American Fork citizen. [volume] (American Fork, Utah) 1912-1979, 1914-09-05
'IDuis briggs Arrives
From Scene Of War
VS. Arrested as a Spy and Was
!" ,bout to be Sentenced to Harvest.
Ing French Crops.

rev. son Oh Md!oi 'o''N'' - - ~
any and nothing has been heard of
MIN since the war began. Junius
wost is in switzerland and no tidings
have come from him.
This week Louis l.. briggs, who
INST arrived from Germany and is
nov on his way home to Idaho, spent
several days visiting his relatives In
pleasant Grove. He left Germany be-
,ore the war broke out and took a
Cook excursion tour through Austria,
Germany, Italy, and Switzerland and
started for Paris August 4th. Here
IA where his war experience com
menced.
Trying to get from Basel, Switzerland,
TO Paris, was most difficult under
taking. with every train chartered for
the purpose of hauling soldiers to the
German frontier.
"On the first day of my trip to Paris
rode on seven different trains, some
times in the coaches and sometimes
In box cars. The only trouble l en-
countered was at the stations. where
officers and civilians demanded my
passport. | do not speak French, but
/ could make them understand that
was trying to get out Of the country
10 America and that l was tourist,
and they let me alone.
after had left Troyes, however,
which was about / p. IN. August g,
three French army officers entered
the box car In which ! was riding and
awoke me- One of them motioned me
into a corner and the other two went
through my suit cases and dumped
out everything. They found nothing
but map of Europe with my timer
airy in Germany marked In red ink.
This interested them greatly and they
kept II. had determined not to
speak any German to anyone, but
they surprised me SO that | answered
all their questions In German.
when we came to Roumilly they
took me off and marched me around
to nearly every government building
In town. My two suit cases were
searched many times, and finally ]
was put into an auto and taken 20
miles to Sezanne, where | was put
into n barracks yard with some 100
Italians, about six Austrians and four
Germans, all prisoners Of war. We
had armed guards over US, and slept
on straw and were fed on bread and
water.
Il saw no brutal treatment of these
prisoners, but the guards were GER
talnly not we'll disposed towards US.
An old German and a little boy were
given what appeared to me unneces-
sarlly unkind treatment, but were not
actually hurt. On the morning OF Au,
gust 7, they lined US up In tours ana
two guards marched up ana down
with drawn revolvers. They waved
them at us and managed to convey
the idea that we must keep In line
and not try any funny work, or we
would be shot. The Italians all had
their goods In gunny sacks and pre-
sented such q ragged appearance that
could not help laughing, though ]
was prisoner myself.
After the revolver demonstration
we rode to Troyes, where / was taken
from the procession and made to un-
derstand that | was at liberty. They
put me on train for Paris. j made
the trip from Basic In seventy hours
1t generally takes nine. During the
time that l was prisoner they had
persistantly refused to pay the slight
est attention to my American pass
port. II was said that the prisoners
we're put to work harvesting crops.
I'm Paris everything was disorgan-
ICED. Americans were not allowed 10
leave the city without permission
from the chief of police. and when this
was given the time, route and trains
to be taken were also specified. ! have
since heard that charges of brutality
have been made against the German
troops by the French. While In Paris
the missionaries told me OF Germans
who were naturalized Frenchmen and
were established In business for years
being mobbed on the streets and Their
shops looted Some were killed and
many injured. and nearly all had los
their property by violence.
The papers all carried flamboyani
headlines In which the German armS
was beaten continually by small for
ces of French. WAITED two days II
Paris and had to borrow money from
missionaries to get out on, as coult
get nothing on my Swiss and German
currency After many delays In get
ting to Dieppe finally got a boat anC
crossed to England, where | was abl'
to get enough on my Swiss money u
buy passage home.
The officers OF the Baltic, on which
We crossed the Atlantic. seemed II
continual fear that we would be pick
ed up by gun boats and they crowded
on all steam and took every precau
ZION At night, all of the portfolio
We're banketed so lights would no
SHINE through, and we nearly suffo
Gated
The Storage was filled with Am
erlcahs, many of which were rich ant
unused to the slops they fed us on
Even those who had money were nm
aDle to get anything better. Tn
ulshes were washed about once da
uhu the knives and forks were no
washed; only wiped with a wet ral
u was good experience for some am
s'eat hardships for others.
n