Connecticut western news., 1918-10-10
The Most Amazing
 Story of the War


 Some of us thought of overpowering the crew and taking the vessel into our pwn hands, and we got the rest of &he sane or nearly sane men together And tried to get up scheme for doing et. | was strong for the plan and so kwere several others, but the Limey of SAcers who were with us advised hgainst 1t. They said the Germans were taking us to a neutral country, where we would be interned: which was just what the Germans had told 1s, but what few of us believed.
 Then some others said that If we started anything the Germans would Are the time bombs. We replied that ht least the Germans would go west with us, but they could not see that fhere was any glory in that. For my self, thought the Germans would not Are the bombs until the last minute, land that we would have a chance at 9he boats before they got all of us anyway. There were only thirteen German sailors on board, besides their eon1mander. This last Hun was named Badewitz.
 So the pacifists ruled, because we could not do anything unless we were all together, and there was no mutiny. They said we were hotheads, the rest of us, but still think we could have lMade a dash for 1t and overpowered bur sentries and either gone over the side with the lifebOatS, or taken over Tho ExrrI.o cIf 4 Better for us if we had tried, and if the pacifists had known what was coming to us they would have fired the time bombs themselves ==..;=. ===..;>==-., than go on into that future. How ever, that is split milk.
 We were not allowed to open the pOrtholes while we were in the bunk CTS, under penalty or death, and there fin, the dark, in that sttnking air, 1t is no wonder many GS ss went crazy. Among us was fellow named Har- rington, about six feet tall and weigh ing 250'pounds. He seemed to be all Tight mentally, but some of us thought afterwards he was crazy. Anyway, I do not blame him for what he did. Harrington rushed up the 6ddley and opened the door. There wassa German sAatry there, and Har- rington made swing at him and then grabbed his bayonet. The sentry yelled and some others came down from the bridge and shot Harrington through the hand After they had beaten Harrington pretty badly, the Nnll of the bunch, Badewitz himself, came over and hammered Harrington all around the deck. Then they put him In irons and took him to the chart ennm.
 The next day we were sitting in the dddley getting warm when the door opened and there was Badewitz. He yelled "Heraus !" and began firing at us with a revolver, so we beat it back onto the coal. Pretty soon the door opened again. But 1t was only Ger man sentry. He threw down note. It was written in English and read, "Pick out eight men for cooks" So we picked out eight men from the va rfous vessels and they went on deck and rigged up galley aft.s-s. 4--s But we did not receive any knives, forks, spoons or plates. The first meal we got was nothing but macaro- nj, piled up on pieces of cardboard boxes. Then we appointed four men to serve the macaroni, and they got four pieces of wood, the cleanest we could find, which was not very clean at that, and they dug. around in the macaroni and divided 1t up and put it. in our hands. We had to eat it after that from our grimy fingers Those who were helped first had to go Sarthest back on the coal to eat it and those who were helped last got less, because the dividers got more careful toward the end and gave smaller portions. r.-~ s... ~-,
 But we did not get macaroni yerJ long. A cook from the Voltaire wa' cleaning a copper dixie that the mac areai had been cooked In, and he wa! holtisng 1t over the side when the yes sell rolled heavily, and dropped thu tixe into the briny. A sentry wht .saw him drop it forced him up t' ,Badewitz, who began mauling him be fore the sentry even had told hf story. After a while Badewitz qui pounding the cook, and listened to tn sentry. Then Radewitz said the coo had put a note in the dixie before h
 dropped it, so they beat him up agai
 and. put him in irons. After that the
 sent the rest of the cooks back, an
 would not let them on deck agaiI
 They had plenty of canned goods an
 meat aboard, but they would not g1v
 n any.
 Five of the men were buried ak se