The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1919-04-04
CHAPTER xvl-continusd.
I IX0O0OOooOoooooooOo0 90
osDyya0As ~ Dsessts vsse P1oal

CHAPTER xvi-contlnusd
~
Home again for q few hours: then
away. q prisoner! At least he would
be able to get word to his wife by
letter through the field posts.
Finally he said good-by. His wife
had nothing to give him. NO laundry,
90 food.
Everything had been lost and she
uved On the soldiers' bounty. She gave
him her last money and he refused to
take It She accepted the money back.
Il consisted ok q few and 10 pfen-
aig pieces and some coppers. all she
had
Enable to endure this we took a col
sectton among ourselves. We made up
more than 10 marks, which We gave
to ths young woman. She refused 1t at
afst then looking at her husband. she
took 1t and tried to kiss our hands.
When We refused to let her do this
she ran to . store nearby and returned
with cigars, tobacco. matches and sau-
sags. which she gave to her husband.
She smiled perhaps for the first time
in . long while.
The children wsrs With their father
aaa they Kissed him a. he left. He had
enc child On each arm and his wife
carried the third.
With the greatest happiness the
family walked along between the two
armed soldiers. When the moment Of
parting came all began to cry.
This was the fate Of thousands Of
poor French and Belgian men and
women, quartered near their homes
yet unable TO know who was dead or
alive,
While We stood at the depot ten Ger
man soldiers arrived with fixed bayo-
acts. Between them were three French
citizens In civilian clothing, whom they
escorted. All were elderly men. We
asked an old Freuchman what this was
about and he said:
I'VE receive our food from the Ger
man military ofncials bat it Is not suf-
ecient to live ON. The people have
nothing left All stock and food had
been seized. These three men refused
to work any longer for the German
military officials because they could
not I've on what they received.
'They were arrested and are being
sent to Germany. No one knows what
their fate would be there. The men
were being taken away by the Ger
mans and interned In Germany"
We received orders to march to
varennes and left the next morning.
A. we reached the heights Of Varennes
about noon we saw the wide country
before N and the city nesting in the
sulley. Farther up on the heights was
Vauquois. Nothing could be seen Of
any houses but through our field glasses
~ could make out an enormous ash
heap. Shells fen there continuously
and we were frightened at the pros
pect Of having to 20 to that spot
6carcely had we crossed the heights
when some shells burst behind N. The
french artillery even singled out indi-
s4dualA While Vauquois was In their
pos0os1ion they could coordinate the
entire neighborhood. We understood
DOW why this ash heap had been con-
tested for % bitterly.
We ran down hill TN W came to
vafennsA. The southern section Of the
town had bean wrecked by shells and
drA Many chimneys were all that was
a3t standing o6 whole rows Of
houseA Soldiers everywhere collected
scraps Of metal which were transport
ID to Germany. Tho church bells were
aoaded On wagons and sent away. All
he copper, din, brass and nickel which
could b found was gathered.
The naxt morning We went into the
trenches. We had to reach our post
ton before daybreak, for with daylight
the French kept III the approaches un-
der nrs. Thsre was not much Of .
trench In vauQuois. An that could b.
sssa was sinsle stone pils. Literally.
eAee0 Was not, In thiS town. one stone
ta6 mon another. The ruins Of this
Village had changed hands more
GhAn fifteen times. When we arrived
ene-half Of vauQuoas WAS In German
hands. The French wsee In possession
It the highest points from which they
could overlook the country for many
0l1oa.
IN default ol Q trench We sought
eovor behind the stones, for 1t was i'm
Doss1ble to dig trenches here. AZ the ar
meey lsveled everything. The soldiers
Doncealed themselves behind stone
walls and fired. Artillery Of all cali
" covered thooo ruins. Amid an this
osszuet3oo lay IN army Of 'corpses,
0ootly German.
0AApTRR XVII.
We wero of The opinion at first that
eAis WAS only . Temporary condition.
but after . few days we Gaw .
n1anRhteP hordaran9 On inaanffv undnR.