Viewing page 22 of 48

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

My dear Emma and Children:

The days continue to to be very beautiful. No rain but today was very warm.

The young friend of Jim's whom he found out was wounded, he was told today that he day. He was wounded on the sixth of June and died on the seventh so Jim feels very bad. He has been crying almost all day. There has been another big drive going on. Of course you know more about it by this time than I could write. There is much that I have seen which I will tell you when I come home. Some of the Nurses that came over with me are already at work very hard. What you saw going on the boat was Rec Cross section, nurse sections and a group of Jewish men and women going to the Holy Land to do Red Cross work. There is a lot of room for good hard-warking American women here in the Y work. The few that are here are worked to death. If you could only come over, it would be a great help, but it would not do in all cases. We have plenty of Y men that are no good and if their wife had come along, it would be horrible. But if you know any women, then send them to the Y. The French are over-taxed with their own work. Their burden, like the English, is very heavy. There are hardly any children in the streets of Paris and every street is kept dark at night. This evening Jim and I went over to see Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery. I have divided my sugar into three packages. One for Mrs. Montgomery, one for Mrs. Banzet, and one for Franken. You see, the soldiers and Y-men get what they want. And when they go to the front, they get everything, but it is very difficult for civilians to get sugar and meat. They get their allowance, which is not much.

We at last got our movement papers today so we are quite happy to be sent to do real work. I have seen so much of the real war today (tha t is the result of it) that I am very anxious to be out doing something. We leave Paris tomorrow at 4:30 for some place in France. If I see (*), I will make a little drawing of one. That is, if I can get them large enough and well (*) so I can see their form.

The Big Bertha started to cough up yesterday noon. Eight or nine fell and killed some people and horses. It is really very terrible, no warning. We go about our business (*) hundred French people can be killed any moment without warning by this dirty, murderous, unconcerned human bean. No animal could be like they are. When the third one went off I went over to the Eiffel tower where most of them were coming and found a piece of the shell. They make such a silly little hole and then shatter all over. I hope we will soon get the old devils.

Now we must begin to pack our things. Jim is like an old man. He is worrying very much about his packing, working and everything else, but he is a splendid fellow, and I am very glad