Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-02-13

1r>-TA Nov 27-Peope take the reverses OF
" fate more lightly in the east than they DO III te
west Thus, among the prisoners In the austrian
car,ns one finds docile cheerfulne of spirit that Is
lacking among the prisoners in German camps Inc
Englishman quite gets over his repushanoe ~
taking orders his While seloom suriS
soner he is nevertheless aIoof, reserved, sincere
enemy still For the part he obeys orders pune
tiliousy and conducts himself nearly as possible
as though utterly obvious of his captors existence
The Frenchman the other hand persists LII poi'
communicative, jaunty hatred of his foemen.
With Austrias Russian prisoners. the case is an
entirely one. They are joval lot' ana most
of them get along capitay with their Austrian
The Russian is splendid fighter, but he is not nearly
so successful a twenty four-hour every-oaSh-
the-year the Englishman Frenchman ano
German The Austrian, easy-going sympathetlc
creature of moods makes most companionable jailer
and as far as camp discipline permits the Austrian ana
the Russians take lively, curious feIow-nterest IN
another
One finds. then the temper of the Russian prison
camp in Austria social. The bulky, good-natured
childIke prisoners obey willingly; the guards are
friendly camp commanders are generally gooo
fellows truly cocitous for their charges welfare the
Russians sfve trouble than either the English or
the French endeavoring to break camp ana escape
the home country but this is because they are
philosophical victims OF Inconsistencies as tne
western allies When a Russian becomes filled with
thoughts Of the tiny cot-izba-n the midst OF It's
lonely steppe, becomes melancholy genius Tor
deviSing ways ana means TOT seIuhs 'heio'
A group OF Russians broke camp near Vienna,
disguised in in which they had given sew
eral successful presentations of Russian play All
of the runaways later recartured. The leading
lady little battie-scared Russian, with skirts sadly
bedraggIed and torn, bodice sashed and ripped by
thorns and low-hangng branches was found by
farmer asleep in pine forest several weeks atter her
escape completely lost almost starved She well
coined to the camp and three certain meals
each day.
From another camp this city escapes are regu-
arly made in spite Of all precautions. Most of the
escaping prisoners are recapured days of hope
less hungry wandering. Very few are able TO slip
through and pass the well-guarded frontiers The
vexed commandant of this camp explaining the reason
for running deep concerted ditch all around the
outside of the charged wire barrcades told story of
a very clever escape.
There are several thousand prisoners in the camp,
mostly Russians Seven of these prisoners, cronies,
rngleaders in complaints, and bitterly dissatisfied
with the reduced ratons that had to come with the
shortages. formed a council. They made very
plans for eludng and for passing the
frontier, and, with details all determined they set
about the business of getting free from camp. The
realization of their task no easy matter in the
midst thousands of curious friends and hundreds of
watchful guards.
place was selected along the the barricade.
and here working at night by turns they tunneed
way liberty In order to reach the point chosen for
tunneng operations without attracting attention and
once safely the fences, they stitched out
side covering green sod seven canvas mats
With the mats fully concealing Them changing the
appearance conspirators into many hummocks
of grass they slowly crawed to work at night, back
and forth tunnel the places where they hid
the dirt The grass carefully watered each
day, kept fresh and growing.
outside the camp, the seven grass mats started
upon their long crawl toward the AS the
sun rose. the dewy lay motionless in his rays
splotches verdant vegetation adding their mite
the beauties countryside they happened
be in In night the undulated painfully for
ward, or along lonely roads, danged from the broad
shoulders their motive When the prisoners
were finally caught several weeks after their escape
the nseparable fourished in all their pristine
green and freshness but they themselves
starved.
The irksome restraint and routine life in
prison camps is lightly borne by the Russians. The
Slav is phegmatic. stolid, amenable discipline The
Russians quarrel with conditions angry
one when the famine rations began, due the
food shortages. English prisoner been dssat-
ished rations from the beginning. He misses
sorey the marmaades. the fresh the butter
excellent and coffee and the hearty roass of
which go make up his English fare and