Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1918-12-04
CHAPTER XVIII.

CHAPTER XVIII.
"Paek Up Your Troubled"
We arrived at Swinemunde. on the
east bank, and after we had had our
drink of water and had been rousted
back into the bunkers, Badewit1 went
across to the west side In a launch
with Joyce and Hill and a guard Of
sailors. They were to be shot the
next morning, with some others, at a
public shootingfest. The rest Of US
wrapped ourselves in Jumps Of coal as
best we could and tried to sleep.
In the morning crowds of Germans
came aboard us and were turned
loose on the boxes In the hold. It
was a sight to see them rip off the
covers and gobble the salami and 9TH
er stuff that we carried. Table man
ners are not needed when there is no
table, I guess, but If you had seen
them, you would say these Germans
did not even have trough manners. I
have seen hogs that were more fin
1cky.
While they were at 1t, hand to hand
with the chow, giving and receiving
terrible punishment we prisoners
were mustered on deck, counted.
kicked onto tugs and transferred to
the west bank, where the mob was
waiting for US. My wounds, as you
can imagine, were in a pretty bad
state by this time, and were getting
more painful every minute, so that l
found I was getting ugly and anxious
for an argument. I knew that If l.
stayed this way / would probably
never come out alive, for there is
every chance you could want to pick
a quarrel while you are a prisoner
that will mean freedom for you-but
only the freedom Of going west, which
I was not anxious to try.
When we got near the west bank,
on the tugs, we could see that we were
up against battle with our arms tied.
Over half the crowd was women and
children, I should say, and the rest
were laborers and old civWes, and re-
serve soldiers, and roughnecks gen.
orally. We could see the spit experts
the spit snipers. deployed to the
front, almost,
As we went ashore, the lombard
ment began, and we were not only
under fire Of spit. If you could call it
that, but also Of rocks and bottles and
sticks and most anything that could
be thrown,
All this time, 'lest you forget" we
had no shoes, and no clothing-only
what had once been our underwear.
1t is all right to be Coney Island
snowbird and pose around in your
bathing suit in the drifts, because you
are In good condition, and last but not
least, because you do not have to do
it. Figure out the other side Of It
for yourself.
They marched US into a field where
there was nothing much but guns and
ammunition and snow, and set US up
in something like skirmish formation.
We stood there for some time, and
then we saw lot Of Huns with the
new long rifles coming toward us,
yelling just as they did in battle, and
we thought sure we were being used
for practice targets. It is a good
thing they halted and stopped yelling
when they did. or we would have
started for them to fight it out, for
we were not the kind that likes to be
butchered with hands In the air, and
we would have been glad for a chance
to get few of them before they got
US. But they did halt, and then sur
rounded US, and drilled us away
through swamps and woods and shall
low water or slush. The women fol-
lowed, too, and there were plenty Of
bricks and spit left. Women as well
as men are the same the world over,
they say. I wonder7 You can just
picture the women Of, say, Rockland,
Me-, following a crowd Of German
prisoners that way. can't you1 Not!
But Of course the women Of Rockland
are pretty crude-no ku1tur at all
and Colt never commissioned Preai-
dent Wilson to take the lid of tho
strafe pot for him.
They drilled US along the docks, and
1t looked as though the whole German
navy was tied up at Swinemunde.
We saw many Of the ships we had
heard about. among them being the
famous Vulcan, the mother-ship for
submarines. There were many sail
ors loafing along the docks. and they
gave the women a hand with their
days work. They were no better With
q brick, but they had more ammunition
when it came to splitting. One Of them
tripped a young boy by the name Of
Kelly. and as you would never doubt,
Kelly picked up rock and crashed
the sailor with it. He was then bay.
oneted twice in the left leg. We be.
gan singing then, our popular fav6rfte,
Pack up your troubles" ete.: and
when: they heard US, how the swine
staredl
Then they drilled Us past the Ger
nsn soldiers quarters. The men were
at rife practice. and I guess all Of u
thought how handy we would be 40
targets. But when we got near them.
they quit practicing and crowded
| around N yelling: 'Rausl Zuruck n
Finally we got to the top Of the
hill. and were halted near the bar
| racks while an officer read the mar.
tial law OF Germany to "a. At least
we thought maybe that was It, =
Finally they let Us into the bar.
racks, and the first thing we saw was
great pile Of hay. That looked good
to Us, and we made e rush and Owed
into it. But the Huns told 10 to take