The Carlisle independent., 1918-12-05

no use to us, because the Germans would not give us coal or wood for it But after shivering for while, we be gan ripping the boards out of the bar racks, and taking the dividing boards from the benches that we used for beds.
 Later, they gave each of us a mat. tress filled with wood shavings, and a blanket that was about as warm as 8 pane of glass; The mattresses were placed on the ground in the barracks, which were very damp, and after three or four days. the shayings would be- gin to rot and the mattresses to smell In order to keep warm we slept as close together as we could. which caused our various diseases to spread rapidly.
 When We were receiving our rationS, the sentries would offer us an extra ratioS if we would take a lash from their belts. We were so hungry that many and many a man would go up and take swat in any part of his body from the heavy leather belts with brass tongue and buckle, just to get q little more shadow" soup or barley coffee or m,.s: bread.
 One morning the sentrieS picked out ten men from cur barracks, of which l was one, and drilled us over 1ielu near the kuehe. There was a large tank in the field and We had to pump water into it. It was very cold. ond We were weak and sick, so we would fall one after another not caring whether we ever got up or not. Fritz would smash those who fell with his rife butt We asked for gloves. be- cause our hands were freezing. but all we got was "Nichts.''
 After we had been there for about an hour and half, one of our men became very sick, so that I thought he was going to die, and when he fell over, 1 reported 1t to a sentry The sentry came over. saw him lying in the snow, yelled, "Schwein. nicht krank l'' grabbed him by the shoulder, and pulled him all the way across the field to the office of the camp con- mander. Then he was placed in the guard house. where he remained for two days. The next thing we knew, the Russians had been ordered to make a box, and were, being marched to the guard house to put him in it and bury him.
 Another thing at Neustreiitz. that was pretty hard to stand, was the pret- fxvh hnlN 4ha bod Af to the barbed wire and teasing us as though we were wild animals in a cage. Sometimes there would be crowds of people lined along the wire throwing things at us. and splitting, and having a great time generally. It party would arrive, with water and mutter, and maybe grosvater and grosmutter, and all the little Roche kinder. because, as you probably know, the Germans take food with them whenever they go on a party. no matter what kind, and they would stand there and stare at us like the boobs they were, eating all the tima and we so hungry that we could have eaten ourselves. almost. After they had stared while. they would begin to feel more at home, and then would start the throwing and splitting and the "schweinhund" sangerfest. and they would have great time general ly. Probably, when they got home. they would strike off a medal for themselves in honor of the visit.
 Then. too. there were always Hun soldiers on leave or of duty, who made 1t point to pay us visit, and though l do not think they were as bad as the civvies, especially the women, they were bad enough.
 We had one bucket in each barracks, and as these buckets were used for both washing and drinking, they were always dirty. We boiled the water when we washed the clothes. to get rid of the cooties, and that left settling in it that looked just like red lead. We had to get the water from a hydrant outside of the barracks, and for while we drank it. But after several of the boys had gone west
 
 man told LIS he thought the water was poisoned. and Russian doctor. who was prisoner. slipped us word about It also. So, after that. very few of us drank water from the hydrant. was scared stiff at first, because had had some of the water, but after that I did not touch hydrant water.
 It was good thing for Us that there was always plenty of snow in Germany, and even luckier that the Huns did not shoot Us for eating it It was about the only thing they did not deprive us oft was not verboten.
 I thought knew what tough eooties were. in the trenches. but they were regular moliycoddIes compared to the pets we had i'll the prison camps. After we boiled our clothes we would be