Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1918-06-22

May 10, 1918.
Dear Folks:
Received two letters and a couple
of rolls of paper this week and roll
of Magazines from Mrs. Green and a
letter from her, she certainly wrote
me fine letter had not heard
from any of you for three weeks,
and was glad to hear from you. /
got ten letters that mail, two of
which were from home
We heard about August Allan
the day before your letters came.
Too bad. Don't know anything
about Jim Beach
They call the medical and sani-
tary departments non-combatant
forces for some fine point in reason
ing
The chimes in a nearby church
are now ringing. The bells are very
Old and have rich ring to them.
They rang early this morning, They
are playing some chant, as there is
a musical swing to the sound France
is Catholic you know and they have
some celebration today ! am going
to take walk to an old fortress on
the top of high hill this afternoon.
We have moved again and are in
a higher altitude now, where we have
some of the best water | ever tasted.
The people laugh at us for using
water to drink. II seems more like
old surroundings here, where we can
look at distant mountains, and there
are high hills all around us. We are
on a hill in rather large valley
where the cultivated hill-sides slope
down toward us.
Ours is a typical French village
the streets narrow and rocky and
smelly. The houses have hog pens
and cattle and horse stables on the
ground floor and in the easements
and the living quarters upstairs.
We are on the hill in one side of
the village. There is the old castle
and old houses. A. Battery is billited
in an old castle and some Of our
\ men in an old monastery which has
its old door knockers and bell in it..
The castle is old and interesting. The
scheme of these old French villages
comes from the old days of knight
hood. There is the home of the lord
or baron which was in the castle
and is situated in very strongly
fortified position and is the highest
place in the village. The houses OF
the serfs are built below in the
fields or adjacent villages and could
enter the castle in case of an attack
on the castle and village by another
lord The houses of the lesser lights
of the courts are built on the hill
side or very near the castle. Our
village must have been a very old
and fine place in its time. believe
the dirt in some of these old build
ings had not been moved for nun
dred years before a part OF uncle
Sans army disturbed it. We have
very nice room, but it was a slght
before we brought the light of day
to it. An old rotten sheep pelt, con
webs. dirt and trash We pried open
barred up window and knocked
the cement out of two others which
had been sealed up for some reason
One is a loop hole from which a
warrior has shot his arrow at the
enemy, | suppose. We have a beau
tiful lookout from our main window
or hole in the wall rather. Its only
pane is a heavy wooden one swung
on heavy bolts fitted to hold the
shutters in the thick walls. We nave
an old table in our room and an
sitting facing the window where the
pure rare air as of days in ldahe
blows gently in. 1t carries the
powerful hum of an unseen aero
plane, the songs of birds and the
rumble of traffic in the street below
A heavy Ford just rumbled along
We have some with us and the
French have some.
A small procession OF boys al
dressed up going to church nave JUS
moved up the street.
| have a fountain pen, and goot
one so Vernon need not send one.
am sending you list of the Things
Won can send me. Please send m'
only Enders razor blades as tn
Penn" blades are not very good
The flash light batteries | want arr
the Ever Ready Tungsten Batter!
No. 75O' the make is not so import
ant, but be sure of the number o
get an equivalent size.
Lots of love,
FRANK.
Pvt. Frank E. Bumgarner,
B. Battery LAG U. S. Field Artillery
American Expiditionary Forces
Via New York City.