ts bobbing about and a very
powerful lighthouse light cast a baleful gleam every five seconds. The
officer of the deck said we were about twenty miles from our
destination and that we would hardly get in until after four in the
morning when there was high tide, and if not then, not until the
afternoon. Bye-and-bye we saw a light bobbing up and down in the swell
and he said that was the pilot. He missed the ship the first round but
came about to lee, and in the dim light we saw a cockle shell of a
boat with two men in it. In a few minutes a line was thrown to them,
the ladder was let down over the rail, the pilot grasped the rungs and
began his perilous climb. He was a French sea dog and hung on like
grim death and managed to get on deck safely. He went into the wheel
house and I went to bed.

I got up early the next morning to see what was doing. I learned that
they were going to move the ship to the docks before noon and that we
would start disembarking right away. The river Loire was in flood and
no tide was necessary to give a sufficient depth of water.

It was a glorious morning and pretty soon we were on the quay. It was
a typical French sea port, not very prepossessing, but a busy place.
French soldiers of all kinds were about, some on duty, some with their
arms done up in slings, some of them apparently loafing. About noon
two puffing tugs got us through the lock and tied up to a wharf. A
Canadian transport officer and admiralty man came on board. We were
told as soon as we were ready we could start unloading, and as soon as
the "brows" (the sloping platform or gang planks for the horses) were
in place we could start taking off the horses. It did not take us long
getting ready. Pickets were put out on the quay and various fatigue
parties manned the horses. My big mare was pretty lame but my other
horse was in good shape. We had escaped the perils of the Bay of
Biscay and were now in Western France. Towards evening I asked the
transport officer what time we would take the train, as we had been
told we were to go up country. He said that as soon as we had unloaded
he would be able to tell me, as he would then order a train from the
French. I then learned that the French had a wonderful system of
moving troops. When you want to move troops in France you tell them
and they supply you a certain number of box cars, a guard van, an
officer's car and a certain number of cars to handle your men, horses
and waggons. They