Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1919-02-20


received the following letter from thei
son, JOY:
Somewhere in France,
December %, 1913.
Dear Mother and All:
It has been quite awhile since /
last wrote to you but l have thought
of you just the same. ~.-
Ny pardner and plyself left the
laundry at Toul on December IL with
Dur sterilizer and started for Verdun,
distance of about 40 l1ilometers or
r. miles
We were three and one-half days
making the trip. We came out here
to Reyille which is about 20 miles
north or north west Of Eerdun.
don't believe l ever described our
outfit in any Of my previous letters.
1t is a Folon steam wagon which is
manufactured in England. 1t is just
like & truck, except it operates by
steam. We have to have our water
and coal or we cannot travel. On the
truck l50dy we have two large drums
running crosswise the body and about
6 feet in diameter. Clothes are put
in the drum and steam is then turned
on them for the purpose OF killing the
scootie" or army louise. Our machine
weighs something over ten tons and as
soon as we get off OF hard roads we
are done On good roads we can make
about ten miles per hour
On our trip from Toul we passed
through towns that were all shot J
pieces and very few people in sight.
From Terdun up here we saw miles
desolate country, All that marks a
town in some places are few crumb-
led walls still standing and heaps OF
stone and wreckage.
| have seen hills all shot to pieces
and have been through woods which
I believe would be an iMpOSsibility to
find a tree that was not Scared. Huge
shell holes are very numerous around
here and are now filled with water.
We are now where the last lighting
was done and our town was likely
taken only short time before firing
ceased. Our town is very small and
badly shot up. Jack and myself are
the only ones living in it with the
exception of a few more soldiers. We
are living in a room about lo ~
have a table, five chairs, bed made
from boards and woven wire, and old
fire place and two windows. l managed
to find enough glass for~one WINDOW
and have a piece of canvass over the
other. The roof is all shot to pieces
and water comes in one end OF the
room quite badly but we certainty en-
10y being by ourselves.
Our machine sits right i'll front OF
the house. We have to so about
nuarted of a mile to our meals, whlch
is ont of town and up on the side hill
where most of the men are located
The 79the division are up here and II
is with them we are working. They
are quartered in German dugoutS
which are up on the hillside out OF
town. / like it the best of any
division. | have been with so far. Iney
certainly have some fine officers.
We had to set up here in this town
because we could find no suitable
place up dI lAC 00SOo@o
Ground was to soft to get the machint
anywhere off of the main road.
Today is Sunday and / have worked
rearly all day. We did not have to dc
any sterilizing but there is so much
repair work to do on the machine. we
took advantage of our day OF rest.
would like to have gone to church
had. there been any service anywhere
had dream last night and il
seemed as though / was home ane
getting ready for church.
It has rained nearly every day since
we left Toul. 1t is raining tonight. i
showed a few minutes the other day
but the sun came right out.
1t has not froze any since we lef
Toul, but gets chilly. Sometimes l hav
on ais many clothes as would if