Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-12-31
InJnIIIIIIJIIiuillIIIIIIIIIIIIllIlIililiI
r4APTER XxlI-Continued.,

n..-.i.,.- and Belgians were buried.
- lem had died from cholera,
.a and NEGOTIATIONS. We heard
,, thu. prisoners there before Us that
.bs Germans had come through the
,s with word that there was an
-t5s-oic of black typhus and cholera
,4 mat the only thing for the men to
=, r-as m rake the serum treatment to
.-of4 catching these diseases. Most of
-. four hundred men had died from
.1s f~orulations They had taken the
r,roar~ word, had been inoculated
and Aal died within nine hours. Which
.5o,rs how foolish it is to believe a
Cs-rrr7. None of US had any doubt
5r+ what the serum was poisonous.
The second day that we were in the
-o,4,rg- camp the Germans strung
tq-f,-t wire all around our barra cks.
Taav told us we had a case of black
rv-rrs among US. This was nothing
NOR. nor less than a bluff, for not one
NJ ~, had typhus, but they put up the
,r,ra nevertheless, and we were not
allowed 70 20 out.
one day when l vas loafing around
orr barracks door ana not having any
thing particularly important to do, 1
marked nice hard SNOWFALL and land
ed It neatly behind the ear of little
sentry not far away. When he looked
around he did not blow his whistle but
baran hunting for the thrower. This
ua- strange in q German sentry and
tbou.ht he must be pretty good stuff.
When he looked around, however, all
he saw was q man staggering around
is If he " ere drunk. The man was
the on. who had done the throwing, all
right. hit the sentry could not be sure
Of il. for surely no man would stay
out In the open and invite accidents
like that. But still, who had done itf
So I just kept staggering around,
and the sentry came up to me and
looked me over pretty hard. Then l
thought for the first time that things
might 20 hard on me, but l figured
that if [ quit the play acting it would
be a.I over SO 1 staggered right up
to the sentry and looked at him drunk
4ny expecting every moment to get
ore from the bayOnet.
But up was so surprised that all he
could io was stare. SO l stared back,
pretending that l saw two of him, and
otherwise acting foolish. Then l guess
be- realized ior the first time that the
chances IF anybody being drunk in
that camp were small-at least for the
prisoners. He was rubbing his ear
an the time, but fnally the thought
Scepei through the ivory and he began
10 laugh. l laughed, too, and the first
thing you know he had me doing it
agalu-that is, the imitation. One
SNOWFALL was enough, figured.
used to talk to him quite often
after that. We had no particular
love for each other, but he was gamer
than the other Sentries, and he did not
call me Schweinhund every time he saw
ME, So We got on very well together.
His name must have been Schwartz,
guess, but 1t sounded like "Swatts" to
me. SO Swatts he was, and | was
Chink" to him. as everybody else
called NE that.
One day he asked me If could
speak French, and l said yes. Italian;
YES. Russian; yes. No matter what
language he might have mentioned
would have said yes. because l could
smell something in the wind, and
was curious. Then he told me that If
| went to the hospital and worked
there. I might get better meals and
would not have to go so far for them,
and that my knowing all the languages
| said l did would help me a great
ways toward getting the job.
Evidently he had been told to get a
man for the place, because he ap-
pointed me to it then and there. He
put me- to work right away. We went
oY+c to one of the barracks, where a
case Of sickness had been reported,
and found that the invalid was a big
Barbados negro named Jim, a fire.
man from the FOltaire. At one time
jim must have weighed $50 pounds,
out by this time he was about two
pounds lighter than a straw hat, but
sui black and full of pep. Light as
he was, | was no white hope" and 1t
was all ! could do to carry him to the
hospital Swatts kept right along be-
mind me, and every time l would stop
To rest, he would poke me with a
hT"'m-the only broom l saw in Ger
maryland laugh and point to his ear.
Then ! thought it was frame-up
ami rha, he was getting even with me,
out l was in for it then, and the best
could do was to go through with 1t,
out was all in when we reached tho
hospital The first thing l saw whsa
We got In the door was another negro,
also from Barbados, and as tall and
min as jim had once been short and
rat This black boy and 1 made q
great team, but I never knew what
nIS name was. l always called him
Nate because night and day he was
WASTING the old song. Kate. Kate,
Meet Me At the Garden Gate" or words
10 mat effect. l have walked up many
night and heard that whistle Just
aoout at the same place as when had
'Sl''A asleep. II would not have been
s' oaa If he had known all of II.
Cook Swatts' broom and cleaned
u and then asked where the coal or
wood was. This got n great laugh. It
vas GUile humorous to the men who
Aad Shiyered there for weeks, maybe,
.lI 70 me it was about as funny as a
- Tor help. I got wood though, be-
-'F' I had been there long.
There was & great big cupboard
-ai looked rlore like a small house,
quiz, a-ainSt the wall of the hospital
1''ecHS ~ one corner of the room,
anu not far from the stove. Kate was
me oHy PATIENT able to be on his feet.
;" ! thought he would have to be my
.@-eI eOOk and bottle washer for q
N'e' and, besides, there was some
~'ng ahouc him that made him look
pretty valuable / had not recognized