The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1918-09-26

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 filed with wood s~havings, and a
blanket that was about as warm as q
pane Of glass. The mattresses were
placed on the ground In the barracks,
which were very damp, and after three
or four days, the shavings 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
ration If we would take a lash from
their belts. We were so hungry that
many and many a man would go up
and take a swat in any part Of his
body from the heavy leather belts
with brass tongue and buckle, just to
get a little more shadow" soup or
barley coffee or mud bread.
One morning the sentries picked out
ten men from our barracks, of which
| was one, and drilled us over a field
near the kuche. There was a large
tank in the field and we had to pump
water into IT. 1t 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
rifle butt. We asked for gloves, be-
cause our hands were freezing, but all
we got was "Nlchts.'
After we had been there for about
an hour and a half, one of our men
became very sick, so that I thought
he vas going to die, and when he fell
over. l reported it to a sentry. The
sentry came over, saw him lying in
the snow, yelled, "Sehwein, NIGHT
krankl y grabbed him by the shoulder,
and pulled him all the way across the
field to the Office of the camp COM
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 pref
~ habit the Huns had of coming up
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. 1t
was harder than ever when a family
party would arrive, with water and
mutter, and maybe grosvater and
grosmutter, and an the little Boche
kinder, because, as you probably
know, the Germans take food with
them whenever they 90 on a party.
no matter what kind, and they would
stand there and stare at us like the
boobs they were, eating all the time
and we so hungry that we could
have eaten ourselves, almost. After
they had stared a 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 a 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 off duty. who made
it a point to pay us a visit, and though
I do not think they were as bad as the
c~ivvies, 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 coolies, and that left a
settling in it that looked just like red
lead. We had to get the water from
a hydrant outside of the barracks. and
for a while we drank it. But after
several of the boys had gone west
and we could not figure out why, a
man told us he thought the water was
poisoned, and a Russian doctor, who
was a prisoner, slipped US word about
II also. So, after that, very few of
us drank water from the hydrant. /
was scared stfff at first. because | had
had some of the water. but after that
/ did not touch hydrant water.
1t was a 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.
1t was about the only thing they did
not deprive us Oft was not verboten.
I thought ! knew what tough coolies
were, in the trenches, but they were
regular m~ollycoddles compared to the
pets we had in the prison camps. After
we boiled our clothes we would be
free from them for not more than two
hours, and then they would come
back. with re-enforcements. thirsting
for vengeance.