Nome tri-weekly nugget., 1919-04-18
HARRY HICKS WRITES
FROM FRANCE

Hicks, former Nome boy who joine the Canadian forces shortly before the entrance of America into the world War. was received by Al Nicholson on q recent mail,
 Fourth Canadian Infantry Work Co.
 B. F. F. France, January 2S, 1919
 Hello Al.
 Well old scout, l just received your welcome letter. It was like Gibson's Japanese current, slow in arrivin. b <: heap, plenty good to read when it did get here thin!: y"u Inusi have Eecn trying to mlkc me homes!c;s with all the news from Nome. l have long since come to the conclusion that Alaska is plenty rooi enough for me. l am going to get some of your old Sour Coughs swell headed for A'a- ska is we'll represented here. Lately 1 have been mixing with Tom Pat terson and a Tom Knight. both Of whom are old Sour Coughs. I knew them both in Anchorage. When it comes to mushing or packing, an old Sour Dough has got them all dragg- ing flat wheels trying to keep ur. Honestly Al, when it comes down to this kind of graft, getting out and looking after yourself as best you can, the Alaskan is sure away ahead of the rest of them. Al have got to tell some people and the things they have gone through are fierce but if there were no other questions outside of the country they are fighting for, you and and Sour Coughs would give it to them will say one thing for it tho. If produces more mud to the square inch than any place in the world. I was on the trail going to- Cache Creek in ;he Susitna with Jim Murray and, be- lieve me, l know what mud is. it was some mud there. We met an old prospector in q shack and we asked
 
 ever and Jim commented on the size of his pack. Why Man., he said. that pack is the cnly thing that sav- cd me from the mud. was able to pull myself out on it.. And this mud here sure has that beat all to a fraz- gle.
 
 l got in bad since I wrote you last while still at Seaford. They gave me six days leave and, like a good many Sour Coughs who forget where they put their stakes. I forgot the day was to report back to camp and made it ten days instead of six. That entitled me to thirty days restricted pay; four days forfeited pay and seven days field punishment. Like all good things the last is the best full marching order'' weight about seventy pounds and doing every thing in the detail packing it around. They lave a good training system in Eng land anyway. I learned more in five weeks there than did in three months lin Canada. Altogether different cour- ses and instructors. Took infantry. bombing, gas. bayonet and musketry 1 and you have to pass out of each class. You sure have perpetual mot ion on you for that five weeks let me tell if depth charges from the boats We could see from the camp. They dropped ldepth charges from dirigible balloons they had along when we were coming over. They sighted one of the Us coming over. They must have been q couple of miles away from the convoy when they started to put down the depth charges but they sure did shake up the old ship we were on. Some ot the boys were staying down from sup- per. waiting for the seconds-cleanins up. you know-and they lost no time in making the deck. wish old Tom Ross could see the boat drill, for it is a picture no artist could paint. When was at Halifax. they emptied ship in A5 minutes so you see the gang wa. pretty safe on that boat, even if tho ropes would not go through the pull. leys very we'll. think 1t was thu first time the boats were lowered sinct the ship was built. A convoy like VI had is a pretty sight. Twenty in our and the sub chaser's going back and forth. They sure have some speed.