The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1918-11-22
CHAPTER XIII.
Despair-and Freedom.

Despair-and Freedom.
While / was working at the hos
pital conditions at my old barrack
had been getting worse and worse
Very few of the men were absolutel
right in the head, l guess, and almos
all had given up hope of ever gettini
out alive. Though they put up goo,
front to the Huns. they really did no
care great deal what happened t,
them. The only thing to think abou
was the minute they were living in
The day l came back two English
men, who had suddenly gone mad
commenced to fight each other. 1t was
the most terrible fight l have evel
seen. 1t was some time before the
rest of us could make them quit, be
| cause at first we did not know they
| were crazy. When we had them down
| however, they were scratched and bit
ten and pounded from head to foot
Both of them bled from the nose all
that night, and toward morning one
of them became sane for few min
utes and then died. The other was
taken away by the Germans, still
crazy.
Another time an Australian came
into our barracks and very seriously
told us that he had drag with the
German officers and that he had been
to dinner with them, and had had tur-
key, potatoes, coffee, butter, eggs,
sugar in his coffee, and all the luxuries
you could think of. We just sat and
stared at him. 1t seemed impossible
that any of our own men would have
the gall to torture us like that, and yet
we could not possibly believe that it
had really happened. Finally, one
fellow could not stand it any longer.
He was nothing but skin and bones.
but he grabbed a dividing board and
there were just two wallops: the
board hit the Australians head and
the head hit the floor. Then half
dozen more pounced onto him and
gave him real licking. When he
came to he had forgotten all about
the wonderful dinner he did not have.
Not long after this the Russian doc
tors proved to the Germans that there
was no black typhus in our barracks
and we were allowed the freedom of
the camp except that we could not
visit the Russian barracks. That was
no hardship to me nor to the rest OF
us, except one chap from the CambriaD
Range, who had a special pal among
the Russians that he wanted. to see.
And, of course, when it WAS verboten,
he wanted to see him all the more.
A day or two after the order / was
standing outside the barracks door
when l saw this fellow come out with
a dividing board in his hand. / thought
ne was going to smash somebody with |
t, so / stood by. But he stopped over
and jammed one end of the board |
against the threshold of the door. |
scratched the ground with the farther
md of the board and measured again.
de kept this up, length by length, in
he direction of the Russian barracks.
The sentry in the yard stopped and
stared at him, but the fellow kept
light on, paying no attention to any
,ody. Pretty soon he was right by the
entry's feet and / thought any minute
he sentry would give him the butt,
,ass. That lad measured the whole
distance to the Russian barracks, went
inside, stayed while and calmly
trolled back with the board under his
rm When he reached our barracks
gain he told us he had found a vino
nine. What he had found was some
hing not so UNUSUAL boneheaded
serman.
There was lot of bamboo near the
russian barracks and the Russians
nade baskets out of it and turned
hem in to the Germans. For this they
OF all the good jobs in the kitchen
nd had a fine chance to get more to
at. But they were treated like dogs
hat is, all except the few COssacks
hat were in the bunch. The Huns
new that a, Cossack never forgets and ,
ill get revenge for the slightest mis- .
-eatment, even If 1t means his death. /
have seen sentries turn aside from ,
re beat they were walking and get out
{ the way when they saw a Cossack I
oming. There were very few Coss- ,
cks there, however. do not think $
ley let themselves get captured very {
ften. IL
We had roll call every morning, of /
purse, and were always mustered in t
ont of our barracks, the middle Of {
le line being right at the barracks I
Dor. Sometimes when the cold got | 1
20 much for them, the men nearest t
lie door would duck into the bar Q
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