The Washington herald., 1915-11-14
TYPHUS RAMPANT
IN GERMAN CAMP
French Surgeon Tells How the
Kaiser's Men Withdrew
After 1t Broke Out.

Paris. NOV 81 have had a most In
teresting talk with a French major gen.
eraI. who has returned here after hav,
ing spent nearly a whole year in the
prison camps OF Gardelegen ard HelIe
AT first he said. I'VE were treated
tolerably well. but shortly before Christ.
mas. when the Germans began to realize
that the war would be a very prolonged
affair. their behavior towards US began
to change.
"On November Il. an order was read
to US informing US that We must obey
all orders given by German police Of
fcers and a little more than half an
hour later the camp was invaded by
forty police officers accompanied by a
number OF police dogs and We were all
searched to the skin in order to get
possession of whatever money we had.
Fortunately. however, We had foreseen
this and few days previously we had
destroyed 10000 francs in French paper
money, after making a note OF the num-
bers OF the bills. Two weeks later We
were again searched.
I'm the beginning OF February. after
we had been in Germany for four months
without having had anything to do. we
made a complaint to the Spanish Minis
ter and as a result We were transported
TO the military camp at Gardelegen. near
the railroad from Hanover to Berlin.
close TO a large pine forest
The sanitary conditions there were
bad and the number of sick was we're
large. but they were not separated from
those who were well. The food was
miserable. In the morning we got a
cup of acorn coffee without sugar, at
noon a soup made OF -four and water, a
few potatoes and occasionally a little
boiled Goldfish or 40 grams OF meat, and
in the evening again the same kind OF
soup, but no meat or fish. and one-Quar-
ter of a pound of war bread daily, which
was almost uneatabIe. Once a week
We were given salt herring.
There was much typhus in camp when
we arrived, but the patients were given
no medical treatment. When We definite
ly stated that It was typhus all the Ger
man soldiers were removed at once. The
German surgeon was taken sick and died
within six days. It was very dithcult to
find another and two military surgeons
refused to take his position, but q month
later an old German doctor, who had
been expelled from Egypt by the Eng
lish, arrived. As soon as our guardians
had left the colonel in command asked
US to come to one OF the gates and beg
ged US to look after the sick.
The remedies at our disposal were
very limited. few tablets of morphine,
quinine. pyramidon and antipyrine. but
after considerable trouble we succeeded
in getting a little camphorsted oil and
small quantity OF strychnine. We had
only three Pravaz syringes and three
for ZOO patients. We had
not disinfecting apparatus OF any kind,
and. in fact, the only supply which was
ample was collins.
II contracted typhus myself and on
March had to 60 to bed. was nursed
by my comrades. had to pay for all
medicine and food and could get nothing
to drink. ! remained In bed until April 4.
Our food, during the beginning Of the
epidemic, was served In the following
A German soldier poured into
the same receptacle soup. meat. vege-
tables, cheese and prunes all together.
We finally got permission to make our
own meals from materials provided
mainly by ourselves. II we had not re-
,eived parcels OF food from France We
,hould have starved to death.
There were seventeen Of Us French
Iurgeons at Gardelegen. Thirteen were |
AIKEN sick and two died before We sue
'eeded in getting the epidemic under con-
rol. #
THE German soldiers who guarded US
we're very depressed and openly express
d hatred OF the war, which they felt
hey were bound TO lose. with the whole
ForId against u.s. as they said i