The Press., 1918-04-18

some from the cold and snow. |
 was awful cold over heEe for couple
 of months. but the most of the time it was rain and then the mud was
 anywhere from three to four inches
 deep, but it is much warmer now and the ground is drying up fast for which I am thankful because we are on the move most every five or six days since we left the town where we did our drilling. have been in one battle with the Boch, as we call the Germans, and believe me it sure was he'll, if it didn't last but two hours. At 10 o'clock the frst night in the trenches they sent over a barrage of shells and sharpnel was bursting all around us boys in Go. B, but we drove them with heavy losses on their side, You had ought to have seen the pretty barrage we sent them with our artillery fire. It started at the end of our wire near our trenches and sweeps no mans land
 
 a can could live in "no mans'' just then, and the best part of it was we didn't lose a man and only one was wounded. was out in mo mans land' twice the first night as a guard for the working party that filled up an old trench that the Boch had come up the night before. I had two bombs and my good Springfield rife and was prepared for the Booh if he came along. The next night was in the working party. We worked out there from o'clock till 12 and after that I went to bed and slept till ? when they woke me up and went on guard on tue automatic rife which is some thing like a machine gun where stayed till 6 o'clock in the morning. It is hard work on the eyes looking out into DO mans land You can im- imagine there are a hundred Germans out there and when the good old sun comes up you find it was only the posts that hold the barb wire up but after you have looked about so long at them they all seem to jump up and down. For the five days and nights was up there, didn't have my shoes off only to change my socks, because we had orders to be ready to jump out the dug .out at any moment. Did not wash my face all the time was up there. Water was a very scarce thing. We had enough to drink but it would be wasting it to wash fellows face in it. Since I came out of the trench I have lived in nothing but cave and dug ont You people back home have no idea how this war has ruined tue beautiful towns and places of France, and I have seen but very little of it, yet every apple tree and fruit trees of all kinds are cut down and hope that none of the towns and cities back home will ever be like this. Of all the rats ever saw you had ought to see them that live with US in the cave and dug out. They are as big pretty near as cats. l received letter the other day from Bill Black telling me a few things about Stafford, but as l receive The Press I knew them all. Il was reading the good old Press up in the front line trenches when 1 was there. Bill is over here somewhere; I wish Iknew just where, as I expect furlough of ten days when we get out of the trenches. You see we stay so long in the front line trench, so many days in the next line and SD on, until the whole regiment i.as been ill them, then we go to 8 rest camp and get our furlough Bill is Q M. sergeant now and expects to go higher and I wish him the best of luck. I won't be able to live in a good up-to.da house when get back after living so long in cave and dug out. We have great feed now. This morning had two small pieces of bread with little jam on it and cup of coffee. A beef stew for dinner without any beef. I traded two bags of Bull Durham for a loaf of bread