e artillery training camp.]

The training camp where we had prepared for the front after our arrival
in France had been purchased by the United States from the French, and
had been in use since the beginning of the war for the purpose of
putting the high spots on the training of men belonging to both the
heavy and light artillery. It was a spacious place; we had comfortable
quarters and lots of good food. I had been on the Mexican border, so
that sound of the heavy guns that were being used for training purposes
did not annoy me, though to about ninety per cent. of the rest of the
fellows this was a new sound, and orders were issued that cotton was to
be put in the ears.

[Sidenote: The French officers are fine fellows.]

Except for the return fire, we might have been at the front, for the
camp was an exact duplication of conditions under fire. Our equipment
was largely French, and the officers who tutored us in modern warfare
were all French--and as fine a bunch of fellows as ever lived.

[Sidenote: Buying a village for a target.]

One of the exciting incidents of the Camp was the day that news arrived
that the American government had purchased a small village just beyond
the Camp (France is honeycombed with small villages,--it is almost
impossible to walk a mile without passing through a village) and that
it was to be used as a target for the American boys.

We practiced in turn, a battery going out for a few hours' work, and
then returning. Both light and heavy Artillery used the village as a
target, and it was not long before there was only a heap of rubbish to
tell where there had once been houses.

[Sidenote: The instructors praise American marksmanship.]

One of the things that the American fellows felt proud of was the fact
that they were constantly being praised by their French instructors
because of their very superior marksmanship. Several men told me that
the American troopers learned in two weeks' time as much of the
craftsmanship of war as the French learned in three months. As the story
was on themselves, I guess it must be true.

[Sidenote: Good care close to the firing line.]

[Sidenote: A question of high prices.]

We worked hard in camp, but the fellows liked it. We had good food, lots
of fresh vegetables, and meat. It is a fact that the closer you get to
the firing line the better care you get. There was plenty of recreation
through the Y.M.C.A. activities, but we did not have many furlou