The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-07-13
SMASHED A GUARD.
Prisoner Hit Hun on the Head
With a Pick.
Then Stole Away Toward the
American Lines.
MADE HIM WORK WITHOUT FOOD
Ate in Front of Him Just To
Tantal'-e Him.
Was a Prisoner About a Week
Before Escape.
MADE HIM WORK WITHOUT FOOD
BY LOWELL MELLETT.

BY LOWELL MELLETT.
With the Americans on the Marine.
June 20 (by maiD james a. Dom
ahue of Newark, n. J., felt around in |
the dark till he got hold of a broken |
pick. Then he hit his sleepy German |
guard over the head and two days lat |
er-yesterday-he made the following |
report to second division headquarters |
on what it is like to be a prisoner in |
the German army:
Il went down in the woods (Bel- |
leau) and Joined my command-what |
there was left of it. They were all |
split up and mixed up. I heard a |
whistle blow and went forward. Ev- |
cry time that flare would go up l |
Hould drop down. There was lot of
rifle firing. Just ahead I saw four
or five men and thought they were our |
fellows. 1 ran right into them and |
when I got there one of them hit me |
on the head with something. When
came to, they took me up before an
officer. He said:
Called Him American Hog.
How many Americans are there |
over here?' I said thirty-two divisions
or Americans (7SO.0O0 men) and
!orty divisions of French. He said
'Acn, scnwein, schwein,' then they
Rooted me and showed me away Co
ing out l got couple more kicks. |
They took me down the road a piece. |
Detachments coming along would give
me the once over and saw 'Ach. 81
american, schwein.' I don't know how
long walked but 1t was a long time. 1
L didn't sleep all that night Next
morning l got an axe about the size
OF TINS helmet handed me and with
ouI awning to eat they put me to
work cutting with them. They had
machine guns all thru the woods. Then
they took me across an open field and
back into another woods and had me
cut more brush. They were Digging
eInplacements. They would dig one
tIrEins 1t all around and then move
70 another place and try it. Then
t1ey would cut more brush and cam
outage the holes.
Sending Out Spies.
That night l tried to sIeep in an
ola covering About the time 1 would
get started sleeping they would come
along and give me a boot and take
me TO another place. Then they took
me on another march. That evening
three men in American uniforms
walked up to an officer and talked
with him. Then they turned and
walked back toward the line. Then
about seven French officers, or men
IN French uniforms, walked I'D and
talked to this officer and then they
turned med and walked toward the line.
Ihey would give me soup and
black bread to eat. That was enough
to drive a man crazy. Then they
would sit in front of me and eat
cheese and bread and drink something
that looked like coffee to tantalfze me
They kept me chopping all the time
They had about fifteen or twenty men
carrying the brush away while 1 was
chopping it. They were using it to
camouflage the bitches that had am
munition in them.
I was there about seven or eight
nights. I could not keep track of the
days. So between showing me around
and kicking me around, 1 thought I
would try to escape and take a chance
of being shot. So when another SEN
try came on I watched him and he
sat down by tree and looked like he
was sleeping. l moved a bit and no
move out of the sentry. He just kept
right on snoring away. I just rolled
over and got little closer and still
no move out of him. 1 reached around
and got hold of an old pick handle
and thought it was no good to me.
So I felt around and found the rest
of the pick with little piece of the
handle.
Hit Guard With Pick.
80 hit him on the head with the
pick and not a sound or grunt out of
him. 1 slipped right away then. Then
I ran across those Red Cross dogs OF
theirs They have got a little canteen
on both sides of them. I went on
for a while when the dogs were
around but there was not a whimper
out of them, they were just running
around.
"I would go on and when I would
run close to a bunch I would drop
down and stay still until they had
gone away and then I would go on
a piece farther 1 would travel by
night and lay hid in the woods in the
day time. 1t took me two days to
get up here. we'll, I kept on coming
and once found a bag with some old
hard bread in it and some little pieces
of cheese. I came across stream and
I soaked the bread and ate it.
ct kept on coming until I got up
where the shells were dropping all
around me and then out where the
shells from both sides were falling
and I sure thought it was all up with
me.
Il kept on going tho and I then
heard a sentry yell halt and I said
don't shoot. I'm an American. I
went up to him and asked where head
quarters was. Then I got an NJ. p.
(military policeman) and he took me
I'D to the A. p. NJ