New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-03-07
GERMAN PRISONER
RELATES HARDSRlPS
Taken Off Neutral Ship
and Held III Days
in England.

a German who sailed from New ioiA
last August on the Dutch liner fots-
dam. bound for Rotterdam, gives the
following account Of his experience a,.
ION August q at D p. m. the IotS-
dam, of the Holland-America Lane,
was stopped in the English Channel py
the British cruiser Diana and was 90 or
dered to proceed to Falmouth. Inc
next morning all Germans ABOARD
about 375 varying in age from seven
teen to sixty, were ordered to disem-
bark. and were placed under military
guard. The passengers were separate
according 20 the class IN when they
travelled, and were accommodated III
cold sheet iron sheds, where they spent
tho night without any provision LOT
slceping, such as mattresses ana olanh
cts. In fact. we were supposed 10 HHu
rest on the bare stone floors. This APP
neared TO be too much even for the
English authorities. and at ii O'CLOCK
AZ NIGHT we we've ordered aboard tram
for Dorchester. ard were quartered IN
parties of eight or ten in round tents
ave were furnished in our tents
with a rubber sheet, dirty and old'
sometimes with torn horse blankets
and eating utensils; mattresses dld not
exist. The camp had formerly served
as barracks for artillery, put hau
been unoccupied during the last ten
wears. There were two long two story
buildings containing stao!ihg IoI
horses, over which we're sleeping places
for petty officers and soldiers be
tween the two larger bull dings there
was smaller house for bureaus ana
hospital. Small tents were arranged
on the grass plot around the buildings
and later on five large tents we're
erected where we could spend our time
during the day and where the meals
were served. a.,
"The camp was enclosed by a high
wall. inside of which there was
ba~bed wire fence On the walls were
small platforms for sentries, at inter
walls of about $50 feet. The sentrles
carried loaded rifles so that none OF US
should attempt to escape. Inc SEN
tries were regular troops, but seemed
TO be exceedingly careless with their
firearms. as on different occasions they
dropned their weapons from the wall
and the rifles went off.
Fortunately most of the captlves
had money enough TO provide addl
tional comforts, and we purchased
some timber with which we built some
sleeping berths as you find them on
board ship. This was necessary, as
in the meantime the autumn had ar
rived, and the nights had become too
cold TO sleep on the stone floors.
"The bill of fare provided for us by
the British government consisted, IN
the morning, OF tea, bread and klnd
of butter which was great deal worse
than oleomargarine. Stewcd prunes
were added sometimes, but there were
more stones than prunes IN the stew.
The evening meal was about the same
The midday meal consisted every day
of beef soup without any vegetables.
There were a number of cases OF
sickness. and the Dorchester doctor
who attended them could get no as
sistance in the way of medicines, etc,
from the War Office. Even those Sc
riously i'll were provided with the same
I kind of food as the others. We made
IN a little collection among ourselves
I i'm order to provide milk 10 give those
who were i'll additional sustenance.
every Sunday morning at O'Clock
n Catholic priest would read sermon,
and in the afternoon, at o'clock,
Protestant clergyman would othciate.
These clergymen would permit US,
after the service, to sing our national
HYMNS. but this was later forbidden
: by the colonel Of the camp. These
ciergymen took a great interest in US
and visited us daily-they were not,
however in a position to bring about
| any improve ment in our situation. BE
| cause the Protestant clergyman showed
/ such exceptional interest IN US we
made up a collection and presented him
F with a silver writing outfit and two
b candlesticks
"On December II, after Ill days OF
detention, the hour for my release ar
rived. and, together with thirteen Ger
mans, forty Austrians and Hungarians,
4 was dismissed on account OF my age.
P At the last moment four German cap
tains and two mates were again de-
tanned, although they were all over
the age limit, one of the captains be-
ing sixty-four years old. 1t was said
/ that these officers were detained on
! teIegraphic instructions from London"