TWO LETTERS FROM THE FRONT

The ALUMNI MAGAZINE has permission this month to print two interesting personal letters that have been written home by Dartmouth men in service overseas. The first of these is from Andrew Jackson '03, Co. C. 103d Inf., A.E.F.; it was written to his three classmates Kenerson, Lewers, and Burbeck. The second letter was sent to Registrar H. M. Tibbetts by Lieut. H. E. Washburn '10 of the Corps of Interpreters of the 26th Div., A.E.F.

"With the Mud Scarred Heroes from Skowhegan, Suncook, Fort Kent, and West Leb. in France, 1/28/18.

"DEAR NED, BUCK, AND NED:

"I turn from my self-assumed task of making the world safe for democracy and from Republicanism to gratefully acknowledge your thoughtful remembrance which has just reached me in the knick of time. why in the knick lam not at liberty to say as yet. Later I will tell you. Be that as it may, accept my thanks; it is comforting beyond all words to have you graceless cusses turn for a moment from your busy lives and sick your thoughts on this delightful little village. You are credited with an assist, whether I make the putout or not.

"I would like to tell you about thethings here that would interest you but, demmit, they have a rule that you mustn't say anything that you think. D'you remember Harry Wellman's song?

"There are subjects you must not mention, There are things you must not say. You may speak of the lovely weather And 'it looks like rain today.' In conversation Be entertaining In a diplomatic way. But the things you think of Do not speak of—They're the things you must not say.

"It is so with the censorship. Strictly speaking I can't say that the weather here was rotten for a heluva long time. But it was. The mud was deep and the rain was so steady that washed clothing wouldn't dry. Result: some unheroic looking heroes. Now we look more picturesque if not more heroic for our Uncle Sam drapes his modern grail hunters in copious fashion when he sends them forth to war.

"We wear a gas mask in a pouch hung over one shoulder and another hung in a pouch over the other shoulder and dewdads and gewgaws and packs and knapsacks and cartridgebelts and tromblons and whatnots, and VBs and FMs and little dinky aprons for grenades and canteens wisely fashioned so they will not hold booze, and intrenching tools and bolo knives with which to slit the gizzard of the wily Hun. Why, if you should meet me in full panoply. on the road to the June you would all turn tail and flee with raucous shrieks over the w.k. trail of the '03 Booze Wagon till you were safe in Hamp Howe's Tavern with a bottle of beer at one elbow and Bill Murray at the other.

"But this warlike appearance of ours will not necessarily win the war. Maybe we will have to yell some too. But if you fellows don't let us down by making peace before we get Kaiser Bill cornered we will cover you with glory by branding the mystic characters Delta Alpha on his august person immediately under the tail of his august coat. Speaking of Greek letter societies, Burbeck, I saw a big tent hospital bearing the letters Beta Theta Pi in characters of mud ten feet high. I tried to find the perpetrator of the dastardly outrage but couldn't. But I did find Jake Paul, all covered with collar ornaments and things. He's on some staff or other and is making the name of Dartmouth bright in the trenches.

"Don't pay any attention to calamity howlers at home. We are not enduring hardships. We are not ill fed or ill clothed or ill armed. We are full of idiotic delight at being here and after we have been 'shooted over a little' we will be an army. If you have tears, prepare to shed them for the draft army. We are the tough mugs, not the silk stockings. You fellows are enduring more privations than we are. We probably are the only men in the world today who can have all the sugar we want, and all the coal we want, and all the excitement we want. Stay with them, you forlorn hopes.

"It is going to cost you a lot though. All the men here are insured for ten thousand each and the death rate is going to be such as to keep you fellows sweating in the collar for some days to come. But be not weary in well doing.

"A flock of aeroplanes just flew by. We still run out to watch them. We haven't seen much yet. I will write you again when we have seen something worth writing about. This will do.

"Yours, immer und immer, "GENERAL."

"Headquarters, 26th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, France, Feb. 22, 1918.

"DEAR MR. TIBBETTS:

"I hope you will not be over surprised to hear from me at the above strangely unfamiliar address. It will be news to you that I left God's country January 10. After altogether too much railroading I finally reached a semi-ultimate destination. The trip was speedy as such passages are apt not to be. Our ship was the best in the world and we had very distinguished company on board. As was to be expected, seasickness soon overtook me but happily only for a very short time. But crossing the Channel I had my revenge and was one among thousands. I was totally immune.

"Two days ago I returned from a French contagious hospital where I passed 12 wretched days with the mumps. Can you imagine a big hospital where even moderately pure water is unobtainable? Such was our French hospital above mentioned. Reading, sleeping and thinking were my exclusive occupations until I wearied of all three. For 5 long days I was all alone; but later a French Captain had the same misfortune. One welcomes human voices of any sort in such times. Little by little the adjoining wards filled up with American privates from the front and I had my fill of American soldiers' conversation. Not exactly pure at times but on the whole fine. Those boys were putting their one French orderly through his paces. It is well that the orderly did not understand English, for he would have heard of designs on his life provided he failed to do so and so. They were a jolly bunch and would laugh so uproariously that somebody had to intervene to prevent their jaws dropping off. Mumps affect the jaws to an alarming degree; so say we all of us. On the whole, France is being discovered by thousands. Listening to their conversation was (you may conclude) my chief diversion. It was. One heard strange things of Edison and his electric current to annihilate all Germans within varying distances. Some of them were sure that from a certain hill our guns could reach German territory very easily—a very erroneous conclusion I assure you. Here a whole regiment was blown up, etc.

"At last the interpreters of this division have a good deal to do. In large cities back of the lines they seem to be quite decorative in character the greater part of the time. I am happy to say that this has all changed now. My room no longer has manufactured warmth although my opinion of a French stove is far from complimentary to that article as regards heat calories. If smoke in the room is desired they are peerless. Warm water has regretfully slipped into the background. Yet the result is not misery—far from it. Food and above all American food is producing wonderful effects physically and psychologically. We are in France where breakfast after the American fashion is unknown and red wine takes the place of water. Red wine is having a hard time to make good in place of a huge cup of American hot coffee.

"How I wanted to be in Paris to attend the Dartmouth dinner tonight. But I have little chance to make Paris. How to get to Paris is a hard. problem for even an officer to solve. Some say it cannot be done. Aix-les Bains is for more than one reason considered far better for the rest and joy seeking soldier on leave.

"As yet I have to receive one loving word from home. The circulation has apparently been only east-west. Three weeks seems the normal period for a letter from New England to the address given above. I have never been home sick for one minute and positively refuse to be even if I never hear from the U. S. Now that one may write letters and avoid paying postage I feel called upon to exert myself to the utmost to prevent undue worry at home.

"I can picture to myself Dartmouth at this time with a good bit of snow. How glad I am to chronicle that I have seen no snow at all since leaving New York with its 13 below zero. Green grass is quite common here and has been for some time. We have pitied you back home with your pro-German winter.

"Kindly remember me to anybody you see fit to, always adding that I am not heroically saving democracy for the world or driving the German's back to Berlin. I am the proud owner of two gas masks and a helmet which watch over me while I slumber. No German gas has tainted my gas mask; while American test gas has; I carry no rifle, or even pistol. So far as I know I am not likely to 'get into print' as performing exploits that soldiers are supposed to yearn to accomplish.

"Will silence myself and try to find my quarters.

"Sgd.

H. E. WASHBURN