The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-03-25

need not go over the whole story
of the Mons battle and subsequent re-
treat beyond stating that from first
to last we realized we we're in a trap.
German spies had done their work so
well that we had not the least
chance. The Huns seemed to know
all our movements in advance, and
they even went as far as to issue or
ders that were intended to delude u.s.
The MINISTERS fought with cour-
age that has never been equalled
They fired their last round of am
munition and then met the attack
with the bayonet.
Wounded men of the battalion knelt
with fixed bayonets to receive the
last German attack, which was pre-
coded by a storm of shrapnel, and
it was true fight to the death. The
MINISTERS never dreamed of surrender.
They fought on steadily until about
noon, when there were only IS men
who were not casualties. These the
enemy overpowered because they
were exhausted by 10 hours of con-
tinuous fighting without food or wa
ter, not to mention the two days of
forced marches and hard fighting that
had preceded this epic struggle.
The few unwounded prisoners were
collected and handed over to an es-
cort of enemy troops. We were taken
off by road for about ten miles with
out food or rest, and then packed in
to cattle trucks for transport into
Germany.
Said "ThanEl You, Mother" To Cruel
Old Woman
Along with me was a youngster of
the MINISTER'S who had been wounded
twice and had been going for two days
without rest or refreshment. He
looked little better than a boy, and
with the traces of suffering cut deep
Iy into his face, he ought to have ex-
cited the pity of any person with a
heart. Instead, he seemed to be the
butt for all the coarse brutality of the
Germans.
Whenever he failed to keep step
because of his wounds, he was assail-
ed by the brutal non-commissioned
officer, and men prodded him with
their bayonets 1t did not matter to
them that on several occasions they
inserted the bayonets in one of the
poor boys wounds. l saw the lad
of complaint or a moan of pain es-
capped him. He had the proper spirit,
and was much too proud to let the en-
envy see what he felt.
The greatest indignity of all came
as we approached Mannheim. At the
cross roads there was a crowd, and
among them was a silvery-haired old
lady, who appeared the picture of
ho c
anything but that, for she spotted the
youngster and rushed at him. We
didn't know what she was up to, but
thought her kind motherly heart had
been touched by the look on the lads
tortured face. We were soon unde-
ceived, and learned to realize how diff
ferent German ideas are to ours, for
this old soul spat in the face of the
suffering lad and followed that uT
by raining blows on him with a stick
which she carried. The boy submit
ted without a word of protest, and
when the old hag had finished, he
simply said, Thank you mother" and
passed on.
Later. asked him why he had be-
llaved thus in face of treatment that
would have justified any man in for
81
swered, What else could I do?'
"She was the image of my old mother
at home, and 1 could not have harmed
a hair of her head"
Poor boy, even as he spoke he was
on the edge of the grave, and mex
day he died, his death being ascribeC
by the German doctors to the fac
that he had been forced to march Sc
far without having his wounds seer
to or being provided with rooc.
An Air Attack on Gfannheim
We were imprisoned at Dusseldorf
Karlsruhe and Mannheim. We were
moved to the latter place after it haC
been learned in Germany that ou
government intended to make repris
ais for the air raids on London an(
other open towns, and before bein!
removed we were told by the German
officer in command of the camp tina
the reason for removing us was tina
the German government had intimat
ed to the Allies that prisoners of wa
would be exposed to bombs in an
open town likely to be bombarde
by way of reprisal. Thus it was tina
found myself in Mannheim on tn
night when the Allies bombed it fror
the air, and 1t was TO lnaI NlSlt ina
owe my escape from Germany.
We were at work in the cam
when the alarm was given, and wer
paraded at once and marched to tn
market square. where $50 of us wer
selected-S0 Frenchmen, 40 British
4ers and 40 Belgians. We were tol
that Allied machines were about
attack the town, and that we wer
to be placed in an exposed positio
near the Rhine bridge so that W
might be in danger from the bomt
of the airmen or the barrage of til
German guns. We set off at ono
through the principal streets, an
there we saw signs of panic at ever
turn. The shops were closed an
the streets deserted.
Occasionally we saw white. scare
faces at upper windows, and the Gel
man soldiers who were acting as e!
corts to us seemed to be in state {
nerves. They were glancing up ;
the sky, and never paid the least a
tention to the commands of the Of
ficer in charge.
Suddenly a speck appeared in tn