Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1919-06-04
AMERICAN TOURIST GUIDE
MISS BUTT GUIDES THEM OVER
BATTLEFIELDS
See the Empacement Where Stood the
Giant Gun Which Shelled Paris

strenuous / work only every other dsy and
this gives Sunday and Monday free.
make three trips TO Scissors, Chateau Thier-
~, Chemin des Danes, each week. This
morning l will write before 40 down 10 the
office. l had finished only One-hah Of my
experience on my first trip guide. I think
l told you Of the ruined cathedral which. after
all. Is but one of many numerous eathedrals
in all of the little cities Of France. The style
is ROmanesque-Gothic with beautiful proper
! tions. pleasing and satisfying) the French
cathedral of the 18th and 18th century res,o-
ration period of architecture. The stone is of
light sand color and now that all Of the stain
ed glass is gene. the whole building Is extreme
" light, looking more like a building under
construction than real ruin. nothing dark
were fine old tapestries but all Of the alters,
candles, statues, etc. are modern in atmOs-
phere and perhaps the most interesting thing
about the whole is the visit up a stairway into
a tower 2I5 feet high where may look out
for miles over the demolished city and the
great devastated area all over between Laon-
Rheims, etc.
After Scissors We started by car from
scissors TO Chateau Thierry, over the Sois-
sons highway. the object in last summers
drive to Scissors, July Is. when many OF
| frs and second division boys in action
mixed in among the French veterans. /
derstand that eighty per cent we're French in
this drive, but the fact that one million Amer
leans of proved yalor together. with all anu
milton necessary were in reserve, made the
French fight like demons Well. ride along
the highway across which the Germans re-
treated, and We graves everywhere. We
pass through little villages, while of the road
perhaps two or three miles We see other little
shelied villages. We see refugees standing in
| the dOorways of their rnfned homes and others
are wandering about among the ruins of the
| to begin tht work of reconstruction. | tell
you il will take back bone again pick up
the threads of life in these places.
| Bat l must keep to my trip. As. ride
over the highway TO Chateau Thierry we turn
of at Bezie-St. GERMAN fer a two mile trip
| TO the big gun emplaeement. the big Bertha
| that fred Paris. The men OF the party are al
ways crazy to see the gun emplacement. The
engineering is wonderful. A branch line of
railroad served 10 haul the great heavy pieces
of iron up into place. The heavy foundation
was placed in deep hole l don't yet know
| the dimensions, for l don't like machinery,
and / don't to know about guns. l sup
pose that for years 10 come This spot will be
visited by American tourists. II is only about
/ two hours lovely auto ride from Paris and
there will be all kinds of pigrimages. Bat
my recollection of my first trip win be a most
envied one. Our chauffeur. young American
who is only about half there, backed the
| machine into the and mud at the road
side For two hours the boy and two men
worked 10 get il cut. The boy trying 20
| throw responsibility the men, and they
determined that they would not work. had
feeling that could dig the thing out my
| self and once, only ence. il moved. That
when | got back of the wheel and pushed. IL
moved about three feet and still in the
| ditch while l. from head to foot was covered
with mud. Finally Of the suggested
| that ! walk TO the next town and get some
/ French soldiers and | did getting there about
| 5 o'clock. When | got into the forest Ga part
| of Boise de Chatelet where boys once
| rested after months hghting) | had very
strange feelings. IL dark, the snow was
| clear and white. There travel but
ours and ! feared l might meet some strange
| French soldiers the way. The last of the
sunset kept me company, (the French sunsets
| are as beautiful as those in California. All
Of the things l have read in dreams and in
fiction up at this time out of the depths
! to make the experience vivid The big back
| grounds of fate, Providence and Destiny of
Greek drama there. ! thought of George
| Meredth's "The Comic Spirit" l thought Of
| ThreAse Hardy's Mature" and then ] thought
| of the dead and how, perhaps, some Of our
boys were lying about this part Of France.
] remembered that Quentin Roosevelt was ly-
ing not far away. The snow and the light
were supernatural enough, and strangely
enough. the little old Sunday school song,
! which l learned when Mrs Casson and Mrs.
Houghton were my teachers, when MIR. Blake
was the superintendent and when Mrs. Blake
was at the organ. came up to my mind-'I'm
So Glad That Jesus Loves Me" l was away
of in France singing that little old song to
keep from being afraid. This was REAL
Christian Scienee-N'est &c PAST
| Well, I reached little Bezie, just as the
moon came out in full brightness. One little
narrow street winds through the village. All
slnnting red tiled roofs; decorations ex-
| cept the manure pile in the yard, near the
parlor window Most Of the people were at
dinner. | asked some very quaint lads IN
| wooden shoes If they could take me 10 the
| soldiers. They started up the main street
| with me. was gesticulating and talking
French emphaticaily possible. We
gathered followers proceeded BY the
time reached the first soldier. there were at
least IS people. No one knew word of Eng
lish. / could make il clear that We had been
ditched in the snow, but ] didn't know the
French word for mud" and all ! could do
| was to show the mud on my clothes was
covered with 10 and the soldiers Immediately
| thought that wounded and start
ed 70 the doctor. A new battalion Of $50
French soldiers had Just arrived IN town and
they didn't-knOw anything about the big gun
which / called "Gros Berta.' because l didn't
know the French word for gun" was
having the time of my life, when | tumbled to
way TO the doctors house, my French came
forth fuently and ! had real officer
who could ask the Major twho was at dinner
to send "troe Chevau trois Hommes" TO the
rescue Of the "Croix Roige. Americans" tOot
sweet!l While l waited out in the moonlight
at least thirty village children in wooden
shoes, blue coated soldiers, bare headed peas
ant women and few old men gathered
around TO hear the They must have
imagined from my wild yells and gestures
and my mud bespattered clothes, was another
Hun b0nmbardment. Anyway we soon got
the three horses and three soldiers, and be-
cause they, not any of them knew Of this
Big Bertha, two nutss of, had 10 walk back
across the in the moonlight. II was like
movie, three blue coated soldiers leading
their army horses. 1.-THE horses solid little
willing animalsD after my directions. jab-
bered French all the way. l told the big
simple soldier who ! walked With, all my life
history. He kept saying "Oui" all the time.
Then j asked him il he truly understood
"vairment'' of, il he were just pretending and
he insisted that had tires Boune accent"
Well they pulled out, and all who were
left started to Chateau Thierry Give had walk
ed ahead and by the time we reached the place
they having o'clock dinner in a quaint
hotel. Such march! We found out that the
next train was o'clock in the morning. and
so we ate our dinner in comfort. The Madame
always locked the door when people were adj
mitted At table big and rOundB were o
number of men. with the quantest faces
have ever seen, all difernet types. The light
ing was from little oil lamps with narrow high
ehimneys, and this light thrown up against
their faces brought them out so wildly that
they looked like "Cubists or Fitruists". The
back ground dark. paneled walls, the
dishes were quaint and close at hand at my
own table the light Of little lamps made my
family look like Rembrandts. A little French
girl waited on US. She looked like a Frsuz
Halls and managed TO sell many souvenirs.
After dinner. 10 O'clock. most OF us went 70
There was a FIRE and some American NJ. P's.
military p0liee) were on duty for the evening.
The smells were fierce. Fifteen big. middle
aged French soldiers sat about. didn't dare
lean back against anything for fear I'D get
"cooties," and 50 mar from Columbus,
Ohio another girl and ], said would rather
walk around all night than stay in that sta
ton. II was about IL O'Clock. We started
out from the little Care, which Is in the val
ley Of the Marine Al right and left Of the
station are houses in good condition. The
town has not suffered as much have many
others. Chateau ThieFTy houses are more like
1 Paris houses in style of architecture and there
are many iron work balconies. gates and
fences. We crossed the Marine temporary
iron bridge. You remember that three or four
bridges at Chateau Thierry were blown Up
| during the war We stopped the bridge
and look ed up and down the stream. Farther
down the stream toward Dormanes was where
our own volunteer americans stood 9ut TO