Weekly journal-miner., 1919-01-22
TELLS OF FIGHTS WITH COOTIES
 AND HUNS
R. L. BELL, WHO IS WITH OCCUPATIONAL NY, HAS KILLED MANY LICE AND MANY HUNS, AND TELLS HOW ITS DONE.
(From Thursdays Dailv.N

WHO IS now WlJn Ine AIneTlCan IOICtS which are living in Germany at tAe expense of the humbled Huns. The Journal-Miner is permitted to copy from the communication as follows:
 "No doubt you people have come to the belief that I have forgotten all of my friends back home but of late have been as busy as the knob on the door of the only saloon in a tough mining camp on payday, and consequently l haven't had a great deal of time to look after my cor respondence. For time l tried to get a letter over to my folks every week. but was not successful in this because back in the good @ old days of the drive, we were so often out of range of postal service. l have carried mail about with me for 50 miles before having an opportun- ity to mail it. But those days are over now, and we can heave sigh of relief When we heard the glad enews of the signing of the armistice, we all felt as though we were just getting over long spell of sickness. We felt glad but could hardly realize that everything was over. We had heard so many rumors and false re- ports of peace that we were getting SO that we didn't take much stock in anything we heard. And we were also getting to the point where we didn't care much whether the war continued or not-just like a football player who has been cracked on the bean and rushes into the scrimmage not caring whether he is killed or not.
 We mad been going ahead under 2 great nervous strain, and l shud- der Avhen I think back and recall some of the things we pulled oft just on the spur of the moment while under the intoxicating influ ence of excitement. However, such wild stunts as We pulled were what got Fritz goat. It seemed like the more they shot at us, the harder we rushed them, and they couldn't un- derstand why we kept on coming after they had trained few machine guns on us. As a matter Of fact, they were so excited at seeing thousand or so fixed bayonets com ing at them that they shot high. and very few of their bullets hit any thing, but air.
 We were under shell fire for a stretch of lO5 days with tne excep- ton of two days when we were nov ed iii trucks from the St. Mihiel sector oyer to the Mouse sector. If that wouldn't get on mans nerves, I don't know what would. If it had lasted mitch. longer I believe that l would have broken down under nerve strain alone. Coupled with this we had the long daily walks through the mud and the rain, tfle going without hot food for three or four days at a time, sleeping out in the rain with nothing over Us by ciaminy slicker, the constant sight of seeing our most intimate pals shot down, either dead or wounded, the whistle of the "well diggers" as they came screaming across no mans land hunting for something to con meet up with, and also our close as sociation with the 'cooties.' Every night those insects would send out raiding parties along our spines, and when they had accomplished their mission, they would dig in.
 "The great trouble with the 'coot- ie' is that he doesn't seem to realize that the war is over. When at Dutch 'cootie' meets up with one of the American species, the ptter speedily instigates pursuit, and after a lively hand-to-hand conflict, the Dutchman yells kamerad' and digs his claws in and as the Ameri cans bill goes after him, it usually punctures a fellows flesh on the under side About this time the long-suffering doughboy starts a search himself and soon vanquisnes the victor by a murderous wallop from his thumb nail Until I came to France I never knew why the pie lures of Napoleon always showed that great fighter with one hand in side his coat and the other reaching for his back. The best remedy for the elimination of 'cooties' 1 have yef seen appeared recently in the Stars and Stripes It was as fol- lows: Rub your clothing full of salt and let them remain that way for several days. Then take them off near river Or a pool of water and the 'cooties' will all be so thirsty that they will jump out to get drink and then the soldier can quiet | ly sneak off and abandon the little | insects to their fate. When the 'cooties' awake to the fact that they have been deserted, nineteenth of them will die of modification and the remaining ones will die of lone someness. I have tried nearly every thing to get rid of them, but have not had much success as yet I kill | ten of them and then fifty will hop in and take up the work where their departed comrades left off