TRANSCRIBED FROM THE SOLIPHONE OCTOBER 3, 1918 P. 7
I was disappointed with this country when I first landed here and we were in a miserable rest camp for a few days, but they finally loaded us into a bunch of horse cars and after riding for a few days we finally landed here and now we are fixed up fine and are really better off than when we were in Beauregard. I have a room to myself that joins my headquarters and this battalion is camped in a town to itself. It is just a small village and the people are of the refined class and much better than the people in northern France. The people in northern part of France are not intelligent as a whole, but in the southern part they are a wonderful people and they treat us as if we were something great. As I said before, my quarters are in the heart of the little village in which we are camped and it is (as are all buildings in this country) a stone building with stone floors and hardwood doors and shutters are on all the windows. The first night I was here I slept with the windows all open and the people looked at me as if I was crazy. Just as soon as it gets dark here they all shut the windows and also the shutters and they don't open them until daylight. In the afternoon when they leave home they always shut the shutters as though someone was going to steal everything they had.
I thought at first that we were going straight to the trenches, but as it is now I don't know when we will go ad we are fixing a permanent camp here.
There is a big drive going on not far from here and from all reports we get the Americans are chasing the Huns right along. We don't get any news of the world here except just a very little and you get more of it than we do and get it sooner.
The wood is scarce and we paid $6.00 for an arm load yesterday and hope we don't have to buy any more, but it is rather chilly here and when winter does come I guess it will be pretty cool. I have a big fireplace in my room and also one in my office, but I won't buy any wood for it.
If you see Governor Brough, tell him that I have a big Arkansas flag in my headquarters that I smuggled over from the U.S. and I guess it is the only one over here.
I see Major Little every day and he always stops in headquarters and we have a little talk. I don't know when I will ever get any mail from home, but guess we will get some in about two weeks. It is pretty hard for them to keep up with us as we have not stopped moving since we left Beauregard. The boat trip was great, but not a sailor's life for me. I didn't get seasick a bit, but I guess it was because I was pretty busy all along the trip. I may not get to write so very often, but will write as often as I can. Tell John that the farm implement business is no good over here, as they all do their work by hand and the fields are so small that they have no use for improved implements. Their farms are more like our gardens than anything else.
The only way you can take a bath is to go in swimming in the river and we are lucky to be camped by one. I have not seen a bath tub since I have been here, and I have been in some very fine chateaus.
I have not learned French yet, but hope to do so before so very long. I have an interpreter here in headquarters and I let him do all the talking. I am picking it up gradually and think I will learn if I am not too stupid.
Everything you buy here costs about ten times what it does in the U. S. I see lots of Dodge cars here and they are doing fine service. They all use the winter bodies on them here and the Colonel has one. All of the trucks have been called into service and also the touring cars, so we see no private trucks or cars here at all. Everybody either rides on bicycles or in a two wheeled cart. They have some fine cattle and horses here.
We still see the wooden shoes worn here and they are used more than any other kind. All the roads and streets are paved with crushed stone and you can hear wooden shoes coming for a block away. I have seen lots of German prisoners and a number of them that I saw were young boys not over 16 years of age. They get good treatment and seem to be well satisfied that they have been captured. The water supply is very scarce and they won't let us drink this water until it has been boiled. The water in France is not good to drink and we had lots of sickness caused from it at first, but it is not so bad now that we are used to it. I have not even felt bad and this climate seems to be good for me and I have a better appetite than ever. (Caused from a little food shortage.) The U.S. have some swell equipment here on their railroads, but the first French train that I saw made me laugh. They are the funniest things I ever saw and I will tell you more about them later on.
I have seen lots of French girls but still have not lost my heart.
NOTES: This letter as written by Robert Ray Meriwether to his parents Mr. and Mrs. R. W. Meriwether. He was born in Paragould, Arkansas on August 3,1896 and died on November 10, 1972. He is buried in the Linwood Cemetery in Paragould. He enlisted on May 24,1917 and was discharged on July 18,1919.
TRANSCRIBED BY LAEL HARROD
I was disappointed with this country when I first landed here and we were in a miserable rest camp for a few days, but they finally loaded us into a bunch of horse cars and after riding for a few days we finally landed here and now we are fixed up fine and are really better off than when we were in Beauregard. I have a room to myself that joins my headquarters and this battalion is camped in a town to itself. It is just a small village and the people are of the refined class and much better than the people in northern France. The people in northern part of France are not intelligent as a whole, but in the southern part they are a wonderful people and they treat us as if we were something great. As I said before, my quarters are in the heart of the little village in which we are camped and it is (as are all buildings in this country) a stone building with stone floors and hardwood doors and shutters are on all the windows. The first night I was here I slept with the windows all open and the people looked at me as if I was crazy. Just as soon as it gets dark here they all shut the windows and also the shutters and they don't open them until daylight. In the afternoon when they leave home they always shut the shutters as though someone was going to steal everything they had.
I thought at first that we were going straight to the trenches, but as it is now I don't know when we will go ad we are fixing a permanent camp here.
There is a big drive going on not far from here and from all reports we get the Americans are chasing the Huns right along. We don't get any news of the world here except just a very little and you get more of it than we do and get it sooner.
The wood is scarce and we paid $6.00 for an arm load yesterday and hope we don't have to buy any more, but it is rather chilly here and when winter does come I guess it will be pretty cool. I have a big fireplace in my room and also one in my office, but I won't buy any wood for it.
If you see Governor Brough, tell him that I have a big Arkansas flag in my headquarters that I smuggled over from the U.S. and I guess it is the only one over here.
I see Major Little every day and he always stops in headquarters and we have a little talk. I don't know when I will ever get any mail from home, but guess we will get some in about two weeks. It is pretty hard for them to keep up with us as we have not stopped moving since we left Beauregard. The boat trip was great, but not a sailor's life for me. I didn't get seasick a bit, but I guess it was because I was pretty busy all along the trip. I may not get to write so very often, but will write as often as I can. Tell John that the farm implement business is no good over here, as they all do their work by hand and the fields are so small that they have no use for improved implements. Their farms are more like our gardens than anything else.
The only way you can take a bath is to go in swimming in the river and we are lucky to be camped by one. I have not seen a bath tub since I have been here, and I have been in some very fine chateaus.
I have not learned French yet, but hope to do so before so very long. I have an interpreter here in headquarters and I let him do all the talking. I am picking it up gradually and think I will learn if I am not too stupid.
Everything you buy here costs about ten times what it does in the U. S. I see lots of Dodge cars here and they are doing fine service. They all use the winter bodies on them here and the Colonel has one. All of the trucks have been called into service and also the touring cars, so we see no private trucks or cars here at all. Everybody either rides on bicycles or in a two wheeled cart. They have some fine cattle and horses here.
We still see the wooden shoes worn here and they are used more than any other kind. All the roads and streets are paved with crushed stone and you can hear wooden shoes coming for a block away. I have seen lots of German prisoners and a number of them that I saw were young boys not over 16 years of age. They get good treatment and seem to be well satisfied that they have been captured. The water supply is very scarce and they won't let us drink this water until it has been boiled. The water in France is not good to drink and we had lots of sickness caused from it at first, but it is not so bad now that we are used to it. I have not even felt bad and this climate seems to be good for me and I have a better appetite than ever. (Caused from a little food shortage.) The U.S. have some swell equipment here on their railroads, but the first French train that I saw made me laugh. They are the funniest things I ever saw and I will tell you more about them later on.
I have seen lots of French girls but still have not lost my heart.
NOTES: This letter as written by Robert Ray Meriwether to his parents Mr. and Mrs. R. W. Meriwether. He was born in Paragould, Arkansas on August 3,1896 and died on November 10, 1972. He is buried in the Linwood Cemetery in Paragould. He enlisted on May 24,1917 and was discharged on July 18,1919.
TRANSCRIBED BY LAEL HARROD