Lieutenant McClain who was located some 8 miles 

 farther back. The lieutenant visited us once or twice 

 a week to see if all was going well. Couriers from 

 the company headquarters visited each detachment 

 nearly every day, carrying orders and mail. 



The ground was rather rolling, and in many ways 

 comparable to the soil and topography conditions of 

 the Neufeys Forest. The forest types, etc., were also 

 the same. The trees if anything were better developed 

 and had they not been full of shrapnel and barb wire 

 would have been fine to handle. Our camp consisted of 

 some rude shacks that had been constructed for some 

 unknown purpose and were fortunately vacant. We 

 built a barn out of some old tin and poles, and a few 

 boards we sawed after we got -the mill going. We 

 slept in an old shack for a few nights but were soon 

 driven out by the fleas and "cooties. " We then put 

 up some tents, and floored them after getting the mill 

 in operation. Several dugouts were available but they 

 looked damp and uncomfortable, and we decided that 

 we would only use them in case of emergency. Work- 

 ing conditions were about the same as back in the 

 S. O. S. The gas masks, which orders said no one 

 must be caught without, made working awkward and 

 I am afraid they were more often hanging in the 

 tents than about their owners' necks as they should 

 have been. After we got some lumber sawed we fixed 

 up a mess hall, and put in tent floors, patched up the 

 barn, enclosed the mill so that we could run twc 

 shifts, and put the camp in good shape generally. 



AVe used horses to haul the logs. We cut som 

 timber. -but to a greater extent made use of what ha< 



8 



