The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1918-03-23

| Sheii goggles, Oalaclava helmet
gloves and tin of antifrostbite greas
which is excellent for greaslng tn
boots. Add to this the weight Of hi
rations, and can you blame Tommy TO
growing at n twenty-kilo route march
Having served as sergeant major ii
the United States cavalry, I tried t,
tell the English drill sergeants theil
business, but IL did not work. The,
Immediately put me as batman in theIl
| mess. Many q greasy dish of stew was
| accidentally spilled over them.
would sooner fight than be waiter
so when the order came through from
headquarters calling for draft OF
$50 re-enforcements for France. I vol
unteered.
Then we went before the M. O.
(medical ofiicer) for another physical
examination. This was very brief. He
asked our names and numbers and
said Tit" and we went out to fight.
We were put into troop trains and
sent to Southampton, where we de-
trained, and had our trench rifles is
sued to us. Then In columns of twos
we went up the gangpank OF little
steamer lying alongside the dock.
At the head of the gangplank there
was an Old sergeant. who directed that
we line ourselves along both rails of
the ship. Then he ordered us to tnlke
life belts from the racks overhead and
put them on. have crossed the ocean
several times and knew was not sea-
sick, but when I buckled on that life
belt had a sensation of sickness.
After we got out Into the stream all
could think Of was that there were
million German submarines with tor
pedo on each, across the warhead of
which was inscribed my name and ad-
dress.
After five hours we came alongside
a pier and disembarked. had at
tanned another one of my ambitions
was somewhere in France" We
slept In the open that night on the side
Of the road. About six the next morn
Ing we were ordered to entrain.
looked around for the passenger
coaches. but all could see on the sid
ng were cattle cars. We climbed into
these. On the side Of each chr was
Sign reading "Hommes 40, Cheveaux
81 When we got inside of the, cars, |
We thought that perhaps the sign
PAINTER had reversed the order OF |
Kings. After 4S hours In these trucks
We detrained at Rouen. At this place
We went through an intensive training
or ten days.
The training consisted Of the rudi-
nents Of trench warfare. Trenches
ad been dug, with barbed wire en-
nnglements, bombing saps, dugouts,
observation posts and machine gun en-
lacements. We were given a smat-
ering Of trench cooking, sanitation.
omb throwing. accommodating, listen
,g posts, constructing and repairing
arbed wire, carrying In" parties,
lethods used in attack and defense,
iring parties, mass formation, and
lie procedure. for posson-gas attacks.
On the tenth day we again met our
lends "Hommes 49, Cheveaux g."
htrty-six hours more of misery, and
e arrived at the town of r.
After unloading our rations ana ,
lulpment, we lined up on the road In ,
'lumns Of fours waiting for the order =
march.
A dull rumbling could be heard. The =
IN was shining. I turned to the man z
my left and asked, "What's the
Use, Bill?" He did not know, but his T
ce was OF pea-green color. Jim, q
| my right, also did not know, but n
ggested that -awsk" the sergeant. a
Coming towards us was an old grlz- I,
I'd sergeant, properly fed up with n
e war, so "awsked" him.
Think it's going to rain, sergeantT' y
He looked at me In contempt, and n
united. "Ow's IL a-goin' ter rain with Z,
e bloomin' sun a-shinin'2" 1 looked
lily. =,
"Them's the guns up the line. me 9,
]. and you'll get enough Of 'em be- nj
re you gets bnck to Blighty." I
My knees seemed to wilt, and IlI
neaked out weak "Ohr" A
Then we started our march I'D to the a,
e In ten-kilo tricks. After the first y
rs march we arrived at our rest !,
let's. In France they call them rest II
let's, because while In them Tommy II
rks seven days a week md on the II
nth day of the week he Is given |
snty-four hours "on his own"
Dur billet was a spacious affair, a
&c barn on the left side Of the road, u
ich had one hundred entrances, -
ety-nine for shells, rats wind and
a, and the hundredth one Tor Tom