The sun., 1918-10-06

teous and don't seem to have any eoncep-
ton Of fear. Duty TO them is pleasure
and the greater the hazard the greater the
honor. l have stood at roadside watch
ing long lines of infantry march past,
going into a perfect hell Of shot and
shell; they are always in good spirits,
singing and joking. Then, and only then,
is it possible TO appreciate the stuff that
these bronzed, athletic men of France are
made of. Whenever an American would
pass them, as often did, it was give
les Americans" or "Camarade."
Our men and the French take to each
other like duck takes to water. The
other night l watched some of my men
put on a vaudeville sketch with the
Poilus, with excellent results, in spite of
the fact that neither understood the Ian
guage Of the other. There is great feel
ing of companionship as well as COM
radeship that exists between the Amer
leans and French, and which is difficult
to describe. Perhaps II is because their
country reminds us of ours; that they,
like US, always see the funny side Of every
situation; that is, they have wonderful
sense of humor, and lastly, because both
are democratic to high degree.
The other evening after We had finished
dinner the French Captain sent for a SER
geant, who, before the war, was a grand
opera singer, both in the States and
France, and had him sing for us. After
ward 1 talked with him and learned that
he had sung in st. Paul and Minneapolis
while touring the States. He also told me-
that only the night before, while watch
ing the soldiers file past, he had recog-
nized a fellow artist, the first violin Of the
Opera in Paris, on his way to the trenches.
Thus we have rich man, poor man, beg
gar man, thief, doctor, lawyer, Indian
chief, all shoulder to shoulder, confident
of the final victory and fighting for a CON-
mon cause.
As to the war, it goes along very much
as usual-incessant firing day and night;
troops going up and coming back; camions
and trucks silently winding their uncer-
tain way over shell torn roads; all inter.
csting, but an endless repetition of pic
ture indelibly fixed in my mind from con-
slant association and observation. At
night, going along da:k road Zone can
not strike match for fear it will be OBJ
served) you are almost solely dependent
upon the flashes of the hundreds of guns
from the famous 75s up-for illumina-
tion. They are constantly firing from all
sides-some just clearing the road, al
lowing just enough for wagons and trans
ports to pass by under the roaring projec-
tiles.
of course all the shells are not bound
in one direction. Quite frequently a
made in Germany" comes tearing in, not
quite certain of its destination, perhaps,
but none the less to be feared. At present
the French have the supremacy of the air,
and in consequence the Germans are COM
PEELED to shell everything, without beng
able, as they were on the other front, to
concentrate heavy fire upon a position
which has been definitely located. When
we fire we know exactly what VIC are
shooting at, and an airplane signals neces-
sary changes and results.
Our artillery fire is doing tremendous
damage; prisoner brought in last week
said the losses were terrible and that it
was impossible to send food to the front
line. You see, in addition to our destruc-
tive shots We keep up an endless fire upon
all roads likely to be used by the enemy
during the night. We can do this very
accurately, for during the day, with the
aid of observation posts, balloons and air
planes, we determine the direction, and at
nioht. when IL In impossible Co observe.