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Show letterfrom:"- - GERMANY Dawn,' Germkn'yV'Ma'y ' ), 'i'9' Dear' Folks ",'.,'lll ",,",' , rl!l 1 seem to have fallen down on the job again. I didn't realize that it had ! been so ' long since ' I 1 last wrote, you , , , .'.,,. , . r. . ,, , " Qurj weather hare has, been.i ver.y unsettled, but. 'it has been mostly'! rain and' snow' since I ) last wrotp and. ,201(1 as 'Qreenland, "','we had several inches of., snow, only. a'. .few days .ago. ! ' '' 1 ,,, Yesterday' .and today ' have been' '"Cf'W'wil'i' r)'egiH'8,..ti"feii quite'. . spring-like, . again.. . , At-, Bern- -castle and other places ' the "trees are quite green and the fruit' 'trees are 'either in blooin' or' have already blossomed,, bpt,,UD here , the buds are just opening and only the lilacs are green.. '"We are "about 'a' month 'behind 'be-hind up here in season. They"' say that along the Rhine, near Cologne, the apples are as .big as one's thumb already..". . .,,(.. , ,1. Our date of , departure is growing slowly nearer. )'ye . neyer put in such, a, slow month as, the lastione. "The first outfit of the divisidh to entrain 'IS ' to leave toay"'l'7'."' "My Battallion; Is. .tQleave, May 22.,' and we should be, at, the port within3 days. They say that troops embark within four days of their "arriva'l, so we should be on the water by May 3 0, if nothing happens: and ,in New York by June 7 or.8:-.' "...s I'm afraid' X' won't ' get", to Texas after all.' All men and , pfficers' are to be sent to,. the, camp nearest their fiomes so I am scheduled for Camp. Devens',; Mass.',' much 'to; by sbrr'OW;1 as I wanted to go to Texas. " ''' ' Since I last wrote,-1 have been, to-Coblenz to-Coblenz and up the Rhine."' . I . sent you a book of post 'cards' of Various places in Coblinz and'' on the Rhine which I hope you get all right. ..Cob-Ienz ..Cob-Ienz is quite -a fair sized city located ; ' at the junction of 'the .Mosella .Wid ' the 'Rhine.' .;! It Jiasi some'nic'ei buildings build-ings ;and; the usual .'nurtiber of ugly monuments and statuesL While there' T went,. to , the, municipal opr. era and,. heard , Faust. I. enjoyed it "very-much. . even, lif -it was German,, The music and singing were fine., 1 The trip, up the, Rhine . was, fine. We went up on ' a side-wheel 'river boat that they say is the" largest 'oh 'the river; '.at any, rate' It carried at least five-hundred soldiers. TJhe weather was bad it was cold and rainy, but T stayed ,g,utiOn.,decJt Just the same, loiWe 'went ;up .about forty-kilometers forty-kilometers almost to ''Berigitil' 'pas-' sing "about 'a dozen' ,J6f '. t,he ' fa'tebifs old castles one reads 'about, alpo, the, famous Lorelei,, .rockr a huge,. cliff that' overhangs' the '' water' "'where', once.iupon a.' tipie a, , bea'ut(ful ' maid-! en; sat and, .combed ,her hair: iThe fishermen 'would get -so enchanted looking a' her 'that' they usually' rah' into,, the. rocks at the foot "pf trie cliff -and ..were. .drowned,,,,. She Isn't ; herW now.and. tlie' rook ...Is. much clj angqei'' "as the "Ctrman 1 govern me,n,t", has impr- ved the river at this .point.. , We ' ha l a . . oircus. a t ' Berncastle last week"'".' was hoir "-made 90h division ' r.-nif'.'" I i;1 ".- 'id have made, pome real circuses.sit up and take notice. .' Of course being a Texas Tex-as and Oklahoma- division, cowboys and ''Indian riders are plentiful, -so t' had lots of good riding, There wasj-.a-iParade. ,a.., Locp lane ,:wiyi ,3, lot of side shows and a two ring cirrtis proper." Tf we had only' had a few .elephants and some peanut, if would, have been the real thing, How: many of the men who are, coming home and are telling their tales of woe. saw real fighting? Of course some officers havo been unjust un-just and cruel and I don't doubt that some have been killed by their iron, hut that happens In nny army in any war. A' for.' sleeping in the rain., on dirty bags of straw, in the St. Mi-hiel Mi-hiel drive n the Argonne and In'1 hundreds of cases, men and officers slept in shell holes in . water without even straw. Hot--of course thevl slpt in the rain -they all did it.' As for the oncers eating the food of' the men officer? drew tl:e same ra-1 (ions as the men Extra? that com to the ,v,!iiTl-;r.ri,-5 are divide,- ' equally between officers messes and j ' ' . r .,11 it, it.- 1 r . , 1- n,-,r-, -mn'a, messes. v.What ia 'fdolfeh' idea 'that the' Officers' 'tfbuld' feat enough' "Co IV atipt V.PffiW tPieyery,,loo men. ,H,a would, have.,ta.,l)e 'somen eater, wouldri't"He?""MAst':bf ''the"' troiilile ahbut yftie'Uenfb'of ii'e' fault .or th'e.fr'o'w sergeapt,, the, cooks, who, ,were either . lazy , or ,1 too . careless " to' look after-things.'-' T havel a'defati (If'nien .re.w,Hh me., ,T,hey draw' rogW lar. go.Yernment, .r.atlpns. . They, have hot biscuits, -hot. .cakes,, and syrup,-ham, syrup,-ham, bacon, fresh "beef; fresh "pork'' usa.??.,., potatoes., .onions., , ..carded .fpmatoes, corn,, pea,Veaches;apri-cotfi. pea,Veaches;apri-cotfi. -.dried apples, idried" peaches. ' driM prunes, hominy. oaf l'rheal! - W$$ ' re!P ",Wrj8adf.'.''buti"e , or. ,oleo. ..condensed,, mUk,, and,',,, other, i.iiig?. ,.00 numerous,, . to , 'mention. They get eggs occasionally by judl-' oius' trading and "live very "well indeed. in-deed. Today, they, got; an .issue, .of Horshey'-s chocolate bars 24 ' 'bars' of course I have 'only a: small , 'rnihiber 'of men ' and " the ' cook' takes niore time .than .he would with ,a large, outfit, ,but they , all get .the ) samet, rattons.i -,u .,. -,,,,( ,,, " T have taken about 150 pictures since L , have heen ' over ' here, but very few of them are of war scene?, fosf of them were taken whll on leave, r have about FTnn post cards .from all parts of France and ahou' (100 pictures of the war that I have bought. When I get home. I'll pnd them to you by mall, if r don't eet ' c;n t to ee you . I'm .still .with .the fiOth division Don't get worried if you don't hear from m for some time now. T nm quite busy now.' as we are turn- ' ing in equipment and gef'ing ready ! to move. T'll probably iro bark to ' T!err.ca.st.!e. in a week 8nfi n71re vp start hack 1o the port. T'll probably have time to wrl'e. ! Your loving son, SIDNEY DANTELK , |