The Lehi banner. [volume] (Lehi, Utah) 1891-1917, 1914-09-05
|auis briggs Arrives
| From Scene Of War
Arrested as n Spy and Was
,,on, 10 be Sentenced to Harvest
inc French Crops.

y Ing French crops
,.veral Pleasant Grove men are In
european War zone. VIM. Har-
: son of Mayor Harvey, is in Ger
and nothing has been heard OF
since the war began. Junius
os, is in switzerland and no tidings
ave come from him
r,,s week Louis L. briggs. who
arrived from Germany and is
~ on his way home to Idaho, spent
,oral days visiting his relatives i'm
.osant Grove. He left Germany be-
% the war broke out and took a
,ot excursion tour through Austria,
s,many. Italy, and Switzerland and
.rted for Paris August 4th. Here
where his war experience com
enced.
rving to get from Basel, Switzerland,
paris. was most difficult under
hing with every train chartered for
. Durpose of hauling soldiers to the
erman frontier.
son the first day of my trip to Paris
rode ON seven different trains, some
mas In the coaches and sometimes
hoy cars. The only trouble | en-
,uutered was at the stations. where
beers and civilians demanded my
ssport. do not speak French, but
could make them understand that
was trying TO get out of the country
America and that | was a tourist,
Id they let me alone.
after | had left Troyes, however,
mich was about ] p. IN. August ..
tee French army officers entered
box car in which was riding and
,oke me. One of them motioned me
to a corner and the other two went
Trough my suit cases and dumped
everything. They found nothing
N map of Europe with my timer
In Germany marked I'm red ink.
Is Interested them greatly and they
lpt Il. had determined not to
leak any German to anyone but
ey surprised me so that | answered
their questions In German.
when we came to Roumilly they
ok me off and marched me around
nearly every government building
town. My two suit cases were
arched many times. and finally !
IS put into an auto and taken %
les to Sezanne, where ! was put
% a barracks yard with some 100
hlians. about SIX Austrians and four
rmans, all prisoners OF war We
ID armed guards over us. and slept
straw and were fed on bread and
ater.
Il saw no brutal treatment OF these
isoners, but the guards were GER
|lny not well disposed towards us.
b old German and little boy were
yen what appeared to me unneces-
|rly unkind treatment, but were not
|nally hurt. On the morning of Au-
lst l. they lined us up In tours and
10 guards marched up and down
18th drawn revolvers. They waved
Dem at us and managed to convey
e idea that VIC must keep In line
I'D not try any funny work, or we
ould be shot The Italians all had
ler goods in gunny sacks and pre-
Fnted such ragged appearance that
could not help laughing, though
as a prisoner myself,
After the revolver demonstration
Z rode to Troyes, where ] was taken
rom the procession and made to I'M
erstand that | was at liberty. They
u me on a train for Paris. ! made
BE trip from Basic In seventy hours
II generally takes nine. During the
me that ] was a prisoner they had
erslstantly refused TO pay the slight
81 attention TO my American pass
ort II was said that the prisoners
ere put to work harvesting crops.
In Paris everything was disorgan.
yea Americans were not allowed &c
pave the city without permission
rom the chief of police, and when this
as given the time, route and trains
be taken were also specified, | have
hce heard that charges of brutality
ave been made against the German
Ioops by the French. While In Paris
le Missionaries told me of Germans
no were naturalized Frenchmen and
ere established in business for years
ehg mobbed on the streets and theil
nops looted. Some were killed and
lahy injured, and nearly all had los
neir property by violence.
me papers all carried hamboyani
eaullnes In which the German army
as beaten continually by small for
OF French. WAITED two days II
sIls ana had TO borrow money from
ssoharles TO get out on, as | couit
y hothlng on my Swiss and German
a'tehcy After many delays in get
ms 70 Dieppe | finally got a boat ant
'ossed TO England, where | was able
II sel enough on my Swiss money e
~ passage home.
ihe olhcers Of the Baltic, on which
A : crossed the Atlantic, seemed II
Su.lhGal fear that we would be pick
W Dy gun boats and they crowded
al steam and took every precau
Wv, Al night, all OF the portfolios
Xb,e oianketed so lights would no
s,os through, and we nearly suffo
& ine Storage was filed with Am
Maoss' many of which were rich ant
y a1'u TO the slops they fed us on
q N" nose who had money were un
hisSo." get anything better Thu
= nd Az were washed about once a da.
kashose knives and forks were no
"a "'htu, ONLY Wipa1 ,,gth =. ,rrt 500