Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1918-03-27

ever we are. One evening we went
for a fve-mile walk down one of the
roads Caesar built through France
singing Dartmouth songs with about
as much zip as at football game
We hardly knew but what we were
just walking towards the "Junk" anc
back to Hanover.
Dear Folks:
The days slip quickly by and
everything is going finely.
1 am we'll and getting hardened to
the necessarily unpleasant parts OF
our life. This evening we are at the
Salvation Army hut writing amidst
the constant din of the voices OF
many soldiers and the bang-bang OF
the piano. Mud, mud and more mud
is what we have to slide about In
whenever we go out. However,, we
have had two glorious autumn days
this week, the sky very clear, and on
every day like this we always see an
average of five airplanes per day.
Many are just scouting or flying, but
sometimes they spot one very high up
and we can see them shooting at
these, because the shots explode near
the machine making little white
specks in the sky.
The leaves are just turning here
now, but are not as beautiful as they
are in New England. We had two
mornings that were frosty white and
it was surely a beautiful sight when
we got up on those mornings to see
the sunrise The color contrast be-
tween the pure white of the nearby
fields, the greyish blue Of the more
distant hillside, and the pink of the
sky was gorgeous. The frost is much
winter and thicker here, probably be-
cause of the greater dampness in
the air. We now have an exception
ally fine band in the town with us the
band of the -th infantry. | hear
it two or three evenings a week and
vorably with Never's band. l could
listen to this music for hours, but the
other evening when / heard them
playing to the boys who were to start
for the trenches early the next morn
ing, and studied the different faces
and caught the varying expressions,
there was more profound touch to
it. Men, they were, hardened by
months of hard training.
Today has been some French hoil-
day, saints day, l believe, and the
church bells have rung all day. On
the saints days, numerous, too, the
women dress in their best, practically
all black, now, and go to church many
times.
Things are going finely. 1 think
myself especially fortunate in getting
acquainted with a wide range of the
duties here, for I have been at vari-
Gus times in connection with most all
phases of the work here. We get ex-
cellent food and plenty Of sleep. Last
Sunday morning four of Us had a
good walk of about four miles. We
followed the road a while, then the
railroad track and finally crossed over
to return by the tow-path along the
canal; it is bordered on both sides by
trees set cut regularly, the leaves are
all turning and there was more or
the canal. Did I tell you about the
four Or fve-nile tunnel here,
which the canal passes?
Yesterday I took two trips to G.
The streets are just swarming with
American officers. They are surely
On alert, s1nart-appearing lot of
young men. However, they have
much yet to learn, the same as we all
have, about war; for it's amusing
when new officers come into the office
to see their unfamiliarity with the
equipment and it's nomenclature. One
Of the American innovations on the
busy narrow corners of G. is a traf-
ic cop. They have detailed soldier
for this, and he has the real Ameri-
can swing to his signals. It's bad
corner to watch, for it is very mar
row and in the middle ages when they |
built the street, about IS feet wide !
with this one and one-half-foot side
walks, they never anticipated any
American rush and hustle. Huge
and motorcycles-all are weaving
streets of this antique place, now en-
ivened by the Americans. Later on,
while we were in the "Grand Bazaar"
If the place-great excitement broke |
out in the store. The French store
girl began to jabber, and everyone
rushed to the door and when our
Jerk saw we didn't join in this, she
vas so anxious to have US see it that
he rushed back to me, grabbed me by
he arm and rushed us to the street.
There we saw three German prisoners
rarbed in bright green jackets and
ans, being marched up the street,
surrounded by about ten French
guards. They have just established
camp there for the prisoners and it's
lew to them, but when we arrived in
france and were at the British rest
amp at L H. we saw Boche prison.
RS by the hundreds. There they went
around as free and unmolested as the
french people themselves and SEEM
ID very happy and contented.
The storehouse is continually being
mproved-they are charging the
hop into the space where the old Of
ice was. Soon we may have electric
lights. The hours are not very Ia
POROUS, since we go to supper at
E.30. We now have new cook
louise where we eat. 1t stands in a
doping field, with a long stretch of
Woodland behind it, and it's odd how
t always brings to me the sensation
# going to a sugaring off back home.
The smoke rising from the little stack
through the roof and other similari-
les remind me of the manv manv