Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-02-04
MUDBOUND IN FRANCE
Motor Truck Soldier Has Lots Of
Bad Weather
CHRIsTHAs.NEW Year CELEBRATIONS

Sheap-Si9ns or war have Beer
Removed from the Tout Front-csn.
, , sorship of Letters.
La Pallice, France, January H.
When you hear people say that Ameri
can soldiers don't drink any liquor ir
France, you tell them rats" or some.
thing else like that to which you usual
ly give expression when you are dis
gusted.
Liquor Is about the only thing
around here that is cheap. and that 1,
high according to before the wal
prices, they tell me. You can buy cog.
nae brandy for five francs, or one dol
lar bottle. I do not know much
about alcoholic liquors. I do not pre-.
tend to say that I have never drank
any whisky or anything Of that kind
I have, and am not especially asham.
ed Of the fact. From one standpoint
ought to be ashamed; but from anoth.
er ought not. Most boys of my pas
environments and that means most
boys have had their chance at liquor
and but few Of them have ever beer
known to let 1t alone until after they
had learned, no matter what father
and mother had to say. But I thank
God that am not one Of the kind tina,
has ever liked the stuff. I never did
like it, and I don't believe I could
learn to like 1t; but I am not going to
try.
But 1t was about liquor drinking that
I started to tell you. You can buy cog
nae at dollar quart. Cognac, I had
always heard Of as an extra fine
French brandy that sold for eight and
ten dollars gallon. when ordinary
or fair rye whisky sold at three to five
dollars. The boys used to speak OF
cognac as something especially grand.
To tell you the truth, while I may
have been impressed with such notions
when the stuff was so far away, have
not had that kind Of idea since I have
been here. am more inclined to
think Of 1t as paw-paw, Jamaica gin
ger, lemon extract and alcohol. It is
the commonest jag to be had, and those
soldiers who are cursed with athirst,
get enough of 1t to make them Just as
stupid, silly and disgusting as they
could be from drinking any Of the 9TH
er decoctions.
Christmas here was like Sunday.
The natives know nothing Of Christmas
and I find that American soldiers
drawn from all quarters know but lit
tie more Of the way we look on Christ
mas in South Carolina. It was like
Sunday in that it was dull; but 1t was
not like Sunday ought to be. In one
|paf1ehiar the American boys from ev-
erywhere seemed to have the same
idea Of Christmas that so many Of our
own people have, the idea of time to
get drunk. More boys got drunk on
Christmas than at other times, and
drunkenness was the principal feature
Of the day, except we all had an extra
good dinner. All the boys did not get
drunk, not by great deal. There
were lots Of them who did not even
drink anything. But when ten per
cent Of a crowd is drunk it looks like
all are drunk.
I have not been II a battle, nor near
enough to battle, as battles went over
here, to be in serious danger. But I
shall always remember January /, 1919
as the day Of my greatest battle in
France. II people from all parts Of
the country do not have a common
idea Of Christmas the same is not to
be said about New Years day. That
was a day Of celebrating. Every
steamer in the harbor began blowing
its whistle shortly before midnight and
they kept 1t up for more than an hour.
There was no sleeping about the camp.
Every soldier got out his Enfield and
such another cracking of rifles never
heard before. There was also bursting
of hand grenades and other things that
would make a noise. took some part
Of course; but when finally retired to
my bunk I did not feel safe. Those
Enfield rifles have great power, and the
singing Of the bullets is no more pleas
ant than the buzz If hornet. pre-
fer hornets, in fact. was in constant
apprehension that stray bullet might
be coming after me in my shack, and
somehow I was not especially relish
ing the idea Of going west on January
l, 1919. Not that find things so very
pleasant over here, for I don't; but ]
have learned to appreciate the home
that had before I had to 90 into this
mess.
I wrote In a previous letter about
the miserable weather here. Only
two of the last forty days have been
clear. The more it rains the deeper
the mud gets and the more difficult
1t is to get around. 1t is not unusual
to wade in mud and slush up to our
knees, but because Of our good hip
boots we do not suffer any special in
Do not understand, how
ever, that consider 1t pleasant.
There is bunch Of engineers in our
camp, recently back from the Toul
section, where they have been for near
ly a year. They tell some wonderful
stories, some of which have more or
less truth in them and some Of which
are manufactured out Of the whole
cloth. OF course you have to use your
judgment as to what you believe, and
what you don't believe. I shall not
try to repeat any Of their stories now.
The most important information they
bring is that the old front where there
has been so much terrible fighting, has
been cleared Of wire entanglements and
other rubbish.
have been hoping to be assigned to
convoy over in the direction of Metz
and Luxembourg. II I am going to
stay here any length of time, would
like to get look over that part Of the
country. But since was knocked out
by the flu it seems that am no long