armies were working there.

On our march to the rest camp, we passed large bodies of French and
Indo-Chinese laborers unloading cars, and conveying merchandise to the
warehouses. It was a common sight to see two or three of them pulling a
large, two-wheeled cart full of ammunition. We also passed a number of
German prisoners working on the roads, with the usual "Poilu" present,
with his long rifle and bayonet. It was strange to see the French
carrying their guns just opposite to the way the American troops do. We
saw many large caliber guns and caissons, that were back from the front
for repair, also blocks of salvaged motor trucks.

We marched about five miles to American Rest Camp No. 2, and were put
into an old cow-shed to sleep. It was the first billet we had in France,
and while it was not the most desirable place in the world to sleep, it
looked mighty good to us, as we had not had much rest since leaving
Romsey, England.

We were issued meal tickets, and had English tea, war bread and cheese
for breakfast, "slum" and war bread for dinner, and English tea and
cheese for supper. We had a good night's sleep, but the next morning we
were hiked up on a mountain, where we were issued English gas-masks. We
went through a gas chamber, to see that the masks were O. K., and to
give us confidence in them. About noon trucks were brought up to take us
back to camp, and upon arriving there, we were given orders to roll
packs and be ready to move. Every one made a trip to the Y. M. C. A.
where we could buy our first American cigarettes since coming from the
States. We did not know where we were going, or when we could buy more.

OUR TRIP THROUGH FRANCE TO ELOYES

At three P. M. on June the eighth we rolled our packs and started on our
first venture into the mysteries of France. It took us about forty-five
minutes of steady hiking through hot and dusty streets to reach the
depot where we were to entrain. We found a long string of second and
third class coaches waiting for us. Our barrack bags and three days
rations had been loaded on two box cars by a special detail sent ahead
for that purpose.

We crowded into our cars and all was ready to go. A description of a
French car might help one to get a better idea of our situation. The car
is only about one-half as long as an American coach and it is divided
into five separate compartments. Each compartment has a window and a
door on each side. There is a step on the ou