The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1918-03-31
CONTINUED From Page One.)

vence. A man accustomed to this
kind Of labor can manage to do it, but
when men unused to heavy manual
labor are forced to do the same amount
OF work as regular stevcdores. they
9sccufhh. have seen a letter from a
student In the University of Brussels
which ne sent secretly to one of his
captive friends in the camp OF Soltau.
This letter. dated April Is, said he was
working 10 hours a day unloading YES
sells, that the task was beyond his
strength, but that he had to perform it
nevertheless. under the continual
threat of blows. The whole letter
breathed despair. 1t ended with these
words / do not know whether l
shall have the good luck to see you
again. for in three months I shall be
dead. Even now am unable to stand
erect. We have nothing to eat but
disgusting soup which contains no
nourishfnent Our parcels from home
arrive irregularly, and we have neither
time nor means to prepare the food
they contain. The Germans, sergeant
major, sergeants and corporals. are
brutes and do nothing but insult and
threaten us. We have to work with
out any lct-un.'
ITO repeat what l have already said
Il IL in this work that the men who
were classed at Munsterlager as No. 3
and reserved for light labor are en-
picyed.
The Salt Mines.
IAN increasing number of prisoners
are being put to work In salt mines
(kaliwerk). The salt Is used today es-
pecially for the manufacture of suf-
locating gases
'The galleries are at depths which
vAry from 200 to 700 meters (about
ESQ to $500 feet). The heat Is so
greAt that the men work absolutely
naked, except for wooden shoes. The
sweat drips from their bodies. The air
In not fit to breathe, being full OF
poisonous vapors which bring an ire
sistible drowsiness. At the end of a
few months the laborers break out
with persistent boils and incurable
running sores: the slightest scratch
often developing into a deepening
wound. which grows larger and larger.
The fate of the captives employed in
ithese mines is horrible and would ex-
cite pity even in their guards II the
authorities had not been so cunning
as to appoint soldiers for this office
and in every case non commissioned
officers of we'll tested energy
Accidents are extremely frequent in
these mines. The most elementary
precautions are neglected, and every
month, the local newspapers publish
the story Of some catastrophe. in such
and such a kaliwerk.' in which 10, 20
or so prisoners have been killed.
g. Work in the Swamps.
work lin the swamps consists gen.
orally in digging canals through
marshy plains. filling up hollows, or
cutting out peat. In many of the
swamps and during the six winter
months, the prisoners work in the
water. For a long time they were
obliged to wear wooden shoes. but 1T
present the Germans furnish them
with old n-out boots. Hundreds of
them come from these places crippled
with rheumatism.
Some Of the swamp 'komma ndos'
are as horrible as the mines; for ex-
ample. the Teuflelmoor swamp, which
Is supplied from the prison camp a,
Hameln in the province of Hanover.
To II are sent when their punishment
has been endured, most of the men
who have been recaptured after at
tempting to escape. those who are
condemned by courts martial, and
those who simply 'displeased' the Ger
mans For all these there Is no pity
Even II they are sick. the camp doctor
notified in advance, declares them fiji
for all kinds of work. and they are
sent to the mines or the marshes
from which they will never return
until they are completely worn out OIL
dying.
Food 10 Frightful.
At. Teufelmoor the prisoners are fec
with bread especially manufacturer
for them, made of bran, chopped straw
and other substances of which the ma