Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1917-12-26
COUNTY NEWS

COUNTY NEWS
with In four shaeks-I don't know
but was told there were $1,000 pEiS
OnerA
Then there was another barbed
wire fence, higher and thicker. on the
outside Of 4 roadway which ran around
the entire camp. Every 200 feet
around this barrier was,a sentry boz
and = sentry. Inside Of each smaller
Enclosure there were two armed
guards, marching back and forth.
1 Nationalitiss Separated.
The nationalities were all DepaFat-
ed. The French prisoners were kept
by themselves. They seemed to get
the worst treatment The Russians
were by themselves and we Americans
were kept with the English Nobody
got what you'd call good treatment
For breakfast every morning We got
q piece Of bread an inch and q half
thick and about four inches square and
| one lineup Of what they called coffee
but I'd call good water spoiled. don't
know what they made It ont Of. but II
was rotten. bitter stun and not even
very hot.
For dinner and supper we had the
same thing every day--turnip soup,
with mighty few turnips In It We
| never had anything else. No meat. no
potatoes. no bread. even. except at
breakfast. You could take the turnip
soup or starve. II was just about
enough to keep you alive. Some Of the
fellows got 90 weak they'd have to be
carried to the hospital. There they'd
get nourishing food for q few days.
but as soon az they were q little
stronger they'd be chucked out Of the
hospital. There wasn't much u what
you'd call real suffering at Dueiman--
and the guards were decent enough
but 1t wasn't much Of a life"
Sent 10 erandenburp.
On April Smith and his fsaow
captives Of the Moewe were sent from
Duelman 10 the notorious camp at
Brandenburg. which ~ on the Havel
river, between Berlin and Magdeburg.
Again they had an ail-night trip with
ont food and crowded into narrow
wooden benches In the worst sort Of
ears.
"Here we had Prussians for guards,
and they were wicked DEVILS" Smith
went on. "The camp wxs the same
sort Of place as Duelman. with
barbed wire inner Enclosures, and then
roadway circling the whole camp
and barred on the outside With wire.
AT Duelman they wouia turn US out
Brandenburg they gave NJ the :raus'
dozen times They'd keep rs standing
barefoot In the snow for hours until
some major would come UP and verify
the final count. By this time our shoes
had worn out, and most of ~ actually
were barefoot.
THE Prussians hauled xnd showed
say didn't see any enc struck or
stabbed who didn't have Il coming to
him.
AT Brandenburg we got the same
old food-turnip soup. with never q
change They made the strongest Of
us work on. farms outside the inci0-
sure. clearing the ground for the spring
planting; but we got no better food
| than the rest
| "We nearly freee to death at Bran
denburg. There were sman stoves In
the huts. but they didn't begin to warm
them. The blankets-you could zee
through them! We were all full Of
insects and had to have our clothes
fumigated every two weeks. but in .
couple Of days wed Be - bad az ever.
Gets - - Dee,<a
II was about ready to take q des-
perate chance for escape when on May
they asked for so volunteers to 60
to work on the docks at Lubbock.
They said they'd give q boots. better
clothes and . mark . day for wages.
thought anything was better than
Brandenburs. - I volunteered and was
taken.
The clothes they gave ~ were black
uniforms with yellow STRIPE down ths
pants and . yellow band fitted into the
sleeve. with our number and The word
Kriegzgsfnngsnlagsr (war psison) q
them.
They did givs ~ better footesar
but you were just - Mkeay - not =
ct one boot and one ahoe, and diGse'
snt sises. And when thsy half-solsd {
shoe they did n With Tie upper part q
| an old boat. 1Aey had scarcely an
. leather at al while was woF1ing q
The farms managed to ct . pair q
! wooden sAess 10 kssp NJ test ~ n
i. ground.
~Thsss bad been prumlses u H.
, Croas packages and !. - @. - boxs
: It Brandsnburg. but thsy hadn't -
, rived when lett.
AT Lusbeck everything was. uuel
!, hnkter. ThaY kart NJ In 4 BIZ Wnre