The courier-index. (Marianna, Ark.) 1917-current, 1919-01-03
Letters From Our Soldiers

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weather is usually rainy here at this
| time of the year Before l came to
my quarters | noticed several famil-
lar stars and took note of the extra
| clear moon. | thought of home and
| thought of how enthusiastically |
used to engaged in a fox chase on
! such night in N. c. We have had
some exceedingly pretty days, lately
| too. which give one a good idea of
what the term Sunny France"
means. / admire the golden sun rise
and think of how you people are still
sleeping over in the States. A
small problem will show several
| hours difference in time between
France and the IT, S. 1t is. said that
| the fair weather comes partly as a
result OF the disappearing smoke
clouds at the front. 1t seems to
! signify peace and quiet that now
rests upon weary world
!. 1t is impossible to 60 irto ela5o-
rate description of things over here.
/ can only mention a few things
This country is well developed. All
the fertile land is cultivated. The
principal crop is wheat. There are
many forest-parks and there are Lu.
merous set trees along the well
made French roads. | have not seen
any great extent of woods. Large
flocks of sheep may be seen feeding
in the meadows, attended by boy
| and his aid, Shepherd dog. One
day our company was marching past
flock of sheep when they ran
bleating, strangely, at us. The shep-
herd boy quickly turned them about,
as if reminding them to not try to be
soldiers. l saw a Frenchman dress
ing hog. He singed instead of
scalding it, which was new to me.
The French houses are all of white
masonry, which shows prominently
for a long way. | see among them
great chateaux, churches and school
buildings. | have had no opportuni-
ty to learn about the French educa-
tional system.
The French people, at first so
| strange and peculiar. are friendly
and accommodating | have seen
scarcely any but bent old people and
women and children All the able
| men are in the service. know
those heroes left will appreciate an
opportunity of coming home soon.
The working class tap. tap their
wooden sole shoes in moving slowly
along the pike roads, leading big,
fine horses that pull heavy loads
| in stout carts. When the French
plow in their fields they move very
slowly. | never see a Frenchman in
a hurry. They are steady going
! people who take time to do things
we'll. The soil of France has been
made rich and it is kept so. More is
| said about what is done for the land
than, what it produces. There has
| been a considerable wine harvest in
France this year, but I'm not inter-
ested in this line of French industry.
The hardest experience of any A.
K. F. member coming to France is
to talk to the people, unless he is
from a French locality in the U. s.
Many stories are told of boys putting
on shows to make themselves under
stood, such as moo moo and max
ing signs like milking when they
wanted to buy milk, or cackling and
Hopping If they wished to buy eggs.
| The French, who gestieulate much in
speaking go into as many antics to
| tell us things. They all like to talk
to us. but they talk so fast that it is
very difficult to understand.
One years study of French in
school helped me great deal. |
can make myself understood and
can read the French papers when /
miss one in English. 1t is funny ION
meeting a young French lady She
does not ask where are you from.
You are an American she knows, by
the uniform. She nearly always
asks if you are married or if you
are engaged, and she will not believe
you are not if you wear a ring, sig
nets not excepted. | wear the signet
Aunt Emma gave me, regardless of
the consequences.
French girl a few days ago and all
the bells rang enthusiastically about
it, Some fellows still think only of
the American girls, others are vef y
much interested in their new friends
here. As for me | am as usual,
neutral on this question
If this letter is to be read by you
expect | had better change the sub
ject. AS you know, | studied in two
lines of military work, but from the
camps until now | have spent most
of my time with the military special
lists. In the States | learned various
theories about army communication
Since coming over | have occasion to
reduce some theories to practice.
Our men put in a communication