New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-10-18
Americans IN German
Camps Near Starvation
Say They Could Not Live Without Provisions Sent by the
English Red Cross-Nlen Pick Weeds on the
Wav to Work and Eat Them Raw

was. while the mate OF the Undinc was
shouting the same question from the
dock For several seconds smith :
liberty hung i'm the balance while the
policeman. the mate, and ne stoou
gaping az each other.
where do you come from howied
Hearing the mate speak English,
Smith shouted in reply, same place
.ou AID Lubbock" Whercupon the
mate plunged below. evidently to sum
mon the captain.
Swedish stevedores. grasping the
situation and manifestly sympathetic
shouted 20 the policeman 70 move FUR
ther away from thc ship with Smith
which he promptly did.
His Second Attempt
Smith. with imploring gestures
begged. for water. The policeman
understood. He guided the American
TO a hydrant, where Smith says he
must have drunk gallon Of water, the
policeman pattering him on the shout
dcrs tho while
Die WIS then taken TO the police sta
ton. A telegram was sent TO the
American Consulate where he ls now
being cared for.
The Germans could not make any
pursuit or demand Smiths return TO
them after he had touched Swedish
soil. for he had taken the precauton
90 rim the yellow armband letiered
n black with the words, "hregs-
ccfangcner hummer Neun' ar
Prisoner No. 90 from his sleeve dur
ing the days he was in hiding on the
Undine. His unmarked clothing, there
fore, indicated he was member or the
crew, so the Germans could make no
claim for him.
Desperate from German prison fare
and the deadly monotony of prison
life. Smith planned his escape Tor
Saturday, October 6. II was his second
attempt. The first had brought him
nineteen days in dark cell on bread
and water. with no bed, after he had
been Of large for one day IN the coun-
try northwest of Lubbock.
With several hundred other prison
ors Of war Of many nat0nalltes Smlth
had been employed since early May
ON the Lubbock docks loading ships
bound for Sweden with cargoes OF
fertilizer. coke. salt, alcohol and once
i'm a while steel shaftings. One OF
these vessels was the German snip
Tndinc. which Smith had been help
ing load with fertilizer for about a
week. With this vessel IN mind he
figured out his plan.
at comes Friday night week ago
and I got sick. See ~ Smith said to-
Gav. "1hat means had TO report
myself sick that night and when the
doctor would come in the morning at
he would look me over. In this
way ] wouldn't be marched out 20 the
docks O.. 6 in the morning with the
other prisoners.
They are always markched out in
punches Of twelve and my plan was 10
sin into one Of these punches after
il was counted, so / would reach the
docks. but would not be among the
II worked fine. ] reached the
docks. our guard not knowing he had
thirteen prisoners instead OF twelve,
because he had counted them before J
stepped IN. a., A..
bunch ! joined was loading. As soon
as l got aboard the Undine ! went down
into the hold and hid myself IN the
fertilizer. found some mating and
covered myself and laid there from
Saturday morning 20 Friday morning.
IL was dark. but ] had pocket lamp
that lasted quite q while.
Tongue a Foot Thick
81 had some crackers, but as ] could
moi hNing any water with me the
crackers we're no good 20 me, because
NV mouth and throat got so dry ! could
not swallow them. ! tried 10 eat them
but they were like sand IN my mouth
and would not 20 down.
Sometimes ia sleep a while don't
know how long and then I'd wake mp
with nervous chill. I'd wake APP with
q lump. All the time l was afraid, ana
mv tongue was getting bigger ana
bigger. II felt foot thick.
what did you think about all these
DAYS and nights" asked.
For the first time in his recital the
good natured grin on Smiths MASSIVE
face vanished in "a look OF horror, ana
he answered slowly:
sYou could think about nothing eN-
cept everything YOU ever done I'D your
life. But the worst part was my tongue
getting bigger IL was like my tongue
was crowdmg my brains out. ! was
ON the verge of going above two or
three times. but then ! thought OF that
nineteen days on bread and water IN
the dark Ia got before, and ] stuck II
out.