THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



503 



Photograph by Herbert Corey 



THE FRIEND-IN-NEED IN USE AT THE AMERICAN FRONT 



Despite their discomfort and the disgust which they feel at being infested with vermin, a 

 condition for which they are in no respect to blame, the American troops in France never 

 whimper. With splendid fortitude they joke about that which cannot be helped. "I don't 

 mind the hikes now," said one soldier, "for all I have to do is to sort of shoo my shirt along." 



of a blanket or under the collar of an 

 overcoat. And by and by romance would 

 begin to sing in his blood, and he would 

 meet a lady louse and set up housekeep- 

 ing. Whereupon a whole cityful of 

 younglings would appear, and the un- 

 fortunate who played the part of an un- 

 witting host would go back to his mo- 

 ments of uneasiness during the day and 

 his hours of sleeplessness at night. 



But under army conditions the men 

 are almost never given a chance to clean 

 up so often. 



Let me tell the story of the outfit I 

 have been living with for the past few 

 weeks, because that story is typical of a 

 regiment which has had a fairly good 

 opportunity to keep free of the pest. 



For some weeks it had been kept in 

 the trenches, one battalion at a time. The 

 men "up front" had no chance at all to 

 keep clean. 



They did not even wash their faces. 

 There is no water whatever in the 

 trenches, except when there is too much 

 water, none of which is fit for use. The 

 little that comes to the men in line is 

 carried in at night, in galvanized-iron 



long one. 



containers, by the men who have been 

 told off for that duty. 



Usually the "carry" is a 

 One may say that it is practically never 

 less than two miles, because of the Ger- 

 man guns. The cans are unchancy things 

 to handle, and only the water absolutely 

 needed for drinking purposes is carried 

 in. 



DAYS AND NIGHTS IN THE TRENCHES 



During their time in the trenches most 

 of the men are on duty all night long. 

 By day they are required to stay in the 

 dugout, not only for the sleep they re- 

 quire, but to be out of sight of the enemy 

 and out of danger from his bombs. 



A dugout is, in nine cases out of ten, 

 a mere dirt-roofed hole in the ground. 

 Sometimes it is a luxurious one, with a 

 board floor, on which the musty straw 

 is piled. Sometimes an abundance of 

 straw makes up for the lack of boards. 

 Sometimes there is no straw. 



It is rarely large enough to accommo- 

 date the men, and if it were large enough 

 the chill of a damp hole, into which the-, 

 sun never shines, forces them to lie spoon. 



