The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1918-11-15


Isoldlers. they would not give us any.
Of course.
So we stood around and watched the
Huns eati;. while they and the women
laughed al us. and pretended that
they were starving and would groan
and ruiz heir machs and say,
"Nichts zu essen" TO each other. and
then grab big hunk of bread apd
eat It, What we did not say to them
was very little indeed. We were GER
tainly wild If any men ever were.
Then some Of US said we were go
ing to get some Of that bread If we
went west for 1t. Sc we started a
fight, and while they were attending to
some of us, the others grabbed and hid
| all the bread they could. They rorsted
US back into the cars and we were
Just starting to divide up the bread
when they caught us with 1t and took
| 1t away. We were wilder than ever
then, but we could not do anything.
1t got colder after we left Witten-
berg, and the snow blew into the cars
| through the windows and doors until
we were afraid to sleep for fear OF
| freezing. 1t was the worst night
have ever seen, and the coal bunkers
on the Yarrowdale seemed like pal
ace compared to the compartments,
because we could at least move around
In the ship. while in the train we could
not move at oil, and were packed so
close that we could not even stretch
| our legs and arms. Some of the men
did die, but not in my compartment,
though most of US were frost-bitten
| about the face.
We thought that night would never
end but day came finally, and though
| 1t seemed TO get colder and colder, we
did not mind it so much. At about
eleven that morning, we arrived at a
place called Minden and saw prison
camp there-just stockade near the
tracks with the boys out in the open.
| We waved to them, and they waved
back AID gave cheer-oh or two. We
felt sorry for them, because we knew
we were not going 10 that camp, and
| from what little we saw, we knew we
could not be going to worse place
than they were in. shall never for
get Minden, because IT was here that 1
received the only cigarette had while
/ was in Germany.
Minden is quite railway center, l
guess, and when we pulled into the
depot, we saw many troops going to
| the front or coming back. AS at all
important German railway stations,
there was a Red Cross booth on the
| platform, with German girls handing
out barley coffee 4nd other things to
| the German soldiers. l saw large
shanty on the platform, with a Red
| Cross painted over the door. saw
the girls giving barley coffee to the
soldiers, and ! thought would have
try at 1t and at least be polite
enough to give the girls chance of
refusing me. was refused all right,
but they were SO nasty about it that /
| put down my head and let something
slip. do not remember just what 1t
was, but II was not very compliments
airy, guess. Anyhow, did not think
anyone near there understood Eng
lish, but evidently some one heard me
who did, for got an awful boot that
landed me ten or twelve feet away.
fell on my hands and knees. and
about a yard away / saw cigarette
stub. / Owed for 1t like man falling
| on a football, and when ! came up
that stub was safely in my pocket.
And 1t stayed there until I reached
Dulmen and had chance to light II
behind the barracks. II any of the
other men had smelled real tobacco
they would probably have murdered
me, and could not have blamed them
for 1t.
That was the First and last cigarette
l got in, Germany, and you can be
Flieve me When l say that / enjoyed
1t. There was not much to 1t, but
smoked 1t until there was not enough
left to hold in my mouth, and then
used what was left and mixed 1t with
the bark that we made cigarettes out
Of. Incidentally, this bark was great
stuff. | do not know what kind OF
tree 1t was from, but II served the
purpose. Whenever a fellow wanted
to smoke and lit one Of these bark
cigarettes, few prffs were enouS