l that is the French word for my dear friend in English so
you see I have not gone crazy after all. I took my first lesson last
night and it is going to be nuts to learn it because most of the words
is just like English only spelled different and you don't say them the
same but the man learns us a dozen words and tells us how to say them
and we keep saying them over till we get them down and it wont' be long
when we got enough of them learned so as we can jabber back and forth in
front of the boys that didn't have sense enough to learn it and they
won't know if we are calling them names or getting ready to murder them.

Well Al we had Gen. Barry out overlooking us yesterday and he said we
was a fine looking bunch of soldiers as he even seen and we put in most
of the day digging trenchs just like the ones they got over in Germany
and when we get them fixed up we will practice fighting for them till we
can go through them Dutchmen like they was fly paper and I wouldn't be
surprised Al if we got word soon to pack up and start because Red
Sampson one of the boys in our Co. has got a brother thats over there
all ready and he is Gen. Pershing's right hand bower and so he gets the
dope pretty straight and in a letter Red got from him he says Gen.
Pershing had asked Secty. Daniels to send over the best looking lot of
soldiers from each camp and from what Gen. Barry said about us I suppose
we will be the first to go but it may not be for a wk. or so because Red
said he heard we wasn't going till each Co. had a rifle.

If we do have to go in a hurry I won't be able to write you about where
we are leaveing from and etc. on acct. of the censure because the German
spy might get next to it and he could wire across to Germany and the
submarine U boats would be on the outlook for us. But between you and I
Red says we are libel not to go where the submarines can get a crack at
us but we may slip around the other way and light in Japan and make the
rest of the trip by R.R. and he says we may even not go to France but
stay and help the Russians out. So Shorty Lahey was there and he has
always got to say something so people will think he knows it all so he
said the Russians didn't need nobody to help them out because they were
pretty near out now. So Red said "You will notice they didn't loose
much ground yesterday" and Shorty says "No they only loose 2 miles and
they must of been a strong east wind blowing but I will bet you that if
we do