The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-12-26
MAKES ESCAPE
FROM hun. Pen
Australian Officer Has Thrill
ing Experience in Max
in Getaway.
HARDSHIP TERRIBLE
Saws Prison Fare Was Wood
en- Bread, Shark and
Then Horse Meat
HARDSHIP TERRIBLE

Iondon.-Days spent hiding in sew
ers and bushes: nights Of lone flights
across a well guarded and hostile
country. swimming rivers and crawl
Ing past sentries: a tense situation for
every hour of the six dav journey of
zoe miles from prison to frontier, is
the story told here by Captain John
Eldred Mott, the first Australian of
ficer to escape from Germany, who
has reached London.
II was hit in five places when the
Huns caught me in April" he said.
"and in the big hospitals they treated
us fairly we'll The food was good, but
not too plentiful. 1t was when we got
to the prison lager at Stricken that the
hardships began. The bread there was
terrible stuff--common rye dough
mixed with wood pulp. One Of our fell
lows got splinter in his finger hand
ling it. and you could always see the
grains of wood in the crust. a six
pound ration loaf had to last two Of
ficers for a week. The parcels from
home were the only things that saved
us. The meat was horse from the war
zone. The fish was sharks tail.
Il was scheming from the moment
was taken to get away. Three OF us
broke away when the chance came hut
was the only one TO get through.
The first was taken getting through
the compound fences ana ! lost the
second when swimming n canal after
we had gone about fifty miles.
Women Are Friendly.
"'rhe common people and common
soldiers are terribly sick of everything
connected with the war and are half
starved We could see that when We
We're taken out for exercise. ] speak
n few words Of German and the farm
crs' wives and daughters seemed to be
| rather friendly. The war Is no good 70
you and no good to us they used to
repeat. why can't we all be friends
"Only n few were insulting. We've
got you all right (meaning England,
| said one interpreter to me in hospital.
| We have beaten Russia, we are beat
| ing France; Italy will be on her kEees
before long, and then we will crush
| England to the last mar. There will
be no peace for her. That appeared to
| be the view of the better classes.
I'VE never heard the ar raids men
tened. The German soldiers in the
| line used Ia laugh about their squad
rons smashing up London but alto
gether they had little to say about it
They know there is plenty OF food If
England. and it is that which seems Il
make them mad.
Military Machine Unimpaired.
1.-THE efficiency of the military ma
chine Is unimpaired. The officers ant
even the petty officers have absolute
control over the men, who dare no
even think of sedition. And as 70
the common people, what chance hay,
they got without arms? The German
officers are not near so arrogant an
insulting as they used to be. | anl
saw two cases of fragrant cruelty I
the men in the five months + was j
the country
Describing his escape. Captain Mot
said
Il walked right into n sentry one
! bridge one night. He challenged m
| and | answered Friend in my hes
| German. | turned around and retrace
my steps across the bridge, expectin
to get a bullet in my back every sec
!. ond. as he was fiddling with his riff
!. and challenged me n second time be
;, fore I made a bolt in the darkness. TT
last three miles was the worst. 1t We
a perfectly still night and l had
crawl in open country between on
posts of bloodhounds. They treated n
well across the frontier and | W.
only eight days in quarantine"