material from other buildings in Brest that we recognized at once that
they were built by Yankees. For this reason, we greeted them as
friends; it was like looking upon a familiar scene.

Most everything else, however, that met our eyes had a decidedly
foreign look. The railroad trains in the yards were French, and
entirely different from those of this country. The freight cars have a
diminutive look. They are only about half the size of American cars
and they rest upon single trucks. The locomotives are much smaller
than ours and have brass boilers. We did not see anything of the
familiar dark red American box car and the giant American locomotives
until we got into the interior of France.

We passed many peasant women and children while we were marching
through the railroad yards. Some of them were offering cakes and nuts
for sale, others were begging white bread from us. It was here that we
first heard those two French words that became so familiar to us
before we left France, "Donnez moi." It was "donnez moi" this and
"donnez moi" that, especially from the children who begged cigarettes,
pennies, and anything else that the American boys might have to give
away.

Brest is built on hills, some of which rise abruptly and give a
picturesque look to the old city. As we marched through the residence
part of the city, the women from the windows gave us a hearty welcome,
waving flags and calling "Vive les Amerique." Our march took us over a
winding roadway through the district where the poorer classes lived
and we did not get a view of the more attractive parts of the city on
our arrival. The street we marched along was paved with broken rock
and was in excellent condition; it was crossed several times by
overhead railroad tracks built on massive arches of masonry.

Our first impressions are rather difficult to describe because
everything had such different appearance from familiar things in
America. One noticeable feature was the character of the construction.
The buildings are of stone or some other such inflammable material,
with roofs of slate or tile. There are no frame buildings, except
those that have been constructed by Americans since April, 1917.

The dress and the habits of the people differ materially from those of
America. Most of the lower classes wear sabots, or wooden shoes. Some
wear sabots with leather tops. But few, if any, all leather shoes are
in use among the lower classes. While all shades and