Mexico Missouri message., 1917-08-23
MEXICO, MO-, MAN
STARVED By GERMANS.
Concluded from page u

dragged himself off under a little
bush. The next morning he was
dead. The Germans threw his body
into the sea next day without even
a covering. They made way with all
the dead in this way.
They made no effort to care for
the sick. OF course we had suffered
greatly while in the salt water, and
some of our men looked as tho they
had been cut with knives all over.
They took off all our clothes and
gave us a pair OF jeans, so that we
were naked from the waist up; we
didn't have hats, and were barefoot
ed. 1t was very hot.
They put all the men to work in
the field but me. They found the de-
livery papers for the horses on me-
and nut me in charge of the mules in
the barn
Young Missouri Mules.
They had 900 fine young Missouri
mules. They were in good shape ex-
cept for a few cases of collie, and af-
ter two weeks they told me to go in
to the fields. 1 said that would
rather shoe mules than go into the
fields. 1 showed them that l could
shoe mules, so they kept me in the
barn. sometimes put in 80 shoes
day.
Got Him at Last.
Being in the mule barn l escaped
some of the tortures that the other
prisoners had to endure. But my
day came at last. 1 told the guard
one morning that the hay l was fur
nished gave collie to the mules. The
guard took me out to wall where
the 'thumbing rack was. Guards
tied my two thumbs and jerked me
off the ground and left me hanging
with my feet just off the ground.
They left me there 80 minutes. My
thumbs swelled, bled and came out OF
socket; my mouth got very dry and
my head throbbed. When they cut
me down 1 suppose l must have been
in a rage because / cursed them and
all Germans. 1t was noon the next
day before was able to walk around.
How Jim Watson Died.
Another day that sticks out in
my mind was the day Jim Watson
died. We had been carried to church
on Sunday morning, and at the close
of the service the priests in charge
stood up and began to chant God
preserve the Kaiser, God love the
Kaiser which they made us say af-
ter them. Jim was standing next to
me, and he whispered: ITO hell with
the Kaiser. God love the United
States They took Jim out of line
as we came out of church and thumb
ed him. They cut him down and
told him to repeat the chant. He
was dazed and mad then and he yell
ed: God love Uncle Sam! To hell
with the Kaiser They hung him up
again. Jim died at o'clock that
night. The last heard Jim say was:
God love the United States and stick
to it,
1.-THE following Sunday morning
was shot in the foot. German Off
GERS had been shooting at Belgian
as he ran, and had wounded him. He
scrambled up to run again; they shot
at him and hit me.
1.-The French and English came in
for the most of the brutality. The
Russians were very savage, and would
smash the guards with the ends o.
their shackles or hoe if they came
near them.
1.-The island is fortified and wei
stocked with supplies of all sorts
The coal heaps looked like mountain
and appeared as tho they would las
for years.
Toward fall l felt myself getting
weaker. l had long before given u
any hope of ever getting back HON
or coming out alive. But in the fal
was exchanged. After a number
weeks at sea we were landed in Liv
erpool. 1 landed in Key West o
February IT, having been gone jus
about a year. My people thought
had been dead for months.
For several months afterward
pictures of that island, faces of tn
prisoners and that thumb racl
would float over my mind when wa
asleep and 1 would get up scream
ing"