Jackson County journal. (Sylva, N.C.) 19??-19??, 1918-01-25

4 ty of Oxford. He is getting $50
( month.
y =
~~~~~~~~~-~~~~~~~~~~
the farms managed to get pair OF
wooden shoes to keep my feet off the
ground.
There had been promises of Red
Cross packages and Y. NJ. G. A. boxes
at Brandenburg, but they hadn't ar
rived when left. /
"At Lubbock everything was much
better. They kept us in big ware
house on the Hamburg American quay,
and made us load and unload ships.
p, But here we had steamer hunks to
sleep in and decent blankets, and 1t
was luxury compared to the other
places. We had the same old bum
coffee and turnip soup-but our guards
got the same. Then in the summer we
began to receive some clothing from
the International Y. NJ. C. A. and some
food boxes from the American Red
Cross through Copenhagen.
What Y. M. c. A. Sent.
"Every week we got box that had
in it so biscuits, some corned beef.
veal loaf, suet pudding, condensed milk.
one-quarter pound of tea, slice Of
bacon, a can of fruit, so cigarettes and
some tobacco. That saw us through.
1t was so good we felt sorry for the
poor guards and would give them
scraps. They offered as high as 80
t marks for pound of tea. And the
+ bacon they would have given anything
u for"
In June, Smith made his first at
t tempt at escape. He had been work
It ing in shipyard distant from Lubbock
n and managed to elude his guard at
nightfaN. He struck out overland, but
e his prison uniform revealed him and
p. two days later he was captured and
e, returned. For the offense Of trying to
10 escape he was given 10 days in the
at 4back hole" with only a piece OF
lp :,-ead day to eat. Also a big Ger
III a-an guard took a couple Of cracks
lie TT his face.
De 1.-THE Spanish ambassador came te
"a see US Americans on June l and prom
IS, Used to send us books and clothing
lie but l never saw any of them. The!
he did begin to put few potatoes int
at the turnip soup, and occasionally the!
- put about five pounds of meat into tn
= soup supply for 800 men.
Another Getaway Chance.
"In October l made up my mind t
DIV take another chance on q getaway. Th
)ln ships we were loading were plying ht
ut tween Lubbock and Swedish ports. an
vel thought might hide on one of thes'
re-. They carried mostly salt fertilizer {
TIL Sweden, though sometimes some co'
ow and coke, and they brought back PHI
of iron and ore. l never saw them brlll
in any foOdstuffs Sometimes the &c
DIS, man ships would go out carryir
18th harbed wire and iron rods for fl
me trenches on the Russian front. The
18th went to Riga, believe.
hen "There was one boat the Undin
mp which travelled between Luebeck al
e. a Swedish port named Norrkoping re
out ularly. l got acquainted with Swe'
ut on board her and he told me one OF
S a er fellow had made his getaway
ling Norrkoping by concealing himself
ntil the hold.
rify "N1y scheme was this: Every MOI
hoes ing the guard would get together
ally early working crew of II men at 10
o'clock. He would take them on boa
wed while it was dark, to get the Halter
must ready for the others. One norm
or when wasn't in this squad hic II
g to self in the hallway where they alWf
lined up. The guard counted his
ame and then in the darkness l JOlr
a. them. AS we climbed aboard
It of Undine he didn't know he had l3,
nclo- stead of 12 He was a boneheat
,ring German anyhow.
food 81 hid myself in the fertilizer
combination of salt and sulphur. w
sran- it did to me was plenty. My feet
IS in still full of holes and the nails
warm off my toes"
see For six days then Gan unusu'
IL of long Journey Smith remained IN
Dthes hold. When the vessel locked
in a Norrkoping and the hatch was ope
ever he dashed down the gangplank
safety. The Swedish police gave
des- water and food; American consu
NAV attaches clothed him and sent hin
TO 90 Stockholm and then to Christla
beck. Norway, and there he boarded the
better Bergensjord for home.
ages.
than Adopted % Children.