The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1918-11-08

had a stove In the center, q good stove
and a big one, but at first 1t was OF
no use to US, because the Germans
would not give us coal OF wood for IL.
But after shivering for a 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 q mat
tress filed with wood shavings, and a
blanket that was about as warm as a
pane Of glass. The mattresses were
placed Oh the ground in the barracks,
which were very damp, and after three
Or four days, the shavings would be-
gin 20 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 q large
tank in the field and we had to pump
water into 1t. 1t was very cold, and
we were weak and sick, so we would
fall one after another, not caring
whether we yer got up or not. Fritz
would smash those who fell with his
rifle butt. We asked for gloves, be-
cause u hands were freezing, but all
we got was "Nichts."
After we had been there for about
an hour and a half, one of our men
became very sick, so that I thought
he was going to die, and when he fell
over, / reported 1t to a sentry. The
sentry came over, saw him lying in
the snow, yelled, "Schwein, NIGHT
krank! J" 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 1t
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 all the little BocLe
kinder, because, as you probably
know, the Germans take food with
them whenever they go on q 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, anu 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