Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1919-02-12
A Ned IVey Letter

open fireplace ana so lar nave D6en
able to buy plenty of wood, so are
warm and dry at last :
Christmas we played and sang in
cur own home. Six of us went out
side and played Silent Night The
snow was falling and quite frosty.
Only one chap hung up his socks in
the big fireplace but Santa did not
pass him by as they were filled with
COW beets and potatoes in the a. M
Ha! Ha! Had a good breakfast and
then one of the Battery kitchens bak-
ed pancakes for all Corners. Had
roast beef for dinner. The ''Y'' people
sent down a box to each of us-2
packs cigarettes, l cigar, / jam,
bars chocolate, and of gum Through
the cOmmissary we got / lb. mixed
candy, cigarettes, cigars and nuts.
In the a. m. our Colonel gave fine
talk followed by a Chaplain from
the 18th F. A. Loafed all day and at
about 5 p. m. five of us went down to
a French home and ate two roast
chickens, potatoes, lettuce salad, cot
tage cheese, bread, coffee and a mon
ster cherry pie. Took part of our
candy and gum to two little girls
there. Expect you sisters wonder
how they bake in a fire place. They
have all sizes of iron and copper ket-
ties with short legs on them. Goals
are pulled out onto the iron or stone
base, the kettles set in the center of
same and the hot Goals and ashes
packed around Works good The
salad dressing is olive OIL, vinegar
salt, pepper and tiny bit of onion
cut very fine. Coffee is invariably
home roasted, quite bitter and made
in a pot with percolater top, but what
gets our goat is that the table is clear
ed and our forks taken up so that we
have to pick up our pie in our hands.
Fowl and fish are roasted, head and
all. Rabbit head is the choice part.
Personally l prefer the other end of
the critter. Most of the peasants
raise large rabbits, lapi they call
them.
Well to get back to Christmas. We
went home and sat around our fire
an hour or so and went to bed Expect
New Years will be repetition with
out the presents.
We are quartered in a rotten lit
tie town, no stores and what's worse
looks as if we'll stay here for some
farmer boys need them for the spring
work and make their wants known.
We are held on reserve at present.
Received a letter from 10-year-old
Georgette Petit, Gouzon, Grouse,
France, cousin of Marius, and she
thinks | am very nice. Would I write
to her and would l send her an Am
erican flag. She has seen Marius'
pictures and read our letters and be-
lieve she has lost her romantic little
heart completely. Now I'm properly
enthused and f1attered and respons-
i've, but l have no flag, so will you
send her one. AS for the salve for
her sadly wounded heart, I'll take
care of that good and plenty. Her
father is a druggist. She speaks of
Marius' father and uncles who were
brave as lions" and also how much
they appreciate the assistance YOU
are rendering and how they love Am
erica, as she has heard her father
say that "the war would have been
lost but for America"
The boys are all excited over hunt
ing now that we have snow & or 2
inches). They hunt wild boar. AS 1
remember description of one they
are or feet long, quite heavy and
have long bristles.
You speak of the Tribune finding
fault with the war machine. We
chaps would surely have known of
any shortage of supplies and I've new
er heard any complaint from the bat
terys. The probable reason for the
U. S. not sending all our ammunition
was that the French and English out
put was sufficient and cheaper and
the bulk of our artillery was made
up of French 75s and 1855 which are
superior to the old IT, S. guns. The
Austrian SO or Withholding is the near
est competitor and it's peach.
The Liberty motor had mechanical
difficulties which took time to per-
feet. Aside from that, to the best of
my knowledge we have had sufficient
OF everything. AS you say rotten
politics are bound to do a lot of muck
raking. | believe in Republican prin-
clples, etc, but Wilson should have
another term in spite of precedent.
politics or party. His sitting on top
OF the universe right now, we and all
nations have great confidence in his
steady hand and if ever the world
needed a level head, tbs now and the
next few years to come.
Father, your dandy letter came on
Christmas day. The boys all gather
ed round to inspect the draft to see
II it really came from the good old
U. S. A. That surely was a fine gift
and I'll endeavor to get lot of good
therefrom.
Wish you were over here right
now. | got a canteen of fresh milk
at supper time and it has been scald-
ing by the fire ever since-like moth
er used to make. It's good chow for
Cornishmen.
We have been drilling every de-
cent day of late and tomorrow s
schedule calls for regimental re-
view, inspection of our billets and
equipment and then a demonstration
to see if we know how to pitch our
pup tents. The ground is frozen and
covered with snow so it will be a
rather chilly job If that tent isn't
up in less than five minutes I'll eat
my hat. A number of times this sum
mer we have put them up on pitch
dark nights with a driving rain to
contend with, roll up in our blankets
O,1 }hn cIOCnu crra1,pd opd c1oo,, Itlzo