The Morgan City daily review. (Morgan City, La.) 1916-1920, 1919-02-13

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Then too we wanted to see some &C
ton, but it was the end of all our
good times. We moved to Vigna-
court. about ten miles from Amiens
Vignacourt is very small place
don't believe it is on the map. This
is the place where the little French
girl lives that writes to Golden. |
was given a room in her house, and
she and her mother treated me as the
l was their own son. They made me
coffee about three times day. One
dav | was sick while there and they
bought milk and cooked me some
eggs and would not let me pay for it
I'VE stayed in Vignacourt about a
week and then we moved to the
American sector.
We were supposed to leave at
teight in the morning by train. We
got up at three and got all our stuff
ready and there was not enuf room
on the train and we had to wait over
until four that evening before we
left. was very lucky for l got two
cars, bow cars, for our stuff. Our
Lieut.. had gone to Paris to get some
information as our other Lieut.. re-
ceived instructions that day to return
to the States. Say he was just tickl-
ed like a school kid, and we certainly
did envy him. l was left in charge
of the stuff and had twenty men with
me. We did not know we wcr': going
to leave on the four o'clock train ur1-
til quarter to four when Lieut..
came up and said Sergt. if you can get
YOUR stuff on the train and be ready
in IS minutes we can take you now
instead of waiting for the next train
Some of the boys had left to go to
town, not expecting to move until
six, and we had to hustle to load our
baggage, boxes, typewriters in one
box car. We also had lots of eats.
We loaded in one car, and l put tour
men in that and sixteen in the other.
The old car that we were in certainly
did rattle. That night we all layed
down in the car and tried to cleep.
Talk about cold, / thought that l
would freeze. | never was so cold
in all my life and the old car ratified
all night. No one got much sleep.
you can imagine sleeping on the floor
of box car, having it shaking yon
all tn time to say nothing OF being
cold. We passed thru Paris about
four in the morning, and stopped
there, out in the yards, not in the
City, and got hot coffee. Say that
coffee certainly did hit the spot. Well
then every one stayed up and we had
some time all that day hollering at
every one we saw, sitting in the box
car door with our feet hanging out.
We passed thru Chateau Thierry and
all along the banks of the Marine, and
where the No Mans Land had been
Things were pretty badly shot up all
along the way. Village after village,
bridge after bridge, all completely in
ruins We arrived at our destination
about four in the evening, a little
place by the name of Trontville. Its
about five miles from the town of
Bar lie Due, which is directly east
of Verdun, about thirty miles. We
were supposed to rest In Tronville.
It was pretty nice little place of
about five hundred people. Stayed
there about ten days and then moved
to Sivry. about seven miles from YER
dun. Sivry was completely in ruins
and it was here that l first began to
realize what war was. There was no
place to sleep. ] slept in the office a
few nights then l found an attic and
two other fellows and myself cleaned
it up and we slept there. We were
about four miles from the front line
trenches and every morning, or about
midnight the cannon would roar all
around us. 1t was there also that l
caught the first coolies. Wonder if
you know what they are. Coolies are
everything that is parasite, lice,
crabs, fleas, they are everywhere near
the front, everyone has them. I kid
ded some of the other fellows who
caught them before myself. Say they
itch so that you can't sleep at night
but / finally got rid of them by boil
ing all my clothes
Well when one Saturday night,
about ten days after we were there,
some one yelled Jerry, said some
thing that l dare not write, but Just
then shell came oyer with about the
widest noise l ever heard in my life.
and | jumped up an started for the
dugout which was across the street.
Just about the time | hit the street
another came over and dropped at the
corner about f;f+,y I'll