Show KIM lit in N africa with the british eighth eighths by george re amt antl ne newt se senac fl war correspondent cc are nd who is bk back after fic 31 months continuous action under fir fire first in the london blitz then ink in the eastward british retreat and the triumphant um hant westward rommel rout to bizette bizette with montgomery eighth army he lived in the desert to for a year and a hall half was wounded three times me and frequently filed for valor it gets really hot in the western desert degrees and no shade being quite common during the sum mer season but it is no more uncomfortable rk than new york at 95 degrees in the desert its just heat in new york its humidity the american fliers and british torn tom bales wear lightweight clothing for comfort but the arab wraps up in heavy woolen blankets and half a dozen flannel nightshirts night shirts to keep out the heat buncom fordable for table the boche bache and glezos are scrupulous observers of international law as regards rendering useless the infrequent wells in the desert instead of poisoning the vital water supply which la Is prohibited by agree I 1 ment they pollute wells as they retreat by killing a camel sheep or goat and tossing the carcass into the well makes water temporarily for human or animal consumption but permanently destroy the spring several times during the eighth ardys 2500 mue mile chase liter rommel this was the only water we had we drank it by holding the nose retained it a few moments n ants and then did a ot of the ship phlp act but managed to gain lust just enough moisture to keep going when forced to abandon huge hogs heads of wine at bobruk the running italians paused just long enough to pour a gallon of gasoline into each barrel so we used the wine in the radiators of ar our desert cars and drank the th water originally intended for or the radiators mail deliveries to the boys out there vary in my own experience from one week to eight months through the V U S array army post office I 1 have received airmail letter fro fromi n new york to tripoli in seven jays day 11 through the regular steamer mail via la cairo and the civilian delivery letup a christmas package from sherman bherman billingsley was delivered to me to in july it contained six not too sedate neckties for which an arab offered to exchange a wae wj or a camel and books of stork club matches which are priceless out nut in the blue in tunisia where the stork is considered a bird of tavo lavo rable omen shermans Sher mans match books were highly acceptable gifts and valuable articles of barter in our ur dealings with the Sen Senus sl tau teg and berber sheiks the rate of exchange was one book of matches for or one egg one book of matches tor lor one scrawny chicken one book df matches for one meal certain bedouin tribes an and also B the famous indian 0 of mont ont gomegys go om erys eighth army never draw their knives from the scabbards unless the blade draws blood to expose the naked blade without blooding it makes the weapon lose face go 60 when a bedouin or churka takes bis knife out to show to a pal he cuts his own finger to draw a drop drol of cf blood before returning it to its sheath heath in new york when a dame wants to give a guy a brushoff brush off she tells him her name is miss trout and gives him the phone number of the aquarium as hers in cairo and alexandria under similar circumstances she gives him the phone number cumber of the egyptian army barracks and tells him to ask for Ya Yamen menick lck talata in arabic right by threes or squads right the arab in the cities of north africa Is dirty beyond civilized belief the bedouin of the deserts desert how fe ever is in meticulously clean although f he be may die of old age without ever having had a bath in water the th desert arab scrubs himself mackil man times dally daily with fine dry sand land at least seven even times daily as he must cleanse himself thoroughly before each of the seven leven required dally daily prayers to allah throughout north africa the common tongue is arabic but dialects differ so widely that natives native of on ona region cant understand the speech of other regions but written arabi Arab ioA Is the same throughout as all W bif orate erate arabs learn to write from the tha koran so while an arab cant always talk to a stranger sanger it both can write they can get along fine by scratching tracings in the sand ordinary dry tea leaves are the tb laott valued article of barter between the troops in the desert and the arabs A pound of tea is worth about 6 in the desert region oi of egypt libya Cyrena Cyren alca ica and itania sugar is second in the arabs choice has heesh prohibited by law third when I 1 first arrived in the african desert the normal rate of exchange was 75 eggs tor for a canteen cup of dry tea As more and more soldiers poured into north africa the rate dropped to one cup of tea one egg |