Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1919-06-06

Tours is . beautiful town situated
almost In the center Of France. II
has mHny old relies Of ancient history.
During my Say here I can say my
time was well spent.
We cannot know this country too
well and every minute spent in vis-
itine its historical places Ii time well
spent
France Il famous for It's inland wat
Or routes made particularly possible
by its innumerable water canals Just
before the close Of the war / noticed
IN article in one Of the papers where
plans had been completed whereby II
would be possible to move the more
seriOusly wounded soldiers on their
own hospital beds from the scene Of
the battle 10 the transport taking
them home, and all the way by boat
TAat will give You an idea how COM
plste their canal system may be.
Picture in your mind muddy, wat
cred, stone-walled ditch running like
Q acar across the face Of the little
town. And you viii see the canal con-
Meeting the river Loire with the river
Cher, and separating Tours itseh
from the little city Of st. Pierre dea
Corps.
Somewhere across the bridge in the
distance lies Camp ROchambeau and
Camp de Grasse and 1t is-over this and
many Of these bridges, that the SOL
diers "come to town."
Farther down the canal to the right
we come to the river Cher. Here is
where the river and canal meet, and
also q funny old man that rents boats
lives here. Here is where we started
ON our famous Sunday excursion.
Rowing up stream past little town
Of st. Avertin until we came to a
shady little grove and here is where
we landed for an hour or so. Com
ing down the stream later in the day,
the river seems to flow into the golden
sunset and the ripples from the boat
and the water drops from the ores re-
Aected the light, making a splendid
sight. On the river banks the hills
rise abruptly from the waters edge
dotted by the villages and old cha
teanx, while on the left the country
stretches away in broad fiat meadow
lands, clean, and smooth as a park.
Coming back down the Cher to the
canal we travelled west to the place
where It meets the Loire, distance of
about q mile. Here we saw an entire
ly different sight altogether. The
Cher is more narrow and lazy at this
particular spot. But as a whole it is
q shallow and swift stream. 1t is dot
ted with innumerable islands with
broad sandy beaches, shaded in the
summer time by fresh green groves,
while the banks Of the river are cher
ished and cut with roaring freshets
Of Spring.
Going up the west bank of the river
we soon came to the little town Of
ROchecarbOn virtually dug into the
soft limestone cliffs. It is such town
as this that, when first saw them
caused me to call them the Cliff Dwell
lers Of France" Here in this manner
IL the pleasant home built in the cliffs;
but this form Of architecture is not
entirely confined to the peasant class
alone, as you will discover on closer
investigation, for behind these white
walls you will often find the most lux
uriOus Of homes.
Imagine, Il you will, the grass COW
cred cliffs-roof a home in the sum-
mer time, with mountains Of daisies
and blue asters, and the house fronts,
latticed by grape vines. Can you i'm
agine wandering along such dreamy
little valley on a sunny afternoon? ]
cannot, and yet / have.
Farther on at the end Of the road
we came to 1.-THE Mill of Touvie." It