongings.
But this French mud is the real
thing. OF course. there Is reason.
1t has rained every day for 62 days
and water and dirt make mud. The
French mud has the most loving
disposition in the world. It clings
to you so. It has the consistency
Of chocolate pudding and the pro-
pensity OF glue.
It doesn't taste bad. either. Slosh-
ing around on the way to the mess
shack often results in q first course
Of mud on the plate. 1t can be WHIP
ed of with care and determination
but still IL mikes with slum gulllon
In an admirable manner and i'm
parts material sustenancs to the
soup.
Rain is almost necessary nova
lays. If It should stop raining the
boys would feel lonesome. Just like
eating olives. you have to learn to
like it. then you love it. And the
mud resembles the olive pits, col
ected from clothes and shoes, etc,
Ind thrown away~-that is, from the
the barracks.
th9Y Slams GNG war
And the rain has had it's better
qualities, too. 1t Is making the
French crops come up in q way that
oortends BONANZA" yields. That
means plenty OF war bread this fall.
"Ah, Monsieur. France do not al
ways rain so" said an old French
nan to me last night. But the big
runs, Poof, Poof.' and the clouds
break. Before the war. no rain like
his. Now rain all time. Rain until
var over"
And there is no question about the
,elief of the natives. which after all
nav be well founded. During the
present drive there has been tre-
nendous and terrific cannonading
III along the front and it is reason
bile to believe that with the atmos-
,here continually upset by the ex-
,losions it forces the clouds to let
Town their burdens.
So the men are drilled regardless
Il weather. At first there was grum
,ling, q lot Of 1t, but now they mere
Y bet on whether the drill grounds
viii be muddier than they were yes
erday.
They have one thought in mind
III Of the time. Il wonder ii the
northwest is getting any rain like
his. hope so"
In spite of the weather, while
here have been few colds, there
las not been q. single case OF pneu-
nonia or kindred ailments in the
lamp. You get used to 1t after a
while, almost tough enough to sleep
IN barbed wire with couple Of
sheets OF boiler iron for covers, yer
such bedcIothes might rust and rust
S forbidden la the army
And barracks don't leak any more
han barracks should. rs things