The dress and the habits of the people differ materially from those of America. Most of the lower classes wear sabots, or wooden shoes. Some wear sabots with leather tops. But few, if any, all leather shoes are in use among the lower classes. While all shades and colors of clothes were worn by children, we noticed that the women were nearly all dressed in black. This, we believed to be because they had lost relatives in the war, and we later found that our conclusion was the correct one. Among the poorer classes the men wear large loosely fitting trousers and tight jackets. They wear a peculiar hat, with a tightly fitting crown, a broad round brim, and two streamers of black ribbon about eighteen inches long hanging down in back. The middle classes dress more like Americans, though not with as well made clothes as one is accustomed to see in this country.
After marching about five miles, we were given a rest in an open field in the outskirts of Brest. Here we were again addressed by an officer and cautioned to be careful about coming in contact with the French people, and particularly with the women and children of the lower classes. We were informed that the lower classes of women and the peasant children are nearly all syphylitic, especially in seaport towns. This sent a shudder through us, for we had already been fondling some of the French children, before we realized the necessity for caution. The warning was heeded and thereafter the boys kept the peasants at a distance.
As we resumed our march, we began to get into a cultivated district. The rolling land along the roadway was cut up into small farms ranging in size from a half acre to about two and a half acres. The boundary lines of these farms were hedges; there were no fences, such as we have in America. The land was planted to truck gardens, berries, fruit trees, etc., and at the time that we saw them, they were in good condition and apparently quite productive.
It was about 6 o'clock in the evening and after a long and hard march that we arrived at the Napoleon Barracks, where we were to have a few days' rest before going into the interior. These barracks are quite extensive. They are built of stone and are surrounded by a stone wall. The wall is about three feet thick and twenty feet high, and it would be a difficult matter for anyone to scale it. To keep soldiers from trying to get out, broken glass is cemented into it for the entire length on top. The purpose of this was to make it so dangerous that no soldier would attempt to climb it. There are two arched gateways leading to the interior. These archways are fitted with heavy gates, which were originally designed as defense gates in case of attack. The main buildings within the enclosure are of two stories and are built of stone. We were not long in being assigned to the bunks that we were to occupy during our stay. These were two decked affairs with a mattress of slats about two inches apart to sleep on. They were about as uncomfortable as anyone can imagine and most of the boys preferred to sleep on the floor. These barracks had been occupied by many American boys who had gone before us. We saw thousands of American names written on the walls, and occasionally we would run across one that we knew. And, like the other, we too wrote our names, for the boys who followed to read and comment upon.
Our meal for the first night at the barracks consisted of the rations we had been given upon leaving the ship—bully beef, sour bread and cheese. Our cooks got their fires started and gave us some coffee, which stimulated us after our long and tiresome march.
After eating, we were permitted to write to our folks at home, and all of us spent the evening in correspondence. We were not permitted to write while on board ship, so most of us had several letters to send. I wrote until 11 o'clock that night. I was surprised to find that it was not yet dark. The long and appreciated twilight is due to the fact that Brest is a great distance farther north than Sacramento, and this was in the middle of summer, when the evenings are longest.
Not all of the buildings within the walls at the barracks are of ancient construction. Several were recently built, such as a hospital, a bath house for the accommodation of our men, the Y. M. C. A. hut, etc. At this particular place the "Y" hut was appreciated by us because it afforded us amusement, we could buy fruit, cakes, tobacco and other articles there, and we could attend to our correspondence there. We were assembled there on one occasion to hear two addresses on the ways and habits of the French people, which were to benefit us. We also exchanged our American money at the hut for French money. For a dollar we received five francs and seventy centimes, and it was amusing to see the boys studying over the French money system, as it was difficult to understand at first. Some of the boys, not knowing the value of the French franc, paid enormous prices for fruits, candies, etc., to French women and girls, who peddled these articles.
While at the Napoleon Barracks we saw the first American wounded. They were soldiers who had participated in the defense against the German drive which began in March, 1918. It was from them that we first learned the real horrors of war. Some had only one arm; others had lost a leg; still others were suffering from shell shock. Those who were suffering from shell shock were the most pitiful, as the least unusual noise startled them.
I had the good fortune to be placed on a motor truck detail during three days of our brief stay at Brest. This gave me an opportunity of seeing most of the city. It has about 120,000 inhabitants, is one of the chief ports of France and has a harbor that is protected by nature as well as by strong fortifications. Lying as it does, among the hills, there is much natural beauty in the city and its surroundings. The streets are about as wide as those of the average American city, although there are a number of very narrow streets that cut into the main thoroughfares at angles and these reminded me somewhat of the narrow streets of Boston. The city is kept clean and there are numerous parks and public squares. The latter are frequented mostly by women and children, though it is not uncommon to see French soldiers, home from the front on leave, lounging in them. The warm blooded French people have ideas that differ widely from those of Americans in many respects, and it is nothing unusual to see a French couple making love in broad daylight with persons passing by on all sides, in one of these public parks. Occasionally one would see an American soldier sitting with a French Mademoiselle. French troops were often drilling in these squares—not troops that had participated in the war, but companies of younger men who were being trained for war. It was interesting to watch them and to contrast their manoeuvers with ours.
There are no skyscrapers in Brest, that is to say, there are no tall office buildings there, although the city is an important business point. The only tall structures are the churches and an old castle, dating from the thirteenth century. The business buildings are all of two or three stories. The stores are not as up to date as the retail establishments in America, and the methods of doing business are entirely different from ours. Goods are not on display in the open as they are in American stores, but are kept in show cases. If you are interested in a certain piece of goods, the clerk takes it out of the show case and exhibits it to you. If you do not buy it, the article is placed right back in the show case. The clerks are mostly girls. They are plainly dressed but always neat. Most of them wear black. They are by no means as well dressed as American girls who work in stores. The French store employes are very poorly paid, the average wage for a clerk being two and a half francs, or about 50 cents in American money a day.