The north Mississippi herald., 1919-02-07


large ferry which had drawn un
alongside of our transport and were
carried across to the pier. There we
dlsembarked and started on our march
TO what is termed Rest Camp, Ser
geant trank Romberger has said that
the reason they call it crest Ca:nn'I
is because one win remember II All
the REST of his life. And it's Ger.
tainly 80. Verify. we shall .xe-oar h,-
ing day. brt I'm getting away from
my story. 1t was five miles from the
city and as we marched along the
narrow crooked, quaint little streets
we were met by droves of French chill
dren who scampered about US begging
for cigarettes and nickels. One lit
tie chap who saw Us coming began
to sing in perfect English, "Hail, hail,
the gangs all here" which brought a
great laugh from the men. No doubt
he had learned the song from one Of
the hundreds of thousands Of Ameri-
can soldiers who had passed thru
Brest before we landed. The chill
dren We're the filthiest, dirtiest little
shavers / have ever seen in my life,
but then, you know, the French aren't
much on taking baths. All the chill
dren had on black aprons and wore
wooden shoes in which was stuffed
hay, as did also the women and old
men-there were no young men over
here except in the Army. We pass
ed numerous carts each pulled by a
dog, COW or tiny little donkey.
Sometimes they would vary; once we
saw two dogs hitched together, an
other time it would be cow and a
donkey There are no horses-ex-
cept in the Army. Now and then we
met women pulling carts of wood or
vegetables to the market or rolling
a rudely constructed wheel barrow.
1t was all very curious; we Americans
weren't accustomed to seeing our
women perform such labor, The hous-
es were crowded together like tene-
ments in some of the large cities;
windows closed and shutters drawn
| The streets were cobbled and narrow
and filthy; things were quiet save for
the babhling of the children playing in
the cutters, and an air of desolatior
and poverty hung about it all. The
women all wore black, and the ex-
preston on their faces, as they look
ed at US marching by, was drawn and
haggered. Poor things-four years
of war has wiped all gayety from their
lives, and very few but whom had
some loved one lying in Flander:
Fields.
Presently we left the city and came
to the rural district. All, that wal
very pretty; the fields were greer
like springtime and the great vine
yards were in abundance. On either
side of the road grew blackberry vines
heavy with fruit which later woulc
be picked by the women and old mef
and made into the wines for which
France Is famous the world over
After bit we came to an open fialC
surrounded by high hedge fenc-
where we were to pitch camp. The
art of pitching camp had lost it
fascination for US long ago, but to
day we were eager to drop our packs
stake our puppy tents and rest oul
weary bodies. A field kitchen wal
thrown together, supplies were un
loaded, detail sent on the double fol
water and fuel and before long din
ner was cooking. We did nothing fol
a couple of days but roam about th'
country, police the camp, and rest
We were at "Rest Camp" so VIII.
not rest? But before long our Res
i Camp changed as tho by magic int
a work camp-the hardest and mos
strenuous we have encountered since
we entered Service. We were calles
upon for every kind of detail unde
| the shining sun; water detail, fuel de
tail, guards, ditch diggers, stree
workers and men to do salvage worl
y at the docks; details which, after par