Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-02-09
DAUPHIN FLYER TELLSsOF
FINAL TRINING| IN FRANCE,
All Is Not Hard Work Behind the Lines-Danger ir
Aviation Aside From Huns

up tree and on a limb, with my
own countryman going back on ME.
You know how well, or 1 better
say bad, 1 can sing, so naturally,
refused. That only made the up
roar worse for they thought 1t was
bashfulness. Maybe it was, then
again, | didn't want to ruin n per-
fectly good dinner by my singing.
Seeing we could not sing, the hum
ming bird began again. He is quite
good and l only wish l could under
stand the words he sings, although
his actions are quite amusing and
illustrations enough.
Am writing this letter besides the
open fire place in my chateau, and
1t sure is cheering-and for the first
time in days, warm-Yes, l said
chateau! and you should see the
pretty grounds surrounding 1t!
Fountains, canoeing stream with
rustic bridges and coZy hooks. A
beautiful statue stands in the mid
die of the fountain. which you prob
ably would not enjoy on account of
its nudity, and which the French
men have used as a target, or, may
be il was the Germans. Anyway,
l have looked over the grounds
pretty thoroughly and am well sat
isfied with my home, only l am
sorry the owner did not install a
SNCdllllStll pant. lllGSt OBtI lIC
places are very romantic, but not
very warm.
Royalty Stuff''
Regular king and queen stuff
when one comes to the bedrooms,
with their twin beds and canopy
coverings. l only hope that camera
Christmas present gets here soon,
so l can send YOU some pictures of
my winter estate. l assure you,
NHEifh Il 20 l,a
Hill" il will beat anything you have
on the side of Bungalow Hill. Yeh,
this aviator's life is some life! Had
my mechanician on the jump to-
day, trying out my machine, and
the motor, both of which run eX-
cellently. Put in about two hours
despite the lowness of the clouds,
whose density nearly causes me to
lose myself several times. To-mor-
row l hope to get some practice
shooting. Heaven knows I need it,
and what the Captain called a nose
dive with full motor was merely
one of the times | was trying to
lineup the sights on a haystack
below.
Our escadrille is only n new one
just being formed. and for that rea-
son we get a chateau to reside in
while our barracks are being built.
room for two men, and one can
make it real comfy, so I'm looking
forward to getting in them, which
won't be for some Is days. Mean
while, your Angel q mean bird
like son sleeps in the kings palace
and bed). l may not equal Ben
Franklin records of being diligent
in my business and standing before
kings, but l can go him one better,
l sleep in kings bed.
There are several escadrilles in
this camp and its almost like a base
ball league to see the rivalry be-
tween the escadrilles as to the num-
Der of Boches shot down. One old
| escadrille has six Boche to their
credit, and take it from me, they
sure crow about their escadrille."
Most of the planes are painted with
| different colored spotches of dark
paint to make them hard to see
when looking down on them, while
the other side is painted a dull lead
color like the sky. Just to show
you how hard they are to see, one
of these painted picture puzzles was
sitting on the field to-day when an
other man landed and ran into him,
not being able to see him until to
late to turn. l saw the accident,
and honestly, I never saw the ma
chine myself until the other fellow
ran into it. My Nieuport is painted
silver, being an old type, but ex-
pect to get a new one real soon.
Am camped near Chalous-su Mars
and my patrol work is between
Rheims and Verdun. Looks as if
hit an exciting sector. eh?
WALTER