Jasper County Democrat, Volume 21, Number 74, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 December 1918 — LETTERS FROM OUR SOLDIERS [ARTICLE]

LETTERS FROM OUR SOLDIERS

John Fenzil Writes Interesting Letter From France. ' .r, The Democrat 'ls in receipt of the following most Interesting letter from John Fenzil, of Walker township, who is now a motor truck driver with the A. E. F. in France: Somewhere In France. November 9, 1918. Mr. F. E. Babcock, Rensselaer, Ind. Dear Sir: —As I have not received any of my papers I imagine there must be some mistake in the address, so am sending you my new address,' hoping I receive the paper soon, as I would like to keep in touch with doings back in Old Indiana. I have been traveling about a great deal lately and am now where there is quite a bit of excitement. I have seen a great deal of France by this time, and am now In one of the richest farming localities. The people here are very industrious, and aside from their old ways of farming they use our modern farming Implements; that is, our binder, mower, hay rake and minor tools. But they are not so efficient as us Americans. They have the old-time threshing machines, run by horses, and the large two-wheeled carts for wagons. On my trip through the country

in the famous side-door Pullmans that we soldiers travel in, I saw many beautiful sights, I saw many of the old-fashioned Dutch windmills still in service, also saw many old Chateaus that were very famous in history. I have passed through some of_the largest cities of France, but have not seen anything that comes any way near to our own. I am now billeted in a small French village, living in a large stone barn. It is somewhat different than the ordinary army camp, but I like it fine. This is a beautiful piace for scenery. One can go out for a walk to the Hills and see some of the nicest views ot the surrounding valleys imaginable. There are some large hills here that had been the old battle grounds of Caesar, and here one can see the old stone trenches where they used to fight. There is a large hill here with a tunnel leading from the very top to a little village down in the valley, and the people would travel through this tunnel to the top of the hill where they had caves in the rock for defense. It is a very interesting piece of work, and it is quiite a treat to get to see it all. There is also an old Chateau in our vicinity that was built in 1500. Here are stored various trophies of olden days, including the wardrobes and belongings of the rulers in olden times. This Chateau is enclosed by a high stone wall. There are seven springs flowing on the grounds with fish ponds ( and many pieces of ancient sculp-,

ture. It is a very beautiful place and valued highly by the French people, although the inhabitants 'have moved out. They have several aged men taking care of the property. The people here have very good roads and it is a pleasure to travel through the country even if it is in trucks. I have visited all the large towns here and am anxious to see more again, which I think will be but a matter of a few days. We are very busy now, as you can see by what is going on over here, and expect to make a clean sweep before long. I have not been fortunate enough to meet many of the boys from Jasper county. I met George Mack, formerly of Rensselaer. He is- attached to the 315th Am’n. Train and getting along fine. Guy Minor of Tefft is also in the same company, and I see them quite often. Everybody is feeling -fine, in spite of all the hardships. We have plenty of clothing and do not mind the disagreeable fa’l weather. It rains here neariy every day, and the mud is plentiful. We are getting mail quite regular now and we feel more at home than ever, although we 'have not forsaken the U. S. A. News is rather scarce over here, so I will close, hoping to receive some of the home papers soon. With best regards, I remain, WAG. JOHN FENZEL, 315 Trench Mortar Battery, American Expd. Forces, France. (The address we have been sending papers is same as above.— Editor.)