Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-04-30
Chapter v. (Continued)
The Prison Camp at Coutrai

The Prison Camp at CortraI
Copyright. 1918. By Pat Alva o'Brien-)
The courtyard was not a very popu-
lar place during air raids. Several
times when our airmen raided that sec
ton in the daytime I went out and
watched the machines and the shrapnel
bursting all around. but the Germans
did not crowd out there, for their own
anti-aircraft guns were hammer1ng
away to keep our planes as high in the
sky as possible, and shells were likely
TO fall in the prison yard any moment
OF course, I watched these battles at
my own risk Many nights from my
prison window I watched with peculiar
interest the air raids carried on and II
was a wonderful sight with the Ger
man searchIights playing on the sky,
the flaming onions fired high and the
burst OF the anti-atrcraft guns, but
rather an uncomfortable sensation
when I realized that perhaps the very
next minute a bomb might be dropped
on the building in which I was prts-
oner. But perhaps all Of this was bet
ter than no excitement at all, for pris-
on life soon became very monotonous-
One Of the hardest things l had 70
endure throughout the two weeks L
spent there was the sight OF the Hun
machines flying over Courtrai. knowing
that perhaps 1 never would have an
other chance TO fly. and 1 used 10 sit
by the hour watching the German ma
chimes flying over Courtrai prison. as
they had an aerodrone not so far away
and every afternoon the students-or
took them for students because their
flying was very poor-appeared over
the town
one certain Hun seemed TO find par
ticu.ar satisfaction in flying right down
Cv-r 1- prison nightly. for my special
dis OFT and benefit it seemed, as TX
he kLgy. an airman imprisoned there
was vainly longing TO try his wings
akain over their lines. But i used TO
console myself by saying: Never
mind. old boy, there was never bird
whose wings could not be clipped II
they got him Just right, and your turn
will come some day
A Night Air Raid
One night there was an exceptionally
heavy air raid going on. a number Of
German officers came into my room and
thew all seemed very much frightened.
I jokinCIy remarked that il would be
fue il our airmen hit the old prison
the percentage would be very satisfac-
tory-one English officer and about ten
German ones. They didn't seem 70 ap-
preciate the joke, however, and, IN
deed they were apparently too much
alarmed at what was going on, over
head TO laugh even at their own jokes
Although these night raids seemed &c
take all the starch out Of the Germans
while they were going on. the officers
were usually as brave as lions the next
dzy and spoke contemptuously OF the
raid of the night before
saw thousands OF soldiers in Cour-
trai and, although they did not impress
me as having very good or abundant
food. they were fairly well clothed. 1
do not mean to imply that conditions
pointed 20 an early end of the war. On
the contrary. from what ! was able 20
observe on that point, unless the Huns
have an absolute crop failure they can.
in my opinion. go on for years! The
idea OF our being able TO win the war
by starving them out strikes me as
ridiculous. This is = war that must
be won by fighting. and the sooner we
realize that fact the sooner it will be
over.
Rising hour in the prison was
o'clock Breakfast came at S. This
consisted Of a cup of coffee and nothing
else II the prisoner had the foresight
TO save some bread from the previous
day. he had bread for breakfast also.
but that never happened in my case
Sometimes we had two cups of coffee
ory or some cereal preparation. We had
no milk or sugar
For lunch they gave us boiled sugar
beets or some other vegetables and once
in a while some kind Of picked meat,
but that happened very seldom. We
also received third Of loaf Of bread
war bread. This war bread was as
heavy as a brick. black and sour 1t
was supposed to last US from noon one
day 10 noon the next Except for some
SCUM this was the whole lunch menu.
A Dinner in Prison
Dinner came at $50 D m, when we
sometimes had little Jam made out of
sugar bsets. and a preparation called
tea. which YOU had to shake vigorously
or IL settled in the bottom of the cup.
and then about all you had was hot
water. This tea was a sad blow 10
the EneIEshman- If 90 hadn't been called
tea they wouldn't have felt so badly
about H. perhaps but 1t was adding in
suit 10 injury 10 call that stun 'tea.
which with them is almost a national
institution
Sometimes with this meal they gave
US butter instead Of Jam, and once in A
while We had some kind OF canned meat
This comprised the usual run Of eat
sbIes for the day can eat more than
that fer breakfast. In the days that
we're TO come ! learned that l was TO
fare considerably worse
we were allowed TO send out and buy
a few things but as most Of the prison