Zavala County Sentinel (Crystal City, Tex.), Vol. 33, No. 25, Ed. 1 Friday, October 13, 1944 Page: 3 of 6
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ZAVALA COUNTY SENTINEL, CRYSTAL CITY, TEXAS OCTOBER 13, 1944
***•»« 3
ERROL JTONSSON WRITES
ABOUT INDIA
22 Sept., 1944.
Dear Brother:
After very little trouble 1 have fi-
nally reached my destination. Much
to my surprise, signs of civilization
appear here and there. I am afraid I
greatly underestimated the vastness
of the country of India and Burma.
I more or less expected to visit the
planes and wide open spaces of India
with a very hot and dry climate to
promote wind and bilstering heat.
Those things I have not yet experi-
enced. The climate is plenty hot and
the land is plenty flat but the dense
undergrowth and masses of vines and
trees account for what I thought
would be open prairie. The flat lands
are used in cultivation of rice and
you would be surprised to see exten-
siveness of farming, for the primi-
tive methods used. The oxen is the
only source of power used in culti-
vation. The plow is a long and curved
pole taken from the jungles, similar
big black hawk looking fowl with a
hawk beak. They get hungry and
when the mess kit is full of feed they
will really make an effort to swoop
down and upset the whole business.
It was a funny sight for a while, but
the novelty soon wore off and be-
came most irritating. The birds are
not alone in their pesty life; insects
are plentiful and I do mean plentiful.
A bed full every night and they
crawl and bite until you scratch
yourself to sleep,
self to Sleep.
To combat these unpleasant fugi-
tives from hell, we take all the pre-
cautions necessary to live a clean and
healthy life. We have movies now
and then, but they function as the
weather permits. We don’t go down
and buy a ticket and have the usher
show us to our seats; we just walk
over and sit down on the nice ground.
Of course we get up with the back
ache, but we see a good movie we
saw many years ago.
I almost forgot to mention the diet
of the Burmese people. Their food
to the moleboard plow with all the j problem is solved by fish and rice,
modern reservations. The land, as j Not in the sense you and I think of
you would travel through it and ob- j eating it, but in the sense of a paste.
serve it from a stranger's view point
is similar to the wooded areas of
The fish is prepared in two ways; one
is to fry the fish in peanut oil; the |
Texas, particularly the areas of South ether is to make a paste and use it
Texas. The land is fertile, or at least as a jam. “Napi" is the official name
the crops grow with vigor, and as fori of this paste. It is made by allowing
what the final harvest is, you would j the fish to rot and before it becomes
have to learn to speak the Hindu dia- jdry mix it with boiled rice thus form-
lect and ask them. : ing the delicious paste. Our guide
Our beautiful Hereford, Angus, I book tells us to accept invitations or
Jersey, Holstine, etc. have turned j the people will be offendi A With the
into a dilapidated Brahmas and wa- j menue as it is, I hope they never |
ter buffalo. Our rivers have also i bother to ask me out to dine with j
changed to large flowing veins of wa-j them. After eating the above “crap"
ter which have to be crossed by ferry j they proceed to chew beetle nuts,
boats. We had the pleasure of cross-1 This is a jungle nut which when
ing the great Ganges and the Ram \ chewed, gives a person the sensation
pucha. The crossing was made after i of chewing green persimmons. The
the monsoons were drawing to an I juice is red and leaves the teeth
end, so we saw plenty of water. At
present we are camped on a very nice
river, the name I cannot reveal. We
missed the heavy part of the rainy
season, but it still rains every day.
I have clothes which were washed
four days ago and are just as wet now
as the>4 were before I wrung them
out.
The Indian is a very safe compari-
son to the Mexican in his elements of
old Mexico. Wrap a sheet around the
Mexican, put a red or blue spot on
his forehead, a ring in his nose, one
in his ear, and make him very small,
and weigh only about 90 pounds,
and the Indian is duplicated. He ap-
pears dumb and very innocent, but
both are appearances only. The In-
dian is smart and not so damned in-
nocent. They are all expert beggars
and will sell you anything they have
for a few annas (2c American mon-
ey). I have seen women try to sell
their babies for 8 annas.
There are some good chances to
pick up valuable stones for a very)
few dollars. One officer bought a
good emerald for 3 dollars. I hope
to pick up a few items before leaving
for the States. The souvenirs are
quite unique in their substance and
manner of production. Ivory and
jewelry are used for nearly any type
object you could ask for. The wood-
en work is made of Teek and Ma-
hogany timber, all the workmanship
being done by hand.
At one time I was in Bombay, In-
dia, and traveled from there to Ram-
garh, India, which is near Ranchi,
then on across to Burma. This was
our final destination when we left
the States and it was a hot spot at
the time we were coming.
I have seen the aftermath of war,
such as the devastation of bombs, ar-
tillery and other explosives. Thank
God they were ours and not the ene-
mies. I haven't heard the roar of bat-
tle yet, but you read the papers and
keep posted on the situation and you
will be ahead of me. I can’t say much
of this war but on the other hand, I
know very little of the over-all sit-
uation. I have my small part to do
and I certainly hope I can hold up
my end.
At chow we have been bombed by
dive bomber birds. These birds are
stained as well as the lips and mouth.
Deliver me from the likes of these
people.
If all I have said sounds as if I am
disgusted and low in morale, I should j
not have written it, but I have plen- !
ty more which I could tell and make I
you think I turned to telling stories, j
The things experienced here are i
quite fascinating, as well as being1
quite fantastic. I will try to remem- j
ber most of these things but is is im- j
possible to remember all, or evn half j
of what actually goes on.
Crystal City, with all of its present I
dullness, would certainly be easy on !
the eyes. Truer words were never ^
spoken when a man says, “There is j
no place like home.’’ But as I see the I
present situation, considerable time I
will elapse before I have the pleasure j
of sitting down to one of Mother's i
dinners. I am not in vain to come j
home at all, at the present time; it |
is my duty as a soldier and an Amer-
ican, to fight for all I am worth as
long as it is necessary, to defeat the
Japs.
At present I am sitting in a tent
typing beside a lamp made from a
beer bottle, kerosene, and mop
strongs. My seat is most uncomfort-
able and my eyes are practically out
from trying to see to type.
I will close for now because I could
shoot the bull all night and never
run out of topics of interest. I hope
you find the farm of grandad’s
worthy of your effeorts and pays div-
idends.
Love,
ERROL.
-WGD-
If postwar air transportation will
be as great as some people anticipate,
we'll have to find a new place to
build our castles.
They Look to the West
/tmiey looked to the West for strength of arms
A ... for liberation from the yoke of the oppressor.
And still they look. But they look now for food
to keep alive the spark of life. They look for food
for their children ... their hope of the future... the
hope of their unhappy, war-racked land?.
They look for clothing ... warm clothing to pro-
tect them against the dread, sickening chill of coal-
lj:ss houses.
They look for medicines and vitamins ... to help
them save their wounded, their ill, and their plague-
stricken victims.
They look for seed ... fo plant the fallow earth
once more ... to eke out their famine rations of
grass and weeds and ersatz, sawdust bread.
They look for hope.
Out of the cradle of liberty they pray that there
’will come the inspiration to build anew... with new
rights, new freedoms, new opportunities for them-
•elves.
They have suffered long, and they are weary. Vft
now
cannot fail them ... wc must not fail them ..
that a new day is so close at hand.
The things they need . . . food and clothing,
medicines and vitamins ... and hope for the future
... are all made possible by your contribution this
year to your Community War Fund, representing
the National War Fund.
Now is the time to open your heart.. . and open
your checkbook. Now is the time to give, as yo*
have never given before, that others may have
the chance to life, and liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness.
Give generously to your
Community War Fund
Representing the
National War fund
THIS SPACE SPONSORED BY
PULLEN S and KEITH AND ROBERTS
5c TO $1.00
STORE
REG’LAR FELLHRS
And Then Everybodyd Be Happy
By Gene Byrnes
DEMOCRATIC NOMINEES
For State Rep. 77th District:
MRS. FLORENCE FENLEY
For County Judge:
R. S. CRAWFORD
For County Attorney:
G. C. JACKSON
For District Clerk:
J. M. EVANS,
For Sheriff:
W. E. POND
For Assessor-Collector:
H. C. WHITE
For County Clerk:
DON VESTAL MOORE
For County Treasurer:
W. G. BARTON
For Commissioner Prect. No. 1:
E. B. ROSS
For Commissioner Prect. No. 2:
ROY DAVIDSON
For Commissioner Prect. No. 3:
A. F. RUTLEDGE
For Commissioner Prect. No. 4:
H. R. REYNOLDS
For Justice of Peace, Prect. No. 3:
E. B. TAYLOR
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FABLES IN SLANG
By GEORGE ADfc*
fable
OF
FAITH,
HOPE,
A/SJD
CHARITY
FALUN’ /wr WAV
MOW'S
tminGS
9
Hf MEANT
NO HARM
9 /
ox
GOSH NO-
I COLLECT
AAR BUSHELHEAD BELIEVED
IN HUMAN NATURE NO
MATTER WHO WIT HIM
WITH WHAT_
HOPE KEPT HIAA GOING
EVEN WHILE HE WORE
BANDAGES AND SMElLED
OF ARNICA ___
WHEN THE HAT PASSERS
GOT through with him
there was nothing left
FOR the MISSUS_
AND WHEN THE TEAR ENDED
BUSHELHEAD HAD WORKED
HARD FOR NOTHING ANO
liked it !. ....
Moral
THOSE
WHO
WORK
FOR
AJOTVUN6
ARE
/NEVER
OUT OF
- WORK.
I
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Hardy, J. H. Zavala County Sentinel (Crystal City, Tex.), Vol. 33, No. 25, Ed. 1 Friday, October 13, 1944, newspaper, October 13, 1944; Crystal City, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1097033/m1/3/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .