Williston graphic., 1919-03-20
Letter From John Packard

Letter From John Packard
Cobling, Germany, Feb. 3, 1919.
Dear Folks: -.
At last l have washed the city of
Cobling. l left Witch this morn
ing with seventy six others for a
leave of four days and just now while
waiting for supper l thought l would
start letter and write few lines
every day while here and tell you
folks about the time am having.
We came up here on the railroad
riding 3rd and 4th class that is just
one grade better than box cars. l
think we had eight men in the COM
partment of the car was in. You
see the cars are all divided into COM
partments. guess six men could
just about have room enough to be
comfortable. Nevertheless we had
fine time coming up and reached
here about $3.50 were shown our sleep
ing quarters and they are just fine.
Each man has spring cot with
straw mattress and four blankets.
Next we were shown where we chow
and we had fine dinner, boiled beef
and spuds and bread and coffee. At
ter we were shown cots and where
we eat we were turned free. The
first time in nearly a year for me.
No military formations and can sleep
mornings as long as we wish If we
care to miss breakfast which is be-
tween 7 and A. M. l will
sure get up tomorrow as we are go
ing on a trip up the Rhine. l will
tell you about it in tomorrow's in
stallment of this letter After l had
dinner today Louis Genks and | spent
the afternoon in walking all over
the city. Saw lot of fine sights. 1t
is real pretty city. climbed up
to the top of the statute Of Kaiser
Wilhelm l have post card Of it.
Well l carved my name on the fore
lock of the horse the old kaiser is
mounted on. 1t is big statute. The
man and horse are of bronze mount
ed on base of cement. From the
base of the horse to the top Of the
Kaiser's head must be about 40 feet.
| went all through an old church
built in 836 A. D. and also through
castle built on the top of high
hill and an old fort. The castle IS
nearly in ruins and some sight to
see; it is also a splendid view of the
Rhine from the top of the high bluff
and of the city of Cobling. | walked
lot of this afternoon and this even
ing will see a show put on by the
51st pioneer division. They have a
bunch of stars and it should BE- a fine
show. ! Will let you know later in
this letter (later fne). We saw
some sights on the train this A. M.
while coming up here. We followed
the Maselle River nearly all the way.
Passed through some long tunnels.
l think our battalion will move back
to Thier some time next week. That
listens pretty good. and I guess it is
fact. Well will have to go to sup
per now Heavy on the have.
Proceed with ink as it is handiest.
Had grand time today. Took a
boat ride up the Rhine. Left here
at 10 A. NJ, got back at 6, P. M.
Four hours ride up the river and 2
coming back. l wouldn't take lot
for that trip, it was just great. The
ship was rugged out in fine shape and
solid comfort. The Rhine is some
river, high bluffs on both sides and
every little while we passed some
historic ancient castle, old and stern
looking, built on the highest bluffs.
Every one Of them has history of
it's own and all of them have legends
of some sort about impossible things
that took place in them in times gone
by. Pm sending you booklet which
about the different places of inter-
got today which tells quite lot
est. The castle that impressed me
the most is the Markburg Castle. 1t
is the only one that has not been re-
built at one time or another. 1t is
located on a high cliff five hundred
feet above the river. We went up
the river as far as the city of Caub.
The tower of ode Pflas" out in the
middle of the river was erected in
early days by pirates for the pur-
pose of collecting toll from all the
boats that passed l guess. The fel-
low that operated the joint was some
ancient ancestor of John D. Rookie
feller. The only entrance to the
tower is by door six feet from the
ground. By far the most beautiful
place along the Rhine is the "Lorelei'
1t tells about it in the booklet. 1t
has lid on its summit and statute
of a lady. The bluffs are nearly per-
pendicular. The sights of all these
old castles casts a spell of wonder
over a person as he gazes up at them.
l saw many fellow looking with his
mouth as we'll as his eyes. Perhaps
l did, don't know for sure. 1t beats
me how these ancient artisens got
the rocks and cement way up on top.
LATER-Had to quit here and 60
to supper. One more thing OF IN
A.. DL;1o &c tho on6IpSS