Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-08-03

ehS uSIrdinliS pOlhtt passing OH the
way a long line of motor transports
from another division (his younger
brother's) which was on the line
somewhere near at hand.
Last night he adds. the Boche
made an air raid in our vicinity and
for an hour at midnight anti-air-
craft guns manned by the French in
the rear of my billet kept up a
steady fire and shrapneI was scat
tered all over the yard outside my
window. The night was brilliant with
stars ana search-lights played over
the sky' seeking the speeding Huns,
whose motors sounded distinctly over
our heads. Nothing happened. how
ever and no bombs were dropped in
our vicinity.
My company is at present quar-
tered In four-story hay loft in a
big court yard. The building is of
concrete, belonging to apparently
prosperous farmers and was construc-
ted back in 1928. The oxen that move
about the yard are huge animals, al
most as big as hippopotami.
Some United States Marines hold
ing the line opposite our present To-
cation passed in ambulances yester-
day. They had been gassed and il
had affected their eyes particularly
being mustard gas. They had been
pushing ahead and the Boche isn't toe
well pleased with the results. The
French people give it as their opin-
ion that the marines are the best
fighters in the world.
Last night l went over to a small
but historic town or village about
two miles from here following ves-
per service held by the chaplain or
our improvised battalion field. Ar
American hospital, called an evacua-
ton hospital, is located in this viii
lage, where it is a fact of history
that Napoleon went to school ano
| where it is a legend julius Caesar
once stopped to cool his wine I
Nearby is a tremendous chateau one
thousand years old, of sturdy con.
| crete and ancient brick, a massive
affair covered over with ivy. great
| moat now overgrown with trees and
shrubbery surrounds it and the wall.
| are over four feet thick in some
parts. An old French family lives il
it. There are several of the regi.
mental headquarters officers billeteC
in the corner of the big castle. Oul
company billet seems like a modern
apartment in comparison"
Better Than Drills
Captain Stackpole tells of talking
with some young wounded German
! prisoneHs in the hospital, one oi
| whom seemed well pleased with the
| treatment the Americans were givine
him. He adds The Americans are
| proving themselves fighters and caus
| ing the Boche great anxiety. 1 tool
| my company over this afternoon anC
| gave every man a chance to see fol
himself what gas will do and alsC
to talk to the wounded. 1t was bet.
ter than a hundred drills and five
hundred lectures.
"An expected air raid last nigh
| failed to materialize and tonight 1.
very cloudy with rain threatening Sc
I don't expect there will be any fire
works. We will probably be here fol
another three of four weeks unless
| hell bursts loose up on the line"
Captain Stackpole writes under
date of June 23 that he had just seer
| several European editions of Ameri
l can newspapers and felt that he wa:
| again in touch with current events
These papers discuss at length the
| IdlluTe OIL Ine TeCeHIly -DeBun AuSITlaI
offensive, of German despair anC
| abandonment of the drive to reacf
Paris and of Japanese and allied in
| tervention in the East.
Things seem to be shaping vi
pretty rapidly and without putting 4
on too thick really see rift in tn,
clouds and a chance to get home be
fore my hair begins to silver. Thu
service of the American troops II
very satisfying and is having a bad
moral effect on the Hun. 1 am sur,
he knows well enough the tremendou!
army mobilizing and augmented thii
side of the western front and per
haps 1t doesn't tickle his fancy.
Tomorrow we will be on the
move again. We have been in thii
area just about a week now and of
we go again. Didn't know 1t unit
late last night and 1t may be tina
orders will come to move at any min
ute"